With less than 5 weeks to go until my triathlon I guess it is finally time to get to the pool. I did that on Monday. I have been putting it off for a while. For the next few weeks I have to be in there a minimum of two times a week. I actually had a good swim. My form is slowly making its way back and I actually had an aha moment in there too. I applied the concept of no tension and body sensing from Chi Running to my swimming. I didn't have relaxed arms in my recovery and that is why I was tiring so easily. I really had to make myself not do this but if I can remember maybe my endurance and form can return even sooner. That would be nice.
On Tuesday I was ready. I was ready to run a PR for 2 miles. Our local running club was having the last of our "Trek the Trace" series for the year. This one was to be decided by whomever could go the lowest under their PR for 2 miles and you didn't have to predict anything. Or so I thought. I was wrong and reminded of that by Jenn. Yes you could run and smash your PR but you still had to predict it and you had to be UNDER your PR to win. I had even gotten out my Ipod and loaded all of my "fast" music but I couldn't us it. Oh well. I was still getting ready to go fast at least by my standards. I even drank a bottle of Accelerade before. We get out there and write down our times. I wrote down 17:40. No that isn't my personal record for 2 miles but I wasn't about to write down how slow it really is. I found my pacing partner and we were off. I could tell I wasn't going my customary 9 minute miles but I wasn't pushing too much. There were a few people ahead of me that started dropping off but my pacing partner was just ahead of me staying strong. Also, a few people disappeared. I believe one guy ran 11:39. Anway, I could tell I was pushing myself but I wasn't feeling winded or like I needed to stop. I kept my pacing partner right in my sights and she was keeping it up. Later she said she knew someone was on her heels especially in the tunnel where she could hear me. As we were approaching the finish I started to pass her but held back and finished right behind her. They were telling us our times as we finished and he said 16:20. It didn't register with me until I let it sink in. 16:20!! Seriously? I can't believe it. I don't think I have ever run 8:10 for one mile much less for two. Wow! My fat butt ran 8:10 miles. This only makes me wonder. Am I pushing myself hard enough in my workouts? Or can I sustain that for a 5K? We will see Monday at the Labor Your Legs 5k.
Showing posts with label trek the trace. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trek the trace. Show all posts
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Catching Up
It has really been a long time since my last post. I don't even remember where I left off. I do know that I had last weekend off and actually made it to the pool on Monday. I have really got to get back in there on a consistent basis. I can really tell that I haven't been. I still feel somewhat fluid in the pool but after a while my stroke starts to break down. I had a good workout and will be in there at least twice this week. Jenn and I also ran out on the Trace. To change things up we went to Epley and ran back towards Clyde. I swear before we left she said she was doing 3 miles so I head out at least to the 1.5 mile marker. She for some reason doesn't like me to run with her so I got out ahead of her. With no set plan I decided to do some strides in the middle of my run. 40 seconds normal running, 20 seconds of fast running. I did 4 minutes of those. They got to be really hard. When I turned around just past the 1.5 mile marker Jenn is nowhere to be found. She said she said 2.5 miles. Whatever. Guess I wasn't listening, again. After we ran Jenn mentioned how tough it was at the end and it is because you really don't notice it but you are going uphill heading into Epley. I think she had to make a few one minute promises to finish. I love it.
Tuesday I went out the Trek the Trace put on by the Pine Belt Pacers. This week was a 2 man team total time contest. Jenn wasn't feeling well so I didn't have a partner. I was given a partner, Vicky Copeland. We were talking and she asked me if I wanted to pace at 8 minute miles. I told sure she could but she would have to wait for me at the finish line. We decided on 9 minute miles or 18 minutes for the race. We started out good and I thought we were pacing just fine but I could feel us fading just a bit at the end. It was good to see her double stride for my one stride but I am not saying anything bad because she is a much better runner than I am. I thought we might need to pick it up some but didn't say anything. Anyway, we finished at 18:18. Not too bad. I am just glad that 9 minute miles is now somewhat of a comfortable pace for me. I will take it.
