...I'm thinking during the second mile (or maybe it's the third mile, I'm not really sure) "man I'm not running well at all, my time is going to be poo". That was about it for the negative talk. I was around some sort of putt putt course and just continued to stick with it. I wasn't sure what my overall time was going to be, but I was damn sure that I was going to stick with what got me there. I was going to fight through the pain.
Overall it was still another disappointment. To be honest. The time wasn't what I wanted. Making excuses could come up. But really this was something that I was not expecting. I am realistic. I am aware of where I was. I am sure that this is the beginning of the year. But it's another race where the effort does not equal the overall result. And that's the frustrating thing.
...I picked up Matt from his apartment and then we drove over to Alexandria to get ready for the race. Oh it was cold! Not cold, but windy cold. The wind that hits you and gets in your bones. It was that cold. We did our warm up on the course. It was an out and back course. The wind was going to be in our face for the first half of the race. We ran up a bridge that was a minor hill. It wasn't that bad. It had a long gradual downhill, which mean that there was a long gradual incline on the way back. I went into the race, not going with the singlet again, and instead a long sleeve dry-fit shirt.
It was cold waiting for the race to start. Once we got going, the overall lead group was there and was slow. I was right in the group. I was feeling good. The group started to spread out. I ended up being strung out from the group. I hit the first mile in 5:35 and there really wasn't a group around me. There was a guy in front of me. And then the first place woman and another guy behind me. My goal for mile two was to close the gap and get with the guy in front of me.
The second mile was in the wind. It was a boring stretch of the course. Flat. The guy in front of me gapped me by a lot. That was the frustrating thing. I couldn't get over that. I was putting in the effort and I couldn't do a thing about it. I just don't have that gear. It's incredibly frustrating. The second mile was also slow 5:56
The third mile was also slow. It was 6:06. I just started to laugh when I was look at my watch and see the split time. I knew I wasn't going that slow based on effort. Right at the turn around the wind really picked up and I laughed again. On the turn around I could tell the first place woman was right on me and moving. Once I got on the turn around there was no more wind, but no feeling that the wind was pushing me.
On the fourth mile the first place woman caught up to me. Usually in races this would happen to me, and I just let the person go by me. But that's not going to happen this year. I am going to embrace the pain, and I'm going to suck it up. We ran together for the mile. People that passed us on the other side cheered her on, I trolled by telling them thanks. Knowing that the cheers were not for me. The fourth mile was a 5:35. I could feel that I was back in the groove. I ended up putting in a surge and dropped the first place woman.
The fifth and sixth mile were the same for time and not really anything important happened. I didn't close the gap and didn't let anyone get close to me. I ended up running a 5:29 for each mile. I finished the race in tenth place and ran a 35:22. A disappointment because I wanted to run under 35. The wind was a factor, but I really wanted to get under that number. It was a frustrating race overall. Not really where I wanted to go.
I looked at the positives. In that I ran 5:50 pace for nearly six miles in the last race that I did. I ran 5:41 pace for ten kilometers. That was good. I am getting stronger. I've ran for a solid month in a row. My mileage is picking up and I can finally do quality workouts that build on my strength, instead of acquiring strength. Here's to the next race.
Monday, February 18, 2013
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Rounding it out
...I had set my alarm ten minutes earlier than normal this morning. It was set to go at 4:50 am. I wasn't sure what the weather was going to be like. I saw that it was 47, but you never know. I was able to get lucky and run with a short sleeve shirt. I jogged the half mile to the track and hopped the turnstile.*
*I was explaining this to some people at work. My logic went like this. Yeah the track is locked, but I just climb the entrance. There is an older gentleman, like 50-60s, walking on the track. I see him out there so I assume that everything is going to be ok.
I did my workout. 12 x400 and 14 x 200. A workout to get my ready for a 10k that I am going to run this weekend. I did the first two 400s. The second one was 80 and I was cursing myself. After that things started...to fall into place. I was extremely consistent on the times I was hitting, 77's. I know this isn't the fastest that I have ran 400s in a workout.** I felt the pain coming and resisted it. I welcomed the fatigue. I welcomed everything that was happening. I hadn't had this feeling in a long time.
**What I like to call the Spring of B-Mac 2011 is when I was phenomenal shape. I do remember that there was one 800 workout, like 8 or 10 by 800 where I averaged 2:26 for them. That was when I was in great shape.
