I just returned from the quad-annual(?) DCRRC Leap Year Tidal Basin 3K. I continued my very slow but steady recent improvement with a time of 18:32. Doesn't sound like much but when you consider I was somewhat pleased with a time of 18:59 just last week, I'll take it. I was speaking with Charlie Mercer before the race and he asked me what my goal for the day was. I told him 10 minute per mile pace, or about 18:36. He challenged me to break 18 minutes. I knew I couldn't do that today but his challenge did get me focused on breaking that 10 minute per mile barrier. So Charlie, if you are out there, thanks for the inspiration.
As always, I started the race too quickly. I find it difficult not too start too quickly in these small races (we had about 25 today) where just about everyone is at least good. I was running not far behind both Shirley Sameshima and Dee Nelson at about the 1/4 mile mark. They both usually run the 3K in the high 14's or low 15's so to be close to them given my current fitness level probably means I'm going out too fast. Sure enough, I was suffering as I ran across the first bridge and stopped for a quick walk break after getting across it.
I knew I had 1 runner behind me and if you know me you know I hate being in last place. So I started running again until just before the 2nd bridge. I walked for about a minute this time as I was having a tough time getting my breath. The trailing runner appeared right behind me so I was off and running again. I looked back for him about 2 minutes later and there was no sign of him so he must have stopped for a walk break himself.
I took my last walk break at the third and final bridge (are you detecting a theme?). It was a short break as I knew I was running very close to my goal pace and thus had no time to waste. That left about .36 miles to the finish. Fortunately, a decent wind was behind us at this point. I tried to maintain a steady pace coming in and then I increased my pace with about 80 yards to go. They called out 18:31 when I crossed the finish line but my watch actually showed 18:32 so I'm going with that.
I spoke to one of my favorite runners after the race, Peter Blank. After running in 163 races in 2007, he told me he was going to cut back in 2008. I had seen he had over 20 races completed for the year and I questioned his "cut back" plan. He said he had actually run 27 races but he was slowing down. I told him that didn't sound like someone cutting back but he explained that if he runs 3 races in a track meet on a Saturday, he is not running on Sunday. So I told him he was still crazy but at least it was a sensible crazy.
Next race is the Burke Lake 12K on Sunday. I have a love/hate relationship with that course...mostly hate. More on that next time.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Thursday, February 28, 2008
I'm Back
No, I'm not quite dead. I just disappeared for awhile. seriously, I had no idea it had been so long since my last entry.
Here's where we stand as far as the running goals are concerned. Yesterday was the 58th day of the year and so far I have run about 76 1/2 miles. That's an average of about 1.32 miles per day...a far cry from my goal of 2 miles a day for the whole year. I am on pace for 50+ races for the year as I have completed 7 races so far and I have races planned for tomorrow and Friday.
I saw my orthopedics Dr. two weeks ago about the foot I broke back in October. It was still giving me trouble into February so I was concerned that it either wasn't healing correctly or perhaps there was more than just a break that resulted from my fall. After an examination he believes that I have the early stages of plantar fachitis. I am now wearing silicone heals in my shoes when I run to absorb some of the impact when I run. So far so good as I have run 4 straight days without pain. However, I took a lot of days off in January and February in attempt to let my foot heal so I have some ground to make up if I am to reach my initial goals.
On January 20th I ran the Tidal Basin 3K in 18:59, While significantly slower than where I believe I should be, it was my fastest 3K in several months. I am hopeful that I have turned the corner and that I'll start to see slow and steady improvement in my running going forwards. On a related note, I have also seen my weight drop about 8 pounds from it peak in mid January to about 202 pounds. Again, I have a long way to go here as well as I would like to get to about 185 pounds but it is a start. I have the DC Half Marathon in 4 weeks so I would like to be down to about 195 pounds when I run that. I think anything more than that will be very difficult to get around the course for 13.1 miles.
Finally, I am giving a great deal of thought to entering a sprint duathalon. There are several nearby that will be held in late April. I need to get on my bike and see if I have what it takes. More info on this to come later.
Until next time...
