Hello All You Runners Out There (Non Runners are welcome too)
So, It has been a while since I last updated you all. Any of you following me on Twitter you may have been able to keep a little more current on me, but for the rest of you, I will try and update you now.
So, I finally made it in for my fitting for my semi rigid orthotics. As soon as I started taking my shoes off the man says "Man, you have some flat feet" LOL. The casting process was interesting. I was expecting to have to stand in something to make a mold of my feet, but he did not do this. The casting was actually made by using some fiberglass casting tape. I never knew that there was such a thing (but then again, I've never broke any bone and never needed a cast).
I get to go back on Friday the 24th to pick up my orthotics and hopefully they will be great for my feet and help to end any foot or ankle pains I may have been getting.
My training has been going pretty decent lately. I have been logging close to 30 miles a week and my heart rate has even been lower when running the same routes at the same pace as I did in the past.
In two weeks (May 2nd - my son's 1 year birthday) I will be running in the Cleremont Run Around the Lake 12K. Once that run is over I will be heading back home for Ben's 1st birthday party. This should be a fun, busy day. (I bet I'll sleep good that night).
Well, that will end this short update and I will let you all know how my orthotics are doing once I receive them. Again, if for some reason you would like more current update please feel free to follow me on Twitter. My Twitter ID is crazyrunner and you can follow me at this link. Click Here to Follow me
Til Next Time
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Bad Feet, Good Run ?
Hellllllllooooooooooooo Nurse! (Animaniacs flashback there)
So..... I had my doctors appointment with the podiatrist this week. The doc said that i have EXTREMELY flat feet, and said that my foot is what they call a "Z Foot". This basically means that my foot goes one way but my toes turn off at an angle (I guess I'm a weirdo). He also said that I could possibly be in early stages of Posterior Tibial Tendinitis, so he wants to see me again in a month. Before leaving he did write me a prescription for some Semi Rigid Custom Orthotics and said that they would benefit me GREATLY. The earliest appointment I was able to set was for Monday, March 13th. He said if I am having any problems in the meantime to continue with my goof friends Advil and Ice. He did say I could go pick up a pair of regular orthotics from a store like Foot Locker or something but they honestly will not do much of anything for me as they are made for people with "normal feet" and that I do NOT have "normal feet". (Didn't we already know that nothing about me was normal?) So, hopefully I should end up receiving my orthotics somewhere around the 20th and that can help me feel better and prevent the problem from getting worse.
Despite the pain, I had a 5K race race scheduled for Saturday (today). With the pain I had been feeling in my feet all week and any regular training runs I had this week resulting in sub par times, I was not expecting the greatest of results.
So, my running group, the 5Klub had a new member join today as my mom completed her first ever 5K event, the Fruitland Park Day 5K.
This was a smaller event that did not have online registartion, so we all opted to register on race day instead of mailing it in. The registration process was slow and did not feel the most organized (probably not the best start to my moms first ever race). But eventually we all were registed and were ready for the race to begin.
At 8am the gun went off and the field of only 125 was starting. Again, I was expecting to run the race in a time of somewhere around 26-27 minutes due to my injury problem. As it turned out though, my foot felt good the entire race and I crossed the finish line in a time of 23:12, setting a new P.R. and finishing in 15th place!!!
After finishing, I took a small cup of water and then turned around to go back onto the course and meet up with my mom and finish the race with her. When I got up to her, she had roughly 1 mile left to go. We crossed the finishline together, as my mom finished her first ever race in a time of 51:17 (I think that was her time).
Counting my mom, 4 members of the 5Klub ran in this race and 3 of us set PRs (the 4th member was only 63 seconds off of his PR). The other cool thing was I got 2nd in my age group and got a silver medal, while 2 of the other members received gold and bronze medals. With this rarity happening for us, we posed for an "Olympic Podium" picture and were then off to Bob Evans for a nice big traditional post race breakfast for all of us.
It is nice to know that one can set a PR in the same week as having foot problems and bad training. I guess this was a pretty good day
Us in our Olympic Medal Podium Picture (Steven-Gold, Me-Silver, Grant-Bronze)
So..... I had my doctors appointment with the podiatrist this week. The doc said that i have EXTREMELY flat feet, and said that my foot is what they call a "Z Foot". This basically means that my foot goes one way but my toes turn off at an angle (I guess I'm a weirdo). He also said that I could possibly be in early stages of Posterior Tibial Tendinitis, so he wants to see me again in a month. Before leaving he did write me a prescription for some Semi Rigid Custom Orthotics and said that they would benefit me GREATLY. The earliest appointment I was able to set was for Monday, March 13th. He said if I am having any problems in the meantime to continue with my goof friends Advil and Ice. He did say I could go pick up a pair of regular orthotics from a store like Foot Locker or something but they honestly will not do much of anything for me as they are made for people with "normal feet" and that I do NOT have "normal feet". (Didn't we already know that nothing about me was normal?) So, hopefully I should end up receiving my orthotics somewhere around the 20th and that can help me feel better and prevent the problem from getting worse.
