Journal

5K Day

2010-07-12T05:54:21Z

Today was the 5K at Angel Stadium. My time was 25:06 and I ran an average of just over an 8 minute mile. That's two minutes faster than I've been running in training. I felt the difference. If I'm going to make it 13 miles I'm going to have to pick up the pace.

It felt good to run that fast, fast being relative of course, but it was hard. I'm going to take tomorrow completely off, no running or anything and try to get some rest. I'm on little to no sleep and I am exhausted. My body and mind are both fried.

Early is Early

2010-07-11T06:15:01Z

I don't care how short the run is, waking up at 5:30 is hard. Tomorrow I have to do just that so I can go run a 5K at Angel Stadium. I'm pumped about the event, I never thought I'd get to a place where I'd think a 5K is a short run. It's even better because it's at one of my favorite places in the world. I love the Big A. I checked out the course online and it looks like the last bit is inside the stadium. Maybe even on the field. How cool is that?

But I never sleep well when I know I have to be up by a certain time and I really need to sleep.

Fingers crossed.

Getting Closer All the Time

2010-07-09T03:04:06Z

I'm really digging this running stuff. I did just a little over 6 miles today and enjoyed every minute of it. I'm getting so much stronger, especially up hills. I did walk for a few minutes, but not because I was winded or because my legs were tired. I walked because my heart rate was a little higher than I am comfortable with. To get it back down I walked for a while. It's weird letting that stop me when I don't even know if I should be concerned with it, but better safe than sorry.

Today's run was also the longest according to time. I was out for just over an hour. I can't wait to be able to pick up my pace once my heart is conditioned. It's kind of frustrating knowing I could run faster but holding back to keep as close to that 145 bpm mark I've set. I know that it allows me to run longer, both in distance and in time, but it still feels like I'm sandbagging.

I keep reminding myself that I want to be in this for the long haul and that I'm seeing improvement,that the pace will come up in time and that there are more important things than a faster pace. It's on repeat in my head while I run. It keeps me slow and steady and I'm sure I'll be better off for it.

Oh, also I came to the realization that I need to eat more. I think the extra calories will help me recover from the workouts and give me extra energy while I run. It will be a weird change, I've been keeping my calories down for a while now. Make no mistake, it's a change I am looking forward to making.

Yum.

Finally

2010-07-07T05:59:10Z

Tonight I did it. I ran 5 miles without taking a walking break. I didn't set out for that, but it happened anyway. Even up the largest and steepest stretch of hill, I kept running. It felt amazing. I know I have so far to go to turn 5 into 13, never mind 26, but I'm getting there. I'm three weeks into training and I've already done over 60 miles. That's not a huge number for lots of people, but for me it is.

Looking at my day tomorrow, I don't think I'm going to be able to run or even work out like I did yesterday. I may have to try and sneak in a few miles at some point.

I think I might be finally ready to call myself a runner.

Nice and Easy

2010-07-05T06:15:36Z

Today was an easy day. That means that I had 2.5 miles to run at an easy pace. For me, easy meant one other thing, no hills. Well, it might not be possible to run with absolutely no hills except on a track or treadmill but I did my best. That combined with a slower pace made for a nice run. Also, I decided to leave the head phones at home and run without music. It was different. I think I liked it. I need to try it again on a longer run.

This was an incredible 4th of July. My family and I spent the day with church, the park, BBQ and fireworks. Amazing. We actually had to go to two parks today. We started at the Irvine Regional park, which we love, but there was a brush fire right outside the boundaries of the park. We got to see helicopters and planes dump water. It was cool, but we eventually thought the air might not be the best for the kids.

Today was a long day. My easy run was the most insignificant 35 minutes of the day, but I'm glad I got them in anyway. It feels so good to have a plan, to train for something and to stick to it. Tomorrow is an off day for running, so I think I'll get in a gym workout. Then this week the milage starts to creep up.

I can't wait.

Doubts

2010-07-04T06:45:15Z

I ran a respectable 4 miles this morning just as it was starting to heat up. It never got hot, but the sun was shining and it was warm by the time I finished. Not a bad run. I felt good the whole time, I didn't have to walk at all. I felt good.

But now? I'm starting to doubt. I'm starting to think 13.1 miles might be too far out of reach for me. I know I still have 2 months until race day, but I'm questioning every choice I've made.

