I decided that I really want to run a race...like, now. Even though it isn't going to do much for marathon training, I'm going to do my part to save the ta-tas this coming Saturday, the 2nd of October. With that being said, I considered jumping on the track to do an intense speed workout this week. I changed my mind, mainly because that wouldn't have helped much; therefore, the Komen Race is simply going to be viewed as a 3.1-mile tempo run and a chance to see if I have any speed.
In lieu of the track workout I headed over to McAlpine to do a "fartlek" workout on the greenway and the course. A fartlek can basically be described as a timed interval workout, usually involving a certain amount of time running hard/race pace and a certain amount of time running slow - repeated over a pre-determined distance or time. I decided mine was going to be a 5-4-3-2-1-1-2-3-4-5, with five minutes hard, five easy, four hard, four easy, etc., etc. I would also precede this with a 16-minute warmup at an easy pace and scrap the final five minutes easy. All this means I would be running a total of 71 minutes, with 30 minutes of that being done at a "hard" pace.
I came through the 2-mile mark on the greenway in 15:26 before continuing a slow trot to the 16-minute mark, and then I took off on the greenway in the direction of Harris Boulevard. When the watch read 21:00 I slowed way down, then took off again when it read 26:00 and repeated that routine for the times listed above. The anticipation of seeing the watch creep ever higher during your slow runs, knowing that pain is right around the corner, makes this a particularly intense workout. I wasn't completely sure of my pace the whole time but I clocked mile splits of 7:24, 7:19, and 7:14 at certain points, which told me that I had to have been running low-6 pace on the hard sections. I was barely moving on the slow sections. (I eventually mapped my run online and realized I had run a total of 9.6 miles in 1 hour, 11 minutes for an average mile of 7:23. Not too shabby considering 41 of those 71 minutes were at 8:00 pace or much slower.) I was on the course when I started the final interval - five minutes hard - and as I came around the double u-turns right after the 1-mile mark I realized I was going just fast enough to have to finish this thing on the hill (there is one big hill on McAlpine's 5k course, and it is located right in the middle of mile #2). I took off up the hill and about halfway up an overwhelming chill came over my entire body, and whatever air I had left was sucked right away. Total. Oxygen. Debt. Eureka! I pushed all the way up the hill, saw the watch read "1:11:00" and crumbled to a heap at the top. "I bet that's what it feels like to come down from an acid trip," I coughed aloud to the surrounding owls, snakes, and insects.
That last sentence brings me to another thought - this was one of the most spiritual runs I have ever had. Counting my 2-mile limp/cooldown back to the car, I spent an hour and twenty-nine minutes on the greenway and probably saw about five people the whole time. Pure, amazing, inspirational loneliness.
That's what it's like to be a distance runner: sometimes it's just you, the course, and that god-forsaken stopwatch. Maybe I made some new fans amongst the copperheads.
Look what they make you give...
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Re-united....
The coolest thing about my renewed desire to run competitively is how I have been able to reconnect with old friends - such as Eggers and Oelz - and meet new ones, like David Brinkley. This past Saturday, I met up with Brandon Hillis, an old friend from UNCW, for a long run all over Dilworth and Charlotte.
I followed Brandon from the Charlotte Running Company parking lot on East Boulevard through the Queens Road neighborhoods, then back through the center of uptown (Did we ever really decide what to call Charlotte's center city? Uptown? Downtown? Funkytown? I'll never get it.) on Providence Road. This was pretty neat because we saw a lot of the competitors from the "Hit the Brixx" 5K/10K cooling down, hanging out, and milling about. (This is where I would post a link to that race's website, because it's one of the better ones in the area, but the meet organizers still haven't posted results. It's only been 4 days. Geez.)
