Spring Season

26 Saturday Feb 2011

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Sure it’s still winter – especially in Colorado considering it just snowed the last two days.  But that little 26.2 mile jaunt down in Austin last weekend marked the end of my winter training.  And today was gorgeous outside.  About 45° with strong sun splashing off the new snow.  I was able to wear a single layer of Under Armour cold weather gear.  I bought a new white, mock turtle compression shirt.  Looks pretty good from my chest up.  Compression gear isn’t too flattering on my bowling ball belly.

I feel pretty good after the marathon.  I ran 4 miles Thursday and 8 today.  I was quite a bit more sore after the Denver Marathon, perhaps from running faster.  I had a sore lower stomach that felt like a hernia for several months after.  It didn’t go away until I began doing sit-ups again in January.  From the Austin Marathon, I have a pain lingering in my lower left leg.  It feels sort of like a high ankle sprain.  I’m guessing it’s from running so much of the marathon on the right side of the road which is not normal.  I recall a number of times shifting position from the curb to the crown of the road for a more natural feel.  It should go away soon but I might try some toe raises to see if that speeds up the recovery.

This official race pic above was taken maybe a minute after crossing the finish line.  My finish time is finally posted – 4:23.  That’s 23 minutes slower than I expected, which is fine.  What I learned from the splits being posted is I clearly went out too fast.  I ran the first 10 miles at an 8 minute pace.  I was running with the 8:30 pace team, so some help they were.  I didn’t notice because my breathing was fine, but clearly my legs are not in shape for such a torrid pace.  I believe a 9 minute pace would have been perfect.  As it was, I probably slowed down ultimately to a 12 minute pace as I finished with a 10 minute pace overall.  Bottom line is I need to relearn how to pace myself.  I used to have such a good feel for that 20 years ago.  And since I’ve learned I can’t trust the pace teams, I might have to start wearing a watch.

This pic to the right catches my fatigue in the last 50 meters.  I’m going to remember the pain from this race for years to come.  It might have been harder than my very first marathon at age 16.  The rest of the year should feel downhill.  My next event is in a month – the Moab Half Marathon.  I intend to practice my 9 minute pace for that puppy.  I hope to show some improvement in the Bolder Boulder in May.  I don’t have anything officially planned after that.  I did enter the lottery to run the New York Marathon in November.  I won’t be too disappointed if I don’t get selected.  Otherwise, I’m looking forward to some hiking on the Colorado Trail with my buddy Rob this summer.  I think I might finally be in good enough shape to hang with him.

Post Race

22 Tuesday Feb 2011

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OK, now that the race is over, work is behind me and I’m airborne headed back from Austin, I can muse over Sunday’s marathon and other post race events.  It all went so fast.  A business trip to Detroit midweek, return home to Longmont Friday night, fly to Austin Saturday afternoon and big run on Sunday morning.  I was already apparently mentally fatigued half way through these events because I missed the exit for Pena Blvd on the way to DIA Saturday and drove another 10 miles on E470 conversing with Karen before I noticed.  That added to my toll charges.

I understand now more of why my run was so hard.  And I feel stupid for it.  The primary reason was my shoes.  Or more specifically, my new Sofsole inserts.  As I related in an earlier blog post, I bought them just this last week and was able to walk in them enough to be confident I wouldn’t get blisters.  But I wasn’t able to run in them.  To be fair, I might not have noticed the problem.  I would have only run 4 miles or so training but I didn’t notice my feet hurting in the marathon until 10 miles.  But man, when they started to hurt, it was like walking on hot coals for 16 miles.  My feet hurt both top and bottom.  My first thought was that I laced them too tightly.  Of course I put up with that until late in the race before loosening them, but it didn’t make much difference.  It didn’t affect my soles at all and only slightly alleviated the tops of my feet.  This didn’t make any sense at the time.

After the race, I figured the unique lacing architecture contributed to the top foot pain.  This shoe, the ASICs Gel-Nimbus,  has a unique lacing pattern that is off-center following a point from the big toe at the bottom of the shoe, up to the middle near the ankle.  I can tell you now that this is stupid.  You might not ever notice it on shorter runs, but it becomes quite evident in a marathon.  I hate to be overly critical of an ASICs shoe, because they’ve been my favorite training and racing shoes my entire life.  I’ve rarely deviated from them.  However, meeting up with family and friends at this event provided me with interesting feedback on my running blog.  I’ve heard before that it motivates some people to run.  I heard more of that this weekend.  But I also heard for the first time that my description of running gear and apparel motivate my readers to purchase some of the mentioned products.  Clearly that’s not my intention.  I don’t receive ad revenue.  I am only averaging 10 hits per day so that’s hardly an ad revenue business model.  But I do want to be as helpful and informative on products as I try to be on any other stories that could be mistaken for advice in this blog.  The askew lace design sucks.

The second issue with this shoe is that I bought it for its advertised stability.  Indeed, its promoted stability.  The shoe is in both this season and last season’s Runner’s World training shoe roundup.  I bought last year’s model and it still did not prevent me from pronation.  Beyond the lacing pattern, I think the shoe design itself is probably fine for stability but it needed new inserts.  Why the hell do they sell $140 shoes, designed for stability, with such cheap inserts?  Do I seriously have to spend another $30 on my own inserts?  After the pain I suffered through the last 16 miles of the Austin marathon, I don’t mind ripping on these shoes.  Yeah, ASICs was great when I was young and fast.  I always felt like they were a fast shoe that matched my running style of a mid-foot to toe landing.  But I land on my heels nowadays.  At 48, I’m no longer sprinting through long distance runs.  I’m ready to move on and will be sporting a new shoe for next month’s Moab Half Marathon.  And while I’m dishing it out, what’s up with Runner’s World.  Their writers wear a pair of shoes to evaluate for a week or two as part of their normal running regimen.  Wouldn’t running something more substantial like perhaps a half marathon be more journalistically sound?  They wear these shoes on an average run and report on how they feel.  They talk about it feeling hard or squishy.  Man, try running some real distance and report on how your feet hurt so dag-nab much that your ribs and shoulder blades feel bruised too!  Did I mention that the next day I discovered the soles of my feet were all purple from bruising?  Not the entire sole really, but just behind the ball of my feet and into the arch.  Now to be fair, this is probably more from the non-ASIC insert than the shoe, but back to my earlier point – why doesn’t a $140 shoe have decent inserts to begin with?  If I’m starting to come across as an angry writer, I should mention now that I’ve started drinking on the plane.  I don’t generally drink on flights anymore but I’m unwinding and Karen is picking me up at DIA so I won’t have to drive – or search for my car.

So I’ve shared with you.  If any of you want to comment, give me some advice on shoes I should buy.  I pronate in my left foot.  My race pace appears to be 8 minutes per mile for 10K to half marathon, 8.5 minutes for a full.  And I run about 8.5 to 9 minutes per mile on training runs.  I also run trails but have good shoes for that already.  Should have worn them Sunday.  The other post race thought I’m having is on the hills of the Austin course.  I swear I read a pre-race elevation chart that suggested a different pattern.  I described how I thought the hills would go in an earlier blog post.  More importantly I expressed my confidence that I wouldn’t have issues with the hills.  It’s very likely I just read the chart wrong.  I had it in my head that the course would rise for the first two miles then drop for the next four and then rise until the 18  mile point and then drop back down.  I clearly did some shortcuts in my mind.  I’m often accused of having a highly selective memory.  This course hit some small hills at the start downtown.  Nothing significant since they were short and the crowd was so thick that we weren’t running full speed yet.  But South Congress Avenue has a serious three mile hill between the 2 and 5 mile markers.  I felt fine running up it.  The crowd started to thin out and the slope wasn’t steep.  Bit I think that’s deceptive.  Yes I felt strong but I suspect it was still a mistake to run as fast as I did.  I’ve learned this in the Bolder Boulder 10K which is downhill the first mile.  A disciplined runner would force him or herself to purposefully run slow on that.  It’s trickier in the Bolder Boulder being downhill, but regardless; you need to control the emotion of the race start.  Especially in a marathon.  The Austin Marathon then returns down the same slope, albeit on 1st Ave rather than S. Congress.  I did actually refrain from speeding down this slope knowing I had another 20 miles to go.  But for all I know that braking might have contributed to my sore feet.  It was at the bottom of 1st Ave. when we turned west toward Tarrytown that my feet began to scream.  And by 11 miles, I think my form was starting to become impacted.  There’s a hill on Exposition as you near the turn-off to the half marathon where I first truly felt the grade and believe that is where I gave up on the 3:30 pace group.  And when I say I gave up, my pace dramatically slowed.  I prefer not to relate the rest of the run because it would be like reliving a nightmare and my selective memory is in control now.

