i'm falling behind

it's not that i don't want to post, i am just behind. so i owe the blog write-ups of Marine Corp Marathon and the JFK 50. Well, I owe the second to Anna as well. They are coming.

Today I got a monthly pass to the town fitness center. I like getting my daily run first thing in the morning, but I don't like training runs in the freezing cold dark. Race runs in the freezing cold dark, ok; training runs in the dark, ok; training runs in the freezing cold daylight, ok; but I've drawn the line at freezing cold + dark.

So for the next couple of months I will do my weekly workouts on the treadmill, the eliptical, and weights. This worked really well for me a couple years ago - gave me the ability to work out when I would have otherwise stayed in bed.

I'll be caught up here soon.

Next weekend, the Virginia Happy Trails Race Club Fat-ass 50 mile run down at Bull Run (Hemlock Overlook). I probably won't run the full 50, but I'll get in at least 30 or so.

JFK 50 mile run 2008

Ok, I ran it, I finished late, not as late as last time, I had a great time along the way.
That's all there is to say.

getting ready for the Marine Corp

I picked up my bib tonight, luck number 1249!

the shirt this year is colored olive drab. not my favorite, but not a repeat either.

the MCM is using the new paper chip instead of Champion Chip. Wow, Champion Chip must be just dieing.

Brooks has these "Brooks toilets" which have water and TP and everything, and people can get in them by wearing Brooks clothes or shoes. It didn't say if this was just at the starting line or throughout the race - i'll have to look more closely. I have Brooks shoes anyway, so I'll be good to go (as it were).

need to get to sleep - I have a bit of a sore throat and i'm tired.

Baltimore Marathon

The day was beautiful.

This place is crazy - a full marathon, a relay on the marathon route, a half marathon that ends at the same finish line, and a 10k nearby - all take place on the same day.

We ran well:
* Dave finished his 6 mile segment in under 50 minutes.
* I finished my 6.8 mi relay segment in 59 minutes at an 8:68 pace.
* Bob finished his 6.1 mile relay segment in about an hour.
* Michael finished his 7.3 mile relay segment in 59 minutes.
The Accenture Express set a new personal speed record!
(need to verify the results when they become available).

The food was pretty good. Apples, bananas, oranges, pretzels, chips, granola, bagels, peanut butter, juice, and other things. Lots of free samples.

For race timing Baltimore used the D-Tag Timing Responder. This is like a Champion Chip on a crash diet. It is a strip of paper with a disposable transponder in it. Completely disposable. Apparently a lot less expensive than Champion Chip.

Baltimore Maryland Relay

The Baltimore Running Festival is tomorrow Saturday October 11. I'm running the Baltimore Maryland Relay, which is the marathon course but as a 4-person relay team. It sounded like fun, still does.

Michael and I drove up to get race packets today. We had permission notes for Dave and Bob and picked theirs up, too. Packet pickup was on the 5th (?) floor of Ravens Stadium, the club level. It was nicely done, well organized, and felt a lot better than the average parking garage that many packet pickups are held in. I'm glad we went early - I can see it being uncomfortable when crowded and there were many more people when we left.

The underarmor shirts the relay runners get are red - each race is a different color - so the normal marathon, half marathon, and 10K are all different colors. They are nice shirts!

I saw the medal too - the Maryland crab, boiled red and ready to eat, along with the Maryland flag design.

The plan is to meet at about 7am at our picked-out spot, take a couple group photos, talk nervously about nothing in particular, and then head out. I have leg 2, which starts at mile 6 and ends at mile 12.8. This leg is out to Fort McHenry (Star Spangled Banner) and back.

I've put all my clothes and gear in a pile in the bathroom so I don't lose anything in the dark - golden yellow shirt, "R" sticker for the back of my shirt (tells people I am a relay runner),black shorts, briefs, running hat, blue socks, bandaids, race bib with safety pins attached, regular watch, GPS watch with fresh batteries, tracking chip paper already attached to my shoes, spors creme for my calves, and sunscreen. I'm taking my friend Pepto Bismol in the car with me, just in case. I have already laid out my toothpaste other things I need for my morning get-going routine. And I have a post-race bag with the official race shirt and a change of shoes and socks.

Dave is starting, and he thought he would be arriving at the first relay exchange point around 8:50. So I figure I am arriving at the next relay exchange point around 10:35 to 10:45, depending upon traffic. I hand it over to Bob, Bob exchanges with Michael, and Michael gets to cross the finish line. Woo-hoo!

The 8:00 am temperature is supposed to be a pleasant 55F with 66% humidity. By 9 it should be around 59 or so - perfect weather for a fast race - and when I exchange it should be just under 70, which is a little warm but still manageable. My leg doesn't get much shade so the sun will help to heat the runners up.

The post-race for the relay runners is a little confused in my head - not sure how they will keep everyone together or separated, as the case may be.

I have estimated a 8:30 to 9:00 minute mile, given that the distance is short and the weather cool. Let's see if I can push it a lot harder after the first couple of miles.

The plan is: up at 4:30, leave at 5:30, arrive at 6:45, park, hang with the guys, 7:30 get on the relay exchange bus, and get ready to fly at 8:50. Since I'm up 4 hours before the race I'm going to eat a normal breakfast - the food shouldn't cause any problems with water absorption.

Wish me luck!

5 miles in Riverbend Country Park

What a beautiful morning it was! 50F, sun shining, low humidity - just a classic fall day in DC all around. The Reston Runners met at Riverbend Contry Park for a 5 mile run (or a 3 mile walk for those so inclined):

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&saddr=39.01759,-77.255774&daddr=Potomac+Hills+St&hl=en&geocode=FXZcUwIdoitl-w%3BFWpfUwId0lFl-w&mra=ls&sll=39.015249,-77.245946&sspn=0.012804,0.032573&ie=UTF8&ll=39.01825,-77.247856&spn=0.006402,0.016286&z=16

I would estimate maybe 20 people opted to do the run. The course had been marked with flour ahead of time. There were some good hills, there was some running along the Potomac river, there were some flat segments, there was grassland running - a little bit of everything. I finished about 5 miles in about 42 minutes, so that's an 8 minute pace.


Viewing Baltimore in light of today's run, the obvious question is "Peter, why do you think you can hit 7:30 over 6.8 miles in Baltimore when today, with this ideal weather, you were at 8 minutes over 5 miles?" Well the answer is that Baltimore doesn't have any hills, silly, and if I am just running flat and flat-out for 6.8 miles I should be able to move right along pretty quickly. Besides, today was a fun run, not nearly the same adrenaline rush as a race.

So tune in next time for another installment of "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can": The Adventures of the Little Blue Engine in Running Land", or, "The Train that Went off its Tracks and Never Came Back".

Baltimore cometh....

Three weeks until the Baltimore marathon on October 11 at 8am:
http://www.thebaltimoremarathon.com/Race_Info/relay22d8.htm


I'm running in a relay event with three other guys from work. We are the Accenture Express. I've got the second leg, 6.8 miles, going along the harbor out to Ft. McHenry (of Star Spangled Banner fame) and back. I get three water stops and a press-gang tour of the Fort.

What I didn't realize is that Leg 2 is the flattest of the four. From mile 6 to mile 12.8, after the initial 100 foot decline, the course stays within the 50-foot elevation band. How sweet is that?!









I'm hoping for good weather. With low humidity and a cool day, I could go for a 7-minute mile pace on this. Wouldn't that be nice. More than likely it will be around a 7:30 pace.

Disneyland Half Marathon

The race was fun!! I finished in 2:17 - I'll take it!

Wake-up time arrived with a 64F temp and 87% humidity. There was light fog in places when I drove in. I parked in the main parking structure - 9 floors I think, larger than a football field, it can hold an amazing number of cars.

Drop bag groupings were by first letter of the last name (mine was R-Z) - a welcome change from organizing by bib number alone. After the race even exhausted runners will remember their last names.

Elite runners were in Corral A, everyone else in Corrals B through G, which were mostly full. Corrals A-E were on Disney Way, remaining Corrals were west near Downtown Disney.

Various pre-race announcers, a dance floor light show, & fast-beat Disney pop rock over loudspeakers got the runners in the mood to have fun!

Ten minutes before the race started, a guest announcer said they were going to do some special Disney magic right then. They drew a random race bib number for one of the runners to come on stage and help start the race. I was thinking "What a great idea! It's free for them and will really make someone's day." Who do you suppose it was? It was the announcer's girlfriend! Go figure, what are the odds of that happening? What a coincidence! The conversation quickly transitioned to the magic part, which is where the guest race announcer proposed to his girlfriend on stage in front of several tens of thousands of people. She said Yes (and a good thing, too!). Very sweet, very magical (at least for her).

I warmed up my calf and achilles tendon before the race by jogging very short steps & half-steps up & down a small hill a few times. At someone' suggestion I also applied BenGay onto the skin over the calf and achilles tendon, the idea being that the warmed-up skin will help to warm the underlying tissue. All told it worked well, no trouble with calves or achilles tendon during or after the race.

Wheelchair racers started a few minutes before 6am. Wave 1 (corrals A through C) started next. Wave 2 included the other corrals - I was in corral D.

I started at a 13 minute pace for the first mile. Then I picked it up to a roughly 10 minute pace and held it +/- through most of the rest of the race.

The course started on Disney Way heading south near Downtown Disney; then
* east on Katella Ave.
* north on Harbor Blvd.
* west into the old main car entrance to the Disneyland park, through the parking fee booths, wound through an area of Disney's California Adventure, through the Magic Kingdom's east side back lot (past warddrobe, the barber, and the main service tunnel entrance - with the familiar aroma of rotting garbage), through Tomorrowland, through Fantasyland, through Sleeping Beauty's Castle, then through Frontierland and Adventureland, down Mainstreet and out of the park
* north onto Disney Way
* east onto Ball Road
* south to the Anaheim Convention Center
* east to Angels baseball stadium
* onto a bike trail along a cement culvert (cement-lined culverts pass for a river in the LA area)
* west on Katella Ave. back to the park
* through another part of the California Adventure
* then finishing back near Downtown Disney.

