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 ...

What's this stuff falling from the sky?

When race weeks get here, it seems I always run out of things to say. Really all I am thinking about is the race and not doing anything stupid in the days leading up to it. This week is different with starting a new job and having child birth classes to go to on Monday and Tuesday nights, but it's not making me forget about my end goal on Sunday. But the depths of posts feel kind of blah.

Today after work it was pouring down rain, but I was planning to run no matter what. By the time I got home and ready to run, it had slowed to a trickle. While running, there were parts of me wishing it would just pour down and there were parts of me that hated it. With the forecast on Sunday having a chance of rain, it was a must to run to remember what rain felt like. It's been so dry lately that there have been no chances to run in the rain. (Until today, Richmond's airport had only one-tenth of an inch of rain this month.)

I ended up having a great-feeling run. My legs are feeling good and rested and I just feel ready to get out there and push it for 13.1 miles. Enough said for today ...


Workouts since last post
Aug. 26: Walk - 0.6; Run - 1.2
Aug. 27: Walk - 0.6; Run - 4.1

A distraction from running

Today I started a new journey in my life with a new job. I'm glad this is happening on race week rather than the middle of training. When that alarm went off an hour earlier than usual, I was dragging this morning. It was a usual planned day off a full run, but I still stumbled to a walk and short jog with my dog. He looked very pleased afterward.

Anyway, with the start of a new job, it's easy to get distracted from running until I get into a normal routine. That's a good thing this week. I'll work my mileage in at various points, but it gives me a chance to rest my legs without thinking about it. I was feeling sluggish during yesterday's short run. Before I know it, I'll be at the beach and it'll be race day. I don't have to time to think about it until late Friday evening.


Workouts since Aug. 21
Aug. 22: Walk - 1; Run - 10.2
Aug. 23: Yard sale!
Aug. 24: Walk - 1.1; Run - 3.3
Week totals: Walk - 7; Run - 22.7; and one day of painting
Aug. 25: Walk - 1.1; Run - 0.5

Taper? Sort of

A recent comment asked if I was going to taper before the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon. Well ... yes and no. With having a big hiccup in the middle of July, I was unable to get the mileage I wanted about mid-way through my training this summer. But in the past five weeks, I've really poured in on with the miles and after this weekend, I'll have my fifth straight week of 20-plus miles. With today's 10.2 mile run and a run this weekend, I'll have my fourth straight week of double-digit long runs. Next week, which will end on Sunday, Aug. 31 with the race, will make it six weeks of 20-plus miles and five weeks of double digit runs. I'll leave it all out there on the course, which leads me to how I'll "taper" without really tapering.

It all started today, with having my long run on a Friday. While I'll admit that I was pretty tired just five days removed from my last long run, I've given myself a couple of extra days between my last long run and the race. I'll get another 4-5 miles this weekend, and then I'll have two 4-5 mile easy runs next week. I'll back off the gas peddle a bit, since I've been pretty intense these past couple of weeks. I'll get in a very short and easy run -- probably 2-3 miles -- the day before the race so I can adjust to conditions at Virginia Beach. So, when it comes to tapering, my mileage won't be very different, but my mind frame and intensity will be. This approach is very similar to what I did in the winter of 2007 when I ran the Shamrock Half Marathon -- and set a PR -- and before I started blogging.

In comparison to earlier this year when I ran the Shamrock Half, I feel great heading into next week. I have no worries when it comes to injuries and I am very pleased with my mileage coming off a non-running injury. Things really got screwed up with falling on my steps, but I'm so glad that I've been able to move on. And while I'd like to set a PR at the Rock 'n' Roll Half, my main goal is to just run my race and have fun doing it. A PR really isn't all that important -- it just makes for a good blog entry and a new time on the right side of this page. I've done all I can do, and I'll do what I can next week to finish off the job. I won't get all worked up if it doesn't happen. Running has become enjoyable again this summer, and that's the best thing that I can ask for.

Painting = cross training

Earlier this summer I let a couple days of painting get in the way of running ... and then at the end of the week I tripped at the top of my steps. Well, this week I got the paint brushes out again, but I didn't let it get in the way of running.

As I've mentioned before, my wife and I are expecting a boy in November. With a new job beginning next week, this week is THE week to get stuff done around the house that I've been putting off. The biggest thing is the baby's room, and I really didn't want to save it for a rainy weekend in September or October. Besides, it looks like it'll never rain in Richmond again.

