The Loping Squid

Ferdinand

2009-06-05T19:30:00.005+01:00

I still exist.

I just haven't been running too much. Work has forced me into a long lay off w/ about 8 weeks in inhospitable for running conditions and weather. Then more travel that was not conducive to running. I've tried over the past two or three weeks even did a race this weekend. Considering how much I've been running, I really can't complain too much.

I do have 'A Plan.'

I have 3 more races this summer. I have no expectation of doing any better on them than I did last year when I ran the same ones.

Yesterday, I did what was supposed to be a 4ish mile run. I went with one of my normal running partners. Unfortunately, neither of us had been on this route for a while. So our 4ish mile run became about 10k (9.8 if you're counting).

The profile is below. It was good and hilly. And my legs are tired.

And here's the profile for the race from Saturday. You may remember from last year, this race was longer...

(not as cool as last year, eh?)

I (would have) Love(d) Paris in the Spring Time

2009-02-15T21:50:00.002Z

Well, it was probably inevitable. Work has gotten in the way of the rest of my life. As I almost predicted in this post Paris is off.

I'll be away for six weeks to a locale that does not support the runs I'll need (think: climate and safety...not necessarily in that order). Since Paris would have been my first marathon, I'm not willing to go into it without doing the requisite training.

It's all a bit disappointing really. I'm going to do some shorter runs/ races in this area after I get back, and try again for the late summer/ early fall time period. Hopefully, things will be better then. As the saying goes: Hope is not a course of action.

Refreshin news

2009-01-18T11:29:00.002Z

This story just restored some of my faith in the educational process. Odds of something similar happening in the U.S.?

My favorite quote:

"It's all down to the approach. You can bore people of any age with the wrong approach and you can enthuse people of any age with the correct one."

Long Run after lay-off

2009-01-18T10:34:00.003Z

Twelve miles yesterday. I'm not sure I've gone about this in a smart manner. I need to be a bit more intelligent and thoughtful about how I'm running.

As expected, I got one of my three programmed runs in last week. I was away the first portion, and just not in a good spot to run. Where the lack of smarts comes in is the week before. The previous week was a recovery week: three short easy runs. Last week was a mileage building week: long run (12 miles-which I accomplished), a tempo run (6 miles) and a short easy run (2 miles). If I'd been a thinking man, I would have run last weeks program two weeks ago, and used the travel week as the recovery week, thereby not missing the speed work. I'll need to keep this in mind.

As for yesterday's run, it went as well as could be expected. I didn't quite hit the goal pace (12 miles at 10:04-I did 12.1 at 10:34. I think, looking at the graph it was the end that really did me in. I felt slow during the last 2 miles or so. Just like I had to keep pushing the pace to get anywhere. (The fact that it was almost all uphill probably didn't help matters much.)

As you might discern from above, I'm not too happy with the run from yesterday. My legs are still quite sore. I'm hoping it's due to the one week layoff.

It was busy out there yesterday. In and around a park area there was significant traffic on the foot paths. Everyone from kids in strollers up to people so old I was surprised they could still get around and walk. The down side was, I had to wait to pass people sometimes. It was also very muddy (but luckily not icy). This is probably related to the fact that I ran in mid-afternoon, instead of early morning.

On the Paris front: I am now in possession of my medical certificate. That means the only thing between me and Paris is training.

Easy Run - Rougher Near Term

2009-01-10T20:59:00.004Z

I did a nice easy 6 miles today. The weather was warmer than it has been for a while. But, to be honest, I could have cross country skied out there today. It wasn't too icy though, so I again managed to stay upright.

This was an easy week. The miles start to pick up again next week. And on that note:

Tomorrow starts the rough part of my Paris Marathon preps. I'll be gone for a few days this week, and it only gets worse from here until March. I'll have to make a large effort to get the miles in.

On another note, you'll soon be reading in these pages how I've gotten hopelessly lost while out running. I've taken to just running on the trails that suit me at the moment. Today I ended up fording a mostly fozen stream, before climbing a snow crusted, pathless hill to find another trail to run on. Much fun.

On the subject of ice

2009-01-08T18:06:00.003Z

As proof that ice is not necessary for a good slip and fall, you only really need to watch the first 20 seconds or so.

(H/T to Minken)

Recovery Run Today.

2009-01-05T15:34:00.006Z

It was another cold day here in Germany. But I hornswaggled a co-worker into a 5 miler at lunch. It was a good run, just not exactly perfect.

-Whenever I run with someone, I pick the pace up. Even though we both tried to control the pace and keep it slow we failed. We ended up at about 9:50 /mile which was 20 seconds per mile faster than desired. The really sad part is that we knew we were going faster than we wanted. We checked several times. And while it's great having an instantaneous pace on your watch, and calculating rough average pace in your head, it's another thing altogether to control that pace. Still, I was armed with the information, so the problem is in my head, not with any bit of kit.

-It's been cold here for a while. I can't remember the last time the temperature was above freezing for any length of time. So today, when it finally started to snow (it's been in the forecast for weeks, but never actually occurred) the light dusting nicely covered up the icy patches. There were a couple of instances of slippy-slidey, but neither of us bought it.

-I got some good mental satisfaction from the run today. Not necessarily because of quality, but mostly because the two of us went outside for a run, while so many others decided to stay in because of the weather. That probably says something about me.

-It's definitely January. The gym locker room was packed. (Another good reason to run outside.)

-The next two months will be telling regarding my dedication to the Paris Marathon. I backed out of a personal mental conception of running the Dublin Marathon last fall because I didn't think my work schedule was going to permit the necessary training. I felt pretty weak for doing so after the fact. Hence, I made an open, public and financial commitment to run Paris this spring. Now, of course the work schedule is miserable-far worse than last fall. I have at least three and possibly four trips between now and the end of February. I'm going to need to remain flexible and get the long runs and quality tempo sessions I need or I'm going to be in trouble come April. Because I'm going to Paris.

-Next time I say I slipped and fell, if I can't caveat it with something along the lines of 'even though I put screws in my shoes' I'm going to feel stupid.

Morning Run.

2009-01-03T11:19:00.006Z

Really need to put those screws in my shoes...

Ran past some reservoirs this morning. One of which was bone dry. But the two next to it were pretty full. I'm guessing it's some sort of flood control measure? Or maybe maintenance on the pumping system? Goodness knows we've had enough rain/ snow to put water in them.

Scared the bejeebers out of a doe. Poor thing, kept running down the path I was on to get away from me.

It was cold: 20F when I left. Not much better now, but morning is the only time to get a long run in w/o having it take over your entire day. I must not be the only one who thinks so, despite the weather, I saw another 9 runners out this morning. That plus the deer, plus two Polizei out on foot patrol with MP5s. Not that many dog walkers out this morning though, only 4. There are usually many more of them out and about.

Odd things weather can do. I left the house with about 24 oz of water. I barely touched it. Maybe I was a little better hydrated to begin the run, but I suspect the weather. In the final phases of my workup for the Stuttgart half last June, I was putting down over 24 oz of water on runs of about the same distance. During the race itself (which was unseasonably hot) I did all my water bottles, plus just about every hydration point except the first.

Pure Nerd

2009-01-02T08:52:00.003Z

Yes, that's what they say I am here. Of course, this comes from a dating site, so I'm sure they're trying to make me feel better about myself. How that's supposed to happen I'm not sure. How, Blunoz (from whom I stole the entire concept of this post) ended up there, I'm not sure. If I were Sagey, I'd be worried!!!!!

My 'official' results are 72% Nerd, 17% Geek, and 26% Dork. I'm not sure I entirely agree with their assessment, but I'll live with it. I assumed that my dorkiness was a little lower than that. I'm waiting for the LW to take her test, but I suspect, like Blunoz' wife, she'll be absolutely normal.

Yes, that really is me to the right. From a recent holiday no less.

2008 Running Review

2009-01-01T18:15:00.002Z

Here's a quick summary of my last year in running:

(Note to self, it's easier to do this on the Runner's World training log, if you do it New Year's Eve, not New Year's Day.)

Miles Run: 519.13
Races Run: 5 (2x half marathon, 5ish mile, 5k, 5ish k)
Personal Bests achieved: half marathon 1:56:52

Goals for 2009:
Paris Marathon 5 April
If all goes well, one local marathon later in the year
Stuttgart half marathon
Find a decent local 10k to run
Avoid injury.

Winter Solution?

2008-12-31T21:33:00.002Z

Thanks to the LW for providing me the link to the screw shoe. What a clever idea. Once the snow and ice come back around here, I'm going to give this a try. Maybe it will solve my falling down problem. And I appreciate your thanks for skipping the obvious puns.

(H/T to EDRW)

99 Things to do...

2008-12-23T19:56:00.004Z

1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland/world

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise (I don't think what I've done meets the intent)

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo's David

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted.

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching (Don't think what I've done qualifies)

63. Gotten flowers for no reason (Given, not gotten. Although there's always a reason.)

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten Caviar

72. Piece a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had Chickenpox

89. Saved someone's life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

50/99 I guess that's not bad, although I wouldn't call some of them accomplishments.

(H/T to Gunslinger)

Silly Man. (again)

2008-12-15T17:21:00.003Z

I went out today to inaugurate the 'official' training period for the Paris Marathon. It was scheduled to be 3 miles at 10:10 and I just couldn't bring myself to do that. I went out with a co-worker and we did 5 at about 9:15 instead.

Overall, it was a good run, until we ran into the woman and her dogs. We were running two abreast on a decently wide (yet snow and ice covered) paved trail. She was on our right with one dog, and the other dog over on the left. There was also an older couple about 5m behind her, also on the right.

Being a rational beast, my co-worker took early and decisive action and fell in behind me on the left of the trail. Which, of course meant that the woman took her one dog over to join the other on the left. Right in our way. I'm sure this is some German custom about only passing port-to-port.

So, this required us to jump back over to the right. At this point my foot slipped on the ice, causing me to crash down on my left hip, knee and of course, wrist. This despite the fact that on the way out (this was the return leg of an out-and-back) I made specific note of how icy this area was. And how I really wasn't looking forward to running down this slope with all the ice. And how if I did slip, the one thing I really didn't want to do was to try to catch my whole body weight with my hand. But, yes, that's exactly what I tried to do.

So, my wrist which was just about 100% from Thanksgiving. Is now sore again. Joy.

Let's just hope this isn't a bad omen for the whole marathon experience. Which, thanks to the vagaries of U.S. Military medicine, I'm still not medically cleared to run. But the doc specifically said not to stop what I was already doing. So, to me that means I'm still cleared to 13.

Winter Wonderland

2008-12-14T21:06:00.003Z

I decided to ride into work on Friday. Mostly because I could. And I thought it would be fun. The official total was 17 inches for the week, but there wasn't more than about 5 inches on the ground.

Since I ride on trails, not roads, it wasn't clear. There was plenty of snow, just a bit of ice and pretty much no one. And it was quiet. Like I was in the middle of nowhere. Couldn't even hear the autobahn although I was less than 100m from it on numerous occasions.

Back tire sliding all over. Barely needed a light because the snow made everything so bright. My speed was no where near normal, but that was all part of the fun. I ended up walking up a few of hills, because I just couldn't keep traction on my back tire, and once I stopped I couldn't get going again. I also didn't really trust the brakes on the big down hills.

When I got home, there was about 2-3 inches of mud, snow and ice all over the bike. Great fun.

Post Turkey Day Recovery

2008-12-06T12:11:00.006Z

As those of you who read the better half's blog know, we went to the mountains for Turkey day with friends.What she might not have let on is that we went there with one of them.
So we had a great Turkey day dinner. Lovely desserts. Lots of fun with the kids (sledding, games, etc).

Tangent

Unlike most kids, our LM doesn't like things that go 'fast'. He's a bit of a scaredy cat. So, when we went sledding he wanted no part of going down the hill. Even when his friend went down. Even wen Daddy went down. He much preferred the one-horse-open variety of sledding. I'll give you three guesses who the horse was.

End Tangent

So, the day after thanksgiving, we decided to go for a run. Now mind you. It was cold. And snowy. So when we headed out at 8:30 it was an adventure. The temperature was about 2C. We headed out down the road, and turned off onto a foot path/bike path combination. It was covered in a combination of snow and slush.

Soon, it turned off into the woods. Where the path became just that: a single track path. Covered with snow and ice. It got so rough that we ended up walking for about 25m because we just couldn't get any traction while running up hill. Just too icy.

That was only the beginning of the fun though. Going down hill was even better. Slightly better trail conditions, but not much. And of course, since we were going down hill, I ended up on my derriere at one point. No serious injuries, just a sore wrist and bruised ego.

