My next major event is chosen: Philadelphia Half Marathon
It is in November. So I have over 6 months to train for this one. This time, I’m breaking 1:55. I am going to modify the plan used for Miami with some things I think will work better for me. And I’m going to rock that thing.
But first things first. This weekend will be an entirely down weekend. And then, on Monday, I’ll begin the training.
A new tag is coming to this website for that training. And I’ll have an excuse to post more often. And I’ll have something out there to MAKE me run.
And I’m going to beat 1:55. Did I mention that?
ING Half Marathon: Miami - Race Report
Exactly one month ago, I ran the ING Half Marathon in Miami. I trained for it as part of Team Challenge, a group that raises funds for Crohn’s and Colitis research. This is the story of my run… what I learned, what I did, whether I fell flat on my face or succeeded beyond all imagining. This will probably be long. It will also probably be boring. But here it is.
This thing on?
Sorry about that. I’ll try to be better about posting. And yes, I know I still owe a race report from the half marathon. Stay tuned. Seriously. I mean it. (I know at least a few of you are doubters).
I’m posting THIS, though, to record that last night was the first night I ran in some new shoes. I finally replaced my Asic Gel Nimbus shoes with some new Asics… this time Asic Gel Cumulus. Up with clouds!!
Early returns are good. Actually, 5 miles last night felt really easy with the new shoes, though how much of that is mental, who could say. Certainly, though, they still need some breaking in… they’ll be looking like a mess in no time the way I treat shoes, I’m sure.
Crosstrain - Weights
Who: Alone
What: Crosstrain - Weights
Where: Planet Fitness Downingtown
Still feeling okay today after getting back into the workouts, so tonight it was weights. I had let my weights slack a bit during the run training, and it felt REALLY good to do them again. I didn’t push too hard tonight, not paying much attention to amount lifted and paying more attention to form and function.
I’m having to break my circuits up a little differently due to the layout of Planet Fitness. I might spell that out sometime in the future, once I have it figured out myself.
4 Mile Run
Who: Alone
What: 4 Mile Run
Where: Planet Fitness Downingtown
Hey, look, another post category! The half marathon is done, but I still want to keep some tabs on my workouts, so here it goes into the Personal Training category. When I pick another event to do, I’ll make a category specific for that event again. But for now, these will go in the new generic Personal Training category.
For those waiting for the Miami half marathon race report… it’s still coming. Patience. I’m working on it. It doesn’t feel ‘done’ yet.
This was a simple four mile run. I am highly amused by that concept. When I started the half marathon training, a 4 mile run was far from simple. So there’s already a benefit - my entire perspective on running has changed. My body felt fantastic all during it, and I stopped at 4 not because I had to or was tired, but because I wanted an easy run to get back into the swing of things and I was only then starting to feel a little impacted. So, this is all good. If I can do 4 or 5 mile runs during the week while still doing my weights, and with maybe the occasional 7 or 8 mile run on the weekend, I’ll maintain a great base for going into… whatever is next.
Checking In The Night Before
I just came from the pasta party dinner for Team Challenge. Several inspiring stories and several amusing points, including a guy who is running in honor of his wife doing a speech… without telling her beforehand.
It’s amazing that this charity event is only one year old. And in that year, it has raised over 6 million dollars. 1.1 million of which were in that room tonight. Amazing. They aspire to be like Team In Training, but it’s so new, and yet… they’ve built up so much. Sort of like the Miami Marathon itself, which is only a few years old itself, which started with only a few thousand participants and now… tomorrow… 15,000.
Most amusing moment of the night for me… they asked the people in the audience who among us had undergone a colonoscopy. I swear half the room raised their hands. I observed to the guy next to me that the odds are MUCH higher in that room.
Tomorrow I will get up at 4:30, meet others at 5, and gather in groups for a 6:15 start. The weather here is gorgeous, I got 10 hours of sleep last night, and I feel okay tonight. A fat bloated okay… ha. Taper madness. Don’t exercise and carb load while drinking lots of liquids for several days and tell me if YOU don’t feel fat and bloated!