I do remember some very pleasurable post race events.  For whatever reason, I decided late last year to try to reconnect with my old running teammates from high school.  Actually I know the reason.  My buddy Dave met up with his New Mexico swim team last summer and really enjoyed it.  This seemed brilliant to me because even though I’ve never attended a HS reunion, I am actually interested in the people I ran track and cross country with in high school.  For the most part, I haven’t kept up with them.  But I know them.  Like all distance runners, they’re good people.  I know that Scott Holman would crack me up.  Perhaps because today he’s a stand-up comic.  I know Toby would start me giggling for hours on end.  And I suspect cavorting with Rob or Mike, or certainly the two of them together, would end up with me swimming naked at Hippie Hollow.  As I recall our last skinny-dip was in the month of January and resulted in extreme shrinkage.  If we do have a Cross Country reunion, it should be in the summer.

As bitter as my race experience might sound, or was – my selective memory already forgets – this trip’s highlight was reconnecting with my old friends.  I touched on this in my last post, but I wrote that before having dinner with Toby and his family.  He brought along one of his stunning daughters, Lauren.  And his beautiful wife Margie was so charming I could have sat down with her all night to chat and felt like we’d grown up as neighbors rather than her and Toby.  Toby really did marry the girl next door.  And I still feel so good after meeting up with Nancy Basey for lunch.  I’m not sure how to express this, but it’s somehow very comforting to see that your old friends have grown up and are happy.  Sort of like how a team victory is always sweeter than individual accomplishments.  For all of us to have succeeded in life is just so cool.

Austin Marathon 2011

20 Sunday Feb 2011

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Austin Marathon 2011I can tell you now about the wisdom of training on only 4 miles a day for a marathon.  More specifically, I can tell you what has more impact, gaining ten pounds or dropping in altitude from 5280 feet to 550.  Gaining 10 pounds.  I’ll expand on that topic a bit later.  This pic was taken by my brother Steve in the final 100 meters on Congress Avenue.  Fortunately he can’t figure out the video on his camera so you can’t see that the other runners in this pic were all passing me.  I’m back at my mom’s house, showered and blogging with a Miller Lite by my side.  I’ve got about an hour before I meet up with some high school friends at Chuys.

This run started at 7am on Congress Avenue a block north of the Texas Capitol and proceeded north a few blocks toward the UT campus.  The darkness of night may have faded, but it was hard to tell with the thick overcast.  The weather was awesome.  Drizzle was projected but never materialized.  It wasn’t cold though and I wore Nike Dri-FIT® runners shorts and my Denver Marathon short-sleeve shirt with hi-tech fabric.  I also wore my black Barr Camp runners hat but carried it the second half of the race as the sun never came out.  I launched a 17 hour playlist from my iPhone in shuffle mode.  I love the random nature of my 17 hour universe when just the right song comes on as I need it.  Dream On by Aerosmith led today’s charge.  I was huddled in a scrum with the 3:30 pace runners.  I actually hung with them for 10 miles or so.  That might have been too fast.  The street was crowded and didn’t start to yield room until crossing the Congress Avenue bridge after a couple of miles.  Lance Armstrong was larger than life on an electronic billboard at the end of the bridge looking down approvingly at us all like some brew pub deity commanding us to drink Michelob Ultra.

The race blogs I read to understand the course weren’t downplaying the hills.  This little run didn’t shy away from elevated terrain.  We climbed up South Congress Avenue for 5 miles non-stop.  My crowd of runners got a kick out of the Austin Motel sign after 3 miles.  This phallic signage stood erect as if to point the way “up” South Congress.  Other signs were notable.  My favorite was around 18 miles where some young woman held a large white poster board in front of her body.  Above the sign were bare shoulders and below the sign were her bare thighs and feet.  The sign read, “I’m naked behind this sign”.  There were lots of runners looking over their shoulder as they strode past.  Speaking of women, I absolutely love that sporty look of braided pig tails and ponies with fitted running outfits.  Austin has some real beauties.

I also read a number of references to the great Austin crowds in some blogs.  Wow, I can’t say enough.  I was truly impressed by the number of supporters out on the streets.  Reminded me of my early days running the Capitol 10,000.  They would read the names on the race bibs and call them out for a personal touch.  It might have been the difference between me finishing and still lying out there somewhere in a gutter.  This run was hard for me.  At 12 miles or so the course split for the half marathoners to head back toward downtown.  If they allowed last minute decisions, I’d have turned for the shorter run then and there.  I was feeling beat and knew then that I wasn’t in shape for the full marathon.  It’s a fair argument to state I wasn’t in shape for the half.  My legs didn’t have the strength for this distance.  They totally melted.  I felt fine otherwise.  The hills didn’t bother me until after 11 miles.  My feet hurt like hell.  Talk about inexperience.  While my shoes were not new, I hadn’t been running in them much because they needed inserts to protect my left foot from over-pronating.  I was busy with travel for work this week and didn’t have a chance to run in them after buying inserts.  My feet felt like they were in a vise, but loosening them didn’t help.  I didn’t get any blisters on my hills or arches, but did get one on a toe.  But they just hurt.

Running through the old Austin neighborhoods was special.  Each neighborhood reminded me of some old girlfriend or date.  But the ravages of age kept me from remembering any of their names.  Running through the last neighborhood I lived in before moving to Boulder was pretty cool.  And the bonus was that Hyde Park was nearing the finish.  I knew at this point I’d make it.  The Hyde Park Bar & Grill was around the 24 mile point.  I’d been walking at each aid station to drink water since mile 16.  I’d let the 3:30 mile pace group go long ago and had since been passed by the 4 hour pace group.  I wasn’t too disappointed even though I’d expected to finish in 4 hours.  I was just focused on finishing.  I’d accomplished my goal of using this to keep myself motivated through the winter and this was good for that.

This run has also been good for meeting up with old friends.  Nancy Wilson Basey met my brother and me for lunch at Kerbey Lane off 38th Street.  She looked as good as ever and made me feel pretty good that she went out of her way to see me.  We hadn’t seen each other in 30 years.  And I’m meeting up with some other friends from my RRHS Cross Country team in 30 minutes at Chuys.  Toby Thurman and Bill Hay.  That’ll be a trip.  I come down to Austin every Christmas but don’t generally meet up with old friends because I focus on family.  Time to publish this and head over for a frozen rita.

How to Train for a Marathon…

17 Thursday Feb 2011

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…on four miles per day.   Assuming it’s even possible.  I’ll find out this Sunday when I run the Austin Marathon. The first step to establishing this training regimen is to let work take priority over your personal life.  I know that sounds counter-intuitive to most serious runners.  But it’s key to not having the time to properly prepare for 26.2 miles.  Next step is to gain 10 pounds.  Don’t forget to gain weight as you near your event. Imagine the horror of reaching mile 18 and some volunteer hands you a half gram packet of honey.  Fat runners never hit the wall.  At least not on America’s Biggest Loser.

Maybe that was too many sentences of sarcasm in a row.  But it’s more than warranted.  You tell me.  Who else do you know that’s gained 10 pounds training for a marathon?  I’m still glad I scheduled this February junket to Austin for a 26 mile ramble up and down Congress Avenue; I was out there running in some pretty unfair winter weather.  Gaining 10 pounds isn’t as bad as gaining 15.  But I’m disappointed knowing I won’t be completing my second marathon in less than 6 months in more impressive fashion.  I really can’t predict just how I’ll run because I don’t have enough races under my belt to have a strong sense of my pace.  I do feel a little bit more experienced.  My feeling is that I’ll finish right around 4 hours.  More likely over than under.  My time isn’t as important to me though as being able to run the course comfortably.  Failure would be having to walk.  I might not admit to walking but if I finish closer to 5 hours – you’ll figure it out.

I won’t admit to wimping out over the last four months.  My excuse is work.  It got the better of me.  Even now, I’m writing this blog in a Detroit hotel room.  I had to fly out here Wednesday and will return Friday.  I haven’t run since Tuesday and won’t again until the big day Sunday.  I’ll have a 12 hour turn-around in my own bed Friday night/Saturday morning, and then get back on a plane to Austin.  Pretty poor prep for a marathon, but we’ll see how it goes.  I’ve never considered canceling.  I’m confident I can run it slowly.  I feel sorry for one of my RRHS cross country buddies who was going to run the half marathon.  Nancy Wilson Basey got sick this week – fever, coughing, the works.  She has to be disappointed and I can empathize.  It helps me appreciate that at least I can still run, albeit slower than I had hoped.

I suspect this will be my last post before the race.  Thanks to everyone whose been lending me support.  Especially my understanding wife, Karen, and my brother, Steve who is picking up my race packet as well as me from the airport.  Next blog post will be Sunday night.

Web Security

12 Saturday Feb 2011

Posted by in cyber war, Geek Horror

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This was annoying.  I received an abuse letter (email) from Comcast, my ISP, last night.  For copyright infringement related to the illegal file sharing of some inane Kanye West song.  I’ve appended their email to the end of this blog.  The first thought that ran through my mind was, “Really, I have a Kanye West song?”  So my first action was to query my iTunes library of over 5000 songs and sure enough, I have exactly one Kanye West song – Gold Digger featuring Jamie Foxx.