The course was largely flat, with some small hills. Water stops were every other mile in the first half, and in the second half there were water stops every mile.

My GPS was acting up initially - the course ran under high-voltage power lines, which in theory shouldn't block a GPS signal - my pace was moving from 15 minutes to 9 minutes in seconds, and back and forth. Time to replace the GPS; christmas is coming!

The weather was overcast until 9am, which reduced the heat for most of the runners, unfortunately not the slowest who needed it the most.

The humidity was awful! No evaporation, it felt like a sauna. I drank a half-liter of water right before the race, double waters at every aid station and a Powerade, and I was still very dry at the end.

The medals are amazing. There is the Disneyland Half Marathon medal, which shows Sleeping Beauty's castle. And the special coast-to-coast medal is great looking - it shows Walt and Mickey and nicely enameled. I'll post a picture later.

Why haven't I been posting in August?

So the question is "why haven't I been posting in August after that bad run? Certainly I didn't just give up running." No, but I did give myself a whole week with no running to rest, and after that I only ran a few times and each of them just 3 miles or so.

When I get that close to a race I am looking forward to so much, and have an event happen that might turn into a show-stopping injury, I become very conservative about my running. The best way I can guarantee that my body will be running the morning of the race is to stay away from all running until then. So I get out a couple of times just to make sure everything is working, but otherwise I just bide my time and keep focused on the main event. I'll ride an exercise bike, for example, but no longer runs.

I like to think of it as an early, extended taper.

And it had started out so nicely too...

I woke up at 6:30 energized for a really great, long run. The plan was to head west on the W&OD and see a part of the trail, Loudon county, that I've never seen before. And it was great. I was mostly on the horse trail section which has some loose rocks and dirt and travels more vertical distance than the flat running path.

Overall I was keeping my speed very close to a 9 minute pace. Around mile 7 I pulled over at Smith's Switch Station for water and a break, and soon was back on the road. By the time I pulled into Ashburn, my right Achilles tendon was "twinge-ing". Not really pain, just letting me know it was there, but in a threatening sort of manner. I stretched my legs out well and, that being about the 8 mile mark, started back.

I hadn't gotten far when my twinge became sore and quickly painful, so I stopped.
And it had started out so nicely, too....

I walked quickly using short strides back to Route 28, found a phone at Target and called my wife to ask her to come pick me up, so the rest of the day wouldn't be a total loss.

Now I have to rest it, maybe some exercise bike and weights, until the half marathon on the 31st. There is no excuse for me to push it hard and ruin the race.

Cliff at RR tells me that the Achilles warms up slowly because it is farther away from heat sources, and of course has no blood supply directly. He suggested forcing myself to warm up slowly. Perhaps I could add some insulation to my calves or BenGay or something to help warm them up also.

Mon Aug 4

I ran down the road again to this little hill I've found. It's the steepest hill for the distance around - there is one steeper but it is very short, and there is one longer but it is not as steep. It takes about 7 minutes to run there at a tempo pace.

I finished 5 laps up the hill - 1:16, 1:12, 1:09, 1:13, and 1:06 - with the lap down in the 1:45 range each time. Then running at a recovery speed back home.

I am going to look for something a little longer and just as steep, to build more endurance and hill strength. I think the hill over the next rise might be just the ticket, I'll need to see. I also need to measure the hill grade using my GPS instead of dead reckoning, to be sure my eyes aren't playing tricks on me.

Speaking of playing tricks, I got dressed in a hurry this morning and something about my singlet didn't look right to my sleepy eyes as I was putting it on. I looked in the mirror on the way out the door and I read "JFK 50 Mile Run" on my chest and I remember thinking "yup, looks fine". Which I later realized could only have meant that the shirt was in fact on backwards - how else to read it correctly in a mirror? Gave me a good chuckle.

Sat Aug 4

Running 5 miles with the Reston Runners this morning. Actually I took a wrong turn and doubled-back to join the group, which probably added under a tenth of a mile. It was overcast, a little muggy, and seasonally warm but not hot, it sprinkled a little here and there. I finished in 43:46 for an average pace of about 8:39. Finished strong, no difficulties in any area, stretched thoroughly afterwards.

Wed Jul 31

I spent about 45 minutes today mostly going up and down the same hill. Run up it, jog down it at a resting pace, turn around, repeat. Took about 1:15 to go up, and I let myself go down in just under 2:00. Warm and very humid this morning.

I was wondering if anyone saw me going up and down? I was near a major intersection. Any of the drivers could have seen me going up and maybe also down, but the light changes in a couple minutes so I don't think any of them would have seen me repeat. Interesting to contemplate.

I thought about my daughter Elaine while I was running. She meets with her doctor today to find out the results of her knee MRI (suspected torn left ACL) and what her next-step options are.

Mon 28 Jul

Just two miles capping at an 8 minute mile pace. Pushing, pushing. Nice little run to start the day.

W&OD Trail 10K

So after this morning's disappointing run, I figured I would take it really easy this evening and just relax.

About 566 people registered for the W&OD 10K race (that's the highest bib number on the race results web site) but only 260 finished the race - no information about DNFs or total attendance.

Saturday had been a hot day all along - 90s, lots of humidity, just nasty - and the starting temp at 6:30 pm was over 90F with +55% humidity - not killer humidity but still feels like a hot towel on your face.

The course is out-n-back on the Trail, starting from 500 feet west of the Vienna caboose going west on the W&OD Trail, slight detour for a mile or so, then back on the trail to Hunters Mill Road turnaround, and then straight back to the starting line. The trail is longer rolling hills at that point - nothing hard, just a wearing slow, steady hill.

I planned on running a 10 minute mile pace because of the weather and my rehabilitation. Slow at first, faster on the way back. The way out is uphill on average. I was feeling well-hydrated.

At the beginning, though, I couldn't run any slower than 9:30-9:45. I did the best I could to slow myself down and run with a slower pack, but people kept on slowing down in front of me. I was making good time when I reached the turn-around.

On the trip back, which is allegedly downhill, there were parts of it that sure looked like uphill to me. But I kept on plugging along.

I passed a younger girl and her dad - Dad was a big guy, muscular, and he was running along fine. Daughter was maybe 12 or 14, and breathing so fast she couldn't catch a breath, at least it seemed to me. Dad talked to her and Daughter just made noises when she exhaled. So I said to Dad, "Is she okay?" "It's really hot and she looks like she's breathing really hard." Well, Dad let me know that they were from Texas and that this isn't anything, and besides his daughter was an animal (his words) and could run forever like this. O-K, so I wished them luck and continued on. But daughter was not looking too happy about it if you ask my opinion.

I hit the 6 mile mark - glance at the watch - 57:50! I can beat 60 minutes. A quick prayer and then I started sprinting! The onlookers at that point clapped, which felt neat.

Glance at the watch - 58:55! I'm feeling nauseated and out of breath but I can see the finish line and the official clock.

Glance at the watch - 59:10! The race director is in the middle of the trail directing runners down the chutes. I considered running over her just because she was out there in the way, but decided to run around her instead.

Glance at the watch as I cross the finish line timing mat - 59:29! Woo hoo! (for perspective, the winner finished in 32:04, less than half my time.) I finished at a 9:35 pace in hot, humid weather, which is usually my nemisis. Running a much shorter race made it very doable.

I snagged some Oranges and sports drink after the finish line, found a space of clean sidewalk to stretch and drip, and just chilled.

RR 5 miles Sat 26 Jul

I did a 5 mile run with the Reston Runners this morning, from Hunter's Woods community center out and back. I started out way too fast - youthful exuberance! - 7:40-something for a mile or more - and paid for it at the end. I had a good time, though, it was worth it. About 5 miles in about 45 minutes net.

Wed 23 July - Interval Training

I went to Interval Training tonight, did the 15 minute warm-up run, and then  - just didn't do much else.
The training routine this week was to run 1 mile:rest 1 mile with equal times. Love to do it, except that I'm not feeling the lung capacity.

Coach Cindy kindly told me to run fast:slow quarters instead. I ran a 1:50 quarter, which is good for me, and then a couple of slow quarters, and then...I just decided I had had enough. I was having trouble getting a full breath of air, my head felt a little funy, whine, whine, whine. So I stretched and went home with my tail between my legs.

Tuesday 22 Jul

Another beautiful morning.  I ran about 2 miles in about 20 minutes, a nice steady pace. I felt a little winded afterwards but it was relaxing.  Still not back at full lung capacity yet.

first run & getting into my new shoes

I ran around the block for 10 minutes, just to check that everything is in working order.  The first run after a long rest always feels great!  Lots of energy, all the muscles are happy to be used again.  It felt great!

I am still coughing but I think I am "recovered" enough to begin running again on a regular basis.  Woo-hoo!
The W&OD 10K is this Saturday ... too late to do any more training per se, but enough time to get my body used to the idea of running again.

And it's time to begin transitioning into my two new pairs of shoes.  So for a fortnight or so, all my shorter runs will be in my new pairs; all my longer runs (~8 miles or more) will be in my old pairs.  Then the old pairs will turn into "around the house shoes" and I'll run with the new pair through the Disneyworld Goofy race-and-a-half in January.

recovering

Visited the good Dr. yesterday, third time for this thing, because of how it felt to breath and cough. He thought the infection was beat and that I had residual inflammation and gunk in the lungs. He prescribed a couple of things, and with luck I should be running again by Monday or Tuesday.

update

The medical folks have updated my diagnosis to "lung infection" from plain old pneumonia, which in my mind means that there is something bad in my lungs (like pneumonia) which they already knew, but now they are indicating they doesn't know exactly what the infection is (which is less good IMHO because then they are not exactly sure how to treat it).