Do I have the right shoes?
Should I stop listening to music while I run?
Am I running enough/too much/the right kind of miles per week?
Should I focus on pace or heart rate?
Am I eating enough?
Can I actually run 13.1 miles when so much of it the course is uphill?
Should I be doing tempo runs?
What are tempo runs?

These questions and doubts (plus so many more) have crept in and I'm left nearly frozen.

The way I see it I have two choices. Keep going or give up.

I am not interested in giving up. I think I'd rather try and fail than give up.

I have my doubts but I'm going to choose to believe. So tomorrow I'll do my easy run and keep pressing on.

Besides, I've told too many people what I'm doing. Accountability sucks.

...And, Goodnight

2010-07-03T06:21:17Z

Wow. Things have been crazy. Super busy. Super stressful. And I don't think that's going to change any time soon. I keep thinking things will slow down, but they aren't going to.

Today was a "rest" day so I didn't run. I didn't workout or train at all. Instead I got to sit in my office and work pretty much the whole day. I can't tell you how many times I thought, "If I could just go for a run I'm sure I could wrap my mind around this stuff."

But, I didn't. My body is happy. My mind missed it. And although I didn't workout today, my body is exhausted.

So, I'm going to sleep and (hopefully) I'll run in the morning. If not, I'll get run in the evening. You can be sure it won't be in the afternoon though. Not after yesterday.

Great Kid, Don't Get Cocky

2010-07-02T06:05:25Z

Yeah, so I did. Get cocky. Fresh from some really good night runs I decided to push myself a little today. But that's the key to-DAY. I've been running as the sun has been going down for the last few weeks. Today, I couldn't run any later than 4:30. Sometimes life just gets in the way of running. Stupid life.

So today I put on my heart rate monitor and hit the road at 4:30. I was planning on 4 miles, but I wanted to do a different route. That was Mistake Number 1. At about mile 2 I had a decision to make. I could either turn left and then turn around a mile later, or I could turn right. I turned right. Mistake Number 2. That was a mistake because once I turned right I was pretty much committed to a longer, hillier run.

Ok, I figured out I made a mistake in my course pretty quickly. Just turn around right? Right. Except I didn't. I don't know if it was pride or stupidity, but I kept on going. But, I thought I knew a short cut.

Mistake Number 3. It was a dead end. I only realized that after I ran up a HUGE hill. No sweat, I know the next street cuts through and will shave of at least 1/2 a mile.

Yep, you guessed it, Mistake Number 4. It did cut through, after rising up a steady, but evil, incline, only it didn't shave off any miles. It added to it.

So, after 4 mistakes I turned what should have been a fairly challenging four miles into a grueling six.

In the heat. It was not fun. Not even a little.

Tomorrow I may take the day off. To rest my ego more than anything else.

Back to It

2010-07-01T05:50:47Z

I got back on the road tonight. 4 miles at my new strategy of going for beats per minute instead of worrying about minute per mile. It took about 40 min to do the 4 miles. At that pace the half marathon is going to take forever. I'm hoping that as I train it will take more speed to get my heart rate to come up. This seems like the way it should go, but I just don't know how long that will take. I'm not even super sure if that's how it works.

I felt great during and after the run. It felt good to be back out, and I'm looking forward to my next time out.

Hopefully tomorrow.

The Heart of the Matter

2010-06-30T05:46:58Z

So, I haven't posted in a few days. But I haven't trained for a few days either. After my last run, the one that felt so great, I had an episode of palpitations. I have a heart condition called arterial fibrillation. It isn't a huge deal, it just means that my heart beats out of rhythm. I take medicine for it and pretty much forget about it. Left alone my heart can beat up to 200 beats per minute, which, I can tell you, is pretty much impossible to forget about.

Every once in a while, even with the meds, I can have an episode. This was the first one I've had in almost a year, and the first one I've had while training, so I decided to go to my cardiologist to check it out and get the ok to keep training. Today I had to do a stress test to see how my heart held up on a treadmill. My doctor said he'd give me the verdict when he saw the test.

Verdict is in: I can keep training! The test was perfect, no beats out of place, even when my heart rate got over 180 beats per minute. He had me going at 5 mph on an incline of 18%. That got me working. I really wanted to push it though, just to see if everything would check out. It did.

I'm so excited. Tomorrow I'm going to get a good run in. I'm thinking 5 miles. That may be ambitious, but the good doctor said I could proceed full steam ahead.

So I'm going to.