Marathon By 40

It wasn’t pretty, but I did it! After missing most of my runs in October to the weather, being sick, traveling, or just plain being lazy, I decided to go ahead and run in the DRC Half this weekend. My previous long run (see below) was only 8 miles, and I’ve only run a handful of times since then.

The race day was great. We couldn’t have asked for better conditions. It was a beautiful morning, crisp and cool early, and sunny. I got to the field in plenty of time for bag check and a short walk around vendor tents. I wandered to the starting line around 7:45 and saw that the last pace balloon was 2:30. Considering I was trying for just under 3:00, I moved towards the very back of the pack. I was planning on taking this run like all my other long runs, starting with a 5 minute walk, so I figured it would be OK to start with the walkers in the back. I was right, and the timing worked out just right as I was able to walk all they way through the large ramp on to Mockingbird. I started my first 3 minute run after the first few steps over the Mockingbird bridge.

Miles 1-10 went fairly easy and well. It was fun to see friends who live on the course out cheering us along. I know I surprised at least one of them who didn’t expect to see me there. I continued on a 3 run / 2 walk interval, changing occasionally to accommodate a hill or bunched-up turn in the road.

My first real sign of fatigue came heading up the dam to mile 8. I was supposed to be running at the time, but the narrow path and steep hill were too much to take on in what was left of our crowd, so I ended up walking. Getting to the top, I started to run again, but it was much more difficult to get going than it had been earlier.

Once I did start running again, I felt much slower, but at least I was able to stay in the 3/2 interval. I didn’t hurt (other than a small blister starting to wear on my right foot), I just felt the full effect of weighing too much. It started to feel much warmer than it had when we started. Things went well until mile 10 when it was increasingly difficult to get running after the walk breaks. I switched to a 2/3 for a while, but found myself walking much more than walking. There were only short (less than a minute) runs from there until I got under the Buckner bridge when I “sprinted” hard to the finish. It did feel good to finish strong, even if it were about a third of mile.

It felt great to finish. My steps immediately shortened and felt very stiff. A volunteer placed the medal around my neck and I staggered over to get an official picture. I couldn’t stop smiling.

After finishing I ran into John and Bill, who both finished well ahead of me and were enjoying the after-race treats. We all took time to enjoy a beer in the sun and I got lots of good advice for my next event from these seasoned runners.

I’m happy to started and finished. It’s a big step towards my final goal. And per a friend’s advice, it was great to go just to see what a large event is like. Props to the DRC for putting on a well run race. It was easy getting to the start/finish, the bag check went smoothly, and I enjoyed the pizza and beer after.

I’ll likely write more about lessons learned and plans for the next race later. But its worth mentioning now how around mile 12 I thought “this distance running is hard stuff.” I have even more respect now for all my friends and acquaintances who have finished a marathon before. There’s a steep road up ahead, but after feeling the sense of accomplishment I had this morning I realize that its a challenge worth taking.

So, I’ve neglected the blog for quite sometime now. My bad. But, I have been running. I’m on a walk/run plan to take on the Dallas Running Club’s DRC Half on November 1.

The plan is going well. I’m only running 3 days a week with the long run on Saturday. It will be tricky to keep it up as the school year kicks into full gear.

Nike+ automagically posts my runs on Facebook (that’s probably partly why I’ve been neglecting the blog). Please do “kick me” if things go quiet again. I am determined to meet this minor milestone on the quest to run a full marathon by the time I’m 40 next year.

Keep running!

Back in November I set out to mentally and physically prepare for the dedication it would take to complete a half-marathon training program. I decided to walk or run/walk at least a mile every day in December just to see if I could get into the habit of getting up early every day for the run.

Well, it was half a success. I certainly completed the streak on paper. Between Dec 1 and Dec 31 I ran/walked a total of 55.68 miles, with at least a mile every day. While I didn’t get up early for each one of them, I did prove to myself that I can find a way to adapt and keep the commitment required to complete a goal or plan.

With that confidence behind me, I’ve started training for the Big D Half Marathon on April 4. After I complete my “long” run today of 4 miles, I will have finished week 2 of the 14 week plan. I’m following the Half-Marathon Run/Walk plan as prescribed in John Bingham’s Marathoning for Mortals.

So far, so good. I’ll post more later when I decide if I’m going to actually commit to running the race.

Any fellow Nike+ runner is familiar with the cheery encouragement of your iPod chiming in with the “Half-way point!” declaration if you set your workout to a specified distance. It’s always encouraging for me to hear, knowing that my goal for the day is (figuratively) all down hill from then on.

Well, this morning I completed day 15 of the streak. I’ve gone 27.03 miles in those 15 days, and hope to increase that mileage over the last 15. The basic pattern has been to run a 5K at least 3 days a week, running or walking a mile on all other days.

For the most part, it’s been easier than I imagined. There have been one or two days that I didn’t get up in the morning and I’ve realized just before dinner “Doh! I need to go run.” On those nights I simply walk the mile circuit around the neighborhood to meet my self-imposed requirement for the goal.

This morning was particularly rewarding. It was about 30° before the sun came up. While it was expected, it was still a shock to the senses considering the high yesterday was 80°. Anyway, I wore the appropriate layers and headed out for a 5K (including 5 minute warm-up walk). I’ve been doing these 5Ks as 3/1 running / walking intervals, and my times have been slowly decreasing over the month. My final run this morning felt particularly strong.

I have started to feel slight throbbing in my shins in the afternoons of my 5K runs, especially when I actually run on the mile days. I’ve started to only walk on the off days, and I think that’s helping.

Hopefully I’ll be able to get back into the long-run habit this weekend with another 10K.

So for the next 15 days, keep running!

Over the Thanksgiving holiday I spent more time reading about runningthan I actually ran. But, it was time well spent as I was informed and inspired to plan my goals for 2009. My plans (more detail on these later) are to run a half-marathon in April, and to Run The Rock in December 2009.

To prepare for the half, I need to start a 14-week plan on January 5th. This plan includes running / cross-training every most days of the week for 14 weeks straight. In order to get that many workouts completed, I’ll have to get up early and do them as the first priority of the day.

The plan must start in January. It’s cold in January. It’s even colder before the sun comes up.

Now I realize this isn’t Chicago, or Pittsburgh, or Maine. We aren’t likely to get snow like the picture up above. But considering how warm it is the rest of the year, it feels very, very cold for a warm-weather guy like me. So, I need to do some (getting up early and bearing the cold) conditioning before I start (distance running) conditioning.

To prepare for January, I’m taking on a “30 in 30″ goal - to run at least 30 miles in December by running at least one mile each day for 30 consecutive days. Some days I’ll certainly run more, but the point isn’t really about the distance. The idea is to get used to getting up before the sun and getting out for a decent run; to create a meaningful yet achievable streak. If I can do this every day all month, it should be easier to tackle the discipline of the half-marathon plan.

I got this idea from bigRahn who just completed a very impressive streak himself and vicariously pointed me to the streakers. I’ll be following their rules:

A running streak is defined by USRSA as running at least one continuous mile within each calendar day under one’s own body power (without the utilization of any type of health or mechanical aid other than prosthetic devices).

My only caveat is that I’ll be run/walking, meaning I can mix in walking. The goal is to get my rear-end outside, not to break any world records for speed.

So far, so good. I started on Monday (Dec 1) and have run every morning since. Considering this is day 3, I’m 10% of the way there. Keep track of my progress over at RunnerPlus, and give me heck if you see me miss a day.

Now, off to get some sleep so I can get up and run in the freezing temps they forecasted for the morning!