Well, so far so good... legs are sore! Did my first run last night. Actually felt pretty good for being over 3 weeks since the last time I ran. Knee didn't really give me any issues until afterwards (but in a different spot... go figure!), and I was able to make the full 3 miles with only a short bit of fast walking about 2 mi into it. Oh yeah... my arms and chest are sore!!! First time I'd done any upper body since last summer... yikes, has it been that long!
Angela was trying to get sick again yesterday so she opted out of the run... that's ok... I'm the one who needs the head start ;-)
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Saturday, January 1, 2011
What's this... Another Running Event???
First of all... Happy New Year!!!
Secondly...
Uh-Oh... Here we go again!!!
Yeah, I know I said running sucks... and I still think that. But at the same time, we didn't want to give up everything we accomplished. So, we came to a compromise. We wanted more weight training but less running. I never had knee issues until I began running for the half marathon so something shorter was definitely necessary. Both Angela & I think the knee issues will be helped by less running and more weight training as well. So we decided on a 10K this time. We could train for that and still weight train at the same time.
So here's our plan... 2 days of running each week, and 3 good weight training days. The other 2 days will just be an ab workout so it should give us enough rest for the week. We'll also be keeping separate logs this time just so we can keep track easier. Wish us luck ;-)
Secondly...
Uh-Oh... Here we go again!!!
Yeah, I know I said running sucks... and I still think that. But at the same time, we didn't want to give up everything we accomplished. So, we came to a compromise. We wanted more weight training but less running. I never had knee issues until I began running for the half marathon so something shorter was definitely necessary. Both Angela & I think the knee issues will be helped by less running and more weight training as well. So we decided on a 10K this time. We could train for that and still weight train at the same time.
So here's our plan... 2 days of running each week, and 3 good weight training days. The other 2 days will just be an ab workout so it should give us enough rest for the week. We'll also be keeping separate logs this time just so we can keep track easier. Wish us luck ;-)
Friday, December 17, 2010
Track Weekend #2 :-)
I knew I'd like going to the track even before I went... Angela did too ;-) So, without jumping off the deep end my plan is, for now, only attend The Drivers Edge events that take place at the local track down in Cresson TX (they go to two others tracks - Houston MotorSport Ranch and Texas World Speedway in College Station). I'd eventually like to try both of those tracks, but right now it's not practical.
So... the weekend of Dec 4th & 5th I went back down to MotorSport Ranch in Cresson to run the 1.7 mile track in the opposite direction from last time.
Even though I'd run the track before, coming at it from the opposite direction makes it a whole new track. The line you take when running the track Counter-Clockwise is definitely not the line you take when running it Clockwise! I also had a different instructor this time, who had a very different approach to things. I liked him just as much as my last instructor. They both offered info that helped me improve! I was a bit more comfortable this time, so I was pushing the car a bit harder, and my tires show it! The good thing was I improved my lap times from the last time by a full 5 seconds! I was very happy with that, plus the kudos I was receiving from the instructor. He, like my instructor last time, was very surprised my car still has it's stock suspension. We were one of the fastest cars on the track. Felt good to pass Corvettes, and stripped down race cars :-) It felt REALLY good when guys I passed on the track would come up to me afterwards, introduce themselves and want to talk.
I took video again of every run. Here's the last few laps of the 1st run on Sunday. These were some of my quickest laps of the weekend, mainly due to the fact my instructor was introducing me to some new techniques during the later runs that day so they weren't as "pretty" (more on that in a moment :-)
During the last run of the day my instructor was trying to get me to downshift during braking instead of after braking while entering the turn. Downshifting during braking (without throttle) is a pre-curser to heel-and-toe. I say he was trying to get me to do it because he was explaining it in pieces, and I didn't know what the end result was that we were shooting for... in other words me no-comprende what he say... So I was trying to figure it out "on the fly" so to speak... while going 100mph :-) Here's when I finally figured it out... well, actually, it was because of this that I finally figured it out ;-)
No harm, no foul... and it actually was kinda fun ;-) No damage done, and the car is fine. And since I learned something from it, it was worth it!!
