In the end, a pretty decent day

It's tough to try and have a race report for a race I didn't "race." Instead, the easiest thing I can say is that I ran a comfortable 51:43 in the Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10k. Things would have been a lot different if I had been able to run in the past few weeks; if it wasn't raining; if I would've been able to wear my new shoes; if I would've remembered my watch; and if I hadn't had several beers last night at the Lynchburg College Alumni Association "happy hour."

In the end, I ran this harder than I thought I would, partly because I felt I had to after raising $700 for the VCU Massey Cancer Center. I couldn't just take it easy the whole time knowing that I had done my part. To some, it might not seem like a big deal, but to me it was. In the end, I wish I would've done more in the last few weeks. It's crazy how much endurance I felt like I lost, but I was happy to be consistent the whole time - I had a 25:47 5k split. In the end, the rain wasn't nearly as bad as forecasted, but the humidity was awful. In the end, remembering my watch might've made a difference too. Imagine starting more than 14 minutes after the clock began and trying to do the subtraction every mile on how fast I was going. After a couple of miles, I stopped worrying about it and enjoyed a slower-than-usual race pace, but slightly faster-than-usual training pace. In the end, my new shoes would've been nice, but I wasn't going to ruin them in the rain. And in the end, I could've used one less Yuengling last night, but it was mighty tasty. And besides, I had already planned to not "race" hard.

My foot did OK ... it's feeling very indifferent at the moment. I think I'm ready for a solid week of bike riding and not worrying about hitting the pavement. It might not have been the smartest thing to run on it, but it really doesn't feel any different five hours later. It was awesome to be a part of this huge, huge race. It's the first race I've done that had wave starts, and it was so much better than being in corrals. It was nice to be among a steady group of people running around the same pace as me.

The Richmond Sports Backers do an excellent job of putting together events, and the beginning of this one was suburb. There was ample water on the course, and the finishing area made it very easy to find my wife afterward.

Now, it's time to make the switch to Magic Hat the rest of the day. :-)

Progress, one-tenth at a time

How happy should I be that in the past two days I have ran a whole 0.4 miles each day without any problems? I think my mind is starting to play games with me ... it's happened every time something hurts. It's like I'm thinking about it so much that it hurts. But it doesn't, actually.

This weekend I am participating in the annual Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10k here in Richmond. From a numbers standpoint, in just nine short years this has become one of the largest road races in the U.S. This year there are 31,000 registered runners and it is host of the USA 10k Championship. So whether I run it all, walk/run it or just walk it, I'll be a part of something huge. Before you lecture me, I will not do anything stupid. If anything, I've never done anything stupid when I've gotten injured. I know several people taking part in this race -- some who would go at a pace like I'd normally shoot for, others faster, others slower and a couple of walkers -- so I hope to have some choices on what to do Saturday morning.

Anyway, back to my injury, or hopefully, the lack thereof. I felt this urge today to go out for a few miles, but something held me back. There's no need to rush it ... if it started hurting, yes, I'd stop, but would it be a setback? With my next "big" race not until the end of August, I'm still very content with riding my bike and not running too much in the next few weeks. Speaking of the bike, it's very interesting to me the differences in how winded I feel during and after riding vs. running. Once I get used to riding more and increase my distances a bit, I'm curious how my body will handle everything. I'm looking forward to mixing biking into my routine this summer. These next couple of months are great for building a good base for the rest of the summer. And like I said a few posts ago, my health is much more important than setting new PRs. They'll be nice, but it's still far from my mind right now.

So two days into the second quarter of 2008, things seem to be looking up. I may have to take it one-tenth of a mile at a time, but I have no problem with that approach right now.

The next step?

Today I got in 3.1 miles. So that's two 3-mile runs two days in a row. I'm pretty close to saying that all is well with my heel ... now it's just a matter of rebuilding my endurance. It'll happen ... slowly.

I also held my plank to a minute today. Now comes a challenge of seeing my max of doing it on the sides, and just seeing those max numbers get higher and higher. Eventually I'll be content with some sort of resemblance of decent abs. I just have to take it one minute at a time. I'm definitely feeling it this week with resuming an ab workout. A strong core will only make me a better runner ... now I just have to follow through with it.

So now for the next 50 days I'll be saying what's the next step or what will I do following March's half marathon. I did it last year privately and I'll be doing it again this year, only I have a way to discuss it publicly. As you know I'm planning to do the Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10k in April, and I'm looking forward to running with 30,000 people. I'm running that for many reasons ... setting a PR or worrying about time really isn't one of them. But after that? I'm looking at that marathon calendar just pondering if what it's what I want to do again ...

Running ... for a cause

I've never been a person to donate anything besides worn out clothes, and I've never been one to take part in a fundraiser. That's all about to change.

Today I signed up for the Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10k that's in early April. It's one of the largest 10k races in America. I also signed up for a 10-week training program that will hopefully help me train for the Shamrock Half Marathon. It'll give me a chance to meet a few more runners as well, plus give me an opportunity to run with a group once a week. The timing of the 10k works well this year with it being three weeks after the half marathon. I wanted to do it last year, but the two races were too close together. I also signed up for it because I still hate the thought of running a 10k, even after doing a marathon. It's a challenge I hope to overcome in 2008. Plus I wanted to do it just to do it -- everyone tells me it's an awesome experience.

But this race will bring on much more meaning to mean as I have signed up to do fundraising for Virginia Commonwealth University's Massey Cancer Center. As I have talked about before, my life has been touched by cancer in the past few years with an uncle, my dad and grandfather all having cancer. To me, this is finally a chance to fight the disease. To contribute to my effort, click here. (Please let me know if that link doesn't work!) I have set a goal of raising $1,000. Every dollar counts, so if you'd like to make a donation, please check it out. If I can give a few dollars ($50 to be exact), anyone can. I plan to give a little more as the race draws closer.

