I’ve been driving my vehicle with a cracked rear strut for a little while. It’s an expensive repair labor-wise so I’ve been putting it off, dangerous as that may be. Last night it “got worse” so I am without wheels until I can take it into the shop on Monday and pay the $750 or so for the repair. Without a vehicle what else does one do with his day off but spend it being active in other ways? By the time I had gotten up and eaten a bowl of cereal, the clock was ticking. The gym is only open between 12 and 5 on Sundays, but I also needed to be home around 3:30. There was a lot to squeeze into a small window. I was out the door for my run by 11:45 AM though.

The day was a cold one. It was 36 °F but heavily overcast and a bit windy. It wasn’t raining but it had earlier. The ground was covered in puddles and everything seemed to be dripping wet; the air was so humid it felt like everything, including myself, was getting wet without any rain.

This was a tough run to manage my temperature with the wind and the temp. At 36 degrees, the shorts, long sleeve T and jacket I had on were close enough to being sufficient, but the humidity and wind are just wild cards. I had gloves and a hat with me but I wanted to make sure that I didn’t sweat through them too quickly or the last few miles would be miserable. I ran for as long as I could without the gloves on and I took the hat on and off periodically — I even used it to alternately warm my hands. The difficulty here is that when I was running into the wind things could get pretty cold, but I’d start sweating freely when running with the wind.  I wasn’t prepared for anything wetter or colder than when I set out, so I hoped the weather held.

Nothing much of note happened while I was out there. It was great to hit my back roads again, especially the really peaceful portions where being out on the road is pure pleasure. I cut my mileage back for a few weeks so it has been a while since I’ve gone this long. The other day I did 10, and this one puts me at 32 for the week but I wasn’t too sure how I’d feel. I had no issues though. Even after 10 miles when I was analyzing how I felt I was just rolling along. I probably don’t have the well to run 20 again without consequences yet but for this I was fine.

I was glad to get home. After a cool down, it was close to 2:00 PM, and I was back out the door by 2:15 in order to get in a 1 hour gym session and be back by 3:30. Without a car, I made sure to bundle up for the walk over, which is probably about a 1/2 mile away. My legs were starting to stiffen but I got there OK.

I put in a good hour at the gym. My back isn’t ready yet for heavy deadlifts (but it’s getting closer) and I tried a couple warm-up sets of squats but realized my legs were pretty toasted from the 13 so I backed off legs. I stuck to abs, barbell rows for the back, bench, flys, some really encouraging pull-up sets, shoulders, dips and more abs.

Exhausted, I set out for the walk back home. The weather had turned and a wicked wind had brought in sleet, turning the already wet roads into a slick mash. I like being outside in most weather, especially when I am prepared for conditions — I was, and the icy mess tattooed my hood as I made my way home.

A bit later, after a shower and a change of clothes, I decided to take a backpack over the Meijer for some groceries. The sleet had turned into wet snow and the wind had died down considerably. I bought eggs and steak and almonds, asparagus and a few other sundries. By the time I got home everything had caught up with me: I was bone weary.

Things went well today. Well, yet I may be cursing myself in a day or two. Between Sunday and today I’ve had a rare three entire days off of my night job and that has left the door open for some running and gym sessions. I have taken full advantage of my time, since I will be working around 53 hours between both jobs over the next four days. I will be surprised if I find the time to fit in a run or anything else until Sunday.

I’ve been slacking on my running the last several weeks. Actually, it has just been really hard to schedule in everything. Managing a personal life as well as two jobs and exercise is becoming a pretty complex puzzle. Somehow I need to get back to the 25-35 miles per week that I want. If I do decide to hit the Kalamazoo marathon in May I want to have most of the base laid down already, and hopefully most of the volume.

[Graphic] Three runs over three days:

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The Road Hawg Classic posted some pictures from the recent race to their Facebook page, and it included one of myself which I particularly like. I often don’t care for race photos, but this one is a bit different. I like that it’s off-centered, with me in the lower left and the dirt and hills behind me. You can vaguely see another runner behind me, just behind the hill. It’s just… rather dynamic and I am pleased to be part of the image :)

I feel like this picture could have a caption in the top right. Something like “Run Against Yourself” or similar.

