Runners are cool....

I have been in lots of groups and on lots of teams in my life. I have witnessed relationships ruined over important issues like pinewood derby cars, who plays first base and talking during someone's backswing. I have played on teams where I was the worst player and where I was one of the best players (yes, that was not a winning season). I understand that in theory, golf is a sport where those with different abilities can play together because of the USGA handicap system. I also understand that people that are good at golf don't like waiting on people like me to find my ball that went in the woods.

Runners seem to be a little different. While I am sure that there are plenty of running snobs, I haven't met them. In fact, I am always amazed that the fast guys and gals talk to me like I am one of them. Even though they have showered and had a late breakfast by the time I finish, they still consider me one of their own. We all fight our own demons during the race. Some may be fighting injury, some may be fighting fatigue, some may be fighting emotional or psychological roadblocks, but all of us cross the same finish line. That finish line is not the great equalizer though. In fact, it isn't the finish line makes you a runner. Nope, it is the starting line. The starting line is where runners are made and where the fellowship starts. The starting line is where we find our common bonds. Our talents, abilities and experience determine when, and even if, we make it to the finish line. However, the courage to cross the starting line is what unites us. That is one of the greatest gifts I have received in my 18 month running career, the courage to cross the starting line and desire to see others cross it too.

Greer Earth Day Half Marathon....

Well today was the day. I walked out this morning and was not pleased with the less than springlike weather in the air. Cool was not really part of the words I would use to describe the weather.

We also were out of bananas. That was bad. I normally eat a banana before a run. I am pretty superstitious and starting out without my normal race day breakfast didn't make me feel too good. We stopped by Bi-Lo on the way to the race, but their bananas were still green. Well, we got to the race and things moved pretty well. We got in and hit the facilities and wandered around. There were a bunch of people signing up on race day. They also had a little trouble with some no-show volunteers. My only regret at this point was that I didn't make one more trip to the rest room while waiting for the start. So, after the start I felt the urge to go starting at about the one mile mark. I figured I would sweat it out, and sure enough I did. Unfortunately it wasn't until about the 11th mile....

My plan was to go out at a comfortable pace, around 9:15 for the first 2 miles and then pick up to about 8:45 for 3 or 4 miles and then ease up to about 9:00 and go as far as I could at that pace. Everything was going well until they started the race. I shot off way too fast and sped up for a couple of miles. The 4th mile is pretty much uphill and the sun and heat started hitting me pretty good here too. I still kept up a pretty good pace and skipped the port-o-john, despite my body suggesting otherwise. I cruised through the first 10 miles and was sitting on a about a 8:24 pace. I actually had a shot at a PR! That was when the heat and hills caught up with me. I also was a little low on fluids. I struggled in at what was officially a 1:57 and a 9 minute pace, but I was actually on about an 8:55 pace if you factor in that I ran 13.25 miles according to the Garmin.

Either way, I was under 2 hours and felt pretty good about it. The race was fun and the crowd was good. The GTC Singlet Sighting giveaways were great too. Lee got a nice running visor and I got a running visor and two pairs of running socks. All together we got about $56 worth of prizes. The message here is "Join the Greenville Track Club!"

There were some issues with getting the results, but I knew it didn't affect me. Later on we found out that Lee won her age group (again) in the 5K. We will go pick her trophy up tomorrow! She is getting quite a collection and I may have to build a shelf for her awards.

A half marathon tomorrow, really?

I guess it is true. My bib was mailed to me weeks ago, so the reality should have set in back then. Now I stand at the edge of the cliff and hope that some optical illusion saves me, ala Indiana Jones and the last Crusade when he had to walk across thin air to get to the Holy Grail....

I did a hard 30 minutes on the elliptical yesterday just to break a sweat. I probably won't do anything other than maybe take a walk today. Lots of hydration. It will be hot tomorrow, so I want to make sure I have plenty of fluids before the race.

I was reading the race information and noticed they are having pace groups for 7, 8, 9 & 10 minute miles. I thought I might head out with the 9 minute group just to keep from going too fast out the chute. I'd love to run a 9 minute pace for the whole race, but I am not sure how realistic it is. My past pace has been in the 8:45 range for a half, but I had trained harder for those.

Good luck to everyone racing this weekend!

Races, races, races... lots of races....

This is a great time of year to find a race. It seems like there are multiple races each weekend right now. How do you pick which ones to run?