Still, it was a good run (except for the fact that he ran me into the ground going up hill). We made it back after an almost 4 mile run and all the moisture that had been wicked away from our skin onto the outer layer of clothing had turned to frost. Very cool look.

Kit Review

Garmin has gone and updated Garmin Connect again. I'm getting more and more satisfied with what they're doing there. Check out this new feature. It plots speed against elevation and steps through your workout together as it does so.

Holy Cow

2008-11-15T07:56:00.002Z

When I saw this was the most popular video on the BBC news website this morning, I was quite surprised. Seriously. Dominoes?

Then I watched it. Maybe it was the early morning hour. Maybe I was still slightly delirious from my run. But it was really cool. Watch and enjoy.

The Long Lay Off Ends and Others

2008-11-13T19:20:00.005Z

I've been silent for a while. Various factors came into play, but I'm back and running again.

I had a last minute business trip which caused me to miss a 10k I intended to run. This was unfortunate for a number of reasons, not the least of which was that the top times were within reach of my personal bests, so I might have been able to do relatively well. Of course, the route was very hilly so it might have impacted my potential times.

---------

I have found, looking back over my training records for the past year, that I am a much more reliable runner when I have a goal. So I've given myself a goal. We'll see how this works out. I had planned to do this in October, but I just couldn't get the time to train properly.

Stay tuned for updates. Encouragement and advice warmly accepted! (Remarks along the lines of 'you idiot', while not necessarily off base, are not.)

Kit Review

As my few regular readers recall (ahhh, alliteration...) I promised some updates on my Garmin Forerunner 405. I'm happy to say that it appears the Garmin people were reading my blog. They've made some improvements.

In summary my initial review was that the watch was great, but the Garmin Connect functionality kind of let it down. I'm happy to say that it appears they are working on my comments.

The Garmin Connect website is now significantly faster and smoother to use.
They adjusted the scaling on the elevation plot so you can actually see some details, instead of showing you from sea level up (great if you're in Groton, CT not so good if you're up over 1,000 feet). Below is an example of the new graph:

Here is what it used to look like (if you're curious, the route is approximately the same):

There are still some fixes I'd recommend. Highest among them is some data averaging or fairing (look at the graph of my lunch run from yesterday):

Lots of spurious data points there that could be faired. Still, we're moving in the right direction here, and I'm happy.

New Navy PT Test

2008-10-20T20:58:00.003+01:00

I took the real one last Friday. Beat my time from last fall by a massive 1 second. Sit ups and push ups just as good or better. So, overall i still get to put P/WS on my FITREP! What motivation.

Anyway, I shouldn't complain too much, I guess some services have it a little harder.

Time flies?

2008-10-05T21:39:00.002+01:00

I know I've written about my toy a bit lately here and here. But read this and take caution.

A co-worker of mine ran the Berlin Marathon this past weekend. Some miles in (about 14 or so if I recall) he stopped at a water stop. A short while later, he reached up and went to tap a friend on the shoulder and thought to himself "my arm feels a bit light". After a moment or two delay he realized that his Garmin was gone.

To the best of his knowledge it got knocked off in the confusion around the water tables. He went back to look for it, but there was just too much debris on the ground.

Needles to say, he ran the rest of the race angry and frustrated. He said he just jogged it the rest of the way.

That sucks. I guess the lesson here is make sure your watch is securely fastened to your wrist. That, and make sure you have insurance!

Equipment Review

2008-09-22T19:40:00.006+01:00

As promised, an update on my Garmin Forerunner 405.

I love the watch. I'm still not using a fraction of its capability, but I love it. I've been playing with some of the 'workout' features. Today I did some intervals: 0.5 miles with 2 minute recoveries between. It took all of about 2 minutes to program ahead of time and it was pretty easy to use.

I had one 'oops'. After hitting the 'Do workout' button a window pops up saying "hit lap when warm up complete' (or something to that effect). So I did my little warm up and hit lap...and...nothing. Turns out you have to hit 'start' to start the workout, but I'll take the hit on that one.

Here's the run I did today. Simple out and back, not too long:

I like the fact that you can see your run data displayed against time:

That's my heart rate against time.

You can do the same thing with elevation or pace too:

You may see above where I think things start to fall down a little bit. Look closely at the graphs. You've got heart rate against time, elevation against distance and pace against time. I'm not sure why they've selected it that way. It would make sense to have everything against time...or everything against distance...or even better, make it user selectable.

Second quibble: Look again at those graphs: particularly the elevation one. It goes all the way to sea level. That would have been fine last winter in DC, but here, not so good. There's a lot of wasted space on that graph and you cold see the elevation changes in much more detail if you could adjust the scale...even an auto scale would be more useful than that.

Third quibble: look at the pace against time. How about some data smoothing? That would make things more usable I think.

Last point for today: Garmin connect (the source of all the graphs and pictures from above) is slow. Not the downloading from the watch to the PC. I'm okay with that (and it's wireless). But navigating within the Garmin Connect site is very slow between pages, logging in and pretty much everything.

Things I'd like to see added:
-More user selectable options (as mentioned above)
-The ability to select a point on the geographic display and have the same point highlighted on which ever graph you are looking at.
-The ability to look at more than one piece of data on the same set of axes (i.e. elevation and pace against distance)
-Exportability (as a .gpx file or something similar)

A caveat: it may be possible to do some of the things I've mentioned above. If it is, I can't figure it out (and not for lack of trying). I'm willing to admit error though if someone can show me the light.

Overall, I love the watch. I'm living with Garmin Connect. I feel it's letting the watch down to some degree.

More Running in the News

2008-09-17T21:17:00.002+01:00

Strange how things come in groups.

The other night, the LW and I were talking about Top Gear and their impending world tour and British actress Kristin Scott Thomas came up. The very next day at work I was reading a news article from a Canadian news site and WHAM! Kristin Scott Thomas' picture in the margin linking to an article in the entertainment section. If you want a third, we watched Four Weddings and a Funeral last night, but that's probably related to the first two.

Then, after my last post about running and science, I find this article in the New Yorker.

Interesting discussion of the development of running in the U.S. from both a competitive and recreational standpoint. Also some interesting comments on the demographics of recreational runners. Did you know the readership of Runner's World has the same average income as that of Forbes? Or, how about how we poor-fair-mediocre recreational runners subsidize the elite (our shoe and clothing purchases and race entry fees pay their appearance fees and sponsorships with the major companies). Intuitively obvious, I'd just never thought of it that way before.

Will there be a third?

Running in the News

2008-09-16T18:53:00.003+01:00

Thanks to the LW for sending this to me. From ABC news of all places.

The thesis:

...[T]he human body took the ideal shape of a long-distance runner starting some 2 million years ago, the researchers say. The long, lean build helped us scavenge widely scattered kills and could also have been an advantage when hunting down prey over long distances.

Of course, one question not asked or answered in the article is "Who sponsored the research?" As usual, the LW cuts to the chase and asks the important questions. (She should know, she used to sponsor all sorts of research.)

Food for thought if nothing else.

Whoops (update 4)

2008-09-15T18:57:00.001+01:00

Really nice run today at lunch. Not even 3 mile, but it was on uneven ground and it was pretty fast (considering how little speed work I've done since my abortive injury fest on the track).

Ankle is still not 100%, but it's getting better!

Translations

2008-09-12T19:03:00.002+01:00

This, I believe, is why they send FAOs to language school. (Warning, LW snorted her wine with this one.)

Whoops (again...)

2008-09-08T19:06:00.002+01:00

Today was a big milestone in my ankle's recovery. I ran for 30 minutes on the treadmill. While I really prefer not to use them, I did it for a reason. I wanted a nice even running surface so I wouldn't have to worry about turning my ankle again. Basically, I wanted to baby it. And I did. And it felt fine. Stiff but fine. I'll venture out onto the trails again soon.

One of the nice aspects of running on a treadmill is that there are usually other people around. And sometimes they're quite humorous.

In the gym there are 2 rows of 3 treadmills, with 4 bicycles and about 10 ellipticals behind them. I got a late start to the gym today, so by the time I got there I had to grab the last open treadmill in the back row, far right. I got it set up and went to plug my headphones into the audio jack and alas, no audio.

So I was left with a choice of watching one of three TV programs-with no sound:

analysis of the presidential election on a news channel,
a rebroadcast of the Bears vs. Colts game from Sunday night, or
some movie that I couldn't identify.

Needless to say only one of those really lends itself to sound-free enjoyment.

It soon became obvious that the gentleman using the front left most treadmill was a big Chicago Bears fan. Every time something went their way, he'd let out a little cheer, every time something went wrong, a little exasperated sigh. This was going on for some time and it was really entertaining.

Everything was going swimmingly right until there was a "big play." I don't recall if it was a touchdown, interception, fumble, dropped pass or maybe a safety. What made it so entertaining was that as this was going on the poor guy ran off the side of his treadmill and tried to take a header into the control panel. Luckily he failed in his attempt and got right back up running again.

Nothing is more humorous than the travails of others.

So, I guess running on the treadmill isn't 100% safe either.

Whoops (update 3)

2008-09-07T13:13:00.002+01:00

I did 20 minutes on the elliptical on Friday. It felt really good. The ankle was a little stiff (likely from lake of use) but no pain. I felt good walking from the gym to the car to put my bag in the trunk.

Then I turned my ankle on a crack in the parking lot.

I suck.

Whoops (update 2)

2008-09-04T15:05:00.003+01:00

Well, the ankle is getting better. As expected the knee has not been an issue.

Following a strict RICE regimen it feels pretty good. Not 100%, but good. I did about 20 minutes on the bicycle in the gym yesterday without any pain, and I've done quite a bit of strength training (including lunges) without a niggle.

So I'm hoping to be back running soon, I just don't want to rush into it. I'm signed up as part of a team for a 24hr marathon relay next weekend and I'd like to not back out!

Whoops (update 1)

2008-09-01T09:50:00.003+01:00

I mentioned yesterday that the LM helped bandage my knee. Here is his handy work. He even offered one of his special band-aids to do it! I feel very lucky!

Whoops

2008-08-31T21:53:00.004+01:00

So.
I've been trying out some of the new features of my new watch. I figured that the auto lap detect feature was a great match for some speed work on the track. It's great. If you set it up properly, it will detect when you cross your own path and mark a "lap." Great feature.

I jogged up to the local track this afternoon to give it a try. I did the first two laps as a warm up then proceeded to alternate fast laps with slow laps. The 405 beeps every time a lap is detected, so I used that as my signal to pick up the pace or slow down.

Post run, the data the unit provides is pretty good (better than the Polar S120 I've been using anyway). Here's some of the data from my run. I didn't wear the heart rate monitor today. In the past, there has been interference on the track that prevents a good signal:

Lap

Time

Distance

Avg Pace

Avg Heart Rate

Avg Cadence

Calories

1	00:01:46	0.17 mi	10:42 min/mi	--	--	26 C
2	00:03:13	0.34 mi	09:34 min/mi	--	--	56 C
3	00:03:09	0.33 mi	09:24 min/mi	--	--	56 C
4	00:02:24	0.34 mi	06:59 min/mi	--	--	55 C
5	00:03:21	0.35 mi	09:41 min/mi	--	--	59 C
6	00:02:15	0.33 mi	06:45 min/mi	--	--	53 C
7	00:03:44	0.34 mi	11:00 min/mi	--	--	60 C
8	00:00:29	0.06 mi	08:25 min/mi	--	--	7 C

Now, the astute among you may say: "Gee, that's a short last lap. Only 0.06mi. What did you do? Wimp out?" Uh. No.

As I was rounding the first corner of the track, one of four things happened:

a) I hit an uneven spot, or
b) someone unseen by me threw something in my path, or
c) I hit the inner edge of the track, or
d) I tripped over my own two feet

I'm voting for b.

Anyway. The damage is done. I'm nursing a nice skinned left knee (which the LM has helped by putting a bandage on) and a swollen right ankle.

I'm not worried about the knee. Although it looked really bad at first. Luckily, what I initially thought was a massive abrasion and bruise turned out to be mostly some of the red surface of the track that rubbed off. After a shower it cleaned up nicely.

The ankle is ugly. It's the same ankle I've sprained on and off for years. We'll see how it develops. Right now I'm practicing the Ice and Elevation aspects of RICE. Compression will come in a few minutes.

The most frustrating thing? With all the running on trails, paths and other uneven surfaces I've been doing, where do I bite it? On a track! (and no, I wasn't looking at my pace on the watch when I did it).

Return

2008-08-28T21:13:00.002+01:00

So, I've been gone for 2 weeks.
Runs completed while on holiday: 0.