I immediately suspected my tenants since they’re fairly young.  Although I knew it could also have been from Brittany – she always brings her MacBook whenever she comes home from college.  I doubt I could prove the source of the Gnutella file sharing.  I turned off my web filtering half a year ago when I was trying to install Lo-Jack on Brittany’s new laptop.  It required some call home function that my firewall was blocking.  Unless I’m specifically blocking something, my firewall won’t log the traffic.  It can, but I didn’t have it configured to do that either.  So the Kanye West download could have been from any computer in my house – or carriage house which I rent out.  The Comcast abuse letter only lists the IP address of my cable modem and it doesn’t provide the DHCP address from my home network(s).

My second action, after reviewing my iTunes, was to turn web filtering back on.  I have an old IBM Proventia FW that I have setup between my cable modem and my home LANs.  One network is for my tenants, and they have their own WiFi server.  I allow that LAN access to the Internet but not to my home office LAN (network 2) or my home LAN (network 3).  My home office network has access to all three networks in order to manage the WiFi servers.  With the web filtering running, I setup two FW rules to block traffic to the Gnutella service.  One rule for TCP ports 6346 to 6347 and another for UDP ports 6346-6347 – both at 202.0.0.0 with a 28 bit mask.  Then I asked my tenant if he was using Gnutella and informed him about the abuse letter and my new web filters.  He was pretty humble about it and apologized.

I’m relating this in my blog, and probably FaceBook, because it occurs to me many of my friends could use some advice on computer security.  I’ve been in this industry for a long time, and I just got in trouble from my ISP.  Maybe I should be embarrassed – I’m not.  I do appreciate the irony.  But I know that many of my friends have kids – with their own computers – whom run these illicit and dangerous file sharing applications.  The last link above shows you how to block some of the more nefarious sites.  Understand that I’m not judging.  I support some copyleft arguments as they juxtapose certain tenets of innovation against the precepts of copyright protection.  But these applications put your computer and home network at extreme risk of being compromised.  These apps are favorites of hackers and are as likely as visiting free porn sites to result in your machine becoming pwned into a botnet.  Forget fears of Comcast cutting off your access – be afraid of being pwned.

I’m serious.  I’d rather blog on my running themes, but you need to know this stuff.  My YouTube instructions on protecting your texting privacy was originally intended in jest when Tiger Woods got clubbed by his wife after she saw his text history.  I was just having fun, but it’s turned into one of my most watched YouTube episodes.  Likewise, my commentary on the Google vs China cyber story last year continues to receive 4 or 5 views a day based on people searching on the terms cyberwar and cyber warfare.  So I figure this is good information.  I hope so.  Or if not, I hope you get a chuckle from knowing that Comcast is on to me.

————————————————————————

Notice of Action under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act

Abuse Incident Number:      Not Applicable
Report Date/Time:           Thu, 10 Feb 2011 11:31:02 -0600

ED MAHONEY
1805 S COFFMAN ST
LONGMONT, CO  805047568

Dear Comcast High-Speed Internet Subscriber:

Comcast has received a notification by a copyright owner, or its authorized agent, reporting an alleged infringement of one or more copyrighted works made on or over Comcast’s High-Speed Internet service (the ‘Service’).  The copyright owner has identified the Internet Protocol (‘IP’) address associated with your Service account at the time as the source of the infringing works.  The works identified by the copyright owner in its notification are listed below.  Comcast reminds you that use of the Service (or any part of the Service) in any manner that constitutes an infringement of any copyrighted work is a violation of Comcast’s Acceptable Use Policy and may result in the suspension or termination of your Service account.

If you have any questions regarding this notice, you may direct them to Comcast in writing by sending a letter or e-mail to:

Comcast Customer Security Assurance
Comcast Cable Communications, LLC
1800 Bishops Gate Blvd., 3rd Floor East Wing
Mount Laurel, NJ 08054 U.S.A.
Phone: (888) 565-4329
Fax: (856) 324-2940

For more information regarding Comcast’s copyright infringement policy, procedures, and contact information, please read our Acceptable Use Policy by clicking on the Terms of Service link at http://www.comcast.net.

Sincerely,
Comcast Customer Security Assurance

Copyright work(s) identified in the notification of claimed infringement:

Infringing Work : Graduation
Filename : Kanye West – Graduation – Stronger.mp3=20
Filename : Kanye West – Graduation – Stronger.mp3=20
First found (UTC): 2011-02-10T12:21:17.61Z
Last found (UTC): 2011-02-10T12:21:17.61Z
Filesize  : 7583872 bytes=20
IP Address: 76.25.159.42
IP Port: 17677
Network: Gnutella
Protocol: Gnutella    =20

Game Day

06 Sunday Feb 2011

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You think I ran today, or do you think I sat around and just watched the Superbowl?  Well, the game wasn’t until late afternoon, so I squeezed in a little run before hand.  I wanted to run a long one but I didn’t have that much time.  I spent most the day painting my dining room.  It would have been great weather though for a long run.  I woke up to 4 inches of fresh powder and the sun was out – up until I stepped out the door and it turned cold and cloudy.  I considered snowshoeing today but would have needed to start earlier.  The painting took longer than expected.

My big run is only two weeks away so no amount of extra training is going to help me prepare.  Well, that’s not entirely true.  I can’t get more fit aerobically in two weeks but I can properly maintain with a healthy diet and regular running.  I’ll try to do as many 8 milers as possible – if my work schedule allows.  And I’ll do weights to stay strong.  But eating healthy might be more important than any actual training at this point.  So I only had one beer at the super bowl party.  When I say “diet”, I’m usually referring to alcohol.  In fact the only other substance I’ve ever curtailed is caffeine.  I’m not likely to eat differently.  My breakfast typically consist of a toasted bagel with cream cheese, lox and capers.  Lunch is a sandwich of some sort.  Dinner is average Americana but more meaty than starchy and a few veggies.

I don’t expect the Austin Marathon to be special in terms of performance.  Matching my time from the Denver Marathon last fall would be nice but my expectations are for somewhere right around four hours give or take.  I’m mostly excited about hooking up with some of my high school cross country teammates.  At a minimum I’ll be meeting up with Nancy Wilson Basey.  She’s running the half and we plan to have lunch afterward.  And Bill Hay said he’d be at the finish with a cold one.  I’m hoping to maybe see some others the next night at Chuys.  I visit Austin at least once a year for Christmas but rarely visit my friends because so much time is focused on family.  For some reason I feel like catching up with people I haven’t seen in 30 years.  If I do, pictures will follow.

Leg of Lamb

30 Sunday Jan 2011

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I know, not my typical running pic.  But when I say I really enjoy the outdoors, that includes grilling.  And I’ve got a 5 pound bone-in leg of lamb on the rotisserie right now.  I ran 12 miles earlier today on the East Boulder Trail.  Why wouldn’t I enjoy some of Colorado’s famous mutton after such an extreme calorie burning endeavor.  I love lamb.  I love red meat.  I haven’t been eating as much of it since Karen started cooking most of our meals again.  I don’t believe runners need a high-carb diet.  I’ve always been pretty good at listening to my body; and after massive runs like today – my aching knees, muscles and joints are screaming for some fatty meat.

With that said, I am going to try to diet somewhat going into February.  The Austin Marathon is in 21 days and I’m a bit heavier than I was last fall when I ran the Denver Marathon.  I’m not looking to set any records.  I scheduled this to motivate myself to run through the winter and I’ve done that.  I just want to feel comfortable.  Losing five pounds would likely help.  I haven’t been consistent at lifting weights but I’ll try harder because I believe weights help too.  I believe a little strength training helps to avoid injury.  I’ve been reading some running blogs on the Austin course and apparently it’s considered hilly.  That’s the Austin I remember.  I’m not running hills during the week but I do on the weekends so I’ll be fine.  The course begins with a 300 foot climb in the first two miles.  I like that because it almost forces you to start out slow as you should.  The course then drops back down over the next 4 miles.  This is followed by a 12 mile climb back up those 300 feet but after mile 18 it’s all downhill to the finish on Congress Avenue.  Nice.

My flight gets in too late Saturday night to pick up my bib and race packet, but my brother Steve said he’d do it on the way to the airport to pick me up.  I’ll be staying at my mom’s house in Round Rock.  Steve will no doubt try to talk me into hanging out at the Cool River but I’m smart enough not to do that.  Hopefully he won’t stay out too late because he’s my ride to the race the next morning.  If I didn’t have family in Austin I’d have stayed downtown, probably at the Driskill Hotel – that would be convenient.  I’ll remain in Round Rock at my mom’s house for a couple days after the race, my return flight is Tuesday night.  I can work from her house – she’s got wifi and high-speed Internet.  I learned from the Denver Marathon that I should do some walking the first couple of days after the event to work out the lactic acid and loosen up.  It’ll be interesting to see how well I recover.  That will demonstrate both my level of fitness as well as my post race experience.

Return to Austin

22 Saturday Jan 2011

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Round Rock Cross Country

Look at those boys in Jeff Graham’s 1978 drawing of five fit athletes enjoying their time in the sun running cross country for Round Rock HS back in the day.  From left to right, we are Doug Hall (RIP), me, Joe Cepeda, Robert Graham, and Johnny Martinez.  The countdown to my Austin Marathon is less than 30 days and I can’t help but reminisce on my training runs of fun times running in my youth.

