A Lighter Left Wrist

Distance: 9.00 mi.
Time: 1:07:59 - 7:34 ppm.

I intentionally left the Garmin at home this afternoon. I love using the watch but I'm beginning to get a hankering for a smaller one. The 305 is a very large watch. Anyway, I parked at the Dowd just before 12 and entertained ideas of running with Theoden and the crew from the Observer, but instead just took off on my own. I mapped out the route manually when I got home; it was just a tad over 9 miles.

For what it's worth, today is also the 30th anniversary of my baptism! 

Week In Review

Distance: 51.1 miles.
Highlights: good solo tempo... upsized long run... highest weekly total in, I think, 18 months.

I did not get off to a good start this week, but I buckled down and found a way to get in the miles. The fact that I completed this much running during Restaurant Week is both impressive and a slight cause for concern.

50 in 5

Distance: 6.58 mi.
Time: 51:08.97 - 7:47 ppm.

I actualy felt pretty good today, as I took effort to keep the pace easy and ran just enough to put me over 50 miles for the week - in five days.

Long Run + CRC Watching

Distance: 18.35 mi.
Time: 2:21:59.76 - 7:45 ppm.

I debated the pros and cons of signing up for the Charlotte Running Club's first race, the Winter Classic 8k at McAlpine. I obviously love McAlpine and wanted to be part of something special here, but ultimately decided that a big long run needed to be my top priority. I have gotten behind schedule because of last week.

I showed up to the main entrance at 6:30am and, after helping Caitlin unload some water bottles, began to look for my buddy Megan Hovis. After a few solo miles I found her and Jason Martin on the course. We all tried to avoid being asked to volunteer  talked about how happy we were to be there for the club's inaugural race. We picked up JLG at the park and then Lamperski and Kent on the way back towards the course.

I was able to impart well wishes on several friends I knew to be racing: Brinkley, Brian Baum, Michael Greene, Lamperski, Michelle, Billy, Jamaar, Paul, Compton, Allen Strickland. I'm sure I'm leaving several people oht but that's who I remember seeing before the race.

I settled in a spot near the start and prepared to spectate. I had hoped to be further along on my miles for the day - I had done fewer than 9 at this point. It's Caitlin's fault. I decided I would run around the course until Brinkley came through and then disappear for some more miles. I spotted most of the familiar faces after mile one of the 5k course and the hill the first time. When they turned to repeat that section, I ran a lonely back mile and then just kind of jogged around once I spotted Compton racing through the woods. In addition to others mentioned, I also got to see Greg Isaacs, Mike Kahn, John Fillette, Stan Austin, Carolyn Maye, Eric Bilbrey, Caleb Boyd, and Dalena Custer. Once again, I apoogize if I am omitting any competitors I saw!

As promised, I watched the leaders through Dave come through the chute. He appeared to have run well. I saw some fast finishing kicks from Paul, Greg, and John, as well. Then I turned and disappeared, the lonely long distance runner left with several miles of trail yet to pass.

I started thinking about some advice Mitchell had imparted to me some months back, about mentally dividing the run into sections. I figured the cheery miles with Megan and the others would comprise the first quadrant. Number Two would be the few miles spent jogging around the course. Quadrant Three would be the toughest section, that part of the long where one first starts to feel the pounding yet simultaneously realizes there is still a lot of path left to conquer. And this is where the suddenly lonely runner currently found himself.

Enter the always jovial Allen Strickland. I was about 14 miles in when we crossed paths on the trail and jogged together, and I enjoyed hearing his take on the race. For the whole hilarious entry, go to Allen's blog.  By the time I entered the last quadrant, I actually felt stronger. I completed extra mileage with help from Eggers, Baum, Mitchell, and Megan again.


The CRC put on a great event, and I managed to catch up to my training plan a good bit with a big long run. Today was a good day, although Jess Bilbrey asked me if I was ok to drive home after breakfast at Toast, so I was clearly spent.

Easy Run + Speed Loop Stalking

Distance: 7.2 mi.
Time: 54:27.38 - 7:36 ppm.