Despite the pain, I had a 5K race race scheduled for Saturday (today). With the pain I had been feeling in my feet all week and any regular training runs I had this week resulting in sub par times, I was not expecting the greatest of results.
So, my running group, the 5Klub had a new member join today as my mom completed her first ever 5K event, the Fruitland Park Day 5K.
This was a smaller event that did not have online registartion, so we all opted to register on race day instead of mailing it in. The registration process was slow and did not feel the most organized (probably not the best start to my moms first ever race). But eventually we all were registed and were ready for the race to begin.
At 8am the gun went off and the field of only 125 was starting. Again, I was expecting to run the race in a time of somewhere around 26-27 minutes due to my injury problem. As it turned out though, my foot felt good the entire race and I crossed the finish line in a time of 23:12, setting a new P.R. and finishing in 15th place!!!
After finishing, I took a small cup of water and then turned around to go back onto the course and meet up with my mom and finish the race with her. When I got up to her, she had roughly 1 mile left to go. We crossed the finishline together, as my mom finished her first ever race in a time of 51:17 (I think that was her time).
Counting my mom, 4 members of the 5Klub ran in this race and 3 of us set PRs (the 4th member was only 63 seconds off of his PR). The other cool thing was I got 2nd in my age group and got a silver medal, while 2 of the other members received gold and bronze medals. With this rarity happening for us, we posed for an "Olympic Podium" picture and were then off to Bob Evans for a nice big traditional post race breakfast for all of us.
It is nice to know that one can set a PR in the same week as having foot problems and bad training. I guess this was a pretty good day
Us in our Olympic Medal Podium Picture (Steven-Gold, Me-Silver, Grant-Bronze)
Olympic Podium picture with me and Grant giving tribute to the 1968 Black Power Salute Protest
Me and my mom after the completion of the Fruitland Park Day 5K
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
It's the Best Month Ever
Hello all my faithful readers (all 3 of you)
Well............... another month has come to an end, and the month of March was a good month for me. Yes the month of March was my most productive month of running yet to date. I finished March with 117.7 miles which is 25.5 more miles then I ran in February! This just gets me singing "The Best Day Ever" from Spongebob Squarepants but replacing Day with Month (yeah, I know I'm a dork, but hey, I have a nearly 4 year old son that loves to watch "Bob Bob" as he says.
Well not a lot has been going on for me since my trip to Cincinnati (hence the amount of time since my last blog post). I have just been trying to stay consistent. I try each week to log right around 30 miles, keep up with my "family" of runners with their blogs and podcasts, and do not forget keep up with my real family also.
I do have a 5K race scheduled for this coming Saturday as I will be running in the Fruitland Park Days 5K. This will be a memorable race for me because it will be the first EVER 5K that my mother will do! I am happy to see that she is getting out there (now if only I can get my dear wife to join me out there, life would be super stellar!) and I will do what I can to make this a successful event for her. I plan on circling back to get her and finish with her after I complete the race.
My feet and ankles have been bothering me lately and I am not sure what it is. I did recently get a new pair of Asics 2130 shoes, but that already is the type of shoe that I had been wearing so I don't see how it could be this. The right foot is hurting the most right around the arch area (what little I have - I have pretty flat feet) and it also hurts above the ankle bone. Actually both feet have been bad, but my right foot is the worst. Normally, when I am out on a run now, my feet are killing me for like the first 15-20 minutes, then after that there appears to be no pain (or it just feels that way cause it has died down so much). I also am not sure why the pain would go away like this once my run is getting established. If anyone has any thoughts on this please let me know. It is not a horrible pain, as it is tolerable, but to be safe, I have an appointment with a podiatrist this afternoon to try and find out what exactly the problem is, and hopefully take care of it before it gets even worse.
I also am excited that this weekend brings the beginning of the MLB season as I am ready to watch my Chicago White Sox play and defend their title as AL Central Champions! Sadly, the Gators basketball season came to and end with a loss in the Elite 8 of the NIT Tournament, but at least Billy Donovan said he is staying at Florida as he turned down Kentucky once again. Also, our best player in Nick Calathes stated that he is entering the NBA Draft, but he is not hiring an agent. Hopefully he will realize he needs a little more work before the NBA and come back for 1 more year. The basketball season ended and the very next day was the first day of Spring Football for the Florida Gators as they start to prepare for their season as they try to go to Pasadena and REPEAT as National Champions!!
Well.......that is enough of me babbling for now.
One last thing, anyone else out there who is into running podcasts please go on over to the Buckeye Outdoors website and join the There Can Be Only One challenge to support your favorite running podcast. This is a challenge where each month they will eliminate podcasts with the least amount of miles logged for them until eventually there is only 1 ULTIMATE podcast left standing. I currently am on the team of 4 Feet Running under my Buckeye account of itisshaggy. Hope to see you all there!
