You know you are a runner when ...

... you just spent the last hour doing kickboxing at the gym and afterwards you think of going for an easy 3 miler to cool down.

OK, the thought occurred to me today after a good workout at the gym. I hadn't gone to this class held on Mondays and Wednesdays at the base gym since early March and this class felt easy. Of course the last class I attended was just a few weeks after I hurt my leg skiing and was just getting back into any kind of exercising. Today my endurance has greatly improved from all of the running I have done since then. The different track workouts and the long runs have been good for me. Last night was the track workout and we did 6x400s. The goal was to go about a second faster on each successive 400, with the premise that we don't dawdle on the first lap.

When i got to Ventura High I did my own warm up: one lap walking to get my joints loose, followed by an easy mile which I did at a 9:48 pace, faster than the mile pace during the long Saturday run. Still it felt easy to me. As a group we did 4x200s as a warm up and then we divided up into the intermediate/advanced group and the others - II can't really call the rest of us as slow any more as we are improving. And the group is also not me and Brandy any more. We actually had three more with us last night.

Off we went an the first lap I did was at a 1:55 pace. Pretty good I thought. After the easy lap in between my second lap was at 1:54. I was feeling confident that I could dial in the right tempo but with the help of my watch telling me how fast it was taking me to go each 100. Third lap was 1:53 followed by a 1:50. The fifth lap I covered in 1:53 and I did feel a little tired at the end. Maybe I started the lap a tad faster than I should have but made sure that I recovered during the easy lap in between. The sixth and last lap I knew that I could turn it on at the end to see how much faster I could go the entire lap, although I also knew that was not the point of the exercise. I covered the first 200 at 55 which meant a 1:50 lap, pretty good. But I was feeling good and I decided to turn it on. On the last 100 I was able to go for it all and surprised myself that I was still accelerating (or at least I thought I was still accelerating) at the end. I crossed the line at 1:39, a big improvement over the other lap times. The other runners were also able to go faster at the end. So I was happy for me and I was very happy for the others too. This is making me think that I can maybe do 8 minute laps for a 5K. Not any time soon but maybe by the end of the year?

As for the subject line, I saw that as a question on one of the forums on active.com. People were writing in stories of how they knew they were a runner. I have a few thoughts on the subject but I truly hope to keep coming up with more. It's only been about 9 months since I started any kind of running so I am still a relative newby in the sport. May I cntinue to enjoy it for many decades to come.

Training in progress

After a week back on land, and a few running sessions under my belt, I am glad to report that it looks like I am on track for the half marathon for which I am signed up the first Sunday of June. I was able to get a track workout with the club on Tuesday. We did 4x400s, followed by 1x800 and followed by another 400. The slow group, at least the one I knew before my trip, doubled in size from two to four. We were able to be somewhat consistent in the 400s, doing the first at a blistering 1:50, much faster than what we should have been doing, but we followed that up with three laps at 1:53 or 1:54. Our 800 was a 3:53 which is right in line with our 400s. Our last 400 was 1:55 so this was a good evening for us. It really pushed us and I think it will definitely help me in the half. There are six weeks to go until the race, and I now have a trip to Mammoth planned in a couple of weeks that will take away one of my long run days. Yes, skiing in May!! The record snowfall will probably keep the mountain open until July.

Speaking of skiing, I broke down and bought skis this past Saturday. It was partly as a reward for enduring the barge trip - the overtime pay is more than adequate to pay for the skis and boots that I bought, and it was partly a reward for the 11 mile run I did on Saturday. It was the usual long run on Saturdays. Meet up at Inside Track and away we go. Brandy and I were joined by Kim, another who can run at our pace. I had planned on doing 8, turning around at the 4 mile mark, but was open to going to the 5 mile marker so as not to leave the other two alone. I knew that I could always walk a portion to go back to my car and not feel like a failure for not running all the way. I have completed a half marathon before and I did walk portions of it. We went to the 5 mile mark and decided to go a little more. At the 5.5 mile mark it was decided to turn around and go back. It was turning out to be a warmer than expected day and it was beginning to show its effects.