Whenever I am near the Dilworth speed loop, I make a point to swing through there to spy on check on any of my running mates to see who is putting in the work. Today, I happened to have inside information that Adrienne and Christi would be meeting for some 400-meter repeats, so I began my run from the Dowd and looped through a couple times until I found the ladies.

After bidding good luck  to CC and AA I set off to find "Grumpy Jamaar," who I was told was running and pouting somewhere nearby. I came back to the loop to see the girls come past a couple times, and was told that he had gone to Run For Your Life.

I awkwardly walked into RFYL and asked if they had seen Jamaar.

"Who?"
"Jamaar Valentine. Charlotte Running Club. Runs ultras. You know...Jamaar."
(blank stare)
"He's black and wears really short shorts."
"Oh, Jamaar! Why would he be here? He's at the speed loop."

By the time I got back to the loop, the girls were sweaty, tired, and done, and Jamaar didn't look all that grumpy. Adrienne had crushed about ten repeats.

Despite what I thought was a pretty good sales pitch, we failed to convince our friends to join us at the weekly Runner's Lunch. As for my run, I felt far from fresh as this now made about 28 miles in 36 hours.

Greenway Rebellion?

Distance: 9.36 mi.
Time: 1:10:54.27 - 7:35 ppm.

I didn't really do anything rebellious on this run; I just keep running the same routes and therefore am running out of post titles. I'm sorry I'm not sorry. I did run on the semi-constructed new section of the LSG, but I turned off when instructed. All systems felt fine today despite a semi-tough effort fourteen hours prior.

Same Workout, Different Day

Warmup: 3.1 mi in 23:58 - 7:38 ppm.
Workout: 5.0 mi in 32:28.3 - ~6:30 ppm.
Coolown: 1.45 mi in 11:46 - 8:08 ppm.

By no design of my own, I missed Monday and Tuesday. So if you're scoring at home, I am well on my way to following a 30-mile week with another down week - five weeks into a twelve-week marathon cycle, no less.

I am always going to call myself a slacker, but despite these misgivings I am not worried. I am gaining confidence as a runner. As for this week, tonight was a great start and I still have four more days to put in work, with new shoes and a recovered foot.

I showed up to the Met for the customary Tuesday tempo, a day late but no dollars short. I felt pretty good and just tried to push a but without straining. The average was 6:29; the fastest split was a 6:14.

Week In Review

Distance: 31.8 mi.
Highlights: pain recovery...down week...good, hard effort on Tuesday.

Listening to the body, I took some time off this week. I feel I have learned from lesson from fall '10 to not fret when I need to miss some days to heal. I think too many runners get paranoid about losing fitness when taking time off, and I aim to not be one of them! I will say, however, that I had gotten off to a great start for Wrightsville and I'm a little disappointed I have already had to take a step back, but it's also only a 12-week plan. 

Back To The Sunday Long

Distance: 11.07 mi
Time: 1:23:28.37 - 7:33 ppm.

I had a big lunch at Brio today that took awhile to settle so this run got started off a little rough, but I got in just over 11 at what seems to be the comfortable pace these days - 7:30 or thereabouts. I have been doing a good job maintaining the more natural, efficient running form I discussed in a previous post. This change is, I believe, allowing me to slowly ramp up the mileage without increasing the pounding on my feet and legs.

I'm Back

Distance: 7.33 mi
Time: 56:03 - 7:39 ppm

After taking three days off to rest my heel, I got back out on the roads today in a shiny new pair of Pegasus 28s. I felt fine, running a loop from Eastover all throughout Myers Park and the surrounding areas. It's nice to have my regular shoes back.

A Step Back

When I got home last night I took off my shoes and found a blood blister the size of a golf ball on my right foot. No wonder I was hurting. I proceeded to sterilize some scissors and needles and get to work, then bandage myself up. There will be no more speed work in the Lunar Swift. I just need to get a new pair of Pegasus. Also, my oft-troubling right heel has flared up again. I had Adrienne (she's a massage therapist) work on it and she told me I just needed to do a better job of stretching my calves. So it shouldn't be too big of a concern, but I've decided to let this be a down week in an attempt to recuperate.