My very first road race took place on a golf course actually in South Austin.  Doug Hall organized a handful of us on a Friday night and drove us down Saturday morning.  It was such a kick, a 3 mile dash over grass and water traps.  I ran it barefoot.  Doug and Rob were sporting the game-changing Nike Waffles.  That was the late summer of ’77.  The next spring we ran what really was technically my first road race, the inaugural Capitol 10,000.  I can’t leave out the 100s of runs along Townlake, now named Lady Bird Johnson Lake.  And my all-time favorite run is the coolest inner-city trail ever – the Barton Creek Greenbelt.

I had a nice run today on one of my favorite Boulder County trails – the East Boulder and White Rock Trails.  I ran 8 miles at what felt like a pretty good clip.  I went the 3 days prior without getting out.  Work has been like cramming for college finals; never-ending days of phone calls, powerpoints, copy/pasting between docs and spreadsheets.  I was prepared to train this winter regardless of the weather.  I’d snowshoe if that was all I could do.  I didn’t expect work to rule like it has.  My goals for the Austin Marathon have gone from beating my time in the Oct. 2010 Denver Marathon to simply finishing without walking.  Despite having lost the edge on my conditioning, I’m still committed to running it.  I’ve booked my flight.  My mom’s excited I’ll be staying with her for the weekend.

Today’s run felt so good.  The work week ended on a bad note.  All work and no recognition.  I presented a piss-poor PowerPoint to my VP on Friday afternoon and I felt exhausted.  Today’s run was like breathing for the first time.  The weather started out perfect – maybe 50° – and sunny.  I wore shorts and two shirts – one short sleeve covered by a second long-sleeve.  Both high tech fabric.  The wind picked up on the return and I would have benefited from having wrapped another long-sleeve shirt or light jacket around my waist.  Had I, I’d have put it on.  Likewise, my ears would have preferred a warmer fleece cap than the runners cap I wore.  But it was tolerable, I didn’t freeze.  The hills sheltered me from some of the wind’s wrath.  Halfway through my run, the Chinook winds dropped out of the Boulder foothills with a fierce velocity that nearly ripped the cheeks off my face.  My legs were warm enough but the sweat on my chest and armpits chilled me beyond comfort.  I’ll layer smarter next time.  I’ll need to put some thought into how to dress for Austin in February.  The humidity magnifies the cold.  I’ll take all my gear and look at what the locals are wearing.  It’s all about the gear.

Fallin’ Behind

15 Saturday Jan 2011

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I haven’t had much to blog about in terms of running the last couple of weeks.  I haven’t been running much.  Work has taken priority.  I hate that.  I haven’t even been able to read a book at night.  That’s the way it is sometimes.  There’s no debating priorities – work always comes first.  But I’m concerned.

I registered for the Austin Marathon, purchased my flight, and quite possibly set expectations of running fast because it will be at sea level.  But I’ve dropped my distance down to 4 miles and am only getting out 4 days a week.  Not a good January.  I committed to the marathon to challenge myself over the winter.  I’m still glad I did it – I doubt I’d be doing anything had I not set such a goal.  I’ll accept the fact that work got busy and I’ll just do my best to finish the marathon without walking.

One good thing is I haven’t let the recent cold and snow slow me down.  I’ve got the right gear and winter running experience to deal with the weather.  In fact, I really enjoy running on snow and ice packed trails with my YakTrax.  It’s warming back up into the 40s and now that I’m acclimated – that’s down right balmy.

I expect work to continue to dominate my schedule for the next 2 weeks, but I should gain some bandwidth in February.  The marathon might be brutal, but I’ll be back on track for the Moab Canyonlands Half Marathon in March.  I didn’t care to run too hard in that run, just keep up with my neighbors – we have a big group going.  As far as measuring improvement over my running last year, the Bolder Boulder in May will provide the best apples to apples comparison.  Running fast isn’t everything.  In fact, it isn’t even close to some of the other pleasurable benefits from running.  But it’s hard not to be somewhat competitive about it.  Hopefully I’ll get some good training runs in soon.  Something I can blog about.

Snowshoe

03 Monday Jan 2011

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Colorado Jan '11_0608My buddy Rob sent me a Facebook message a couple of days ago saying he would be in Raymond for the week staying at a cabin with his brother Jeff, and his mom Charlotte and her husband.  He asked if I could make it up to ski at Eldora.  I had one day left of my vacation and responded that I’ve been wanting to try snowshoeing.  Rob liked that idea.  So I drove the 50 minute ascent up to Raymond, Colorado early this morning and met them at their cabin.  It’s just off the Peak-to-Peak Highway between Lyons and Ward.  We sat down to chat for a spell and drank coffee while I warmed up to Jeff’s 22 year old bird, Max.

We parked at the trail head to Brainard Lake around 10am.  There’s a new parking lot as it’s a popular place.  Being a Monday, it wasn’t crowded yet.  The lot and road was much more full as we left around 2pm.  Deciding what to wear was the first critical decision of the day for all of us.  It felt warm compared to last week, but the wind was howling at the trail head.  We figured it would warm up and expected the trees to protect us, but at the end of the day you have to make the call to over dress knowing you can shed layers as it warms up.Colorado Jan '11_0609 I wore Under Armour performance tights and a light pair of snow pants.  I brought along a heavier pair of snow pants but left them in the car.  Turned out to be a good call.  I wore two layers of long sleeve shirts – the first a Reebok compression jersey and the second a looser fitting Under Armour Cold Gear top.  I wore black running socks and my Sportiva GoreTex trail running shoes.  The choice of shoes was a gamble along with the light snow pants, but worked out really well.  This would not have worked had I not wore my REI knee-high gaitors.  I also wore two pair of runner’s gloves and a fleece running hat along with a Columbia ski jacket.  I think I made good calls on everything.  Oh, I’m also sporting a New Year’s Day beard that I’m considering wearing until the Austin Marathon in February.

The trail was immediately gorgeous as it snaked through thick pines and aspen trees.  Being the only experienced snowshoeing 50 year old in our trio, Rob took it upon himself to show us some tricks early in our jaunt.

  It was awhile before I loosened up and went off trail myself.  I learned that by going into some powder or up and over trees, I could quickly sneak in some anaerobic exercises.  Not only is it easy to fartlek by leveraging the terrain, but you can do it alongside your partners.  While they snowshoe on the trail, you can run along side them in open spaces of deep powder or hills and fallen trees – letting your heart race while your buddies gently glide.

Colorado Jan '11_0635A friendly couple dressed in matching blue ski jackets took this picture of the three of us.  That’s Jeff Graham – stage right, and his brother Rob – to Jeff’s left.  I can’t recall if I’m sitting down because I was tired or if I slipped and fell.  Perhaps both.  This was still early in our trek.  We reached a frozen pond that was pretty cool, but also quite breezy so we continued onward.  The trail was extremely easy to follow until we neared Brainard Lake.  We seemed to lose the trail markers, but apparently all tracks eventually lead to the lake.  The wind returned with arctic-like ferociousness along the lake shore.  We debated whether to hike around the lake but the chinook tempest made our minds for us and we kept to the tree line for protection.  We found a picnic spot and ate lunch.

This picture makes it appear to be snowing, but I’m fairly certain it was just the already fallen snow blowing in the cyclone blast.  In contrast, the picnic table was strategically located over a hill from the shore where the air was nearly still.  We recovered our strength with copious rounds of Woodford Reserve.  This warmed us up nicely and once replenished, we searched for the return trail.  This was a similar scenario to nearing the lake wherein it’s likely all tracks lead back to the main trail.  The one hitch though is we wanted to be certain we remained on the snowshoe trail – some tracks led to Brainard Lake Road – which many others took today but we were concerned it would serve as a funnel for the gale winds.  Plus it seemed boring.  We settled on a creek bed for our exit.  Rob discovered the creek was wet.

The cracking ice was no more dangerous though than the countless mini-avalanches mostly also caused by Rob.  I wouldn’t call anything we did dangerous and would say this 5 mile round trip trail is quite family oriented and safe.  There were a few hills but the terrain was relatively flat or slightly rolling for the most part.  We had a good scare when we crossed a frozen pond and heard the deep-sounding thump of the entire ice shelf cracking.  But no one died.  I wish I had a picture to share of our return to the trail head.  As I mentioned earlier, the parking lot was now full.  As we removed our snowshoes and walked to the car, we passed two stunning women, one blonde and one auburn, both with braided pigtails – as they shimmied their snow pants up over their tights.  They were a living testament to the beauty of outdoor fitness in Colorado.

Colorado Jan '11_0763The mental picture I still have from that glance would have been a decent way to end the day.  Turns out though there is a little shack christened the Millsite Inn brilliantly located halfway  between Ward and Raymond on the Peak-to-Peak Highway.  We ensconced ourselves at the bar and ordered some tasty beverages.  Mike, the bartender, was able to chit-chat on just about any topic, from trail conditions to the superior sound of vinyl records and vacuum tube amps.