The chest xray was nice and clear, but the medical folks heard expanded areas of crackles in one lobe. They gave me another 5 days of Levaquin and something for the cough. So I wait, try to rest a lot, and get well for next week - 10K on the 26 June.

time off

no running this week, using the neck rule: above the neck, run strong; below the neck, stay inside. pneumonia is below the neck. meds are working...

15 mile trail run

Ran 15 miles with the Reston Runners starting at the Lake Audubon pool and up towards Great Falls on the Cross County Trail. The course was out-and-back, with a water station at Route 7. I was familiar with the course after the last couple of weeks and that made it easier.

I started at about 6:30, a half-hour ahead of the rest of the group, with the idea of being able to finish with everyone else or thereabouts. That part of the plan worked out well. It was slightly cooler earlier also, but there was no change in the humidity. I drank lots of water and some sports drink along the way and didn't feel nearly as dehydrated as I have on some recent runs.

By the time I was near finishing, though, I new something was wrong. I was getting chills and feeling cold and clammy. I was slightly nauseated, and generally tired. My heart was going normally at about 180bpm (normally for me that is) so I ruled that out. I drank some water and sports drink. When I got home, I felt very hot as well. My ear thermometer clocked in at 102.7F, which is well out of the normal range even for a run in very hot weather. I spent the rest of the day drinking water and resting, took a nap, but my body was telling me the whole time "sick, sick, sick". My temp has been as high as 103.1F today. Think I'll go visit my Dr. tomorrow.

Fairfax County Cross County Trail

IMHO a good GPS-based map of the CCT overlaid onto Google maps.
http://www.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/view.do?id=15227

This is the official Fairfax County website - includes an "interactive" map, but not nearly as usable as the Google one above.

a trail run plan in the making

I have a plan for the 15 mile trail run tomorrow. Wonder if it will work?

I'm going to get out there an hour earlier and start at 6am. That will give me an hour headstart on the gazelles, so perhaps I can finish near them instead of an hour after they have already left the parking lot and headed for breakfast. Given tomorrow's weather it won't buy me anything on this particular run in terms of temperature or humidity - 70F to 77F, 90% to 80% humidity, thunderstorms likely - but it will buy me some time. I need to get out my maps and figure out where the trail is.

July 2 & 3 - new driveway

I resurfaced my driveway on the second and third. So you might ask, how does this matter to a running blog? Well, it left me really dehydrated - the weather was perfect for the job, mid 80s, sunny, very dry for the summer time (say, 15% humidity). The first coat went on without a hitch, and the second coat did too. I started each around 7:30 am, and finished each around noon-ish. And my mouth was dry as dust after each one. I've spent the time inbetween drinking as much water as I can, along with the occasional Gatorade G2. I hope this doesn't end up impacting my Sunday 15 mile trail run.

(5 July note: it has rained off and on for a day now. When I started the driveway effort I was supposed to have three days of sun - where did this stuff come from? We'll see if the driveway cured enough on the 3rd or if it will wash down the drain.)

July 2 ITP

Interval Training Program with the Reston Runners at the Herndon Middle School track today. Coach Cindy had us do our warm-up run and stretching, and then run 400s (400 yards, 1 lap around the track) at pace, with a matching rest time, and do 8 to 14 of these. I was about 10 minutes late so I shortened the warm-up run a bit and simplified the stretching to close the gap.

I set my watch timer for 2:00 run/2:00 rest, but during the first 4 laps I kept coming in anywhere from 10 to 20 seconds under time (which increased my rest). I changed the time to 2:00 run/1:50 rest, and this kept me finishing at 10 seconds under almost all the time.

I did 14 laps, plus a cool-down half-mile. I think I was the next to the last one to finish, I'm pleased I completed the stretch goal and kept it at a good pace the whole way.

14 mile trail run

Ran the trail run with the Reston Runners again, the same course as last week but I KNEW WHERE I WAS GOING this time. The weather was about as warm as last week but not as humid, and I did much better. And no falling on the trail this time either. The route was supposed to be 14 miles (give or take a half mile), my GPS measured 12.89 miles, in 2:42 at a pace of 12:34. I love my trusty Forerunner 101, but the GPS is not the most accurate in the world. I'm looking forward to my new device at Christmas.

I was dehydrated when I finished but not too badly, and I was hot and tired, but all in all I was pleased with my performance - my target pace was 12:00. I spent some time napping and drank lots and lots of water and Gatorade G2 and took it easy the rest of the day.

There are a couple of reasons I like to know where the route is.
* Most importantly, if I don't know, I try too hard to keep up with the leaders who do know where they are going, and that makes me go too fast too early on.
* And I live for the water stops/self-service aid stations. If I miss those I am one unhappy runner.
I like to run the assigned route, but I'm not OCD about it. And I'm not really worried about getting lost - I've used the GPS to backtrack before, if that doesn't work I will inevitably run into the toll road or Route 7 or some other big landmark road to orient me, and if all else fails I can ask someone or knock on a door - there's not much true wilderness left around here.

14 mile trail run redux

Today's run was a repeat of last week's route over the W&OD and CCT trails. Better, this week I knew where to go after the water stop so I could complete the trail without retracing my steps.

Humidity at 7am was in the 90% range, and the temperature was already in the low 80s. The CCT is for the most part a stream-bed based trail (meaning it snakes along parallel to or using the stream bed area) so there is less direct sun, reducing the heat. Unfortunately there isn't a lot of air movement or evaporation down there either and the humidity was just unbelievable!

Early into the run Tim twisted his ankle while transitioning from the road to a curb; he looked ok and could walk on it initially. He didn't pass me and I'm pretty slow so he must have gone back to his car without running the course.

Aside from the humidity, it was a straightforward run and I finished in ##:##. I drank 6 bottles of water total on the course, consumed some gatorade and very little otherwise (although there were some tasty red seedless grapes at the water stop!), and finished wringing wet. Yet I think I kept up with it, because I was only down about 5 pounds net when I got home.

So another running success story!

interval training

if it is Wednesday in the summer it must be time for Interval Training at Reston Runners. Cindy is the greatest coach, so glad she's leading this again. First the usual 20 minute warm up run followed by yoga stretching. I am so tight in my hips, and my left hip is way tighter than my right. Funny how I don't notice these things just walking around day-to-day.

Today's drill is the 400-400-rest-repeat at 90% of our 1-mile pace. My 1-mile pace was recorded at 7:40, so that translates into two laps around the track at 2 minutes each and then a 2 minute rest and then we do it all over again. Cindy asked for 4 to 8 of these, and I did 4 - still have my head cold, so why push my luck - and I felt great afterwards.

Actually, I ran most of the laps about 10 seconds faster than my 1-mile pace, though I rested the full 2 minutes. Stretched some more and another successful training day is complete.

rest time

my wife gave me her cold - I was probably already sick on Sunday but just hadn't shown significant symptoms yet - which helps explain why Sunday was such a hard run. Having Monday/Tuesday off, saline nasal rinse, and lots of sleep should help me recovery quickly.

trail run with traumas

Ran a 14-mile trail run with the Reston Runners this morning. Starting at 7am, running some paved trails but a lot of dirt trails also on the Cross County Trail (CCT). The starting temp was around 68F, but the humidity was high, and I was sweating before I left the parking lot.

Yesterday I had spent most of the day working in the yard - you say you've seen this movie before? - and I was pretty dry when I finished. I drank a lot of water with salt in it, but didn't get the volume absorbed that I needed.

I kept up pretty much with the pack today until mile 4, then I slacked off and the lead group vanished around a corner. About mile 5 I caught my shoe on a stump in the trail and fell flat down - kept my head up, though, so no facial injuries. Some attractive abrasions on my right knee, right hand, and dirt all over myself, and I'm pretty sure I added additional injury to my right shoulder. The last two people in the running group passed me by. By this time sweat was pouring off me - it dripped off my elbows and chin like a leaky faucet, non-stop.

I made it to the water station, mile 7, but was pretty lost from there. I continued going down the trail for another half mile (the wrong way it turns out, but the others were nowhere near in any event so it didn't really matter), then retraced my steps to my car. At this point there was more walking than running, but still a jog or two.

About mile 9 I was seriously worried about passing out. I sat down on the side of the road, my heartbeat was above 190, I couldn't catch my breath, and my thinking was fuzzy. I heard some guys yelling nearby, and remembered there was a football practice underway at a field I would pass. I got up and unsteadily made my way 100 feet to the field, found some shady trees on the size, and collapsed spread-eagle in the grass on my back. I figured laying down in the cool shade would help both my heat level and my heart rate, and if I was really having a problem, then I could probably call to these guys and get medical care.

I lay there for a while - maybe half an hour? I think I dozed - until I started to get chilled. Then I got to my feet and walked the rest of the way home. My GPS showed me where to turn on the trail.

All told, it took me 5 hours to cover 14.3 miles. A good example of bad judgment given the prior day. That's the last time I'm going to allow myself to get exhausted the day before a run.

morning run

The Southern California weather was perfect, of course, and no time is better than early morning. I left at 8am, ran 3 miles at a 9:10 pace around the old home town.

My, how things have changed. Development everywhere - and this in a suburb that was (I had thought) fully developed. Lots more traffic and auto pollution than when I grew up also. I kinda liked it the way it was, but as they say, you can never go home.