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9/58 isn’t too shabby… although I have to say that the 40+ men really showed up en force for this race. Fast guys! I was listed as the 1st in my 31-40 M AG, however the overall winner was a 32 M. He appears to have been excluded from the AG ranking for some odd reason. Is that normal? I’ve never looked too closely at that sort of thing.

Race Recap:

I’ll go ahead and lead with this awful self-shot taken minutes after finishing. As an almost-37 year old man with short hair and a cowlick, wind-swept hair is not something I wear well. Despite looking completely exhausted, it was actually a great race for me.

10k’s are not my thing yet. I’ve run one other 10k race to date, even though I’ve done innumerable 6 mile training runs. They’re very different things, aren’t they? That first 10k was the Kalamazoo Klassic, and I ran it in 46:33. the race’s tagline is “The Thrill, the Will, the Hill” due to a massive uphill climb in the exact middle of the race which has most runners walking, hands on knees. But the rest of the course is very downhill and fast. Is this a good benchmark race? No.

Coming into the race I didn’t have many expectations for myself. I ran the 5k at this event last year, and it’s a very small, almost intimate race. Since the marathon I hadn’t been hitting the training runs hard at all, just 2-3 a week with no structure, but I still had much of that fitness banked. My rough plan was to shoot for 7:30/min miles and then go for broke the last mile or mile and a half. Not being familiar with a 10k race, I figured that was a reasonable plan. I never plan well.

PRE-RACE
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I am always bad at estimating time in the morning. I get nervous and want to leave enough time for myself, and I am always early. The race is held on Ang Air Force Base in Battle Creek and I pulled up to the security checkpoint a little before 8 AM, an hour before the race was due to start. That morning I had stopped into the gas station and purchased a big blueberry muffin from the baked goods case. As the security guard checked my ID he noticed the white, waxed paper bag on my passenger seat and smiling, said, “do you have any suspicious contents in that bag that I need to confiscate?” I laughed and told him he had a good nose. The man had obviously purchased a doughnut or two in his day.

Packet pick-up was painless considering the early hour. Having time to kill, I was very meticulous in affixing my timing chip to my shoe and pinning my race bib on straight. I texted my sister Kari to let her know I was early, and she was still a good 30 minutes out. I took a spirited jog around the parking lot to get the blood pumping, but my legs felt a little unresponsive and dead. Oh well. It was a grey overcast morning with a little wind and temps around 52 °F. I hadn’t slept well the night before because I worked late and I wasn’t too worried. No pressure or expectations, right? I was just going to go out and run my 6 miles and have a good time.

Kari eventually arrived and she got her packet squared away as well. All pre- and post-race gathering is handled in a cafeteria-like room, so we had a warm place to hang out prior to the start. Soon enough the appointed time came and we all headed outside to the start line. With only 180 or so people competing between the 3 events (5k walk, 5k run and 10k run) it felt very relaxed compared to the crush of other running starts, yet still organized.

THE RACE
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I lined up a way’s back with Kari and we chatted away about the race and anything else that came to mind. After a couple speeches were given via microphone and a moment of silence, the race began. The crowd shuffled forward and as we crossed the timing mats Kari offered me good luck as I set out on my pace.

It was a cool morning, grey, and I LOVE running through the pack. The beginning of any race is full of infectious energy and this one was no different. When the blood starts pumping and your legs get moving, and there are so many people to move through and work around, it’s hard not to get a little Foo Fighter with your pace. “Done, done, and on to the next one” as I pass one runner after another.

I was feeling great and running easily when something terrible happened: I hit the first mile and my watch read 7:02! I suddenly realized that I was running my 5k pace and that entire first mile I had been running with, and passing, 5k runners. Oh no….

THE COURSE
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The course is held on an Air Force base and the majority of it is run on the campus and runways. The 10k actually dips out onto a dirt trail on the edge of the property while the 5k is entirely on pavement. The 5k and 10k courses share most of the first two miles and much of the last mile.

In the first 1/2 mile there is a slight rise in elevation for about 100 yards but the course is otherwise flat until the 10k splits from the 5k at around 2.25 after a good 3/4 mile straight-away along a runway. The 10k then veers off to tackle a steady climb up an overpass above train tracks. The rise and corresponding downhill take up about 1/2 mile, and then you enter onto a dirt service road surrounded by woods at the 2.75 mile point.