Going back into my log and averaging out the times for this workout compared to the one last Thursday, I ran a full second faster. That was great. Then there were the 200s. No longer was I bending over, hands on hips. I was ready. Oh I was feeling it, but I was feeling good. Averaging 36s for 14 of them. I feel that the time to run fast is right there. Injury and illness free will be two BIG factors and I hope that I am lucky in those two departments.
The track has become a home during these winter months (November to present). I am able to run close to what I was doing, but I want more. This is the year I run under 16 minutes for 5k. This is the year I run under 27 minutes for 8k. This is the year I run under 34 minutes for 10k. Not great times to be honest, but those are the goals that I will be working for this year.
Picture of the Roosevelt HS Track (during the summer time?) where I run my workouts.
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Still rising
...I'm sitting in my apartment with not much left to do. Other than review what I am going to be teaching tomorrow, I've basically finished all the work that I had on my to do list.* I'm at the point where I have ran twenty two days in a row. I've done three workouts this week and was able to raise my mileage to almost 54 miles.
*There is also the fact that I can't find my umbrella. Like seriously where did it go? I have no idea!
There has been some slight pain in my left IT band, but nothing that has caused me any concerns. Or anything that would prompt me to take a day off. In fact it really comes and goes. There are some lingering pains when I sit down for to long. Or there are some pains after I wake up. I've felt that this week has been a return back to the schedule that I was keeping until the middle of December. Then I got sick and didn't run for a week. Then I was in Charlotte for two weeks. Then I ran for about three days in DC and then I got hurt, and it was a long comeback to just run two miles.
Now I am back to maybe what I would say is 80%. There was a feeling in the middle of January, where I threw up my hands (figuratively) and declared that the 2013 race season was over. I did the 8k (or closer 10k) race and felt like things were getting back to respectability. With the two track workouts I did, I think the feeling of being in shape is slowing on the way up.
The workout I did on Tuesday was 8 x 400 and 10 x 200. I averaged 77 for the 400s and 37 for the 200s. I totally felt wiped out from this workout. I haven't had that feeling in a loooong time. But it was a good feeling. The workout I did on Thursday was 10 x 400 and 12 x 400. I got off to a rocky start with two 82's to start off the 400s, that is why the average was 78 and for the 200s it was 37. Take out the slow times when I was getting my legs under me, I average 77. Then on Saturday I did a nice steady state run on Beach Drive, which going out is a deceptive uphill. Add the wind and it wasn't that pleasant going out 4.5 and then on the way back it wasn't so bad. I averaged 6:34 for 9 miles and ran under an hour, which is something that I wanted to do. I'm pleased that the effort is starting to pay off.
Next week I'll toe the line for the George Washington Birthday Classic 10k. My goal is a rather humble one of running under 35 minutes and a top 15 finish. The upcoming week is rather unusual. I get to go to New Jersey on Thursday to observe a school in Newark. The fun part is that I get to board a train at 4am to get to Newark!
On the professional front, I basically have an unofficial contract renewed at my school. It wont formally be offered until late March, but after going over my mid year evaluation it will soon be a formality. I had the meeting for my mid year on Friday after school. I was in the mind to do some sort of celebrating, but that ain't me. It never really was me and I really don't have it in me to be something or someone that I am not. I just go about my business and do the things that please me. Whether that's playing video games, reading, or doing some work. I do the things that satisfy myself. I ended up working for most of Saturday and Sunday morning.
Maybe I'll blog more often. Maybe I'll get more spam comments.
*There is also the fact that I can't find my umbrella. Like seriously where did it go? I have no idea!
There has been some slight pain in my left IT band, but nothing that has caused me any concerns. Or anything that would prompt me to take a day off. In fact it really comes and goes. There are some lingering pains when I sit down for to long. Or there are some pains after I wake up. I've felt that this week has been a return back to the schedule that I was keeping until the middle of December. Then I got sick and didn't run for a week. Then I was in Charlotte for two weeks. Then I ran for about three days in DC and then I got hurt, and it was a long comeback to just run two miles.
Now I am back to maybe what I would say is 80%. There was a feeling in the middle of January, where I threw up my hands (figuratively) and declared that the 2013 race season was over. I did the 8k (or closer 10k) race and felt like things were getting back to respectability. With the two track workouts I did, I think the feeling of being in shape is slowing on the way up.