Wednesday I decided to ride my bike. It had been almost 3 weeks since I have ridden. I have been having a problem with my heartrate going sky high on the bike so I decided to not to take a heart rate monitor or watch. No goal in place but to just ride. I rode out to Epley and made my way back. Also, guess who I saw just as I was getting started. Yep. The old man in sunglasses. Every time. While on the bike I was actually thinking about running. Normally this would never happen. I guess my somewhat recent success running has me wanting to do it.
My new shoes came in on Thursday. I love them. They are so light. Only 9 oz. Not bad for not being a racing flat. I ran on the treadmill for 2.5 miles trying out the new shoes. Good as advertised.
I had my brick on Saturday. My goal was to warm up all the way to Clyde Station and then on to Sumrall and back to Jackson Rd for a transition run. Hopefully this way my heartrate won't get sky high with the longer warm up. So I set out and again guess who I see. Yep the old man. Anywas I logged 23 miles on the bike and a 2 mile transtition run. With the weather getting cooler I expected to see a ton of people out on the Trace. I didn't see as many as I thought I would. I saw a good bit of the normal people not it wasn't as busy as I thought it would be. I did see a deer too. It let me get almost right up to it before it ran off. I also saw my running partner from Tuesday but I don't think she noticed me. She looked at me like I had 2 heads. She was probably thinking who is that guy struggling so bad waving at me and why is sweating so much.
Sunday I had planned to ride out to my parents house on my bike. I decided against it and headed to the trace for a run. I wanted to get in 6 miles. I ran 6 miles right at 60 minutes. I didn't try any speed or anything out of the ordinary. I just wanted to run consistently. At the end I was really struggling though. I ran in my new shoes and I haven't broken them in all of the way so my lower legs were starting to hurt. It was a nice run even though it was really hot at that time of the day.
Also, my main man Jacob got a bike. Jenn went ahead and got his Christmas present in August so we had to hide it in the attic. I will have pics of it up on my next post. It won't be too long and he and I will be riding out on the trace. I can't wait!!
Tuesday I went out the Trek the Trace put on by the Pine Belt Pacers. This week was a 2 man team total time contest. Jenn wasn't feeling well so I didn't have a partner. I was given a partner, Vicky Copeland. We were talking and she asked me if I wanted to pace at 8 minute miles. I told sure she could but she would have to wait for me at the finish line. We decided on 9 minute miles or 18 minutes for the race. We started out good and I thought we were pacing just fine but I could feel us fading just a bit at the end. It was good to see her double stride for my one stride but I am not saying anything bad because she is a much better runner than I am. I thought we might need to pick it up some but didn't say anything. Anyway, we finished at 18:18. Not too bad. I am just glad that 9 minute miles is now somewhat of a comfortable pace for me. I will take it.
Wednesday I decided to ride my bike. It had been almost 3 weeks since I have ridden. I have been having a problem with my heartrate going sky high on the bike so I decided to not to take a heart rate monitor or watch. No goal in place but to just ride. I rode out to Epley and made my way back. Also, guess who I saw just as I was getting started. Yep. The old man in sunglasses. Every time. While on the bike I was actually thinking about running. Normally this would never happen. I guess my somewhat recent success running has me wanting to do it.
My new shoes came in on Thursday. I love them. They are so light. Only 9 oz. Not bad for not being a racing flat. I ran on the treadmill for 2.5 miles trying out the new shoes. Good as advertised.
I had my brick on Saturday. My goal was to warm up all the way to Clyde Station and then on to Sumrall and back to Jackson Rd for a transition run. Hopefully this way my heartrate won't get sky high with the longer warm up. So I set out and again guess who I see. Yep the old man. Anywas I logged 23 miles on the bike and a 2 mile transtition run. With the weather getting cooler I expected to see a ton of people out on the Trace. I didn't see as many as I thought I would. I saw a good bit of the normal people not it wasn't as busy as I thought it would be. I did see a deer too. It let me get almost right up to it before it ran off. I also saw my running partner from Tuesday but I don't think she noticed me. She looked at me like I had 2 heads. She was probably thinking who is that guy struggling so bad waving at me and why is sweating so much.