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Various Photos From Cincinnati
Where I went each night After a Long Day
The real reason for the trip (Work)
Practice field for the Cincinnati Bengals
Paul Brown Stadium (home of the Cincinnati Bengals)
Leaving Ohio and Entering Kentucky on a run
Same Run, leaving Kentucky and coming back to Ohio
Paul Brown Stadium from across the Ohio River
Great American Ballpark and US Bank Arena across the river
more of Great American Ballpark (hey, I love baseball and it's my companies park)
across the river and under a bridge
view at night of Fountain Square
picture taken from the "Purple People Bridge"
looking over the river at Kentucky
look at Frank Robinson swing that bat
Joe Nuxhall sure was an icon in Cincinnati
another view of Mr Robinson
Here's the pitch................ 
my companies Stadium
view from across the street
Side of my hotel (The Cincinnatian Hotel - built in 1882) Sunday, March 15, 2009
Cincinnati Trip/ The Winter Park Road Race
Greetings Fellow Runners
So my week of change has came to an end. Monday morning started out with Crystal driving me to the Orlando Airport for my flight to Cincinnati. I arrived into the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport at around 1:30 where I caught my shuttle to the Cincinnatian Hotel in downtown Cincinnati. After getting checked in, I decided I would go out for a run as there was nothing planned with work for the day and the day was still early. First, I learned that it is not as easy to get signal on my Forerunner 305 the first time in Cincinnati compared to Ocala. I ventured out in an exploring mode with my camera in my pocket. First I decided to head over to Great American Ballpark(the home of the Cincinnati Reds). I found this to be a very nice stadium with some nice statues out front of some former Reds Greats. I then continued my run down to the "Purple People Bridge" which is a pedestrian only bridge that crosses over the Ohio River and into Newport, Kentucky. After going about 1.5-2.0 miles I finished crossing the bridge and arrived at Newport on the Levee. At this point I decided to take a break from my run and walk around here for a little while. I walked around here for a while then decided to catch a movie (Gran Torino - which was VERY good) before heading back towards the hotel. I ended my run at right around 6 miles. I then cleaned up and went for a burger and a beer at a local hole in the wall type Sports Bar named Rockin' Robin's which was a very good place where one can feel very comfortable.
Tuesday, I had my training class go until 5-5:30 and the I ended up going out for another run that went from Cincinnati, over the Ohio River into Newport, KY, over a bridge crossing the Vickings River into Covington, KY then a 3rd bridge coming back over the Ohio River before coming back into Cincinnati running by Paul Brown Stadium (home of the Cincinnati Bengals). On my way back towards my hotel I ended passing THOUSANDS of people walking to US Bank Arena. I ended up asking a cop that was directing traffic what was going on, and found out it was a Elton John and Billy Joel concert on their Face 2 Face tour.
Wednesday, after getting out of training a group of 10 of us went out to Nicholson's which is a great Irish/Scottish restaurant/pub. This place was awesome, the food was SUPERB!, and has a beer list that was like 10 pages long. I ended up drinking a English Pale Ale that I had never had before and it was also great (Old Speckled Hen). We then went to an ice cream place where I had some excellent Black Raspberry Chip Ice Cream. This ended up being a day full of great food and beer - all of which unfortunately I do not think I can find any of in central Florida.
Thursday, was Graduation day from my training class. Once graduation was over a group of like 10-15 of us went over to Cadillac Ranch (a local Sports Bar with a southern feel) and had some drinks. We all had a blast and a good handful of us ended up riding the mechanical bull here which I never imagined could have been so much fun!
Friday, we still had a 1/2 day of training to go to before I left to the airport to head back to Orlando. Grant picked me up from the airport, went to Olive Garden, then went back to his place as we had our 10k race in the morning.
Saturday - RACE DAY - The Winter Park Road Race - We arrived in Winter Park right around 7am for a 7:30 race start. We got our bib numbers and Chip Timers on and then settled into the field of nearly 2,000 runners. The race ended up going pretty good and I felt really good throughout. I will say that I used up some extra energy trying to maneuver through the large field of runners (largest field I have ever had in a race yet). I ended up sprinting nearly the last 0.2 miles and finished the 10K race in a time of 53:17 for a pace of 8:34 per mile. I finished in 563rd out of overall 1,911 finishers (top 29%), 392nd out of 908 male finishers (top 43%), and 50th out of 104 in my 25-29 age group (top 48%)
I will post some pictures of the trip in the next day or day as I have not had a chance to upload the photos yet.
Til Next Time
So my week of change has came to an end. Monday morning started out with Crystal driving me to the Orlando Airport for my flight to Cincinnati. I arrived into the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport at around 1:30 where I caught my shuttle to the Cincinnatian Hotel in downtown Cincinnati. After getting checked in, I decided I would go out for a run as there was nothing planned with work for the day and the day was still early. First, I learned that it is not as easy to get signal on my Forerunner 305 the first time in Cincinnati compared to Ocala. I ventured out in an exploring mode with my camera in my pocket. First I decided to head over to Great American Ballpark(the home of the Cincinnati Reds). I found this to be a very nice stadium with some nice statues out front of some former Reds Greats. I then continued my run down to the "Purple People Bridge" which is a pedestrian only bridge that crosses over the Ohio River and into Newport, Kentucky. After going about 1.5-2.0 miles I finished crossing the bridge and arrived at Newport on the Levee. At this point I decided to take a break from my run and walk around here for a little while. I walked around here for a while then decided to catch a movie (Gran Torino - which was VERY good) before heading back towards the hotel. I ended my run at right around 6 miles. I then cleaned up and went for a burger and a beer at a local hole in the wall type Sports Bar named Rockin' Robin's which was a very good place where one can feel very comfortable.