Brandon and I exchanged workout and training plans and talked about what some of our old friends were now doing. He was no doubt a bigger help to me than I could be to him, seeing as how he has already done a marathon before and I'm about to attempt my first one (yeah that's right...details forthcoming). He encouraged me to lower my goals for the race, which is probably a good idea, on the grounds that the marathon "is just a whole new world." Alrighty, then. Sounds like good advice; I haven't figured out what my goals really are but I guess I'll just focus on getting faster and preventing injuries for now. We wrapped up a 14-miler by looping through Freedom Park and checking out the scenes from the Festival in the Park. Brandon did 6 before I met him, so it was actually a 20-miler for him. I suppose I'll get there soon. That distance still seems awfully tough but it seems alot more doable now than I would have thought a month or so ago. I ran my 14 at just under 8-minute pace.
I followed Brandon from the Charlotte Running Company parking lot on East Boulevard through the Queens Road neighborhoods, then back through the center of uptown (Did we ever really decide what to call Charlotte's center city? Uptown? Downtown? Funkytown? I'll never get it.) on Providence Road. This was pretty neat because we saw a lot of the competitors from the "Hit the Brixx" 5K/10K cooling down, hanging out, and milling about. (This is where I would post a link to that race's website, because it's one of the better ones in the area, but the meet organizers still haven't posted results. It's only been 4 days. Geez.)
Brandon and I exchanged workout and training plans and talked about what some of our old friends were now doing. He was no doubt a bigger help to me than I could be to him, seeing as how he has already done a marathon before and I'm about to attempt my first one (yeah that's right...details forthcoming). He encouraged me to lower my goals for the race, which is probably a good idea, on the grounds that the marathon "is just a whole new world." Alrighty, then. Sounds like good advice; I haven't figured out what my goals really are but I guess I'll just focus on getting faster and preventing injuries for now. We wrapped up a 14-miler by looping through Freedom Park and checking out the scenes from the Festival in the Park. Brandon did 6 before I met him, so it was actually a 20-miler for him. I suppose I'll get there soon. That distance still seems awfully tough but it seems alot more doable now than I would have thought a month or so ago. I ran my 14 at just under 8-minute pace.
Lake Park epic fail
Eggers and I once again exchanged workout ideas for the week of September 20, and I decided to do a 2x3-mile workout with 4 minutes rest in between. The goals were set relatively high, as I intended to come through the first set at mile times of 6:45, 6:45, and 6:30. After the rest, the second set would be 6:30, 6:30, 6:15 or under.
Sadly, I failed...miserably. We can blame it on the fact that I had come down with a mild stomach virus the day before and was running on empty, or the fact that because of the work schedule I had to do this in the 95-degree heat again. Either way, I sucked, coming through the first set in 6:42 (after starting way too fast in a half of 2:55), 6:56, and 7:02. After four minutes of walking, jogging, stretching, and cursing, I threw myself back into the second set and came through in 7:02, 7:27, and 6:43. Yikes!! At least I finished strong again, but it's clear I'm still learning how to pace myself and that I'm having trouble getting through the mental blocks that show up in the middle sets. Back to the drawing board....
Sadly, I failed...miserably. We can blame it on the fact that I had come down with a mild stomach virus the day before and was running on empty, or the fact that because of the work schedule I had to do this in the 95-degree heat again. Either way, I sucked, coming through the first set in 6:42 (after starting way too fast in a half of 2:55), 6:56, and 7:02. After four minutes of walking, jogging, stretching, and cursing, I threw myself back into the second set and came through in 7:02, 7:27, and 6:43. Yikes!! At least I finished strong again, but it's clear I'm still learning how to pace myself and that I'm having trouble getting through the mental blocks that show up in the middle sets. Back to the drawing board....
Catchin' Some Rays
When I become a billionaire, the first thing I'm going to do - okay, okay, the fiftieth thing I'm going to do - is buy the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team and move it to Charlotte. I'm going off the top of my head here, but in a stadium (Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla.) that holds about 35,000 people, the Rays were treated to a dismal showing of about 12,000 for a potential playoff-clinching win Monday night and about 18,000 (again, off the top of my head because I don't feel like looking it up) for the actual clinching game last night. Now, Rays' president Matt Silverman is preparing to give away tickets to tonight's game. That is a wonderful gesture, but one that should also be unnecessary considering that as I write this the team has baseball's best record (94-63) in baseball's best division (the American League East, also featuring the mighty Yankees and Red Sox and the not-so-bad Blue Jays and Orioles), which could lead one to make a compelling argument that they are baseball's best team.