Sunday I had planned to ride out to my parents house on my bike. I decided against it and headed to the trace for a run. I wanted to get in 6 miles. I ran 6 miles right at 60 minutes. I didn't try any speed or anything out of the ordinary. I just wanted to run consistently. At the end I was really struggling though. I ran in my new shoes and I haven't broken them in all of the way so my lower legs were starting to hurt. It was a nice run even though it was really hot at that time of the day.
Also, my main man Jacob got a bike. Jenn went ahead and got his Christmas present in August so we had to hide it in the attic. I will have pics of it up on my next post. It won't be too long and he and I will be riding out on the trace. I can't wait!!
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Running without a Purpose
I know I can't believe it 2 posts in a week.
Normally on Tuesday our local running club has Trek the Trace so Jenn and I set out to do that only to have it cancelled not long before it was to start. Having already gotten my parents to agree to watch the boys Jenn and I still went out there to run. We don't have that luxury all of the time so we took advantage of it. Plus I knew some of the other people would still be there and they were. It turned out to be a nice night and I guess it shouldn't have been cancelled. Jenn's running plan said for 3 miles so we set out. She hates running with me because she has to put in too much effort to try to keep up with me so I said I would follow behind her. That didn't work. She told me to go ahead and pass her but to turn around and 1.5 miles. That is what I was going to do. I really like running with Jenn because it is not about me but her. I don't have to watch my pace or heartrate. I can just run without a purpose which is nice sometimes. I got out ahead of her and headed for the 1.5 miles sign which is just past West Hills Road. I stopped because mother nature was calling and Jenn had already turned around. Later I find out she said 2.5 miles not 3. I'm sure she told me I just wasn't listening. Anyway, I went out to a mile and 3/4's. I turned around and headed back in. On the way back just past 59 I had the urge to stop. I need to fight through these things. I was coming in much faster than I was going out because I knew Jenn would be waiting around for me. I have to fight through these urges and I did just that. I kept telling myself to run to the next lightpole. There are a bunch of them on that end of the Trace. Once I would pass one I would say make it to the next one. I guess these are mini one minute promises. Anyway, I did this all the way back. This is really good for me. I need to get a lot stronger in the mental game.
Wednesday I had plans to do hill repeats on my bike. I haven't been on the bike in quite some time. I was going to do the hill headed out of Sumrall back towards Jackson Rd. It is a somewhat long hill and a decent incline. Doing hill repeats is something I need to do more of. I get to Sumrall and unload my bike. I had to air my tires up since the last time so I go and do that. After airing up the back tire I move to the front only to hear the back tire lose all pressure. The tube popped. Not wanting to fix it and also not having my spare tube I loaded the bike back up and headed home. When I got home I was supposed to get meet Jenn and the boys at her mothers. I decided to run there and see how fast I could get there. They live in our neighborhood right at 3 quarters of a mile away. It is all hills to their house so I felt like it would be a good test. I just took off with no warm up and was about to die up the first hill which also happens to be the steepest and longest. Went out too fast. Imagine that. Anyway I fought through it and finished in 5:44 which is like a 7:40 mile. I will take it considering all of the hills.
At the Trace today I saw something I have never seen. I actually saw a guy on his bike wearing a bluetooth ear piece. I guess he doesn't want to be missing any calls. I wonder if the person on the other end would even be able to hear him. Oh well. I had plans to run about 4 miles. I didn't have any other plan except to have negative splits on the way back. Before I get to that it is just unbelievable the people I see out at the Trace every time I go. I see this one man EVERY time. It doesn't matter early or late I see this older gentleman that wears glasses that transition when the sun is out riding his grey Trek with aerobars every time I go. On top of him I have some Saturday regulars I see. There is an Asian couple I meet heading back into Jackson station riding recumbent bikes every Saturday. Back to the workout, I ran out to 2 miles and made my way back. On my way back as I am approaching Lake Thoreau Rd a guy turns around at a mile and a half and heads back right in front of me. No big deal. I wasn't mad at him or anything but now I had to pass this guy and leave him especially since he was wearing khakis and a wife beater. I go past him and actually turn up Lake Thoreau Rd and run that hill. Coming back I made my last mile my fastest. My last mile was in 8:35. Once again good for me especially since it was my last. Maybe I am figuring out this mental aspect.