So yesterday I busted out the paint, the brushes, the ladder and everything else you need to paint and got it all done ... IN ONE DAY! It started early -- probably around 10 a.m. -- and didn't end until about 6 p.m. I basically only took two or three short breaks. Thanks to some fast-drying paint (and three fans), I got two coats of two different colors on, plus the ceiling. Today my wife and I finished the job with the border.

What does all this have to do with running? Well, nothing, because I haven't missed any runs, although today was probably a bit short because I was tired. Yesterday would have been a bike ride, but I got in a good enough workout with painting, kneeling and climbing up and down the ladder. Actually, I still got in a walk and short jog with my talk before all that fun even started.

If all goes as planned, I'll actually be getting my long run in tomorrow. It's a little closer than usual to my previous long run, but it also gives me a longer distance between this week's long run and the Aug. 31 Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon. This weekend is shaping up to be busy for me, and a double-digit run doesn't fit well with my plans.


Workouts since last post
Aug. 20: Walk - 1.1; Run - 0.7; Painting
Aug. 21: Walk - 1; Run - 4.1

The hills are alive with the sound of my feet

Running hills is unavoidable around here, but it is easy to skip the harder ones. This summer I've pretty much been avoiding the big hills. Occasionally I have intentionally run a few, but I've gotten in a bad mind frame -- there are no hills at the beach, so why run them? That's such a bad way of thinking. I also haven't been running the hills very hard when I do get to them. I know that hills are beneficial and I know that just in general my runs here will help me in the flatness of the Rock 'n' Roll Half. But really running hills can go a long way.

Today, for the first time in seemingly forever, I did three hill repeats. In my neighborhood, there are three consecutive dead-end streets with progressively longer hills. Each one is a little longer than a tenth of a mile from the bottom to the top. I started with the easiest, then progressed to the hardest. Then I did the opposite with the hardest first. Instead of casually running them, like I have when I've done them before, I ran them hard. I concentrated on getting my knees up; I moved my arms faster to help me get up the hills; I kept my head up; and through it all I thought my heart was going to beat right out of my chest.

It felt great. I didn't want to overdo it since I haven't done repeats in so long, but I made sure the next half-mile or so of my run was steadily uphill in my neighborhood. My neighborhood is pretty interesting -- I call it relatively flat, but it's actually uphill from my house to the main road. The main streets in my neighborhood run down toward the James River, although I'm still a good distance from the river. All in all, it's much hillier than any course at Virginia Beach will be.


Workouts since last post-
Aug. 18: Walk - 1.8; Weights
Aug. 19 - Walk - 1.1; Run - 4.4

A 13.2-mile mental victory

In a couple of weeks, I'll be running my fifth half marathon, but it's only my third one that I've truly trained for. The other two were treated more along the lines of a long run and I never felt the urge to "race" them. One thing that's interesting in my training for the other two half marathons is that my long runs have never exceeded the distance of 13.1 miles. I didn't feel it was necessary if I had more semi-long runs during the week. In 2007, that worked for my first Shamrock Half. This past winter for the Shamrock ... I won't even get into that story again.

Today for my long run, my goal was simple -- run 13-plus miles. I wasn't going to worry about my pace or hitting various hills or doing anything weird -- and it turned into a great 13.2 miles. So much of running is overcoming the mental challenge, and it seems like long runs have always intimidated me for whatever reason. I either get too tired or hungry or have to go to the bathroom or it's too hot -- much of it has always been my mind getting the best of me and thinking about all those things too much. Today, I had none of that. I rarely looked at my watch -- I couldn't hardly believe myself when I looked down for the first time and I had gone almost 3 miles. It seems like I usually glance down at least once every mile, but today I really didn't pay much attention until I was close to being finished.

Today's run capped off an interesting week with my mileage. After adding a very little bit of biking twice this week, I only had three running days, at least in my mind. But after adding up some short, but speedy distances with my dog, I hit 26 miles for the week. It's my fourth consecutive 20-plus mile week following my tail bone injury; it's the third straight week of increasing my long run; and I have 62.8 miles for the month, putting me on pace to break 100 miles for August.

With two weeks to go the Rock 'n' Roll Half, next week is pretty much my "last chance" week. I'll probably include a good mix of workouts. The week of the race will be somewhat of a taper. My goal is to get in a couple of 4-5 mile runs, and a very short run the day before the race to help my body adjust to conditions at Virginia Beach.


