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.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Sickness
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.
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.
Monday, November 5, 2007
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.
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.
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Can't wait for Christmas(?)
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!
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!
Monday, October 29, 2007
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.
- 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?
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.
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