I had an unbelievably outstanding time today.  It’s hard to imagine a nearly four hour workout could be such a kick.  Snowshoeing will become a regular part of my winter training regimen.  There’s no impact and my knees felt zero pain afterward.  Highly recommended for your winter fitness maintenance.

2010 Exhalation

31 Friday Dec 2010

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Just completed my last run of 2010.  It was a fine run to commemorate my biggest year of running in over 20 years.  To begin with, this 4.5 mile jaunt in 10°  with 15 mile an hour winds allowed me to exhale all the allergies from my sinuses that I picked up earlier this week in Austin.

The year of running began in similar cold and snowy conditions, but I’ve gained experience on proper cold weather attire.  I dressed in a Reebok Compression long sleeve jersey that my mother-in-law gave me for Christmas.  Compression gear is awesome.  Over that I wore a loose fitting fleece pull-over and then some Under Armour Cold Gear.  So three long sleeve tops and then some running shorts covered with a pair of Under Armour Cold Gear running pants.  I also wore some running gloves, fleece running hat and sported 3 days of fashionable facial stubble in recognition of a recent 1000 mile drive from Austin to Longmont.  But the star of my running ensemble were the YakTrax I received as a Christmas gift from my brother-in-law.  Click on the picture for a close-up.  These rubber and metal treads simply slip over your shoes for added traction in snow and ice.  I ran over a combination of packed snow, fresh powder, sidewalks and pavement.  My trail running shoes provide sufficient stability over snow, but these metal coils gripped the unctuous patches of ice with confidence.  I can’t wait to try them on the muddy trails this coming spring.

Today’s final run of the year did more than work the allergies out of my system.  It served as a figurative exhalation of auld lang syne.  Running, as well as writing this blog, helps me to introspect the day, week or in this case, an entire year.  I felt good about my accomplishments in fitness, and considered my goals for 2011.  I’m excited.

Austin Allergies

30 Thursday Dec 2010

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Austin is over-rated.  Sure, those breakfast tacos from the Taco Shack are nice.  And those frozen ritas at Chuys make for a tasty beverage.  But I didn’t go to Austin to eat.  I went there to run.  Well, actually I went there to celebrate Christmas with my family, but my plans for me time were setup around working out.  And that’s highly unusual.  Generally, as soon as I know I’m headed to Austin, I begin scheduling my dinners at Hyde Park and Kerbey Lane.  But this time was going to be different.  I setup a training routine for distance the first week and speed workouts the second week.  I was able to squeeze in 24 miles in week one after the road trip, but week two fell apart.  After making a leaf maze in my mom’s backyard and taking turns with Ellie on negotiating iterative redesigns, I rediscovered I’m allergic to Central Texas.

Mold Spores and Cedar.  Those allergens wrought havoc on my running in my youth.  They exiled me to Colorado over 20 years ago and remain as patient sentries ready to attack upon my return.  I dutifully curb my drinking in Austin as alcohol dilates the sinus membranes and exacerbates the symptoms.  But the leaf maze did me in and I couldn’t recover.  I’m home now and still feeling the effects.  My sinus headache became a sinus earache as I gained altitude driving home.  And my breathing is still constricted.  But I’ll try a run tomorrow anyway.  I’m excited to try my new YakTrax I got from my brother-in-law for Christmas.  The snow has been falling steadily all day – we ran into it crossing Monument Pass on the drive home – and I expect the trails to be well covered tomorrow.  I love running in fresh snowfall.  It’s gentle on my aged knees.  I already pulled the YakTrax over my shoes and set them by the door in anticipation.  I still have a four day weekend left to my vacation and I intend to enjoy some winter running.

Pain Management

23 Thursday Dec 2010

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Endless pain.  That’s what it feels like at times.  And when I talk about fitness lately with others my age, the conversation quickly turns to questions on pain.  “Do you hurt like I hurt?”  “How are your knees holding out?”  I feel a bit whiny talking about this all the time, but Dude, I’m 48 and it’s relevant.

Understanding pain as it relates to injury is always important, regardless of your age.  But I will tell you it’s more critical the older you are because one, you recover more slowly from injury and two, routine is crucial to the training discipline and being unable to workout for weeks or months can destroy a fitness habit that maybe took a year or two to develop.

Personally, I’m always wondering if I feel more pain at 48 than at 18.  It’s fair to assume I recovered quicker at 18.  But am I more sore nowadays?  Or am I simply more sensitive to a little pain now than in my conditioned youth?  I suspect part of this pain is due to slow recovery.  And another part is due to my body being weaker.  It feels as if my joints have lost cushion over the years.  A doctor might laugh at that, but that’s what it feels like to me.  My knees hurt after the easiest of runs.  And I have to slowly slip out of bed in the morning.  If I bounded out of bed, I’d end up collapsed on the floor.  And it takes me a full minute to walk down the stairs in the morning.  I start out slowly at the top, gripping the handrail; although I tend to loosen up enough to walk normally by the bottom step.  At issue are my knees and feet arches.  The knees need coaxing to move and the arches are extremely delicate.

I’m not in the habit of taking aspirin or supplements, but I support doing so.  In fact, I intend to do this more myself.  I’m just not in the habit of doing so yet.  Personally, I feel whiskey and weed are fine supplements as well, but you really have to be careful about masking pain.  Despite how blogging may make it appear, I’m not very introspective; but it’s important to put thought into understanding when pain is simply that, or when it is a harbinger of injury.  Sore arches could be pending plantar fasciitis.  Consider picking up some inserts from the sporting goods store – if not new shoes with strong stability.  Injuries can easily be avoided with prompt corrective action.  That’s why pain needs to be closely monitored.  Some of it you need to put up with.  Some of it requires action, or you could be out for the season.  Regardless of age – pain management is good practice.

Fit for the Holidays

18 Saturday Dec 2010

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I’m off work for the next two weeks.  Perfect opportunity to focus on training.  But not always.  The holidays, and winter in general, is also a standard time for weight gain.  Work gets busier and with the stress comes fat.  I did miss a couple of days this past week because I couldn’t get away from work.  Usually though I make the most out of vacations.  I ran throughout Thanksgiving in Spokane with my daughter and brother-in-law.

In Texas for Christmas, I’ll be staying first at my mom’s house in Round Rock and then at my father-in-law’s house in Northwest Hills, Austin.  I have a nice route in Round Rock along a trail that follows Harry Man’s Road in Brushy Creek.  I can make an hour run out of that.  It’s nostalgic too because I used to run down this road in high school for cross country workouts.

In Austin, I’ll run down to the track at Murchison Junior High School.  Assuming it’s warm enough, I aim to launch my 2011 speed work with some quarter mile intervals.  My muscles need to relearn how to run fast.  No more seniors surging past me at the finish line next year.  I won’t need speed for my first planned event – which is the Austin Marathon in February – but I hope to show improvement in my 10Ks.  I’ll find one or two before the Bolder Boulder to get a good qualifying time.  I started too far back in the pack last May and found it frustrating to pass so many other runners.  I can tell you the secret to a good run in the Bolder Boulder – run slow the first mile.  It’s down hill, then miles two and three slope upwards and people die off.  It takes discipline to run slow that first mile with the race excitement and given it is downhill, but that’s the trick to running strong on that course.

I hope you have good winter running weather over the holidays.  Ski, snowshoe or run.  Weights indoors.  Take advantage if you have time off and use the holidays to launch your winter training regimen.  Merry Christmas!

Exotic Runs

03 Friday Dec 2010

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This is me two years ago on top of Mt. Garfield.  I drove out to Grand Junction to give my ole buddy Rob a lift to DIA.  15 minutes to the right of my outstretched hand – stage left – lies Grand Junction.  We couldn’t drive for more than 15 friggin minutes before Rob told me to pull over for a 2000 foot climb up the ugliest approach of eroded foothills I’ve ever seen.  If you’ve ever driven along I70 into Grand Junction – you know what I mean.  The place looks like the end of the world.  Of course, that’s just the base, once you get going the terrain changes dramatically.  It might look like the land before time from I70 but this part of Colorado has got some outstanding hikes.  This was the genesis of my current fitness kick.  That round belly underpinning the 88 on my shirt is now half gone and this year I entered a few road races.

I’ve already captured this summer’s running events.  What’s racing around my mind now are next summer’s possibilities.  I have some wicked opportunities.  There isn’t much talk of pedestrian turkey trots, people are proposing some weird shit.  This week alone was suggested the Warrior Dash in Copper Mountain and the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon in S.F. Bay.  WTF!  I couldn’t swim 1.5 miles at 18 when I was negatively buoyant.  What are my chances now that I’m a boat anchor?  A high school cross country buddy is even suggesting the Tough Mudder in Vail.  Or he might have been suggesting the Tough Mudder in Austin, but good Lord; is this all the result of having completed the IPR in Ouray/Telluride.  Apparently that run brings out the crazy talk in people.

