I've said it more than once so far this year but this time there seems to be some actual truth to it. I am finally riding my bike again. Let me emphasize that I'm only riding, not doing hardcore 2x20's or other threshold training workouts for all my racing buddies out there. I'm happy to be just back out on the bike. I was finally able to get serious when I got back to commuting to work via bike. It's only 5 miles into work but on the way home, I can take as long as necessary. With quick access to the Valley and having both Tim and Josh living up here, it makes for a nice opportunity to get some decent miles in. My hopes are to stay consistent and to at least ride after work 2 out of the three days that I ride in by bike (I can't ride everyday due to having to drive to project meetings, pick up the kids, etc.). I most likely won't ever get that high end race fitness that I would need to be competitive this season but with no racing (other than jumping into the Chapel Races in July) on my schedule this year, I'm not worried. I only need to try to stay close to Troche and House on our training rides. Fortunately they're good 'mates' and although Troche takes sheer delight in dropping my a#$ on any climb now, he always seems to wait up.
Marathon news......I'm training for Columbus this fall. I'm not becoming a marathon junkie, only want to have a better experience than I did in Cleveland this spring. After Columbus I'd like to be able to run the giants of marathons like New York, Chicago and of course Boston. Who knows, maybe add London and Berlin to that list! I won't get ahead of myself.
See you out on the road...don't pass by too fast.
b
6.17.2009
5.18.2009
Cleveland Marathon
How do I even start blogging about my marathon experience? I guess the easiest way to get things rolling is to say that I am most proud of my wife for completing the 5k run the previous day. She was inspired to start running after being part of the experience in Columbus last fall. She’s never cared about athletics and I don’t believe that she’s run a day in her life previous to training for this but she did it, she had fun and she’s decided that she’d like to do more 5k events this year. I am now busy scouring the internet finding some local 5k runs for her to go to. I love it.
I apologize now but this blog post is going to get lengthy so get a cup of coffee, something to snack on and get comfortable. As I hinted in my previous blog posting, I have been having some issues leading into this marathon. It all started when I bought a new pair of shoes. I had been previously running in a pair of Nikes and was having big time issues with blistering and loosing toe nails. I went to my local running shop (who will remain nameless for now) and explained to them the problems that I was having. Under the guidance and direction of the experts there, I switched to a pair of Mizuno’s that gave me more room in the toe box. The sales clerk also took another look at my old Nike’s and my feet and suggested that I go to a lightly supported shoe in lieu of the more support that I was used to. He said I was a neutral runner and that I could get away with any shoe. Being an architect, I followed his advice strictly for aesthetic reasons…..nothing more. Within a week, I regretted that decision as my legs were feeling extremely sore. I took them back and switched to another pair of Mizuno’s that they said were the same exact shoe to my Nikes in terms of support. They lied to me or were badly misinformed. I tried running in those shoes for three weeks but the pain just kept getting worse and worse. I was stuck between a pair of Nike’s that hurt my feet or a pair of Mizuno’s that hurt my legs. In the process of this 5 or 6 week time frame, I severely cut back on my mileage and intensity so I could get healthy It was last Saturday (May 9th) mornings run where I went out for a quick 3 miler where I gave up. My legs hurt so bad I could barely complete it and there were several times when my legs were about to give out. I decided I had to make some changes quick so somewhat salvage Cleveland. I quickly showered, put the kids and headed up to Hudson to another running shop called Vertical Runner. I took in both pairs of shoes and explained the issues that I was having with them. The clerk had me tried on both pairs of shoes, walk around in them to analyze my stride and then he did a test that I haven’t seen since I was a little kid buying shoes at the Gold Circle. He tested to see where my toes were at. Here’s where the story gets funny to you and aggravating for me. He said that although Nike’s are narrow in the toe area, if I was running in the right size of shoe I wouldn’t have that issue…my shoes were too small for running! What? Are you kidding me? That’s a mistake that I would expect to get if I bought stuff at Foot Locker of Dick’s, not a professional running store. The next thing that aggravated me was he told me that my Mizuno’s were not the same support but lightly supported which explained the pain I was having with my legs. I left the store with a new pair of Nike’s that were a half-size larger than I previously had. The only question now was how could I get ready to run 26.2 miles in a little over a week if I could barely get through 3 miles earlier that day.
