Somebody throw me a rope!

Today the team got in 7 out at Greg’s.  It was very hilly at the start and at the finish!  Come to think of it, it was hilly in the middle too!  There were several points along the way where I was really struggling…especailly at that last climb, where it was all I could do to keep putting one foot in front of the other.  I really think that there must be something wrong with me to get so out of breath at times.  On the upside, it was a great challenge for me and for everyone else.  To be completely honest though, I am a little disappointed that, after all these weeks of running and building some stamina, I don’t have more endurance for hills.  Anyway, we did move at a good pace.  I forgot to stop my watch at the end (I guess that I was just delirious that it was over) so I can only guesstimate that our time was about 68 minutes.  That’s under 10 min/mile average, and in keeping with what we’ve been doing, despite the hills.

Great job everybody!  Thanks again Greg for coming up with a REALLY challenging route!

Kudos to John’s Run Walk Shop

Bernie with John’s Run Walk Shop gave the team a lunch lecture on running, full of tips and freebies.  Thank you again Bernie for coming to speak with us!  It was very informative and very motivating.  I know that I need to do a better job of stretching before and after.  Also, thanks to Chuck for getting it all set up!

As for my running this week, Monday’s 3 and Wednesday’s 5 went fine with pretty good times.  After the inspiration at lunch today, I decided to really go for it on tonight’s 3.  I pushed hard from the start and got to the first mile in 7:15, so I had high hopes at that point.  At the 2 mile point, I could tell that I had slowed considerably, so when my watch said 8:50 I wasn’t surprised.  Then, the mother of all side stitches hit me hard and left me struggling through the rest of it.  In the end, I averaged a 8:03 pace, which is still good but did not break under 8:00 like I was hoping.  Looks like I should have scaled things back a bit in the first mile, to avoid that side stitch.  I think that I might locate the half mile points to better judge my pace along the route.

I’m looking forward to the 7 miler with the team this Saturday.  It should seem short since we just did a 9 miler…right?!

   

9 Miler in the Books

Today the team got in a 9 miler, a new distance record for me.  I felt fine except for getting a little winded occasionally.  The temp was better than last weekend, but the wind definitely made it feel colder.  As I type this my legs still have a slight burn from sprinting at the end.  I had told myself that I wasn’t going to do that anymore, but I guess that I’m just curious to see how much gas is left in the tank!

In case you’re wondering, the image is a statue of Pheidippides, the Athenian herald (mentioned in Dean Karnazes’ book, Ultramarathon Man).  Thanks again Taylor for loaning that to me.  It was a great read!  It helps to put things into perspective a little as we train for this marathon.  26.2 miles is a daunting distance, but knowing that some people actually can go much further is an inspiration.

The route today took us through the Island Neighborhood on the lake.  We saw alot of nice houses along the way today, and that kept it entertaining as well.  Thanks Derek for coming up with such a cool run!  Well, I could have done without the cool temps…but you know what I mean.  Great job everybody…go team!!

Postcards from the Road

  After reading the blogs from my teammates, I’ve decided to jot down some of my observations as well. I’ve come along way (literally and figuratively) since this all started. My first run is easy to remember. It was Thanksgiving Day. I remember thinking that holidays are for taking it easy, and here I am doing this. It didn’t go well. I went out way too fast, and had to resort to walking for part of it, even though I was only going for about 2 ½ miles. It didn’t help that my new thermal shirt was too small…I couldn’t get my breath because it was too tight on my chest. At least that was part of the reason. The main reason was that I was just plain out of shape.

Running with my sister, Susie, has helped a lot, and I’ve learned a lot from her. I’m sure that it would have taken me much longer to figure out what I’m doing without her advice and help. Getting a “real” pair of running shoes, decent socks, and other gear (including a thermal shirt that fits) has made a huge difference since day one.Being a novice runner can be a little humbling. On a couple of occasions, I’ve gone for runs with my sister and some of her neighborhood running friends. Simply put, I’m not up to their pace yet (if ever), and I’ve been dropped like a ton of bricks on more than one occasion. And then there was the time that I was hitting a wall on the return leg of a run, only to be casually passed by a guy going much faster. The sad part is that the guy was at least 60! I’d like to think that he was just going for a short 1 mile sprint, but chances are, he was out for a 10 miler!

I’ve learned that the important thing is to put in the miles. My endurance and my speed has improved a lot since November, and it didn’t happen overnight. Endurance is the main thing that I’m focused on, since we are training for a marathon. And I’m still trying to figure out what a good pace for the marathon would be.

Saturday runs with my teammates has been a big boost for me. Call it moral support (or maybe misery loves company) or whatever, but the Saturday runs have only seemed half as long as they really are. I’m looking forward to ratcheting up the distance with the team, and I know that I wouldn’t be nearly so enthusiastic about it if I were attempting this by myself. Go team!