Up to this point we were doing a good job of averaging about 10:15 to 10:25 miles. I felt pretty good during the run, for the most part but we did stop as a group, although briefly, on a couple of occasions. The stops seemed to reenergize me enough that I was able to keep running. Brandy was struggling a little so I started to lead the pack. After all of the times she leads, or I make her take the lead, it was the least I could do. I think I led the last two miles. Maybe it was that but we were all able to make it back to Inside Track, completing 11 miles. I think I could have done another mile nonstop, but I was also glad that we reached our end for the day. Brandy and Kim noted that I looked strong even in the end of our run, which really made me feel good. I am really thankful for all of the help I have gotten from the club, from being able to run with others, especially Brandy who has helped me take it nice and easy in the long runs. I know that I would be going so much faster running on my own and that is just begging for an injury. As it is I am feeling a little tight in the hams and quads. I really need to stretch afterwards. Guess I still have a lot of learning to do in this running thing.

Land ho ...

"Land ho!!" No two words are sweeter to hear after spending a few days out to sea, far from land. Okay, I was only out to sea for a little over nine days but that was still long enough to yearn to be on solid ground. I just got back from a work trip supporting a mission off the Hawaiian islands. We got back to land on the 16th. Part of my job is to go to the 50th state and push buttons for a living to protect the public from any errant flying things. Sometimes I do it on Kauai, and sometimes I get to spend a week or so on board the good ship MATSS. By the way, to the right of the tug boat in the picture, dead center, is Diamond Head area viewed from about 25 miles out to the southwest of it.

The good ship MATSS is a converted portion of a World War II floating dry dock. Back then the Navy had these floating dry docks in the Pacific theater so they can repair ships near the battlefront instead of bringing them back to Pearl Harbor. Each of these portions are about 250 feet long and 75 feet wide. For perspective the big radar antenna in the picture has a 24 foot diameter. Any ways the barge, as I call it, has been outfitted with many kinds of instrumentation in order to support these missions and tests for the Navy, which has graciously been paying my salary for over 23 years now. So about once a year, maybe twice, I volunteer to ride the barge and take my turn to be the protector of the Hawaiian Islands. There are some perks to riding the barge, like getting a lot of overtime pay and lots of pretty good Hawaiian food. With the new me I don't eat as much of the food as I used to, but I still eat it and love it. A big negative for me these days is that I don't get to run. The barge is not equipped with an engine and must be towed all over the place at a gentle 5-7 knots. The slow speed and the flat bottom makes for a rolling and pitching deck not conducive to running on the deck. Besides, there are many obstacles on the deck to go around, plus it rains a lot in the middle of the ocean making the deck slippery as well. So any exercise I was able to do took the form of walking. I was able to sneak in 15 or 30 minute walking periods now and then but at a leisurely 3 mph pace. But as it was pointed out to me, I got to work on my core just trying to balance myself on the deck.

But enough of the work talk, this blog isn't about my work. I was able to sneak in a couple of short runs on land before the barge left the port in Pearl Harbor. I figured the best time to run in the Waikiki area is at 5 am, when it isn't as warm yet. The humidity is high but at least it's not in the upper 80s already. Even at 5 am I wasn't the only one who had the same idea. I saw many dozens of people running at that time. Even saw a couple of moms pushing their strollers out during their early morning jog. Much to my surprise I was able to maintain a ten minute mile pace through both sessions. Guess those runs on Saturday mornings along the Ventura coast is helping me figure out my pace when I run solo.

