Ferdinand

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?)

Race Report

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:

1. I wish I'd worn my trail running shoes. (Wait, I don't own trail running shoes!)
2. 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.

Firecracker!

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".

Stuttgart Half Marathon

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.

One Week To Go...

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!
  

Cobblestone Classic

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".

Meanwhile...

...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.

Good Weekend

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.

MCM 10K

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.

Goals

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.

Portsmouth 5k

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.)