I reached a couple milestones yesterday. I ran my first 20 mile week with four 5 mile runs and have accumulated over 250 miles this year running. Although I have been watching the miles pile up since January, hitting a nice round number like that is always going to make you stop and think about the time and effort that has gone into it. In addition to the 254.3 miles, I have spent 46 hours, 38 minutes and 29 seconds running. That doesn’t sound nearly as impressive as the miles. What’s really still kind of amazing to me is that I’m still doing it. Six and a half months of pretty consistent exercise. There is no doubt in my mind that this is the most active I have been since high school. I never would have thought that the one activity that I would maintain would be running. I always figured that the only way that I would ever maintain some healthy activity was if it was something ‘fun’ that would keep my interest going.
And I suppose that in a way, running is fun. I certainly like the solitude and the time to think. I like the way I feel psychologically afterward and I definitely like updating my running log and seeing the numbers keep going up. I like the challenge of trying to go a little further and a maintain my pace over a longer distance. And I like that I’m doing something that is good for me and will help to keep me living longer for my family. I really like that I have maintained the discipline for this long and that I miss it if I don’t do it for a couple days. Its become a part of my life now and though I still fear I will stop, I worry about it less and less. I more worry about getting hurt, either while running or walking across the yard and that this will set me back or even lead to quitting. But I have a hard time now imagining not getting regular exercise of some kind. I’m disappointed that it hasn’t lead more easily to some weight loss, but I stated early on that wouldn’t be a primary goal and that general fitness would be my focus. I believe that I’m more fit, but clearly I would like to look it a bit more. It also has got to be easier on my body to run the longer distances if I’m not carrying around the big tire around my middle.
I guess what I’m more disappointed in is that I haven’t chosen to eat better along with exercising regularly. I did start last Monday to track my calories again and to try and stay under the 1800/day mark, and did well through Thursday, but then Friday we went out for dinner, Saturday out for lunch and today it was golfing with a couple drinks, a couple hot dogs and then cookies after dinner. I did manage to not eat as many cookies as I usually would, but still several too many for a reasonable desert. So, tomorrow, it’s back to tracking calories and staying around the 1800/day mark and I think I’m ready now to maintain a more healthy eating lifestyle too. It’s just time. I’m also looking forward to the next 250 miles and hope I can accomplish them well before the end of the year. With any luck, I could even accomplish them before the half marathon I’m still hoping to run the middle of October. In fact, there is a pretty decent chance that I could reach the 500th mile DURING the race. Wouldn’t that be fun?
But this post isn’t about what I am not doing or what I should do or will do. This post is to take a moment and celebrate what I have done. I’ve run 82 times in the last six and one half months for a total of over 46 hours and 250 miles. That is a pretty cool accomplishment as far as I’m concerned and I’m proud to have done it. So, Good Job; You deserve a pat on the back.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
First Race
July 5th 11:56pm
I ran my first race a little over a week ago; the Sturgis Falls 5K in Cedar Falls. It was kind of a crappy morning with a light rain leading up to the race which was scheduled for a 7:00 AM start. But it was cool if a little humid so it worked out OK. Right as the race was starting the rain stopped. We started out on Waterloo Road, right next to the Rec center and there were well over 600 people there for the race. They ranged in age from young kids of around 12 years old to senior citizens in 70’s and even 80’s I think.
The main reason I wanted to do the race was to just participate in an official event and see what it was like and to see what I could do if I pushed myself for a faster pace. My goal was to finish the race in less than 30 minutes. I’d been kind of focusing on <10 miles when I was doing my regular runs, but I knew I would need to be under that to finishing 5K in less than 10 minutes since it is slightly over 3 miles. Strangely for me, I never bothered to calculate the exact pace I would need until the last minute. I was surprised to find it was so much less than a 10 minute mile at 9:39. I wasn’t sure I would be able to do it since I had beaten the 10 minute pace only a couple times and in both cases, it was longer distances, 4 and 5 miles and I got below 10 with a big push at the end, well after the 3.11 miles; which means that I had never run a 30 minute 5K before.
So I got as close to the front of the pack as I dared and when the starting gun went off, I started out on what I thought was a pretty reasonable pace and tried to keep it up. I was passed frequently, even before the pack split into the 5K and HM courses. But when the first mile marker came up, the person calling the pace out said 8 minutes and 40 seconds. I was still feeling reasonably good though I could feel that this was a faster than normal pace. I didn’t expect I would be able to maintain that pace, but I was feeling pretty good about finishing in under 30 minutes. Not long after that, we turned left into some residential neighborhoods and I started to feel like I would need to slow down. I wanted to make sure that I didn’t go so fast in the beginning that I would be forced to walk later and possibly blow the goal. At mile 2, the marker said something like 17:40 so I knew I was still running a good pace and should be able to make my goal. But it was really starting to get tough, yet I somehow wasn’t able to slow my pace much. I wanted to give it everything I had and do the best that I could besides finishing under 30 minutes. I just kept going and even though I kept getting passed by all manner of people, old men, middle aged women, children of both genders, I didn’t give it too much thought and just kept running my race.