The only answer that I could come up with was I had to take the entire week off from running. The best I would be able to do is to take my dog out for some long walks so I could get some time in my new running shoes. The other thing that I did was schedule an hour long massage for my legs. Having had several massages before on cycling trips, I’m a believer in the benefits of massage and highly recommend them to anyone.
Come race morning I was nervous. More nervous than I would normally be on any given race day which struck me as odd as this was really only a training run now, absolutely no pressure to hit any specific time. Even with that, I had a hard time controlling my nerves and had difficulty eating anything before the race. I was able to keep down half a banana and a third of a Cliff Bar. I knew this wasn’t going to be good but my only hopes were to get to the start line, start running and start getting some nutrition in me before it was too late. I need a bit more than 100 calories to complete a marathon. The plan for the day was to jump in with the 3:30 pace group and to see how far I could go. In all of my long training runs, I kept paces similar to that so it didn’t seem like it would be a terrible stretch. I was running with my good friend Patrick from Chicago who I knew would be strong and I figured having him there would be extra motivation to keep me on track. With the start bell finally going off, we were on our way. Our pace became comfortable and once we made our way through a few of the slow pokes, we found ourselves running with the 3:20 pace group. I wasn’t worried about the tempo; I was only worried about my stomach that wasn’t settling down. I’ll cut the story somewhat short, my stomach never really let up. One minute I would feel good, another I would feel bad. I was happy though that my legs were feeling good. That feeling wouldn’t last much longer however. It was mile 10 exactly when the pain crept back into my legs, exactly where it had been only one week earlier. I knew I was in for a long day and Patrick could tell I was in trouble. I told him to go ahead and run his own race and not to worry about me. With a little more convincing he left and quickly made his way up the road.
Each mile after this became more and more difficult. My only relief was knowing that at mile 13 I would see my wife cheering me on and I was hoping that would be enough to carry a bit further. It was and I was happy to see her. I was very close to giving up and the pain was really unbearable at the time but I made the decision to take it mile by mile, to complete what I had started. I had spent too much time training for this to just give up. So, mile after mile I ran, taking water at each water stop and waving goodbye as each pace group passed me by. My only goal from the start was to the finish the race and that was my only thought as I struggled on, mile after mile. As I turned onto Lakeside, I could see the finish line but my feet wouldn’t pick up the pace, I could only struggle on with the miserably slow pace that I was moving. Seeing my lovely wife at the finish and my family cheering me on as I limped in made it all worth while. A bit embarrassed and disappointed in my time, I was happy to have it over with. I am only disappointed really in that I couldn’t enjoy the moment. What I was hoping for to be a fun experience turned into 10 miles of fun followed by 16 miles of torture. Sitting here 24 hours later I can now take pride in accomplishing something that most people will never even try. Will I try another one? Not sure. I’ve told myself I’d wait at least a week or two before making that decision. My only plans for now are to find that 26.2 sticker for my Subaru.