I've run twice since we've been back, and bicycled to work once. And I have one thing to say: Concrete legs.

I did get some new shoes while we were away. A pair of Asics trail running shoes. I figure I do most of my running on trails of some sort, so I'd give these a whirl. Plus it would give my other shoes a rest.

Oh, and I also got a new toy. I wore it for my run today. I'll see how I like it as time progresses. The initial report is good, although, I think I was looking down at my wrist every other step today!

Break

When you want a short diversion try this:

I got 34. Looking at the answers afterward, I just couldn't believe some of the ones I missed!

zzzzzzzzz

2008-08-07T21:17:00.002+01:00

I'll probably be away from posting for a while.
It's probably just as well. There's significant construction in the area I normally run. I can't run up the hill. I really can't get down to check on the amorous couple. Well, I could, but I'd risk getting run over by railroad repair equipment.

Busy Morning

2008-08-02T15:52:00.005+01:00

8.3 miles this morning, predominantly on trails. Slightly new route. Made a couple of wrong turns, but it all worked out in the end. Here are the totals:

21 runners
13 walkers
3 dogs
2 fishermen
2 Polizei
2 rabbits
2 deer
1 Buzzard (one of these, not one of these.) And no, it wasn't eating either rabbit.

Also found a hill like my nemesis, but 5x as long. And, of course, I wasn't going down it.

Race Report

2008-07-19T15:12:00.009+01:00

So, I woke up early this morning to do another half-marathon. This was a memorial run for troops killed in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Short Aside

Unlike the Stuttgart Half Marathon, I really didn't do any specific training for this one. Since that race was less than a month ago I just repeated the last 2 weeks of my program for that. I'd read something online about trying that method which put my mind at ease a bit. They also offered a simultaneous 5k. I'm glad I opted for the half marathon though.

End Aside

This all sounded like a good plan until they published the route about a week ago. Now, for your education, the Stuttgart Half Marathon was run through the streets of the city of Stuttgart, in a valley. So while there were some hills, it was mostly flat. For your viewing pleasure, the height profile of the Stuttgart Half Marathon:

Now, there are no height markers on that one, but the starting elevation was 218 meters, and the max elevation was somewhere near the 10th km and was about 258 meters.

The toughest parts of that race were the numbers and the heat. (See the post for details.)

Below is the elevation profile of the race from this morning. You'll note the slight difference.

Yeah, it was pretty miserable. I knew I was in for it right from the start. We started off on cobblestone (normal for around here), then shifted quickly to a dirt fire road, which quickly began a precipitous descent and transitioned into a rocky, muddy, rooty slope. Two immediate thoughts:

I wish I'd worn my trail running shoes. (Wait, I don't own trail running shoes!)
This is going TO SUCK on the way back. (It was an out and back course.)

And yes, it did suck on the way back.

My goal was to beat the Stuttgart time. Aside from the course I figured I had a few things going for me:

I'd done a good, longish speed work session recently. Over 8 miles at the pace I wanted to run the half at. I hadn't done that before the Stuttgart half.
Numbers. Stuttgart had well over 15,000. This one had about 80.
Weather. Over 30C for Stuttgart, about 15-20C for this one.

So I went out with the intent of trying, despite the hills, to beat my time from Stuttgart. I pushed pretty hard, especially on the climbs, then tried to recover as much as possible on the down hills. It seemed to work pretty well.

Until I got back to that muddy hill of despair. I didn't get passed going up, mostly b/c everyone else was just as beat (even the 5k runners who ended up mixed in with us towards the end, and must have helped me sub-consciously push the pace). It was a case running-gate, walking-pace. But I figured I could pick it up again at the top. Fat chance. I got to the top, with less than 1km to go, and I just couldn't pick it up. It was just like my nemesis from my lunch time runs.

Overall results were good. Better than I expected. I beat my previous best by over 7 minutes! Very happy. Slept most of the afternoon.

Uh-oh

2008-07-11T21:51:00.002+01:00

I think someone stuck a hidden camera in a staff meeting:

In The Know: Situation In Nigeria Seems Pretty Complex

Firecracker!

2008-07-04T11:11:00.004+01:00

This morning I ran the local Fourth of July 5k. I'm quite pleased with the final results. Without any training for a 5k (only the half training to fall back on), I managed to best my previous PR for 5k by more than a minute. Which leads me to question the distance of the race. I'm not entirely sure it was really a full 5k. I'll measure it later but for now I'll bask in the glow of my success.

Even better, I finished 3rd overall in my age division (although, if the race was run last Saturday I would have finished 2nd) and 15th over all. The top two finishers were also the top two in my age group. They finished about 5 minutes before me. Still, I'm happy with the results.

Now, as for the organization. The roads weren't closed, but that didn't really matter because there wasn't any traffic to speak of, and the two spots were there might have been traffic there were police to keep the roads clear.

The issue was advertising. The only way I found out about it was the local "Fourth of July Events" flier. It was not advertised on the website where races are normally advertised. I'm kind of surprised they had the turn out they did (about 60).

As a temper to my happiness, I did get 'out-kicked' by a 14 year old. Again. Oh-well.

Update 5 July

Well, it was too good to be true. The race yesterday was only 4.74k, so my time wasn't as good as I'd thought. In fact, my pace was a hair slower than my previous PR, so I've "re-instated it".

The Continuing Saga...

2008-07-02T20:46:00.005+01:00

Today, I had the first speed session that I've been remotely happy with in over a month. I went out for a short fartlek at lunch and it wasn't 'Bad.' It wasn't great, but it wasn't bad. Even my nemesis the hill wasn't that bad. I pushed up it as hard as I could, without slowing to a snail's pace.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

For those of you following the continuing saga of the amorous couple: no sighting today, however, I think they're bringing their relationship out into the open. On Monday, (in addition to seeing a guy running in shorts and body armor) I spotted them out enjoying their 'lunch.'

Their cars were parked in the normal location (one small hatchback, one mini-van/MPV with two children's (?) name stickers on the back windows). But instead of being pressed up against each other between the cars, they were across the road leaning up against a railing. (Have I mentioned before that this location is about 50m from a sewage treatment plant? I hope I'd pick a better spot for an amorous rendezvous.)

Two random

2008-06-26T18:52:00.002+01:00

thoughts for Thursday.

- I sent the following email to the LW today from work:

Okay, I admit it.

I've seen a bunch of people out running/jogging over the past couple of days.

I've felt REALLY BAD that I haven't run all week.

Is this a good thing or a bad thing.

I know logically: I ran a half-marathon on Sunday. My foot has some nasty blisters that need to heal. I have worked out and I'm going to cycle in tomorrow.

But I still feel like I should be running!!!!

I think I have a problem.

- Littleman's new bike. Holy cow. The kid's a speed demon!

Stuttgart Half Marathon

2008-06-22T16:08:00.007+01:00

The observant among you may have noticed the added Personal Record in the left column. It's not hard to record a new PR when it's your first race at the distance!

Looking back at previous posts, you may also realize that 2:03:18 isn't quite the time I was hoping for. Honestly, as the race went, I'm quite happy with it. It was a lot of fun, and very crowded (well over 15,000 runners). Complete with samba bands, cheerleaders (yes, German cheerleaders I'm not kidding). But I get ahead of myself.

We left the house and took the train which was fine, except as we got closer and closer to the start the train got more and more crowded. While the race wasn't as big as last year's Marine Corps Marathon, unlike the DC Metro the Stuttgart transit system didn't throw on any extra trains...just the normal Sunday schedule (i.e. one every 30 minutes).

Once we got there things were fine. We made our way to the starting area and had quite a bit of time. More than we expected, since we planned (conservatively of course) to get there 30-45 minutes early. We just didn't expect the 45 minute delay in the start time. It worked out alright though, b/c the LM got to watch the hand bikes warming up (the picture is of a rider getting his medal but you get the idea.) The thing that worried me, was that as we were standing there waiting to start, it just kept getting hotter and hotter.

Herein was the big problem with the day. Heat. All of my long training runs had been done in the morning. Usually completed by 10:00. The race was scheduled to start at 9:00, so I should have been done by about 11:00. But add in the 45 minute delay... That and the average temperature for the past few weeks has been hovering about 17C/63F Yesterday the temperature was about 32C/90F. This created some serious problems

Tangent

One of my co-workers today uttered the following words while talking about his mountain bike race and my half marathon this weekend:"All those super thin people had a lot of trouble, but you and me, we've got nothing to worry about!" (This from a guy who is going to ride the Trans-Alp mountain bike race later this summer, so I didn't feel too bad.)

End Tangent

Because it was hot, and I really didn't feel acclimated, I didn't push it. And I'm glad I didn't. There were a lot of people having a lot of trouble. This was most evident in the later miles of the race. Going up a slight hill about km 15 or so, I had the runner in front of me start weaving all over the course (right into the arms of a fireman). Then, most disturbingly in the 19th km, I heard yelling up ahead. In a small alley way off the side of the course I caught a glimpse of a runner-a man-with blood dripping down his knees, screaming in agony, thrashing about on the ground being restrained by several medical workers and race stewards. Yeah, great weather.

I must say though, the people of Stuttgart were just great. Lots of support along the way, music, cheerleaders, a couple of drunk guys dancing about... But most importantly, quite a few of them (and some firefighters manning the routes in their trucks as well) took it upon themselves to spray down runners as we went by. Much appreciated!

The above water sprays were especially appreciated because the actual race water stations were pretty uncoordinated. Things pretty much came to a stop as soon as you approached one. Which slowed everything down. A lot. This was probably the low point of organization for the run, which was really unfortunate. I was just glad I had my belt on.

As for the sights and sounds. I'll leave you this link to the LW's blog. She's covered most of the highlights. Just let me add, she didn't see the post race showers! To be blunt, there's not a lot of modesty to the German character. Basically open air showers, with a little screen separating the men from the women. But of course, the men's showers were open to just about anyone. (The ankle deep water in the showers themselves was just an added bonus!)

Overall, my griping aside, it was a great time.

- - - - - - -

Kit review:
Amphipod belt: good, no irritation, I wore 3x 8 oz bottles (probably should have worn 4) and the pouch with Jelly Belly Sport beans.
New UA running shirt: I'd worn it a couple of times over the past few weeks and it was great. No irritations at all
UA shorts: this is the first problem I've had with them, even though I've worn them numerous times (long runs included) I had some chaffing issues. (The link is to the newer version of the shorts I was wearing.) I've got to think the chaffing was made worse by the heat, humidity and the fact that I was continually doused in water and/or sweat.

MASSIVE BLOG REDESIGN!!!!!!!!!!

2008-06-17T20:04:00.002+01:00

Okay, so it's just a new header.
But what a new header it is!!

Many, many, many thanks to the LW for her incredible artistic and digital skills in designing my new logo and header!!!
(Yes, that's custom original artwork by the LW! Isn't she great!)

One Week To Go...

2008-06-15T13:26:00.004+01:00

Yesterday was my last long run before the half-marathon next weekend. As the LM's soccer season is over, I didn't run the normal route. This gave me bit of freedom to choose my direction and route.

Thus the quandary. I spent a bit of time on Friday night pouring over a trail map, Google Earth and the like trying to find a good loop of about 11 miles to run. The problem is, there are tons of trails in the woods around here. Most of them have names. Many of them don't. And some of those that are named don't match what's on the map or Google Earth. For instance, on my route to the LM's soccer games I run on Sindelfingenspitzweg, which on on the maps isn't labeled and on Google Earth is labeled Sindelfingenweg. To make it more interesting there are dozens and dozens of trails that aren't on either, but are just a wide and well used so counting left turns or what ever just doesn't work. Confusing? Yes.

After about 30 minutes, I'd mapped myself out a nice run that ran around some lakes and ponds, up towards a local palace. Then it hit me. I didn't have names for about 80% of the paths I'd mapped myself onto. So instead, I opted for the easy way out.

The Radel-thon. The Radel-thon is an 80km bike path that encircles Stuttgart. It's a combination of dirt, gravel and some paved areas. I did some quick calculations and an easy to follow 6 mile out 6 mile back route to run.

So I followed it yesterday morning. It was easy. Signs at almost every junction help keep you on the right path, so that wasn't a real worry. Even better, it went over nice rolling hills followed a stream passed a couple of ponds, and was devoid of vehicles. It even turned out (by design of course) that the route was almost completely a gentle up hill (with a few steep sections and some downhills of course) on the way out, and consequently down hill on the way back.