You know... I gotta mention one thing... notice the instructor's feet during the spin... the guy doesn't flinch! Either he's got nerves of steel, or he has confidence in me... Or I guess he could just simply be crazy... yeah, that's probably it!!!
So... the weekend of Dec 4th & 5th I went back down to MotorSport Ranch in Cresson to run the 1.7 mile track in the opposite direction from last time.
Even though I'd run the track before, coming at it from the opposite direction makes it a whole new track. The line you take when running the track Counter-Clockwise is definitely not the line you take when running it Clockwise! I also had a different instructor this time, who had a very different approach to things. I liked him just as much as my last instructor. They both offered info that helped me improve! I was a bit more comfortable this time, so I was pushing the car a bit harder, and my tires show it! The good thing was I improved my lap times from the last time by a full 5 seconds! I was very happy with that, plus the kudos I was receiving from the instructor. He, like my instructor last time, was very surprised my car still has it's stock suspension. We were one of the fastest cars on the track. Felt good to pass Corvettes, and stripped down race cars :-) It felt REALLY good when guys I passed on the track would come up to me afterwards, introduce themselves and want to talk.
I took video again of every run. Here's the last few laps of the 1st run on Sunday. These were some of my quickest laps of the weekend, mainly due to the fact my instructor was introducing me to some new techniques during the later runs that day so they weren't as "pretty" (more on that in a moment :-)
During the last run of the day my instructor was trying to get me to downshift during braking instead of after braking while entering the turn. Downshifting during braking (without throttle) is a pre-curser to heel-and-toe. I say he was trying to get me to do it because he was explaining it in pieces, and I didn't know what the end result was that we were shooting for... in other words me no-comprende what he say... So I was trying to figure it out "on the fly" so to speak... while going 100mph :-) Here's when I finally figured it out... well, actually, it was because of this that I finally figured it out ;-)
No harm, no foul... and it actually was kinda fun ;-) No damage done, and the car is fine. And since I learned something from it, it was worth it!!
You know... I gotta mention one thing... notice the instructor's feet during the spin... the guy doesn't flinch! Either he's got nerves of steel, or he has confidence in me... Or I guess he could just simply be crazy... yeah, that's probably it!!!
Monday, December 13, 2010
Half Marathon... CHECK!!!
!!!!Mission Accomplished!!!!
Angela, Keith & I accomplished our goal! All of us finished the Fayetteville Half Marathon! I gotta say, I was a little intimidated... A cold front blew through the night before and winds were about 30mph... not necessarily a big deal... However, the temperature during the race was a BRISK 18 degrees!!! And yes... the winds were still blowing 30mph during the race!!! It was FREAKIN' cold! The Gatorade and water at the aid stations during the race were frozen. I was bundled up like Kenny in South Park, and I ran like that the whole race. I sweat like crazy, but I wasn't cold ;-)
We had a nice treat as well... Angela's parents flew out to cheer us on. We really enjoyed having them there and had a blast the entire time!
Keith paced the field... his goal was to finish in less than 2 and a half hours, which he did. His final time was 2 hours 19 minutes 52 seconds. Angela finished in 2 hours 38 minutes 11 seconds. My goal was simply to finish... with a secondary goal of not finishing last... I accomplished both :-) I finished in 2 hours 40 minutes 21 seconds. The full results can be found here.
The course we ran was 13.1 miles in length. Here's a map:
We started on the University of Arkansas campus (bottom left of the map) then worked our way North through town, back South, then did a loop and repeated part of the course before returning back to the University of Arkansas campus to finish on their outdoor track. The course had some pretty steep hills on it (see the course profile at the bottom of the map) and ranged from some really busy streets to a bicycle path. All in all, it was more fun than I expected, and I had a much better run than I expected! The first 5 miles seemed to fly by, and I was pretty comfortable up until about 11 miles. After that, my right knee really started tightening up. I usually finish pretty strong but it simply wasn't happening this time. If I wanted to finish, I was gonna have to take it easy so I did. The end result... Mission Accomplished!!!