Workouts since last post
Aug. 16: Walk - 1; Run - 0.3; mega house work (thus, no running)
Aug. 17: Walk - 1; Run - 13.2
Week totals: Walk - 6.5; Run - 26; Bike - 8.2; Times going into my attic on Saturday - way too many

One day, two events ... no gold

One thing that is remarkable about some of the Olympic athletes, notably the swimmers this week, is how much they'll do in one day. Well, I must be inspired by what's happening in Beijing because yesterday I did two things that left me wiped out at the end of the day.

I'll first start with a tree replacement. In my backyard there was a waste of a tree. I think the previous owners put it up last year to spruce things up a bit to try and sell the house. Well, in the almost year that I've been here, I've seen this thing slowly die. So with the good news this week that I got a job, I've decided to do a few things around the house before I have the excuse of having a job. One of those things is replacing this horrid tree.

Since I couldn't drive to my backyard to try and pull it out with my Escape, I basically had to dig around this tree and slowly work my way underneath it. It was quite an adventure. Once I got it out -- probably a little more than an hour's work -- the rest felt simple. You can see with the before and after pictures that there are a few new flowers around the replacement tree -- a crepe myrtle -- to spruce things up a bit. Now comes the fun part of keeping it all alive.

This was a great cross-training effort and in any normal day, this probably would have been it for me. But since I had decided earlier this week to run a 4-mile evening race, my day was only half done.

After a brief nap in the afternoon, and drinking lots of water, I ventured across Richmond to the Moonlight 4 Miler. This was the first race I have ever done in the evening -- there aren't too many of those out there.

The "Moonlight" name is a bit deceiving, as most everyone actually finishes before the official sunset. Fortunately, though, there was an almost-full moon rising as the race was going on. Plus it was cloudy, so that helped things.

There's really not much to report on this race. My time was 32:49, just over an 8-minute mile pace, putting me 99th out of 235 runners. The course was fairly hilly, but I managed to keep an even pace throughout. I felt like I was pushing myself, but it seemed like I couldn't go any faster than what I was going. I felt like I kept thinking about it too much. In my head I was coming up with some good excuses for why I wasn't going faster: I'm mostly a morning runner; I preformed a tree replacement earlier in the day; I hadn't ran a race in more than four months; my feet were still getting over one too many runs in my old shoes ... you name it, it was probably going through my head.

Despite those thoughts, I'm actually pleased with everything. It'll go down as a PR, but mainly because it's only my third 4 miler ever, and the first in almost three years. I know I can do better than this, but it'll go down as a solid speed workout. This was a good tune-up for the Rock 'n' Roll Half, which is a little more than two weeks away. It felt like it had been way too long since I was in a race, so it was very worthwhile getting that experience of starting with a large group of people, pacing with other runners and trying to finish strong. But never again will I do yard work on race day...


Workouts since last post
Aug. 14: Run - 4.6 overall
Aug. 15: Walk - 1.7

New, but familiar, kicks

It's funny how shoes will just all of a sudden be out of miles. Everything was going just fine with my Brooks Adrenaline shoes, until I looked at them last week. Where did the tread go? Then I did the math and realized that I've put 200-plus running miles on these shoes, plus several dozen walking miles. Then all of a sudden my last few runs have felt like a bigger-than-usual struggle. For me, I can't get that 300-500 miles that Runner's World claims is average for a pair of shoes. But also for me, 200-plus miles is a success. Besides a pair of Brooks last summer, I've pretty much been wearing Asics the past few years, but I'm always disappointed in how quickly my overpronating self wears them out -- sometimes it's been the insides of the shoes, not the tread, that wears out first.

So in March, I decided it was time for a change and went back to Brooks. These have been the best pairs of shoes I've owned, despite the fact that I ran no races in them. These shoes helped me get over injuries from the winter and early spring; they've helped me get back to double digit runs; they've been on trails; they've been to the beach; they've seen my dog slowly increase his miles; they've gotten weird reactions because they're black ... this list could go on and on, but most importantly, I've had no issues with running while having these shoes.

While it would've been nice to get black shoes again, my size seems to be missing in Richmond, so I settled on the green/silver model. I once again had a great experience at the Roadrunner Store in Richmond's Carytown -- for whatever reason, one of the local stores here that's closer to my house continues to lack in friendliness and good customer service despite being fairly small. After today, I've given up hope on them and will only visit that store if that's where race packets are.