Tangent

They have some massive wood carvings in the area of the Bärensee there are massive wood carvings. By massive I mean a 20 foot tall tree stump that has been carved into chain links, and a downed tree carved into a giant alligator (you get the picture?) There are massive play areas for the kids, and shelters with grills interspersed in the woods. It's just a great area that we're going to have to get out into as a family and do some hiking.

End Tangent

As for the race prognosis:

I've no doubt the distance is doable (yesterdays run was a couple of yards short of a half-marathon).
I'm more worried about pace. I've had troubles finding and meeting the pace for my longer runs. More worryingly, I've missed some of the longer tempo runs over the past 3 weeks. A couple were due to just being flat. For instance this Wednesday I went out for a 'tempo' run and I just had nothing. I ended up with a short easy run instead, b/c I just couldn't do anymore. But annoyingly, some of the runs in the program I'm using just aren't going to happen. I don't know about any of you, but I just don't have the time to do 8-10 mile tempo runs in the middle of the week. I may have to rethink some of my schedule if I really want to get them done. Move the runs from lunch time to early in the morning. That would really put a cramp in my life though, so I'll have to really think about that.
Physically I feel fine. I have a slight ache in my hip, but it goes away as soon as I start running.
So I think I'll finish (barring catastrophe). Will I get in in under 2 hours? I don't know. The missed tempo runs worry me a little, but yesterday's run was a few yards short of the distance and I finished in about 2:05. The course is flatter than what I ran yesterday, and there will be the 'adrenalin' of being at a race. So I'm hopeful. If not, well, I'll just need to try a bit harder on the next one!

Hyper Sensitivity.

2008-06-08T08:25:00.004+01:00

Yesterday day was long run day. I ran the same route that I ran last weekend. It's just under 12 miles from our house to where the Little Man plays soccer on the weekends.

Tangent

It was his last game. He did great. Actually kicked the ball a couple of times! The fact that he was on the sideline two of those times is beside the point! He even did well enough to get a new Doctor Who toy. Who said bribery doesn't pay! He started the season as one of the archetypal first time soccer players. Not paying attention to the coach. Not paying attention to the ball. Just kind of wandering around the field randomly: "hmmm what pretty flowers....ohhh! that blade of grass is longer than the rest! I must pluck it! What was that round thing that just bounced off my back? I'd best fall down and cry!"

End Tangent

Like last week, my legs felt very heavy through most of the run. I tried to push through the second half though. (I had the incentive to get to the field on time, and last week I'd barely made it.) I managed to shave some time off the total from a 10:04 pace to a 9:54 pace. But I noticed something odd.

The route is mostly on fire roads and gravel/dirt trails through the woods. There are some pronounced hills (like part of the big one and the last one from the last race). But I noticed something odd. I've run this route or it's constituent parts at least three times in the past. But yesterday I noticed something. Lots of those stretches that I'd previously mentally classified as "flat" weren't. Pretty much the whole thing was either a moderate up or moderate down slope. (In my mind yesterday it was pretty much all gentle up!)

Just a silly change in perception. Anyway, 2 weeks until the half marathon.

Kit note:
The Amphipod belt still working well. Still no big issues, no real bouncing which was my main concern. Most of the time I don't even know it's there. One of my concerns was the ability to get the bottles back into their clip holders while running. It's really not a problem. They just nicely slip in with a nice 'click'.

Still Not Home

2008-06-03T18:43:00.002+01:00

Right.

It appears that last post drew some reaction.

First, in response to the Sagey/Blunoz double team to my ego:

Yes I admit it. I brought the Wii fit to your attention.

However, was it not the Sagey Blunoz' that tried to push the value of the X-box on me a year or so ago? ;-)

The NYT article Sagey mentioned is here.

Also, it is not just Sagey and Blunoz on a (presumably) unpaid marketing campaign on behalf of the Nintendo corporation. The LW recently reunited with her long lost best friend. Read her husband's most recent post.

...all the way home

2008-06-02T19:20:00.003+01:00

Our good friends Sagey and Blunoz are acting like delinquent teenagers. Imagine your worst experience as a high schooler: "Come-on! Everybodies doing it!!!"

They want us to buy a Wii.

We're trying to talk ourselves out of it. The Wii Fit looks really fun. But we're just having trouble justifying the investment of money (minor issue) and time (major issue) that bringing that box into the house will entail. But we had a run in today.

We were in the local "shop" waiting for the thunder and lightning to clear out. And there was a big sign:

ENTER HERE!!

NINTENDO Wii GAME SYSTEM!!!!!!

So, living up to the tattoo I have on my forehead, I walked over and reached for the pen and pad of entry slips. And as I'm getting ready to start entering data on the slip I look more closely at the sign: "Drawing on 14 June..." blah blah blah...

Then I notice the small print:

ENTER HERE!!

For the opportunity to purchase a

NINTENDO Wii GAME SYSTEM!!!!!!

So, I put the pen down in disgust and walked away. Rational thought prevails (for today anyway).

Unsolicited Commercial Endorsement

2008-05-31T07:13:00.002+01:00

Living overseas, we do a lot of internet shopping. It's a great way to get a wide selection and still pay in $ vice paying in € or even worse in £. A company I was turned on to by a fellow running blogger The Running Warehouse.

Wide selection, quick turnaround (usually w/in a week, and we have to wait on the USPS) and they've sent me what I ordered every time! My only criticism is that some of there items only ship through UPS, not priority mail so I can't order them). Although, for those who live in the continental 48 (sorry Blunoz) they have free 2-day shipping, and free return shipping.

Even better, they've got a promotion of some sorts going on right now, and if you place an order over a certain value, you get a free reusable cloth shopping bag.

It's Kind of Like Riding a Bike

2008-05-29T19:10:00.006+01:00

Cross Training. I've decided to do it a bit more. The bog-standard Runner's World half-marathon plan has 2-3 days of "Rest/Cross Train" per week. I've tried to do something other than run at least one of those days.

It started off with just riding the stationary bike a the gym.

Then I moved on to doing a little strength training.

Tangent

I don't really like strength training to much. I can't explain why. I just never really have. I fall for the oldest trick in the book all the time. "I just need to get in better cardiovascular condition first, then I'll start worrying about strength training," I tell myself. Then the semi-annual PRT rears its head. I realize I haven't done a push-up since the last one. I panic. I over train. I burn myself out. I grow to dislike strength training even more. When the PRT is over, I just go back to cardio. Repeat until next PRT.

End Tangent

I've struck upon a better idea now (it doesn't really address the strength training though..).

Today, I cycled in to work and back home.

It was fun. Not easy, but fun.

I'd scoped the route by running it half-way from home and half-way from work. This morning I rode in for the first time. About 7.6 miles each way. I'm quite proud of myself, as the route is anything but flat. I even made it up the first big hill without too much difficulty (the same one that was at the beginning of my latest race). It was pretty much cake from there.

Right up till the end.

I'd talked with another guy from work who cycles in the same way occasionally. He'd warned me about a hill. Now, this is a hill I've 'run' up numerous times, but I'm not sure if I've written about it. It almost always ends up at the end of my lunchtime runs. It is the bane of my existence. Regardless of my intentions, by the top of this not-too-long hill I'm moving at a walking pace with a running gait.

So, for-warned is for-armed, no? Well....no. I knew the hill was coming, so I built up to max speed on the straight away leading to the hill....as fast as my wee little haven't cycled in 11 years legs would take me. Then: foiled again! What I'd failed to recall, what I didn't seem to remember, regardless of having run this way numerous times, was that the way I was going, I had to make a hairpin turn at the base of the hill, reducing my speed too essentially zero. Great plan. Needless to say, my cycle up the hill ended up resembling my runs up the hill. Walking pace, but this time pushing a bicycle.

Final Tangent

I've decided to keep the bicycling up once or twice a week, weather and my work schedule permitting. I just need one more piece of important kit. Glasses. I swear I pulled a dozen flies out of my eyes over the course of 40 minutes.

End Tangent. End Post

Doggie Paddle

2008-05-19T18:33:00.003+01:00

(Thanks for the title LW)

There's been a lot of rain here lately. Well, there's always a lot of rain here.
Today on my lunch run, I ended up in the middle of it, literally.

I passed the small parking lot with the amorous couple and noticed the beginnings of a puddle. No trouble, I figured, I'll stay toward the shoulder. Which worked well, until the puddle spread to the shoulder. So up I went onto the curb. Which worked well until I had to decide, thanks to my balance, whether to risk a twisted ankle or suck up the wet shoe. (Did I mention this is just where the local sewage treatment plant discharges into the stream?) Well, needless to say, I had a wet foot. But only one, which I figured was okay. A decent small sacrifice.

Until I fully rounded the corner, and saw that the puddle was in reality a small flood, completely covering the road, curb shoulders, right up to the hill side.

The only bright spots here:

I didn't get my other foot wet as I turned around to go back, and
I got a chuckle from the amorous lady who disengaged from her beau long enough to laugh at me.

So, all was well. I continued my run with my one moderately wet foot. I was trying a new route. An out an back that would take me half way home. I'd done the other half a couple of weeks ago during the weekend. The goal being to scout the route to support future bicycling to work.

Well when I say well, I mean almost well. I had a run in with a dog.

A young girl of about 13 was out walking her dog. A big happy looking guy about the size of a large border collie. Not on a leash of course. As I ran by, he trotted out to follow me with a big ol' doggie grin on his face.

While he looked friendly enough, I really didn't want to push him. So I slowed down to a slow jog (compared to the scorching pace I had been maintaining of course). And he just kept pace with me, big doggie grin and all.

So I stopped. All this time, the girl is calling her dog: "Fido, Fido, Komm!" to no avail. Eventually, she broke out the dog whistle. And the dog turned and faced her, then turned and faced me with a big "Will you let me run with you" look on his face. (Or at least that's how I interpreted it. Maybe it was German dog for "One more step and you're mine!") I think what really saved me was another runner coming from the other direction. She distracted him enough for me to slowly jog off.

Now, for some reason, I brought my drink bottle with me today. Not that it was that hot. But I guess, I could have used that to give the dog a big squirt in the face if it came down to it. That would I'm sure have either solved the problem or pissed the ever-living bejeezes out of him. Needless to say, after I was a good way clear, I gave the bottle a good test squeeze and it produced a nice solid stream of water. Would it have worked? I'm glad I didn't have to find out.

I've only had one other "run-in" with a dog while running. Back in England while running with a friend we were "threatened" by a dog. Right on one of the waterfront cycle/walking paths in Portsmouth's Northend. It was a real mean sounding thing, baring it's teeth, growling, sneering, drooling. All 10 pounds of it. I think a swift kick would have sent it spinning into the muddy low tide water.

I discussed this with the LW when I got home. We decided for 'grab the throat and choke' over 'gouge the eyes' when in extremis with a dog.

Cobblestone Classic

2008-05-18T09:20:00.019+01:00

Race Report.
Yesterday morning I ran the Cobblestone Classic 5 mile run. Tag line "Where Tanks Once Tread" (To find out why, read the Tangent below). A Five mile course from Patch Barracks to Panzer Barracks along Panzerstraße.

Warning: Long Historical Tangent Ahead.
(A tip of the hat to Blunoz for format)

Patch Barracks was originally called Kurmärker Kaserne and was constructed starting in about 1936, by, you guessed it, our good old German friends...

Panzer Barracks (originally Panzer Kaserne) was built around the same time. Kurmärker Kaserne was the home for the 7th Panzer Regiment...

...it had the headquarters area, offices, barracks, support facilities and the like...

...and Panzer Kaserne had the training area and shooting ranges for the Panzers.

To get from Kurmärker to Panzer Kaserne, they needed a road. Just any old road wouldn't do. Tank treads tend to be a little rough on asphalt, and they'll turn dirt roads to mud. So they came up with a solution:

Cobblestones

Great for tanks not so good for knees and ankles!

The bases were needed to support the newly re-arming German military during the run up to the Second World War. They played a supporting role in the military re-occupation of the Rhineland.

Kurmärker Kaserne didn't make it out of the war too well:(Nice bullet holes above)

The combined USAF and RAF gave it a bit of a plastering.

The 7th Panzer Regiment didn't do that well either. It surrendered in Tunisia and finished the war in POW camps back in the U.S.

(Source note: all of the above photos came from a EUCOM history brief about Patch Barracks. I cannot attest to the status of copyright on any of them).

End Tangent.

This is at least the 3rd running of the Cobblestone classic (which I know only b/c I saw a 2006 Cobblestone Classic T-shirt).

I've fallen off the wagon the last week. I did 11 miles last Saturday, and due to an equipment malfunction (sock position) ended up with some nasty blisters on my right foot. I ran again on Monday, only 4.5 miles and really regretted it. So I took the rest of the week off. (Which has some implications for my half-marathon training plan but in the short term really made my legs feel heavy when the race started. But it did give my blisters enough time to heal which was really what I needed.)

