Weekly Runs:
Tuesday - 5.5 easy pace
Thursday - 6.2 (10K) Run to Feed the Hungry 7:15 pace (VERY HAPPY) + 1.25 mile warm up and warm down.
Saturday - 15.5, Eric ran slow with me, which means I was running my a** off.
Wednesday - 5.2 easy pace - 9:30 per mile +/- a little
Went to Sacramento for Thanksgiving. I was there for 6 days and it only rained one day for about 4 hours. Of course that was exactly when I was joining 26,000 of my closest Sacramento friends for the 18th annual Run to Feed the Hungry. It rained the entire time, but it was a lot of fun. Here are some observations from the race:
- I found out that running in a constant and steady rain isn't that bad; however, the minute you stop running, you freeze.
- If you are trying to coordinate meeting up with your (fast) brother after the run, it helps to give him an accurate guess regarding your finishing time. Otherwise, he'll miss you, stand in the rain, and, as mentioned above, will start to freeze. Brothers don't like that.
- If you aren't going to run an X-minute per mile pace, DON'T LINE UP IN THE X MINUTE PER MILE PACE CORRAL!!!!! I started the race at the 7-8 minute per mile corral with about 800 people in front of me. I finished in 199th position, which means I had to wade through 600 people who were in the wrong spot. And they didn't like that, but again, if you don't like it LINE UP IN THE CORRECT CORRAL!!!
- When I was younger, I'd finish a race like this and bound home with my limitless energy. At 42, I finish the race and shuffle home like a sloth.
My brother, Eric, finished 128th out of 2,341 timed runners (a bunch didn't pay the $5 extra to get timed) with a time of 42:44 or 6:53pace. Great race, his 1k intervals are paying off and he on pace for a great CIM Marathon time this weekend. Good luck Eric.
I finished 199th (very stoked to not be "Mr. 200") with a time of 44:57 and a pace of 7:15. I exceeded my expectations.
Injury update:
- I've decided that this year my foot is going to be problematic throughout the training process and as long as I'm smart about my training I should be OK, but it's going to be close. Also, heavy doses of my chiropractor, ice and massages are in order.
Help me send my marathon finisher medal to a person who survived her fight with cancer by clicking on this link: http://pages.teamintraining.org/dm/pfchangs12/mnortonnpu
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Monday, November 21, 2011
Who is "your guy"?
Runs:
Tues - 5xHill repeats
Wednesday - 5 miles easy with a few brisk miles in there
Thursday - fanned my speed workout because of a foot issue. :-(
Saturday - 5 miles with two at about 8:30 pace.
Sunday - 14 miles at 9:55 pace.
Being 42 I'm no stranger to pains, creaking joints, stiff legs, twitchy knees, squeaky ankles, etc. In fact, the first mile of every run is a montage of aches and pains that traditionally subside by mile two. I won't even consider them worth paying attention to until that point. During my long run last week, however, I started to feel a dull ache in my foot toward the end of my run and that is usually not a good sign. First, when you are 10+ miles into a run, you don't feel a whole lot of pain; fatigue, yes; however, pain, not really. My foot ached and was stiff through Tuesday morning, but I still couldn't give up the idea of running my hill repeats. And, as you can imagine, my foot was worse after that run. After that, I was nearing a panicked state of mind, wondering if I had jeopardized my goal of hitting the RnR Marathon in January. That's when I picked up the phone and pulled in the help of "my guy," Chiropractor, Matt Teusink who is a runner/triathloner and overall good guy. He did his magic for about 20 or so minutes and got me moving again. Crisis averted, running was able to commence again.
So who is "your guy"? I believe anyone running past the age of 30 needs a Chiropractor or Physical Therapist who knows athletes and can get them through these sticky little injuries so the athlete doesn't miss weeks or, worse yet, their entire event. Talk to your running/swimming/biking/hiking buddies and find one of these "guys" (guy is metaphorical, I have a rockin step-sister who is going to be a "go to" person someday too) and keep running.
Outcomes from last week's issues:
All the materials I've read on speed workouts suggest you shouldn't do more than one major workout per week. I, of course, ignored all that info and kept doing hills and 800's. Naturally it took an injury to remind me how stupid I am. So my weekly workouts moving forward will only feature one speed workout, probably just the 800's. I will pass on hills, partly because I naturally encounter hills on a daily basis and partly because I'm going to add squats and lunges to my workout regime.
This week will feature cold foggy weather in Sacramento along with a kick butt 10k Turkey Trot on FLAT GROUND. I can't remember the last flat run I had. Actually, I can, it was at Newport Beach in August, but that's neither here nor there.