As far as my running this week, I did some quarter-mile intervals yesterday (details below) and once again hit the bike for a short ride today. Four miles seems to be all my tail bone can handle right now, but it's good to be out there. I cut back on my run today because there's a 4-mile race tomorrow night that I plan to participate in. It's really my only chance to have a race tune-up before the Rock 'n' Roll Half. I think 4 miles will be a good distance to push myself a bit. It'll be my first 4-mile race since 2005.


Workouts since last post
Aug. 11 - Walk - 1 (p.m.)
Aug. 12 - Walk - 1; Run - 4.9 (quarter-mile intervals: 1:47, 1:48: 1:49, 1:46)
Aug. 13 - Walk - 0.7; Run - 1.7; Bike - 4.1

The little-bit-of-everything day

It certainly wasn't as ceremonious as Friday's events in Beijing, but today marked a big day for me -- I returned to riding my bike. It wasn't much -- just a little more than 4 miles -- but I'll take anything considering it's been just a month since I hurt my tail bone. I still am having some issues with sitting, but it's not anything too terribly bad. It seems to bother me more at night when I get in the bed, and it still bugs me to sit in a car for very long. It's more of a major discomfort than actual pain.

Anyway, today was one of those days in which I didn't really feel like running. After my walk/jog with my dog, I decided to dust off the bike seat since I didn't want to force a run. After my ride, I got out my dumbbells and did a few reps with my upper body. Lifting weights was putting odd pressure on my tail bone before, so I've stayed away from them.

Meanwhile, the weather is looking great this week. It's been an odd summer with these cool spells. It's also been very dry. While some parts of Richmond have gotten several storms in the past couple of weeks, my neighborhood keeps missing them. My backyard looks like late September with dried up leaves falling off the trees. It's really bad. I've mowed my yard just twice since early June. Even neighbors who waste water trying to have green lawns look like they're giving up hope.


Workouts since Aug. 7:
Aug. 7: Walk - 2.1
Aug. 8: Walk - 1; Run - 10.1
Aug. 9: Walk - 1.6; Run - 4.2
Aug. 10: Attended Watermelon Festival in Richmond
Week totals: Walk - 8.8; Run - 23.5
Aug. 11: Walk - 1.1; Run - 1.3; Bike - 4.1; Weights

8 on 8th in 2008

When is a race not really a race, yet dozens of people participate? How can I finish several hours before others, yet still be a middle-of-the-pack finisher? Or how can someone finish 10 minutes in front of me, yet I beat them by two minutes? When is there an event in which I can use a fast mile time from earlier in the week because of very relaxed rules? And why would I be doing my long run on a Friday? Welcome to the world of virtual running folks.

Today is the third or forth virtual race put on by Non-Running Nancy, but it's the first I've been able to participate in. The rules are simple -- run 8 miles sometime this week. Those miles can be fast or slow or combined. For me, for the purpose of having a decent finishing time, it's a mixture of all three.

For me, today's 8 on the 8th started a few days ago when I ran a 7:25 mile. I HAVE to include that mile as part of my 8 for this race. It's just too fast not to. The rest of my miles came as part of a 10.1-mile run today. For me, this was like three runs in one -- part of it was a race. I kept thinking of how many people are actually out running 8 miles today because it's 08-08-08. Part of it was just a long run of 10 or more miles. It was my second double-digit run in as many weeks. And lastly, part of it was getting some speed work in as part of a long run. Speed + distance = a better racing experience in a few weeks.

Including my mile from the other day, my official race time for "8 on the 8th" was 1:05:39, an 8:12 pace. Had I known I was so close to an 8:08 pace, I might have pushed it a little harder in some parts. This time included a mile with my dog in 7:55 -- probably his fastest mile to date. I then had a two-mile tempo run of 16:18 along some rolling hills in my neighborhood. After a cool down, I logged an 8:10 mile with a few loops around a couple of soccer fields in a nearby park. After another cool down, I struggled to an 8:33 mile while dodging tree limbs in the same park. After taking the next 1.5 miles pretty easy, I did a half-mile interval in 3:51. I ended my long run with a couple of quarter-mile intervals in 2:01 and 1:49. To get the fastest time possible in 8 on the 8th, I added together two of my half-mile cool downs for the "final" mile, which was just under 10 minutes.