Per the article above, star third-baseman Evan Longoria and ace pitcher David Price have shown their disgust with the fans. Price's twitter feed has included the following gems in recent days: "Had a chance to clinch a postseason spot with about 10,000 fans in the stands...embarrassing," followed by "If I offended anyone I apologize I did not think it was gonna turn into this....," and this re-tweet of another post, "Aaaaaaand @davidprice14 learns the power of twitter."
I don't understand it; this is pathetic. I completely and unapologetically hopped on the Rays' bandwagon during their remarkable turnaround season of 2008, and I'm not about to jump off. I just hope their fans down in Florida show up for the playoffs, because the owner has already announced some major payroll deductions for next season. In other words, the time to take the title is now.
Per the article above, star third-baseman Evan Longoria and ace pitcher David Price have shown their disgust with the fans. Price's twitter feed has included the following gems in recent days: "Had a chance to clinch a postseason spot with about 10,000 fans in the stands...embarrassing," followed by "If I offended anyone I apologize I did not think it was gonna turn into this....," and this re-tweet of another post, "Aaaaaaand @davidprice14 learns the power of twitter."
 | |||||
| Evan Longoria needed a hug after looking at all the empty seats at the Trop. |
Sunday, September 26, 2010
A new running route, a longer long run (again), and a brutal day on the hills
On Tuesday, September 14, 2010 I retired the Nike Air Spans. They will forever be known for getting my fat ass back into shape - as well as for an uncanny ability to collect rocks in the tread. I may forever be retiring that particular shoe in general because I have deemed it a bit too light for heavy distance training.
I created a a new route from my home and found it to my liking. I loved the scenery on this run as well as the general newness of having a different route. Perhaps I wanted to block out all my summer running routes from memory, as those were some pretty brutal days, but either way I had fun on this route and would find myself using it a good bit in the future. My right ankle, the one I turned the previous Saturday at McMullen, bothered me a good bit on this run.
The following day I decided to throw myself into a a brutal hill workout. As the link shows, I mapped a 1.4-mile loop through the Old Bell neighborhood - infamous for its rolling hills - and decided to do it five times consecutively for what amounted to a seven-mile tempo run with steep hils. Note the elevation chart. Fun times! My already sore ankles took a beating on this workout. I came very close to hitting my target times, which pleased me to no end considering this was once again completed in awful heat and humidity, but I found myself wishing I had chosen a route with fewer downhills in the days following this workout. My ankles and achilles tendons were turned to gelatin. I was worried I had invited some injury, but I just paid special attention to the sore areas and did some extra stretching. I shared this run with Eggers and he did a variation of the workout a week later.
I figured it was essential to do some easy runs after that workout, and I labored through a 4-miler the next day and an 8-miler the day after that. Saturday (the workout was Wednesday) I did a 14-mile long run at McAlpine with Oelz and Brinkley. My ankles were sore for the first two miles but felt fine after that. This run was tough but things are getting a little bit easier in general. I took the next two days (Sunday-Monday, September 19-20) off and rested my sore body.
For my next series of postings, I'll get you caught up on what I did from 9/21 - 9/25 and do my best to include some thoughts on things other than running - such as what's wrong with the Panthers, my thoughts on the pennant chase, and maybe a few other things.
I created a a new route from my home and found it to my liking. I loved the scenery on this run as well as the general newness of having a different route. Perhaps I wanted to block out all my summer running routes from memory, as those were some pretty brutal days, but either way I had fun on this route and would find myself using it a good bit in the future. My right ankle, the one I turned the previous Saturday at McMullen, bothered me a good bit on this run.