This back trail is really a well-maintained dirt road and you’re on it until around mile 3.6-3.7. It has a couple steep inclines and one very sharp decline that’ll have your feet slapping the ground hard. From there you’re back on pavement and you reach the incline to the train overpass again at mile 4.3 or so. With no more hills, it’s just a few turns to the finish line.

THE RACE
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I am not a wise man.

After a freakishly fast 7:02 first mile, I was worried. I felt great, but I knew I couldn’t maintain that pace for 6 miles. The small pack of runners was really starting to stretch out at that point anyway, and I figured I had passed most of the people I would that day. The blazing fast 5k runners had set out a good lead and it was lengthening. I thought I had better slow down and get back to the 7:30 pace I had initially planned.

As the race moved onto the tarmac I crept up on an older gentleman that seemed to be running my intended pace. I mumbled something about “5k or 10k?” but he had headphones in and didn’t notice me. I passed him too quickly, not doing a good job of holding back on my pace and turned into a very long straight-away into the wind on one of the runways. I slowly reeled in a couple runners along this stretch and unceremoniously passed them as my 2 mile mark read a 7:17 pace. Ouch! Although I had slowed down a little, I didn’t think it was enough. I was starting to notice the EFFORT I was putting in. Sweat was starting to flow at that point and though I could control my breathing, it was coming in heavy. One of the guys I passed at mile 2 was sounding like a steam locomotive trying to break inertia though… I hope he made it through his race OK.

I made a turn at 2.25 to start the gradual climb up the overpass. I was completely alone, with no one behind me in sight and a lone runner near the top of the rise before me. Some speakers set out by the road played some horrible pop-techno song from the early 90’s and I hope I never remember what it was.

At this point my run suddenly felt like a training run. If I have a hill in front of me, I push up it trying not to lose pace. If I see a runner in front of me, I can’t help but to try and catch up. I powered up that overpass and made up some good ground on my new runner-friend. He probably didn’t know I was creeping up on him, but he was my new runner-friend all the same. The downhill side of the overpass was pretty long and I had a hard time catching up to my runner-friend as we both used it to good advantage.

We entered the dirt track around mile 2.75 and were immediately greeted by a little hill. My runner-friend apparently didn’t like hills that much because I easily closed the gap on him and passed as we crested the rise. He had grey hair under his hat and was older than I thought. “Some good old fashioned trail running,” I said as I passed. “Takes you back to cross country,” he replied. I spouted back a “Yep!” but I was already rolling down the back side of the hill and leaving him behind. At the top of another, steeper hill mile 3 came and went. 7:06. Fuuuuuu…antastic!

I began to question what the heck I was doing. I was 3 miles and 21:25 into a 6.2 mile race. My PR for a 3.1 mile race is 21:24. While that’s maybe 40 seconds off, it was a blow to my rational brain. Mile 1 - not sustainable. Mile 2 - not sustainable. Mile 3 - not sustainable and FASTER than mile 2. I tried to slow down.

The course soon turned a corner and out in the distance I caught sight of two young runners, well ahead of me. Wow. This race was really spread out!

I was into mile 4 and really worried about my race. I had started out too fast and I couldn’t seem to let go of the pace no matter how my brain tried. I was quite certain my legs were going to give out on me before the end; it was simply too fast. An 8:30, and even an 8:00 pace is pretty leisurely, but a 7:00 pace is ACTIVE! I’m up on toes, ahead of the hips, in the air and driving the knees. Why was I doing this?

The two guys soon passed out of view and I was left to myself again. I was deep into mile 4 and my legs were feeling odd… weak. I passed the mile 4 marker and a guy with a stop-watch told me some numbers and that I was doing a good job. Soon after my Garmin beeped in with a 7:10 mile. 2 miles left, plus a little.

I was feeling a little sick. A little weak. My legs kept moving underneath me and didn’t seem to be a part of the mental conversation I was having. Up ahead, I could see that the two guys I had been chasing had split. One was gone, and the other was lagging and getting closer. I knew I was done pushing, but I set my sights on him.

He was a 1/4 mile ahead of me when we started the climb up the overpass and when we reached the top I had passed him. I tried offering some encouragement to him to see if he’d come with me, but he seemed spent. All the same… DAMN I can run a hill. Seriously, hills appear to be where I shine the most in every race.

