A hodgepodge of post-race thoughts

I could write a lot about a variety of things right now, but instead here's a shorter list of things on my mind right now. Also, I've inserted some of my photos from the weekend to show some of the amazing sights.

Taking a break
I have not had a full, complete two-day break from running in almost three months. Even through my tailbone injury I managed to get in a few tenths at a time. The last time I went more than two days without running at all was June 10-12 when I was in the Outer Banks. You'll have to excuse me this week as I don't even think about having a running motion for a few days. Today I had a great walk with my dog and I MIGHT go for a run after work tomorrow. Otherwise, it's been nice having a break since Sunday morning.

Going Garmin free
On my walk with my dog this evening, I didn't take my Garmin. I've been so obsessed with my miles -- even walking miles -- that I feel like my Garmin is just a growth on my arm. I don't even know what bag it's packed it right now, and I may not bust it out at all this week. I'll estimate my miles based on what I know about my neighborhood or use mapmyrun.com. I need a break from looking down at my watch so much.

Post-race soreness
Despite shutting it down the last half of the Rock 'n' Roll Half on Sunday, I still have sore legs and am tired. It's not nearly as bad as usual, but it's oddly comforting to know that I put enough effort in early on to be sore. Just because things went bad doesn't take away from three months of training, and I'm exhausted both mentally and physically. I think I'm entitled to do whatever the hell I feel like doing this week.

A tale of two races
Despite the fact that I was 17 minutes slower this weekend than the Shamrock Half in March, there is something special about what happened a couple of days ago. A friend of mine called it a character-building race. He's so right too, and right now I probably don't even know how right he is. It was a learning experience in so many ways, and I'm strangely glad that it played out like it did. In March, I was hurt. I was mad as hell and I was determined to get back on my feet this summer. When I did, I turned around and fell on my butt, but I stayed determined to keep training and fight through it. When the humidity hit me like a brick wall on Sunday, it was just part of my story of things trying to prevent me from finishing this race. But I finished dammit. Unhurt and not limping across the finish line.

Rock 'n' Roll 2009
A few hours after finishing on Sunday, I said I highly doubt that I would return for this race. But by that night, when talking with my friend Vicki who ran it last year, I realized that I have to go back to Virginia Beach on Labor Day weekend next year. It's more than a year away and right now that seems like forever and a day away, but that 2:06 is already burning a hole in my feet. It's a course record for me that just can't hang around.

So ... what's next?
Ah, the question runners everywhere are always asking themselves. Well, I'm not 100 percent sure. The Virginia 10 Miler is coming at the end of the month in Lynchburg, and I've been thinking about doing it again for two years now. It's a unique race on an extremely hilly course ... it's the race that got me so hooked on longer distances. I have to get through the next couple of days and recovery runs to see how I feel before I make a decision, but right now it's the only race close by that makes sense. Despite wanting to redeem myself in a half marathon, I don't want to venture too far from home with a baby on the way in November. Plus after two half marathons that didn't go as expected, I want to get that distance out of my head for a while.

I'd like to do some shorter races this fall. I haven't done a 5k since August 2007 and I haven't had a good 10k in a long time, so I'm kind of itching to get back to what got me hooked on running in the first place.

So ... what's next after what's next?
It's kind of weird to think about 2009 already, but looking ahead, the Rock 'n' Roll Half is the only "big" thing on my radar screen (see above for all that). After that, I'm totally open to thinking about doing another marathon next fall. I've already looked at how the calendar plays out and it's ideal to just keep training after Labor Day weekend to perhaps do the Richmond Marathon again. It's just not happening this year with a baby on the way. Plus I haven't forgotten about the nagging injuries despite feeling great right now. There's something itching inside me to have a half marathon that I'm 100 percent happy with before doing another marathon, so mapping out my plans for next year will have to wait ... probably until a year from now.

Lastly, a HUGE thank you
I just wanted to extend my sincerest thanks to my wife, my mom and stepdad, my friends and my fellow bloggers out there for your support in the past few months. I've had so much going on personally and professionally, and I could not have made it without all the support. I could have easily just given up hope on a lot of things, but everybody has played a role in keeping this train from running out of steam. Thank you!! It'll be time to keep it going in a few days.


By the way, I'm in the blue waving my hands in the photo below. It's one of the very few times I've actually done something for a photo during a race. I'm looking forward to seeing the official photos because I actually put my hands up in the air for one.