Normally on Tuesday our local running club has Trek the Trace so Jenn and I set out to do that only to have it cancelled not long before it was to start. Having already gotten my parents to agree to watch the boys Jenn and I still went out there to run. We don't have that luxury all of the time so we took advantage of it. Plus I knew some of the other people would still be there and they were. It turned out to be a nice night and I guess it shouldn't have been cancelled. Jenn's running plan said for 3 miles so we set out. She hates running with me because she has to put in too much effort to try to keep up with me so I said I would follow behind her. That didn't work. She told me to go ahead and pass her but to turn around and 1.5 miles. That is what I was going to do. I really like running with Jenn because it is not about me but her. I don't have to watch my pace or heartrate. I can just run without a purpose which is nice sometimes. I got out ahead of her and headed for the 1.5 miles sign which is just past West Hills Road. I stopped because mother nature was calling and Jenn had already turned around. Later I find out she said 2.5 miles not 3. I'm sure she told me I just wasn't listening. Anyway, I went out to a mile and 3/4's. I turned around and headed back in. On the way back just past 59 I had the urge to stop. I need to fight through these things. I was coming in much faster than I was going out because I knew Jenn would be waiting around for me. I have to fight through these urges and I did just that. I kept telling myself to run to the next lightpole. There are a bunch of them on that end of the Trace. Once I would pass one I would say make it to the next one. I guess these are mini one minute promises. Anyway, I did this all the way back. This is really good for me. I need to get a lot stronger in the mental game.
Wednesday I had plans to do hill repeats on my bike. I haven't been on the bike in quite some time. I was going to do the hill headed out of Sumrall back towards Jackson Rd. It is a somewhat long hill and a decent incline. Doing hill repeats is something I need to do more of. I get to Sumrall and unload my bike. I had to air my tires up since the last time so I go and do that. After airing up the back tire I move to the front only to hear the back tire lose all pressure. The tube popped. Not wanting to fix it and also not having my spare tube I loaded the bike back up and headed home. When I got home I was supposed to get meet Jenn and the boys at her mothers. I decided to run there and see how fast I could get there. They live in our neighborhood right at 3 quarters of a mile away. It is all hills to their house so I felt like it would be a good test. I just took off with no warm up and was about to die up the first hill which also happens to be the steepest and longest. Went out too fast. Imagine that. Anyway I fought through it and finished in 5:44 which is like a 7:40 mile. I will take it considering all of the hills.
