Splits, that's all it is

10:08, 9:44, 10:09, 10:08, 9:48, 9:53, 9:35, 10:06, 10:01, 9:34, 11:05, 8:45

Splits, the time it takes me to cover a certain amount of distance. This past Saturday as part of building up for the half marathon it was decided to attempt to run 12 miles. The goal was to do it in under two hours, and to feel good about it afterwards. One part of the equation is objective, with a chronograph on my watch to keep track of my mile splits and total time. The other part of the equation is purely subjective and can change with the passage of time. After a few weeks of not being able to run the longer distances with my usual running partner or partners, I needed to be able to see how long it would take me to cover this distance. A plan was set in motion a couple of weeks ago when May 21 was going to be the first, and last, opportunity to get a long run with others in before the half. I was a little worried about my endurance. The week before I was only able to get in a couple of runs, the longest being six miles. Doing it on my own and in under an hour was good news, but six is only half of twelve!

7 AM on a Saturday is early but somehow I was able to drag my butt out to Inside Track to meet up with others for the run. Had to wake up much earlier so I can get something in me so I can have the energy to make it to twelve. The latest thing that seems to work for me is a bagel with peanut butter. It worked last week when that was what I had for breakfast all three days of a skiing weekend. Downhill skiing isn't running but it still takes a bit out of me. So I tried it on Saturday before my long run day. Any ways off we went at 7:05. We started off with a fair sized group but thought that it would go down to three right away; Brandy, Daisy and me. It turned out that Daisy hadn't run in a while herself and would go slower than Brandy and me. So the two of us went and we were able to keep a good pace. Every mile we checked to see what our splits were and they looked good. We were able to also keep a good conversation going throughout the run. Topics from the supposed rapture to my Jewish background to the types of birds flying in the sky.

I mentioned that I thought that pelicans were pretty cool birds, especially in the way they glide just over the water. The conversation and the relatively cool and overcast day helped us get to the six mile mark. We took a little break for refueling before starting back to Inside Track. Heading back had new challenges for me since I had never made it to the 6 mile mark. It meant that I had to run almost a mile before I started the climb up the bridge. It was a challenge but the little break helped give me enough energy back to do it with relative ease. Ohm just before the bridge we saw Daisy about a half mile behind us and about a quarter mile behind her was Linda. Daisy we knew could run at the same pace as us but Linda has made huge strides the past few weeks. She was doing about twelve minute miles and now she seems to be at a 10:40 mile pace. Hope she isn't pushing too hard so she doesn't hurt herself.

Our pace was keeping steady, or at least we think it's steady enough. I know that others may say that a steady pace should be within ten seconds of each other. Here we are with 30-40 second swings. The one part of the usual Saturday long run course is the sand portion where the bikeway is being redone. The sand is very loose in parts and after running a few miles it really takes a lot out of me but I must continue, especially when I am running with someone. Don't want to be the one to slow the group down. After ten miles Brandy had to make another stop but she told me to continue. I continued but only walked it so she can catch up to me sooner. I either walk fast or she took a little longer than expected as I was able to cover over a third of a mile walking before she caught up with me. Regardless I was able to cover mile 11 in 11:05 walking a third, running two thirds. When she had caught up with me she told me not to slow down and run with her. I was to run on my own from this point on. Having saved a little more energy I was able to get back to Seaward and Pierpont and run the last mile in 8:45!

My overall time 1:58:56!! Goal #1 was met. Brandy was able to finish about 20-25 seconds behind me, which means she did her last mile in a little over 9 minutes. So she too was able to finish in under two hours. Now for how we felt after the run. I can honestly say that we are both happy with this run, and even now a couple of days later, I am still very happy with my run. We completed most of the run having a conversation going. We didn't have the excitement of many other racers around us to get the old adrenaline pumping even more. So we did the 12 miles averaging just under 10 minutes per mile. The window of 2:00 to 2:05 is very possible. I am still holding out hope that I may break 2 hours myself but will not be disappointed if I don't. I need to remember that I want to finish the race upright, and maybe with a kick at the end. I need to prepare better to refuel during the race. Gummy bears or something like that may just be the thing for me. As of today there are thirteen days until the race. I don't see another double digit distance run before then. Maybe an eight miler this Saturday? We'll have to see. Stand by for the results.