Sometimes, I have a cause I really want to support. Last November, Lee and I ran the Caine Halter Lungs For Life 5K. It was important to both of us because her mom died of Lung Cancer and her dad knows the Halters...

Sometimes a race just sounds like fun. The Midnight Flight in Anderson was one of these. Running a race at night was pretty cool. I won't eat pizza before the race if I run it again though...

Location can be a big draw. We ran in Murrells Inlet last year and that was fun. We also ran the Cooper River due to location and just for the experience of a 'big race'.

Chance to set a PR... I haven't really run a race just for this reason, but if I was picking between two I can see it being a factor. Flat doesn't always equal faster for me though...

Odd distance... Sometimes it is fun to try something other than a 5K or 10K... The BMW 2-miler comes to mind. Of course, I had no idea how much fun the after party was. I will be back there!

Guilt relief... The Taylors Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving makes it a little easier to pig out that afternoon.

The big picture... Sometimes a race can help you on your way to a bigger goal. It can help keep you motivated to train while you are looking at a bigger race down the road. I will be looking for some races to fit in with my marathon training.

Now, why am I running the Greer Earth Day 1/2? Hmmm... mostly because Flemming is the race director and I am sure it will be a great event. Plus, he wouldn't let a GTC runner get a DNF would he?

Long time, no post....

Wow, can life get in the way sometimes or what?

I have had a pretty good week as far as running goes. Allergies and sinus infections seem to be making their way around the house, so that has put a little drag on things but we are all still moving forward. I have the Greer Earth Day Half Marathon on Saturday and I am completely and totally not-ready for it! I haven't run long enough in training to expect any kind of chance at a PR, so I am going to just shoot to finish. I ran 9 on Saturday and then 7 at a my normal half marathon pace yesterday. I meant to go to the gym today, but it just didn't happen. I'll do an easy 5 miles or so tomorrow, gym on Thursday and then a light 2 or 3 miles on Friday.

The one decision I have left before Saturday is whether or not to run with my iPod. So far, I have run both my half marathons without it, but I know it would be easier with it. Well, easier might not be the right word.... It would be an extra distraction for me if I start to bonk or run into some pain along the way. The negative is that I tend to pick up my pace with the music and I could start out at a faster pace than I can maintain.

A brief note of congratulations to fellow GTC runner Marion for finishing the Boston Marathon yesterday! Great job! And, good luck to Megan who is running her first marathon this Saturday. I can't wait until October when I complete two marathons on the same day, my first and last!

The hills are alive with the sound of me gasping for air...

I got a nice seven miler in yesterday and I must say that I am always happy to be back here in the hilly upstate. I enjoy a flat run every now and then, but a few days of them is all I can take. Flat runs seem to come with steep crowns on the road and that spells ITBS for me. Fortunately, this year I was in better shape and the traffic was down enough that I could spend some time in the middle of the road. Last summer at the beach, my ITBS flared up big time. When I catch low tide and can run on the flat part of the beach it is pretty good. I usually like to run first thing in the morning when I am on vacation though, so if the tide is up I am out of luck.

I also ran on a bike trail a couple of times during this trip. It is paved and flat (no crown). However, what seems like a fairly straight path on a bike, weaves back and forth with every step on a run. That got old quick as I was never able to get settled into a consistent pace. There is a power transmission line right of way that I should have run on. It was not grown up for the summer yet and would have been a nice straight trail run. I regret not giving it a try.

One other interesting sidenote.... At the Cooper River Bridge Run, there was a group of guys running in skirts... I'm not quite there yet myself, I hope I don't get there either! You can see a few of them in this picture. I made my wife take it because I didn't want to be seen staring at them.......

Is this a line for the latest video game?

No, it is my view from the CRBR starting line...

The small yellow line you see in the center/top of the picture is the starting line. I am about halfway back. It took us almost 9 minutes to get to the starting line once the race started. The winner was almost two miles out at that point!

8 days in a row....

I ran 8 days in a row while on vacation. I had a long run of 9 and short run of 3.8 miles. In general, I felt pretty good but I did have some tired legs on the last couple of runs. I also had a couple of bike rides mixed in, so it was a pretty active vacation. I took Sunday off and then did the elliptical today. One thing I noticed in my biking and on the elliptical is that my quads are not as strong as they were last fall. I was doing some weight training then and I also was doing a little bike training while preparing for a sprint triathlon. I was much more regular on my yoga back then too. All of those work the quads pretty well, so I shouldn't be surprised they are weaker now.