The workout I did on Tuesday was 8 x 400 and 10 x 200. I averaged 77 for the 400s and 37 for the 200s. I totally felt wiped out from this workout. I haven't had that feeling in a loooong time. But it was a good feeling. The workout I did on Thursday was 10 x 400 and 12 x 400. I got off to a rocky start with two 82's to start off the 400s, that is why the average was 78 and for the 200s it was 37. Take out the slow times when I was getting my legs under me, I average 77. Then on Saturday I did a nice steady state run on Beach Drive, which going out is a deceptive uphill. Add the wind and it wasn't that pleasant going out 4.5 and then on the way back it wasn't so bad. I averaged 6:34 for 9 miles and ran under an hour, which is something that I wanted to do. I'm pleased that the effort is starting to pay off.
Next week I'll toe the line for the George Washington Birthday Classic 10k. My goal is a rather humble one of running under 35 minutes and a top 15 finish. The upcoming week is rather unusual. I get to go to New Jersey on Thursday to observe a school in Newark. The fun part is that I get to board a train at 4am to get to Newark!
On the professional front, I basically have an unofficial contract renewed at my school. It wont formally be offered until late March, but after going over my mid year evaluation it will soon be a formality. I had the meeting for my mid year on Friday after school. I was in the mind to do some sort of celebrating, but that ain't me. It never really was me and I really don't have it in me to be something or someone that I am not. I just go about my business and do the things that please me. Whether that's playing video games, reading, or doing some work. I do the things that satisfy myself. I ended up working for most of Saturday and Sunday morning.
Maybe I'll blog more often. Maybe I'll get more spam comments.
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Langley 8k Race recap: GLORY BOY edition
...I was running at McMullen on January 1st. Some women I passed (maybe once or twice) made the comment to me, "Boy you're fast". Now sometimes I would sheepishly grin or say something that was like, "DERP yep", but this time I was thinking, "you are right I am fast"!
So often I had seen people or running clubs try to steer away from the notion that they don't cater to the fast runners, but to everyone. These are complaints from slower individuals. That maybe the club focuses too much on those who are running fast, and not highlighting the other individuals. And it really gets to a point where people have to sometimes defer their abilities. I got to thinking about that. And would I want the work that I have put in and the result that I got, to not be championed more than say a middle of the pack runner. Well my answer is F THAT.
I'm not putting in 30 minutes a day to strengthening my IT Band, and to come back to where my fitness was, and not have some sort of accomplishment that I am better than most runners. If that makes me GLORY BOY, then you know what then it does. It's not like I was a great runner growing up. Or a great runner in college. Or a great runner overnight. It was something that I had to attain, through years. And after that I believe that I can crow that I am better than the vast majority when I enter a race.
Of course my non GLORY BOY status of PRs through the years:
HS: 20:45 5k; 5:30 1600
2001: 20:00 5k
2002: 18:45 5k
2003: 18:30 5k
2004: 18:12 5k
2005: 17:47 5k
2006: 17:25 5k
2007: 16:39 5k
And at that point I became a GLORY BOY. It took time and it took effort. I wasn't a good runner, and it didn't use the motivation that there were others that were better me. I put in the effort. So what am I trying to say, I'm not really sure. But if you're good at something, you should be able to express it and not have to worry about hurting others feelings. We don't do this in school. We triumph the academic abilities, we should do in athletics. This isn't a hobby that I participate in. I spend to much time and effort for it to be a hobby. A hobby is collecting stamps.
Now to the race. On December 19th I took a day off from running because I had the flu. From that date till February 2nd was 45 days. In that time I took six days off because of the flu and eight days off because of my IT Band. That means out of those 45 days I ran only 31 days. Now out of those 31 days I ran only 17 days where the runs were quality (meaning I was running where it wasn't baby steps to test out my body). In six and a half weeks I had 17 quality days of running. I decided on Wednesday to enter the Langley 8k. I looked at last year's results and saw that the winning time was 30:00 and that the course was described as hilly. Not sure where my fitness was and not sure what hilly meant, I entered the race after feeling good for almost 13 days of running in a row.