The following day I decided to throw myself into a a brutal hill workout. As the link shows, I mapped a 1.4-mile loop through the Old Bell neighborhood - infamous for its rolling hills - and decided to do it five times consecutively for what amounted to a seven-mile tempo run with steep hils. Note the elevation chart. Fun times! My already sore ankles took a beating on this workout. I came very close to hitting my target times, which pleased me to no end considering this was once again completed in awful heat and humidity, but I found myself wishing I had chosen a route with fewer downhills in the days following this workout. My ankles and achilles tendons were turned to gelatin. I was worried I had invited some injury, but I just paid special attention to the sore areas and did some extra stretching. I shared this run with Eggers and he did a variation of the workout a week later.
I figured it was essential to do some easy runs after that workout, and I labored through a 4-miler the next day and an 8-miler the day after that. Saturday (the workout was Wednesday) I did a 14-mile long run at McAlpine with Oelz and Brinkley. My ankles were sore for the first two miles but felt fine after that. This run was tough but things are getting a little bit easier in general. I took the next two days (Sunday-Monday, September 19-20) off and rested my sore body.
For my next series of postings, I'll get you caught up on what I did from 9/21 - 9/25 and do my best to include some thoughts on things other than running - such as what's wrong with the Panthers, my thoughts on the pennant chase, and maybe a few other things.
First Real Workout
On the morning of September 8, Eggers sent me a BBM announcing that he was ready for the first workout of the training season. I hadn't planned on doing a workout but I felt I was ready. The plan was to do a 7-mile tempo run at McAlpine in mile splits of 7:30, 7:30, 7:15, 7:15, 7:00, and sub-7. The part of McAlpine's 5K course that included the hill would be mile #6. Awesome...
This was tough. We ran right at 5:45 p.m. on another 90-degree day, and we were already sucking wind by the third mile. But we were running slightly ahead of our desired pace. I came through the final three miles in 6:58, 6:53 (the hill mile), and 6:40 and felt pretty happy about the way it worked out. You can read Dan's recap of this workout here.
The following Saturday I ran a 12-mile long run at McMullen Greenway with David Brinkley and Mike Oelz at slightly better than 8-minutes-per-mile pace. I turned my ankle at one point during this run. More on that later. I finished the week at just under 40 miles, with two days (Thursday and Sunday) off.
This was tough. We ran right at 5:45 p.m. on another 90-degree day, and we were already sucking wind by the third mile. But we were running slightly ahead of our desired pace. I came through the final three miles in 6:58, 6:53 (the hill mile), and 6:40 and felt pretty happy about the way it worked out. You can read Dan's recap of this workout here.
The following Saturday I ran a 12-mile long run at McMullen Greenway with David Brinkley and Mike Oelz at slightly better than 8-minutes-per-mile pace. I turned my ankle at one point during this run. More on that later. I finished the week at just under 40 miles, with two days (Thursday and Sunday) off.
A Quick Training Overview
So, I bought a new pair of shoes - the Nike Air Span - back in April, and entrusted these bad boys with getting me back into shape. I jumped into it way too soon, naturally, and after a few weeks of running about 15 miles per week I noticed some uncomfortable tenderness in pretty much every muscle in my body. I decided to park it for a little bit.
After that - and we're talking June and July here - I got back into things slowly, doing an easy 4-miler here or a very easy 8-miler there. I spent a lot of time running in the thick of the day, braving some 100-plus-degree temperatures. I told myself that the awful weather would toughen me up a bit, but I couldn't finish these runs without a great struggle and a good bit of time spent walking and stopping for water.
This past August, discipline took over, as I started waking up early and driving to McAlpine Park for my runs. This led to an increase in general distance as well as more consistency in my running. I had yet to begin keeping track of mileage but I would estimate I was doing about 25 miles per week for the first few weeks of August.
I made it up to 6 days a week by late August, including an 8.5-mile long run with Daniel Eggers and David Brinkley, who I met for the first time, and announced my intentions to begin racing on a regular basis. I ran a nice solo tempo run and a 10-mile long run later that same week for my first real action in over seven years. Life is good.
