Saturday 5 mile run

20. October 2007 · Write a comment · Categories: Richmond, running

Today, Sara and I ran 5 miles. It’s been a long time since I have done that distance, but felt pretty good through most of it. Here’s a link to the stats and map of the run:

West Creek 5 mile run

I captured the data on my new fitness GPS / watch. It’s a Garmin Forerunner 205 — a very cool birthday gift! My family gave that to me last night, after a visit to my new favorite Mexican restaurant in town. Thursday was my actual birthday, but it was very busy for a number of reasons. KT played in All County Orchestra that day, and the concert was that night. After a long day at the office, it was just time to go to bed after getting home late.

The Forerunner 205 has a built in GPS receiver, so the link above gives you date, time, distance, pace, elevation, and a map of the run from start to finish. The unit probably gives you a whole lot more, but I am mostly looking to capture data on where and how fast I am training over a long period of time.

Here’s a photo of the 205…

Motivation and the 3 W’s

20. September 2007 · Write a comment · Categories: running

I have not been motivated to run lately. I’m trying to figure out why… it might have something to do with the 3 W’s.

Work – I’ve spent way too many hours at work lately. When I finally leave, it’s hard to find the time to relax. Sleep doesn’t come easily these days, but when I finally fall asleep, I sleep hard and sleep deep, making the 5:15 AM gym time easy to avoid.

Weather – the weather is starting to cool down (it’s in the low 60s at 5:30 am now). The heat of the summer just beat me up and sent me indoors.

Weight – my weight is hovering… I have been unable to drop further than the 15 original pounds from last year. While I attribute some of it to muscle conversion, I attribute the rest to the fact that I like to eat.

Truth be told, there are 4 W’s that I cannot stand – only three listed here. The other W is the one I helped put into office (only the first time), but I digress.

I think I need to move a bit further up the alphabet.

Back to running on the street

02. September 2007 · Write a comment · Categories: climbing, running

The forecast for Saturday (yesterday) was to be a cool morning, so Sara and I decided to start running on the street again. Both of us have been running on treadmills during the heat of the summer, but it was September, so cooler weather was around the corner. We ran three miles, certainly not the distance we used to run, but enough to get our feet wet, so to speak, with the streets. She’ll be out of town the next two weekends, so I will need to find another partner or two, or hit the streets solo. My goal is to run a 10K on October 13th – now less than six weeks away. Now where is my training book from the 10K in April? I guess I need between 3 – 4 miles every Monday and Wednesday, plus cross training (elliptical) on Thursday, and a long run on Saturday. Either that or suffer through the 10K on the 13th!

Today, Jake and I are going to an indoor climbing gym (http://www.peakexperiences.com/climbing-center/About-us.htm). While I used to climb in college, I haven’t been for years. Climbing is a very humbling experience as I remember, but once you let go of your fear of falling, you can enjoy the fact that you have no strength in your fingers to keep your old, fat body from falling when you make the next move. Of course, my legs are stronger now than they have been ever, I presume, and that won’t hurt. Jake is like a monkey, however – tall and lean, and getting stronger every day.

Tomorrow morning (Labor Day), I’m planning on hitting the local industrial park for a long solo run. Of course, that is dependent on not killing myself at the climbing gym today!

Traveling…

17. July 2007 · Write a comment · Categories: remodeling, running

This blog has been quiet for a while. There has been too much going on, with not enough time for sitting at the computer. We have pulled all of the wallpaper from the kitchen (one of our largest, but poorly laid out rooms). Then, retaped and mudded the corners, primed, and painted with multiple coats of latex paint. We still need to add the border and put the outlet covers back on, but it’s mostly done. We still have the ceiling to do, but need to get a professional to tape and mud them. The downside of replacing our windows and heat pump is that we now have a much drier house. The dry air has dried out the seams and the drywall enough that the seam paper is pulling away from the drywall. It is just part of the joy of owning a 25 year old house. The one thing that I have learned from this experience is that I hate to fix drywall seams and am glad for my white collar job!

I have continued to run a couple of days each week, although not as consistently as previously. My excuse? The heat… I hate to run when it is so hot, so have rescheduled the runs for early in the morning or on the treadmill. I have not been good about going to the gym over the past few weeks. I really need to get back into the weight lifting I had started last year. My upper body strength has started to wane, and good upper body strength actually helps you run better according to a couple of articles I have read. I have a series of exercises I can do, but the sheet is sitting in my truck… great place, huh?

I ran the first of a series of races (the cul-de-sac series) last Monday. This is a series of 5K (3.1 miles) races that goes in and out of neighborhood cul-de-sacs. When we took off at 7 PM, it was still 97 degrees and approaching 90% humidity. It about killed me. This was definitely not about fun, but survival. I thought, only 3 miles, no need to bring fluids – but I should have. I don’t think I have perspired that much in many years. This week, I missed the race in prep for my trip to pick up my son (we were leaving at 4 AM). I could have run it, but with the heat and humidity, it would have been a very difficult recovery enough to get any sleep that night. I choose sleep (sort of – in bed at 11:30 PM and back up at 3:50 AM). I wonder how my friends did!