Looking back eases my mind

Ever since March and the injury during the Shamrock Half Marathon, I've been questioning myself a lot in how I prepare for events. At times in the past five months, I have felt like I should just do 5ks and 10ks and not worry about 13.1 miles ever again. Other times I have felt extremely confident.

Heading into this weekend, I keep thinking about the two weeks in July that I couldn't run very well due to my tail bone injury. After getting to 20 miles in a week before the fall, I simply could not do a long run two weeks in a row. But in the five weeks after that, I have felt the best I have felt in a long time even if I can't seem to ever lose the 5 extra pounds I want to.

To help ease my mind a bit about this weekend, I went back and looked at my training for the previous two half marathons. I added up the mileage for the 10 weeks leading up to race week so I could see how I've done this summer. In the winter of 2007, when I set my PR at the Shamrock Half, I ran 193.8 miles in the 10 weeks before, logging four 20-plus mile weeks. This year for the same race, I did much less with 139.8 miles with three 20-plus mile weeks. It's no wonder I got hurt, even if I was in good shape after marathon training at the end of 2007. So in the past 10 weeks for the Rock 'n' Roll Half, I have logged 201.6 miles, with six runs of 20 miles or more.

That really surprised me. I felt that my training in the beginning of 2007 was better than what I've done recently. I probably had better quality runs then, but getting in the extra mileage is important too. If I hadn't missed those long runs in mid-July, I would likely have 220-plus miles.

Another interesting note about miles is the fact that at about halfway through the Rock 'n' Roll Half on Sunday, I'll pass 100 miles for the month. It'll be the most miles in a month this year, and it's the first 100-plus month in almost a year.

Final pre-race thoughts
There's no question that I'd love to set a PR this weekend, but my main goal is to enjoy myself. I've said it recently, but running has become fun again and all that matters to me on Sunday is to go out there and just do what I can do. I'm not going to get flustered if my pace falls off, and I'm not going to get overly excited if I start off quicker than I plan. The weather may play a role and there's nothing I can do if it's crazy hot or if it rains. All that's left now is hitting the start button on my watch and then seeing what happens! Look for a race report sometime Monday ...

100 days, 11 hours ...

If you haven't noticed, I tend to notice milestones. Well, today marks 100 days to go until the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon. While I'm not in "official" training mode just yet, I realize that this race isn't all that far away. I do have all of June, July and August to prepare, so that eases my mind just a bit.

While I'm discussing this race, has anyone out there tried Cytomax? It's the new official sport drink for this race. I'll of course try it beforehand to make sure my stomach can handle it, but any insight before trying it would be great. Free samples would be even better.

Pre-Shamrock thoughts

In just a few days, I'll be headed out on a 13.1-mile quest. My thoughts before the Shamrock Half Marathon are all over the place.

While there's part of me that feels like I've done a lot of half marathons, the reality is this is only the second one I've done with a racing frame of mind. My first 13.1 event in the summer of 2006 was used as a long run to get ready for the Virginia Ten Miler. I surprised myself by finishing in less than two hours. Then came last year's Shamrock in which I went out with a goal to beat my 2006 time and get as close to 1:45 as I could. This past summer I did the Lynchburg half marathon again, but that was really a long run in my marathon training. I wasn't really thinking about racing.

So what does that mean for this weekend? I would love to beat my time from last year. I have logged fewer miles in the past three months than I did last year, but I've been more consistent with building my mileage. I also have the marathon experience, which I think has really helped with maintaining being in shape. This year I had to recover from an injury, which hurt my miles, but gave me extra time to get over whatever the marathon did to my body. I do weigh a few more pounds than last year at this time, but I feel really good.

So I have this time staring at me in the face - 1:44:23. I'm ready to try and beat that, but if I fall short it's no big deal. Like last year, this event is really a springboard for the rest of the year. I've managed to stay in decent shape through the winter, and this gives me a chance to perform well all year.

I guess my pre-race thoughts are just mixed right now. I'm doing the "Dolphin Challenge" this weekend by doing an 8k on Saturday, but I have no intentions of running that hard at all. In fact, it'll be my slowest event ever I hope. For now, it's time to rest and try to clear my mind.

Injuries

In 8 months of blogging, I've been fortunate to not have any injuries. Since fall 2006, I've basically stayed injury free. I had some nagging heel pain back in March, but nothing major. My main goal as I trained for the marathon was to stay injury free.