As confusing as that all sounds, here's a simplified look at my speed workout today as part of my long run: 1st mile in 7:55; miles 1-3 in 16:18; miles 3.5-4.5 in 8:10; miles 5-6 in 8:33; miles 7.5-8 in 3:51; miles 8.5-8.75 in 2:01; and miles 9.5-9:75 in 1:49. Adding it all up, that's 6 miles of speed work today. I'm mostly pleased with my times, especially my last quarter-mile interval.

I want to thank Nancy for organizing such a great event. And I want to congratulate all the finishers of this awesome race. There are so many of us who have never met that are taking part in this race, and it's a good feeling to be a part of it as the Olympics get under way this weekend. We may not win bronze, silver or gold, but we'll have the pride to carry around that we finished 8 on the 8th!

30 seconds

Same time, same place ... only this time I ran a mile 30 seconds faster than two months ago.

Injuries are interesting. With my tail bone injury, I wasn't put to a complete stop, but I had to cut back for a couple of weeks and I had to really slow down. So when the first of this month rolled around, I was a bit worried about doing my "mile test" -- a simple thing that I decided to do at the beginning of each month this summer. My first test was June 2, when I ran a mile at close to all-out effort in 7:55. It's worth noting that my overall run that day was 3.2 miles. The next test was July 1, with an improvement of 7 seconds to hit 7:48. My overall mileage that day was 3.7 miles.

This month's test was delayed a bit to get my long run in this weekend, and my timing was off a bit with my runs last week. So I decided to wait until today to do it. When I started I had this feeling that I started too fast. But instead of slowing down, I felt like I kept the same pace for the entire mile. When my watch hit the mile mark, I was shocked and very happy that it read 7:25. I felt even better that I maintained the same pace and that I didn't want to throw up at the end. My overall mileage today was 5 miles.

To have the feeling that I could've kept going is one of the goals of doing this mile test. It's not a 100 percent race-pace effort -- it's a push-yourself-almost-to-the-max effort. To improve 30 seconds in two months with an injury in between is a success for me. I think a couple of months ago I would have loved to have shaved off a minute, but I'll take what happened today.

I avoided any other speed work today because I'll be doing some sort of tempo run Friday to have a decent time in Friday's 8 on the 8th, which will turn into my long run for the week. For those interested in doing something related to 08-08-08, I suggest that you take part in this event. Of course you don't have to run 8 on the 8th -- it can just be sometime over the weekend. You can run it as fast or as slow as you'd like. My goal is to just make it part of a 10 or 11 mile run, with a tempo of 3-4 miles thrown in.


Workouts since last post
Aug. 5: Walk - 1; Run - 4.2
Aug. 6: Walk - 1; Run - 5 (7:25 mile)

08-08

Coming off a month in which I nearly ruined my running career by having a non-running injury, I have to admit that I am very hesitant with setting up goals for the next four weeks. But here I go anyway.

August has already gotten off to a great start. I've already logged more than 13 miles, including yesterday's 10 miler. As you know this is THE month I've been waiting for -- the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon in Virginia Beach is coming up Aug. 31. Despite worries with possibly not going due to job concerns, I have a couple of backup plans in place in case I'm still lacking a salary at that point. A few months ago, my goal for this race was simple -- to set a PR and finish at 1:44 or better. That's still my goal, but I have some work to do over the next few weeks to get there.

In March when I ran the Shamrock Half, I relied on my conditioning from the marathon to carry me through. I realize now that what I did was wrong. Despite having decent overall mileage in the weeks leading up to the race, I had only one run at 10-plus miles. With the way August has already started for me, I'll have at least three runs of 10 or more miles before the race. While this certainly helps physically, it also helps mentally.

I'd be lying if I wasn't worried in March about my training. Perhaps the injury during that race is what I needed to give me a wakeup call. Despite how I felt for a couple of months, it's safe to say I learned a valuable lesson during that time.

So for August, my goals are simple: don't get hurt, get faster, lose weight, participate in Non-Running Nancy's 8 on the 8th (although I probably won't run it too hard), run 90 miles, get back on the bike if my tail bone allows it and run strong in the Rock 'n' Roll Half.


Workout since last post
Aug. 4: REST (Walk - 2.1)

26.2 ... in a week that is

While I still don't quite yet have the desire to run another marathon, I actually ran 26.2 miles this week ... that's 26.2 miles over a seven-day period. It wasn't intentional to hit that mark -- in fact, had everything gone as planned, I would've only been around 23 miles for the week.