Tuesday, I had my training class go until 5-5:30 and the I ended up going out for another run that went from Cincinnati, over the Ohio River into Newport, KY, over a bridge crossing the Vickings River into Covington, KY then a 3rd bridge coming back over the Ohio River before coming back into Cincinnati running by Paul Brown Stadium (home of the Cincinnati Bengals). On my way back towards my hotel I ended passing THOUSANDS of people walking to US Bank Arena. I ended up asking a cop that was directing traffic what was going on, and found out it was a Elton John and Billy Joel concert on their Face 2 Face tour.
Wednesday, after getting out of training a group of 10 of us went out to Nicholson's which is a great Irish/Scottish restaurant/pub. This place was awesome, the food was SUPERB!, and has a beer list that was like 10 pages long. I ended up drinking a English Pale Ale that I had never had before and it was also great (Old Speckled Hen). We then went to an ice cream place where I had some excellent Black Raspberry Chip Ice Cream. This ended up being a day full of great food and beer - all of which unfortunately I do not think I can find any of in central Florida.
Thursday, was Graduation day from my training class. Once graduation was over a group of like 10-15 of us went over to Cadillac Ranch (a local Sports Bar with a southern feel) and had some drinks. We all had a blast and a good handful of us ended up riding the mechanical bull here which I never imagined could have been so much fun!
Friday, we still had a 1/2 day of training to go to before I left to the airport to head back to Orlando. Grant picked me up from the airport, went to Olive Garden, then went back to his place as we had our 10k race in the morning.
Saturday - RACE DAY - The Winter Park Road Race - We arrived in Winter Park right around 7am for a 7:30 race start. We got our bib numbers and Chip Timers on and then settled into the field of nearly 2,000 runners. The race ended up going pretty good and I felt really good throughout. I will say that I used up some extra energy trying to maneuver through the large field of runners (largest field I have ever had in a race yet). I ended up sprinting nearly the last 0.2 miles and finished the 10K race in a time of 53:17 for a pace of 8:34 per mile. I finished in 563rd out of overall 1,911 finishers (top 29%), 392nd out of 908 male finishers (top 43%), and 50th out of 104 in my 25-29 age group (top 48%)
I will post some pictures of the trip in the next day or day as I have not had a chance to upload the photos yet.
Til Next Time
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
The Evil Peacocks!
Greeting Fellow Runners
Well, another month has come to and end. I ended up having my best month ever as far as total mileage ran goes. I finished the month of February with a total of 92.2 miles and honestly felt like I could have ran even more. I felt great throughtout the entire month and suffored no real injuries other then my left knee hurting a little from time to time. The month of February also included my FIRST EVER half marathon as I completed the Ocala Half Marathon in 2:14:43.
I now look forward to future PRs and record months. I will have numerous 5Ks that I plan to run thorughout this year, plus so far I know I have a 10K that I am running on March 14 (Winter Park Road Race), the Jacksonville Marine Corps Half Marathon on October 3, and my FIRST EVER full marathon on January 10, 2010 - Man, am I anxiously awaiting that day.
To start the month of March, I went out for a 8 mile run. I decided to switch up my route for a little variety and turned down some roads that I had never been on before (by foot NOR by car). I ended up turning down some old abandoned looking dirt road that was very peaceful. However, after getting about a half mile down theis road I look ahead and what do my wandering eyes see? 3 Peacocks standing in the middle of the road! (I later found out they were peahens as they were females - thank you google) These birds were just staring at me as I approached with caution, and man did they look EVIL. I have very limited knowledge on peacocks and did not know if they were mean, agressive animals or not. So I proceeded with caution and VERY SLOWLY passed them and kept going. They did come towards me a little bit, but I did not give them a chance to get any closer then necessary. Apparently this road ended about a quarter mile later and I had to turn around and come back by them again. They were still there and I repeated doing the same thing as before. Ended up being a nice little comfortable run of 8.11 miles in 1:16:32 for a pace of about 9:25 per mile. I also did receive my book in the mail yesterday (Marathon: The Ultimate Training Guide by Hal Higdon) I read the introduction last nice and found what little I have read so far to be good. Now let's just hope the rest of the book is as good or better.
Next week, I will not be home as work will take me to Cincinnati for the week, then I come back and have my 10k on Saturday immediatly after getting back in Florida. I am looking forward to the trip as I think it should be a fun, interesting experiance (Sorry Crystal for leaving you alone with the circus). I plan on doing some nice runs while there, and for the first time ever I should be able to go for ONE run in TWO states as I cross the border into Kentucky on a run.