I know I need to work on those quads. The hills around here eat them up and I also think my form suffers when they get weak. I am still looking around at marathon training plans and one of the keys factors I am looking for is solid cross training. I have come to the point that my goal for the marathon really is to just finish it. I am doing my best to avoid setting a goal time and just letting it play out. Fortunately, they don't inscribe your medal with your finishing time!

An ideal week for me would be:

Sun - Run (Long - 10 or more)

Mon - Run (Easy - 6 or 7)

Tue - X-Train

Wed - Run (Tempo/Speed - 5)

Thu - X-Train

Fri - Run (normal, whatever that means - 6-8)

Sat - X-Train/Yoga

Unfortunately, I don't think I would get the needed mileage on that plan. I am toying with the idea of doing an early morning X-Train session and lunchtime run on Thursdays. That would get my mileage up to 35+ per week based on my long run. If I do a 16 week marathon plan, I will start at the end of June. If I could go into that averaging 35 miles a week, I would feel pretty good about my chances of completing the program.

First beach run of 2009....

Yesterday I ran on the beach for the first time this year. It was a great experience. The combination of cool weather, wind and lack of people being down here meant that very few people were on the beach. North Litchfield borders Huntington Beach State Park, so if you run North you quickly are on an undeveloped beach. In the summertime there are pretty big crowds at the state park, but not this time of year. It is about four miles from where we stay up to the mouth of Murrells Inlet. There is a paved Jetty there that you can run about 1/4 of a mile out into the ocean on.

It was about 55 degrees with 20-30 mile an hour wind gusts on the beach when I ran. I had the wind behind me on the way up to the jetty and it was very pleasant. Once I got passed the public access areas in the state park, I had about two miles of totally deserted beach in front of me. I knew it was a great day for a run when I got to a section where dry sand was being blown on top of the hard sand to where it looked like I was running in a cloud and then the Chariots of Fire theme came on my iPod. (Yes, I have that cheesy song on my iPod and it was in shuffle mode I didn't plan it!). As I got to the jetty, the theme from Rocky came on. It was pretty cool to be sprinting towards the ocean. Once I got to the end, I ran the jetty back into the marsh and then turned around and headed back to the beach.

The trip home was not near as enjoyable as I was running into the wind, but it was still pretty surreal to be on an empty stretch of beach. I ran down by the water on the way back and had to jump the small tidal creeks that were draining into the ocean. That was a good distraction from the blowing wind in my face. When I hit the nine mile mark, I stopped and walked the last 1/4 mile back to the walkway. It was a great run and I hope to have another good one today as the weather is going to be in the 70's.

Cooper River Review....

What an eye opening experience! I have read about massive lines for port-o-johns and a mosh-pit like starting corral before, but never had I actually been a part of it until yesterday.

We were fortunate enough to have friends with a condo in Mt. Pleasant, so we stayed there the night before the race. Unfortunately, after we had dropped off the kids with my parents in Georgetown, it was about 10:30 when we got to the condo. It took us 45 minutes to find the water meter out front. Our friends don't use the condo much and turn the water off when they leave. With all the rain and such, it was completely buried and almost un-findable, but Lee came through right as we were about to give up.

After a short, but good rest we were up and getting ready for the race. I knew something was up when we couldn't turn out onto the highway because of the mass of school busses carrying runners to the start. The good part of the school bus traffic was that we could follow them, and we did. We pulled in the first lot where they were charging for parking and walked about a half mile up to where the starting corral was. Lee and I were running together and took our place in the under one hour group. This is definitely not a place for those that hate crowds or are afraid of being pinned in. The portable fencing along the road really caused the crowd to 'squeeze together'. I was glad it was before the race and not after.

As we got close to the start, I noticed several people that I though were probably in the wrong time group and that proved to be true later on. The only hitch was they asked the entire crowd to back up 9 paces so the elites could get to the starting line. Fortunately, everyone complied without incident. Once the gun sounded the crowd charged across the starting line.... Well, I guess that is what happened up front. Nine minutes after the gun sounded, we crossed the starting line. The only complaint I have is the same complaint I have about every race. Those that are walking seem to not understand the danger the present when they don't start in the back. I was shocked to be running into walkers (literally) throughout the course. I know some were runners that had given out, but they still need to move to the side. Anyway, other than that it was a fun run. We actually got to get into full stride some during the last mile. It is definitely not a race to run if you want to set a PR as I was 10 minutes off mine, but it was fun and I would do it again.