By the time I was close enough to know the finish line was near, I was really starting to feel fatigued and though I didn’t have any real fear of not finishing, there was the slightest concern that I might collapse or stumble before reaching the finishing line and wouldn’t be able to get back up. But it didn’t happen and I crossed the finish line at 27 minutes and 14 seconds, 2 minutes and 45 seconds ahead of goal.
I didn’t have any real emotional reaction to it, I was physically exhausted and mentally numb. All I could really think about was getting to the port a potty to pee and sip the Gatorade provided by the race. I did think for a few moments that I might puke, but that was never a serious issue. I walked around for several minutes, getting my breath and recovering my strength and senses. I stretched a little and had a bit of bagel provided by Panera. I thought it was Cinnamon raisin but it ended up being chocolate chip. It took me quite a while to realize it though I was vaguely aware it didn’t taste quite right.
We got in the car pretty soon after and headed home. My legs started to hurt and I was just spent physically and still not quite sure how I felt about the whole thing. It was kind of a strange experience. But it was good to have beat my goal.
I ran my first race a little over a week ago; the Sturgis Falls 5K in Cedar Falls. It was kind of a crappy morning with a light rain leading up to the race which was scheduled for a 7:00 AM start. But it was cool if a little humid so it worked out OK. Right as the race was starting the rain stopped. We started out on Waterloo Road, right next to the Rec center and there were well over 600 people there for the race. They ranged in age from young kids of around 12 years old to senior citizens in 70’s and even 80’s I think.
The main reason I wanted to do the race was to just participate in an official event and see what it was like and to see what I could do if I pushed myself for a faster pace. My goal was to finish the race in less than 30 minutes. I’d been kind of focusing on <10 miles when I was doing my regular runs, but I knew I would need to be under that to finishing 5K in less than 10 minutes since it is slightly over 3 miles. Strangely for me, I never bothered to calculate the exact pace I would need until the last minute. I was surprised to find it was so much less than a 10 minute mile at 9:39. I wasn’t sure I would be able to do it since I had beaten the 10 minute pace only a couple times and in both cases, it was longer distances, 4 and 5 miles and I got below 10 with a big push at the end, well after the 3.11 miles; which means that I had never run a 30 minute 5K before.
So I got as close to the front of the pack as I dared and when the starting gun went off, I started out on what I thought was a pretty reasonable pace and tried to keep it up. I was passed frequently, even before the pack split into the 5K and HM courses. But when the first mile marker came up, the person calling the pace out said 8 minutes and 40 seconds. I was still feeling reasonably good though I could feel that this was a faster than normal pace. I didn’t expect I would be able to maintain that pace, but I was feeling pretty good about finishing in under 30 minutes. Not long after that, we turned left into some residential neighborhoods and I started to feel like I would need to slow down. I wanted to make sure that I didn’t go so fast in the beginning that I would be forced to walk later and possibly blow the goal. At mile 2, the marker said something like 17:40 so I knew I was still running a good pace and should be able to make my goal. But it was really starting to get tough, yet I somehow wasn’t able to slow my pace much. I wanted to give it everything I had and do the best that I could besides finishing under 30 minutes. I just kept going and even though I kept getting passed by all manner of people, old men, middle aged women, children of both genders, I didn’t give it too much thought and just kept running my race.
By the time I was close enough to know the finish line was near, I was really starting to feel fatigued and though I didn’t have any real fear of not finishing, there was the slightest concern that I might collapse or stumble before reaching the finishing line and wouldn’t be able to get back up. But it didn’t happen and I crossed the finish line at 27 minutes and 14 seconds, 2 minutes and 45 seconds ahead of goal.
I didn’t have any real emotional reaction to it, I was physically exhausted and mentally numb. All I could really think about was getting to the port a potty to pee and sip the Gatorade provided by the race. I did think for a few moments that I might puke, but that was never a serious issue. I walked around for several minutes, getting my breath and recovering my strength and senses. I stretched a little and had a bit of bagel provided by Panera. I thought it was Cinnamon raisin but it ended up being chocolate chip. It took me quite a while to realize it though I was vaguely aware it didn’t taste quite right.
We got in the car pretty soon after and headed home. My legs started to hurt and I was just spent physically and still not quite sure how I felt about the whole thing. It was kind of a strange experience. But it was good to have beat my goal.
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