End of the Week Recap 6/26/10

Hail my running brothers and sisters!  Just a quick recap to keep me honest.  It was a short week, running wise, with only 15.87 miles at an average pace of 8:23/mi.  I did 1:37:00 hrs of cardio/cross-training and weighed in at a whopping 165 lbs. The weight gain is mostly from a full weekend of burgers and dogs at the lake.  I didn't count any of my swimming from the lake though as it was mostly recreational.  The drop in mileage is mostly from the heat, so I'm hoping to do better next week.

Lastly, go see Toy Story 3.  It is great.  It is completely lives up to the hype.  'Nuff said.  Later kids.

End of the Week Recap 6/20/10

Hail my running brothers and sisters!  This week I rand 20.19 miles at an average pace of 7:59/mi.  I did 1:15 hrs of cross-training/conditioning, and I weighed in at 161.8 lbs this morning.  The highlight of the week would have to be my back-to-back Wilma Rudolph races yesterday.  Despite my pissy rant, I cannot deny that I enjoyed the race, due in no small part to my placement in both races.  My mileage wasn't great, but right now, I'm working on my "beach body" (Ha!) until I dive deep into my marathon training.

No hard numbers for today.  I took a rest/recovery day after yesterday's races.  I did get in some fun basketball practice with my son's summer basketball team, but it wasn't enough of a workout to mention (Oh wait...).

Finally, Happy Fathers Day to all you dad's out there (and to all you mom's out there also, who make it possible for us to be good fathers.  I'll admit that if it weren't for my wife's support and love, I wouldn't be a very good runner or father).   My wife's Father Day gift was the "Cocky" belt buckle as seen in Bones.  

Sadly, it hasn't arrived yet, but when it does, I'm not sure I'll ever take it off!  Later kids!

Wilma Rudolph 10k/5k Race Report

Hail my running brothers and sisters!  Today I ran the 5th Annual 2010 Wilma Rudolph 10k and 5k.  Yes both.  The 10k first and then the 5k. Instead of boring with you my normal race report conventions, descriptions and witty metaphors, I'm going to give you a general summary of both races, one not-so insightful comment, a quick list of deserved appreciation and two minor pissy rants. 

Summary:  The races were hot.  I tried to stay with the front pack.  I was feeling good and thinking awesome thoughts of placing.  I passed a couple of people early on.  I desperately held onto my spot through the middle.  I wavered in the last halves and slowed  I cursed myself for going too hard early on.  I dug deep for my final kicks.  I flailed across the finish line, happy to be done.  I'm pretty sure I cramped up at some point during both races.  Oh yeah, and the hard numbers:  3rd place award for overall finishes in both races (69.05 combined).  10k- 45:43 (7:22/mi), 9th place overall and 5k-23:21(7:32/mi), 7th place overall.  No PR's but strong finishes considering they are summer races.

One not-so insightful comment:  For context, understand that the fields in these races were relatively small.  I'm not sure that there more than a 100 or so racers in each race (last year, they had 110 in the 10k and 117 in the 5k), so there were no starting line corrals.  That being said, I still don't understand why slower racers line up at the front.  I didn't start on the line and I finished in the top 10 for both races.  Instead, I had a fair estimation of my time and lined up close to the front, but not to close to allow the faster racers a quick, unobstructed route to the front.  Or so I thought.  In both races, I passed a fair amount of people till I settled into my spots.  I might have attributed this to a way-too fast start for myself, but no one caught me (and I was looking for those sneaky bastards on the last miles).  I can't even say that it was due to my awesome running abilities, as I posted good, but not great times.  Maybe those people really believed that they would finish the races under 7:00/mi, but I find that hard to believe.  Dumbasses.

A quick list of appreciation:  I was really impressed with the support on the course and the number of water stops for a small couple of races.  The Clarksville Running Club really made sure that the runners had plenty of fluids and medical aid/support if necessary.  Along that line, the volunteers were awesome.  They were generally helpful and upbeat.  A special thanks to the volunteer that let me know (unsolicited) that I was in 9th place overall going into mile 5.  I was amazed at the number of door prizes that they gave away.  The local businesses and CRC members really stepped up with donations.  I know my wife appreciates the $10 Starbucks card that I brought home!