Apparently I am not a sprinter

It has only been about eight months since I really started doing any kind of running, and it has been mostly fun. I went from being out of breath after trying to run a block to being able to complete a half marathon, albeit with good chunks of walking in the back half of that race, to running 11 miles just a couple of weeks ago and feeling that I could have done another mile or two. For the most part I have been injury free. I have tried to take it easy and gradually increase the distance I run, along with the speed at which I run. I think that I can run a little faster but being almost 48 I know that I should take it easy and not rush my progress. I want to be able to continue to run for quite some time. It has been helpful towards my goal of keeping the weight loss that has occurred the past year and a half. It has also been fun amazing myself at what I have achieved physically, plus I have met some new people through this running club that I was able to join all due to this sport which has me hooked.

Speaking of the running club,to keep things fresh and fun, last night's workout was splitting the club into teams of four people and running relays for some good competitive fun. It turned out okay that the slow group has grown (along with Brandy, there is now Linda and Daisy and we picked another one up Lydia) and there was one of us in each of the teams. Different relays were ran: the first was 4x800, followed by 4x400, then 4x200, with the last relay to start off with one runner doing a 1200,followed by a 400, then an 800 and the last runner had to run a 1600. This sounded a little daunting to me and the others in the slow group, but we figured that if we all ran during the same leg of the relays, it would be okay and be like we were running together.

It was decided that we would be the third leg of the relay. For my first leg, the 800, I was able to run the first lap in 1:55 and the second in 1:52. I was very comfortable with it but knew that I could have maybe ran a couple of seconds faster but I had to make sure I could run the other relays. The next relay I was able to complete my lap in 1:40, again very comfortable with the time, and I was getting caught up in the excitement of the competition. For the 4x200 my team was second when I ran my leg, second only by a couple of seconds. I knew that I could outrun the others in the slow group in the short distance but I also knew that I didn't want to go too fast. I took off at what I thought was a comfortable pace. Before this relay and based on the times for my 800 and 400, I knew that I should be able to do the 200 in about 45 seconds and that should be okay. My turnover rate was my usual pace I thought but I knew that I was also lengthening my stride so I could go a little faster. As I was rounding out the curve and ready to look at my watch to see my time for the first 100, I felt a pull just below my right butt cheek and the hamstring. Not good at all. I slowed it down and was able to jog to touch off to the next runner but I knew that I was done for the night. There goes my moment as a sprinter.

I asked the others if they thought I was going too fat and nobody thought so. I probably was but they are used to seeing others run pretty fast and just confused with me with them. I walked a couple of laps the rest of the night as the last relay was run. Once I got home I iced the back of my leg and then took a warm shower. Wasn't sure if I should stretch it out but felt that maybe using the foam roller would be better. I didn't put all of my weight on the roller, keeping the left leg on the ground as I used the roller. I put on some Aspercreme before I went to sleep. It must have helped as I was able to sleep thru most of the night and my leg seemed to not hurt as bad. After a full day at work with moderate walking on it the leg doesn't feel as tight. A few more days of staying off it should do the trick and I should be able to go for a few miles on Sunday. Brandy told me to take it easy or else I would be on the DL longer. Told her that I just want to to be on the 7-day DL so I will be good and rest it. I may buy some compression shorts or sleeve for the thigh to help with the healing as I get back to jogging/running. I will go for a few miles on Sunday, whether it's walking or jogging still remains to be seen. I signed up for the O2O half marathon and I will do what I have to in order to be able to complete it.

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.

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 ;)