Help me send my marathon finisher medal to a person who survived her fight with cancer by clicking on this link: http://pages.teamintraining.org/dm/pfchangs12/mnortonnpu
Tues - 5xHill repeats
Wednesday - 5 miles easy with a few brisk miles in there
Thursday - fanned my speed workout because of a foot issue. :-(
Saturday - 5 miles with two at about 8:30 pace.
Sunday - 14 miles at 9:55 pace.
Being 42 I'm no stranger to pains, creaking joints, stiff legs, twitchy knees, squeaky ankles, etc. In fact, the first mile of every run is a montage of aches and pains that traditionally subside by mile two. I won't even consider them worth paying attention to until that point. During my long run last week, however, I started to feel a dull ache in my foot toward the end of my run and that is usually not a good sign. First, when you are 10+ miles into a run, you don't feel a whole lot of pain; fatigue, yes; however, pain, not really. My foot ached and was stiff through Tuesday morning, but I still couldn't give up the idea of running my hill repeats. And, as you can imagine, my foot was worse after that run. After that, I was nearing a panicked state of mind, wondering if I had jeopardized my goal of hitting the RnR Marathon in January. That's when I picked up the phone and pulled in the help of "my guy," Chiropractor, Matt Teusink who is a runner/triathloner and overall good guy. He did his magic for about 20 or so minutes and got me moving again. Crisis averted, running was able to commence again.
So who is "your guy"? I believe anyone running past the age of 30 needs a Chiropractor or Physical Therapist who knows athletes and can get them through these sticky little injuries so the athlete doesn't miss weeks or, worse yet, their entire event. Talk to your running/swimming/biking/hiking buddies and find one of these "guys" (guy is metaphorical, I have a rockin step-sister who is going to be a "go to" person someday too) and keep running.
Outcomes from last week's issues:
All the materials I've read on speed workouts suggest you shouldn't do more than one major workout per week. I, of course, ignored all that info and kept doing hills and 800's. Naturally it took an injury to remind me how stupid I am. So my weekly workouts moving forward will only feature one speed workout, probably just the 800's. I will pass on hills, partly because I naturally encounter hills on a daily basis and partly because I'm going to add squats and lunges to my workout regime.
This week will feature cold foggy weather in Sacramento along with a kick butt 10k Turkey Trot on FLAT GROUND. I can't remember the last flat run I had. Actually, I can, it was at Newport Beach in August, but that's neither here nor there.
Help me send my marathon finisher medal to a person who survived her fight with cancer by clicking on this link: http://pages.teamintraining.org/dm/pfchangs12/mnortonnpu
Monday, November 14, 2011
Running Between Raindrops...or not.
Run updates:
Saturday - 4 at 10ish per mile pace. Goal was just to recover from the speed workout on Thurs.
Sunday - 13.5 at 10:17 pace. I really felt like I had a bunch more miles left in me at the end. The run felt great.
Many moons ago I remember my dad asking me how mustered the motivation to hit the road when it was raining outside, to which I responded, "I don't." First, I live in Arizona so rain is rarely an issue. Second, I can usually time my runs between storms during any given day or even alter my weekly schedule if it looks like the weekend is going to be soggy. I have no rain gear and I don't particularly like running in the rain, especially long runs (10 miles or more).
Why am I saying this? Because I got duped by the the Weather Channel into thinking that there was only a very mild chance of any precipitation this past weekend only to see them do an about face on Saturday afternoon and predict doom and gloom between the hours of 4am and 3pm on Sunday. Thanks Weather Channel. I had already missed the opportunity for a long run on Saturday and I had obligations in the afternoon for Sunday, which meant it looked like I was all-in for a 13+ mile run in the rain.
I altered my route to make sure that I was never more than 2.5 miles away from the house, just in case I needed to escape the predicted deluge. Also, I grabbed my most rugged rain gear...a 10 year old Nike wind breaker covered in dust. I was ready.
When 5am hit and I popped out onto the roads, they were wet and clouds loomed darkly overhead and...it never rained. It turned out to be a beautiful overcast day at a perfect temp for a long run. I'd have been angry if the day hadn't been so pretty.
Special shout out to my mom and dad. Thank you for your donation. You guys rock! Help me send my marathon finisher medal to a person who survived her fight with cancer by clicking on this link (only $1300 to go): http://pages.teamintraining.org/dm/pfchangs12/mnortonnpu
Saturday - 4 at 10ish per mile pace. Goal was just to recover from the speed workout on Thurs.