Two minor pissy rants:  First, this was not a chipped race, so the race officials were keeping up with finishers by writing down their order and time.  Apparently in the 5k some yahoo crossed the line either 2 or 3 times, helping to bring in her friends (I have nothing against pacing your friends after your done.  I did this also, but I wasn't dumb enough to cross the finish line again in a non-chipped race.  Think people.  Please.), and the officials did not realize this until they were tabulating everyone's place and time.  Apparently this caused havoc with the timers as they had to go through the results line-by-line.  They must have done this several times as it took nearly an extra hour and half to announce the final results for both races (the 10k results were already up by the time I finished the 5k).  Second (please be warned, this one will really make me sound like a whiny, ungrateful jackhole), I ran both races and finished in 9th in the 10k and 7th in the 5k, and as a result of these strong finishes in both races, I was kicked into a special finishers/award category.  A 3rd place award for my combined times in both races.  Pretty cool.  But...(there's always a but in a rant.  This time, the butt is me)  I should have also finished 1st for my age group in both races.  However since I got my 3rd place award, I didn't qualify for 1st place spots in the individual races.  I understand.  I got a nice award.  I did.  I'm proud of it.  It was nice to be recognized for doing well in both races.  I know this allows other people to win awards.  Yay.  (Here comes the butt).  The thing is I almost would have rather not even got the 3rd place award.  I'm competitive enough to admit that when I line up for a race, I want to do my best (i.e. win and gloat over my victory inspire my fellow runners).  So if I have the chance to be 1st, I would rather be 1st than 3rd (or the 2nd loser according to my 6 year old daughter)  overall.  I understand that I won't always win, so I guess that's why this one stings a bit.  Also I would have been okay with not getting the top nods, if I finished 3rd in each race.  But I didn't.  I finished 9th and 7th.  I've never been 1st before (and I'm still not, dammit), so not even getting a verbal recognition for that accomplishment at the awards presentation was kind of a kick in the balls.  Like I said, I'm just being bitchy.  Sorry.  Sigh.

Overall, though, I did have fun.  The course was challenging but not ridiculously difficult.  The field was a good size (it's nice to run a small race on occasion), and the volunteers were great.  And I did well for no PR's.  They are still two races that I look forward to running every year, but next year, I'll try to go a bit faster!  Later kids.

The Weight Loss Nemesis

Hail my running brothers and sisters!  What we see here are 2 buttery, light-as-a-feather croissants with honey butter from Rafferty's.  And yes, I did order and eat them both with my salad at lunch yesterday.  What we don't see is the third croissant that I swiped from friend and also proceeded to stuff into my face.  I don't know how bad these delicatable pastries are, but I  know they are bad.  With runners, I've found there are two camps:  one camp that carefully monitors their diet and calories to maximize calorie-to-fuel ratio and then the other camp that just eats whatever the hell they like because they can.  I often hear the comment from non-runners that it's okay for me to eat whatever I like, because I will run 10 miles in a day.  Otherwise, people will ask me if I'm allowed to eat at Mickey D's or some other fast food, since they know I'm a runner now.  I tend to fall somewhere in the middle.  I try to keep my diet pretty balanced with lots of fruit and vegetables throughout the day, but since I'm on the road a lot, I try to stick to healthier choices for my fast food.  I'm a big fan of Chic-fil-a and the fresco-style tacos at Taco Hell.  My biggest weakness, however, are Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnuts.  These sinful pastries will bring me to my knees in sugar oblivion every time.  There is a Krispy Kreme store on one of my running routes, so I have to run on the other side of the street to avoid the temptation to stop when the Fresh, Hot Doughnuts sign is on.  My second biggest weakness is, you guessed it, honey buttered croissants from Rafferty's.  When I'm hitting the scales at 164, and I'm trying to get down to 155, a trip to Rafferty's is not always conducive to my goals.  Every reformed fat kid (like myself) knows that it's easy to lose weight once you learn the tricks.  The hard part is keeping the weight off after reached your goal.  Suddenly every calorie and every mile is a careful balancing act of calories in and calories out.  Sure I can eat 3 croissants, but I really will have to run an extra couple miles to make up for that bad decision.  God bless my fat kid heart.  