ITP 2008 Session 1

So for my Wednesday run I had my first workout with the Interval Training program (I did the program two years ago, a high point of my running summer). Coach Cindy Carlyle is fantastic; apparently she is also quite a competitor in the triathalon world.

The day was a 2 mile warmup, supervised stretching (which my shoulder prevented me from doing enthusiastically), 2 training 400s, a "best mile", and then 2 to 4 400s at the best mile/4 pace with equal minutes of rest. Then a cool down lap or so. Temp was about 95F with moderate humidity still leftover from the heat wave. A great workout.

My mile time was 7:40:45 - not as speedy as I might like given it was a single mile, but not disreputable either.

hot, humid, "trail" run

I ran with the Reston Runners on a "trail" run this morning.

We are in the middle of a heat wave here, the 7:00 temp was 77F with 79% humidity. We started at about 7:05, ran about 13.5 miles in a loop, and finished in the 9:30 neighborhood (I forgot to look at my watch when I finished). The finish temp was about 87F with 59% humidity. The overall high today was almost 100F.

I drank over three bottles of water and some gatorade and I still lost 6 pounds over my starting weight. I was completely soaked and my shoes squished with water! The good news (and there always is, isn't there?) was that I was still perspiring and absorbing the liquids I was drinking, so I wasn't dehydrated as I so often am during these hot-weather runs.

It was a "trail" run because about 5 miles of the run was on the W&OD trail. Otherwise it was all sidewalks.

I spent the rest of the day drinking water, and as of 10pm I am still not quite back to normal...


After the run I saw something I had never seen before. I was stretching and saw a big bird go into a tree nearby. This was not some pigeon, but a big bird that didn't belong in a tree - it looked like an owl perhaps or a hawk - I just didn't get a good look at the head. It fluttered around inside the tree, down below the branch line, and then back up. I thought perhaps it was injured because of the way it was acting so I went closer to investigate. When I got within 15 feet of the tree, a chimpunk leapt out of the branches and ran for the tall grass. In an instant a hawk dropped from the tree and was on top of him. The hawk glanced at me, then carried his breakfast away with him into the tall trees.

DNS

Totally bummed out. When I got up this morning I walked around and tested my Achilles tendon, it was sensitive in the same place. I keep on thinking that the last time this happened it was 3 months to full recovery. Do I want to run this 10K and risk blowing my entire summer training? Or skip this 10K and fully recover in a few weeks? I stretched some more and tested it and decided I would pass on this one.
DNS with mitigating circumstances.

pre-race run

Had a great morning pre-race run with the Reston Runners today. Finished about 4.75 miles in 45 minutes, so a 9:26 pace. Good enough for today. I pulled my left Achilles tendon during the run somewhere.

Very humid here - a storm front came through and left stagnant air and standing water in its wake.

Herndon 10K tomorrow!
If my tendon isn't feeling better tomorrow I might not run at all.

Memorial Day run

It was one of those days where I wish I had been wise enough to not run at all.

I spent the whole day outside working in the yard. My backyard has a large section I've named the Japonica Jungle (after the sweetest-smelling invasive vine around), and my it does spread. Pops up all over the place - ignore it at your own peril. Eventually the entire region will be one big infestation of honeysuckle, at least until the kudzu takes over.

Anyway, the high was 87F and the humidity was increasing as the day wore on, I was drenched with sweat and as a result I was dehydrated even though I had drunk nearly 2 liters for the day. But I still needed to get my miles in :-), so at a quarter to six I took off running. I was fiddling with a feature on my watch that allows me to set up a virtual partner and "race" him (my virtual partners are guys - don't know why). After 10 minutes of warm-up (as if I wasn't warm already), I revved up to an 8:30 pace, alternating every 5 minutes with a few minutes of a 10 minute pace.

That went on for, oh, maybe almost an hour. And then I couldn't force myself to continue. I've hit the metaphorical wall before and this was not that. I've seen this movie before and there is no good scene. This is dehydration: a light case of disorientation, difficulty in thinking clearly, and a hard time keeping a train of thought going. I know that describes many people at times, but this is a running.

I saw these huge storm clouds rolling in along with the stiffening breeze, spent a few minutes trying to figure out what to do, and eventually decided "go home". I got a drink at a fire station water fountain along the way. I passed a major road that goes home, which I drive my car on all the time. My fuzzy brain said "ah, familiar road, go that way" which actually added to my total time because the jogging trail cuts diagonally while the road does not.

I got home at 8:30pm right as it was starting to sprinkle, almost 3 hours after starting, and covered about 11 miles, most of it walking. Yuck. At that point I was over 5 pounds lighter than when I woke up Monday morning. Rx: lots of rest, water, and electrolytes.

nice morning run

this morning it was 50F, some light clouds, and a slight breeze at 7am, a very nice run down the street and back three miles. The sun had just come up, a beautiful morning. Good stretching and I feel just great.

At about 7 the kids are all heading into the high school right around the corner and the main road out here is a zoo/madhouse of commuters trying to drive through, parents dropping off their kids, and kids driving themselves to school, and the occasional student pedestrian. I pay extra attention to the traffic as I cross the street; not interested in "dieing to run", as it were.

post-race recovery

I went for several long, brisk walks with the dogs yesterday and today to help my legs recover.

A few years ago I had an absolutely fabulous race (Army 10 miler) and two days later my calf just "popped" when I went for an easy recovery jog. So now I ease back into my running routine after a race with several days of walking and stretching. Seems to work, though my gastrocnemius has never been the same since.

Marine Corp Historic Half Marathon

I finished in 2:05:32 (chip time) which put me in 1,588 place/42nd percentile out of 3,822 total finishers. The overall winner finished in 1:08:50. The first woman finished 19th in 1:23:58. Michael and Dave finished at 2:07:51, just a short bit behind me.

I am pretty happy with my time. That's a 9:54 pace, the fastest I've run a race in quite a while. I've dropped about 2 minutes on my pace so far since last year, and still almost two minutes to drop before I am at my goal pace of 8 minutes.

The weather was overcast which kept the heat down. Temperature was in the mid-60Fs. Humidity was up though, in the high-60Fs at the start of the race and then falling a little once the sun was up, but still very humid which made it feel like mid-70Fs. I lost a lot of water and electrolytes, and by the end of the race I was pretty dry and spent most of the rest of the day drinking water.

I wore my JFK singlet, purple shorts, sunglasses, Wright socks, and Brooks Adrenalin shoes. I had my kepi, ID, lip balm, keys, and post-run protein in my waist pack. I had SPF-50 sunscreen applied everywhere I thought I needed it - since I was wearing a singlet instead of a short-sleeve shirt, this included some of my back, neck, and shoulders in addition to face, arms, and lower legs. I had my Disney Goofy long-sleeve shirt on as a top layer, to remove and tie around my waist once I was warmed up.

My race plan was to be in the last group of people to cross the starting line (because I really enjoy passing people!), start off at about a 14 minute pace until I am warmed up (that is, begin to sweat just a little), pick up the pace to about 10 or so for another mile, run sub-nines for the rest of the race, and run a seven minute or better pace on all downhills. Gravity would help me on the downhills during the first 5 miles.

The race elevation chart showed losing 150 vertical feet gradually over the first 5 miles of the race, but then quickly regaining those 150 vertical feet between mile markers 10 to 12. Talk about hitting the wall. Well, it wouldn't be a Marine Corps Marathon without a hill at the end, now would it?

My fueling strategy was to eat breakfast late at night and then don't eat anything else for the 8 hours before the race, drink 2 liters of water and a couple swallows of Gatorade close to race start time, use water stations primarily for pouring water over my face and head, drink water after the half-way point in the race, and consume a significant amount of protein and water at the end of the race. The protein was 6 slices of turkey luncheon meat, each with 4 grams of protein. Having that in a plastic baggie unrefrigerated for what was by then 4 hours didn't concern me that much - they have loads of sodium in them (another plus at that point). I need to figure out another protein source for longer runs and warmer days though, but this worked for this race. The not eating before the race was to let my stomach clean itself out and be ready to absorb water quickly without having to wait for anything to digest.

Given the temperature, humidity, elevation profile, and relatively short race distance I think these were good strategies.

After the race my muscles were very sore but were not cramping. I iced my knees down soon after the race and they both felt and continue to feel normal. I stretched my legs well, and got a free 10-minute massage after the finish line. My muscles are a little tight today, as expected.

I ended up with a pretty good sunburn on the top of my head! I had planned to put on my hat after the mid-way point when the sun would be higher, but things were going so well that I chose not to. Putting on a hat makes my head warmer and reduces my heat transfer which then makes me sweat more. So much for last-minute changes to a well-thought out plan. My hair is thinning too much to just run without any protection. Next time, I need to just put on the hat, or else cover my scalp with sunblock. It hurts!!

A quick comment about the expo and packet pickup. The expo was pretty anemic. Not many vendors, and some had already closed up shop for the day. The packet pickup was the smoothest I could imagine in my dreams. I showed up Saturday at 7:00pm when the expo closed at 8pm, there was almost no one else there. I waited for nothing. Every expo should be this easy, quick, and wait-free.

Marine Corp Half Marathon

This is it! Almost race day.

This is going to be the "first annual" MCHM. I'm thinking "these Marine Corps guys and gals, they should really have their act together. After all, they run the Marine Corp Marathon each fall which is four times bigger and twice as long as this little 5,000 runner event.

Nonetheless, this is the first time the race has been run. Lots of opportunity for things to go awry, like water stops, traffic patterns, parking, police, "the locals", etc. Fredericksburg is not a particularly big town.

Take packet pickup for example. The expo is only open the Saturday before the race from 10am to 8pm. The place is at the southern-most tip of the greater DC metropolitan area, not exactly convenient for most runners - for example, it takes 1:20 to get down there from my house. Gee it would have been nice to have an alternative day.