Sunday - 13.5 at 10:17 pace. I really felt like I had a bunch more miles left in me at the end. The run felt great.
Many moons ago I remember my dad asking me how mustered the motivation to hit the road when it was raining outside, to which I responded, "I don't." First, I live in Arizona so rain is rarely an issue. Second, I can usually time my runs between storms during any given day or even alter my weekly schedule if it looks like the weekend is going to be soggy. I have no rain gear and I don't particularly like running in the rain, especially long runs (10 miles or more).
Why am I saying this? Because I got duped by the the Weather Channel into thinking that there was only a very mild chance of any precipitation this past weekend only to see them do an about face on Saturday afternoon and predict doom and gloom between the hours of 4am and 3pm on Sunday. Thanks Weather Channel. I had already missed the opportunity for a long run on Saturday and I had obligations in the afternoon for Sunday, which meant it looked like I was all-in for a 13+ mile run in the rain.
I altered my route to make sure that I was never more than 2.5 miles away from the house, just in case I needed to escape the predicted deluge. Also, I grabbed my most rugged rain gear...a 10 year old Nike wind breaker covered in dust. I was ready.
When 5am hit and I popped out onto the roads, they were wet and clouds loomed darkly overhead and...it never rained. It turned out to be a beautiful overcast day at a perfect temp for a long run. I'd have been angry if the day hadn't been so pretty.
Special shout out to my mom and dad. Thank you for your donation. You guys rock! Help me send my marathon finisher medal to a person who survived her fight with cancer by clicking on this link (only $1300 to go): http://pages.teamintraining.org/dm/pfchangs12/mnortonnpu
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Wild Kingdom in the Hills of AZ
Tuesday - 6 miles with 5 hill repeats and it was cccccooooooooolllllllldddddd 42 degrees
Wednesday - 6 miles. 3 on my own and 3 with the dog. Easy pace.
Thursday - 8.5 miles 5x800 intervals below 3:30 and 1x1000 at...who knows, I messed up the lap function on my watch for this run.
Yesterday the dog and I ran into a pack of Javelinas and then today I went around the corner at the end of my street only to find 4 coyotes. Its like I live in a wildlife preserve.
Truth be known, the dog and I disagree on which animal is more dangerous. She see the Javelinas and I can tell that the only words running through her mind are PLAY? PLAY? PLAY? PLAY?; however, when she sees coyotes all the fur raises on her back and she means businss. And when a 100 pound mastiff/lab is agitated, it's quite a site.
As I said, I disagree with my dog on who is the actual threat. The coyotes know we'd be a challenge to bring down and they steer clear of us. The minute they saw us they ran off the road and into the bushes. On the other hand, the Javelinas get all panicky and that, I find, is most unsettling. There's no telling what they'll do. If the freak out enough, I think they would charge. Give me a coyote anyday.
Help me send my marathon finisher medal to a person who survived her fight with cancer by clicking on this link: http://pages.teamintraining.org/dm/pfchangs12/mnortonnpu
Wednesday - 6 miles. 3 on my own and 3 with the dog. Easy pace.
Thursday - 8.5 miles 5x800 intervals below 3:30 and 1x1000 at...who knows, I messed up the lap function on my watch for this run.
Yesterday the dog and I ran into a pack of Javelinas and then today I went around the corner at the end of my street only to find 4 coyotes. Its like I live in a wildlife preserve.
Truth be known, the dog and I disagree on which animal is more dangerous. She see the Javelinas and I can tell that the only words running through her mind are PLAY? PLAY? PLAY? PLAY?; however, when she sees coyotes all the fur raises on her back and she means businss. And when a 100 pound mastiff/lab is agitated, it's quite a site.
As I said, I disagree with my dog on who is the actual threat. The coyotes know we'd be a challenge to bring down and they steer clear of us. The minute they saw us they ran off the road and into the bushes. On the other hand, the Javelinas get all panicky and that, I find, is most unsettling. There's no telling what they'll do. If the freak out enough, I think they would charge. Give me a coyote anyday.
Help me send my marathon finisher medal to a person who survived her fight with cancer by clicking on this link: http://pages.teamintraining.org/dm/pfchangs12/mnortonnpu
Monday, November 7, 2011
GPS observations and more...
I've become one of those annoying GPS guys. If you have a friend with a Garmin or Nike/Tom-Tom GPS watch, you know who I'm talking about. The person who says, "I ran 8.71247 miles today. Did it at a 9:14.7558 pace." Dooooooorrrrrrkkkkkkkk. It's a way for the GPS guy to brag about his/her high-tech watch without directly stating that they own the latest GPS technology for their arm. And I've become that person. I'm apologize to all my friends who patiently refrain from rolling their eyes when I go off about the latest run, elevation, change, pace, splits, etc., but I'm going to continue doing it.