An even bigger surprise to me was after when we got back from our "cruise", I was able to get in a 3 mile run the very same day, in the late Waikiki afternoon and I also was able to keep about a ten and a half minute mile pace!! It was a little slower since it was warmer and I hadn't run in nine days, but it felt good to stretch the legs out. So good that I just had to get my picture taken sans shirt - actually I ran sans shirt. The shirt would have been drenched even in that short time frame - my shorts were pretty wet and I never got in the water. Flew back home the next day and took today off from work so I can get back to the right time zone and also try to get in a run. I think I am adjusted back to CA time, and I was able to get in a run in this afternoon. It turned out to be a little more than a 10K and I did it in just over 1 hour. Not bad for not having run a longer distance than 3 in about two weeks. I did have to stop a couple of times to walk and rest up a bit. The one thing that caught me by surprise is how tired my arms got trying to keep my form good during the run. Holding the arms bent at 90 degrees takes some effort and I haven't done that in a while so I had to let my arms dangle down as I ran to rest them. Something else I need to work on. Maybe I will bring my exercise bands to work so I can work out the arms while just sitting at my desk. Back to the old office grind tomorrow, but I'm happier to be able to go to the track workout tomorrow night. It has been something I've missed the last three weeks now. The half marathon in June is a few weeks away and I need to get more serious in my training.

Ventura is such a nice city to live in, with many great places to run or walk or just hang out. One such place that I really enjoy is the promenade. Whether it is to walk or run on, or just to sit and watch the ocean and the many people playing on it, it is a favorite of mine. This weekend was one of those when it is the regular Friday off at work, and on those days, a few friends like to gather at the beach and play some volleyball. I have been taking advantage of these days to get in a short run before playing some volleyball. Starting at San Pedro Street and running towards the fairgrounds before turning around at the roundabout allows me to get in a 5K run. On this day I wore my Nikes since the two days I ran during the week wearing the Brooks didn't feel too good, although I got off a fast 5K on Tuesday. Those shoes seem a little tight in the toe box and even if I don't tighten the shoe laces much closer to the toes, they still feel tight. So I will have to take the shoes back and see whether I can exchange them for another pair of Nikes or if those shoes will be a very expensive walking shoes. They feel good walking around in but not quite for running.

On Saturday I went to Inside Track to join in on the long run. Brandy wanted to get a 14 mile run in. My first instinct was to reply, "Are you nuts?", but I thought that it was a good challenge to me. No, not 14 miles, that would be nuts. But maybe I could go to about the 5 mile marker before turning around. This helps her as she will only be alone for a shorter distance than usual and it will test me as to how my endurance is. We got going at a consistent pace from about 10:15 to 10:30. I was a little pumped at the beginning but was able to slow down with some gentle prodding from the running buddy. I will figure out how to keep a good slow pace for the easy days, if it kills me!!! Any ways, made it to 5 mile marker, exchanged fives and turned around for the return trip. By the way another runner joined us, Daisy, and she also turned around at the 5 mile marker. She ran the LA marathon a couple of weeks ago and was just getting back into running after taking a well-deserved break.

Daisy and I ran back at what I hoped for was the same pace. According to my watch we were a little faster, surprise surprise since I was the one keeping the pace. It was a little under 10mm. This may have been too fast for Daisy as she stopped to walk once we were near the entrance to Emma Wood. I continued on trying to maintain the pace and was doing okay until I got back to the sand area of the trail, about 7.5 miles into the run. Had to walk this part as there were too many people at the time and I couldn't get to the hard pack portion of the trail. Hate running in the sand!!! When I got back to the hard pack I started a slow jog but I knew that something wasn't right. I couldn't get back into a groove and was pushing too hard to get it. Maybe a bit too fast as I was approaching the pier I had to stop and walk. Walked a little over a minute before picking up the run. Again maybe a bit too fast as I pooped out before I hit Sanjon Road - that's not even a half mile!!! Walked another minute then ran two minutes before walking again. By the time I was approaching San Pedro Street I decided that I was going to finish the rest of the run so off I went. This time I was able to get a nice and easy pace going. About a block away from the end marker I picked up the pace a little more, as if I was finishing a race, although not as even close to what I did last weekend at the real races. I was spent today. Not too spent that I collapsed, but I was approaching the low fuel light. Brandy mentioned that Michelle wants us to fuel up about every 45 minutes. I have never run this far before non-stop, even when I was training for the half, so this iskinda new to me. Need to figure this one out, which bar or ge or whatever will work for me. It will have to wait a couple of weeks as I am getting ready to go on travel for work, riding aboard MATSS for two weeks. Will try to get a couple of runs in while in Honolulu, but no promises as it will be warmer and more humid than I am used to.