I am planning to be at the race site at least 30 minutes before the starting time. Being able to sit down, stretch, and meditate and chill and veg and relax and all those other words which mean "don't worry, be happy" really puts my mind in a good place for a race.

Ideally I'd like to be there 1 hour before, but I'm going to try and coordinate with Dave and Michael and meet them near there, then travel together in one car the last leg. They value that extra 30 minutes of sleep more than I do.

Wish me luck!

pre-race slacking

In my experience my biggest worry the week and a half before a race is avoiding injuries. That last week, anything can happen which can blow the whole deal. How can I stay healthy and whole?

Putting in a few miles here or there is ok, but I avoid new routes and anything that isn't completely routine. A new route, for example, could come with an unexpected pothole or rock which will turn my ankle and make for an unhappy race day. Being paranoid really is good for something!

I've been getting some cario in on the exercise bike. I read the paper and pump away. It's particularly low-risk in terms of injury compared to doing a few miles, and it still gets my blood going.

Eating Strategy

I am trying to keep myself from eating too much junk food, and I think I've come up with a plan.

There is a whole lot of food that Nature produces "off the vine", as it were. This stuff is supposed to be way healthier than something in a box from name-your-favorite-food-conglomerate.

I'm thinking of an eating strategy that says "nature produces this stuff en masse for people to consume. Stuff in a box, processed, etc.

Eating more natural food and less processed food should be good for me.

So, the rule I'm trying is, "you can eat it if it looks/is pretty much like the way it looked/is in nature". For example:

So a fish filet looks roughly the way it does when people catch fish - so fish is good. But tuna fish salad - just look at that and tell me what part of the tuna produced it? You can't can you?

Oatmeal - it looks a lot like the oats they harvest in the fields.

Ritz crackers - it doesn't look anything like what it is made from in nature.

whole grain bread - you can actually see little bits of the grain in the bread.

Great Doctors

It is so hard to find a great doctor when you run. So many times I have talked with a doctor and I say "it hurts when I do this" and the Doctor has said "Well, don't do that". I want to yell "No! That is not a good enough solution to the problem! I want to keep on doing that until I can't wipe the oatmeal dribbling down my chin*. The reason I come to you, Dr. Doctor, is to make it stop hurting so I can keep on doing that for a long time. So come up with a Plan B."

So, on that note, I'll mention a great doctor I think very highly of. He has never steered me wrong, and he is good at explaining to Type A patients (like me) who want to know everything that's going on and who read too much on WebMD (like me). Dr. Peter Bruno's office is on Chain Bridge Road in McLean, Virginia. Dr. Bruno's specialty is bones, muscles, and "all that stuff", and he is a surgeon also should you need it.

He is also a runner - completed a 100-miler the other year - so he really can feel your pain. I highly recommend him.



*If that was too subtle, I meant "until I am way, way old and decrepit".

3.5 miles in Orlando

It was warm and slightly sticky in Orlando Wednesday night. The car temperature gauge registered 82F, and the air was a little sticky but not thick with humidity.

I ran 3.5 miles at an average pace of 8:58. Not nearly as far as I would have liked; my right Achilles tendon was tight and uncomfortable, not in the way that running additional mileage will help. I decided that was enough mileage for one day. I stretched more than I usually do and that appears to have made the calf and tendon happier.

one week to go until the Marine Corp Half Marathon. Woo hoo!

Running with the Reston Runners

I ran with the Reston Runners on Saturday@8:00 (there is also a Sunday run but it interferes with church & makes it hard to attend). The meeting spot was the same parking lot that was being used by the Reston Community Yard Sale, an unfortunate coincidence when it became bumper-to-bumper cars.

The route was about 5 miles, lots of hills. I forgot my watch(es), so I don't know even close how fast I ran where. I ran every last inch though, some parts faster than others. I finished in under 1 hour, probably like 45 minutes.

After the race, the Reston Sport and Health club hosted the runners for breakfast: three kinds of bagels, bananas, oranges, and coffee. It was nice. I had not been in the club before - didn't know it existed - and it made me want to join a club again.

The sun was out and I was drenched with sweat at the end of the run. At home I weighed in a just under 5-pound loss on the run, and this was after some refueling.

chilly spring

A chilly spring morning, not seasonal. It was 38F when I set out. Hope the plantlings in the vegetable garden are ok.

I wore a t-shirt, long t-shirt, tights and shorts, fleece gloves, and a fleece hat. I ended up taking the t-shirt off about half way through the run because I was so warm.

I ran the same course as Tuesday, finishing 4.40 at a 9:13 pace. Since my warm-up 10 minutes was at about 11:30 pace, the other 3.50 was at about an 8:33 pace. And no walking either, except to take off the extra layer. Huzzah! Huzzah!

Tuesday's run was 4.49 over the same course - same side of the sidewalks, etc. - I have no idea where the other 0.09 went to today, must be random noise in the GPS.

another beautiful spring morning

Another beautiful spring morning for a run. It was 49F and shortly past dawn when I left the house. I ran down to the W&OD trail, on the trail for a few miles, and then home. 4.49 miles at an 8:53 average pace. The birds were chirping, the honeysuckle was in bloom along with the flowering trees and the air was sweet with their perfume.

I did a 10 minute warm-up at an 11 minute pace. I almost did no walking; when I was out of breath, I just slowed down to a 10+ minute pace, and that allowed me to catch my breath without losing as much time.

BMI goals

BMI is an interesting thing. Your body's fitness level boiled down into one, simple, easy to remember, meaningless number. I've always poo-pooed the number as too general to be useful.

Here's a research tidbit that got me thinking more about BMI's implications:
"The present work reports on the physical characteristics of the 392 (310 males, 82 females) starters and 270 (216 males, 54 females) finishers of the 2007 Western States Endurance Run, one of the largest 161-km trail runs in North America. Among the starters, mean (and 25th to 75th percentiles) body mass index (BMI) values were 23.2 (21.6 - 24.6) and 20.6 (19.4 - 21.9) kg . m (-2) for the men and women, respectively. ... Among the top-5 overall finishers, mean BMI values were 23.2 (range 22.4 - 24.7) for the men and 19.8 (range 17.3 - 21.1) for the women."
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18401807

I am currently in the ~26 BMI range, and am heading steadily towards a near-term goal of 25. Which makes me happy, and I should be - I'll be healthier and run better. But it is a long ways away from my aspirational goals of finishing well in ultra marathons, and it looks like a BMI in the 23/24-range is required.

know your sweat rate

One of the questions I have been meaning to answer for myself is to know my sweat rate so I can better calculate fluid and electrolyte replacement. Water loss has been a big problem for me.

Yesterday I ran about 9 miles and I lost over 5 pounds of weight. That's over 2.25 liters of water, which seems like a lot considering it wasn't a particularly hot or humid day.

Along with the water, I also lost sodium, potassium, and chloride, though that is harder to calculate.


No surprise then that my medical incidents on hot/humid runs have usually resulted in 3+ liters of intravenous saline.

A couple of links about sweat rates and sweat composition:
http://www.gssiweb.com/Article_Detail.aspx?articleid=65
http://jp.physoc.org/cgi/reprint/155/3/490.pdf

beautiful morning run

It was a beautiful morning for a run. By 9am it was 60F, a little on the humid side. I figured I would make a loop of about 5 miles.

On the way home I discovered this wonderful place. There are several gas and petroleum lines buried and criss-crossing in the several miles around our house. Almost all of these are wide-open grassy areas, most with running trails down the middle (but a few are more native and unkept, and some are considered back-yards of the houses next door). When I saw this broad strip (perhaps 70 yards wide or so) of grassy-ness stretching out as far as I could see, I was so inspired I just had to go - and go - and go. There are some places where there is little more than a deer path, and some other places where the neighbors probably would have scolded me if they had been awake. But it was glorious. I had a rough idea where I was but it took a while to find a route that connected with home. The end was 9.07 miles at a 10:24 pace.

training run

Still getting back in the groove. I ran 3.22 miles this morning at a 9:28 pace. It was a little overcast and humidity was high because of the recent storms but it was very pleasant to be out.
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back at it

I ran 7.88 miles on Saturday morning at an average 9:54, including lots of hills. I took off on a route I'd never been through before, very pleasant in the early morning. There are places near my house where gas lines or petroleum lines have been buried, and the area over the lines is mowed grass. Some of the areas have had asphalt running trails laid down through them, others are just grass. All are fun to run through because they are open and wide and green - kind of like fire breaks in the forest. Saturday morning warmed up quickly with a high around 85F.

Sunday was rainy and wet, just worked around the house and listened to the sump pump run.

it has been three weeks since I ran last. I would have run earlier this week but my travel schedule conspired against me. It takes me a good two weeks to fully recover from a bad cold. Guess I'm getting old.

getting back in gear

I'm almost through being sick but I still have a "productive" cough, though it is worse at night.
It was very pleasant out at the end of the day, maybe 55F. I ran a couple of miles, nice and slow. I felt good, and it helped me to sleep better.

The half marathon is coming...

sick

i'm sick, cold in my lungs, no running this week.

Not up to par

I've had a cough in my chest since yesterday so I almost skipped my long run. But I managed to get out in the late afternoon for a run (Easter festivities kept me busy until then). Certainly not a great time. 7-some miles at a 9:58 pace, and I felt lousy the whole way and afterwards.

Week of March 16

On vacation this week at James River State Park, "cabin camping". It's just like home there, only better - no telephone and no TV/cable. Aside from having to spend Tuesday in beautiful Shreveport, LA (no rest for the wicked), it was a thoroughly relaxing week. Hiking every day with the kids and dogs, fires in the fireplace, etc. We saw many deer and signs of many other animals. A beautiful life.

