After a five-mile jog at lunch today, I updated my running spreadsheet. I discovered that I have now logged TWO THOUSAND miles since I began tracking my mileage about two years ago. Yay me.
In other news, it looks like I will not be heading to New Hampshire on May 13 for the Big Lake Half Marathon. However, I may do a race in Lake Geneva instead. I haven't decided how far just yet -- it all depends on how my training goes for the next four weeks.
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Saturday, March 18, 2006
5K Blarney Run Report
On Saturday, March 11, I participated in the Blarney Run. It was the first officially-timed 5K that I've been in since the Roma 5K in 2004. While I didn't set a new personal best, it was a lot of fun to be in a race that I knew would be over in 25 minutes or less. :)I finished in 22:07, averaging about 7:08 per mile. Special thanks go to Jenelle, Mom, and Dad, all of whom supported me and cheered me on. Here's the four of us at Maggiano's after the race:
Sunday, February 19, 2006
Not-so-chilly 10K - PR!
The weather was VERY cold on the scheduled date of Ben's Chilly 10K. Even colder than expected -- temperatures never got above single digits, and the wind chill was always below zero. So, what did I do? I moved the 10K inside to a treadmill. I finished in 48:27, which is about 7:48 / mile. I think I still had some energy left at the end, so I may try another 10K race sometime before Big Lake in May.
On a related note, here's some of my thoughts on treadmills:
1) I always set the grade at 1.0% to offset the fact that there's no wind resistance when running "in place".
2) I think it's okay to use the railings for balance checks -- however, leaning on them because of fatigue is a sign that the pace is too fast.
3) The treadmills at work and the work fitness center are very high quality -- I always feel very comfortable on them. Hotel treadmills are okay, but I can't help but get a little nervous when I speed it up and that motor starts making a lot of noise.
4) Ever heard of a fitness equipment store called "2nd Wind"? Based on its name, I figured it would sell high-quality fitness center machines that are used but not used up. Nope -- the equipment's all new, so don't expect to go in there for a good deal on a premium machine.
That's all for now -- next race is probably the Blarney 5K in March! Let me know if you'll be there. :)
On a related note, here's some of my thoughts on treadmills:
1) I always set the grade at 1.0% to offset the fact that there's no wind resistance when running "in place".
2) I think it's okay to use the railings for balance checks -- however, leaning on them because of fatigue is a sign that the pace is too fast.
3) The treadmills at work and the work fitness center are very high quality -- I always feel very comfortable on them. Hotel treadmills are okay, but I can't help but get a little nervous when I speed it up and that motor starts making a lot of noise.
4) Ever heard of a fitness equipment store called "2nd Wind"? Based on its name, I figured it would sell high-quality fitness center machines that are used but not used up. Nope -- the equipment's all new, so don't expect to go in there for a good deal on a premium machine.
That's all for now -- next race is probably the Blarney 5K in March! Let me know if you'll be there. :)
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
No Winter Blues Here
Even though I don't plan to run another marathon for quite a while, I'm still running 5-6 times a week. I haven't been doing too many long runs -- I've logged at least 20 miles in each of the past few weeks. I'm also doing more speedwork, which involves running faster for shorter periods of time.
In the coming months, I hope to set new personal records for most of the shorter distances on the list at right. This Saturday, I'm going to run a solo 10K "race" around the neighborhood. I hope to break 50 minutes. Since the high temperature is forecast to be in the teens, I'm calling it "Ben's Chilly 10K". On March 11, I'll probably in Wauwatosa for the Blarney 5K Run. There's a walking option, so feel free to join me!
I might do one or two more races in April to help with my preparation for the Big Lake Half Marathon on May 13 in New Hampshire. Yes, New Hampshire. I'll explain the reasoning behind that choice in a later blog entry.
In the coming months, I hope to set new personal records for most of the shorter distances on the list at right. This Saturday, I'm going to run a solo 10K "race" around the neighborhood. I hope to break 50 minutes. Since the high temperature is forecast to be in the teens, I'm calling it "Ben's Chilly 10K". On March 11, I'll probably in Wauwatosa for the Blarney 5K Run. There's a walking option, so feel free to join me!
I might do one or two more races in April to help with my preparation for the Big Lake Half Marathon on May 13 in New Hampshire. Yes, New Hampshire. I'll explain the reasoning behind that choice in a later blog entry.
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Houston Race Report
Be sure to check the previous post for more details about Houston. Here's a narrative of the race:
Houston was a GREAT race for me. Everything came together very well. Perfect weather. I ran my first two miles in 9:45 and 9:30, slowly warming up and making sure I was ready to pick up the pace. Somewhere in the first five miles, I caught and passed the 4:15 pace team.
This was also the largest marathon I ever ran (15,000 between the full and half marathons). I ran several miles under 9:00 as the race continued. I remember passing a guy who looked like Elvis, someone dressed like King Tut, and a guy with a HUGE cowboy hat. Fun times.
I was also impressed with how there was no waiting at a lot of the portable restroom stations. At mile 13, I stopped for a quick break. I didn't *have* to go, but the opportunity was there, and I knew I'd feel a lot more at ease for the rest of the race. I finished the first half in about 1:59:30.