But I kind of like it.  I don’t intend to do any of these nut-job events, but I like thinking about doing them.  And the really cool thing is I can at least afford to register for and travel to these spectacles if I so desire.  It’s not like 25 or 30 years ago when my pals and I would race unregistered to instead put our money towards a post-race six-pack(s) of Schaefer Beer.  Although the stakes have been seriously raised.  It’s not unusual for event registrations to cost upwards of $100 nowadays.  And let’s not leave out the cost of towing along the family for a night or two in a comfy world class resort.  So if I do choose do run any of these exotic events, I’ll need to choose wisely.

I’ve already entered the Austin Marathon in February 2011.  There’s a plane ticket or two.  But I’ll stay at my mom’s house for that run.  And I’ve entered the lottery to run the Canyon Lands Half Marathon in Moab next spring.  Those two runs will start the season off for me, and you have to admit – they’re pretty damned cool events.  After that, I don’t know.  I have fantasies of becoming competitive in my age division.  That sort of implies I’ll focus on 10Ks.  And I’ve been thinking about an ultra trail run, but I will settle for some cool hiking if plans come together to reunite with some old friends next summer.  I don’t know what I’m going to do yet, but just thinking about it has kept me entertained while I quaff this bottle of Barón De Barbón Rioja 2004 Reserva.

Winter Maintenance

30 Tuesday Nov 2010

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I’m an idiot if all I do this winter is run.  My brother-in-law told me over Thanksgiving of his plans to train for a triathlon in the spring.  Chad already runs and recently bought a very cool road bike.  But he’s considering adding swim lessons to his regimen.  And then my buddy Rob is advising me about all sorts of alternative workouts I could be doing over the winter to strengthen my core and rest my knees.  But I’ve been preoccupied with the recent drop-off in my running mileage.  And for no good reason.

Baby it’s cold outside and I don’t have to be.  Here’s the plan.  I’m going to return to my weights in the basement.  They sit right outside my office.  I’m going to add a real pull-up bar to the ceiling rather than using the iron support beam that kills my fingers.  I have an elliptical machine in the basement as well that I’m going to ride when either it’s too cold outside or I can’t get off conference calls.  I might actually move that into my office.  And lastly, I’m going to pick up a new outdoor activity.  Karen is interested in snow shoeing.  That looks awesome.  It’s a lot like running, but it’s certain to be lower impact.  There’s minimal equipment to buy – relative to skiing.  And I suspect it will cost much less overall than skiing, but at the same time it will get me outdoors in the Colorado wilderness.  This might even be something the whole family could do.  It’s officially on my list of things to look into.

It’s simply nuts to think all I should do to train for the Austin Marathon in February is run.  I’ll burnout from boredom and it will possibly even lead to injury.  You hear all the time how cross training is more effective.  Snow shoeing won’t even feel like training.  It’s a bonus that now I am fit enough to try new sports and recreation.  If you’re already into it, tell me what I need to know to get started snow shoeing.

Liberty Lake Run

25 Thursday Nov 2010

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Today is Thanksgiving. I’m with family, visiting the Campbells as I did last year in Liberty Lake – just outside of Spokane, Washington. I discovered this unbelievably picturesque run during my visit last Thanksgiving. I posted a short YouTube of my first run. That is, I just now published the video as I just learned I only posted it to MobileMe last year. It was good cold running weather in 2009, but this year kicked it up a notch. Yesterday was 10o with a 10 mile an hour wind. Brittiboo and her Uncle Chad ran with me. Today feels warmer. While still only 13o , the wind is 4 miles per hour and that makes a huge difference. This picture is of the second mile of the run on Liberty Lake Circle.

I don’t care where you live, the Midwest or Canada, this is the kind of cold that causes you to consider the treadmill – but we all felt good. The Under Armour Cold Gear does the trick. It’s amazingly light and keeps the cold sweat off your skin. Of course, we ran in several layers of Under Armour. I forgot chap-stick yesterday so my lips are now cracked. My face was cold but became comfortably numb. The fleece running hat kept blood flowing to my head. I missed running two days in a row due to work on Monday and traveling Tuesday, so it felt really good to run despite the cold.

As I looked forward to the holidays, I think I might have spent the most time thinking about this run around Liberty Lake. It has everything, rolling hills, pine trees lining the road, a small lake beginning to ice over and radiating fog over the road and up into the hills. The lane was buried under a half foot of snow – softening my footfalls. Visibility today was sketchy from falling snow and I blindly ran onto several private roads not noticing myself branch off Liberty Lake Circle. This was an absolute dream run. If you ever get the opportunity to run in the wooded hills of Eastern Washington State – do it. I’m very thankful for such experiences, for my fitness, and hanging out with family. Chad is busy preparing our dinner as I blog. And we’re all looking forward to the UT vs A&M game coming up later. Happy Thanksgiving.

Longmont Turkey Trot

14 Sunday Nov 2010

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I thought I was done with road races for the season.  I said I was finished after the Denver Marathon.  Always quit while you’re ahead, right?  Wrong.  When Jen offered free long-sleeve t-shirts, emblazoned with her State Farm logo, to my neighborhood’s deep pool of athletic talent, I not only signed up – I signed up Ellie and Karen too.  This pic is of Ellie running strong in the 2 mile event at the 36th annual Longmont Turkey Trot.  Prepared for the chilly morning, Ellie wore Under Armor Cold Weather Gear for Girls black running pants and violet mock turtle neck jersey.  And she covered the Under Armor with a “Smiley Face” hooded sweatshirt from Justice.

I was motivated to run this 10K by more than the promise of a free shirt.  I began the season with the Bolder Boulder 10K, but haven’t run another 10K since.  Instead my other races consisted of 10, 17 and 26 miles.  So this event provided me with an opportunity to measure my fitness progress with an apples-to-apples comparison.  Same distance and same altitude – separated by five months of my most intense training in over 20 years.  So how’d I do?

I ran the Bolder Boulder, the event that marked my return to road racing, in 49:52, an 8:01 mile pace.  I was happy with the time as it was about what I expected to run.  I felt comfortable the entire course and ran a consistent pace throughout.  I expected to run faster in the Turkey Trot and was hoping to push myself enough to demonstrate decent improvement.  My time Saturday was 47:02, a 7:35 mile pace.  Plus I should mention I started a half minute behind the starting line to hang with my neighbors.  I’m happy with a 3 minute improvement.  For this year.  But I’ve got the racing bug and I want to run faster next year.  I want to be competitive in my age division.  Currently, even in these little local races, I’m far behind the leaders.  In fact, a 64 yr old man sprinted past me in the final quarter mile of the Turkey Trot.  My buddy Dave told me I should be satisfied with what I did in a marathon, running an 8:17 pace.  And I am.  But you understand don’t you?  As long as there is someone doing better, running faster, exhibiting stronger athletic fitness at an older age – I’ll want to beat them.

I met my goals this year by returning to road races, and completing the Imogene Pass Run.  I didn’t totally achieve my objective of a flat stomach, but the marathon was bonus.  My goal for next year is speed.  I’m also planning to run my first ultra – a 50 or 100 mile mountain trail event.  But my focus over the winter will include weights and calisthenics that strengthen my core and speed muscles.  And when spring rolls around, I intend to add speed to my runs.  I might even hit the Niwot track for some 400s.  I’ve said this before; muscles have memory and mine remember running fast.

How to Motivate a Slacker

06 Saturday Nov 2010

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See the blood in this pic, under my left arm pit?  That was due to chafing after 23 miles into the Denver Marathon.  Of course this pic is at the finish.  You would think completing a marathon, all bloody no less, would indicate what a committed, disciplined and serious athlete I must be.  Not really.  I mean, I have my moments, but I can be just as equally the biggest slacker to ever lace up his racing shoes.  I was motivated to get into road racing shape – mostly out of fear – after registering for the Imogene Pass Run.  I’d worked up to 45 miles per week, including regular hilly mountain trails.  But in the month between the IPR and Denver Marathon, and the weeks since, I’ve dropped to 30 miles per week.  Worse, I’m back to averaging four drinks per night.  By my measure, four drinks over five hours doesn’t make me a drunk, but it won’t earn me parent of the year either.  The combination of running only 30 miles per week and four tasty beverages per night has put a halt to any improvements in my athletic conditioning.  I’d lost 15 pounds this year, and had hoped to lose yet another 10, but it won’t happen at this pace.  In fact, I’m in danger of regaining lost weight.  I need to turn this around and get back on track.

Still high from a sub 4 hour time in the Denver Marathon, I registered for the February 20th Austin Marathon.  My logic was to give myself a goal that would keep me training through the winter.  Seems like a good call.  Problem is, it’s not working.  To be fair, I’m still running everyday.  But the diminished distance and lapse of drinking discipline is dire.  I’m walking up an escalator moving downwards the other direction.