Two of the days I ran through the park for about 40 minutes each. Lots of hills, beautiful scenery, good for the soul.

another good run

Such a pleasant day here. The high was about 65, not a cloud in the sky, very little breeze. A perfect day to push myself to a new level.

For most of the run I alternated between an 8:00 pace and a 10:00 pace, switching every 5 minutes.

Overall I ran 8.11 miles an an average 9:15 pace, which I was very pleased with.

I have found that starting with a very slow pace, say 11 min/mi for the first 2 miles, helps me succeed over the long run, avoid injuries, and eases my recovery.

Afterwards my legs are sore but not very much. Some lower-GI distress, probably from being worked so hard. And it is also very dry here so I have been forcing myself to drink more water than usual.

Recovery included stretching, ice, eating about 30g protein and also carbs, and a half liter of water.

The next long run will be 9 miles, then 10 miles at the end of March. Once I am at 10 miles, I'm going to focus on speed even more. I may also cycle the mileage back down as I get faster.

running shoes

And the most important piece of equipment is running shoes. Thinking about it, that's just about all I need, and that simplicity is one of the sport's allures for me. I've seen people running in t-shirts and old cut-off blue jeans, but they all have purpose-built shoes.

I was a Nike fan. But I stopped buying them because I felt Nike was too much about fashion statements and not enough about function. When I found a Nike shoe that worked for me, and it came time to get another one, I often could not figure out what the "replacement" model was because they morphed so much. And if I did, there was no guarantee that the shoe was very similar to the shoe it was "replacing" because the shoes would evolve to meet some marketing price/performance point. And Nikes are pricey.

I've tried New Balance, Avia, and Saucony, and I wasn't particularly happy with either.

I tried Brooks and I like them a lot. You can find Brooks at most pre-race sales expositions, and they run about $80 per pair which is very reasonable. After some experimentation I am running in the Brooks Adrenaline/GTS-7. It is an almost-neutral shoe with some light motion control. It is not too light to take some activity, but not too heavy to slow me down. It has a good balance of padding and support. It is a tough shoe that can take daily asphalt and not wear down the tread quickly.

I usually go through 4 pairs of shoes a year, 2 in spring and 2 in fall. I have never had a lightweight body and periodic shoe changes helps to reduce the injury to my knees with fresh midsole padding. When I find a good deal on them, I will buy a couple and put them in the closet. When I transition from the old to the new shoes, I'll wear the new shoes at home for two weeks before introducing them into weekday training runs for two weeks, and then swapping them into the long weekend runs. The shoes them migrate into "around the house/every day shoes", and then into gardening/mud shoes, and then into the trash.

Even at that point there is still some life in them , I just have run out of things to do with them. At one time I had 6 pair of old running shoes sitting around while I searched for a home for them, but no luck. It's not that I want to add them to a landfill, just a lack of creativity.

beating the night

This week has been really hectic, there is a ton going on, and I hadn't been able to work in my work outs. So Wednesday afternoon rolls around and it is already 5:30pm. The sun sets really quickly on this side of summer - one minute it is sunset, the next minute it is pitch dark. Looking at the clock and the rapidly fading light, and that the rest of my week is even busier, I pushed everything back that was piling up for the evening, put on my running gear and headed out the door.

Running near sunset this time of year around here is a sweet-and-sour experience. As long as the sun is shining on me, I am overly warm. In the lengthening shadows I am chilly in the 50F air, especially with the breeze. Glad I brought a wind breaker.

I ran 3.15 miles at an overall pace of 9:11 on the rolling hills route. Most of the running was around an 8:00 pace, with several walk breaks. Just what I needed to clear my head and think good thoughts and help me along the rest of the week.

running gadgets

Almost as important as good running gear, and certainly a lot more fun, are the gadgets runners buy to make running more interesting or easier, or to talk with others about.

I have a basic ForeRunner watch, I think the 101 version. It doesn't interface with anything, takes 2 AAA batteries, and gives only the most crude indicator of how much battery life is left. It tells me the lap pace and the average pace, total distance, etc. It has a little map I can follow to get back to my starting point (has come in handy in trail running). It can capture GPS map coordinates. The GPS takes a while to find satellites, and is easily distracted by surrounding vegetation. I have damaged the plastic around where one of the little metal pins sits that holds the watch to the strap - fell on some rocks 2 years ago, but didn't damage the watch itself, although it did shut off - so that now when someone running next to me bumps it there is a better-than-average chance it will semi-detach itself from the wristband mid-stride. It was what I needed at the time.

I also have a basic black Timex Ironman, the old style. It takes a lickin' etc. I can't set a timer on the ForeRunner, so I have to wear another watch that can. It also lets me know the time even when the ForeRunner dies (again, not much of a battery indicator) and the Timex battery just goes and goes.

I also have the basic version of the Polar heart monitor, but the heart monitor strap disappeared from a gym I was using last year and I haven't replaced it. When I wore it during training runs, I would be wearing three things on my wrists. It felt uncomfortable and I think it looked odd, too, and it was distracting to be constantly fiddling with one wrist or the other.

What I hope Santa will bring me this year (hint, hint) is a fancy new watch that will take the place of all of that (device convergence!). One of the watches I have been looking at is the Polar RS800sd. It does GPS, it does heart rate, and it will even keep time, and download everything onto my computer. It would also look good as an everyday watch, too. Another is the Suunto T4, which is a pretty cool looking watch. It is another do-everything watch. And another is the Garmin ForeRunner 305, though I'm ready to try another brand besides Garmin. Not that fond of "shoe pods" for various electronics, but I understand they are not distracting while running.

One thing I do like about my ForeRunner is that I can change the batteries. Rechargeable batteries have no allure for me. They usually die just when I need them most. They slowly deteriorate in their ability to hold a charge. They don't last much longer than alkaline batteries. And I can easily carry a pair of alkaline batteries around with me.

running gear

Running gear is a hot topic whenever a bunch of runners gets together. I'm pretty frugal and stick to the basics.

Socks: IMHO socks are the most important item in my running gear after my shoes. I started out with Thorlo crew socks, but after several years grew increasingly unhappy with them. The fuzzy inside is a great concept, and I love them in my everyday casual shoes, but they don't cut it for me running. Too many blisters, and the fuzzy tends to rip off toe nails. I tried a WigWam brand sock, a light little polyester thing that weighed nothing at all, and that produced lots of blisters. I have seen toe socks (where each toe has its own little pocket, like a glove) and I think they look weird and won't spend the money to find out for myself what they are like. I am now a devoted fan of Wright Socks. They are the perfect sock. They are a double-layer sock, so there are two thin layers of material. The layers rub on each other instead of the sock rubbing on my feet, so there is no rubbing to cause blisters. I wear the ankle-length version. I have 8 pair in various colors. I haven't had a single blister since I started wearing them. They're usually available on the pre-race sales expositions, costing $21 for 4 pair.

Shorts: I have two pairs of purple spandex compression shorts from Best of Times (my thighs are on the thick side so the compression shorts keep them from rubbing together). They are probably 6 years old at this point and I'm thinking about their replacement, even though they are still in great shape. Needless to say they have worn very well.

Running Tights: I have a pair of black running tights with the elastic band at the bottom of each leg to keep it from riding up off my socks. It is also long in the tooth, but still in good shape.

Shirts: I get so many shirts from events, some of them great technical perspiration-wicking shirts, that I don't buy shirts any more. I have an UnderArmor short-sleeve shirt and a long-sleeve shirt that I wear as a base layer on any run longer than a half-marathon, weather determining which I wear.

Underwear: UnderArmor greatly reduces chafing. 'nuff said there.

Hat: I have a baseball cap-style hat, and I have a kepi from REI. The baseball cap running hat wicks moisture and has my employer's name on it, but I am not fond of the fit or the feel. My head always feels hot. I wear the kepi a lot; some people think it is my signature. I'm pretty fair-skinned and it shields my neck and ears. The elastic is all stretched 0ut - it was that way when I bought it but didn't realize it - and I'm trying to figure out how to surgically replace that. I also have a middle-blue fleece Patagonia hat that I love.

Sunglasses: I don't wear them but wish I did. When I've worn sunglasses, they have fallen off and gotten scratched up; they have become covered with sunscreen and sweat and I can't see out of them (certainly can't clean them with a sweaty running shirt); the cheap ones have warped lenses and distort my vision; and they are awkward to put anywhere during a run when I'm not actually wearing them. I never know whether to buy good ones and risk the easy damage or inexpensive ones that I can't see through but can toss away. They're just too much trouble, but I wish I could find a pair that weren't and I'd buy them.

Jacket: I have a blue wind jacket from LL Bean and a dark gray fleece jacket from Lands End. Both have come in very handy. The wind jacket has a coating on the inside that allows it to breathe while still keeping most of the wind out, and has a hood inside the collar. The fleece jacket is just a fleece jacket, zipping up in the front. Both can quickly be rolled up and tied around my waist for later when I begin to cool off.