The race started alright. I made a conscious decision to start nearer the front this time. In past races I've spent a lot of time and effort at the beginning of the run playing dodge 'ems with slower runners, walkers and stroller pushers starting near the front. That worked out better than my past starts. (No, there were no starting guides or any order at all really to the start. Just "line-up and go". Very un-Armylike.)

The problem was I felt miserable pretty much from the start. Legs heavy, lungs weak. To make things worse the course was not easy. Pretty much immediately after leaving Patch Barracks it enters the woods, where it remains till the end, so the scenery is nice.

But there are the cobblestones. And there are the hills. It's pretty much just a series of hills for the entire 5 miles. With a nice long one at the beginning. (see the profile below). I'm not a hill running champion, I tend to slow down quickly, and get very slow as they go on.

I did have the advantage of having run almost all of the course before. I've explored most of the woods through which the course wound during my weekend long runs, except for the last half mile or so.

Needless to say, my "good start" stopped about mile 1 1/4 when the first real uphill began. I continued to trudge up the hill passing the 2 mile mark near the top of the hill at 16:16, a bit of quick and easy mental gym: 8:08 pace. Not exactly scorching.

Finally at the top, I sped up a bit as the course leveled out for a little bit and then began a slow relatively steady descent. I was able to maintain that pace, running next to a co-worker who had a GPS watch. It said we were running sub 6:00 pace. It lied. No way. We were holding an on/off conversation, which I cannot do at a sub 6:00 pace. Besides, we were maintaining pace for waaaaay too long for me to be sub 6:00. Even counting the downhill.

If you look at the elevation profile below, it was the second to last hill that really did me in (the one that starts at mil 4.3 or so). I think I pushed the pace a little too hard going up, trying to run with the same guy. Consequently, I didn't have much left.

To make matters worse, I started hearing a slapping footfall behind me. Getting closer. And closer. Soon enough, a scrawny little 11 year old boy just screams by. Very disheartening. About 5 miles in and passed by an 11 year old.

Then came the coup de grace to my race. Where was the finish? I just felt I had to be nearing the 5 mile end. We turned off the main trail that I'd run before onto a side trail I was unfamiliar with. As we curved around in the woods, I was really needing that 5 mile end point. My legs felt dead. My lungs weren't much better.

Then around the corner!

(Commence inner dialogue)

A sign! 5 miles!!! Joyous day!

But...wait....where ...(pray tell) is the finish line??? Refreshments????? The END??!!!!

Ahhh, [expletive deleted] race organizers!
Can't even advertise the real [expletive deleted] length of the [expletive deleted] race!
Yeah, but they sure can find a [expletive deleted] hill to make us run up.
Must have been a [expletive deleted] Marine again. [expletive deleted]

(End dialogue)

Well, eventually I did see the end, around a corner up a hill (of course).

Finish time: just over 42 minutes. Pace actually slower than my PB 10k time.

But honestly, with the hills, I'll take it. And it was fun. Just wish they'd said it was 5.something miles, not "5 miles".

Call me Corrigan

2008-05-10T19:30:00.005+01:00

It all started a few weeks ago. I went for a long run on a new route. I was going to meet the LW and Little Man for his soccer game. I wanted to do about 8 or 9 miles, but the field is only about 5 miles away. So I went to a convenient online mapping service, scouted out a route. Looked simple enough, and I ran it.

It started well, but I'd run most of the beginning of it in pieces before. The trouble came when I entered new territory. You see, it wasn't on roads, but trails. There are plenty of trails around here. Most of them are probably better described as forest roads, because they are so wide, they are however, closed to traffic which makes it a very attractive place to run.
But they're just not marked very well. So needless to say, I went a little astray. My 8-9 mile run turned into a 9.5 mile run. Not too bad. Except it was cold and rainy.

(And his game ended up getting canceled:

Name at end of alphabet
last call on roster
didn't get the call before LW left the house
Glad coach wasn't there, I'd have been bailing LW out of prison.)

Fast forward one week. I'm in North Carolina for a conference. I ran the first morning (it's great to be time zones ahead so you can wake up early and go for a run without the misery of waking up early.) It was a nice short one. No problems, just a little drizzle at the end. Over the course of the next two days I find a running route map outside one of the conference rooms. Eureka! It's perfect. I take a look that night and find a nice 6ish mile loop to run the next morning.

Great plan. 6ish mile loop. On trails. In the dark. In an area I've never run in before. Can you see where this is going? I think the best thing that can be said about that run is that I couldn't find the trails in the dark, therefore I didn't get miserably lost trying to follow them. My 6ish mile loop became a kinda 4ish mile loop with spokes shooting off it! Here's the loop, you just lose a bit of the frustrating "shoot, dead end!" aspects of it.

Fast forward to this morning. Not wanting to repeat my past mistake, I took a very close look at the route online. I saw where I'd gone wrong: I needed to take a left immediately after the house by the train tracks, last time I'd gone straight. So armed with that, and a list of the names of the three trails I needed to hit, I was off.

Yeah. Well little did I know, there were TWO left turns, only one of which was marked on any map, and you just couldn't see the other on any overhead imagery I could find. (Anyone think of asking Google if they could do a winter global overlay? No pesky trees to block trails.)

So needless to say. I got to do a bit more exploring. Due to my natural sense of direction (LW suppress that snicker), I found my way back to the main cobblestone trail and finished up. Nine miler becomes 11 miler. But....I didn't miss the Little Man's soccer game, or my name would be Mudd.

The good thing is, I've found quite a few neat paths through the woods, and with the summer coming it will be just lovely to explore some more.

Kit notice:
I bought an Amphipod Hydration belt online. I figured with running longer distances in the summer weather I'd need something more than the single 20 ounce Ultimate Direction bottle I had. (I'd gotten that one free a couple of summers ago in Hawai'i when the Ultimate Direction sales rep was in the shop when I went in to buy some new shoes). I really liked the bottle in the Ultimate Direction set up, but holding it in my hand just got a little annoying. So I bought the belt and ran with it this morning. It was great. I was worried about bounce, but there was none. I had to do a little tweaking with bottle position, but luckily that's not too hard. Over all very satisfied after one run. We'll see how it goes as the summer progresses.

Hmmm

2008-04-23T19:53:00.002+01:00

I have a couple of routes I rotate through at lunch. But most of them pass by a small parking lot near some foot paths through the woods. Frequently (usually more than once a week) there are the same two cars parked there. Standing between the two cars are the same too people: one man, one woman probably about 40 years old or so. They are usually in some degree of embrace. I'm not sure what they're up to.....

PT Test

2008-04-19T12:16:00.003+01:00

Friday morning was the dreaded Navy Fitness test (The Physical Readiness Test or PRT). I can imagine what you may be thinking: "Navy? Fitness? Give me a minute here, I need to stop laughing..." Seriously, it is far harder than you think to climb 4 ladders with a cup of coffee a donut and a lit cigarette without dropping / spilling / extinguishing any of them.

Okay, so maybe that's not it. The Navy test is (I'm ashamed to say) very similar to the Air Force test, and shorter than the Army or Marine Corps tests. It's just push-ups, curl-ups and a run. There is also the "sit and reach." Sit on your rear and touch your toes with your legs straight. The sit and reach is obviously the most important, because if you can't touch your toes you get some gentle encouragement to try harder next time.

Anyway we did the run, 1.5 miles on an out and back course. This was the first PRT I've run in
Stuttgart, and it's the first organized one I've run since leaving the U.S. in 2004 so I was a little unsure of how the run would go. After doing less than stellar on the push-ups and sit-ups I took a look at the numbers to figure out how fast I needed to run. Based on what I saw, I needed 11 minutes.

So after a short walk to the start line, and wait for "the turn around guy" to make it out to the turn around, we were off. There were about 20 of us.

We started off and it felt awful. Legs of cement, lungs of mush. I managed to stay near the front of the "pack" to about the 1/3 mile point or so and I started feeling a little better. I was using the "try to stay up with the guy in front of you" method.

We got to the turn around, and "turn-around-guy" says "5:08." "Drat" says I (or something similar). I've got to pick up 30 seconds or so on the return leg! So I shifted to the "try to pass the guy in front of you" method. Well, I managed to quickly pass the guy I had been keeping pace with leading up to the turn around, and started closing in on another guy. And as I do so I think. "Wait a minute here, I was 30 seconds AHEAD of my pace at the turn around!" (yeah, brilliant for the guy who does mental gym while running...).

To keep this overly long story from growing any longer, I finished in 10:15, which was my fastest time since I was a Midshipman. It also meant I ran a slightly negative split (by a second). It also means I was aided by the down hill return leg!

New Shoes

2008-04-15T17:34:00.003+01:00

Yes. The old ones were dead. 270+ miles (so even at ridiculous UK prices my shoes ended up costing just under $0.50 per mile).
I strapped on my new shoes for a nice muddy run today.

Holy cow. I had a new spring in my step. So, now my nagging achey hip needs to go away, and all will be good with the world.

(Of course, the lovely and supportive wife calls it "oldgeezeritis")

M-1R

2008-04-09T19:21:00.004+01:00

Yes, it's been a month. I have a job. I have been running, but not blogging.

I've had a recurring problem on my runs lately. If I were driving I'd call it highway hypnotism. Twice in the past three weeks, while out on my Saturday morning long run I've found myself so engrossed in thought that I missed my turn. Seriously, my mind was so consumed with important thoughts that I ran right past where I needed to turn (the same place twice).

Here's the thing. I have no idea what I was thinking about. Even as it dawned on my I wasn't where I needed to be, you could have offered me $1,000 and I couldn't tell you what had distracted me. Must have been interesting though.

So here's a question, when you're out running, away from people what do you think about? My mind tends to wander to strange things:
-Children's television theme songs
-Mental gymnastics
-Conjugating French verbs.

*Bonus points to anyone beside Kevin who can decipher the title.

Meanwhile...

2008-03-09T18:48:00.003Z

...back at the blog's stated purpose...

Frequently needing a bit of motivation to get out and run I think I've sorted it for the first half of the year. I enjoy getting out and running, don't get me wrong. But sometimes I just need that little extra bit of motivation.

I found a local 5k to run the end of the month. But that's not a long term 'investment in motivation'. So, I've also launched a campaign to run something a bit grander (for me anyway). I've signed up for the local Half Marathon in June.

The motivational aspect is already bearing fruit. I didn't really want to get up Saturday and run. It was cold (2C) grey and mostly rainy/misty. But I needed to run. The only day I have to do long runs in Saturday. If I don't do it early in the morning, I won't get the chance either. Too many distractions: "Daddy, please don't go run I want to play." So I did it, and still managed to get back at a reasonable hour and have plenty of family time.

So, in the interest of full disclosure of half marathon preps:
Total miles this week: 19.0 (but the first run of 5.3miles on Sunday and not 'per plan')
Cross training: 1x on the bike
Strength work: 2x

Since the return from DC, the mileage has slowly returned to where it was in DC and England. Times aren't as fast, but hey, that's alright for now. I'll just need to keep it up. I'm using a generic Runner's World Smart Coach program to prep. We'll see how it works.

I'm keeping my goal time to myself for now. That way, no matter what time I finish in, I'll be able to proudly proclaim I beat it.

Screaming Meme-ys

2008-02-20T18:11:00.005Z

So, I was having a lovely conversation with the LW. with regard to memes. I remarked that I had never been 'memed.' Well low-and-behold good 'ol Pongwife up and memes me the same day. So here it is:

THE RULES:

1. Once you are tagged, link back to the person who tagged you.
2. Post THE RULES on your blog.
3. Post 7 weird or random facts about yourself on your blog.
4. Tag 7 people and link to them.
5. Comment on their blog to let them know they have been tagged.

My personal exemption: I'm breaking rule #4 and thereby #5, b/c I don't know enough bloggers who aren't already on the list. (By the way, Pongwife, you broke rule 5.)

Here they are:

1. When I was in junior high school I got detention for defacing school property.

2. My family is descended from marauding vikings that raped and pillaged their way through England. Stopping only when they got bored and had looted anything of value. (We tried to reprise this when we lived there, but found out that behavior is now frowned upon.)

3. I played the bass clarinet in the school band. But not the marching band. Don't get any ideas.

4. I had to stop taking ballet in the fourth grade after an unfortunate accident that involved my partner falling on her head.

5. My favorite movie is How to Make an American Quilt.

6. My prenuptial agreement with my wife's family included a clause requiring me to renounce all ties to PETA and Greenpeace.

