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.

PR Weekend

OK, setting personal records wasn't something I had in mind when I started this running thing. It was done as part of trying to get healthier, to work with what I had achieved losing weight with WeightWatchers. Yet I find myself enjoying the sport and participating in several races now. This past weekend I signed up to do something different from the other races. I signed up for two races, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. The Saturday race was the Old Agoura 10K, and regardless of what my time was it was going to be a personal record as it was my first 10K race. The one on Sunday was the Coaster 5K down by Knott's Berry Park. This race was on a flat course so I had a chance to see whether all of the track workouts and LSD will help me get my fastest time to date.

The Old Agoura 10K was part of the Great Race of Agoura, which includes two half marathons, the 10K, a 5K and two other races intended to involve younger children. My friend Becky ran this race as well, and I was glad to see her before the start and hung out with her until we had to go running. The 10K ran through some neighborhood streets at first before turning in to a hilly neighborhood. Then about 2 1/2 mile in the route goes over a mile total on Chesebro, a nice gradual uphill which to my surprise I was able to complete without stopping. Between miles 4 and 5 were some pretty nasty hills, in my opinion. Very scenic neighborhood but those hills were a challenge. I was able to run on some of them while there were some I had to walk up portions, if not the entire hill. At mile 5 the people at the water station were telling us that there were no more hills, only one more mile to go. What a bunch of liars. There were a couple of hills left. Not too steep but one was pretty long. And then we had to go on a muddy section thanks to the recent rains. I emerged through it relatively unscathed and the last third of a mile was back on pavement, partly downhill before ending with a dash on the grass of Chumash Park. The official clock had me at 1:00:43. I didn't think I could complete the course in under an hour, not with all of the hills, and was thinking of a window of 62 to 72 minutes. But thanks to all of the recent workouts and LSD I was able to manage my race and not go out too fast in the beginning, saving enough for the hills.

Today's race was down in Orange County, right at Knott's Berry Farm. I specifically signed up to do this race with my friend Ron. It was very cloudy and rain was threatening to come down, but the temps were in the upper 50s lower 60s so it was quite comfortable. The Old Agoura 10K was ran in overcast skies and was a bit colder but rain stayed away. Right before the start of the 5K it actually started to sprinkle and it continued until about 5 minutes after the starting gun. There was some character from Knott's who shot off a rifle to signify the race start. Speaking of characters I was able to snag Snoopy for a pre-race picture. The Coaster Run consisted of a 5K and a 10K and they started at the same location and at the same time. This created for a very busy start, mostly because the race coordinator didn't request that walkers start at the back. I went to the middle of the starting area as usual, and this meant that I had to wade through a whole lot of people who were walking. I don't mind walkers in races as I walked my very first 5K, but it does create a traffic jam. With 2500 people registered for the two races it was quite a traffic jam. The one positive thing it did was it help me start off slowly and reminded me to keep an even pace. The course was fairly flat except for the portion where we went in a tunnel that went underneath a street. With the recent rains there were some puddles, some which I was unable to avoid but such is life. I crossed the 1 mile marker at 9:48, a lot slower than I wanted but I knew I had some reserved for the end. The crowd thinned out slowly and I tried to maintain a good pace. At what I thought was around the 2 mile mark I was able to see more daylight between people and I picked it up a little. Kept reminding myself to not go too fast until we were in sight of the finish line, about a half mile to go. With it in sight I kicked it up a notch and slowly picked off some people. At the last turn I saw a boy about ten years old who had stopped and was slowly running again. I tried to motivate him, telling him to kick it in gear. I heard someone from the crowd yell out, "Don't let that old man beat you!!". Had to laugh at that one and I kept telling the boy to pick it up, and he did, and I did and we were in kinda full sprint mode when we finished. He may have nipped me at the end but seeing the big smile on his face as he finished was worth it. That and high five exchanged is what it's all about. My time was officailly 27:19, which shatters my previous best of 28:09 but that was before I joined the running club and getting more miles and experience in this body of mine. Not sure how much faster I can do the races as all that really matters is that I am enjoying it. Yeah, that's the ticket ;)

New shoes

Late last week I noticed that the shoes with which I have been running, a pair of Nike Lunarglide+2, were worn out quite unevenly. The heel on the left shoe was worn a little more on the inside than the outside, and the front was worn out somewhat evenly. The right shoe however had a lot of wear on the outside heel. It was so worn out it was white, the black bottom was gone. I was hoping to keep this pair until after the Old Agoura 10K but since I already had bought a replacement of the same kind of shoe, I decided to start running with the new Nikes. I also decided to go to Inside Track and ask questions about the uneven wear on the shoes.

So on Friday I went in and showed off the old shoes. The first comment given to me even before I showed the sole of the shoes were that the pair was too big for me. I always thought that I had wide feet so I needed a wider shoe. Roadrunner Sports also checked things out and this was the pair that best fit me. I liked the wider toe box, as it didn't crush my toes like other shoes did. So I tried on some Brooks Ghost and in a size 8, vice the 8 1/2 of the Nikes. Again I was told that the Nikes were too big for me. I ran with the new shoes and they checked out my form. Was advised to try out a different pair of shoes, one that was neutral instead of a stability shoe. Again Roadrunner suggested a stability shoe for me. So I tried out a pair of Brooks Glycerin and my running form checked out again.

Guess this time around things looked better but still had no reason for the uneven wear on the heel other than a question as to whether I dragged my heel now and then. After thinking about it, I do believe I do drag my heel every few steps. I have seen similar wear on my dress shoes. So now I have a new pair of Brooks, first time I have ever worn the brand. Guess I can start using these shoes in time for the races this weekend. Tuesday is a track workout so that should be okay to break them in then. I will have to warm up before so that should give me enough feedback as to whether I can get used to them in time. I still have the newer Nikes as backup - guess that's what their role will be now. Or maybe I can alternate between the two. Have to ask if that's a good idea or not.

