Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Not much...
I've been traveling of late. Not too much to report. Despite the traveling, I've kept the weight pretty close. I went bike riding with the boys yesterday. I'm going to try to run tomorrow morning, I think.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Dallas Rock and Roll Half
How about a shot at the finish line to try to break the blahs? I didn't run but I got out on the bike for a bit today. John and I lapped the neighborhood a couple of times. A friend sent me some orthotics he's been making to relieve his on fascitis. I'm looking forward to trying them out.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
April Blahs
Since not running the Bearathon, I haven't felt much like running. My plantars fascitis has been really bugging me and for the last couple of days my knee has been hurting. Easter candy was my undoing. I gained 3 pounds back. But I lost one of those last week. I need to get motivated again. The family is running a 5K this weekend but I will be out of town. Blah!
Friday, March 26, 2010
The Race That Wasn't - Bearathon 2010
It rained on Saturday of the Bearathon. It started about an hour before start time. It stopped about the time the race should have finished. We sat around a lot. We were told it was still on. And then it was canceled. I'm disappointed but they couldn't control the weather. So it looks like my Spring season ends with 0-3 half-marathons in 3 months. It's golf season now anyway and I haven't swung a club since October. I need to get out there. We have a golf get together at the end of April in California.
In better news, my weigh-in today brings me down (or up) to minus 23 pounds since the 01.01.2010. I'm still working. I still have 27 pounds to go for my realistic goal. We'll talk about the crazy goal at a later date.
As far as training goes, I'd like to run in the Route 66 half in November and maybe try for a full by January so from here I plan to double my Saturday run and maybe double one of my weekday runs.
Edit: I forgot to add to the disappointment of the cancellation of the Bearathon. We had both our boys and my in-laws all set to run the 5K. I can't believe we were able to get the Craine's out in the cold and the wet. But they were there ready to run, too. They are planning to do the Komen 5k in April, so I hope that works out for them.
In better news, my weigh-in today brings me down (or up) to minus 23 pounds since the 01.01.2010. I'm still working. I still have 27 pounds to go for my realistic goal. We'll talk about the crazy goal at a later date.
As far as training goes, I'd like to run in the Route 66 half in November and maybe try for a full by January so from here I plan to double my Saturday run and maybe double one of my weekday runs.
Edit: I forgot to add to the disappointment of the cancellation of the Bearathon. We had both our boys and my in-laws all set to run the 5K. I can't believe we were able to get the Craine's out in the cold and the wet. But they were there ready to run, too. They are planning to do the Komen 5k in April, so I hope that works out for them.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Dallas Rock 'n' Roll 1/2
2010 is in its third month and I have completed three half marathons. Each one I have set a PR. Each one the recovery time has been less. I've lost 20 pounds since the first of the year. I seem to have hit a plateau right now but I didn't gain anything over vacation.
The race: This was my first from the Rock 'n' Roll series. They do a wave start, each corral has a separate start. I don't know why, it meant that my clock time was some 20 - 25 minutes off my actual time which means I have to keep up with my splits. There were Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders at the starting line and it was a pretty big party. I started out way too hard. I was running a little over a 10-minute mile. I tend to average a little under 14-minutes per mile.
We ran down through Dealey plaza and past the "Grassy Knoll" which is now clearly identified as such by a large yellow sign. Looped aroiund and headed back into downtown toward Turtle Creek.
Turtle Creek was a nice run, lots of huge houses in a park like setting. I recall hearing a girl say that she was from Dallas and had no idea that place existed. Turtle Creek led to Highland Park and the SMU area before turning on Mockingbird and crossing over Central Expressway. We came down Skillman through the "M" streets where my sister used to live. Then down to Swiss Ave.
Swiss Avenue was lined with more gorgeous houses, for those that don't know the Dallas area. Just shy of mile 10, a lady, Jenny was her name, heard my watch beeping and asked what I was running. Her watch was not functioning properly. I said a 1:1 and she asked if she could pace with me the rest of the race, so then we were 2.
Around mile 11, we caught a friend of Jenny's and became 3 for the final 2 miles. About mile 12 we were talking about how we were almost there when a third lady said she hoped it was ok if she joined us, that she was running out of gas. So the four of us came into Fair Park together. Low on gas. HOT! It had gotten up to the mid-70's.