The entry fee was 5 dollars. Now when I come to a race, I don't care for a bib or race t-shirt. But I do care for a lead bike and some police on the roads. And that should be a harbinger of things to come. The race started at 10 in McLean, VA at Langley HS. Whose nickname is the SAXONS. I am assuming that their mascot is the Monopoly man. Now when I got there a) it was cold, b) I forgot my gloves, and c) there were members of the drama?/fashion club? setting up something at the auditorium. There were weird runners and then high school girls mingling around. I was looking somewhat normal. I had to go to the bathroom and decided to navigate the labyrinth that was the school. I made a wrong turn and one of the girls came up to me and said "do you need some help". And right there I aged about 10 years. I'M NOT OLD I CAN STILL PARTY.
I did my warm up and it was about 20 something outside. I followed the course and it was going to blow. Oh it was hilly. I came to a fork in the road and had no idea which way to turn so I took a right. Ah Christ! Is what I thought. If we have to run this part it will suck. Basically it was like they made an 8k course behind the Harris Y, but it was much more hillier. I ended up feeling that despite not having expectations, I should be able to run under 30 minutes.
I went back into the HS and was stretching, trying to get warm. I saw someone that looked familiar. Was it Boriana? I wasn't sure. And I wasn't going to say HEY BORIANA and then find it wasn't her. But it was her and we chatted for a little bit.
The race started a little after 10. I wore the trysports long sleeve shirt and was off. My hands felt like bricks of ice. At the start about three Hispanic guys shot off. I really had no idea what to expect. I wasn't feeling that great, but not feeling awful. I ended up running with these two guys for a mile and a half. One guy was saying he was running this as a threshold run which made me want to say DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE, he did remind me of a poor man's Lamperski. Anyway the hills came and go. We ran on roads where the volunteers did a somewhat adequate job. We came to a turn around. I saw Boriana as the third women, I shouted to her "you got this Boriana those other girls are hurting" but it probably came out like this "yogtisborngirlshrutsdfhskjg".
Now at this point is where we were suppose to turn right, instead we went left and that's when the fun began. I remember one point I looked at my garmin and it said 4.25 and I knew there was no way in hell we were that close to the finish. I knew we made a wrong turn when I saw one guy ahead of me, stop and have his hands up in the air. Well let's see how far we are going to run now! The thing about this race was the lack of road closure. In that I ran on some parts where there was no shoulder and cars were right next to me. That I crossed one street at my own risk. Oh that is great!
Anyway after realizing that I was going to run longer than anticipated. I worried. I really didn't have that much in me did I? I was proud that my stride held up for the entire time. The course was extremely hilly. I came back in the school, followed the way everyone else went, which was wrong. After that some guys behind me started to yell after they were finished that whoever measured the course RAWR RAWR RAWR. This would have been the perfect time to troll them and say "it's up to each individual runner to know the course", but I didn't. Instead I did about a mile cool down and left.
I ended up running 5.85 miles at 5:50 pace, which given the lack of fitness I have is good. I figured that in the month of February I'm going to race myself back into shape. If I had run an 8k, it would have been just under 29 minutes. Not to shabby with the hills in this course. In fact I never felt tired or fatigued due to the hills. My stride never went south. So that means it's just around the corner. I guess I have work to do, but as a GLORY BOY that's what I signed up for.
So often I had seen people or running clubs try to steer away from the notion that they don't cater to the fast runners, but to everyone. These are complaints from slower individuals. That maybe the club focuses too much on those who are running fast, and not highlighting the other individuals. And it really gets to a point where people have to sometimes defer their abilities. I got to thinking about that. And would I want the work that I have put in and the result that I got, to not be championed more than say a middle of the pack runner. Well my answer is F THAT.
I'm not putting in 30 minutes a day to strengthening my IT Band, and to come back to where my fitness was, and not have some sort of accomplishment that I am better than most runners. If that makes me GLORY BOY, then you know what then it does. It's not like I was a great runner growing up. Or a great runner in college. Or a great runner overnight. It was something that I had to attain, through years. And after that I believe that I can crow that I am better than the vast majority when I enter a race.