So imagine my disappointment this week when my right heel started bothering me. It's similar to what I felt back in March -- it's more of a major discomfort than a real pain. Since the marathon, I've had some discomforts here and there, but this is the first issue I've had in a while that actually made me not run for a day. This morning it was just too much. I opted to just walk my dog and by the end of the walk it wasn't too bad. It's been a day of where I can feel it, but it doesn't feel major.

I guess it's good that I have an upcoming trip to Ohio and that Christmas is right around the corner. I don't want to ruin my chances of running in the Shamrock Half Marathon, so I'll be doing a lot of not pushing it too hard for the next several days. That seems to be the story of my running life these last two months of the year. Some downtime is good, but I feel like I'm falling behind. But the way I look at it, I'm still in much better shape than a year ago when I was getting ready to start training for Shamrock. Rest did me some good with my knee issues then, so I'm counting on rest doing its thing this time.

So this will end all talk of hitting 1,000 miles this calendar year. Fellow blogger Danny suggested that I could still do 1,000 miles ... just do it in a 12-month span. No need for the calendar. It's a great idea and something I'll consider.

As for my 2008 plans, let me get through this issue first to make sure I'm OK ...

Good news, bad news

After completing the Richmond Marathon, running wasn't high on my priority list. All I felt like doing was getting some rest. When I did run, I felt unmotivated despite having one more goal this year. Then I got sick. Talk about being unmotivated.

Then came this week. I have finally felt healthy and rested, so this week was about getting back on my feet and feeling normal again. At week's end, I find myself just shy of 20 miles (19.6 to be exact), including a "long" run today of 6.1 miles that made me like running again. Today was the first time since the marathon that I can say I felt like running for a reason. I felt comfortable and once again I felt focused. I think all I needed was downtime to get back to this feeling, but in the past month I have been frustrated instead of being patient.

Today is a relief. With 90 days to go until the Shamrock Half Marathon, it felt like a kickoff training run. Finally, I can run with confidence again.

Now, about that 1,000-mile goal. I should have done this a while ago, but today I went back and recalculated my mileage from the year. Since hitting 1,000 miles was never a goal until I realized how close I was to it, my mileage-keeping wasn't the best. While my weekly mileage was accurate, I had a few miscalculations for monthly totals including being off a few miles in January, June and 10 miles in September. All total I have 13 fewer miles as of today for the year than I thought I had. I'm at 944.7. While hitting 1,000 miles is still a possibility, it's a little more out of reach than I first thought, especially with a trip coming up. I blame my usually good math skills on this one, but getting sick and having two weeks with just 7 miles certainly didn't help.

I'm a little mad at myself, but like I've already said, hitting quadruple digits just wasn't something I thought about until recently. With time running out in 2007, I need two 28-mile weeks. While I want to be in the 25-30 mile range for my half marathon training, I don't want to overdo it just to hit 1,000 miles. Coming off a rest period and an illness, I don't think it's the smart thing to do. Between now and the end of the year, I want to run smart before I get heavy into training again and higher mileage.

This all being said, I'll lay out my 2008 goals sometime soon. And you better believe running 1,000 miles will be on the list.

A month later

After two useless weeks, I finally feel normal this weekend. It's tough to say I'm at 100 percent (I'll say 91 percent today), but I didn't lay around and do nothing. I got in 3 miles yesterday -- the longest since 4 miles two Saturdays ago. I had hoped to do a 5k today, but picking up pesky leaves called my name today. Doesn't a couple of hours or so of picking up leaves count as a mile? I won't add it, but it was definitely a good workout.

So now that I've had two poor running weeks, I'm setting my sights on returning to normal this week. The extremely cold weather seems to be staying away this week from this part of the country, so it'll be a good transition to get back out there and then have a solid long run next week. I'm avoiding any week goals just yet since I've had so much downtime in the past month. Hitting 1,000 miles is still within reach, but I'm not going to focus on it too much until the end of the week. I know what I have to do to get there and if I stay healthy, don't get hurt and don't run into an Ohio blizzard near Christmas, I should hit it.

Once Christmas gets here I'll get focused on more specific mileage as I begin training for the Shamrock Half Marathon in March. I'm in much better shape now than I was a year ago when I started getting ready for this race, so I'm going to be very focused on beating this year's 1:44:23.

So a month after the marathon, I feel that my body has hit the Reset button. Getting sick has made me realize how important my health is. Staying healthy is much more crucial than any goal I have right now. Unlike previous down times, I don't feel like I've gotten out of shape. I have marathon training to thank for that. Now I'm just ready to move on and let this sickness be a story I tell years down the road.