b
I apologize now but this blog post is going to get lengthy so get a cup of coffee, something to snack on and get comfortable. As I hinted in my previous blog posting, I have been having some issues leading into this marathon. It all started when I bought a new pair of shoes. I had been previously running in a pair of Nikes and was having big time issues with blistering and loosing toe nails. I went to my local running shop (who will remain nameless for now) and explained to them the problems that I was having. Under the guidance and direction of the experts there, I switched to a pair of Mizuno’s that gave me more room in the toe box. The sales clerk also took another look at my old Nike’s and my feet and suggested that I go to a lightly supported shoe in lieu of the more support that I was used to. He said I was a neutral runner and that I could get away with any shoe. Being an architect, I followed his advice strictly for aesthetic reasons…..nothing more. Within a week, I regretted that decision as my legs were feeling extremely sore. I took them back and switched to another pair of Mizuno’s that they said were the same exact shoe to my Nikes in terms of support. They lied to me or were badly misinformed. I tried running in those shoes for three weeks but the pain just kept getting worse and worse. I was stuck between a pair of Nike’s that hurt my feet or a pair of Mizuno’s that hurt my legs. In the process of this 5 or 6 week time frame, I severely cut back on my mileage and intensity so I could get healthy It was last Saturday (May 9th) mornings run where I went out for a quick 3 miler where I gave up. My legs hurt so bad I could barely complete it and there were several times when my legs were about to give out. I decided I had to make some changes quick so somewhat salvage Cleveland. I quickly showered, put the kids and headed up to Hudson to another running shop called Vertical Runner. I took in both pairs of shoes and explained the issues that I was having with them. The clerk had me tried on both pairs of shoes, walk around in them to analyze my stride and then he did a test that I haven’t seen since I was a little kid buying shoes at the Gold Circle. He tested to see where my toes were at. Here’s where the story gets funny to you and aggravating for me. He said that although Nike’s are narrow in the toe area, if I was running in the right size of shoe I wouldn’t have that issue…my shoes were too small for running! What? Are you kidding me? That’s a mistake that I would expect to get if I bought stuff at Foot Locker of Dick’s, not a professional running store. The next thing that aggravated me was he told me that my Mizuno’s were not the same support but lightly supported which explained the pain I was having with my legs. I left the store with a new pair of Nike’s that were a half-size larger than I previously had. The only question now was how could I get ready to run 26.2 miles in a little over a week if I could barely get through 3 miles earlier that day.
The only answer that I could come up with was I had to take the entire week off from running. The best I would be able to do is to take my dog out for some long walks so I could get some time in my new running shoes. The other thing that I did was schedule an hour long massage for my legs. Having had several massages before on cycling trips, I’m a believer in the benefits of massage and highly recommend them to anyone.
Come race morning I was nervous. More nervous than I would normally be on any given race day which struck me as odd as this was really only a training run now, absolutely no pressure to hit any specific time. Even with that, I had a hard time controlling my nerves and had difficulty eating anything before the race. I was able to keep down half a banana and a third of a Cliff Bar. I knew this wasn’t going to be good but my only hopes were to get to the start line, start running and start getting some nutrition in me before it was too late. I need a bit more than 100 calories to complete a marathon. The plan for the day was to jump in with the 3:30 pace group and to see how far I could go. In all of my long training runs, I kept paces similar to that so it didn’t seem like it would be a terrible stretch. I was running with my good friend Patrick from Chicago who I knew would be strong and I figured having him there would be extra motivation to keep me on track. With the start bell finally going off, we were on our way. Our pace became comfortable and once we made our way through a few of the slow pokes, we found ourselves running with the 3:20 pace group. I wasn’t worried about the tempo; I was only worried about my stomach that wasn’t settling down. I’ll cut the story somewhat short, my stomach never really let up. One minute I would feel good, another I would feel bad. I was happy though that my legs were feeling good. That feeling wouldn’t last much longer however. It was mile 10 exactly when the pain crept back into my legs, exactly where it had been only one week earlier. I knew I was in for a long day and Patrick could tell I was in trouble. I told him to go ahead and run his own race and not to worry about me. With a little more convincing he left and quickly made his way up the road.
Each mile after this became more and more difficult. My only relief was knowing that at mile 13 I would see my wife cheering me on and I was hoping that would be enough to carry a bit further. It was and I was happy to see her. I was very close to giving up and the pain was really unbearable at the time but I made the decision to take it mile by mile, to complete what I had started. I had spent too much time training for this to just give up. So, mile after mile I ran, taking water at each water stop and waving goodbye as each pace group passed me by. My only goal from the start was to the finish the race and that was my only thought as I struggled on, mile after mile. As I turned onto Lakeside, I could see the finish line but my feet wouldn’t pick up the pace, I could only struggle on with the miserably slow pace that I was moving. Seeing my lovely wife at the finish and my family cheering me on as I limped in made it all worth while. A bit embarrassed and disappointed in my time, I was happy to have it over with. I am only disappointed really in that I couldn’t enjoy the moment. What I was hoping for to be a fun experience turned into 10 miles of fun followed by 16 miles of torture. Sitting here 24 hours later I can now take pride in accomplishing something that most people will never even try. Will I try another one? Not sure. I’ve told myself I’d wait at least a week or two before making that decision. My only plans for now are to find that 26.2 sticker for my Subaru.
b
5.15.2009
Down to the wire
Have to make this one quick...lots to discuss but very little time to do it. Less than two days until the start of my first marathon. Am I ready? I'm not really sure. The past month of training has been really bad. I haven't been able to get the volume and intensity in that I needed to so I'm going into Sunday's start feeling a bit under prepared in all honesty. I'll talk more about the reasons why in my next blog post.