Everything was going VERY well until I hit mile 21. I could feel the tremendous strain on my body. I had run 20 miles at 9:10 pace before, but never beyond that. After finishing mile 21 in 9:22, I tried to pick it up in miles 22 and 23, turning in splits of 9:02 and 8:59.
Then, mile 24. Never have I felt my body telling me in so many ways to slow down. "You're going to set a PR. You can walk the rest of the way. Don't worry about the four-hour mark. It's not like you need it for a BQ or something." I took an extra walking break during mile 24, and I walked for longer than usual at the rest stop in mile 25, turning in splits of 9:56 and 10:17.
As I crossed the mile 25 banner, I checked my Garmin forerunner. It was close to 3:49. I thought to myself, "If you push it, you might make four hours." The mind battle raged on, but not for long. The runner in me said, "After the next 1.2 miles, you're done. It'll all be over before you realize... Go for it!" I barely looked at my forerunner for the next 10 minutes, just trying to keep moving.
The finish line crept closer and closer. I peeked at my forerunner while weaving through traffic, counting down the seconds to the four-hour mark. "10... 9... maybe I can make it... 7... 6... almost there... 4... 3... 2... okay, only a few seconds over... DONE!" I forgot to smile when I finished. I was too focused on stepping on the finish mat, because I had no idea if my forerunner was perfectly accurate or not. I soon found out that my time was 4:00:03. CLOSE ENOUGH!
This was an almost perfect race for me. For that reason, you won't see me out on a marathon course for at least four months. Probably more. I'm going to keep training, but I'm going to work on shorter races for a while.
Houston was a GREAT race for me. Everything came together very well. Perfect weather. I ran my first two miles in 9:45 and 9:30, slowly warming up and making sure I was ready to pick up the pace. Somewhere in the first five miles, I caught and passed the 4:15 pace team.
This was also the largest marathon I ever ran (15,000 between the full and half marathons). I ran several miles under 9:00 as the race continued. I remember passing a guy who looked like Elvis, someone dressed like King Tut, and a guy with a HUGE cowboy hat. Fun times.
I was also impressed with how there was no waiting at a lot of the portable restroom stations. At mile 13, I stopped for a quick break. I didn't *have* to go, but the opportunity was there, and I knew I'd feel a lot more at ease for the rest of the race. I finished the first half in about 1:59:30.
Everything was going VERY well until I hit mile 21. I could feel the tremendous strain on my body. I had run 20 miles at 9:10 pace before, but never beyond that. After finishing mile 21 in 9:22, I tried to pick it up in miles 22 and 23, turning in splits of 9:02 and 8:59.
Then, mile 24. Never have I felt my body telling me in so many ways to slow down. "You're going to set a PR. You can walk the rest of the way. Don't worry about the four-hour mark. It's not like you need it for a BQ or something." I took an extra walking break during mile 24, and I walked for longer than usual at the rest stop in mile 25, turning in splits of 9:56 and 10:17.
As I crossed the mile 25 banner, I checked my Garmin forerunner. It was close to 3:49. I thought to myself, "If you push it, you might make four hours." The mind battle raged on, but not for long. The runner in me said, "After the next 1.2 miles, you're done. It'll all be over before you realize... Go for it!" I barely looked at my forerunner for the next 10 minutes, just trying to keep moving.
The finish line crept closer and closer. I peeked at my forerunner while weaving through traffic, counting down the seconds to the four-hour mark. "10... 9... maybe I can make it... 7... 6... almost there... 4... 3... 2... okay, only a few seconds over... DONE!" I forgot to smile when I finished. I was too focused on stepping on the finish mat, because I had no idea if my forerunner was perfectly accurate or not. I soon found out that my time was 4:00:03. CLOSE ENOUGH!
This was an almost perfect race for me. For that reason, you won't see me out on a marathon course for at least four months. Probably more. I'm going to keep training, but I'm going to work on shorter races for a while.
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Houston Fun Facts
Here's the mile splits and other pertinent info for Houston:
| Miles 1-5 | 9:43 | 9:30 | 9:28 | 9:01 | 9:20 |
| Miles 6-10 | 9:12 | 9:01 | 8:36 | 8:56 | 8:58 |
| Miles 11-15 | 8:36 | 8:52 | 9:24 | 8:31 | 8:58 |
| Miles 16-20 | 9:20 | 8:45 | 9:04 | 9:10 | 8:55 |
| Miles 21-25 | 9:22 | 9:02 | 8:59 | 9:56 | 10:17 |
| Miles 26-End | 9:13 | 1:54 |
- Average Pace: 9:09/mile
- First half: 1:59:33 Second half: 2:00:30
- Fastest Mile: #14 (8:31) Slowest Mile: #25 (10:17)
- Race Results
- Graphical Race Results
- Finish Line Video
- Photos
- Check out the graph below. The pink horizontal line represents my run in Seattle. The yellow line represents Milwaukee, and the blue line represents Houston. As you can see, MKE is out of the blocks the fastest, but totally crashes in the second half, getting overtaken by SEA around mile 20. HOU is barely behind MKE throughout the first half, but maintains the solid pace. HOU finished almost two miles ahead of SEA, and over three miles ahead of MKE. Cool. :)
Sunday, January 15, 2006
Unofficial Chip Time
4:00:03 - Close enough :)
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