The overpass downhill flowed into my 5 mile split ay 7:05, and my mind was pretty broken at that point. I had NO idea what I was doing or why I was still doing it. Most of me knew that the reason I was running as fast as I was, was because it was the speed I started off with. I had been flirting with disaster for over a mile, running almost as fast I was able to for 3 miles, and then holding it.

Holding it.

Man, that last mile… I ran. I held it. I think the 6:42 split tells a good tale there. I’m not sure I understand the 10k race yet, but…

My best 5k time is 21:24 and now my best 10k time is 42:41, 7 seconds faster than double my 5k. This is ridiculous.

I did 5 miles tonight. I took off around 7:30, well after dark, and it was my first run this winter using a headlamp. It’s time to start getting used to night running, and the cold, and the peaceful intensity of getting miles in during the winter.

The run itself went well:

The temperature was around 38-39 °F, which always makes for nice running. I find that more and more the 8 min/mile pace feels natural. I don’t know how much of that has to do with the cooler weather, but I’ll take the speed when I can get it.

This run is very typical for me now. Even on short runs like this I seem to strive to tire myself out by the end. The first couple miles are usually a bit slower, with my pace picking up gradually throughout, and I often have a significantly faster last mile. This negative split behavior is seen in most of my training runs and usually carried over into my races as well. Here’s what today’s run looks like on a graph:

It really cranks up when I get close to home :)

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I really do love running in the cold and the dark. Tonight I wore a hat with a bill and the headlamp sat over it, shielding my eyes from some of it’s ambient glare. Still the light creates of a bubble around you as you move down the path and it can be a little hypnotic. The light makes the darkness around you more impenetrable, a bit more mysterious, and you feel like a lone ship on a calm sea. When the snow finally falls, sounds from the world around you will be muffled and the isolated feeling will intensify. It’s even better when the snow is falling around you and you become a deep-sea diving bell moving through the murk.

While running through the dark and the cold can be peaceful, you’re still pushing yourself. Your body is still sweating and there’s still that brain tingle that make the next mile a bit faster than the last. You’re not a lazy log floating down a dark river but rather a speeding torpedo cutting through the gloom, running hot through the cold air. Under a summer sun you can feel your energy leaking from you with each mile, but in the winter you make your own heat and it feels wonderful.

Bring on the 5:15 PM sunsets. Bring on the 5 °F temps and the snow and ice. You’ll find me out there, in shorts or tights with spikes on my shoes and a smile on my face. Mostly because my face will be frozen that way.

After my marathon I felt some bruise-like pain at the ball of my big toe on my right foot. After a couple days this seemed to go away, and I even got in a couple short runs without issue. A week after, on 10/28, I went for a nice 10 mile run which went fine except that my toe again felt bruised. Perhaps it was just too many miles too soon. 5 days later it’s still a little sore, though nothing is structurally wrong.

Although it is most likely that I just need to give my foot a bit more rest I started wondering about my shoes. I’m still running on the Saucony Mirage II’s which I got back in June. At the time I was told by many people that they don’t hold up as long as most other shoes, so is it possible that I just have some flat tires?

I looked back and my first run in these shoes was on June 17, 2012. I took all the runs since then and added them up:

356 miles or so over 56 runs. That’s not TOO bad. I was optimistically hoping for 500 miles (rather than 700+) or so on these, and I’ll probably still stick with them for a while yet. Still, now that I’ve started thinking about it, I’ll be itching to buy a new pair of shoes as soon as I can allow myself to. Darn you, New Shoe Fever… not yet!

Today I eventually got in a 10 miler. Some Sundays are complete days off, and when they arrive they are my entire weekend, compressed.

I finally got around for my run around 4 PM, after some recreational couch-napping. It was cloudy, windy, verging on rainy, and around 42 °F. I’ve been trying to figure out if I am actually sick or not all day, and I was still a bit drowsy from my nap when I actually left for the run. Around mile 1 I figured I’d only run 3 miles. At 1.5, I was shooting for 5 miles, and after 4 miles I was in for the full 10 I had hoped for. What a way to wake up!

I ran with gloves and jacket, and the first half was all into a headwind that made my ears ache. What I love about this run is the slow progression of pace each mile. It was nice and relaxed the whole time but I can see where I was earning my sweat.

It’s a week after the marathon and it’s nice to get back into the habit of a long run on the weekend if I can, as long as I’m feeling it. It’s not for a purpose other than loving being outside and running, now that I don’t have a race to look forward to.