7. Guess what. Not all 6 of the above are true! (You'll have to guess which are.)

Here's a hint. Upon reading Number 5, the LW said: "Why does it disturb me so much that you even know this movie exists?" My response, after which she needed the smelling salts: "Why are you surprised? I think Winona Ryder did a great job in that movie."

Revenge of the Wifey

2008-02-18T16:00:00.007Z

I haven't been too good about running since coming back to the family in December. It's the old, "need to make time, but don't want to take time away from the family controversy." So I've had to try harder and harder to find the time to go. I managed to yesterday and went out for a little less than 4 miles. Nice and slow, trying to ease back into it.

Last night, after dinner, I nearly collapsed about three times. Yeah it was fun. Legs felt a little like al dente pasta.

Here's why. I am a creature of sea level. I've lived my whole life at or around sea level. To be more precise, I've lived pretty much near the water my whole life. Salt water. The big kind. To give you an idea, here are the distances from the water I've lived (only counting places I've lived for a year or more) along with their elevation:

1.5 miles/150 feet
<0.3>
<0.1>
18 miles (I had to compromise, and I worked <0.25>
<0.1>
<0.33 mile/sea level

I now live 280 miles from the sea (which involves a trip over the alps). But her revenge is even sweeter than this. We're at 1550 feet. Okay, so I'm not living in Denver, but for my scrawny little sea level lungs, this sucks. There's one more thing (and this really makes the LW giggle with glee). Take a look at the run profile below. This is a typical run of mine from a previous residence:Here are some things to note: a) elevation maxes at a a cool 24 feet above sea level, b) The total elevation change is on the order of 20 feet. This is pretty typical of a normal run (elevation and profile wise)

Now, take a look at the run I did yesterday:

a) elevation ~1550 feet, b) total elevation change about 270 feet. It was an out and back run, so at least it was uphill on the way out.

But the best part about it was the surface. Not a track, not asphalt, not a trail, it was cobblestone. Oh yipee. I think that's at the top of my list for 'favorite running surfaces.' Nothing screams 'good for the knees' like cobblestones.

So now I get the continual: 'aw, you're such a wimp,' ''city boy' and my favorite 'quit yer whining!' from the oh-so-concerned LW. (She grew up at about 1500 feet and she spent her summers at 7000 feet.)

Post script.
Today we took our son to the zoo. His favorite exhibit was the sea lions. As we finally leave them and head towards the kangaroos we rounded the pool and ended up downwind . So I made the family stop...and smell the lovely sea air in the middle of Europe. Take that wifey.

Post post script.
The LW read the 'advanced preview before posting.' Her comment "You suck. You owe me a back and neck rub." I'm off to get the massage oil.

The Oscars!

2008-02-02T14:29:00.000Z

So I (like every other blogger in the world) am going to write about the oscar nominations. I told the LW this, and had to call the paramedics. You see, I'm not really an 'entertainment' guy. When playing Trivial Pursuit, I always fall afoul the pink category.

But the academy has released the list of oscar nominees. I can confidently say, that of the 5 movies nominated for best picture, I haven't seen one of them. Nor will I go and see them before the awards are handed out. I've never been a big fan of the oscars, or emmys or what have you. Ask the LW next time you see her. I don't do award shows. Sycophantic ego strokers if you ask me.

So there's my oscars post.

Another Joy of Fatherhood

2008-01-22T19:59:00.000Z

So, I heard a story about a man who took his family sightseeing. They had spent most of the morning wandering about the grounds of a ruined castle. Maybe one not unlike this one. Luckily, the castle had a reasonably priced restaurant where he was able to buy the family some lunch.
Soon lunch finished and it was time for the best part of a meal with the family:
"Son do you need to use the toilet?" he asked.
"No Daddy," was, of course, the reply.
"Well, let's go anyway, just to be sure."
A reasonable tactic, no?

So,father and son head off to the WC.
Hmmmm, thinks the father, I've seen cleaner toilets in a third world bus depot.

"Okay son, let's make sure we don't touch anything in here." There, that should solve that problem, right?

So, since our hero's son is extraordinarily well behaved, things did go well. A couple of reminders "Son, don't pick that up off the floor," "Son, yes, that's just water we're stepping in, don't worry about it," were required but other than that, no problems.

Ah, success.

Sure. You'd think so.

My good friend now finishes the story about this poor man:

"Daddy, my shoelace is untied." And, yes, the shoelace was sopping.

I'm glad this story isn't about me.

Radical (retro) Weight Control Plan

2008-01-10T19:35:00.000Z

Quite a few regular readers of this blog are interested in weight control or weight loss. It seems in our years of technological advancement, we've lost track of some old-timey secrets. Somehow, though, I'm not sure this one would receive FDA approval.

But if that doesn't work, there's always this:

New Years

2008-01-06T14:22:00.000Z

So, after spending a few months away from the family, I've taken advantage of the holidays by doing absolutely nothing when it comes to fitness. Yes. Nothing. I finally got tired of being a slug, and announced to the family "That's it, I think I'm going for a run today." It drew the immediate response from my son: "No, Daddy, don't go!!!" as he ran across the room to give me a big hug.

So I'm running tomorrow.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

2007 Summary:

Total miles (since I started tracking): 250.7 miles
Races: 6 (3x5k, 3x10k)

2008 Goals:

1) Broaden my fitness horizon to more than running. I did a lot of running in 2007, but not enough cross training. I kept telling myself that once I improved my cardiovascular fitness enough, I'd start doing more cross training. I didn't. So I want to do that this year.

2) Run something other than a 5 or 10 k. I had a lot of fun running them this past year. I'm thinking either something trail oriented or something longer. It will require a bit more thought and research.

Race Results.

2007-12-09T20:02:00.000Z

I ran what will be my last race of 2007 this morning. It was pretty nasty out. About 40F, foggy, misty and drizzling on and off. Really great conditions.

Now I recognize those conditions are not arctic by any stretch of the imagination, but it's not exactly tropical either. I ended up in layered shirts with a jacket, long pants and hat and gloves and was pretty comfortable. However, as you may expect there were numerous people out in t-shirts and shorts and even two women out in jog-bras. Is this supposed to be a sign of toughness? I think it may be a sign of something else.

I've still yet to be as impressed with race organization as I was in London (If you ever find yourself in the UK, the "Great Run" series is just that. They have one in most major cities and the organization is superb. Although the Great North Run has an unfortunate reputation as a killer. Literally.) It seemed to me about half the mile markers missing, and there were definitely not enough pre-race porta-johns. At least this time I was ready for the mile (instead of kilometer) markers, although it still bothers me.

It was a fun race, lots of Santas, reindeer, a snowman and evidently the mayor of Washington, DC. At packet pickup they handed out bells to tie to your shoes so there was a nice jingly sound throughout most of the race. My parents came down to watch which always makes it more fun, especially since I'm leaving the country this week.

I was also very happy with my time. I hit the first mile marker at 8:30 (by my watch). There was a lot of traffic at the start and while the course wasn't excessively narrow, there were 2900 people trying to run down Ohio Ave so there was congestion. (The race organizers also didn't have signs to help runners get to the starting line in roughly the order they thought they'd finish.) I kept trying to keep pushing the pace (as some may remember, I did some extra 'tempo' work this week, but kept the miles down overall). At the 5k point (which was marked, but the 4 mile point wasn't....) my watch showed about 24:30. I had some trouble on the second half. The course was out and back, with the start and finish co-located. And I swear they moved the finish back after the start. I kept thinking it was "just around the corner" and it wasn't. My legs were burning pretty bad, but I crossed the line beating my previous personal best by over 2 minutes! Then we walked back in the rain to the car, so I'm sure I'll be nice and sick for my trip this week.

Treadmills

2007-12-06T02:38:00.000Z

So the weather today was just like yesterday, only snowing and colder. So I elected to run on a nearby treadmill. It ended up being a good idea as the snow just kept getting stronger.

I don't particularly care for treadmills too much. I just think it's kind of boring. I also have a problem with them. And not just because the one I was on seemed to half-stall every 5 minutes or so, kind of a stutter-step, nothing too terribly serious. My real problem with them is psychological. I always end up running too hard and too long. I went out to do about 30 minutes and just get a little exercise. I ended up with a 45 minute run, doing pyramids at up to a 6 minute mile pace for a couple of minutes here and there.

I think I fall prey to the fact that you can very exactly control your pace, and I just feel I have to. So tomorrow, I'm going to run outside, or I will very seriously, honestly NOT push my self on the treadmill.

Oh. Do you?

2007-12-05T00:43:00.001Z

This is a response to my favorite blogger (besides Culinary Cowgirl) in the whole wide world. Blunoz recently related how much he loves and misses winter. Having just finished a nice tempo run here in Washington, DC I wanted to make sure Blunoz realized what 'winter' really is. Please note the following facts. The current weather at Blunoz' house is as follows: Mostly Cloudy, 73F (feels like 83F). This is the weather here: Mostly cloudy, 37F (feels like 26F).

So, while Blunoz was probably out today in shorts and a t-shirt, I ran in the following:

tights
nylon trousers to block the wind
a long sleeved shirt
a second long sleeved shirt
a warm jacket
a wind-breaking vest
a watch cap
gloves

and it was still a bit chilly. The wind was coming off the starboard quarter on the way back in and it was a bit brisk. But still, it was a nice run and I'm glad I did it.

TAKE THAT BLUNOZ!

WARNING: HIGLY ADDICTING GAME!

2007-12-04T00:58:00.000Z

This post is in response to Blunoz's. It might be considered off topic, but it's my blog, and it says "whatever's on my mind" so therefore it's on topic.

After much trial and error (mostly error) I finally beat the 'normal' difficulty of the game. (For reference, here's a link to the game. But it is addictive. You've been fairly warned.)

To Update his strategy, I was using the pellet towers and swarm towers exclusively and was able to get to the 50th wave but not through it. So I changed tactics slightly and added some squirt towers. The real trick is realizing a few highly upgraded towers are far superior to many weakly upgraded towers. (Of course, there is a minimum number of weakly upgraded towers you need to control the flow of creeps.) Oh, and if you don't have good air defense, you will quickly die.

Here's a screen shot of my victorious game, in the waning moments of the last creeps lives...

Revenge!

2007-12-02T03:47:00.000Z

Well, I finally showed them. I managed to out smart them. It's a great victory today for all mankind. We will no longer have to live in fear of small winged insects. I did the same run as that ill fated night. But I really showed them. I waited till way after dark (well after the twilight feeding frenzy), and did the whole run with nary a problem.

The fact that it was on 40 degrees out and the end of November had nothing to do with it.

Turkeys

2007-11-26T20:07:00.000Z

As Sagey so sagely commented earlier, I ran a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving. Many towns have them, and I think they mainly serve to assuage the guilt of over eating during the holidays. Mine probably worked for Thanksgiving, but did nothing for the gluttony that was Wednesday night, Friday and Saturday.

The race I ran was right in my home town. As expected, the results were not anywhere near my best, but then, that wasn't the point. I ran a respectable time, and had fun. My father ran with me. A former regular runner, he now mostly does other things for exercise, he placed 4th in his age division (no, it was not 4th out of 4). I mange about 16th in mine. My two cousins (aged 30 and 17) opted out. One for a bum knee (legitimate in my book) and one because he couldn't be ar###d to get out of bed the lazy no-goodnick. Can you figure which one was which based on age alone?

The best part about the run was the weather. The forecast was for low 40s with rain. The actual temperature was upper 50s and sunny. Couldn't beat it!

Next race: 9 December, Washington, DC.

Sickness

2007-11-18T21:45:00.000Z

I've been a bit quiet on the writing front because I've been a bit quiet on the running front. I've had a cold, and I'm not a huge fan of running with a cold. Too much stress on the body as far as I'm concerned.

I managed to get out today for the first time in over a week. It helped that the weather was lovely down here in DC today. About 56 degrees and only a light wind. I kept the pace down and the distance short (under 3.5 miles, about 10:00 minute mile pace) and it felt relatively good. Good enough in fact that I had to hold myself back on the pace during the second half of the run.

I'm happy I felt fine as I'm running a Turkey Trot 5k back home on Thursday. I don't think I'm going to gun for a personal best though. I'll just enjoy the run.