I've always approached Cleveland where my only goal for myself was to finish standing up. I've tried to keep myself pretty level headed in terms of not focusing on time at all. I think this has been a good approach for me because I've not set myself up for failure. I'm going into Sunday feeling relaxed, well rested and in all honesty ready for a pretty fun run. I'm looking forward to the physical and the mental challenge that will come. I'm looking forward to being back into the mix with several thousand other runners who all share the same passion. I'm also hoping that the excitement of the day along with running the whole race with my good buddy Patrick will aid me in at least a few of the miles. The lesson that I've learned through this training process is this; 26.2 miles is a hell of a long way to run. I don't care if you're a sub 3 hour marathoner or a 6 hour marathoner, the effort needed to tackle this monster is almost overwhelming. For all those who have beat me there, I sincerely applaud you. I hope that after Sunday, I can proudly call myself a marathoner and display the 26.2 sticker on the back window of my Subaru.
b
I've always approached Cleveland where my only goal for myself was to finish standing up. I've tried to keep myself pretty level headed in terms of not focusing on time at all. I think this has been a good approach for me because I've not set myself up for failure. I'm going into Sunday feeling relaxed, well rested and in all honesty ready for a pretty fun run. I'm looking forward to the physical and the mental challenge that will come. I'm looking forward to being back into the mix with several thousand other runners who all share the same passion. I'm also hoping that the excitement of the day along with running the whole race with my good buddy Patrick will aid me in at least a few of the miles. The lesson that I've learned through this training process is this; 26.2 miles is a hell of a long way to run. I don't care if you're a sub 3 hour marathoner or a 6 hour marathoner, the effort needed to tackle this monster is almost overwhelming. For all those who have beat me there, I sincerely applaud you. I hope that after Sunday, I can proudly call myself a marathoner and display the 26.2 sticker on the back window of my Subaru.
b
4.29.2009
Is it over yet?
Less than 3 weeks to go until Cleveland. I'm not ashamed to say it but I honestly can't wait until the big event. Sure I'm super anxious to push myself to run 26.2 miles but the other part of me is I'm just anxious to be done with it. I have seemed to slip into a cycle where everything just seems to hurt. Not painful like broken bones pain, just sore like sore muscles and joints. Part of the problem I'm sure stems from my shoe issues. I'm still trying to find that perfect pair. My Nikes are too old and cause my toes issue due to the tight toe box. My Mizuno's are spacious in the toes but have made my legs super, super sore. I'm now deciding to train in my Nikes but run the race in my Mizuno's. I'll suffer the consequences later. Besides that, I think I'm just sore from the weeks of mileage that I've been continually running. My body is in great shape for runs up to 7 or 8 miles, but continually doing longer runs on the weekend is taking its toll. I'm learning a valuable lesson, I need to rest but then start running those longer runs sooner in the marathon training plan if I'm going to take another shot at Columbus later in the Fall. I just need to make the physical adaptations of running at that distance just like I did when I started getting to 5 or 6 miles in length. That being said, I'm happy that I'm still relatively healthy and barring any disaster like catching the Swine Flu, I should be on the start line very shortly.
b
b
4.08.2009
5 weeks to go
To be exact, there is 5 weeks, 3 days, 18 hours, 31 minutes and a few odd seconds until the start of the Cleveland Marathon. I sit here today terribly frustrated and worried as I'm feeling a bit nervous that I may have sustained yet another marathon ending injury. My left leg is again hurting similar to how it did when I ended up with a stress fracture. How could this have happen? I'm sitting here really contemplating that... I picked up a new pair of running shoes as my old Nike's were well past their expiration date. I switched brands to a pair of Mizuno's as the Nikes were too cramped in the toe area as I've been having issues with blisters and bloody toes. The Mizuno's opened up a bit and in the few runs that I have in them so far I can tell a world of difference. Besides that, this past week was actually a rest week so my mileage was way down. I put in a solid 13 mile run on Sunday where my buddy Pat joined me on the later half, but mileage, tempo and terrain (trails) were nothing out of the ordinary for me. I am still sore from that run so I must have over did it and I'm praying that this will all quietly go away tomorrow. Waking up in the morning and limping to let the dog out though brings back some bad memories. I'm going to wait another day before I schedule a doctor's appointment.