Here's where we stand as far as the running goals are concerned. Yesterday was the 58th day of the year and so far I have run about 76 1/2 miles. That's an average of about 1.32 miles per day...a far cry from my goal of 2 miles a day for the whole year. I am on pace for 50+ races for the year as I have completed 7 races so far and I have races planned for tomorrow and Friday.
I saw my orthopedics Dr. two weeks ago about the foot I broke back in October. It was still giving me trouble into February so I was concerned that it either wasn't healing correctly or perhaps there was more than just a break that resulted from my fall. After an examination he believes that I have the early stages of plantar fachitis. I am now wearing silicone heals in my shoes when I run to absorb some of the impact when I run. So far so good as I have run 4 straight days without pain. However, I took a lot of days off in January and February in attempt to let my foot heal so I have some ground to make up if I am to reach my initial goals.
On January 20th I ran the Tidal Basin 3K in 18:59, While significantly slower than where I believe I should be, it was my fastest 3K in several months. I am hopeful that I have turned the corner and that I'll start to see slow and steady improvement in my running going forwards. On a related note, I have also seen my weight drop about 8 pounds from it peak in mid January to about 202 pounds. Again, I have a long way to go here as well as I would like to get to about 185 pounds but it is a start. I have the DC Half Marathon in 4 weeks so I would like to be down to about 195 pounds when I run that. I think anything more than that will be very difficult to get around the course for 13.1 miles.
Finally, I am giving a great deal of thought to entering a sprint duathalon. There are several nearby that will be held in late April. I need to get on my bike and see if I have what it takes. More info on this to come later.
Until next time...
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Tidal Basin 2, Tim 0
It's been over 2 1/2 hours since I finished this months version of the Tidal Basin 3K and I'm still sweating. It's not because of the heat...its only around 40 degrees outside. I'm afraid that my lack of fitness is really causing me some challenges. I ran (and walked) it in 19:47...which is even 22 seconds slower than my pathetic time last month! However, it is quite a bit faster than I ran last week during the cruise so I'm satisfied with it.
I also ran 2 miles on the treadmill last night. I did not run Monday night because I'm a loser :) Last night's run was at a slow pace...around 4.6 MPH...but I did run the whole way which was a bit of a morale victory. I also had a very sore foot last night so again I'm satisfied with my time.
So the YTD results are as follows:
Miles raced 4.96
Miles run in training 14.0
Total Miles run 18.96
Average miles per day=1.19
Lucy, you've got some splaining to do! I'm way off my targeted miles per day of 2.0. I need to start putting in some longer runs.
I also ran 2 miles on the treadmill last night. I did not run Monday night because I'm a loser :) Last night's run was at a slow pace...around 4.6 MPH...but I did run the whole way which was a bit of a morale victory. I also had a very sore foot last night so again I'm satisfied with my time.
So the YTD results are as follows:
Miles raced 4.96
Miles run in training 14.0
Total Miles run 18.96
Average miles per day=1.19
Lucy, you've got some splaining to do! I'm way off my targeted miles per day of 2.0. I need to start putting in some longer runs.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Two weeks in
So it's already January 14th. Dori and I have just returned from a wonderful cruise. The bad news is I am behind in my 2 mile a day goal. The good news is that I ran every day on the cruise other than the days spent in Fort Lauderdale. So that means I ran (OK, I also walked some) on 6 days. I did 2 miles on each of those days. 2 days were on a treadmill, 3 days were on the top deck of the ship, and 1 day was on the beach (Labadee, Haiti).
I didn't do any running for several days before the cruise. In fact, the only miles run so far this year other than my runs during the cruise were the 3.1 miles run on January 1 in the DC Road Rinner race. That means my total miles run is now 15.1 for the year. At least it is more than a mile per day. I should be able to get to my desired average mileage pretty easily. At least, thats the plan.