In my defense, my work load at IBM isn’t leaving me much time for longer runs.  I can only seem to squeeze in a 30 minute run, and I don’t have time for weights anymore.  I haven’t lifted since the IPR.  I’m still running 8 to 10 miles on weekends, but I’ve dialed down the intensity on those as well.  I recognized my slacker attitude this week, which is why I’m blogging about it, and I’m going to turn this around.  Starting Wednesday or Thursday, I reduced the volume of drinking by half.  And today, I returned to the mountain trail, Heil Valley Ranch, that prepped me for the brutal IPR.  An 11 mile run consisting of 5.5 miles up and 5.5 miles back down, over rocky, single track.

I worked too hard this year to allow for any reversals.  I’m going to refocus my efforts.  In my giddiness as I registered for the Austin Marathon, I had thoughts of breaking 3 hours.  I really want to break 3 hours.  I at least want to do well.  My first event at sea level presents opportunities.  And I would like to lose a few more pounds between now and race time.  I will not allow myself to lose any more momentum!  I’m kickin’ it back up a notch!  Stay tuned.

The Thirty-Thirty Club

29 Friday Oct 2010

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Out of my 50 or so blog posts, I’ve only written a couple where I reminisce.  Even my fiction is generally typical blog stuff where I relate current events – whether developments in the news or stuff I’m doing at IBM.  But now that I’m blogging on running, and I don’t have a new race scheduled for 4 months, it’s time to look back for running material.  Way back, 30 years ago.  This pic is of me in 1980, ironically 30 pounds ago as well.  You should also know that I can still grow my hair that long, I simply choose not too.

I attended Round Rock High School – back when there was only one.  Now the town that Dell Computer put on the map has six high schools.  I don’t know if they still have a distance running tradition, but back in my day, Round Rock was known for its storied harriers – from the Cepeda brothers to the Rodriguez family.  And my class of ’80 added depth to the equation – especially if you threw in the classes of ’79 and ’81-’82.  Rather than send one or two hotshots to the Texas State Cross Country Meet, we sent the entire team.  We had talent.

The race I’m running in this pic is the 2 Mile Relay, technically termed the 4×880 Relay.  This was right around the time tracks were converting from yards to meters.  I think it was still the 4×880 relay but could have been 4×800 meter relay instead.  Same difference.  We had at least 8 guys we could swap in and out on any given race day and still win this event.  Trust me, that’s impressive.  I can’t remember my PR anymore in the half mile, but I’m fairly certain we could all break 2 minutes.  Mike O’Neill and Toby Thurman ran under 1:55.  Then they’d anchor the Mile Relay for an encore.  We were invited to  compete in the Texas Relays – which was not a race we won – but it was a kick.  There was a team from Houston, I think Houston Jesuit, that was unbelievable.

I’ve been emailing many of my past teammates from Round Rock recently, trying to get them together next summer.  I’ve registered for the Austin Marathon in February and plan to run the Capitol 10,000 in March as well.  I understand not all of my class mates are in running condition anymore but it would be cool to just meet up for some frozen ritas.  Just in case any of them are looking for a reason though, I’m pushing them to run.  Fairly confident I have one or two of them ready to commit to a half marathon.  It’ll be good for them.  Of course, I won’t be overly disappointed if no one steps up to the starting line with me.  As I said in one of my recent emails to them, just giving ’em shit is its own reward.  At the same time, a couple of them are likely in better condition than me.  I know Rob Graham is, and it wouldn’t surprise me if my sister Nancy could out pace me at the 10K.  But it will be immensely rewarding if just one of them who is currently more than 30 pounds over his or her high school weight takes the challenge and catches up to me in the thirty-thirty club.

Slouching Towards Recovery

24 Sunday Oct 2010

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When I ran the 17 mile IPR in September, although it took me 20 minutes longer to complete, I recovered much quicker.  The next day, Sunday, was a travel day.  And actually so was Monday as I flew to NYC and back for IBM in one of those epic 20 hour work days.  But I was running my regular 4.5 mile circuit again by Tuesday and 8 mile runs on the following weekend.  And I felt fine.  It’s been a full week since running the Denver Marathon and I have yet to recover.  Again, I took two days before running.  But this time it was more due to being too tight and sore than schedule.  Not understanding why the difference in recoveries irritates me, so a deconstruction is in order.

First, a description of the soreness.  I was sore and tight everywhere for the first couple of days.  But the symptoms have persisted around my groin.  I was only able to run 1.5 miles the first day – Wednesday.  It did loosen my muscles up quite a bit.  I should have at least walked Monday and Tuesday to work out the lactic acid.  I returned to my 4.5 mile routine on Thursday, and ran 8 miles yesterday – Saturday.  I don’t normally time myself, but did yesterday with a GPS iPhone app since I was running a new route my friend Amy suggested and I wanted to know the distance.  I ran a 9 minute mile pace.  Good God!  I ran an 8:17 mile pace for the entire marathon.  And while I didn’t time the 4.5 mile runs, I suspect they were similarly slow.  My legs feel fine, it’s just extremely high up on my legs, around my groin, hips and lower stomach, that is stiff and weak.  And it goes beyond running.  I can barely hold my bladder past 60 minutes.  I’ve never experienced anything like this before.  I seriously hope it’s from the race and not due to coincidentally reaching some men’s aging milestone.

Thinking back to the race, I recall how pleasant the pace felt.  I’m still amazed how fast I started out, running under an 8 minute pace for the first 10K.  Even though my pace noticeably slackened by 20 miles, I was enjoying the event and was confident I would finish.  I never hit “the wall”.  Or did I?  My experience with hitting the wall stems from running my first marathon at 16 in 1978.  I was running the Dallas White Rock Marathon with high school running mate, Mike O’Neill.  We started out running together, but at 15 miles where the course has its most notable hill – a long slope really – I got sick from the previous night’s indulgences.  This was awkward because this point in the course is also the finish as the race loops around the lake.  So thousands of people were lined up on both sides of the trail and I had to literally dive through a wall of people to find a spot behind a tree for some alone time.  I returned to the trail but had lost Mike at that point.  Running solo at 18 miles, not an uncommon mile marker to hit the wall, my body slowed down like a cassette tape in a Sony Walkman whose batteries were dying.  I didn’t have the running experience to understand what was happening to me.  Essentially, I was out of gas.  All blood sugar was gone and my body was having to find energy stores deeper in my muscles and bone.  I recovered from that after eating some oranges from an aid station, and went on to finish the run.  Since then, I’ve always associated hitting the wall with race nutrition and fluids.  But the link I added above is to an article that explains the wall as something much more complex.

If you’re a backyard chef, you understand the effects on meat of slow cooking.  A brisket, after 8 or 9 hours of slow smoking, begins to break down at a cellular level.  The fats and proteins melt and coalesce into the meat lover’s equivalent of cotton candy.  It’s after this point one can “pull” pork.  I believe this is what happened to my body after 23 miles.  Muscles I hadn’t used before suddenly began to fatigue.  While I spent 20 more minutes running the IPR, my body experienced approximately 15,000 less footfalls than in the marathon.  I’ll admit that I’d also been running around 45 miles per week leading up to the IPR and only 30 miles per week since.  I didn’t think a month of lighter training would significantly affect my performance, and it probably didn’t have that much of an impact.  Regardless, while I was totally hydrated and had been taking in energy as well, the core of my body, my groin, hips, stomach all began to weaken.  My stride shortened and my pace correspondingly slowed.  So perhaps I did hit the wall.  It wasn’t as absolute as the one burned into my memory from the ’78 Dallas White Rock, but my metabolic physics had been altered.  Thinking back, I might have even experienced the mental delusions often associated with the wall.  Somewhere in the last 4 or 5 miles, I started to hear church bells.  Not wearing a watch, I recall thinking I could determine the time by counting the bells ring, but was too tired to count.  And as the song progressed on my playlist, I realized it was AC DC’s Hell’s Bells.  For awhile I thought how ironic that was and I should add it to my post race blog.  I didn’t though because afterward I couldn’t be certain if I ever really heard church bells or only the prelude to the song.  I didn’t want to make the experience up so I left it out of my blog.  I think now I might have been slightly delusional.

So there you have it.  I didn’t train as hard leading up to the Denver Marathon as I did the IPR.  And I suspect my body suffered more fatigue in the marathon than the IPR – which is hard for me to accept.  The IPR is simply the most challenging event I’ve ever run.  But I can’t ignore that my recovery has been slower this week than after the IPR.  The silver lining is that hopefully my core is toughening up.  I did feel better on today’s 8 mile run on the East Boulder Trail.  My groin hasn’t totally loosened up but my stride was longer and faster.  “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”

Denver Marathon 2010

17 Sunday Oct 2010

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I ran the Denver marathon this morning.  My first marathon in 30 years.  I’ve slowed down from when I was 18, but I’m still kickin’.  Ran it in 3:36, about an 8.5 minute pace.  Have yet to get my formal time, but I’ll update this link once it’s posted.  I’ll admit I wasn’t too excited about this run.  I signed up for it after the IPR to continue pushing myself after that run in September.  I certainly wasn’t nervous like I was for the IPR.  I knew after completing that run that a marathon was doable.  So no butterflies at the starting line.  But a really nice sense of accomplishment at the finish line.