Amy, who had finished som 30 minutes earlier, had found my mom, sister and the kids and they were hanging just about the 13 -mile mark and their cheers gave me the boost I needed to finish strong.
I sprinted the finish line and waited for the ladies to finish. We congratulated each other then went our separate ways. Kelly came in a short while later. She was not DAL as she feared. There were plenty behind her.
My time was 3:02:48, about 4 minutes faster than Austin. The Dallas course was MUCH flatter than either of the other courses. Very few hills and what there was were gradual inclines. It was a good race.
Next up, Bearathon (another half) in Waco this Saturday. Then we're done for a while.
The race: This was my first from the Rock 'n' Roll series. They do a wave start, each corral has a separate start. I don't know why, it meant that my clock time was some 20 - 25 minutes off my actual time which means I have to keep up with my splits. There were Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders at the starting line and it was a pretty big party. I started out way too hard. I was running a little over a 10-minute mile. I tend to average a little under 14-minutes per mile.
We ran down through Dealey plaza and past the "Grassy Knoll" which is now clearly identified as such by a large yellow sign. Looped aroiund and headed back into downtown toward Turtle Creek.
Turtle Creek was a nice run, lots of huge houses in a park like setting. I recall hearing a girl say that she was from Dallas and had no idea that place existed. Turtle Creek led to Highland Park and the SMU area before turning on Mockingbird and crossing over Central Expressway. We came down Skillman through the "M" streets where my sister used to live. Then down to Swiss Ave.
Swiss Avenue was lined with more gorgeous houses, for those that don't know the Dallas area. Just shy of mile 10, a lady, Jenny was her name, heard my watch beeping and asked what I was running. Her watch was not functioning properly. I said a 1:1 and she asked if she could pace with me the rest of the race, so then we were 2.
Around mile 11, we caught a friend of Jenny's and became 3 for the final 2 miles. About mile 12 we were talking about how we were almost there when a third lady said she hoped it was ok if she joined us, that she was running out of gas. So the four of us came into Fair Park together. Low on gas. HOT! It had gotten up to the mid-70's.
Amy, who had finished som 30 minutes earlier, had found my mom, sister and the kids and they were hanging just about the 13 -mile mark and their cheers gave me the boost I needed to finish strong.
I sprinted the finish line and waited for the ladies to finish. We congratulated each other then went our separate ways. Kelly came in a short while later. She was not DAL as she feared. There were plenty behind her.
My time was 3:02:48, about 4 minutes faster than Austin. The Dallas course was MUCH flatter than either of the other courses. Very few hills and what there was were gradual inclines. It was a good race.
Next up, Bearathon (another half) in Waco this Saturday. Then we're done for a while.
Friday, February 26, 2010
WW Friday
I've been busy and missed a couple of post about the weigh in. Today's weigh in marks a negative TWENTY (20) pounds since January 1, 2010. TWENTY! Did I mention TWENTY!?! Thank you.
I ran yesterday for the first time since Austin. I was a little stiff but it worked out eventually. I ran 5K at a pretty slow pace but that's OK. Now, to the gym!
20 pounds. Good morning.
I ran yesterday for the first time since Austin. I was a little stiff but it worked out eventually. I ran 5K at a pretty slow pace but that's OK. Now, to the gym!
20 pounds. Good morning.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Two months, two half marathons
What the...? With a Chip Time of 3:06:39, six minutes better than last time, I've completed my second half marathon. First off, the weather was so much nicer than it was in Waco last month. It was a little chilly to start with, mid 30's when we were headed to the start, but we hit a high near 70 by mid afternoon.
The biggest difference was the number of participants. Waco was a very small event, nice, but small. There were something like 20,000 people in Austin running either the full or the half. Amy I started out together, somewhere around the 5:00 pace folks, just because that was as high as they went. It was almost 15 minutes from the gun time that we finally crossed the start line,it was just that crowded.
We ran together for nearly the first mile, but I didn't want to hold her back so I told her to go on and settled into my pace. The start line was on Congress at Cesar Chavez. You start out by crossing the Congress Ave bridge and heading up Congress. And it is up. We followed Congress to 360, where we turned and came down 1st. That was my first challenge as 1st is full of little Mexican restaurants and they were all cranking out breakfast. It smelled so good, but I pressed on.
After getting back to Cesar Chavez, we turned left up alongside the lake. As we crossed over the lake again, we passed the 10K mark. I was feeling no pain, sticking with a 1 and 1. Sometimes running 5 or 6 minutes at a time as I felt like it. Rarely walking longer than the minute.