And that is pretty much it for my basic running gear.

strong headwinds and rain

It was supposed to rain all day until about 3, and then get very windy (wind advisory said 30-40mph gusts). So I crossed my fingers because tomorrow is supposed to be even worse, and around 2:30 the skies cleared and the sun came out. It was probably 50F outside, so I wore a long-sleeve technical shirt, shorts, and I held onto my fleece hat just in case. I headed down to the W&OD, reached my half way mark and turned back. I hadn't realized I had the wind at my back the whole time, or maybe it had just picked up, but it was in my face now. The skies had grown cloudy again and the wind had come up. I hadn't run into a headwind in a long time and it was kind of like dragging something heavy behind me. Great for the legs and endurance but heck on the pace. And I was sure glad I had my hat. Heavy rain clouds moved back in to make a steel-gray sky. During the last 2 miles it started raining lightly again, and I got home pretty cold and wet. 7.12 miles at 9.35 pace, including 2 stoplights. I stretched, iced my shins and ankle down, and a hot shower and I'm good as new.

trying to go faster

The only way to run faster is to run faster. That circular truism is the bane of many runners. Today's speed workout was 3.15 miles at an average 9:24 pace. Not very interesting overall. What made it interesting for me was doing a run-a-minute/walk-a-minute, with the average run pace all under 8:00, and most of them under or near 7:00, hills included. Over the course of weeks I'll be able to stretch the run time out by multiples while keeping the walk time constant. That will move me towards my goal of a sub-8:00 mile.

Nice Morning Run

Such a beautiful morning today - probably 57 degrees outside when I went outside at 6:30. I ran 3.66 miles at a 9:24 pace, including some hills. Starting off slow for 20 minutes, like 16 min/mile slow, really does pay off in the end. Shins feel fine, and the rest of me feels good too. Tired and well-exercised, but no big pains.

Breakfast

Someone asked me what I eat for breakfast. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so they say. I have all four food groups in my breakfast: carbohydrate, fiber, protein, and a little bit of fat. I call it my one-half cup breakfast and it looks like this:

1/2 cup traditional oatmeal..150 calories 5g protein 4g fiber 3g fat
1/2 cup 1% milk................55 calories 4g protein 0g fiber 1g fat
1/2 cup All Bran Original......80 calories 4g protein 7g fiber 1g fat
1/2 cup 1% cottage cheese...90 calories 12g protein 0g fiber 3g fat

Total: 375 calories 25g protein 11g fiber 7.75g fat

6 miles

It was beautiful today in the DC area. Mid-50s, a few dry, high clouds, puffs of a breeze. I ran down to the W&OD trail around 2:30 in the afternoon and totaled 6 miles at a 10:24 average pace. Still pain at the front of my left ankle. I iced it down for an hour afterwards - wished I had iced my knees also - and it still is uncomfortable, though not painful. I should make an appointment with my orthopedic doctor and see what the trouble is.

Chicago

I was in Chicago this last week for three days on business. I had great plans to run up to Lincoln park, or at least around that corner of the city. I packed my running clothes and shoes. And I forgot my orthotics, so I couldn't run at all. I did get out to walk about 10 blocks one evening - it was great - about 20 degrees, a slight breeze, and it was snowing. A pleasant little trip down memory lane.

No Running

Sick with a sinus cold, no running at all. No sleep either.

2008 Running Calendar

Now my 2008 Running Calendar is complete with a race almost every month:

• Marine Corp half marathon - mid-May
• Herndon 10k - early June
• W&OD 10k - mid-July
• Disneyland half marathon - end of August
• Baltimore marathon relay - early October
• Marine Corp Marathon - end of October
• JFK 50 miler - mid-November
• Goofy Race and a Half Challenge - start of January 2009

Hope to see you there!

Goofy Stinks

Maybe I'm the only one - I don't know. What is your experience?

For the 2008 Goofy Challenge they gave out dark blue long-sleeve technical running shirts - equivalent to the Donald and Mickey shirts for the Half and full Marathons. Nice shirts!

Except that the Goofy shirt smells like paint drying, while Mickey and Donald are odor-free. They've all been worn and washed numerous times. Whether hanging out to dry, in a drawer, whatever - the smell lingers on.

5 Miles

I ran 5 miles with the Reston Runners this morning. 35F with a slight breeze and abundant sunshine. It was a good run all told, I finished at about a 12 minute mile pace.

It was a path I'd never been on, lots of lefts and rights, and for once there was no pre-run briefing of the course. I started much faster than I would have liked because I had to keep up with the pack or I wouldn't have been able to follow the course. Adding in the insufficient warm-up time and the too-fast start and oh boy were my shins were hurting by the end of the run!

After stretching and thorough icing my shins and ankles I felt pretty good.

Cold and Dark

I have given up running in the freezing cold and dark. This morning was just over 20F with a sharp breeze and I went back to bed for an hour. What a difference a little sunshine makes on the whole picture! An hour later, the sun had broken a bit, it was still 25F with a sharp breeze but there was sunshine everywhere and not a cloud in the sky.

I took the flat route, 15 minutes out and 15 minutes back, keeping the pace under 9:50/mile. My shins hurt some more towards the end and after, probably from the faster-than-normal pace, but it was fun. Now each day has an extra 2 minutes of daylight, what a relief to have turned the corner from the dead of winter. Not out of the woods yet, but the trees are thinning nicely.

Ice

There was a coating of ice on everything this morning. I just can't get too eager about running in ice. Snow is fine, rain is okay, but ice - I keep on thinking how I'm going to break my wrist when I fall.

Getting the dogs out for a morning break was tough enough - why must they pull hard when it's slippery? - but running would have been impossible. The trees were lovely, all coated with sugar. But the sidewalks were impassable and the blacktop was patchy - just wet in most places, but icy in a few places and not always obvious.

So, it was back on the exercise bicycle again.

Yesterday

Yesterday was an awesome day in the DC area. Mid-50s, slight breeze, just perfect. At 3:30, went from the house down to the W&OD trail and then a few miles, then back. 5 miles at just under 11 min/mile, running 5 minutes, resting 1 minute. Beautiful. Finished strong.

Some pain in the front of my left ankle at the ankle and a little down into the foot. I don't think it is the tendon, it feels more like pain from the extensor retinaculum (fancy words from the internet). I've been icing it (not long enough) and spending more time stretching, let's see if that helps.

2009 GOOFY *REGISTRATION CLOSED*

I hope you made it in time. See you there along with 3,998 of your compadres!

From the website:

NOTE: Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge participants MUST register under the Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge Event. Registration for this event was limited to 4000 participants. The race has already reached capacity and is now closed for 2009. Athletes who register for the Marathon and Half Marathon separately will not be eligible for Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge or the Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge Finisher Medal.

WALT DISNEY WORLD® Half Marathon
Date: January 10, 2009
Time: 6:00 a.m.

WALT DISNEY WORLD® Marathon
Date: January 11, 2009
Time: 6:00 a.m.

• Registration is closed for 2009

http://disneyworldsports.disney.go.com/dwws/en_US/marathon/events/detail?name=GoofysRaceDetailPage

06 Feb 3.25 miles (0:34)

went a more hilly route than I usually do, coming back on a streambed trail close to the house. The route has another 30 minutes of medium-sloped hills that I could run if I had the time.

This morning was in the low 60s - winter? what winter? - and I left my outside layer at the house. Humidity in the air also.

Some discomfort with the left shin - I stretched it out, I don't think it will be a problem. I feel as if it is getting used to running again.

Weight-wise, dropped a pound since last week. Woo-hoo!

Every little bit helps

I was up late last night and didn't want to get up this morning. Has that ever happened to you? Still, I was pretty much awake at that point and if I tried to go back to sleep for a half hour, I wouldn't be that much more rested and I also wouldn't be doing my homework to prepare for my future runs.

I compromised by riding the exercise bicycle in the basement for 20 minutes. It gets my heart rate up and my breathing going, so there's good cardio-pulmonary exercise. It gives some of my leg muscles a workout also, though not the same as running.

As long as I continue to move forward, doing my homework every day (daily activity), I should be ready for the quizzes (long runs on the weekend) and should ace the final exam (half marathon in May).

3 miles

Seasonably chilly this morning, below freezing, gloriously sunny and no breeze to speak of. Tights and a long-sleeve shirt, fleece, hat, gloves. 3 slow miles to keep the shin splints from acting up, pace was 15:30 min/mile. I stretched afterwards.

Daddy-n-daughter Disneyland Half Marathon II

I am so jazzed! My daughter said yes!!
She is going to join me in running her first half-marathon!!!

Now THAT is motivation for me as I get back to regular running.

I registered her and now she is signed up. I promised her I would help her train, so I need to get a training plan to her. I'm thinking a modified Galloway plan.

I am thrilled!


Disneyland Half Marathon registration $100
Round-trip airfare to Los Angeles $300
Rental car $200
Running with my daughter
in her first half marathon $Priceless

Shin Splints

On Saturday I ran a quick 4 miles out-n-back. I kept an under-8 minute pace while running, mixing with walk breaks every few minutes. It was a beautiful day, about 39F with a slight breeze, clear and sunny, some snow on the ground.

The only way to get increased cardio function is to push the body to need increased cardio function. If I keep it up everything will get better. But boy did my shins hurt.

Running faster causes me to lengthen my stride, which subjects my tibialis anterior muscle (the one that hurts on the outside front of the shin) to stretching even while it is in a contraction. And it hurts the muscle to get pulled apart when it is contracting and trying to shorten up. Hence the pain. Ice and anti-inflamatories help as with all muscle injuries.

The Rx: slower, fewer miles with a shorter stride until the shins are up to speed.

Daddy-n-daughter Disneyland Half Marathon

I was telling my daughter about the Disneyland Half Marathon and how neat it would be, and I told her about a shirt I would like to wear during the run, with something like this on the back:

Disneyland Half Marathon registration	$100
Round-trip airfare to Los Angeles	$300
Rental car	$200
Running with my daughter in her first half marathon	$Priceless

She said she will think about it.

She is not now a regular runner, but she wants to get into better shape and stay in shape. She could certainly finish with the training time between now and August, no problem - she did crew and also hurdles when she was younger.

The question is: Will she decide she wants to run a half marathon with her old man enough to put in some weekly training running?