ALSO - I just wanted to let everyone know that I have decided to join TEAM WORLD VISION. If anyone is interested in helping me raise money, please visit my fundraising page at
http://www.firstgiving.com/thecrazyrunner Any donation would be greatly appreciated as this is a great way to help children around the world.
Well, that will bring today's rambling to an end.
Til Next Time
Well, another month has come to and end. I ended up having my best month ever as far as total mileage ran goes. I finished the month of February with a total of 92.2 miles and honestly felt like I could have ran even more. I felt great throughtout the entire month and suffored no real injuries other then my left knee hurting a little from time to time. The month of February also included my FIRST EVER half marathon as I completed the Ocala Half Marathon in 2:14:43.
I now look forward to future PRs and record months. I will have numerous 5Ks that I plan to run thorughout this year, plus so far I know I have a 10K that I am running on March 14 (Winter Park Road Race), the Jacksonville Marine Corps Half Marathon on October 3, and my FIRST EVER full marathon on January 10, 2010 - Man, am I anxiously awaiting that day.
To start the month of March, I went out for a 8 mile run. I decided to switch up my route for a little variety and turned down some roads that I had never been on before (by foot NOR by car). I ended up turning down some old abandoned looking dirt road that was very peaceful. However, after getting about a half mile down theis road I look ahead and what do my wandering eyes see? 3 Peacocks standing in the middle of the road! (I later found out they were peahens as they were females - thank you google) These birds were just staring at me as I approached with caution, and man did they look EVIL. I have very limited knowledge on peacocks and did not know if they were mean, agressive animals or not. So I proceeded with caution and VERY SLOWLY passed them and kept going. They did come towards me a little bit, but I did not give them a chance to get any closer then necessary. Apparently this road ended about a quarter mile later and I had to turn around and come back by them again. They were still there and I repeated doing the same thing as before. Ended up being a nice little comfortable run of 8.11 miles in 1:16:32 for a pace of about 9:25 per mile. I also did receive my book in the mail yesterday (Marathon: The Ultimate Training Guide by Hal Higdon) I read the introduction last nice and found what little I have read so far to be good. Now let's just hope the rest of the book is as good or better.
Next week, I will not be home as work will take me to Cincinnati for the week, then I come back and have my 10k on Saturday immediatly after getting back in Florida. I am looking forward to the trip as I think it should be a fun, interesting experiance (Sorry Crystal for leaving you alone with the circus). I plan on doing some nice runs while there, and for the first time ever I should be able to go for ONE run in TWO states as I cross the border into Kentucky on a run.
ALSO - I just wanted to let everyone know that I have decided to join TEAM WORLD VISION. If anyone is interested in helping me raise money, please visit my fundraising page at
http://www.firstgiving.com/thecrazyrunner Any donation would be greatly appreciated as this is a great way to help children around the world.
Well, that will bring today's rambling to an end.
Til Next Time
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Another week down.............
Greetings Fellow Runners (I really do owe a thanks to Steve Runner of Phedippidations a big thanks for the opening)
So, another week of February has went by and my consistency for the month continues. I finished the week with a total mileage of 23.64. Now, my mileage for each week in February is: 23.65, 23.51, and 23.64. This brings my total for the month to 70.8 with 6 days left in the month. Also, my year to date total is now at 127.9 as I am on my way towards my goal of running 1,000 miles in 2009.
I also ordered a new book today, which will be my first ever running book and I think my first ever non fiction book (other than a college textbook). I ordered the 3rd edition of Marathon: The Ultimate Training Guide by Hal Higdon. I am hoping this book will help prepare me for my first full marathon in January 2010 at the Disney Marathon. This also should help, because I was already planning on using one of Hal Higdon's marathon training plans prior to ordering this book. If anyone else has any advise for me on this ventured, I would love to hear it.
In my podcast listening I have finally caught up. I have now listened to EVERY episode of Phedippidations, 4 Feet Running, Running To Disney, and The Runners Round Table. Now it is on to both Trilogy Running and Running From The Reaper. Unfortunately, Running From The Reaper only goes back as far as episode 79 on iTunes. So if anyone knows where one could obtain episodes 1-78, please advise.
Well hopefully I will end the month on a positive note, and I SHOULD end the month with my highest running total yet.
Til Next Time
So, another week of February has went by and my consistency for the month continues. I finished the week with a total mileage of 23.64. Now, my mileage for each week in February is: 23.65, 23.51, and 23.64. This brings my total for the month to 70.8 with 6 days left in the month. Also, my year to date total is now at 127.9 as I am on my way towards my goal of running 1,000 miles in 2009.
I also ordered a new book today, which will be my first ever running book and I think my first ever non fiction book (other than a college textbook). I ordered the 3rd edition of Marathon: The Ultimate Training Guide by Hal Higdon. I am hoping this book will help prepare me for my first full marathon in January 2010 at the Disney Marathon. This also should help, because I was already planning on using one of Hal Higdon's marathon training plans prior to ordering this book. If anyone else has any advise for me on this ventured, I would love to hear it.
