Thursday, October 25, 2012

150 Days and Counting

Back in late May, several of my training buddies and I decided to try the Runner's World Run Streak which was a commitment to run at least 1 mile a day from Memorial Day (May 28th for my international friends) to the 4th of July for a total of 38 days in a row. Several of us completed that task, including Carlos, Jessie, David and me.  Once we all reached July 4th, we talked about taking it to Labor Day (September 3).  Carlos stopped when he got close to Ironman Louisville in late August as he was fearful of injury so close to the race during his taper period but Jessie and I kept going. 

Jessie and I sat together during the IMKY volunteer appreciation banquet and talked about taking it to the end of the year or farther.  I knew the biggest hurdle for me was going to be September 10th, the day after Rev 3 (full iron) Cedar Point.  But I struggled through and kept the streak alive.

Yesterday marked 150 days and I see no reason to stop the streak.  I've read about people who are well beyond 10,000 days in a row so 150 isn't such a huge deal but I'm definitely seeing a benefit:  speed.  I've often tried to get the mile done as quickly as possible and it has manifested itself in a sub-2 hour half marathon, my fastest mile ever, my fastest 5K, etc.  I've heard from people and read that the only way to run faster is to start running fast.  I now wholeheartedly agree.  Not that I'm going to be approaching world class speed but I'm astonished when I look back at old run data and see that on a longer run (say 8+ miles), I would average 11 minutes a mile and be pleased.  Now I seem to run about 9/9:30 miles without even thinking about it and 10 feels slow.  I'm sure my weight loss helps, but I know the 1 mile speed runs are helping as well.

I'll sign off on this post with some kudos for my wife Jessica, who since August 1 has lost more than 40 pounds.  And no, she's not following some crazy diet, starving herself, etc.  She's done it the right way:  with a sensible diet and working out hard.  Her progress has also caused her to look forward to another marathon, which several of us, including Jessie are going to tackle:  Chicago 2013, in October.

Next event for me is a November 3rd half-marathon and still doing P90x. 

Until the next time...

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Trying Something New

Over the past 3-4 years I've done two iron distance events, a stand alone marathon, several half marathons, loads of other triathlons and swam, run and ridden thousands of miles in training and with the Louisville Bicycle Club.  So I understand why I've grown a little tired of it all.  Not that I dislike the three disciplines but I was looking for something a little different as the weather turns cooler.

The answer for me was to try P90x.  I'd seen the infomercials, talked to friends about it, etc. and it looked like it might meet several goals.  One, it would give me something different to do.  Second, since I've lost so much weight, I'd like to "tighten" everything up.  Finally, I could do it at home without a bunch of expensive equipment or a membership at a gym.

I did need a little equipment, some of which I had, some I had to purchase.  I ended up buying a door frame pull up bar, some push up handles and a couple dumb bells.  The dumb bells were the hardest to figure out as I wasn't really sure how much weight to buy.  I had a pair of 10 pound weights so bought a pair of 25s as I figured some of the exercises might allow me to use a lot more weight.  My goal is not to get huge but to tone up so using a bit lighter weight should be ok.  I can also pick up different dumb bells as necessary in the future.

Yesterday was day 1:  chest and arms and some ab work.  Since this workout has a lot of pull ups and push ups, I knew I was in for a test.  Over the several pull up segments, I believe I averaged about 1/2 per 30 second or one minute segment.  The only way is up after that!  It must have been a good workout as today, I'm having difficulty lifting my arms very high.

Today was plyometrics, which was a lot less strenuous but certainly worked my tail off.  I kept up with this workout a lot better.  Tomorrow is shoulders and arms so should be more very hard work.  I guess if it's hard and I'm sore, it's doing the job.

On the "normal" training side, I've kept my run streak alive at over 140 days and tuned up my mountain bike for a break from the norm.  I have a half-marathon on November 3, which I'm doing mostly for the interesting participant medal so have no set expectations.  I might even run it with no Garmin and just enjoy the day.

Monday, October 1, 2012

Bourbon Chase Wrap-Up

This past weekend was the Bourbon Chase, a 200 mile, 12 person running relay throughout bourbon country.  It starts at the Jim Beam distillery and ends in Lexington, near Rupp Arena.  Our team was scheduled to leave at 3:30 pm from Beam and finish in Lexington about 8 or 8:30 Saturday evening.

We were split into two vans; I was in van 2 and was runner 8.  Therefore, I wouldn't be running for at least 5-6 hours after the start.  We all met at Beam to see our team off, check-in, etc.  While there, we ate some lunch, picked up a little Beam swag then made our way toward Maker's Mark after a dinner stop, where van 2 would be starting after the first 6 runners ran their legs.  We picked up our t-shirts and began getting our night running gear together as we would be running our first legs after dark.



I was running 11.8 miles total over the 3 legs with the longest being just over 4 so I decided to keep working on my speed with a goal of staying at about 9 minutes a mile or better.  I started my 4 mile run at 8:54 pm, in nice cool temps with a touch of mist.  Almost perfect running weather.  I ran the first mile in 7:22, my fastest mile ever.  I guess the excitement and waiting for so long made me take off like a fool.  I ended up averaging 8:03 for the leg.  By far my fastest run ever.

After our last van runner finished, we headed to Danville, the next major exchange point and grabbed some grub at The Hub near Centre College (nothing like a big spicy omelette at 2 in the morning) and tried to get some sleep.  That didn't work out so well and I think I slept for maybe 45 minutes at the most.  Long story but no need to air dirty laundry here.

My next leg started at 6:54 am and totaled 3.5 miles.  Again tried to be fast and was hoping to be running into the sunrise.  But with the heavy cloud cover, the sun didn't quite appear as I was finishing up the run.  On this one I averaged 8:42 a mile. Pleased again, and we were off to Four Roses Distillery for the next major exchange in a few hours.  They were passing out bourbon balls made with their small batch bourbon which were out of this world.  No doubt, the best thing I ate all weekend.

My last leg was a bit more difficult, being rated at moderate and a total of 4.3 miles.  I knew being very fast with the climbs was going to be a bit harder and it was also much warmer than my first two legs.  My leg started at 3:55 pm.  I pushed it as best I could and averaged 8:51.  So I met my goal of keeping it under 9/mile while having a great time with a great team.  The last thing to do was head toward the finish, meet up with the other van and wait for our last runner.  We all gathered and crossed the finish together. The total for the team was 28:48:34 or an 8:40 pace.  So much faster than my team last year. We finished 53rd out of 179 male/female teams and 104th of 287 total teams.  No complaints there!

Last but not least, another gorgeous medal to add to the rack:


The last event I have scheduled for this year is a half-marathon on November 3rd.  Nothing else officially planned but I'm sure something else will catch my eye!