I’m nervous. Very nervous. My gear is all laid out. I’m ready to go. I wish I could go now. But instead I have to try to sleep (right) and go in the morning.
Anyway. Enough rambling from me.
Oh. One more thing. The finisher’s medals are cool.
“In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.”
— Albert Camus
Hey, it sounds pretty nice, and I wish it were true. I don’t know if what I found was an invincible summer, but I found something.
I’m thinking, specifically, of the run on Saturday. I really didn’t want to do 8 miles in single-digit Fahrenheit temperatures. While I was out there, my water bottle froze - I couldn’t get the water out because it froze the lid, anyway, and when I opened it, it was slushy.
But I did it. 8 miles, wearing about 10 extra pounds of equipment to try to keep warm. I ducked my face into a ski mask to warm it, then pulled it out to try to… breathe. I trudged for an hour and ten minutes, the last group run, and I did it. I figure it had to be good for me. Builds character.
Tonight, I did 4 on the treadmill, which was so easy in comparison that I was bored. I have no idea how the warm weather in Miami will feel. But no matter what, on Sunday, I will find some sort of invincible season.
At the very least, I won’t need to wear a mask.
Bib Number, and Whatnot
My bib number for the Miami Half Marathon is 11994. I found that out by going to the registration confirmation site. It’s a week away this Sunday, and this time next week will find me on a plane to Miami. With each passing day it’s becoming more ‘real’.
This week’s training has not been of particular note. My back is feeling quite a bit better now. There is a lingering soreness but nothing that prevents me from doing anything. My largest concern continues to be how I got injured right in the last month and thus don’t feel as prepared as I wanted to be, but I can be as good on one day as I need to. I’m telling myself that.
Tonight is a 5 mile pace run (on the treadmill, given the cold weather) and tomorrow is the last group run. 8 miles. It’s going to be coolldddd and I’ve been dreading it all week, which probably means it’s good for me or something!
Some Success
Well, I successfully ran 5 miles yesterday. My back can still be described as ’sore’ and possibly ‘tender’, but no longer has that ‘twingy’ (that’s a word, I swear) feeling that means a pulled muscle with potential to be pulled even further. My gait felt natural. I am currently planning to push to all ahead before pulling back into taper.
And that means, tonight, I’m going to do the long run originally scheduled for last Saturday. Inside, on a treadmill. It means… two hours, inside, on a treadmill. But I want that one more long run. Systems are not 100% but they are good enough, so it’s a go!
I hope tonight is successful. That would be a real confidence builder before going into taper.
My Own Injured Running Pride
So I haven’t posted since last week. Well, I haven’t run since last week. Well, that’s not quite true. I already digress and I just started typing.
That tweak I felt last week got worse throughout the day, culminating in skipped runs, an aborted 4 mile run on Wednesday, and much stretching and rest. It’s not that I couldn’t have finished the run on Wednesday, I could have, but my gait (thanks Amy!) felt awkward and I was definitely compensating and I wanted to make sure I didn’t cause a worse injury or hurt something else… so I called it after a mile and a bit.
So I’m picking up again this week, with… gulp. Not much time before the January 25th race. I know, mentally, that my body is likely prepared. I’ve been told as much. But mentally I really want another long run. I’m going slightly off schedule, with coach permission, and will attempt another long run this week before heading into taper. Because my last 12 miler, while successful, was not encouraging mentally. I didn’t do what I wanted to do.
And worse, mentally, this week of rest really has me doubting my physical preparedness. One thing I’ve learned in this training is that so much of the running is mental. And I need to be in a better place about my preparation and I need to do it soon. Even if I have to start lying to myself. I can be ready for one 13.1 mile race…. right?
I know I’ll finish. I just want to finish in less than 1:55. At one point in this training it seemed that would happen… I felt I was an arrow in flight and could see the steady improvement that would have me hitting that mark. I now feel like gravity is taking over and I’m arcing, still toward the target, but outside the bullseye.
“Tell the truth and then run.” - Proverb
I … may have misinterpreted that.
In other news, , Therese finished her marathon! Her struggles with injury, documented on her own website, along with her finish are an inspiration to me.