Running With The Chicks

Warmup: 3.2 mi in 25:13.02 - 7:55 ppm.
Workout 1: 6.45 mi tempo in 42:13.17 - 6:33 ppm.
Cooldown: 1.8 mi in 15:31.8 - 8:47 ppm.
Workout 2: 10 x 1-min hard/easy in 9:08.07 - 7:05 ppm.
Cooldown: 0.7 mi in 6:47.4 - 9:26 ppm.

I once again made plans for the Tuesday that involved meeting some friends at the Dowd and doing a tempo run with the Charlotte Runners. At this point I feel like I'm combining the best aspects of both groups - the CRC and Charlotte Runners - but we may have to get to that in another blog post.

A few things were different today. Thomas, unfortunately, is temporarily on the shelf after aggravating his glutes. Hopefully he won't be out for too long. Danielle and Alison Reed also joined Michelle, Matt, and I. We warmed up through the speed loop again but didn't see anyone this time, and Jaskot called it a day. So it was just me and the girls as we headed towards the Metropolitan.

The Charlotte Runners didn't start off late this time - they were already moving towards us as we all just sort of took stride and went with them. The loop is just over 5 miles and the girls actually wanted to do a 6-mile tempo, so I told them I would try to hold 6:30 pace or so and run back up the hill on Edgehill (across from the main CMC entrance) for an extra mile or so.

There's one runner in this group, Evan, who usually holds a pretty quick pace. A few others tend to start off probably a good bit faster than they should. There are some good runners in this group, for sure, but I'm not sure that trying to race each other every week is really what they need. With Michelle in tow, I headed up the hilly part of the loop that includes Edgehill and Queens Road East. I heard Michelle saying something about trying to use the small downhills, but I was just trying to keep Evan and the other frontrunners in my sights, knowing we had a flat section (Selwyn Avenue) coming up. The first mile went by in 6:39, the second in 6:26, and the third in 6:20. I caught up to Evan, who actually stopped abruptly right near Queens U, and the other leader, who I found out later to be Cody Case. I was feeling ok but my feet were hurting. After over 420 miles and my first marathon, I finally retired the second pair of Nike Air Pegasus 28s. Today I was running in the aforementioned Lunar Swift, and they don't quite fit the way I prefer. I could see painful blisters in my future.

Despite the foot troubles I tried to press on. Cody pushed me a good bit on the back side of the booty loop, but as planned I turned up Edgehill to tack on more miles. I slowed down a bit through here, as the tempo, the foot pain, and the elevation rise finally caught up to me. I doubled back down Granville and another of the Queens Roads (who can keep track, really?) before finishing the loop at the back of the pack. The girls were already here; I had added on an extra mile-and-a-half instead of just a mile. Oops.

Alison, Danielle, Michelle, and I grabbed some water and cooled down. Michelle somehow talked me into doing some minuters after this. Danielle was done for the day and ran home, and we coaxed Alison into joining us as we headed over to the speed loop. For this I just tried to maintain some turnover and not do anything crazy. We encouraged each other as the three of us just stayed together. Mich kept joking that my watch was off because the fast section seemed to be taking forever. We did 10 minuters - 5 fast, 5 slow - and then I jogged back to the Dowd in the rain, glad to be done for the day.

Week in Review

Distance: 43.9 mi.
Highlights: missed a couple runs; good tempo run; sore on the long run.

I missed a couple runs this week and, therefore, did not get in the desired amount of miles. The long run was ok - I at least got in 16 miles if not the desired 17. The body felt a little less than fresh this week for the first time in over a month.

Bad Muscles, Good Company

Distance: 16 mi.
Time: 2:00:00 - 7:30 ppm.