I didn't do any running for several days before the cruise. In fact, the only miles run so far this year other than my runs during the cruise were the 3.1 miles run on January 1 in the DC Road Rinner race. That means my total miles run is now 15.1 for the year. At least it is more than a mile per day. I should be able to get to my desired average mileage pretty easily. At least, thats the plan.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Setting a low bar
Days 1
Miles Run 3.1
Well, 2008 has begun and if the result of my first race of the year is any indication, 2008 could be a repeat of 2007. Yesterday I ran the DC Road Runners Predictions and Resolutions 5K in Rosslyn, VA. I have run the race twice before so I knew the course (flat except for a tough uphill over the last 300 yards or so). My times in prior years were around 31 or 32 minutes. Yesterday I completed the race in 35:02. While I'm not happy with the time, I honestly have to say it's about what I expected. I ran the King Street Mile on New Year's Eve and struggled to a time of 9:01. I knew the 5K would be a struggle for me.
So the 2008 journey has begun. I'm already ahead of pace for my goal of 2 miles run per day. My right foot, which I broke in October, feels relatively good so I plan to continue to run a couple of miles a day over the next few days. I need to work on both speed and endurance so we'll see how it goes.
Miles Run 3.1
Well, 2008 has begun and if the result of my first race of the year is any indication, 2008 could be a repeat of 2007. Yesterday I ran the DC Road Runners Predictions and Resolutions 5K in Rosslyn, VA. I have run the race twice before so I knew the course (flat except for a tough uphill over the last 300 yards or so). My times in prior years were around 31 or 32 minutes. Yesterday I completed the race in 35:02. While I'm not happy with the time, I honestly have to say it's about what I expected. I ran the King Street Mile on New Year's Eve and struggled to a time of 9:01. I knew the 5K would be a struggle for me.
So the 2008 journey has begun. I'm already ahead of pace for my goal of 2 miles run per day. My right foot, which I broke in October, feels relatively good so I plan to continue to run a couple of miles a day over the next few days. I need to work on both speed and endurance so we'll see how it goes.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
First blog
Well, I suppose it is time to break down and join the 21st century. By that I mean beginning to write a blog. My focus for this blog will be to track my running exploits and to list my goals and observations. Maybe I'll also use this space to give my views on the world and life in general but we'll play that by ear.
Regarding running, I should start by saying the title of my blog adequately describes my running skils. I am indeed a slow runner. I couldn't break 30 minutes in a 5K this year. However, I am a prolific runner, having completed my 101st race of the year just earlier today.
As this nearly the new year, I've been thinking about my goals for 2008. I can start with the knowledge that I never want to run 100+ races in a year again. It's just too much work! My weekends were dictated by what races were being run nearby. I also found that I rarely ran other than in races. Not surprisingly, my times this year really suffered. Just last year I was able to break 28 minutes in a 5K. So this year we are going to focus more on quality and less on quantity (I'm glad I did the 100 though...it's a nice sense of accomplishment).
Anyway, this year we'll run between 50 and 60 races but my main metric will be total miles run, be it either in races or training runs. I'm looking to average 2 miles a day for the whole year. My cardiologist is on board with this amount of mileage and I think it will make me an overall better runner while reducing the stress that comes from racing so much.
OK...there it is! My goal for 2008 is out there for everyone to see. Boy, if that doesn't give me inspiration to get up every day and run and I don't know what will. I'll check in frequently and give updates on my status. Until then...all the best!
Regarding running, I should start by saying the title of my blog adequately describes my running skils. I am indeed a slow runner. I couldn't break 30 minutes in a 5K this year. However, I am a prolific runner, having completed my 101st race of the year just earlier today.
As this nearly the new year, I've been thinking about my goals for 2008. I can start with the knowledge that I never want to run 100+ races in a year again. It's just too much work! My weekends were dictated by what races were being run nearby. I also found that I rarely ran other than in races. Not surprisingly, my times this year really suffered. Just last year I was able to break 28 minutes in a 5K. So this year we are going to focus more on quality and less on quantity (I'm glad I did the 100 though...it's a nice sense of accomplishment).
Anyway, this year we'll run between 50 and 60 races but my main metric will be total miles run, be it either in races or training runs. I'm looking to average 2 miles a day for the whole year. My cardiologist is on board with this amount of mileage and I think it will make me an overall better runner while reducing the stress that comes from racing so much.
OK...there it is! My goal for 2008 is out there for everyone to see. Boy, if that doesn't give me inspiration to get up every day and run and I don't know what will. I'll check in frequently and give updates on my status. Until then...all the best!
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