Status of first 1/2 marathon - DONE!

I did it.  I finished the longest run of my life (to date).  I completed a half marathon on 11/27/10!

It was cold yesterday.  At about 8:20am, as I got out of my car and walked to the starting point it was about 20 degrees out!  By the time I finished it must have been about 32 degrees out.

The first 9.5 miles were fine.  Somewhere between mile 8 and mile 10 I started to feel my legs and back getting stiff though.  I didn't think much of it, but by the time I hit the 10 mile mark I was struggling.  My legs felt like bricks.  The muscles in my back and lower body seemed to become very tight and this made running hard.

I was on pace to hit a 2:35:00 (approximately) finish time but the last three miles really screwed me up.  I'm going to chalk it up to a lack of preparation.

My family and I attended a post-thanksgiving brunch at a friend/relative's house after the race on Saturday afternoon and a frequently asked question was whether I'd do it again.  Heck yeah I said.  I know there is a ton of room for improvement and the 13.1 mile distance is, now looking back, very manageable.

After the run I went to a party, then I went out to dinner at a Brazilian steakhouse and enjoyed a cigar after dinner.  I was out until midnight.  I woke up Sunday morning and felt fine.  Yes, I'm a little sore but nothing serious.

I'm not running in any organized races in December 2010.  My 2010 races are now done!

Now it's time to think about and plan for the races in 2011 which I will partake of.  I want to put together a mix of 5Ks, 10Ks, 15Ks (10 milers) and half marathons!

This is at about mile 3.5 to 4 - that's
why I'm still smiling...

It's finally here... Under 12 hours to my first 1/2 marathon!

I'm under 12 hours away from my first 1/2 marathon.  Gulp!!!

I'm nervous.  My training has been pretty good.  I can do the distance.  The cold temps concern me a bit, though as I've found cold weather running is not enjoyable for me.

The race starts at 9:00 am.  I hope to post a message here sometime tomorrow.  Wish me luck!  And if you'd like to help - please make a donation in my name to Team RWB.  Team RWB is a 501(c)(3) charity that works to help wounded veterans.

Thanks!

11.20 miles (to be precise) in the cold rain was very hard

Today's scheduled long run was 11 miles.  I ran 11.20 miles at the Shoe Factory Road Forest Preserve.  I dressed for a cold and dry day.  I ended up with a cool but very wet morning instead.  The combination of the distance and the cold rain made today's run very hard.

This is the route I ran:


I felt great on the "out" leg of the run (I run out to the halfway point of my planned run and the run back "in").  There was an intermittent mist all morning, but by the time I got turned around and was only about 1/2 mile into the "in" leg the mist became a steady rain and that rain continued for a solid 30 minutes.

The rain made my run harder.  I was wearing a knit hat on my head.   That's not a great choice of headgear as the cotton hat was water-logged within minutes.  I wore a cotton henley long-sleeve on top of my cold weather Under Armor long sleeve mock turtleneck shirt.  Again, it was water-logged within minutes.  My shoes and socks were soaked pretty quickly once the heavy rain started coming down.

The clothing became heavier with the water and this certainly played a role in making the run more difficult.  But as I look back on this morning's run I think the rain hurt me the most by breaking my focus and distracting me.  I should have tried harder to remain focused.  Instead of focusing on my running form and my speed and thinking about the importance of every training day leading up to the half marathon (that's a little mantra I have: "make every training day count!"), I let myself think about how cold and miserable I was.  That was dumb.  I started worrying that my wet feet would blister.  I started worrying that I'd catch a cold.  Dumb and dumber still.

I finished the run but I was dragging during the last 2.5 miles.  It should have finished the run in about 2 hours and a few minutes.  Instead, it took me 2 hours and 15 minutes.  Ugh.

I'm not beating myself up over the time.  I'm not deluding myself into trying to work on speed already.  Rather, I'm upset that (1) I didn't prepare properly for the weather, and (2) I allowed myself to lose focus.  If I would have worn a water-repellant jacket (I have one) and remained focused on the mechanics of my running I would have had a much better training day.

Today was a great hands-on lesson in the power of focus and on the mental aspect of an athletic endeavor.  I'm convinced that my negative thoughts played a significant role in the slower and more painful second part of my morning run.  I'll try to learn from today's experience and find a way to avoid the same mistake in the coming weeks.

I've crossed into the realm of double digit runs - 10 miles done!