This one hurt, but I got the miles in at a decent pace. I think I worked harder than necessary on account of being a little overdressed, but it was 22 degrees when I started so I bundled up. I don't have any recent experience in running in weather this cold since I was injured last winter and haven't seriously trained through a winter in nine years. I need some new jogging pants.

Anyway, I started by myself before being joined by Mitchell and Brinkley. The former only wanted to run 8 miles so we went to Harris and back before dropping him off. I think I failed to mention in previous posts that I have started using Gu chomps instead of the Gu gel during long runs, and certainly plan to do the same during any long race. I got the idea from Brewer, who mentioned that constantly sucking or chewing on one of the chomps helped him stay hydrated and somewhat full during the race. As this is my second time using them, I can say I feel the same way. I also don't feel quite as hungry or drained after a run.

I was feeling awfully tight today, stopping to stretch or to re-lace my shoes or to simply slow down the pace more than usual. I got it done, though. I was hoping to go for 17 but this will work. On to the next one.

Always Finding New Routes

Distance: 9.06 mi.
Time: 1:08:48.6 - 7:36 ppm.

After taking Wednesday off, I explored the streets from home for another medium-long run on the Thursday. I'm going to be moving in a couple months after nearly four years at Eastover Ridge, so I figured I might as well keep running from home for the time being. I've found the roads to my liking more and more these days. 

CRC-Charlotte Runners Face-Off

Distance: 9.81 mi.
Time: 1:12:04.63 - 7:21 ppm.

This evening, I met up with Michelle, Thomas, and Matt Jaskot at the Dowd. At my behest they agreed to do a short warmup through the speed loop and then join the Charlotte Runners at the Metropolitan. When we got there, Adrienne joked that our arrival reminded her of the "face-off" scene from Anchorman. I chatted with Brian Davis and a few others before we headed down to the "starting line."

We were at the back of the pack, and T&M had planned to go easy, so they all just chatted behind me as I slowly started to weave through the other runners. My schedule called for a regular run with sprints at the end. I didn't really feel like doing that, though, and after an easy opening mile with the group I started to pick up the pace in an effort to reel everyone in.

Everyone always treats these runs as races, but I guess I can't really talk if I always take the bait. Starting at the back and trying to gain on everyone is a good way to make sure I push. Unbeknownst to me, Thomas and Michelle had decided to try to catch me at some point, but they would have to try another day. This wasn't a very organized workout on my part but I was able to push the legs and lungs a bit, and so I was happy with it.

Medium-Long and BCS Title Game

Distance: 8.97 mi.
Time: 1:08:50.96 - 7:41 ppm.

I took tonight off from work to watch the LSU-Alabama game. This run happened right before that. I just ran my partly trail/mostly road loop that starts at Old Bell.

Speaking of that football game, I think we should all agree that there was no national champion in college football this year. The system has long been a joke, anyway, but this year was one of the worst in recent memory. LSU beats a team in their division, on the road, goes on to win their conference title and finish undefeated...yet they have to play that same team, Alabama, in order to win the national title? How does this make sense? You could tell LSU didn't even want to be there, and I don't blame them. College football sucks.

Week in Review

Distance: 45.3 mi.
Highlights: five runs this week and they all went pretty well - two medium-long, a tempo, a really good long run, and an easy run.

I managed to run pretty consistently for the second week in a row. Baby steps. Marathon training has gotten off to a good start. 

Sunday Shakeout

Distance: 3.01 mi.
Time: 22:51.19 - 7:36 ppm.

Today I just ran a short shakeout from my parents' house after visiting with them for a bit. I try not to ever repeat post titles for this blog, but that's getting a bit difficult. Also, I think I failed to mention that I bought a pair of the Nike Lunar Swift recently. They were on a ridiculous sale at the Nike factory store in Concord Mills and I wanted a cheap alternative pair for when the Pegasus begin to wear out, which is the case currently.