Oh... and to answer the most commonly asked question since the race...
No, I'm not running a marathon next! In fact... I'm going back to weight training.
Running sucks...
Angela, Keith & I accomplished our goal! All of us finished the Fayetteville Half Marathon! I gotta say, I was a little intimidated... A cold front blew through the night before and winds were about 30mph... not necessarily a big deal... However, the temperature during the race was a BRISK 18 degrees!!! And yes... the winds were still blowing 30mph during the race!!! It was FREAKIN' cold! The Gatorade and water at the aid stations during the race were frozen. I was bundled up like Kenny in South Park, and I ran like that the whole race. I sweat like crazy, but I wasn't cold ;-)
We had a nice treat as well... Angela's parents flew out to cheer us on. We really enjoyed having them there and had a blast the entire time!
Keith paced the field... his goal was to finish in less than 2 and a half hours, which he did. His final time was 2 hours 19 minutes 52 seconds. Angela finished in 2 hours 38 minutes 11 seconds. My goal was simply to finish... with a secondary goal of not finishing last... I accomplished both :-) I finished in 2 hours 40 minutes 21 seconds. The full results can be found here.
The course we ran was 13.1 miles in length. Here's a map:
We started on the University of Arkansas campus (bottom left of the map) then worked our way North through town, back South, then did a loop and repeated part of the course before returning back to the University of Arkansas campus to finish on their outdoor track. The course had some pretty steep hills on it (see the course profile at the bottom of the map) and ranged from some really busy streets to a bicycle path. All in all, it was more fun than I expected, and I had a much better run than I expected! The first 5 miles seemed to fly by, and I was pretty comfortable up until about 11 miles. After that, my right knee really started tightening up. I usually finish pretty strong but it simply wasn't happening this time. If I wanted to finish, I was gonna have to take it easy so I did. The end result... Mission Accomplished!!!
Oh... and to answer the most commonly asked question since the race...
No, I'm not running a marathon next! In fact... I'm going back to weight training.
Running sucks...
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
1/2 Marathon Training - Day 99
Wound up running pretty late tonight... finished the run about 9:20pm (yuck!) It was a weird run. It felt good for a change (that's enough to consider it weird!). However, I finished the whole run, well... running ;-) Lately, that's unusual for me. Especially at the pace I was running. Another weird thing was I started getting tunnel vision during the last mile. This continued and got worse through the remainder of the run... but I didn't feel like stopping. I wasn't struggling, and wasn't overly winded, so I trucked on. I think I realized with about 1/3 mile left to go I was getting another blood sugar crash. This one was much less severe than the one I had a while back. I was able to keep running, but as soon as I got back to the house that was about my limit! I gotta stay away from those simple carbs at work!!! End result was 3 miles in 32min 39sec (10:53mi).
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Thanksgiving, Sick, and 1/2 Marathon Training - Day 95
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! Ok... so it's a couple days late, but hey... we're still just as thankful for everything we've been blessed with! Thank you!
So it's been a while since we've posted. We haven't run too much either. Both of us have "sorta" been sick a bit over the last week or so. We hate being sick! It hasn't really been that bad, but bad enough. Anyway, Angela forced herself to get out and run Monday earlier this week. I didn't join her on her 5 mile journey. She did well though but didn't time it.
A cold front came through early Thankgiving morning and we got our first freeze Thanksgiving night... a far cry from the 84 degrees it was the day before! (sorry... I'm gonna whine here for a sec...) So, Friday, my first run in a week, was with a little congestion and runny nose, in colder temps, and with a bum knee (done whining...) We chose to do 5 miles, and I was trying out a new knee strap for my suspected osgood-schlatters issue. It helps, but the biggest difference comes once the knee is warmed up... I can tell I definitely need to be careful on it the first mile or so. After that its just annoying and makes me run funny :-) I'm thinking about possibly trying out tape instead of the strap since the strap seems to slip down just a bit while running. Taping for osgood schlatters.