I successfully completed my planned 10 mile run this morning!  It was hard, but not as hard as I imagined it would be.

My previous long run was 7.5 miles which I completed a few weeks ago.  My half marathon training plan called for a 9 mile run today with next week being a 10 mile run.  I decided to go for the 10 miles this week for a couple of reasons.  First, I felt like I was up for it.  Second, I am going to be visiting my in-laws next week and I had doubts about trying to do my first double digit run outside of familiar surroundings.  It was a good call.

Besides the increased miles, today's run was tougher than the 7.5 mile run a few weeks ago for several other reasons.  The 2.5 mile circuit in my neighborhood starts of with a steep hill and then a long downhill stretch and then a few other shorter hills throughout the route.  The 7.5 mile was done at a nearby forest preserve and it was flat all the way through.  Today the temperature as easily 20 degrees warmer.  This morning it was about 70 degrees when I started my run and it got hotter as the 2 hour run progressed.  Two weeks ago it was very cool out at about 50 degrees and maybe a 5 degree warm up over the course of that 1.5 hour run.

I took the advice of some friends who run (much longer distances than me) and placed a water bottle by my house.  My 2.5 mile circuit brings me by the house each time.  I stopped for a drink of water after 5 miles and then again after 7.5 miles.  In addition to the hills and heat, the repetitiveness of running laps - even long 2.5 mile versions - did make the run less engaging and therefore a bit harder.

I'm over 1 month away from the half marathon (11/27/10).  I'm considering changing my training schedule so that I do a "step-down" run every other week.  Right now I'm to run two long runs and then a shorter run on my weekly long run days.  It was easy to do 6 miles and then 7.5 miles.  I'm not sure it will be as easy to do 11 or more miles next Saturday.  I'm tinkering with the idea of running 8 miles next week and then moving up to 11 miles the week after.  I'll still do a 12.5 to 13 mile run two weeks before the race using this modified schedule.

I feel good!
______________________________________________

This afternoon I found this interesting article on the Runner's World website about 10-milers:  10 Reasons to Run 10 Miles.  It was a good read.

Barilla Plus Pasta with Tomato Sauce at dinner

I read an interesting article at the Runners World website recently.  The major takeaway from the article (for me) was the timing of my carb intake.  I need to maximize the benefits of eating carbs (the energy it produces) by eating them prior to my run (as opposed to at lunch time when I'm sitting around riding a desk).

On the weekday evenings that I need to run I've started eating a large serving of pasta with tomato sauce.  I eat the pasta at around 6pm.  My run/workout is around 7:30pm.  I may eat a banana around 7pm as well.

I'm eating what I believe to be a healthier pasta.  It's "enhanced."  It's called PLUS pasta from Barilla.

I like the penne pasta

It has more fiber, protein and Omega-3s than regular pasta.  Frankly, I can't tell the difference between this pasta and the non-enhanced kind.  That's good.  I don't feel like I'm missing anything by eating the "PLUS" version.  The sauce is a basic Target brand tomato sauce.  I don't use an olive oil or other fats so the only fat I get from this meal is whatever's in the pasta and the sauce.

I added this "PLUS" pasta to introduce a change of pace from the quinoa.  I ate the quinoa almost daily for about 6 weeks and I needed a break.  I'm going to mix up the carb meals with both of these options and I may also add some high fiber wheat bread too.

The pasta hasn't performed miracles thus far.  That is to say, I don't feel like it's giving me any noticeable increase in energy before my run.  But I'm eating it because I know that it's better than a protein shake or a piece of lean chicken breast in terms of providing me with the energy to run.

I'm counting on this conventional wisdom in lieu of what my body is saying because I realize that my tiredness isn't so much the result of my food intake as it is the result of a long day at work.  You see, by 7:30pm I've been up for about 13 hours, I've commuted 3 hours round trip to downtown Chicago and put in a solid 8 hours at my desk, in my chair and behind a computer screen.  While none of that is strenuous in an exercise context, it does wear me down.  Plus, I only sleep about 5.5 to 6 hours a day.

In the past several months I didn't worry about the quality of my runs because I was doing them largely to burn calories.  Now that I'm trying to run a half marathon I'm becoming concerned with the quality of my runs.  Frankly, I don't want get on the course in November and hurt myself or even pass out in the middle of a forest preserve!

To ensure that this doesn't happen, I'm taking my running training a bit more seriously.  That means taking care to make each training run a meaningful one that builds my strength and stamina.