Yesterday I had every intention of getting in my long run for the week - 10 miles. But a couple of miles into it, I was hot, I felt worn out and I think if I kept going I would've gotten sick. So I stopped and ventured back home with a jog/walk routine. All told I got in 3 miles. The rest of the day was spent preparing to do 10 miles today. I drank a lot of water and I ate a lot of watermelon -- my secret weapon this summer.

So this morning I got up, turned on my Garmin and it was dead, despite thinking that I charged it yesterday. Well, I put it on the charger, went out for a walk with my dog and then hoped for the best on my run. I ventured over to a nearby park for the first half of the run and right at 5 miles my watch gave me the low battery warning. I was in a position that if my battery went dead I could easily get in a few more miles and then map it out on the computer. Surprisingly, my watch stuck with me and held up for the last half of the run. It was a bit frustrating though because I kept looking down at my watch to make sure it wasn't dead. Generally I don't look at it too much on my long runs, so it made it seem much longer than usual.

As for the run itself, it went pretty well. This morning's weather was considerably cooler than yesterday and much less humid. The last mile or so I could tell I was on empty -- that's totally my fault for not eating a little more before heading out. All in all, though, I can't really complain about getting 10 miles in.

It's worth noting that this is only my third run this year in double digits -- I had one 10-plus mile run when training for the Shamrock Half. It's also worth noting that this is my highest mileage so far this year -- my previous high was 25.5, which was the same week as the 10.1 training run back in February.


Workouts since last post
Aug. 1: Walk - 1.3; Run - 0.3; Weights
Aug. 2: Walk - 1.9; Run - 3
Aug. 3: Walk - 1; Run - 10
Week total: Walk - 8.8; Run - 26.2
Coming this week: The mile test

July (and more) by the numbers

In my mind, this month has been a disaster. But when I look at my numbers, someone should tell me to shut up and be happy with what happened after taking a tumble down my stairs. I think my issue is that I wanted so bad for July to be the best month of the year, but it just didn't quite happen.

I set a reasonable goal of 75 miles for the month, with the thinking that I'd probably be around 80 or so. With today's 5.2 mile run, my total is actually 79.5. That's just 7 miles short of my high for the year set in February. Had I not hurt my tail bone, I likely would've been in the low 90s. It's like I've suddenly set low expectations for myself with running.

July marks the third consecutive month of fairly stead mileage increases. It's almost hard to believe that my mileage was four times that of April, which I basically took a break after my foot issues. Basically since April, my mileage has increased 20 miles a month ... will that trend continue?

What's missing from July is biking. Before the injury, I got in 9.2 miles and was pretty much on pace to have 20 or so. My goal was 25. So despite things going great with running, I feel behind on things because my cross training -- which basically didn't exist until this year -- is way off.

Of note is the fact that I walked 38.9 miles, my highest total for the year by 7 miles ... all thanks to not being able to ride my bike. Walking isn't nearly as important to me as biking, but it's better than nothing I guess.

My official training numbers since June 1 are as follows: 140 running miles, 58.4 walking miles and 51.7 biking miles (thanks to a great week in the Outer Banks). For the year, I have 641 total miles, which are broken down like this: 381.7 running, 162.9 walking and 96.4 biking.

It's no secret that I'd love to hit 1,000 miles in a 12 month span, so if it's to happen between July 2008 and June 2009, I'm off to a good start. To hit 1,000 miles, I have to average slightly more than 83 miles a month. August is going to be good -- my goal is for 90-plus miles. After that, I'll have to figure out if pursuing 1,000 is what I want to do. As for now, my tail bone needs a break from sitting at the computer ...

Slowly, but surely ...

One of the worst things about my tail bone injury is how limited I feel to do certain things. Sitting in a car is difficult; lifting weights is very limited; setups are out of the question; doing the plank is uncomfortable; I can't ride my bike. ... Oddly, running has been going great, although the injury forced me to really slow down.

For the first time in a few weeks, I did some speed work today and each interval felt like I was running into a wall. I've been doing some speed bursts with my dog in the past couple of weeks, but nothing serious enough to call a speed workout. I've intentionally ran more hills lately just because I haven't felt like doing intervals or tempo runs. Today I did two-half mile intervals -- 3:45 and 3:50 -- and two quarter-mile intervals -- 1:53 and 1:56. I'm happy to stay under the 8-minute mile pace considering the way the past two weeks have gone, but it felt miserable today. The weather has a lot to do with it -- it's hot and humid and temperatures are expected to be in the mid- to upper 90s all week with no end in sight. I was also pretty tired too thanks to my dog barking for no reason at all at 6:30 a.m.