After that - and we're talking June and July here - I got back into things slowly, doing an easy 4-miler here or a very easy 8-miler there. I spent a lot of time running in the thick of the day, braving some 100-plus-degree temperatures. I told myself that the awful weather would toughen me up a bit, but I couldn't finish these runs without a great struggle and a good bit of time spent walking and stopping for water.
This past August, discipline took over, as I started waking up early and driving to McAlpine Park for my runs. This led to an increase in general distance as well as more consistency in my running. I had yet to begin keeping track of mileage but I would estimate I was doing about 25 miles per week for the first few weeks of August.
I made it up to 6 days a week by late August, including an 8.5-mile long run with Daniel Eggers and David Brinkley, who I met for the first time, and announced my intentions to begin racing on a regular basis. I ran a nice solo tempo run and a 10-mile long run later that same week for my first real action in over seven years. Life is good.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Well, here it is
After months of procrastination, I have finally decided to join the blogosphere. I have always wanted to explore writing as a hobby. I like to write about sports - the NFL, the NBA, college basketball - and I wanted to start writing about my experiences in distance running. I don't want this to be exclusively a running blog, but I will predict that most of it will be about running.
I began running when I was fairly young, regularly winning the "endurance run" on physical fitness day at my school. I did not start training year-round or take it seriously until my junior year of high school, when I decided to go out for the cross-country team at Charlotte Christian in order to get in shape for basketball. I turned out to be alright, earning all-conference honors, and had so much fun that I decided to give up competitive basketball and make running my full-time sport. This was not the most popular decision in my house, but everyone calmed down when I started getting letters from college coaches.
However, I didn't run in college, not at first. I quit. I went to N.C. State University for a year, hated it, and decided to transfer to UNC Wilmington and compete for the track and cross-country teams. I was named a captain of the team my second year there and I ran some pretty good races (by my standards) during cross-country season. I didn't run very well in track, however, and after the 2003 season I quit...again.
For the better part of the next seven years, I would remain a recreational runner, basically doing it just enough to keep off the fat. I got way out of shape back in 2006-07, then started eating better and running a little more to work my way back, but I never considered competitive running again.
Then, this past spring I experienced a tragedy and decided to re-evaluate things. One of my closest friends lost his battle with depression, and the only thing I could think to do was to examine my own life and try to fix what needed to be fixed. The main thing I found was that I was no longer doing a lot of the things I loved. I couldn't find a great reason why running wasn't a big part of my life anymore, and I also wanted to start writing again. It took some time, a lot of motivation, and a new pair of Nikes...but it happened.
And......we're off!
I began running when I was fairly young, regularly winning the "endurance run" on physical fitness day at my school. I did not start training year-round or take it seriously until my junior year of high school, when I decided to go out for the cross-country team at Charlotte Christian in order to get in shape for basketball. I turned out to be alright, earning all-conference honors, and had so much fun that I decided to give up competitive basketball and make running my full-time sport. This was not the most popular decision in my house, but everyone calmed down when I started getting letters from college coaches.
However, I didn't run in college, not at first. I quit. I went to N.C. State University for a year, hated it, and decided to transfer to UNC Wilmington and compete for the track and cross-country teams. I was named a captain of the team my second year there and I ran some pretty good races (by my standards) during cross-country season. I didn't run very well in track, however, and after the 2003 season I quit...again.
For the better part of the next seven years, I would remain a recreational runner, basically doing it just enough to keep off the fat. I got way out of shape back in 2006-07, then started eating better and running a little more to work my way back, but I never considered competitive running again.
Then, this past spring I experienced a tragedy and decided to re-evaluate things. One of my closest friends lost his battle with depression, and the only thing I could think to do was to examine my own life and try to fix what needed to be fixed. The main thing I found was that I was no longer doing a lot of the things I loved. I couldn't find a great reason why running wasn't a big part of my life anymore, and I also wanted to start writing again. It took some time, a lot of motivation, and a new pair of Nikes...but it happened.
And......we're off!
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