Of course my non GLORY BOY status of PRs through the years:
HS: 20:45 5k; 5:30 1600
2001: 20:00 5k
2002: 18:45 5k
2003: 18:30 5k
2004: 18:12 5k
2005: 17:47 5k
2006: 17:25 5k
2007: 16:39 5k
And at that point I became a GLORY BOY. It took time and it took effort. I wasn't a good runner, and it didn't use the motivation that there were others that were better me. I put in the effort. So what am I trying to say, I'm not really sure. But if you're good at something, you should be able to express it and not have to worry about hurting others feelings. We don't do this in school. We triumph the academic abilities, we should do in athletics. This isn't a hobby that I participate in. I spend to much time and effort for it to be a hobby. A hobby is collecting stamps.
Now to the race. On December 19th I took a day off from running because I had the flu. From that date till February 2nd was 45 days. In that time I took six days off because of the flu and eight days off because of my IT Band. That means out of those 45 days I ran only 31 days. Now out of those 31 days I ran only 17 days where the runs were quality (meaning I was running where it wasn't baby steps to test out my body). In six and a half weeks I had 17 quality days of running. I decided on Wednesday to enter the Langley 8k. I looked at last year's results and saw that the winning time was 30:00 and that the course was described as hilly. Not sure where my fitness was and not sure what hilly meant, I entered the race after feeling good for almost 13 days of running in a row.
The entry fee was 5 dollars. Now when I come to a race, I don't care for a bib or race t-shirt. But I do care for a lead bike and some police on the roads. And that should be a harbinger of things to come. The race started at 10 in McLean, VA at Langley HS. Whose nickname is the SAXONS. I am assuming that their mascot is the Monopoly man. Now when I got there a) it was cold, b) I forgot my gloves, and c) there were members of the drama?/fashion club? setting up something at the auditorium. There were weird runners and then high school girls mingling around. I was looking somewhat normal. I had to go to the bathroom and decided to navigate the labyrinth that was the school. I made a wrong turn and one of the girls came up to me and said "do you need some help". And right there I aged about 10 years. I'M NOT OLD I CAN STILL PARTY.
I did my warm up and it was about 20 something outside. I followed the course and it was going to blow. Oh it was hilly. I came to a fork in the road and had no idea which way to turn so I took a right. Ah Christ! Is what I thought. If we have to run this part it will suck. Basically it was like they made an 8k course behind the Harris Y, but it was much more hillier. I ended up feeling that despite not having expectations, I should be able to run under 30 minutes.
I went back into the HS and was stretching, trying to get warm. I saw someone that looked familiar. Was it Boriana? I wasn't sure. And I wasn't going to say HEY BORIANA and then find it wasn't her. But it was her and we chatted for a little bit.
The race started a little after 10. I wore the trysports long sleeve shirt and was off. My hands felt like bricks of ice. At the start about three Hispanic guys shot off. I really had no idea what to expect. I wasn't feeling that great, but not feeling awful. I ended up running with these two guys for a mile and a half. One guy was saying he was running this as a threshold run which made me want to say DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE, he did remind me of a poor man's Lamperski. Anyway the hills came and go. We ran on roads where the volunteers did a somewhat adequate job. We came to a turn around. I saw Boriana as the third women, I shouted to her "you got this Boriana those other girls are hurting" but it probably came out like this "yogtisborngirlshrutsdfhskjg".
Now at this point is where we were suppose to turn right, instead we went left and that's when the fun began. I remember one point I looked at my garmin and it said 4.25 and I knew there was no way in hell we were that close to the finish. I knew we made a wrong turn when I saw one guy ahead of me, stop and have his hands up in the air. Well let's see how far we are going to run now! The thing about this race was the lack of road closure. In that I ran on some parts where there was no shoulder and cars were right next to me. That I crossed one street at my own risk. Oh that is great!
Anyway after realizing that I was going to run longer than anticipated. I worried. I really didn't have that much in me did I? I was proud that my stride held up for the entire time. The course was extremely hilly. I came back in the school, followed the way everyone else went, which was wrong. After that some guys behind me started to yell after they were finished that whoever measured the course RAWR RAWR RAWR. This would have been the perfect time to troll them and say "it's up to each individual runner to know the course", but I didn't. Instead I did about a mile cool down and left.
I ended up running 5.85 miles at 5:50 pace, which given the lack of fitness I have is good. I figured that in the month of February I'm going to race myself back into shape. If I had run an 8k, it would have been just under 29 minutes. Not to shabby with the hills in this course. In fact I never felt tired or fatigued due to the hills. My stride never went south. So that means it's just around the corner. I guess I have work to do, but as a GLORY BOY that's what I signed up for.
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