2008 Hermes Cleveland 10 Miler

Something is going on this year, and I don't know what it is. Actually I do know what it is, I just don't want to say it out loud. Yesterday, I competed in my fifth event for the season. And I came away with my third PR. And the other two were really close. Whatever it is I'm doing, it must be good, because my times are improving dramatically. Looks like 2008 is shaping up to be a very interesting year.

I didn't write much this past week. Not so much for a lack of anything to write about, but simply because I have been busier than usual lately. I took the entire week off from running last week. I just cross-trained. My shin was beginning it's dull ache, which inevitably leads to the throbbing and extreme sensitivity. I didn't want to go there, so I took some time off. Instead I did my first outdoor ride since last September. Dusted off the mountain bike, a 10 year old Schwinn, and went for a 9 mile ride. I also hit the weights and began walking at lunchtime. I felt fresh heading into Saturday and the 10 miler.

That fresh feeling is probably why I ran the first mile in 6:16. Shocking, isn't it? I was certainly shocked when I checked my split and saw that looking back at me. I knew I was going WAY too fast. Hell, I started within 4 rows of the start line. I went out too fast, and knowing that, slowed down for mile 2, completing that in 7:06. Still below my desired 7:30 pace. Mile 3? 7:03. That's not slower! Mile 4? 7:37. That's more like it. Except I was slowing down because I was now tired, not because of a conscious effort to slow my pace. The next two miles passed in 7:54 and 7:55. Miles 7, 8, and 9 were eight minute plus miles. Leaving mile 10 to save my overall time in 6:53. I finished the race in 1:15.09. That's a 7:31 per mile average. Exactly what I was hoping to do, just not the way I was hoping to do it. I was 20th out of 75 in my age group, and 102nd out of over 800 overall. But what's best is I knocked over 5 minutes off my time from last year. Another PR baby!

I have no idea how long this PR business is going to go on this year. I have a flat 5K coming up Friday night. If I can duplicate that first mile three times during the race, my 5K PR doesn't stand a chance. But I'm not going to worry about it. If it happens? Great! If not? No big loss. But it would be nice to take out another long standing PR. My 5K PR has stood since 1992. I would SO like to take that one out!

I also need to congratulate Mrs. P on her 3rd place finish in her age group this morning in the Buzzard 3 Mile Run. The race was in the Hinkley Metropark Reservation. This was probably the toughest race she's done. If you're not familiar with the park, it's all hills. There are very few flat spots. You're either going up or down. She was out there with no real expectations, and ended up bringing home some hardware. Congratulations Mrs. P!

Mr. P  

Overtraining

With the Hermes 10 Miler coming up this Saturday, I'm once again dealing with a bout of over training. I've been feeling so good running lately, I just can't stop adding mileage. On three days rest last week, I did another 9 miler. That should be a once a week long run for me. Here I'm adding one in mid-week. I need to stop doing that. But in my defense, it was on a gravel trail so impact was minimized.

About this exact time last year I had to deal with the same problem. The 10 Miler went fine, but the 5K a week later was rough. It's the shins mostly. I have a sore quad from the half marathon still, but I can deal with that. It's the shin pain that really gets me. This is why I, as much as I would like to, can't run everyday. So I'm going to take the rest of the week off from running. I will substitute heavy cross training. Particularly the elliptical and the bike. I'm overdue for some bike training anyway. So I'm going to hook up the new bike computer to my mountain bike and hit some trails. And I'll possibly try out our new Gazelle. You know, the one Tony Little hawks on his infomercials. If it works as well as it does on TV, then we're in business.

Mr. P 

2008 Capital City Half Marathon

Sometimes, really good things happen when you're not expecting them or even looking for them. You might not even realize you wanted them to happen. Until after they happen, that is. Then it's up to you to embrace them and make the best of the situation. You might not know what's going to happen in the beginning, so all you can do is believe in yourself, trust your instincts, and run with them.