So there you have a second "big" race for me in 2008. My main focus will still be on doing well in the half marathon in March though. I hate 10ks, so here's to hoping the Monument Avenue 10k will be the beginning of positive comments on that distance. I'm still hoping to do a 10k on Jan. 1, but don't expect me to be happy about it. ;-)

The race with an asterisk

The Xterra James River Scramble 10K is the most challenging race I've ever done. In three years of doing races, I've never finished a race and said, "That was the hardest race I've ever done," until this past Saturday. I've race some challenging races, but nothing so far had fallen into that "hardest ever" category.

Two days later it's still hard to put into words what it was like to run up steps, run through weeds, run over rocks, climb up a small ladder, jump over water and still finish in less than an hour. Race wise, this will go down as my slowest pace ever (57:07, click here for results by gender), but I think the same can be said for everyone there. It wasn't meant to be a race against time - it's more a test to see what your body can actually handle in 6.2 miles.

The race was broken up into four heats. I was in the first heat with a predicted time of just under 50 minutes. To be in the first heat, predicted times had to be less than 50 minutes. Well, only 116 runners out of nearly 1,100 actually finished in 50 minutes or less. To realize two days later that I still finished in the top third of the field is very satisfying. I am still sticking to my statement after the race though that this was a bad race, but a hell of a workout. It's tough to "race" when you have to actually stop and wait to climb up steps and jump over rocks. I'd say that total stop time was 2 or 3 minutes.

On paper, this will be the worst race I hope I'll ever do, but physically I learned a lot about myself and realized that there are many more challenges out there for me. It was a perfect springboard to have better 5K times and to get me even more motivated for the Richmond Marathon.

The summer lineup

With knowing that I'll be training for a marathon from mid-summer to mid-fall, races this summer will take on a while new meaning. While I'll be looking to set some personal records, how I run and how I feel afterward are more important to me. I'm looking at this summer's races more in the sense of having a solid workout each time.

So that being said, here's a look at races around the area that I plan on doing:
* June 16, James River Scramble in Richmond. This is a 10K and my first time running this race.
* June 23, Presbyterian Homes 5K in Lynchburg. Despite running races for nearly three years, I've never done this race. The past two years I've been on a mini-Dave Matthews Band tour in Hershey, Pa., and Northern Virginia. This also is my first time doing two races two weeks in a row. I'm not too worried about it, but will listen closely to my body after the 10K.
* July 4, the second annual Downtown Academy Mile. Last year's time was 7:11 and this year I hope to break 7 minutes. Last year at that time, I had no idea how to run something all out, but I've learned a lot in the past year.
* July 21, Percival's Island 5 Miler. This is a great, relatively flat race. At the same time it's a bit intimidating because you can see too far in front of you. Last year was the first time running this and I had a time of 41:07. This year I'm shooting to break the 8-minute mile pace and finish under 40 minutes. I'll have a better goal in mind when it gets closer, but realistically I should have a time under 38 minutes.
* Aug. 18 is the Lynchburg Half Marathon. I'll probably do this as a long run only. I said that last year and ran it too hard, but I've learned my lesson.
* Sept. 29 is the Virginia 10 Miler. I'll be running this again, but like the half marathon, I'll use this as a chance to do a long run with people around. I'd like to beat my time from last year of 1:23, but it's too far away to be worried about that right now.

So if you're feeling motivated, go sign up for a race. There's a complete listing of local races at Riverside Runners Web site.

First race of the summer season

In the nearly three years that I've been running races, I can't really say that I've been disappointed at my results. There was one race in the fall of 2005 that was my worst ever, but that was all my fault, and I knew it. I had, simply enough, let myself get out of shape too much. And what a difference a year can make. A year ago at this time, my longest race had been four miles. In the past year, I've done considerably longer races including a five miler, a 10K, the Virginia Ten Miler and two half marathons. I've survived knee problems, ankle pain and many other things that just got in the way. Through various training, I've gotten my 5K pace under 8 minutes a mile (7:44 pace) and even did my second half marathon in an 8-minute mile pace. But then came yesterday ... the first race of the season.

Yesterday I ran in a 10K that started in downtown Lynchburg, went up Rivermont to Riverside Drive and turned around. (Click here for results.) Overall, it's hard to say I was disappointed because my pace was right at 8 minutes a mile (49:49 overall), but it's the feeling afterward that let me know I could've ran harder. When running a race, there's this awesome pain to feel after it's over - like you just can't walk. Even though I was worn out and out of breath, I didn't get that race pain yesterday. I had too much energy afterward that I could've used on the course. I've had this happen before, and I'm glad that it's happening now and not five months from now. I'm also trying to get used to distances behind 5Ks. It's an odd feeling to have. I know in a 5K how hard I can push myself - I've now run enough to know what to do. And I still have some work to do at that distance because I'd love to break the 23-minute mark. This also was only my second 10K I've ever done. In a round about way, it's nice to know I could've ran harder - it'll make the next race all the more better. And that feeling I had yesterday following the race is one that keeps me motivated and makes me look forward even more to running my first marathon.

Please leave any questions, comments or suggestions for me. Also, if you're a runner and want me to add your blog, I'm planning to add some links to the side soon of blogs I read. So please let me know what your site is.

Bedford's loop

Bedford's "loop" is a popular course among runners and joggers. It's also home to the Bedford Christmas Classic, which has a 5K and a 10K. It's a fun race to do, and would be even better if more people came out to it. Forget how cold it is - just get and out do it! Click here for my attempt at creating a Google map so you can see the route of the "loop."