2008 Disneyland Half-Marathon

I've added a new race to my calendar. The Disneyland Half-Marathon in Anaheim, Calif (Los Angeles 'burb) on August 31. It looks like a fun run, half in the park, half on the smoggy streets of Anaheim. Plus I'll get to spend some time with my folks who live in that neck of the woods.

From the "It's All About The Bling" Department, there is this email from Disney Sports:

"We are happy to introduce you to a special offer for the 2008 Disneyland® Half Marathon August 31, 2008! If you completed either the 2008 WALT DISNEY WORLD® Marathon or Half Marathon, you have the chance to earn a very special medal by entering and finishing the 2008 Disneyland® Half Marathon. You will receive not only the coveted Castle medal awarded to all finishers at the Disneyland® Half Marathon, but you will also receive an additional special medal.

All you have to do is sign up and finish the Disneyland® Half Marathon on August 31, 2008. We already have your WALT DISNEY WORLD® Marathon or Half Marathon finish on file, so there’s no extra work or additional fee on your part. It’s just our way of rewarding you for being a part of the magic of Disney running and racing on both U.S. coasts!"

Two great looking medals for the price of one. Is that cool or what?
How can I refuse - I've signed up!

What should I wear in weather like this?

Galloway answers the age-old question "what should I wear when it's like this outside?"

Galloway Clothing Thermometer
http://jeffgalloway.com/resources/news_archives/nov05.html

sample:
40-49 degrees: long sleeved T, shorts or tights or wind pants, sock or mittens and gloves

2008 Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge

Walt Disney World, FL, 12 & 13 January 2008

"Goofy is as Goofy does" so they say, and that's what it takes to run a half marathon and a full marathon on consecutive days. Over 3,000 people registered for Goofy's Challenge this year, topping last year. How big is the demand for the Goofy Challenge? According to the race director, medical concerns are the big factor preventing the Goofy from growing larger - there apparently is great demand for the race, it sells out in a few months. If Goofy registration mirrored Marathon registration, perhaps 8,000 people would sign up in 2009 if permitted (think about it: that was the size of the very first Disneyworld Marathon).

I tried a couple of new things this year. This is the first year I did not stay on-property, instead opting for a Best Western on Rt 192 instead. It was not quite as convenient, and I did miss the additional dose of Disney. On the other hand, the price was much lower even with a rental car and the food was better than the average Disney cafeteria, so I am going to consider it for next year as well.

Also, I have been looking for answers to my hydration problems. On longer runs I have drank (drunk? consumed!) tons of water and ended up severely dehydrated - everything I put in my stomach just sits there and sloshes. The advice I received from several experts, including scientists at the Gatorade Sports Science Institute (www.gssiweb.com) is to ingest less carbohydrate/calories and drink more water. The theory is that the extra calories are slowing down my stomach's digestion and absorption. So, cut down the food intake at any point in time and increase the water, and I should continue absorbing liquids throughout the race - that's the theory. Let's see how it works in practice on a warm-weather race...

Walt Disney World Half Marathon (aka Donald's Half Marathon)
Saturday, January 12

The starting temperature was in the high 60sF with moderate humidity; fortunately, high clouds reduced the heat during the race, though the temperature at 9:00 was in the 70sF. Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy started the race with fireworks at 6:00 a.m. The race course seemed the same as last year. Water stations were frequent and plentiful. There was a disappointing number of Disney characters on the course. Chip & Dale, Alice, Cinderella's Fairy Godmother, Ariel and her Prince, some Pirates of the Carribean (sailing Capt Hook's ship!), Liver Lips McGraw, and Mary Poppins & Bert - that was it; as I said, very disappointing. I took the race slow on purpose because I haven't been training or even maintenance running regularly, and intended to go as slowly as possible. Finish time: 3:11. Woo-hoo! One down, one to go!!

I spent 20 minutes in the self-service medical area with ice bags on my legs, focusing on the knees, quads, and my left calf. I've heard that bathing your legs in cold water for a period of time after a race can help them rejuvenate more quickly. The ice bag treatment was about as close as I could get. Also the ice on my old knees won't hurt them at all!

No complaints about the race course. Everything went smoothly as far as I saw.

Hydration was not a problem on the race, though it never has been a problem for me on these shorter races. Conclusion: insufficient evidence to determine if this new hydration strategy will pay off.

Walt Disney World Marathon (aka Mickey's Marathon)
Sunday, January 13

The starting temperature was in the high 60sF with moderate humidity and some cloud cover which lasted through more than half the race. The Weather Channel had been forecasting a cooler day, but their forecast changed in the last 18 hours. By 9:00 the temperature was in the 70sF, though humidity dropped and a breeze picked up. Mickey and the gang started the race with fireworks at 6:00 a.m. (FYI if you've not run the race before, the marathon has a dual starting line which converges in the Epcot back lot. This allows all the runners to cross the starting line in a reasonable amount of time without having to resort to waves or other strategies which extend the total race time). The race course seemed the same as last year. Water stations were frequent and plentiful, though in one case there was no Powerade and in a couple of others the order of the drinks was switched, making it more difficult for fuzzy-minded tired runners to figure out what to do.

There were some seldom-seen characters out on the course. My list of characters is: Jasmine and the Genie (in Epcot on the Blue start), Chip & Dale, Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum along with Alice, Piglet, Cinderella's wicked step-mother and her daughters Anastasia and Drizella; the Fairy God Mother, Ariel and her Prince, Liver Lips McGraw and another one of the Country Bears, Woody & Jessie & Bullseye (all in the Magic Kingdom); Darkwing Duck (in between kingdoms); two of Donald's nephews, Rafiki, Baloo the Bear & King Louie (all in/around the Animal Kingdom); Pocahontas & her raccoon, Peter Pan & Mary, Tarzan (in between kingdoms); Cruella De Ville & Snow White's mother & Jafar (Disney Studios), Chip & Dale & Pluto (in Epcot giving high-fives on the final mile).

Not to be negative: the part of the race I hate the most is the mile-long peninsula on Osceola Parkway (mile 20-21) that seems to "include" the Disney World of Sports complex. I say includes in quotes because it's figurative at best - the route is two-lane asphalt, and the complex is difficult to to see. That is IMHO the most boring mile-and-change, hot and shadeless, and I would be thrilled to never see it again. How about a quick romp up through Fort Wilderness instead as part of the front half of the race?

At the start of the Disney Studios section, they were handing out bite-sized candy bars - Baby Ruth and Butterfinger. Great, but the most common deadly allergy in America is peanuts, and both those candies are famous for their peanuts - next time the race should try Hershey's Kisses instead. Would be awful if someone ended up in the hospital because they tripped and fell and touched a piece of Butterfinger on the ground (it may sound silly but the allergy can really be that severe).

Finish Time: 6:02. I felt tired but mentally great at the finish line. At the finish line I scored my Mickey Mouse Marathon medal and my third Goofy! The Mickey medal is awesome this year - black ears with an XV (15) hanging from the round head outline. Very nicely done.

I spent a half hour in the self-service medical area with ice bags on my legs, focusing on the knees, quads, and my left calf again. My shoulder cramped up reaching for something and my stomach turned in an instant. Took about 15 minutes to get back to "normal". I got a half-hour massage and that always helps my muscles feel better the next day.

No complaints about the race course. Everything went smoothly as far as I saw.

Hydration should have been a problem on this race but it wasn't! I was processing fluids throughout the race. At about mile 19 I was feeling a little nauseated, I had developed a thick crust of salt on my clothes by that point, so I took a salt pill (Succeed) and that did the trick. Looks like this new hydration approach might do the trick for me as well.

Around 1pm a thunder storm cell rolled through and drenched the area. Lightning, the works. I hid in a tent until the worst of it had passed.

2009 Goofy's Race-and-a-Half Challenge

So, are you feeling Goofy yet? I have registered for the 2009 race. See you there!!

a few miles

I ran a few miles yesterday morning (6 Jan) it was wonderful. Such pleasant weather for what is supposed to be winter. I ran probably 4 miles round-trip, stretched (my left calf particularly) and enjoyed the beautiful day.

There's been a lot of press recently about eating some protein after a run, even just a jog around the block. Some say it helps a lot, others pan the idea. I think it makes sense, so I ate about a half-cup of cottage cheese with my oatmeal and fiber cereal. Cottage cheese is loaded with protein and does not have much fat in it.

Careful planning is important - but verify

I carefully planned for the upcoming Disneyworld Marathon weekend. Lists of what and how many clothes, accessories, and OTC meds to bring, driving times, stops on the way, contingency for bathroom breaks, how much cash, and everything else required to get me down there and back, all in order to be sure to arrive well before the 8pm close of the registration/Expo on Thursday. I never did receive my registration information this year (I moved in June and I suspect it did not get forwarded correctly), so my registration will take longer than usual.

Yes, careful planning is important.
but so is verification, and from first sources where possible, not just re-reading the checklists for typos.

So here I am, the night before I'm supposed to drive down to Orlando, looking at the emails from Disney and reading the website, and I'm pondering the meaning of the website countdown clock saying "10 days" till the race. How can it be 10 days till the race when it is January 2 and the race is January 6? Now there's a question. Silly, because I am ONE WEEK OFF in my planning. The race isn't the weekend of Jan 5/6, it is the weekend of Jan 12/13.

But the race has ALWAYS been the first weekend in January!!! (of course, this factoid means nothing: reality says that this year it is the second weekend).

Ooopsie!

So, call the hotel and beg them to reschedule, pleading stupidity. They accommodate me, at a slightly higher rate. Reschedule work meetings and such as best I can, apologies for the calendar error. Re-arrange the family calendar for who is doing what with which kid on the weekend.


Planning is important, but verification from first sources is critical.