The weather was incredible.  It started out cool enough that I wore warm-ups before the start.  It felt like around 50o, but there wasn’t any wind.  I wore a pair of Nike dri-fit running shorts that had pockets the perfect size to hold my iPhone without it bouncing around.  And I went with the hi-tech, long-sleeve race jersey I bought as part of the race gear.  Hi-tech race jerseys are made of a fabric that keeps the sweat off your skin.  It was much lighter than what a cotton shirt would have been.  I was looking to wear something that was a single layer so that I wouldn’t have to discard anything.  I rolled up my sleeves at the 5K mark and was comfortable throughout the run.  I also wore my Nike running hat but didn’t need it for warmth.  I wear it to keep the sun off my head.  But this course winded through tree-lined streets in stunning Denver parks and neighborhoods.  I wasn’t exposed to direct sunlight until the last 3 miles.  And I doubt it warmed up beyond 70o.  Fairly ideal running temperatures.

The course was flat enough.  There’s a small hill after 3 miles when you cross Broadway going up 17th St.  After that are what I would describe as slopes, but nothing to noticeably affect my pace.  Well, until after 15 miles when slight slopes suddenly felt steep.  I did begin to slow down on uphill segments at that point – a clear sign of fatigue.  I signed up for a service that text me and my friends with pace and times at certain splits; 5K, 10K, 11 miles, 13 miles, 20 miles and the finish.  The records indicate I ran well under an 8 minute pace for the first 10K, then slowed down to an 8.5 mile pace (my overall average) up until somewhere between 12 and 15 miles.  By the 20 mile mark I had slowed down to a 9.5 mile pace and ran a 10.5 mile pace for the final 6 miles.  Although I can tell you that it was the last 3 miles where I began to really wind down.  I noticed my stride shorten a bit at 20 miles but extremely at mile 24 and even more during the final mile.  My hamstrings were tightening and I fully expected my right hamstring to cramp up during the final half mile.  I’m surprised it didn’t but slowing down must have kept it in check.

I felt quite comfortable the entire race until the final few miles where I began to chafe from the salt buildup and, while I never hit the wall from energy depletion, my legs became weighed down from exhaustion.  I was never in danger of walking and with only a couple of miles remaining it was easy to stay positive.  I did experience a stitch around 17 miles that worried me for a spell.  Forgive the graphic description, but a knot started in my right nut and shot up under my rib cage.  It only lasted a quarter mile or so.  I suspect it stemmed from a combination of drinking at an aid station and running up a hill.  Never had a stitch in my balls before.  Speaking of that, my groin became pretty sore near the end as my legs grew heavy and my hamstrings threatened to cramp.  I’m happy all the pain was so close to the end of the run.  Would have been work otherwise.

I think I’m done with road races for the season.  Work is getting so busy I can’t find time for long runs during the week and can only do 8 and 10 milers on the weekend.  My New Year’s resolution was to start up road racing again, after foregoing them for two decades.  I ran four; the Bolder Boulder 10K, the Garden of the Gods 10 Miler, the 17 mile Imogene Pass Run and now the Denver Marathon.  Mission accomplished.

Running in the Rain

12 Tuesday Oct 2010

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I ran in the rain today.  It’s worth writing about because I so rarely do that.  With over 300 days of sunshine a year in Colorado, there’s less opportunity than elsewhere.  And then there’s the wimpy, fair-weather runner attitude to which I am not immune.  But I’m running the Denver Marathon this weekend, so now is not a good time to slack off my training regimen.  And I had an unusual gap between morning conference calls that begged for an early run.  But I’ll tell you this, it’s always a cold rain in Colorado.  It takes a bit of self motivation.

I pulled on some Nike dri-fit shorts and added Under Armour ColdGear pants.  These are sort of a cross between loose tights and tight sweat pants.  It’s a good fit for running.  I added an Under Armour all weather, long sleeve jersey to my workout ensemble.  I then pulled on some Nike dri-fit socks which are specifically fitted for the left and right feet.  Around those, I wrapped my La Sportiva Gore-Tex trail running shoes.  This turned out to be a great call.  I sloshed through a huge puddle near the start of my run in the alley cutting over to Rainbow Ridge.  And the Creekside trail had countless water traps.  My shoes were completely drenched, yet my feet remained perfectly dry the entire 4.5 mile run.  Those shoes are brilliant.

Once I warmed up, the rain became quite pleasant and added to my enjoyment of the seasonal splendor.  The trail was covered in yellow and red leaves.  No wonder everyone visits New England to view the fall foliage, the window of opportunity is closing fast in Colorado.  I suspect had I not run in the morning, the trees would be stripped clean later in the day.

Now for those of you who think I must be a huge slacker to take off 30 minutes from work to exercise, I will tell you this.  I start work at 7am and typically work to 6pm.  I might go out for lunch once a week, but mostly eat at my desk.  Either you believe that exercise contributes to your overall productivity or you don’t.  I do.  There are two types of people in the world – healthy and unhealthy.  My goal is to belong to the former group.  Plus, my work time will stretch out even longer today since I have dinner plans with a business partner at the Boulder Chop House tonight1.  I’m trying to convince you that my time spent maintaining fitness is justified and that I feel no guilt.  But perhaps given all this rationale, I do feel guilty and am only trying to justify it to myself.  Whatever – I’d rather be fit than fat.  Well, as fat.  I figure I could still lose another 10 pounds.  And my stomach has a ways to go yet.  I won’t be running the Denver Marathon shirtless.

1 While I consider business dinners to be just more work, I grant exclusions to the single and lonely, those in dead-end marriages or with more than 2.x kids, and perhaps those who commute to their basement offices and need to get out once in awhile, especially those whose idea it was to dine at the Boulder Chop House.

Running Fast

26 Sunday Sep 2010

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I had some nice runs this weekend.  Week one after the IPR, I only ran my 4.5 mile loop each day to recover.  Did some 8 mile runs over the weekend and I expected to increase my mileage this week, but work was too busy and I only squeezed one 8 miler in during the work week.  Yesterday, Saturday, was sort of busy too and I didn’t make it out to a trail, but ran 8 miles in town.  It was probably good for my knees to keep off hills.  I ran in the late morning but despite the clear sky it wasn’t overly hot.  The air felt cool blowing against my sweat-soaked skin.  The amazing thing about this run was that after all the months of consistently running everyday.  Methodically increasing my distance.  Adding hills and trails at an increasing rate each week.  I finally felt some speed.  Don’t get me wrong. Losing 15 pounds this year was nice.  Having muscle tone return to my thighs and hamstrings was very satisfying.  I’ve even come close to my goal of a flat stomach.  I’ve started to accept that may never happen, but it won’t matter much if I can run fast.

After 3 miles into Saturday’s run, Ashlee Simpson began singing La La from my playlist, and my legs fell into a stride of their own design.  It was noticeable.  It was that feeling where your body’s forward motion is the norm and to slow down would take more energy than to simply let it go.  I haven’t felt this in two decades.  It’s extremely promising.  They say muscles have memory, well mine remember running fast.  If you’re a runner or athlete, and you ever reached peak competitive conditioning, then you know the thrill of letting go of conscious control while your body performs balls out.  It’s nearly an out of body experience.  Damn, I like it.

Today’s run felt nice too.  I hit the East Boulder Trail around noon and completed 10 miles.  It’s a challenging trail with serious hills the first 3 miles, and of course the last three miles as you return.  Even when I feel strong on the way out, I’m typically debating walking on the return.  I didn’t over stride today but I felt strong the entire course.  Very happy with myself.  Targeting the Denver Marathon in a few weeks.

Running Blog

13 Monday Sep 2010

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I didn’t intend to start a running blog. I actually planned to serialize a novel on WordPress. Plans! But thanks for following my little IPR adventure. And for all the support via Facebook, emails, etc. My favorite response was the blog satire of one of my more whiney entries. I am going to find some more races this fall to maintain the fitness momentum and will continue to publish my exploits.  This pic is at the summit of Imogene Pass – mile 10 – just starting the descent.  This isn’t some weird camera angle like on the original Batman series – the trail was really that steep.

It’s Monday night, two days after my most challenging run in 30 years, and I feel fine. Physically recovered and hungry, blogging from my WordPress for iPhone app and listening to a Singer/Songwriter Genius playlist. I’m sitting in seat 23A on Jet Blue flight 97 with my card ready in my pocket to buy both the beef and cheese snacks plus a Heineken Light as soon as the service cart rolls up. I rose at 4am to fly 4 hours for a 3 hour meeting in NYC. There wasn’t time for much food today and I’m not dozing off until I catch up on my calorie deficit. At least my hamstrings aren’t cramping like they did on the flight out.

I’ll get home after midnight, a 20 hour work day driving American productivity by marginalizing my salary – but it’s all good. Looking forward to resuming my regular routine of the basement commute, early morning calls and launching Ellie off to school. The IPR was an outrageous goal that accelerated my fitness regimen by light years. Tomorrow I will google a fall marathon to keep the running routine active.

Thanks again everyone.