I just went out for my normal Saturday run. Nothing special, really. It was around 45 °F, sunny with a light breeze — an excellent day to be out getting some vitamin D.

Perhaps I had a bit of caffeine, but my first mile came in rather fast and I was feeling good, so I kept running and laid down one of, if not THE, fastest 10k’s yet.

I even chose my hilly route to get a bit of extra work in. Needless to say, I was feeling super fit. All of those long miles really pay off, it seems.

Thursday night I started feeling a bit ill, with my throat getting a bit sore and scratchy. I went to bed early and woke up Friday with a pressure headache and a worsening sore throat. I worked both jobs until about 10 PM or so without getting much worse, hoping I could fight off whatever bug it happened to be.

Friday night was not looking good though. The soreness of my throat seemed to be spreading, my nose was beginning to run and drain back, and my body was feeling run-down. I didn’t sleep well and when I got up for more water around 4 AM, I was sure I’d be full-blown sick this morning.

But no! Once again my body fought off a full-blown sickness and I woke up feeling refreshed, with no sore throat and lots of energy. It felt good to cap that off with an awesome run today in the crisp fall air.

On Tuesday I went out for a nice normal 4 mile run, my first real run after the marathon on Sunday. Monday I did a brief run/walk to get some blood flowing to my achy feet, but Tuesday was a legit run: 4.03 miles, 32:03, 7:58 pace. My legs feel fine now and I am completely back to normal working order.

It was around 7 when I started out and already getting dark. It’s a good reminder that winter, and it’s shorter days, are fast approaching. I need to start thinking about visibility gear and so forth again.

Because these shorter runs at dusk only barely take me out past any city street lights, I feel that a full headlamp is a bit much for dusk or night runs sometimes. Also, the first mile on my usual route has a lot of parking lot entrance and street crossings, where I am constantly worried about bumping into drivers that are paying attention to the roads and not the sidewalk. This is especially an issue at night, where they’re really only looking for oncoming lights, and reflective vest isn’t going to be of much help if the headlights aren’t pointed at you.

I’ve taken to carrying a tiny LED squeeze light with me. To make it easy to carry, I tied a tiny bit of elastic (found in the craft aisle) to it so that it hangs out on my wrist.

It is pretty bright and I will blink it as I approach intersections when cars are around, and even shine it at drivers briefly if I think they need to be extra aware of a pedestrian’s presence as they pretend to stop at an intersection. It tends to work, I think, and in general it’s nice to have a super-light, tiny yet bright flashlight on you when out.

It’s the day after my marathon and it is time to put my thoughts in order and record the experience for myself. If I get a bit self-congratulatory, it’s because the race went really well!

This morning it did hurt to get out of bed. The familiar stiffness and ache from my plantar fasciitis was there when my foot hit the floor, as it has been since this problem started months ago, but a few other pains accompanied it. My legs, especially the base of my calves and quadriceps are a bit sore but bearable. Worse, however are my feet. The ball of my right foot under the big toe is bruised and I have a blister on the inside of my 2nd toe. The top of my left foot hurts as well, as if a joint needs to pop into place… if there was a joint right at the crest of the foot. My poor feet feel like I slammed them against the pavement for almost 4 hours. Despite this I made the trip back and forth between the snooze bar and the bed a couple times before getting up.

It’s a couple hours into the morning now and I can walk like a human being. My feet ache still, but my legs don’t really hurt that much and I have full mobility without pain. Who would have thought I would have bruised my feet? That never came up in training. I’ve been up and down the three flights of stairs outside the apartment without issue. All systems check out and I feel like I could probably get in an easy three today if I wanted to… and if I wasn’t working both jobs today.

I met up with my sister Kari and our cousin Zack before the race and we exchanged the usual nervous excited chatter that precedes most races. Zack and I follow each other’s training closely and he and I run amazingly similar times for everything. We’re even seconds apart on our 5k race times. Naturally our goal times for the day were right in line, as was our race strategy. We decided to run it together for as long as we both wanted to stick with the other — no pressure or expectations.

I’ve done a lot of running to be able to do this marathon, and it would have been special as my first no matter what. But to be able to run it with two family members, on what was also their first marathon, is too precious to describe. Zack and I share a last name and I always get a kick seeing his name just under mine on the registration rosters. Thank you both for putting in the hard work and making this shared experience happen.

THE RACE

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