Time trial

The other day members of the running club were timed to see how fast they can run a mile. It was done as part of a Run and Bowl social event. Take the time, in seconds, how fast one runs a mile on the track on Tuesday, and then subtract the highest bowling score of two games on Thursday, and that is a person's score. The lowest score wins some prize, as well as the highest (maybe?). If that is the case then I have a shot of winning the highest score. I was able to complete the mile in 8:14, my fastest mile by almost 30 seconds!

Fortunately I was able to complete the mile. Setting things up, I arrived at VHS and did my warm-up. One lap of walking followed by 5 laps of a jog. Or what I thought was a jog. Halfway thru my jog I was joined by others in the club and they tod me that we were going at a 9 minute pace. That may have been slow to them but not really that slow for me. When the rest of the group showed up, our official warm-ups started. We did 4 sets of 200s, a "fast" 200 followed by a "slow" 200, and then do that for four laps. I pretty much followed behind people and hung out at the back with Brandy. We did our 4 laps at a little over 9 minutes, and that included slow 200s! We weren't looking forward to the mile.

We followed this warm up with some strides, and it actually felt good to just run a little faster than normal. I like being able to take longer strides for the really short distance knowing that I have about 30 seconds in between strides, plenty of time to rest up. After the strides and some time to rest some more, we were given our instructions. Line up along the curved line, start about a step behind actually until told "Runners set", and then take off at "Go". There was a clock about 9 meters past the finish line, since 5280 feet is 1609 meters, so we were told not to stop running until we past the clock and go into the chute set up past the clock.

I made sure to start off at lane 6 - that's me above as the "gun went off", giving the faster runners enough room for the inside. Off we went and I got in a rhythm, which I thought was a bit fast. The runners ahead of me slowly got further ahead but by 200 meters they were only about 20 meters ahead. This s when I knew I was going a little too fast for my own good. I yelled out to Brandy that I think I was going too fast. She quickly said, "Yes, you are". So I slowed down to let her catch up. As we turned the corner for the last 100 of the first lap I could see thclock and it read 1:25! Positive proof that I was going too fast. I was hoping to go for 2:10 first lap but at this pace we were going for to cross at 1:53. Since I was a little ahead I had to set thepace for the two slow runners. We finally crossed at 1:59. We slowed the pace a little more and crossed the line on our second lap at 4:06.

We continued with this pace and finished lap 3 at 6:16. At this point I knew we were both going to get new personal bests for our mile. It didn't matter that most of the others passed us - the first one to pass us was at about the 600m mark, the second one just before we finished the curve into the straightaway to the finish line, and most passed us as we were crossing the line. Then we had the track all to ourselves. Finally able to get to the inside lanes we picked up the pace a little. At 1400m we kicked it up a notch, relatively speaking. Brandy and I were still side by side until the last 30m when I somehow was able to lengthen my strides a little more and finished maybe two seconds ahead. She did give me credit for running on the outside of her for the whole distance, which probably meant an extra 20 meters. Regardless I just finished my fastest mile and I was ecstatic, although too tired to really show it. I know one mile doesn't a runner make, but it lets me know that I have plenty of room to improve and that 2 hour half marathon is ripe for the picking. Ripe especially since I have almost three months to train for it.

Carbo loading

Tonight, in preparation for a potential long run of 7 or 8 miles tomorrow morning, I decided to go for pasta dinner. OK, people may not think much of Presto Pasta - it's fast food pasta, not real Italian,etc. Well, it's a whole lot cheaper than other "Italian" places around here and I actually like the place. The food taste very good and the portion size is more than adequate. Tonight, however, I decided to go for the pasta combo. Got the spaghetti with meat sauce and a meatball, with a slice of garlic bread and a cup of minestrone. That thing filled me up and I actually still feel a little stuffed. Maybe next time I will order the pasta with just marinara sauce and the meatball, skip the meat sauce.

Normally I would feel bad after a meal like that. What happened to the weight watchers guy? That meal was probably worth over 30 points alone, if not more. Well, I think I calculated it out to be about 32 points. Any ways, I did some form of exercise today and I have that long run planned for tomorrow. Today was our regular off Friday and I got a little jog in, three mile round trip from San Pedro Street to the turnaround on the promenade, before trying to play some volleyball. Was able to average under ten minute miles, which was faster than what I wanted especially if I was going to play vball afterwards. My training plan calls out for 11 minute miles during my slow runs but my head keeps telling me to go a little faster. Today was also the first time I ran without headphones on, trying to get more in tune with my body during a run. All it did was let me know how much I was breathing during my run. My endurance is still not there, but I have three weeks before the 10K in Agoura. And this past Tuesday I was able to join the running club and we did some more hills, this time 4 reps running up about a 350m incline followed by a jog down.

As for the vball after my run, well, it turned out to be not much. I was able to play in one game of 4 on 4, and it was a good one. Unfortunately my left calf started to act up a little and it seemed that any sudden starts may re-pull the muscle. I couldn't really try going for balls and risk hurting myself and then I wouldn't be able to run the 10K. I am able to run since my running doesn't have any quick starts or sudden change of directions. Lame excuse but I am enjoying being able to run and I don't want to lose that right now. While we were at the beach we were graced with the presence of two Olympic gold medalists. Yep, Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhauser, 2008 Olympic gold medalists in beach volleyball, were in the court next to us getting some practice before they head on overseas. It was amazing to see how high they can jump, how fast they can cover that court, just how good they were. People have paid a lot of money to see them play for about 20 minutes, while we got to see them play for about an hour and a half for free. They are in the background of this picture, to the right.