In my podcast listening I have finally caught up. I have now listened to EVERY episode of Phedippidations, 4 Feet Running, Running To Disney, and The Runners Round Table. Now it is on to both Trilogy Running and Running From The Reaper. Unfortunately, Running From The Reaper only goes back as far as episode 79 on iTunes. So if anyone knows where one could obtain episodes 1-78, please advise.
Well hopefully I will end the month on a positive note, and I SHOULD end the month with my highest running total yet.
Til Next Time
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Short Update
Greetings Fellow Runners
Well February is half gone now, and my running has been pretty decent and very consistent so far.
So far for the month I am at 47.2 miles with 8 runs. Each of the 2 weeks have been 1) 23.65 miles and 2) 23.51 miles. This puts me on pace for 94 miles for the month, which would be the most I have ever ran in a month. So far for the year I am at 104.3 miles, which is behind on my goal of 1,000 for the year - BUT I WILL CATCH UP!!
I would like to give to shout out and thanks to Nik and Dan over at 4 Feet Running. On their recent episode of their podcast (Episode 54) they read from my Ocala Half Marathon race report and put a link to my blog in their show notes at www.4feetrunning.blogspot.com. In case you are unfamiliar with Nik and Dan or 4 Feet Running, they are a husband and wife who produce their own running podcast. Their show is great show. The 2 of them are hilarious and there show is very entertaining while also adding insight into the sport of running. If you have not already, I highly recommend that you head over to http://4feetrunning.blogspot.com/ and check out the blog and podcast OR go to iTunes and subscribe to their podcast there - You will not be disappointed!
Well after recently talking to my friends in Tennessee and finding out that they are both planning on running their first ever full marathon in January at the Disney Marathon, I have decided that I too will join them and also attempt to run my first ever full marathon.
If anyone has any training tips or advice for me on my first ever marathon please do not hesitate to let me know.
Well all, that will do it for this entry as I will keep you updated on future training and events.
Til Next Time
Well February is half gone now, and my running has been pretty decent and very consistent so far.
So far for the month I am at 47.2 miles with 8 runs. Each of the 2 weeks have been 1) 23.65 miles and 2) 23.51 miles. This puts me on pace for 94 miles for the month, which would be the most I have ever ran in a month. So far for the year I am at 104.3 miles, which is behind on my goal of 1,000 for the year - BUT I WILL CATCH UP!!
I would like to give to shout out and thanks to Nik and Dan over at 4 Feet Running. On their recent episode of their podcast (Episode 54) they read from my Ocala Half Marathon race report and put a link to my blog in their show notes at www.4feetrunning.blogspot.com. In case you are unfamiliar with Nik and Dan or 4 Feet Running, they are a husband and wife who produce their own running podcast. Their show is great show. The 2 of them are hilarious and there show is very entertaining while also adding insight into the sport of running. If you have not already, I highly recommend that you head over to http://4feetrunning.blogspot.com/ and check out the blog and podcast OR go to iTunes and subscribe to their podcast there - You will not be disappointed!
Well after recently talking to my friends in Tennessee and finding out that they are both planning on running their first ever full marathon in January at the Disney Marathon, I have decided that I too will join them and also attempt to run my first ever full marathon.
If anyone has any training tips or advice for me on my first ever marathon please do not hesitate to let me know.
Well all, that will do it for this entry as I will keep you updated on future training and events.
Til Next Time
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Ocala Half Marathon - "You Can't Take Away My Dignity"
Greetings Fellow Runners
So, I ran my FIRST EVER half marathon on Sunday morning.
On Saturday afternoon, me and the family went up to the Ocala Hilton and picked up my packet with my bib and timing chip. While there, we checked out the SMALL expo that was set up. There really was not a lot to it. I did however pick up another pack of Sport Beans and purchased a pair of Lock Laces. I will say these are nice as now I no longer need to worry about my laces comming undone (which was a major issue with my Asics 2130's - I love these shoes but the laces are horrible!)
I started my morning on Sunday waking up around 5 and with getting ready and driving there, I arrived to the race around 6:30am. I met Grant there who was registered for the 5K that morning. It was cold as could be there (for FL standards anways) as it was only 30 degrees! The Full Marathon was to start at 7, the half at 7:15, and the 5K at 7:30. This is a small town still as there were like 80 people running the full, 225 running the half, and something like 150 or so running the 5K.
The race started pretty much right on time and I was off and running. I finished mile 1 in 8:49, which was to fast of a pace. At about 1.8 miles in (according to my Garmin) I was passing a lady who was listening to her iPod and singing along to it. Actually, it was more like she was belting it out then singing it - it must be nice to have that kind of lung capacity! As i got up to her she was singing Whitney as I heard her singing "I believe the children are the future........" I kept on going and tried to not laugh as I did not want to use extra energy. After having passed her and was a good tenth of a mile beyond her I could STILL HEAR HER singing "....YOU CAN'T TAKE AWAY MY DIGNITY!" I reached the 5K mark in about 28 minutes and was feeling great! I was feeling great still, even though the ENTIRE 4th mile was completely UPHILL! Despite the hill, I kept going at a steady pace and reached the 10k mark in around 57 minutes. At this point I had to go to the bathroom. I will leave out any details for your benefit, and just state that going to the bathroom when you are cold is not a very pleasent thing.