Angela looked good during the run. I told her to go ahead and run her own pace and not worry about me. Even though she took a good break at the halfway point for some water she still managed a 55min 45sec time (11:09mi) for the 5 miles... she surprised herself. I came in over a minute later... 57min 13sec (11:27mi).
We're hoping to stick with the remainder of the schedule from here on out. Not too much longer to go now :-|
So it's been a while since we've posted. We haven't run too much either. Both of us have "sorta" been sick a bit over the last week or so. We hate being sick! It hasn't really been that bad, but bad enough. Anyway, Angela forced herself to get out and run Monday earlier this week. I didn't join her on her 5 mile journey. She did well though but didn't time it.
A cold front came through early Thankgiving morning and we got our first freeze Thanksgiving night... a far cry from the 84 degrees it was the day before! (sorry... I'm gonna whine here for a sec...) So, Friday, my first run in a week, was with a little congestion and runny nose, in colder temps, and with a bum knee (done whining...) We chose to do 5 miles, and I was trying out a new knee strap for my suspected osgood-schlatters issue. It helps, but the biggest difference comes once the knee is warmed up... I can tell I definitely need to be careful on it the first mile or so. After that its just annoying and makes me run funny :-) I'm thinking about possibly trying out tape instead of the strap since the strap seems to slip down just a bit while running. Taping for osgood schlatters.
Angela looked good during the run. I told her to go ahead and run her own pace and not worry about me. Even though she took a good break at the halfway point for some water she still managed a 55min 45sec time (11:09mi) for the 5 miles... she surprised herself. I came in over a minute later... 57min 13sec (11:27mi).
We're hoping to stick with the remainder of the schedule from here on out. Not too much longer to go now :-|
Friday, November 19, 2010
1/2 Marathon Training - Day 86 & 88
During last Sunday's long run I noticed some pain below my right knee... nothing major, more annoying but definitely noticeable. Monday it was more pronounced, and Tuesday was worse, so I started wondering about it... Internet checks initially pointed to "runners knee" but their descriptions of it didn't seem to fit exactly... a little more digging and I think its a case of "osgood schlatters disease". Basically a fancy name for irritation and little micro-tears in the tendon that connects the bottom of the knee-cap to the top of your tibia (lower leg bone). Treatments for a mild case are to take it easy. I have no problem with taking it easy :-) So, no run on Tuesday. Besides, the way I was walking at work I was a little worried I might do some damage if I did try to do a run.
Since Angela didn't do the long run Sunday she was really wanting to get some form of cardio activity... Wednesday was pretty cold and the wind was blowing like crazy. I asked that we not go run in it, so Angela suggested we do the P90X Plyometrics workout. Sounded like a good idea so we did. That one definitely gets your heart rate up! I took it pretty easy though... the knee was still tender.
We skipped the Thursday run, and decided tonight that we'd go out for a short 3-miles, taking it really easy! (we both joked how referring to 3 miles as "short" was absolutely UNHEARD of before we started this) My knee is still slightly tender, and Angela is way more sore than she expected from the Plyometrics workout :-) We took it slow and easy tonight... 3 miles in 35min 46 seconds (11:55mi). I want to do the long run this weekend so I REALLY didn't want to hurt my knee anymore.
Since Angela didn't do the long run Sunday she was really wanting to get some form of cardio activity... Wednesday was pretty cold and the wind was blowing like crazy. I asked that we not go run in it, so Angela suggested we do the P90X Plyometrics workout. Sounded like a good idea so we did. That one definitely gets your heart rate up! I took it pretty easy though... the knee was still tender.
We skipped the Thursday run, and decided tonight that we'd go out for a short 3-miles, taking it really easy! (we both joked how referring to 3 miles as "short" was absolutely UNHEARD of before we started this) My knee is still slightly tender, and Angela is way more sore than she expected from the Plyometrics workout :-) We took it slow and easy tonight... 3 miles in 35min 46 seconds (11:55mi). I want to do the long run this weekend so I REALLY didn't want to hurt my knee anymore.
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