Dark Run

Winter booshave started.  I hate when my runs are altered sue to the sun being absent.  I just cant go out with the pitch blackness of night still looming.  I bought a reflective shell to wear, but will likely need to buy a headlamp bright enough for winter dark running.  Maybe then I can get out still before work.  With my wife working longer hours, it will be very difficult to go after work, as I am with the kids.  Winter can really be a challenge.  And if it snows, don't get me started.  I need to stick then to the highways, where large semi truck zoom past me, blowing wet sand and wind at me.  The loop is about 12.5 k on my consistent run then.  Makes for a dreary run.

post marathon

Recove(red)Well, I am officially recovered from last week's 1/2 marathon.  It was not too bad, a couple of days of me quad's delayed onset soreness.  Stairs hurt.  I am hoping to do a full marathon in the new year.  I am getting fairly reflective about all my training.  It has changed me in many ways, but has only been noticed on the most surface level by others unless they talk with me.  I t has become a deeply personal place where I can pray, reflect, meditate and in an ironic way, be still.  It has also become a social outlet for connecting with those I normally would have little in common with.  So, in the next few blogs, I am going to focus on the blessings running has brought me, so that you too could be inspired to be your best!

A Great Run

1:33:24

MY PLACE OVERALL:  72nd out of 1500 plus runners.

AGE CATEGORY Male   30-39 :18/133 

Gun Time                 1:35:15 

Chip time                1:33:24 

AVERAGE KM SPLIT    4:26 

The whole experience was incredible, emotional, nerve-wracking and all worth while.  I felt fantastic on the actual run.  Knowing when to step it up and when to hold back, as I had been nervous about, was the challenge yesterday morning.  The temperature was below freezing, so I had to think about keeping from getting uncomfortable from the cold.  I wore some tights I was wearing under my jogging pants, as i have yet to invest in thermal tights.  I saw some fancy pants there, that's for sure!
It seems trivial, but I see that I would have placed even higher if I had seeded correctly.  I have never competed like this before, so this counts for me in some fashion. I like to understand where i am at amongst all my peers here!  So my goals were met, I set a new PR for the 1/2 marathon and was able to place in the top 5% of the race.  Check!  And  most of all I enjoyed every moment of the day.  As I mentioned in my last blog, I am so THANKFUL that I went  to the hospital to treat my asthma.  This was a big part of my enjoying the whole run.
I had more energy, felt alive during the run and stayed focused.

My hope was for a negative split  and to match my PR of 1:38.  My first split was at 4:19, 4:27, then my Ipod died from cold exposure which was frustrating.  One thing about next time is not to panic last minute with technical gear, just focus on warming up.  Also, it took me 2 whole minutes to get to the start line!  I will seed myself further forward next time too.

Me, pre-race fresh.

Me, post race exhilarated.

BREATHING FREE!!

AHHHHHH...A little voice told me to go to the hospital today.  Okay, it was not a little voice, I know it was God.  Anyhow, with all my cruddy times and lack of motivation or energy, I felt it would be prudent to check out my lungs.  It has been so long since I have had to even think about them, so my asthma has not been forefront on my mind.  Until the trip I took to Silverwood a couple of weekends ago.  That was the beginning of crappy run times, of me needing my inhalor and of frustration.  You see, running has basically eliminated my need for my inhalors.  I am cured, save for a few allergy triggers like dog dander.  This in itself is a miracle.  In fact the lung test the doctor did on me was in his eyes surprizingly strong for the kind of lung inflammation I was experiencing.  I know it s the training, and it makes me smile.

So, long story short, I got my nebulizor, felt FANTASTIC after, in fact, I was so buzzed form the medication that made me better to breath, my wife sent me early with Jeremy, my running bud to the marathon site.  I guess me buzzing hyper diaper around the house, dancing around her and humping her leg was a little much for her.  But honestly, as I said to the doctor, that med should have been given to me the next morning just before my race, cuz I was raring to go.  I was feeling mighty high.  But alas, I will only have intact lungs to get me through the 21 k.  I breath a sigh , a full sigh of releif.

Half Marathon , A Personal Milestone

3-2-1Go.  My count down is on for the first longer race I will have ever competed this Sunday.  Am I nervous?  Yes!  I'm getting butterflies.  But like anything, I am prepared and I am excited to see what comes out of it.  Although I have had some very slow times lately, I know that there is lots to pour out on race day.  The race is in Kelowna, 1.5 hours away, so it is not a terribly far place to go.

What I am most nervous of is getting in my head too much, letting the race become more about other people than about me.  It is my nature to back off of competition and let others battle it out.  THis is good for me, I keep telling myself.  I am a champion!  I am on FIRE!  Mentally, I will need to get in the game by mapping out the distance and my goal times to keep me on track and out of the turmoil around me, as it will all be nw, from the aid stations to the crowds to the intimiation of the other athletes who obviously dressed better than I.

I am nervous also of the weather's sudden drop in morning temperature, which is approaching freezing levels here.  This makes for a different cardio for me. 

I am also wondering if me not doing my longer runs in the last three weeks as I taper will throw me off my ingrained pace.  This concerns me as I have had terrible slows runs as of late.  I have two runs left this week that will be short but zippy.  Hopefully this will boost my confidence for the big day!