My 6:30 appointment on Saturdaya

24. June 2007 · Write a comment · Categories: eNV, Richmond, running

This was at the start of my 6 mile solo run on Saturday… waiting for Sara to join me…

Solo 6 mile run

23. June 2007 · Write a comment · Categories: Richmond, running

Solo 6 miler… it was interesting doing this alone!

Activity

Route: West Creek Elev. Avg: 0 ft
Location: Goochland, VA Elev. Gain: +0 ft
Date: 06/23/07 Up/Downhill: [+0/-0]
Time: 06:30 AM Difficulty: 0 / 5.0
Weather: Fair
60F temp; 69% humidity
60F heat index; winds Calm

Performance

Distance: 6.12 miles
Time: 1:00:00
Speed: 6.1 mph
Pace: 9′ 48 /mi
Calories: 1080

Notes

Solo 6 miler

Map

Elevation (ft.)

Saturday sunrisea

23. June 2007 · Write a comment · Categories: eNV, Richmond, running

Original photo – S E Alexander

Cool shot of the sunrise and the clouds that were moving out after a Friday night rain… West Creek in Goochland County, VA

Continued effort

19. June 2007 · Write a comment · Categories: Richmond, running

I have been continuing to trog through my weekly runs… Monday / Tuesday runs are the hardest since they are on my own. For example, I ran 3 1/2 miles this morning on the treadmill. Since school is now out, I got to sleep in a bit – and the gym was still crowded at 6 AM… Wednesday / Thursday runs have gotten better. While it is harder to run at night due to the summer heat, we’ve pushed the time back to 7 pm when it’s a bit cooler. We ran 5+ each of the past two weeks on Wednesday. While it’s a smaller group, it is definitely better than running on the treadmill solo.

On Saturday, we moved the run to an industrial park in the next county west of us. It is really close, about 3 miles west of us and, for now, a low-traffic route.

I just ran across (pun intentional) an article from a runner’s world blog. Since several of us have discussed this, I thought it was worth sharing. It discusses how to determine and change your running cadence which will decrease your chance of injury while increasing your speed — a really good combination!

http://rodale.typepad.com/coachjenny/2007/05/run_faster_easi.html

Today, I checked my cadence at 6.1 MPH – 182 (91 left steps in 1 minute)… now to go back and read what that means! I’ll try to do the same tomorrow when we run outside.

5K Run for Autism

27. May 2007 · Write a comment · Categories: running

Yesterday was my first 5K – a short 3.1 miles… The run was to raise money for autism research.

I wasn’t sure how to pace myself since it was only 3 miles. The weather started off only a little warm, but the temperature soared quickly. By the end it was in the 80s, way too hot to be running. The course was fairly flat – a long winding downhill meaning it was a slow uphill climb at the end. The first mile was way too fast… I ended up walking for two small sections in mile 2 and 3, each for less than a minute. However, I ended up at 30:46 officially, which equates to a 9:54 pace. While a bit slower than I hoped, it was still a good pace (it would be a 1:01:30 10K at that pace). It would have taken a 9:39 pace to end up at 30 minutes… and I think I can do that by the end of the summer.

I really need to get my act together and start to drop my times for my weekday runs, but won’t do that if I only run 2 – 3 days each week. I think I will attempt to hit the treadmill hard, then the elliptical two days a week as well. The elliptical is easier on my knees, so I should do that more. It also helps the muscles in the legs, just not the breathing part…

Another weekend, another 10K

20. May 2007 · Write a comment · Categories: Carytown 10K, running

Well, I am running another 10K today (Sunday). I’m not at all sure how I’ll do but as usual, will give it my best shot. It’s only an hour or so – longer with the drive, warm up, cool down and drive home, but only an hour of pain…

The “team” of folks I have been running with have continued the Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday runs. The team is fairly fluid, but I know I will always have someone to run with when I show. I have run on the treadmill a few times, even gone a round or two with the elliptical, but for the most part have just been running 3 – 5 miles with the team. I’ve been struggling lately with the longer distances, but think that if I get my act together and start eating right, it will help me remove that barrier.

Today’s 10K is the Carytown 10K. It’s a basic out and back course, but through a great little shopping district that is a favorite of mine. I’ve not run this race before, but am looking forward to the challenge.

Lately, I have been so busy with the pool. We have been trying to get it ready to open (next weekend), and finishing up with the projects we started this fall. I continue to be amazed that out of the 220 member families, about 20 individuals have spent any time at all volunteering to get the pool ready. We’ve built a pavilion, torn up and replaced 1800 sq. ft. of decking, torn up 600 sq. ft. of concrete (jackhammer, etc.), all ready for opening. 20 people helping at all – about 10 with serious effort put forth. I only know it’s worth it due to the comments. But, I’m tired… too much time spent there and not enough on the things around my home. Good thing this is the last year on the board (and I will not continue on the board). Now, if I could only find the time to manage the website for the pool as well!

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