Going Long with Friends

Distance: 15.6 mi.
Time: 1:52:38 - 7:13 ppm.
Splits

Caleb Boyd posted on the CRC Facebook page that he wanted some company for his 18-miler, and Dalena Custer and I responded to join in. Mike Kahn also showed up for a cameo appearance. Caleb set a pace that's faster than what I usually run for long, but my breathing was relaxed and my legs didn't tighten up until near the end of it. My average today was faster than what I ran for the first half of Thunder Road and would put me well on the way to a 3:10 marathon. The three of us enjoyed rolling through the woods at McMullen and putting in the miles.

Greenway Shaping Up

Distance: 9.64 mi.
Time: 1:11:14.14 - 7:24 ppm.

I ran towards town and all over the place this morning, and on the way back home I discovered that the addition to the Little Sugar Creek Greenway seems to be close to completion. In fact, the path itself is done but  not exactly open yet as there is construction going on elsewhere. It now connects from the Metropolitan all the way to Elizabeth Avenue.

Winter Is Here

Workout: 8 miles w/4 mi at 15k/lactate threshold/tempo pace.
Distance: 8.0 mi.
Time: 55:57.3 - 6:59 ppm.
Splits: 7:20.4, 7:27.6, 6:24.4, 6:30.7, 6:23.5, 6:03.4, 7:45.6, 8:01.1.
Chart
Map

As expected, winter has finally arrived here in Charlotte. Our season basically lasts from January 1-March 15. Anything before or after that is wildly inconsistent. I started this workout around 2:45pm - and it was 35 degrees with fairly strong winds. Yikes! At least the sun was out. I got a chance to try on a heavy-duty dry-fit shirt I got for Christmas, and wore that along with long shorts, gloves, and a hat. I didn't wear shoes, though.

Just kidding about the lack of shoes. I started from the Dowd and ran the first two miles at a comfortable pace before taking off down the greenway. I alluded in a previous post to a change in stride, and while I'd like to get to that in more detail in its own post, I can basically describe it as shorter, ground-hugging strides that make me feel like I'm simply gliding across the pavement. This results in both quicker steps and a lesser pounding, although the faster stride movements can lead to some tightness near the end of the run.

It takes a bit of concentration to run this way at higher speeds, but it works. Anytime I felt like slowing down today, I just started thinking about my form, about keeping my legs down and hugging the ground, and I would find myself moving a good bit faster every time. As you can see above I didn't quite run negative splits but I did nail down a 6:03 in the last mile - not bad for the end of a short tempo. I'll take it.

Man, it was cold, though. In lieu of the usual post-run Gatorade I warmed down inside the Y and retreated to Dilworth Coffee for a warm cup of goodness. I'll have to get used to this crap, I guess.

Off To A Good Start

Distance: 9.0 mi.
Time: 1:07:50.93 - 7:33 ppm.

I'm determined to get this week started and finished correctly, and continue doing so every week for all eternity. I cannot remember the last time I put together more than two weeks of consistent efforts. Today's run wasn't very memorable, but I kept the pace honest and the mileage was right on the money. Actually, Monday is supposed to be a day off per my plan, but I didn't run this past Sunday and would rather take Wednesday off. There's nothing wrong with a little flexibility as long as I get the work done.

Year In Review

...On second thought, I've decided I don't really want to write a year-in-review post. Why? Well, it's mostly because I just didn't race that much. The only big one was my first marathon, and I've already written a lengthy race recap as well as a week-by-week breakdown of my training for said marathon. Not to mention, I obviously blog about every single run, which is not the case for some of my fellow blogging runners, who simply show up every now and then when they feel like writing about something (Jordan being the delightful exception, and I assure you his expanded running journal is much more entertaining than this one). The point of all this is that I don't see the point of a year-in-review post. Maybe next year, when I plan to run a lot more races, God willing.

Week In Review

Distance: 38 miles.
Highlights: new training plan commenced; great hilly medium-long run; better mileage.

I skipped Tuesday and Wednesday and ended up skipping Sunday as well, which led to my cramming 28 miles in between Thursday and Saturday. I was feeling it by the middle of the run on Saturday, so hopefully I won't do that anymore. On the bright side, I have officially begun training for another marathon!