About 8 miles in or so, my stomach started feeling "not so good" Finally around the 10 mile mark, I stopped and attempted to go to the bathroom and "remove" the problem. However I did not want to sit long and nothing felt like it was moving. So, I decided to forget about it and keep going and just deal with the unpleasent feeling. This however was the point where my run went downhill. From this point on I completed every remaining mile in a good 11 minutes or worse. At around the 11.5 mile mark I added a pain in my right hip to my already ailing stomach. I ended up reaching the 12 mile mark pretty much right at 2 hours, which was my goal upon starting the race. This was demoralizing as I had done better than this in preparation. I ended up finishing my 13.1 mile course in a time of 2:14:43 and finished in 173rd out of 225 runners. Not at all as good as I wanted to do, but I could not complain as it was my first ever half marathon, it was not to far off of the goal I had set for myself of somewhere between 2:00 and 2:10, and all the problems that I encountered on the way.
I will say that this was a gorgeous course, especially for anyone not familliar with the area. The course was filled with nice hills and horse farm after horse farm where there were even horses out galloping in the farms. I will say it was a great feeling finishing the race and getting presented with my finishers medal. I will definitely do this run again, and hopefully I can get Grant to stick to his guns and run it with me next year like he said he might do.
So to any runners out there that want to compete in a small, yet very well organized course, with super volunteers (they were even giving out Twizzlers!), and a beautiful surroundings, I recommend you try out the Ocala Marathon or Half Marathon.
Til Next Time
So, I ran my FIRST EVER half marathon on Sunday morning.
On Saturday afternoon, me and the family went up to the Ocala Hilton and picked up my packet with my bib and timing chip. While there, we checked out the SMALL expo that was set up. There really was not a lot to it. I did however pick up another pack of Sport Beans and purchased a pair of Lock Laces. I will say these are nice as now I no longer need to worry about my laces comming undone (which was a major issue with my Asics 2130's - I love these shoes but the laces are horrible!)
I started my morning on Sunday waking up around 5 and with getting ready and driving there, I arrived to the race around 6:30am. I met Grant there who was registered for the 5K that morning. It was cold as could be there (for FL standards anways) as it was only 30 degrees! The Full Marathon was to start at 7, the half at 7:15, and the 5K at 7:30. This is a small town still as there were like 80 people running the full, 225 running the half, and something like 150 or so running the 5K.
The race started pretty much right on time and I was off and running. I finished mile 1 in 8:49, which was to fast of a pace. At about 1.8 miles in (according to my Garmin) I was passing a lady who was listening to her iPod and singing along to it. Actually, it was more like she was belting it out then singing it - it must be nice to have that kind of lung capacity! As i got up to her she was singing Whitney as I heard her singing "I believe the children are the future........" I kept on going and tried to not laugh as I did not want to use extra energy. After having passed her and was a good tenth of a mile beyond her I could STILL HEAR HER singing "....YOU CAN'T TAKE AWAY MY DIGNITY!" I reached the 5K mark in about 28 minutes and was feeling great! I was feeling great still, even though the ENTIRE 4th mile was completely UPHILL! Despite the hill, I kept going at a steady pace and reached the 10k mark in around 57 minutes. At this point I had to go to the bathroom. I will leave out any details for your benefit, and just state that going to the bathroom when you are cold is not a very pleasent thing.
About 8 miles in or so, my stomach started feeling "not so good" Finally around the 10 mile mark, I stopped and attempted to go to the bathroom and "remove" the problem. However I did not want to sit long and nothing felt like it was moving. So, I decided to forget about it and keep going and just deal with the unpleasent feeling. This however was the point where my run went downhill. From this point on I completed every remaining mile in a good 11 minutes or worse. At around the 11.5 mile mark I added a pain in my right hip to my already ailing stomach. I ended up reaching the 12 mile mark pretty much right at 2 hours, which was my goal upon starting the race. This was demoralizing as I had done better than this in preparation. I ended up finishing my 13.1 mile course in a time of 2:14:43 and finished in 173rd out of 225 runners. Not at all as good as I wanted to do, but I could not complain as it was my first ever half marathon, it was not to far off of the goal I had set for myself of somewhere between 2:00 and 2:10, and all the problems that I encountered on the way.
I will say that this was a gorgeous course, especially for anyone not familliar with the area. The course was filled with nice hills and horse farm after horse farm where there were even horses out galloping in the farms. I will say it was a great feeling finishing the race and getting presented with my finishers medal. I will definitely do this run again, and hopefully I can get Grant to stick to his guns and run it with me next year like he said he might do.