Now for the hard numbers:  Today I did a 2.63 mi easy run at an average pace of 8:17/mi.  I followed it up with 1 mi of hill sprints and recoveries at an average pace of 9:17/mi and a cooldown run of 2.68 mi at an average pace of 8:38/mi.  Tomorrow I go to the Y to work on my beach body and then I have a the Wilma Rudolph 10k and 5k on Saturday in Clarksville.  Wish me luck!  Later kids!

End of the Recap 6/13/10

Hail my running brothers and sisters!  This week I ran a token 18.3 miles at an average pace of 8:58/mi.  I did 27 minutes of conditioning/cross-training, and 3:45 hours of golf.  I topped the scales this morning at 162.8 lbs.  It was a rough week this week trying to settle back into a summer routine and to catch up on my work.  I had every good intention of knocking out a 12 mile long run this morning, but I didn't drag my lazy ass out of bed early enough.  By the time, I did get on the road the temperature was already in the 90's.  After beating my brains in and sweating through my shorts for 6.5 miles, I decided to call it and put an end to my misery.  After that, I used my 3.5 mile run/walk as a cooldown/recovery run and limped back home.  The only high note was my golf.  My scores weren't great, but considering that I haven't played in over a year, they weren't as bad as I thought they would be.  I doubt that I'll give up running for golf, but it's nice to break up the routine every once and awhile.  Next week is another busy work week as well as the Wilma Rudolph 10k and 5k on Saturday.  I'm running both, but at my current level, I'm just hoping to do as well as I did last year (49:29 and 25:32 respectively).  That's all I have for now.  Later kids!

End of the Week Recap 6/6/10

Hail my running brothers and sisters!  I realize this recap is late by a couple of days, but cut me some slack.  I was on vacation.  I did 21.67 miles at an average pace of 8:01/mi.  I did 28:00+ of cardio/conditioning.  I'm reserving the plus as I walked for miles around Disney.  Sadly my weight did not fare as well last week as I ate everything in sight (I had forgotten how good real ice cream is!).  When I got back home, I weighed in at lucky-it-wasn't-more 165.4 lbs.  Most of my runs were early in the morning before my family and friends woke up and we hit the parks.  We did stay on-site at the Contemporary Resort-Bay Lake Towers for the last 2 days of our vacation, so I managed a nice 5 mile run over to the Magic Kingdom and then to the Polynesian Resort.  And a special thanks to Psyche.  I used her lawyer joke at the Disney Laugh Factory Ride (you text them a joke and the Monster's Inc. guys use it in the show), and it was one of the jokes used!  Thanks my dear!

Now for the hard numbers (for today):  I did a 4.02 mi fartlek at an average pace of 7:29/mi.  It was a cool 91 degrees.  2 bikers nearly ran over me.  1 passing runner did not wave after I did.  1 woman of questionable dental hygiene yelled "woohoo" at me.  1 guy standing on the corner commented that "It's too [damn] hot [to be running outside [moron]].  All-in-all not a bad little run, but I need to be racking up more mileage and cross-training.  Later kids!

The Vacation Quarantine

Hail my running brothers and sisters!  A quick shout out from the World of the Mouse.  The weather has mostly cooperated (other than the heat), and my kids have had a blast at the parks with us and our friends.  One quick note, my son got a little stomach bug (awww), so he didn't get to go to Aquatica yesterday.  He's feeling better today, so we're going to take it easy and visit the parks this afternoon.

Now for the hard numbers:  I did a quick tempo run of 3.25 miles this morning with negative splits of 7:39/mi, 7:21/mi, 7:03/mi and a recovery jog of 7:14/mi.  That does it for me.  Later kids!