Decisions ... but not before 1,000 miles

I have a lot to think about while on my journey to 1,000 miles. I don't want to rush into decisions about 2008, and that's why I am committed to hitting 1,000 miles this year before I fully plan out next year. That doesn't mean I can't start asking myself questions on what I want to do.

Four days after becoming a marathoner, my legs are only sore when going up or down stairs, and nothing else hurts. I've gone on a few short walks this week and have felt great. I'm obviously still winded from running 26.2 miles, but I never expected to feel this great in such a short time. I'm not jumping back into anything though. I'll have a couple of short runs this week and three short runs next week. I seriously contemplated a turkey trot on Thanksgiving, but I don't want to risk injury by running hard within two weeks of the marathon. I am about 95 percent sure of doing the Bedford Christmas Classic on Dec. 1 -- whether it's the 5k or 10k is something I'll decide later.

My plan between now and Dec. 31 is to have a reverse taper to get back to 8-10 miles as my standard long run. I'll smartly do what I have to do to get to 1,000 miles. I should have no problem hitting that mark as long as I stay healthy. As far as training goes for the Shamrock Half, I'll lay out those plans later. But beyond that?

You should've heard me after the 30k in October. I said I'm never training for a marathon again! My wife properly ignored the crazy talk. In my head I was preparing a blog entry on how much I hated anything past a half marathon. Those long training runs were boring; it was hot; I was running alone after moving; it was eating too much into my weekend. But after Nov. 10, I have that itch. I've seriously thought about the Charlottesville Marathon in April. That would make Shamrock a perfect warmup, and instead of laying off the mileage too much before summer, I could increase the long runs, then get some rest in late April/early May ... which would then be perfect to train again for Richmond. Basically it would be: good rest between now and late December, train January-April, rest in May and early June, then build back in July. I think I could get in the 40-50 miles a week range rather than 30-40. Or I could focus on getting better and stronger in shorter races. I haven't done a 5k in a while and I've missed that distance. 10ks continue to be a big challenge for me. And half marathons seem just the right distance. I feel I have it in me to make my current 5k pace be my half marathon pace. I'm in competition with myself, and these shorter races are so much fun to go out and try to beat my previous times. There are plenty of half marathons out there -- including Richmond next November. They're less time consuming and not so hard on the body. But then there's the endurance challenge of the marathon, and I have that one 4:13 time sitting there.

The good thing is, I don't have to make any decisions right now on any of that. I'm still enjoying my marathon experience for at least a few more days. I'll enjoy some french fries a couple of more times before signing up for something else in 2008. Tonight, I think I'll have some Oreo cookies for the first time since ... well, I don't really know when. You can bet, though, that as soon as I hit mile 1,000.1, I'll have something figured out.

Loving the half marathon

If you asked me right now my favorite race distance, I'd have to say the half marathon. Even though I've only done three -- and really only focused on running one of them hard -- it's a fun distance to do. It's challenging, yet very rewarding. I'll discuss various race distances later, but for now I want to focus on today's long run -- my very own version of a half marathon.

After last week's debacle of a 30k, I have been feeling all week that I have something to prove to myself. Bad runs only motivate me to do better next time. On Wednesday I had a great run with a 4-mile tempo run -- my time in those 4 miles were faster than my two 4-mile races I've done. Today I wanted to go out and run a half marathon in less than 2 hours -- I wanted to do something to help me realize that 4 hours in a marathon is achievable for me. I ended up running it in 1:55, which was my time in my first half marathon a little more than a year ago. It's such a great feeling to have training runs now that are equal to or beat previous race times -- especially race times from last summer. It's an even better feeling to have a long run like today's and feel like I can do something with the rest of my day and weekend. I remember my first 13.1 experience -- I was on the couch icing my knee afterward and was pretty much worthless through the weekend.

Next week will be my last high mileage week before tapering begins. I'll have my second attempt at 20 miles. If the weather continues to cooperate (it was fabulous today), I think everything will be just fine. I'm looking forward to tapering to give my legs a break, but I'm still sort of questioning how much to reduce the miles. I can feel it in my legs and the rest of my body that I need a break from the miles -- but how much? I'll figure that out after next week.