Good Weekend

2007-11-05T12:57:00.000Z

Well, It was a fine weekend. I got a decent run in on Saturday morning. As one of my classmates following the MCM 10K put it, "the advantage of running a 10k over a marathon is that your body isn't completely wrecked for the next month." I managed over 27 miles last week, so I guess it's a marathon of some sort.
But the big story as I'm sure you'll guess was the end of 43 years of humiliation at the hands of the domers. Some things are worth the wait. I am worried though, b/c I think the old Navy team is setting themselves up for failure with an attitude like the one from a Navy player who said, 'this game was more important than Army' or something along those lines. Only a Navy player who has never lost to Army would make that statement. (The Mids have beaten Hudson High every year since 2001.)

I have to admit, there were more than a few moments when I was sure Navy was going to hand the game to the Irish. Not being able to stop them on 4th and 17 comes to mind. But, surprisingly the defense did manage to come through, not only stopping Notre Dame on Fourth down with the game tied and less than a minute left with the sack pictured below, but also scoring a touchdown. If you had told me Navy's defense would score against Notre Dame I'd have checked you in for psychiatric evaluation.

Can't wait for Christmas(?)

2007-11-03T17:46:00.000Z

Well, I went out for a run this morning and I can't wait for the lovely wife's next package to get here. It will be like December 25th. (Although I hope it gets here before then!)

Why, because it was in the 40s this morning and that package has my warm running stuff in it. I had a long sleeve shirt and a very nice rain resistant vest on. But no long pants or anything like that. Yes, I have a nice warm hat to wear now (thanks to the nice folks at Pacers). But of course I didn't wear it. Come on US Mail!

MCM 10K

2007-10-29T20:34:00.000Z

I ran the Marine Corps Marathon 10k yesterday. Just a few quick thoughts.

- To answer the obvious questions: Why run the 10k and not the marathon? (A question I was frequently the pre-race events.) Well, in essence I'm a wimp. Seriously, as I think I've mentioned earlier I'll choose shorter run and happy marriage over the alternate any day.

- "Bundled Races" are interesting (i.e. a marathon bundled with a 10k and a kids race in this case). It really makes you feel like a slacker when there are 25,000+ (or what ever it was) people running the marathon and you're there checking in for the 10k. Oh well. I had fun. (Looking at some of the people running the marathon, I probably could have given it a shot.)

- Our pre-marathon events went pretty well. It was refreshing to see so many people running in support of a cause, or in someone's memory. Being the Marine Corps Marathon, there were many runners out there in memory of a loved one or friend lost in Iraq or Afghanistan. It really brings a bit more of a sober feeling to the race. Not all 'party party party' like some of the other races. It was worth it though, as I was one of those running in honor of a cause. I know it helped me, and I'm sure the marathoners felt it even more, to have some one cheering for you as you ran by, even if they had no idea who you were.

- The course I. The MCM 10k course starts at the Pentagon, joins part of the marathon course, then finishes at the marathon finish line. This is fine, except I was nearly blown off the road by siren blaring motorcycle police escorting the wheelchair athletes as they blew through the 10k field at about mile 2-3.

- The course II. (Maybe this is because I'm used to running in Europe.) I didn't think my time would be that great because of my training gap, but I wanted to break 1hr. Doing the quick mental gym: 1hr = 60min. 10km....okay I need to beat 6min per km to get in under 1hr. So as I hit the first marker: 8:47 (or there abouts). In my head: "Okay, so that means....WHAT! I know I didn't want to start too fast (like I did in London) and end up cramping in the middle of the race again, but 8:47! yougottabekiddingme!" ... ... "Oh, that was 1 mile not 1 km." So I spent the next mile or so doing the mental gym to figure out where I needed to be each mile. Gave me something to think about. But really. It's a 10k, not a 6.2m.

- The course III. I'm sure this isn't news to anyone familiar with the race, but the last 1.25 miles or so of the race (both the 10k and the marathon) are uphill.

Oh, that's right, it's the Marine Corps Marathon. Sadists.

I did manage to pull a personal best out of the race though. Beat the previous one by 1:23. Weather was much more cooperative this time. The London 10k (previous PB) was much warmer. It was only about 61F in DC and while there was wind, it was not too bad. London was also much bigger. As I recall I nearly stopped in one spot because the course was so densely packed with runners.. But I'm still happy. It left me with a desire to run a marathon though. Maybe that's the real reason for the bundling? Anyone have any good marathon training plans?

p.s. Thanks for the pictures Dad.

Added: Our group even made CNN: watch the video here.

No Gutters Please

2007-10-23T17:49:00.000+01:00

This is for my wife. No symbology. Keep your minds out of the gutter. She knows what it means.

All (Flying) Creatures Great and Small

2007-10-19T15:03:00.000+01:00

So, through a comedy of errors I was forced to run later than usual last night.

ORM: There is a nice footpath that runs along the river, it's relatively well lit. I only need to cross two low-traffic roads that are well illuminated. I need the speed work before next weekend's race and I probably won't run too much this weekend. Call it a taper if you will. Or call it lazy if you won't.

So off I went in the waning day light/dusk/almost dark. No problem. At the outset. Upon arrival on the footpath all continued per the plan. I even manged to pass another runner (something I very, very rarely do). Only one thing. If you had been watching me run, I would excuse you for thinking I have a tick or that I just have to wipe each bead of sweat from my brow as it forms. But no, that wasn't it. It was insects (little green ones, but I'll get to that later). Under every light and near every tree was a swarm of insects.

As the run went progressed I tried several tactics to deal with this airborne menace. I ran on the far edge of the footpath, as near as I dared to the slippery slope into the river. I tried shading my eyes as I passed suspicious trees. I tried turning my head to the side and squinting my lead eye. (I imagine quite an interesting site.) Nothing really worked and I figured I'd just have to deal with it. Towards the turn around point of my out and back run it was really bad. Must have something to do with this areas swampy past.

It got worse.

The little green ones weren't the only ones flying last night. Our friendly neighborhood jarheads decided it was time to go flying. So just after I turned back I was buzzed by a large green one. So as I shielded my ears from the infernal noise - obviously distracted - a little green one decided it was time to strike. Right into my left eye. I was none too pleased. I tried every trick I could think of to get it out, blinking, squinting, you name it. Eventually I just had to stop for a bit and try to get it out. Eventually, all in order, I continued.

As I was stretching in my room post run, my eye started bugging me again. Figuring something was afoot I took a look. What do you know, the little bugger was still in there. Green, winged, certainly dead, but still in there. I think he looked something like this.

I guess I shouldn't complain too much. I seem to recall my Dad catching a bee in the mouth while running one time.

My apologies to James Herriot.

More Reasons to Run

2007-10-09T18:28:00.000+01:00

So, I'm back at school for a little while. This is besides the point, except that it explains a couple of things: 1) I'm away from the family for a while, 2) I have to fend for myself for food and my lodging only has a micorwave. Needless to say, I've been eating out a bit for lunch.

How, my dear reader you may ask, does this apply to this blog? This is how. This one location may single-handedly destroy my fitness plans! Why? Because this is the only chain restaurant I have found on the east coast that comes anywhere near In-n-Out for burgers.

I have a a running joke with my Mother and Father-in-law that the only reason I really want to come out to visit is to get an In-n-Out burger. Now, whether that's true or not is irrelevent ;-) But they are great burgers.

The two restaurants have a lot in common. Their menus are very simple: basically, burgers, fries and little else. But, do they ever do it right! They're both pristinely clean and very friendly (not your typical "ya want fries wit dat?" kind of place). What sets them apart? Well aside from a continent you can get a hotdog from 5-Guys and a grilled cheese from In-N-Out. You can eat fresh peanuts in the shell while you wait at 5-Guys and you can order a milk shake at In-N-Out. In-N-Out also has the ultra-cool secret menu.

Today I managed to put away a Bacon double cheese burger and fries, and it was just magnificent.

So, whats the bottom line? I'm pretty sure the fries are better at In-N-Out. But the burgers? It's close. It's really close. But I think the burgers at 5-Guys might be a bit better. (That could of course be because I just ate one.)

Comments please!!! (Especially those who contend that there are other burger places that can compete.)

Goals

2007-10-06T19:17:00.001+01:00

This is in partial response to Sagey's comment(s) to my last post. I have been running, just not writing about it every time. Just look to see why. I've taken to tracking my running on line using the on line training log offered by Runner's World.com. I've been doing this for a while, I just haven't been advertising it. The early runs aren't necessarily complete, but they are all I could rescue from my old method of tracking runs.

As you can see if you look, there's a glaring hole from mid-August through mid-September. This is what happens when you move. So I've tried to get back into the running again. I think I've done a reasonably good job over the past week.

There were a couple of things to get over. I forgot my watch (as mentioned in an earlier post). That wasn't too hard to overcome, and the lovely wife has sent ti to me, which I really appreciate. The bigger difference is the weather. Having just moved from England, this has been a huge change. England had a really wet summer this year. The temperature usually averaged at most about 24 of 25 (that's about 75F for those who don't do C) at the time of day I was running. When I got here to DC it was a touch warmer. About 32 (90F) the first day. It took a bit of getting used to to run in that weather. I think I've gotten over it though. I ran last night and it was 30 (87F) and I didn't think it was that hot. I guess that's a good sign.

I've managed to start working some different speeds back into my work 0uts as well. This is a good thing as I do have another goal to look forward to: The Marine Corps Marathon 10k. I had some initial intentions to try the Marathon. If, however, you look at the work I was able to put in during the summer, this would have been a huge mistake. I've never done a marathon before, and I think to try one without a real training plan would have been a bad idea. So I'm going to do the 10k, and for a good cause. The marathon will have to wait.

Much better

2007-09-29T17:30:00.001+01:00

I ran again today. This morning actually. Not too early though, left just before 9:30. It was a much better run. Possibly because the temperature was much cooler, about 70F I ran a bit faster (for a slow, get back into shape run) than I managed either of the two previous runs. The run was a bit longer too (5 1/4 miles). Altogether not totally displeased.

So, looking at the comments from Blunoz over my las few posts, I've decided to produce a quick list of gear/kit that I use with any regularity. As a word of caution, I am not a gadget-head, nor do I feel the need to have the top-of-the-line of everything (or anything for that matter). I fall into the 'it works for me' and the 'I don't want to spend too much' categories. So, here goes.

Shoes: Mizuno Wave Rider 10. I have a pretty neutral gait it seems, and these shoes seem to work for me so far. I recently replaced a pair of Wave Rider 9s and these new ones don't have many miles on them (only 25 so far). We'll see how I feel as they age.

Watch: Polar S120. Pretty basic features, but it works for me. I've forgotten it on this trip and am really missing it.

Music: RCA Lyra RD 1028. It took some effort to find this on the web for a link. See the comments about my HRM.

Clothing: I've pretty much got a mish-mosh of different brands and styles. Probably b/c I'm still trying to figure out what I like. I'm not wild on running tights though. I've got a pair of Under Armour shorts that I like a lot (read: no-chaffing) as well as two of their shirts. I'm particular to Adidas running shirts of which I have a few. I'm not too keen on the Nike running shirt that I have. I find it a bit rough and on longer runs painful.

That's about it.

Reports of my demise...

2007-09-28T23:34:00.001+01:00

Yes, that's probably a misquote of Mark Twain but I am still alive. Despite the hopes of some (Lovely Wife perhaps?) who believe I may be worth more dead than alive.

I hit a bit of a running low point. It's called a move. I don't know if anyone else has experienced this or not, but moving is a bit unpleasant. I probably could have eeked out a few runs here and there. In fact I did manage two over a period of about a month. But sometimes you have to make a choice: Happy family, well organized, planned and executed move on one hand, continued regular running on the other. I selected the former.

So now I've managed two in the past three days. I am back on the horse, but it hasn't been a painless experience.

I'm now in Washington, DC. I've left lovely England where the temperature was nice and moderate all summer, and arrived here. Where it's been over 90F everyday. I'm not a morning person, I just can't get myself up and run at those hours. So I waited till after the heat of the day to get my run in. Or so I thought. The first day I found an outdoor thermometer that read 94F (34.5C) as I was finishing up. Not very pleasant. But at least it was a humid heat.

I must continue though, because I have a goal! A GOAL! Yes a goal. I found a 10k to run. A few months back I had the 'great idea' that I could run the Marine Corps Marathon this fall. Then the Lovely Wife reminded me of the upcoming move. Yes, she keeps me out of trouble all the time. So I've elected to run the simultaneous 10k. Should be doable I think. With essentially a month to prepare I should be okay. Probably no Personal Best this time though.

Post Script #1: I made two cheap shots at the lovely wife. She doesn't deserve them. Lovely Wife is truly a lovely wife!