Around the 8 mile mark, we found the first steep hill, it ended up at the original Magnolia Cafe, I wanted to stop again. We continued down along Town Lake until around mile 10 where we turned down 15th and started heading for home. The race split at Mile 11, the marathoners turning off and heading out farther. From here to the end, the terrain became heavily undulated. I experienced lots of ups and downs and got pretty warn out. Then we get to mile 12. I swear that hill looked like a cliff. Straight up! The nice part is there was a ton of spectators really cheering us on and it really was all down hill from there.
As we approached the Capitol, we rejoined the marathon route. They rounded the Capitol on the East side, the half on the West, and it was straight on to finish. As I got down to the flat pavement of Congress again I felt like I had enough to give it a little kick and finish strong. And I did.
The previous race, I couldn't eat anything after the race. After this one, I couldn't get enough. Banana before I got out of the tent, then a bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos as I sat on the sidewalk catching my breath.
I hung out for a while waiting for Amy to come in from the full. My phone died so I started walking back up the marathon course. I spotted Amy coming up to the Capitol so I ran with her for a little bit, cheering her on to the finish. That was the only time I really hurt while running. She is much faster than me.
After cleaning up and resting a bit, we headed over to El Arroyo for a celebratory splurge and I enjoyed a Mexican martini. It was strong. I fell asleep about 5:30.
Three days later and I'm getting along pretty good, No pain. I played basketball Monday night, I walked last night and did 30 minutes on the treadmill today. All is well.
And that is how I spent my Valentine's Day with my Valentine.
Next race: Dallas Rock and Roll Half in about a month. It's the weekend we get back from a ski trip.
The biggest difference was the number of participants. Waco was a very small event, nice, but small. There were something like 20,000 people in Austin running either the full or the half. Amy I started out together, somewhere around the 5:00 pace folks, just because that was as high as they went. It was almost 15 minutes from the gun time that we finally crossed the start line,it was just that crowded.
We ran together for nearly the first mile, but I didn't want to hold her back so I told her to go on and settled into my pace. The start line was on Congress at Cesar Chavez. You start out by crossing the Congress Ave bridge and heading up Congress. And it is up. We followed Congress to 360, where we turned and came down 1st. That was my first challenge as 1st is full of little Mexican restaurants and they were all cranking out breakfast. It smelled so good, but I pressed on.
After getting back to Cesar Chavez, we turned left up alongside the lake. As we crossed over the lake again, we passed the 10K mark. I was feeling no pain, sticking with a 1 and 1. Sometimes running 5 or 6 minutes at a time as I felt like it. Rarely walking longer than the minute.
Around the 8 mile mark, we found the first steep hill, it ended up at the original Magnolia Cafe, I wanted to stop again. We continued down along Town Lake until around mile 10 where we turned down 15th and started heading for home. The race split at Mile 11, the marathoners turning off and heading out farther. From here to the end, the terrain became heavily undulated. I experienced lots of ups and downs and got pretty warn out. Then we get to mile 12. I swear that hill looked like a cliff. Straight up! The nice part is there was a ton of spectators really cheering us on and it really was all down hill from there.
As we approached the Capitol, we rejoined the marathon route. They rounded the Capitol on the East side, the half on the West, and it was straight on to finish. As I got down to the flat pavement of Congress again I felt like I had enough to give it a little kick and finish strong. And I did.
The previous race, I couldn't eat anything after the race. After this one, I couldn't get enough. Banana before I got out of the tent, then a bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos as I sat on the sidewalk catching my breath.
I hung out for a while waiting for Amy to come in from the full. My phone died so I started walking back up the marathon course. I spotted Amy coming up to the Capitol so I ran with her for a little bit, cheering her on to the finish. That was the only time I really hurt while running. She is much faster than me.
After cleaning up and resting a bit, we headed over to El Arroyo for a celebratory splurge and I enjoyed a Mexican martini. It was strong. I fell asleep about 5:30.
Three days later and I'm getting along pretty good, No pain. I played basketball Monday night, I walked last night and did 30 minutes on the treadmill today. All is well.
And that is how I spent my Valentine's Day with my Valentine.
Next race: Dallas Rock and Roll Half in about a month. It's the weekend we get back from a ski trip.
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