Here's a recap of what I've done since my July 12 fall:
July 13: Walk - 2.1
July 14-20: Walk - 14.7; Run - 11.6
July 21-27: Walk - 8.3; Run - 21.3
July 28: Walk - 1.1; Run - 3.2
July 29: Walk - 1.5; Weights
July 30: Walk - 1; Run - 4.5 (with intervals explained above)

Give me a 5!

Today's 5-mile run marks an interesting milestone in my training this summer -- it's the first time since March 1 and 2 that I have ran 5 miles or more two days in a row while training. Just like hitting 20 miles for the week last week, it's another hurdle I've passed since coming off my injuries earlier this year. The next big milestone will be hitting 10 miles in my long run. After that it's just going to be fine tuning before the Rock 'n' Roll Half and, hopefully, losing a few more pounds.

Speaking of 5-mile runs, I have an entry form in the mail for next week's Percival's Island 5 Miler in Lynchburg. I love this race -- it's nice and flat and it's the site of my second-fastest paced race ever. Last year's time was 36:59, which was 4-plus minutes faster than the year before. Since this is my first race in more than three months, I'm not really sure what my goal is right now. This is a good distance to test myself in a race, so I'll just have to wait and see how I feel that morning with how much effort will be put into it. It's a perfect test for my upcoming half -- it'll be six weeks to go, so it'll put things into perspective with what I need to work on.


Workout since last post
July 11 -- Walk - 0.7; Run - 5

Paint me some speed, please

After three days of painting, the last thing I wanted to do this morning was go running. But I did anyway and ended up doing more than I originally planned for. I wanted to get in some kind of speed work despite feeling tired, so I set out to do four quarter-mile intervals. Instead I did six ... and then I tacked on a half-mile interval at the end. It wasn't pretty, but I got it done.

My times for the quarter miles, with quarter-mile breaks in between, were: 1:51, 1:55, 1:56, 1:55, 1:57 and 1:56. These were done in my neighborhood with a few rolling hills. I was tired, but I was consistent. I would have liked to have been in the 1:45-1:50 range, but I'll try them again when I don't have paint fumes lingering in my head. My half-mile time was slower than I hoped, but I was still satisfied considering how I felt. Plus it was unplanned, so I can't really complain about being a few seconds slower than I would have liked. My time was 4:03. All told I ran 5.2 miles today, including 1.1 with my dog.

With a little more than 7 weeks to go to my race, I'm now realizing how important it is for me to get some good runs in with times better than 8 minutes a mile if I'm going to hit my goal of 1:44. It's a good amount of time to improve and stay focused -- it's a much better situation than I was in this past winter when I thought I could just go out and do it because I was still in shape from marathon training. I've certainly learned my lesson from that. It looks like I'll be able to get a race in soon - I feel like I need some kind of tune-up before the big event.

And lastly, I'd like to wish my wife a happy 4th anniversary!


Workouts since last post
July 9: Painted
July 10: Walk - 0.7; Run - 5.2 (intervals explained above)

A return to 20

For the first time in about four months, I ran 20 miles this week. With eight weeks to go until my half marathon, I'm extremely pleased to be at this point. With looking back at my training for the Shamrock Half in March, I ran just four weeks with mileage in the 20s, plus a 20-plus week the week of the race. It's a good place to be to hit 20 now and to feel like I could have done more this week.

To hit 20 miles this week, I put in 7.1 miles on my long run yesterday. I moved the long run to Saturday because it was so nice when I woke up. While it was humid, the temperatures were in the upper 60s and it was extremely cloudy. It was just a good day for a run and I wanted to take advantage of weather like that in July. Plus I knew I'd be up later than usual that night watching the NASCAR race.

As I have mentioned before, my long run goals for the next few weeks will be 8, 9 and 10 miles. I'll continue to increase my overall mileage little by little for a few weeks before having a recovery week. I'll then be pretty aggressive for a couple of weeks before the race week. It sure makes the race seem pretty close when talking about it like that, but I'm very confident that I'll be where I want to be at the end of August.


Workouts since last post
July 5: Walk - 1.3; Run - 7.1
July 6: Walk - 1.3; Plank - 1:00; 100 set ups on Bosu ball
Week totals: Walk - 6.4; Run - 20; Bike - 5.1