And that folks, is what I did this morning. I have been having a phenomenal week and it carried over to today's effort. Everything has been clicking. It happens, but not very often. So this morning I felt good and just ran. I was watching my mile splits come in under where they usually do and I made the decision to run as hard a pace as I could. I had no expectations for today so I went out hard. If I pooped out towards the end, it was OK. There was no pressure.

Not only did I DESTROY my half marathon PR from last year, I ended up beating my PR dating from 1994. Did I just beat a 14 year old personal record? Yes I did! 33 year old Mr. Pythagoras just kicked the snot out of 19 year old College Pythagoras. I wasn't even worried about doing well today. I haven't been doing any specific training for the distance. I don't know what happened, but it did, and I'll take it. My official finish time today was 1:38:28. That's over seven minutes faster than my best time last November, and two minutes four seconds faster than my long standing PR from 1994.

I feel really good right now. I feel very accomplished. We had temps around 50 but clouds and wind. Lots of wind. It felt like a headwind no matter what direction we were running. It was a relatively flat course with only minimal hills. See, I guess that's why I love Columbus. I've had VERY good results there. The pressure is really on for Rite Aid in May now. Can I beat my new PR then? I don't know. If the weather is nicer, possibly. If I train more for it, possibly. If I continue to have really great days leading up to it, possibly. I'll just need to do my best and hope it pays off in May.

Finally I need to thank John, a friend of mine from Columbus. He managed to find me around mile 9 and ran with me for a couple of miles. Having someone to talk with was a great way to get my mind off of the wind and the tiredness that was setting in. I wish him luck as he runs Boston in a couple weeks.

Mr. P

Big Race Tomorrow

I am on the eve of my first big race of the 2008 season. It will be my first time running the Capital City Half Marathon. I chose to do this race this year because it is early season and it's in Columbus. And if you've read some of my other posts, I love running in Columbus. I went to college there and it holds some very good memories for me.

As for the race itself. There is zero pressure on me for tomorrow. I love it! I haven't gone this long since last fall. I did pull out a 9 miler Tuesday evening though. I felt tired but good, and could have kept going. So as far as expectations for tomorrow go, I just want to run a good race with no injuries. Hopefully the weather will be dry. This week has been beautiful with sun and above average temps but that's supposed to change tonight. There even calling for a chance of snow in the Cleveland area. Running in cold rain sucks. Just plain out sucks. I've done it before and I'll do it again, but I hope it's at least dry tomorrow. I will be sure to let you all know how it went.

Mr. P

Breaking News

It was nice taking a break from everything, including training, to just have some fun and unwind. I'm back from a very nice trip to Las Vegas, and it's time to get back into the swing of things again. Actually I got back into things right away. Allow me to recap this weekend's events:

-Plane leaves Las Vegas at 11:20'ish Saturday night.
-We land in Cleveland around 5:45 AM.
-Get the luggage.
-Get the car.
-Drive home.
-Take a short nap that I shouldn't have.
-Pick up dog from the kennel.
-Stop at Starbucks and get a succulent Mocha Chip Frappacino.
-Drive to Columbus to pick up Jr. P.
-Drive back to Cleveland.
-Unpack.
-Wait for lack of sleep/low blood sugar/ caffeine induced shakes to stop.
-Go for 6+ mile run because the weather is too nice to miss.
-Shower.
-Cook dinner on grill because the weather is too nice to miss.
-Crash out early.

But here's the really important, breaking news from Sunday. I have officially decided to begin entering the Hawaii Ironman lottery beginning with the 2009 event. Mrs. P and I talked about it, with her wanting me to start doing it this year. I know I'm nowhere near ready to undertake such a task this year, so next year it is. I'm hoping that I wouldn't even be selected for a few years. Actually, I'm not in too much of a hurry to take the challenge. I've chosen Hawaii because it's the big one, and this might be our one chance to visit as well. I'm probably only going to take one shot at the distance, so why not make it the biggest one in the world?

Mr. P