So to any runners out there that want to compete in a small, yet very well organized course, with super volunteers (they were even giving out Twizzlers!), and a beautiful surroundings, I recommend you try out the Ocala Marathon or Half Marathon.
Til Next Time
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Thank God For My Garmin!
Greetings Fellow Runners
Well last night I went out for my final long run before my half marathon. I ended up running 11.26 miles in 1:59:53 (10:38 pace/mile). I went at not the greatest speed, but there is some reason for this.
I went out for my normal long run, while Crystal took the kids to the park by our house. Everything was going good on the run, and I felt as though I was off to an excellent start. A little over 3 miles in I was approaching the park that the family was at, and what do ya know, I see my car pulling out of the park and on their way home (even though she didn't see me coming in the opposite direction).
I then went on with my run up to the animal shelter and circle around there and started to head home. At this point it was starting to get dark and this is where I realized that I had forgotten my running light. A little bit more into my run, I decided to change things up a little bit and turn onto a road that I do not normally run on. As it turns out, this may normally not be a bad idea, but it is when it is pitch black out and I forgot my light. I thought I was doing good going around this little circle and would then turn onto the road that brought me right back to my normal path. As it turns out, I AM BLIND! LOL Somehow I passed by the turn that I wanted to make, ran the entire circle AND some and that is when I thought I was at the right spot in the circle to turn (actually I was just 1 road from where I got onto it at) This road led me a little off coarse (which I was not aware of at the time). A little bit on this road and I knew there was a problem as I am not normally on this road for this long. I now was lost, in the dark on foot and had already completed a good 8 miles of running. After running slowly from road to road trying to read the road signs in the dark (which does do much good when every single road was named Juniper Rd, Juniper Dr, Juniper Loop, etc) not sure of which road I was to turn down, I knew this could end up bad. Then, it hit me my Garmin Forerunner 305 (recently purchased) has a map feature on it that shows where I have ran. I was able to use this feature to eventually lead me back to the normal path and give me a good sense of relief. Of course at this point I was already exhausted and still was about 2 miles or so away from my house (apparently being lost uses up a LOT more energy then a normal run)
I eventually made my way back home and completed the course. I do now have a nice blister on my right foot and just hope to death that it does not bother me in my half marathon and my pursuit of breaking 2 hours.
Moral of the story DO NOT forget your light when running in the dark (especially in the shores)
Final Run Stats
Distance - 11.26 miles
Time - 1:59:53
Avg Heart Rate - 157 BPM
Max Heart Rate - 174 BPM
Calories Burned - 1,246
Avg Pace Per Mile - 10:38
Temperature during run - 70.7 - 71.6
Elevation Gained - 2,142 Ft
Well last night I went out for my final long run before my half marathon. I ended up running 11.26 miles in 1:59:53 (10:38 pace/mile). I went at not the greatest speed, but there is some reason for this.
I went out for my normal long run, while Crystal took the kids to the park by our house. Everything was going good on the run, and I felt as though I was off to an excellent start. A little over 3 miles in I was approaching the park that the family was at, and what do ya know, I see my car pulling out of the park and on their way home (even though she didn't see me coming in the opposite direction).
I then went on with my run up to the animal shelter and circle around there and started to head home. At this point it was starting to get dark and this is where I realized that I had forgotten my running light. A little bit more into my run, I decided to change things up a little bit and turn onto a road that I do not normally run on. As it turns out, this may normally not be a bad idea, but it is when it is pitch black out and I forgot my light. I thought I was doing good going around this little circle and would then turn onto the road that brought me right back to my normal path. As it turns out, I AM BLIND! LOL Somehow I passed by the turn that I wanted to make, ran the entire circle AND some and that is when I thought I was at the right spot in the circle to turn (actually I was just 1 road from where I got onto it at) This road led me a little off coarse (which I was not aware of at the time). A little bit on this road and I knew there was a problem as I am not normally on this road for this long. I now was lost, in the dark on foot and had already completed a good 8 miles of running. After running slowly from road to road trying to read the road signs in the dark (which does do much good when every single road was named Juniper Rd, Juniper Dr, Juniper Loop, etc) not sure of which road I was to turn down, I knew this could end up bad. Then, it hit me my Garmin Forerunner 305 (recently purchased) has a map feature on it that shows where I have ran. I was able to use this feature to eventually lead me back to the normal path and give me a good sense of relief. Of course at this point I was already exhausted and still was about 2 miles or so away from my house (apparently being lost uses up a LOT more energy then a normal run)
I eventually made my way back home and completed the course. I do now have a nice blister on my right foot and just hope to death that it does not bother me in my half marathon and my pursuit of breaking 2 hours.
Moral of the story DO NOT forget your light when running in the dark (especially in the shores)
Final Run Stats
Distance - 11.26 miles
Time - 1:59:53
Avg Heart Rate - 157 BPM
Max Heart Rate - 174 BPM
Calories Burned - 1,246
Avg Pace Per Mile - 10:38
Temperature during run - 70.7 - 71.6
Elevation Gained - 2,142 Ft
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