brian
brian
4.01.2009
Running...ouch
This past weekend was another long one...18 miles. I wasn't as pumped up about this one for some reason as I was when I had to run 17 miles the previous week..probably because it was only one more mile :)
Thanks to a hint from my wife on the weather forecast, I decided to run the 18 on Saturday in lieu of Sunday. I'm all about avoiding bad weather at all costs when I'm running. It's work enough, why throw lousy weather into it?
This week I decided to focus more on my nutrition during my run so I can figure out how much and what I should be eating during the event. This week I carried along a Gu and some Jelly Belly Sport beans that I picked up from somewhere as well as some Gatorade. My cousin lent me his belt a few weeks ago that has 4 small bottles on it as well as a pouch for carrying some food. Man, I look more geeked out than I normally do but unless I want to run circuits around my house there's just no other way around it. The solution...turn up the tunes on my iPod so I don't hear the bystanders and countless wildlife creatures that pass my way laughing at me. I seemed to do better this week but I'm still having problems getting it to work out right for me. This time my stomach was a bit upset. I think I'm getting a bit too much sugar and in lieu of bringing only Gatorade, I'm going to try to pack half water and half Gatorade to give my stomach a break. I had planned on hitting the drinking fountains down on the Towpath but they're still turned off for the season. Darn freeze/thaw cycle.
I would link to my data now but once again, the Garmin site is down. That site seems to be down every week. If you're a Facebook friend you can see the link there. If not, get on Facebook and become my friend so you can see the data!
What I learned this week is that 18 miles is a heck of a long way. I finished up with the thought of how am I ever going to run another 8.2 miles? It was that difficult for me. I think my long runs are on a much more difficult course than the marathon will be (lots of elevation....you'd see it if I could link to it) so I'm hoping the more difficult training course pays off for me on race day. Also, I had just ridden 40 miles the day before with Tim House which I know affected my legs. My current cycling schedule is that I seem to ride my bike only once every other week. Not nearly enough to keep up with the elderly in their motorized wheel chairs but I'm hoping to make cycling workouts a bit more regular now but with all the irons in the fire I'm not too optimistic. My cycling season starts May 20th...look out!
b
Thanks to a hint from my wife on the weather forecast, I decided to run the 18 on Saturday in lieu of Sunday. I'm all about avoiding bad weather at all costs when I'm running. It's work enough, why throw lousy weather into it?
This week I decided to focus more on my nutrition during my run so I can figure out how much and what I should be eating during the event. This week I carried along a Gu and some Jelly Belly Sport beans that I picked up from somewhere as well as some Gatorade. My cousin lent me his belt a few weeks ago that has 4 small bottles on it as well as a pouch for carrying some food. Man, I look more geeked out than I normally do but unless I want to run circuits around my house there's just no other way around it. The solution...turn up the tunes on my iPod so I don't hear the bystanders and countless wildlife creatures that pass my way laughing at me. I seemed to do better this week but I'm still having problems getting it to work out right for me. This time my stomach was a bit upset. I think I'm getting a bit too much sugar and in lieu of bringing only Gatorade, I'm going to try to pack half water and half Gatorade to give my stomach a break. I had planned on hitting the drinking fountains down on the Towpath but they're still turned off for the season. Darn freeze/thaw cycle.
I would link to my data now but once again, the Garmin site is down. That site seems to be down every week. If you're a Facebook friend you can see the link there. If not, get on Facebook and become my friend so you can see the data!