A few other GPS observations to bore you:
- When I'm doing a speed workout or a difficult run, I will try and cut the corners as close as possible...why???? It's not like the run will get and shorter or faster because the GPS gets fooled.
- The local track is 10 feet lower on the south end, which means that the, during my speed workouts where the prevailing breeze comes from the north, I'm doing the hard part of the track uphill and into the wind. I didn't need to know that and neither did you.
- GPS is like crack cocaine. Once you start using it and downloading your runs to Garmin Connect, you're instantly hooked. My evenings can be completely lost to the limitless details I can search on that website. I can't envision ever doing a run without it ever again.
Run updates:
Speed workout last thursday: 5ish miles (gps ran out of batteries after 4.22 miles :-) ) 4x800 at close to 6:35 pace. I'm a total idiot. I wanted to do Yasso 800s but did very poor math and ran them way too fast. I'll get them closer to the 3:45 time that is needed.
My right knee was totally squeaky after that run. Didn't feel good at all and totally scared me, especially since I had to recommit to Team-in-Training (yes, I'm a purple person) for the marathon. So I took it easy on Saturday and ran 5.7 miles nice and slow. Still hurt.
Soooo, on Sunday I was supposed to do 12, but after a conversation with my brother (my resident marathon expert) I decided to back off and do only 10. The run went GREAT. The knee pain totally disappeared. My last two miles were close to a 9:00 minute/mile pace. Very happy.
I'm thinking about throwing in some extra miles this week to make up for the lost miles this weekend.
Help me send my marathon finisher medal to a person who survived her fight with cancer by clicking on this link: http://pages.teamintraining.org/dm/pfchangs12/mnortonnpu
A few other GPS observations to bore you:
- When I'm doing a speed workout or a difficult run, I will try and cut the corners as close as possible...why???? It's not like the run will get and shorter or faster because the GPS gets fooled.
- The local track is 10 feet lower on the south end, which means that the, during my speed workouts where the prevailing breeze comes from the north, I'm doing the hard part of the track uphill and into the wind. I didn't need to know that and neither did you.
- GPS is like crack cocaine. Once you start using it and downloading your runs to Garmin Connect, you're instantly hooked. My evenings can be completely lost to the limitless details I can search on that website. I can't envision ever doing a run without it ever again.
Run updates:
Speed workout last thursday: 5ish miles (gps ran out of batteries after 4.22 miles :-) ) 4x800 at close to 6:35 pace. I'm a total idiot. I wanted to do Yasso 800s but did very poor math and ran them way too fast. I'll get them closer to the 3:45 time that is needed.
My right knee was totally squeaky after that run. Didn't feel good at all and totally scared me, especially since I had to recommit to Team-in-Training (yes, I'm a purple person) for the marathon. So I took it easy on Saturday and ran 5.7 miles nice and slow. Still hurt.
Soooo, on Sunday I was supposed to do 12, but after a conversation with my brother (my resident marathon expert) I decided to back off and do only 10. The run went GREAT. The knee pain totally disappeared. My last two miles were close to a 9:00 minute/mile pace. Very happy.
I'm thinking about throwing in some extra miles this week to make up for the lost miles this weekend.
Help me send my marathon finisher medal to a person who survived her fight with cancer by clicking on this link: http://pages.teamintraining.org/dm/pfchangs12/mnortonnpu
Friday, November 4, 2011
10 weeks to the RnR Marathon
10 weeks to go for the RnR Marathon.
Goal: Get my slow 40-something body to be as somewhat-fast as my 20-something body used to be. Mission Impossible? Maybe.
Current state of Mike:
Weight - 10 pounds lighter than last year when I ran 4:13 (9:40 pace).
Shape - Pear, pear is a shape, yes? Actually, I've been really good about doing hill repeats (ghastly) and 4x800s at the local middle school track. My long run last weekend was 12 miles at a very slow pace. In short, I've been is worse shape.
Worst news of all...I shared with my twin brother that I've been doing hills and intervals, which I knew would spur his Kenyan-thin, very fast rear to replicate my efforts. In the immortal words of Admiral Yamamoto, "I fear we have awoken a sleeping giant." I don't need him to be any faster, He beat me by 50 minutes in last year's marathon.
So folks, let's count down the next 10 weeks together.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)