So, this all being said about the half marathon, I am sending my application today to do the Dolphin Challenge as park of the Shamrock event in Virginia Beach in March. The Dolphin Challenge is an 8k on Saturday, March 15 and a half marathon on Sunday, March 16. Why not do the marathon? I'll address that after Nov. 10. I had such a fun time last year doing the half that I want to do it again and add the extra challenge of the 8k, although I probably won't run that very hard. Plus the price goes up $15 after Oct. 31 ... and no matter what event I did, nothing beats "free" Yuengling after running your ass off (see photo). So before training for one race ends, the countdown begins for something else. Off season? There's no such thing. My focus, though, is on the Richmond Marathon -- that won't change until Nov. 11.

13.1 ... the next day

When I went to bed last night, I thought I would wake up and have that usual race pain. But I didn't. While I was a bit sore, I could walk normally and nothing unusual hurt. My knees, which I am most concerned with, were fine. I originally had planned to take an easy 2 or 3 mile jog, but instead went for a nice long walk with my wife and dog. By the end of the walk, whatever soreness I had was gone. By not running today, I once again fell just short of 30 miles for the week, but yesterday's run makes me feel great about where things stand right now.

Next week will be a bit complicated as my move to Richmond gains speed and the following week my new job begins. Things personally are going well and by mid-September I will be living in a great neighborhood to run in, with easy access to more neighborhoods and a great park. Moving will offer some good cross training, but what's important is to make sure I still find time to run and avoid eating badly. It's already been hard with people wanting to go out to lunch or dinner every day before we leave town, but I'm doing OK. I manage to avoid french fries no matter what.

I swear, I wasn't racing

What a great day to run - morning temperatures in the 60s, relatively low humidity. You couldn't ask for better weather in mid-August to go for a long run, or attend a race that I wasn't going to run hard.

My goal for today's Lynchburg Half Marathon was to finish around what I did last year - 1:55.19, an 8:49 pace. I've already written about this being an excellent training run - go out with ease and not push myself too much. But a lot has changed in a year and I realize that even more today. My time today was 1:46.53, an 8:10 pace. I didn't feel like I went out and ran it hard - I just did what felt comfortable. And "comfortable" has a different meaning in 2007 than in 2006. As a bonus, I hooked up about 3 miles in with a guy I went to high school with, and we talked quite a bit for about 5 miles after that. Then, without saying anything, we just sort of alternated who was in front of the other. And all this time I really didn't feel like I was pushing myself too hard. Our mile times got better as we went along and hit about a 7:30 pace the last 5K. (My actual mileage times were: 8:34, 8:45, 8:25, 8:30, 8:24, 8:22, 8:10, 8:26, 8:21, 7:53, 7:37, 7:36, and 7:46 for the last 1.1) The course was relatively flat with some hidden inclines along the way.

A year ago when I finished this race, I felt beat up and questioned why I ran so long when I was only training for a 10 miler that was more than a month away. It was the beginning of my knee problems. Today, though, I actually did a cool down jog about a quarter mile to my car so I could get into dry clothes. And, now, 4 hours later, my legs feel great.

I feel great about going out there and beating last year's time by nearly 9 minutes, and finishing less than 3 minutes from my PR at the Shamrock Half Marathon in March. But my point in running today's race was to get in a solid training run for the Richmond Marathon, and I did that. The rest of my week didn't go as planned at all, but I'll take ending the week like this.

And lastly, I must give a shout out to two of my soon-to-be former co-workers. There was also a 5K as part of today's race, which they ran. Jill finished third in her age group and a minute and a half faster than last year's race. And Sarah ran her first Lynchburg road race and didn't finish DFL. Good job to you both. I'd like to give a shout out to my wife as well. She volunteered today handing out water.

13.1

Even though I've hit double digits in two of the past three weeks for my long runs, there's something special about the teens. I've often been told if you can do a half marathon, you can do a full. While tomorrow's Lynchburg Half Marathon is being treated as a training run and not a race (yes, I keep telling myself that), I'll be hitting that mark of "longest run ever."

Doing a half marathon now at a slightly faster than usual pace feels right as I transition into distances I've never done before. And it'll keep my confidence boosted as I change cities. This could very well be my last long run in Lynchburg, Va., unless I do the 10 miler in future years. So this run will be a farewell of sorts to the Blackwater Creek Bikepath. Although I don't run on it much, I'll miss it ... but I know Richmond is going to have so much more to offer.

Here's to wishing myself luck in my non-race half marathon. And I'll continue to swear I'm not shooting for a PR.