At the Trace today I saw something I have never seen. I actually saw a guy on his bike wearing a bluetooth ear piece. I guess he doesn't want to be missing any calls. I wonder if the person on the other end would even be able to hear him. Oh well. I had plans to run about 4 miles. I didn't have any other plan except to have negative splits on the way back. Before I get to that it is just unbelievable the people I see out at the Trace every time I go. I see this one man EVERY time. It doesn't matter early or late I see this older gentleman that wears glasses that transition when the sun is out riding his grey Trek with aerobars every time I go. On top of him I have some Saturday regulars I see. There is an Asian couple I meet heading back into Jackson station riding recumbent bikes every Saturday. Back to the workout, I ran out to 2 miles and made my way back. On my way back as I am approaching Lake Thoreau Rd a guy turns around at a mile and a half and heads back right in front of me. No big deal. I wasn't mad at him or anything but now I had to pass this guy and leave him especially since he was wearing khakis and a wife beater. I go past him and actually turn up Lake Thoreau Rd and run that hill. Coming back I made my last mile my fastest. My last mile was in 8:35. Once again good for me especially since it was my last. Maybe I am figuring out this mental aspect.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Trek the Trace
Ok last week was a difficult week as in finding time to workout. I did manage 2 runs and a brick on Saturday. Nothing major. I had a horrible time on my bike Saturday. I was headed out to Sumrall or up Epley Road and back to Jackson Rd. I am not even through warming up and my heart rate is in overdrive. I don't know why this has been happening to me lately. The weird thing is it is only happening on the bike. No problems with the run. I think I might have it figured out and I am going to test it out on my next bike. I don't think I am warming up properly. Who would think I would have to have an exagerrated warm up in this heat but we will see. Well that was just the beginning of it. In the middle of my out I look down and see that my back tire is going flat. Still no big deal. I figured I would fix it at my turnaround. So I get to Epley Road and when the type of pavement changes I figure I really need to fix it now. So I stop and try to fix it and my CO2 is out. All I really did was flatten the tire even more. Now I can't go anywhere without some air. I walk my bike back to Epley Station and a guy has a pump. I aired it up and head back to Jackson Road. I am not trying this again because I on top of all of this I left my cell phone. Anyway I finish up at Jackson Road and have a small transition run. I ran 2.5 miles. I was just glad to finish.
Monday I made it out to the Trace for a run. I looked at weather.com on my phone and it says that it is 92 but feels like 101. I love it. I decided I wouldn't do any good with pushing myself so I just decided to run 10 minute miles and go 4 miles. I did with not much problem. 4 miles in 40:16.
On Tuesday I even made it to the pool. I swam a while but could really tell I haven't been but I need to get in there more. Especially if I am going to do the triathlon in Gulf Shores next month. It was really hot being outside swimming but I need the work. I think the run home was hotter though. On Tuesdays in August our local running club puts on "Trek the Trace." It is an event where the runners predict their time for 2 miles and then go run it without any type of electronics. No watches, GPS or even Ipods. Whoever runs the closest to their predicted time wins a prize. With swimming and running earlier in the day I didn't want to be over ambitious so I predicted 17:45. I ran 17:54. I was pleased with it even though I didn't run. 2 people were 2 seconds from their prediction. One lady did so even running 2 miles in under 13 minutes. I love this event because you get to see everyone and also everybody brings some kind of food and you eat afterwards. Hopefully we will be able to make all of them. How about my runner wife ran hers in 20:40. If she didn't talk to whoever she is running with she could do even better but she is doing great!
As a side note I am down 10 pounds from when I threw down the guantlet about a month ago with Jenn. Woot woot!!!
Monday I made it out to the Trace for a run. I looked at weather.com on my phone and it says that it is 92 but feels like 101. I love it. I decided I wouldn't do any good with pushing myself so I just decided to run 10 minute miles and go 4 miles. I did with not much problem. 4 miles in 40:16.
On Tuesday I even made it to the pool. I swam a while but could really tell I haven't been but I need to get in there more. Especially if I am going to do the triathlon in Gulf Shores next month. It was really hot being outside swimming but I need the work. I think the run home was hotter though. On Tuesdays in August our local running club puts on "Trek the Trace." It is an event where the runners predict their time for 2 miles and then go run it without any type of electronics. No watches, GPS or even Ipods. Whoever runs the closest to their predicted time wins a prize. With swimming and running earlier in the day I didn't want to be over ambitious so I predicted 17:45. I ran 17:54. I was pleased with it even though I didn't run. 2 people were 2 seconds from their prediction. One lady did so even running 2 miles in under 13 minutes. I love this event because you get to see everyone and also everybody brings some kind of food and you eat afterwards. Hopefully we will be able to make all of them. How about my runner wife ran hers in 20:40. If she didn't talk to whoever she is running with she could do even better but she is doing great!
As a side note I am down 10 pounds from when I threw down the guantlet about a month ago with Jenn. Woot woot!!!
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