What I learned this week is that 18 miles is a heck of a long way. I finished up with the thought of how am I ever going to run another 8.2 miles? It was that difficult for me. I think my long runs are on a much more difficult course than the marathon will be (lots of elevation....you'd see it if I could link to it) so I'm hoping the more difficult training course pays off for me on race day. Also, I had just ridden 40 miles the day before with Tim House which I know affected my legs. My current cycling schedule is that I seem to ride my bike only once every other week. Not nearly enough to keep up with the elderly in their motorized wheel chairs but I'm hoping to make cycling workouts a bit more regular now but with all the irons in the fire I'm not too optimistic. My cycling season starts May 20th...look out!
b
3.23.2009
And then there was one....
This past week I received some bad news from my training partners for the Cleveland Marathon. Both my brother-in-law and cousin went to the doctor to get some leg pains checked out. Several x-rays and MRI’s later, both of their doctors told them that because of the injuries that they sustained, that their marathon ambitions for this spring would most likely out of the question but there was a chance that depending upon their recovery process…maybe they could attempt the ½ marathon. Wow, sounds exactly like my situation last fall. Looks like I’m running Cleveland this year solo. Running is a tough sport. I once read in my running magazine a coach say that you need to be an active runner for at least a year before you attempt training for a marathon. At the time I thought it was a crazy statement to make but now that I’ve been running consistently for a year, I can see the absolute truth in that comment.
This weekend I took several steps into unchartered territory. Previous to Sunday’s run of 17 miles, my longest run was 16 miles about 4 years ago. With having run 15 miles two weekends ago, I felt pretty comfortable that I’d have no issues but based upon the injuries that I’ve been hearing about, I couldn’t help but be a little nervous heading into it. I used the same strategy that I did several weeks ago where I decided to run down from my house down to the towpath trail in the Valley. This allows me to get the majority of the miles on somewhat softer surfaces therefore limiting the overall abuse on my body. Seems to have worked out well because as I sit here today typing this blog, I’m feeling pretty decent. A little sore but nowhere like I would have expected it to have been. Here’s the link to my data.
Overall the run was good. Some things that I learned from my run:
1. Eat something substantial at least a few hours beforehand next time. I had only eaten a bowl of Cheerios about 4 hours before I started running. I had planned on being out on the run much earlier than I thought I would have.
2. Eat something while running. I had packed an energy bar and a Gu with me. I was able to eat about half a bar and I never ate the Gu. I paid for this big time as I was feeling great up to mile 15. After that I started feeling really sick and pretty tired. It took me a long time to recover after my run. A 2 ½ hour effort take a bit more than Cheerios and half an energy bar…oh and some Gatorade, at least I didn’t forget to hydrate during the run.
It took nearly 3 hours before I felt like I could even eat anything and keep it in my system. I know better than this as this isn’t my first experience in endurance sports. Not sure what I was thinking but I’m glad to have paid the price on a training run and not race day.
brian
This weekend I took several steps into unchartered territory. Previous to Sunday’s run of 17 miles, my longest run was 16 miles about 4 years ago. With having run 15 miles two weekends ago, I felt pretty comfortable that I’d have no issues but based upon the injuries that I’ve been hearing about, I couldn’t help but be a little nervous heading into it. I used the same strategy that I did several weeks ago where I decided to run down from my house down to the towpath trail in the Valley. This allows me to get the majority of the miles on somewhat softer surfaces therefore limiting the overall abuse on my body. Seems to have worked out well because as I sit here today typing this blog, I’m feeling pretty decent. A little sore but nowhere like I would have expected it to have been. Here’s the link to my data.
Overall the run was good. Some things that I learned from my run:
1. Eat something substantial at least a few hours beforehand next time. I had only eaten a bowl of Cheerios about 4 hours before I started running. I had planned on being out on the run much earlier than I thought I would have.
2. Eat something while running. I had packed an energy bar and a Gu with me. I was able to eat about half a bar and I never ate the Gu. I paid for this big time as I was feeling great up to mile 15. After that I started feeling really sick and pretty tired. It took me a long time to recover after my run. A 2 ½ hour effort take a bit more than Cheerios and half an energy bar…oh and some Gatorade, at least I didn’t forget to hydrate during the run.
It took nearly 3 hours before I felt like I could even eat anything and keep it in my system. I know better than this as this isn’t my first experience in endurance sports. Not sure what I was thinking but I’m glad to have paid the price on a training run and not race day.
brian
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