Post Script #2: New blog for people to check out: Blunoz' Random Ramblings

Portsmouth 5k

2007-08-12T11:05:00.000+01:00

I mentioned in my post from 7 Aug that I had a bit of a worry about the 5k on the 8th. Well the 8th has come and gone and to be honest I'm more pleased than I had thought I would be. It must have been the nice slow run on the 7th that helped loosen the muscles etc, but I ran much better than I thought I would.

The conditions were better this time, which probably contributed to the better time. During the run on July 4th, shortly after the turn around point (the course is essentially an out-and-back) we were greeted with a vicious head-wind. This time the wind was mostly from the side so it probably didn't play a major factor in the times.

I tried to improve on pacing this time as well. I did my best to resist the urge to go out too fast. Basing my pace off my heart rate monitor I tried to maintain an even, slower pace during the first half. It didn't necessarily work as I felt like I couldn't maintain the pace by about the 3.5k mark.

I also tried to run 'with' people during this one. A dangerous tactic I'm sure, but I figured in a 5k I might be able to get away with it. I found a group of people running at about the same pace I was trying for and tried to stick with them. It worked okay until the end, when a gentleman at least 2 age divisions above me that I'd been running near demonstrated significantly more 'kick' than I possess.

It all worked out in the end though. My time (by my watch) was 22:48 (besting my previous time on the course by nearly a minute and a half).

(Oh, and I bought a new pair of shoes the next day.)

Music

2007-08-07T23:32:00.000+01:00

I usually don't use an ipod when I run. Firstly, I'm too cheap to buy an ipod. I've just got a generic run-of-the-mill mp3 player. Secondly, I like to listen to what's going on around me, and have a little inner monologue when I run (except when I'm in the gym at work where they play some of the most atrocious music ever made and I feel the need to try to blot out the sonic weapon of mass destruction that surrounds me, but that's a different story).
I ran today for the first time in too long. I'm calling it a 'planned rest'. Actually, it's just difficult to stay motivated during the summer break. I had planned to do some speed sessions over the weekend in preps for a 5k tomorrow. They just never materialized. I did a lot of active things, hiking, walking, gardening, just no running. Which makes me worry a little about the 5k tomorrow (but like music in the gym, that's a different story).

The sad thing is, the entire time I was running I had the same song in my head. Was it something inspiring? Something up-beat to keep me going? No, it was the theme song from Bits and Bobs. Yes, fatherhood is a wonderful thing. (For those of you who aren't familiar with the song, if you click on the 'fun and games' you can get an idea of what this is like going through your head...even if it isn't the theme song itself).

My Other Obsession

2007-08-03T20:51:00.000+01:00

I didn't run today. Had an offer from a neighbor to go for a run 'early' which was 6:30. Sorry, just didn't feel like getting up that early today (it's a holiday and all). So we went out for a walk in the Forest of Bere. More than a walk really. The lovely wife had promised a picnic/Geocaching day out for Father's Day back in June. For those of you who don't live in England, I think this was one of the first really 'nice' days since Father's Day. So off we went.

After enjoying a simple but very nice picnic lunch (salami, cheese, bread, fruit). We were off on our walk. The day was absolutely perfect: sun shining, son shining, a gentle breeze, animals about. To top it off, we found the cache we were looking for (only minimal bushwhacking required and very little mud).

I can't really call it exercise. Although we were walking in the woods for a few hours, it was at a 3-year old's pace. (But it was better than sitting on the couch with a beer watching television.)

I Love Hybrids

2007-08-02T19:19:00.000+01:00

Being a bit tired of running essentially the same couple of routes from home I decided to hybridize. Combining the outbound leg of one run, inserting a bit of a bridge, then the homeward bound section of another I created a new route. Nothing earth shattering there.

It's strange though, the tricks your mind can play on you. I had it in my mind that it would be a 'long' run. (i.e. a bit longer than either of them on their own.) I didn't measure the new route before I went out. I just went and ran it. I was a bit happy when I got home and the time was relatively 'fast' for the length I thought it was. When I went to my trusty mapping website and measured it, I was very surprised. It was short. Much shorter than I thought. So, my 'fast/tempo' pace that I thought I was running, turned out to be not quite as fast as I'd hoped.

The strange part is, I really had it in my mind it was a 'long' run. Distance completely miscalculated. Run wasn't bad though.

(Sorry if anyone was hoping for a sermon on the virtues of hybrid cars. You won't find that here.)

Still Alive

2007-08-01T10:49:00.001+01:00

I've managed to keep up the running (somewhat), just not so much the writing. Some of this is related to our non-functioning paperweight of a computer. I'm working on a back-up for now.

I did manage a run this morning. Not the fastest or the best (may have been the 7 day lay-off).
I only managed 3 runs last week, and one session on the rowing machine, for a grand total of not very impressive 9.1 miles.

Now that the summer break has started, it's going to be even more of a challenge to get out regularly I think. I may have to get up a bit early to do it. That would be unfortunate.

Canines

2007-07-18T20:58:00.000+01:00

Right. I like animals. I really do. Wild, farm, pet, dinner...I love them all. Really.

So, why don't people just clean up after them.

Today 3.91mi
This Week 14.04mi

Great Captial Run

2007-07-16T22:18:00.000+01:00

I figure the race is worth a post.
This was my first 'big' race in some time. It was much bigger (obviously) than the local 5k from a few weeks ago (155 finishers). It was much more dynamic and therefore had lots more interaction with the 10,000 odd people they announced were starting the race.

I have to say it was great fun! Crowds, music, watching the elite runners screaming by in the other direction past 7k while I was trudging towards 3k (or what ever the exact distance was). OK, so that last bit was more humbling than anything, but I've never had any illusions about my running ability.

I was more than pleased with my time. I bested my 11 year old PB* by 3 minutes which gave immense personal satisfaction. I ran the whole race with one of my running mates from work which was a big morale booster especially when we both got slowed by cramps in the middle of the race. And it was great to have the family there cheering me on at the end.

Can't wait to run another!

Sunday: 6.22 miles
Monday: 3.91 miles (nice slow easy recovery run)
Tuesday: some time on the rowing machine...
This week: 10.13

*Full disclosure: number of 10k run between previous PB and this race: 0.

The End

2007-07-13T17:50:00.000+01:00

Although I didn't post yesterday I did run. The run itself was nothing particularly special, just a standard lunchtime stroll through the local housing estates. Not particularly fast. Not particularly long. Not particularly scenic. Just another run in the week before the 10k in London.

What made it different was that yesterday was the last run with my last normal running partner.

Adds a little touch of sadness to it, but I can't complain too much. Having running friends can, as I've learned, be a great thing. Motivation, a little competition and some serious cajoling when required. There were three 'regulars' who ran at least three days a week in almost any weather for the last year. Around this small group were about three or four others who joined on an 'occasional' basis. They became a bit of a marker. When we started, most of the 'occasionals' were a bit faster than I was. Quite a bit. In the 5k last week, I finished about half a minute ahead of one of them. Little things that warm your heart. (Of course, the other member of our regulars who ran beat me by several minutes so I'm not claiming too much of a victory.)

So, it's up to other things to keep me motivated to keep running. I'm moving myself soon (when and where is another story worthy of its own blog). I'll have to work much harder to maintain motivation. Any suggestions?

---

Today's run was fine. A short easy run along the waterfront: beautiful weather, not too crowded. If it weren't for the 10k on Sunday it would have been perfect whether for a long run.

Good news is, both feet feel fine.

---

By the way, found a lovely feature of Runners World's website. The online training log. This may solve my workout tracking problem. We'll see.

---

Kit: New socks. Wore a new pair of Nike FITDry running socks. Honestly didn't care for them too much. (Although it was just one run.) I found that they were too thin and altered the feel of my shoes, almost made them too big. I'll have to try another new pair of something else. (I've been directed to purge socks: holes, worn through, no elastic left...so I needed to replace some.)

Yesterday:3.82mi
Today:2.54mi
This week:16.0mi

The Agony of the Feet

2007-07-11T16:55:00.000+01:00

Just a relatively normal lunchtime run today. Did the Lido Alternate return and a relatively leisurely pace (46 min and change).

I'm trying not to over due it this week for two reasons. First I have the 10k this weekend and don't want to over due it this week. Second, neither of my feet is doing particularly well. I strained my left foot about a month and a half ago (either 5-aside football or overuse or some combination). It led to a 2-week complete layoff and 3 weeks of limited running (replaced by time in gym on the cross-trainer, rowing machine and bicycle). And to top things off I stepped on a piece of glass in the kitchen with my right foot two nights ago. The good news is, neither one bothered me today. Hopefully it will stay that way.

I went to the doctor for the glass. He basically said, it probably won't show up on an X-ray if they took one (although he scheduled one for me anyway). The basic plan was just to watch it and make sure it doesn't get worse. There's no indication there's any glass still in there, just some pain if you push on it. In socks and shoes, there wasn't any pain today. We'll keep watching.

As the lovely wife would likely tell you, I missed the running while I couldn't do it. I'm not sure what I missed more the running itself or the camaraderie. I'll (unfortunately) probably find out which it was as the weeks progress. I ended up running alone today as my normal partners are now essentially gone.

Today: 4.90
This week: 9.65

New Website, New Run

2007-07-09T19:34:00.000+01:00

In the process of setting up this blog, I've already discovered a couple of things that have helped. As I mentioned in the first post I mostly run at lunch. This is normally fine, but it does lead to running the same routes over and over again (The Dockyard, The Lido...). Last night I 'discovered' a new website www.mapmyrun.com. Not only does it give the ability to measure out runs, you can search for runs in your area that others have saved. We found this run right near work and decided to give it a go: 3-miler. Of course, we don't work on the route, so we had to add a bit of distance onto the front and back so it ended up at 4.75 miles.
The run was interestingly different. Despite both of us working in Portsmouth for at least a year and a half, neither of us had been in this area of the city. The route is also more 'urban' than we're used to. Our normal routes are off of the main streets and on running/cycle paths most of the way. The on-street time is almost entirely residential. This route was different.
I think we timed it perfectly for the lunch hour. The pavements/sidewalks were busy. There was a lot more lateral movement than on our other runs and I managed to successfully test my 'crash-back' maneuver when a parked car door opened immediately in front of me.
There's benefit here too I think. I mentioned in my last post that I had run my first race in a long time last week. The Portsmouth Athletic Club Promenade series 5k. I had forgotten how much running in traffic can affect how you run. I figure this was good practice for the next challenge: The Great Capital Run this Sunday. the 5k had about 150 runners. I suspect the 10k will have a few more.
I thoroughly enjoyed the 5k and have good memories of my last 10k. (Yes if you follow the link it was a long time ago.) I found I had some difficulties managing my pace. I suspect it's pretty common to get carried away with the crowd and start off at a faster pace than you can maintain. I missed all the distance markers before 3 and 4. But overall I had a good time.
My time was nothing that's going to win any awards, just over 24 minutes. Then again, even in the prime of my younger fitter days, I never was particularly fast. Fit, but not fast.
Today: 4.75 miles
This week: 4.75 miles

The Beginning

2007-07-08T17:02:00.000+01:00

A little over a year ago I got sick and tired of being out of shape and started running . I found it easiest when I was away on business trips (there are/were lots of them). No worries about balancing family andrunning, always some free time to do it and it's a good way to say 'sorry, not going to the hotel bar immediately after work today and staying until it closes I'm going for a run instead'.
It was easy to stay focused especially on trips alone. I had some 'interesting experiences' (Running on a treadmill at a hotel in Virginia Beach because there was a lightning storm, then having the power surge crash-stop the treadmill under my feet...don't recommend that one) but mostly it's been very enjoyable.
And the results have been good as well. In addition to feeling better about myself, I've probably lost in the neighborhood of 20-25 pounds (10 kg or a stone and a half depending on your units of choice).

Over the past year I've been lucky enough to have some good co-workers. In addition to be good to work with, there has been a small group of us who will run during our lunch breaks. This solved my 'family vs running' problem. Since I haven't started training for any marathons or long runs, I've been satisfied with running during the work week then getting exercise on the weekend through other means (walking, playing with my son...).

I have now reached a difficult spot. Most of the co-workers I run with have left and I'll be following them soon. The trouble will be to maintain momentum and continue to run once the peer pressure of "going running today?" disappears. I've tried the training log and it worked for a while. The problem was updating it from various locations when the log was on a laptop that I use predominantly for travel. I guess I could go for the paper training log option, but that seemed so 20th century. So we'll try this and a few other things:

I ran my first organized road race in 11 years this past week (as evidenced from the picture) The Fourth of July Portsmouth Athletic Club Promenade Series 5K. I'm planning on running in the Great Capital Run (10K) in London next weekend (foot pain allowing). Now, after we move, if I can just keep this up, maybe it will work...