Here's One For...

... All you dream analysts out there. Last night I dreamt I was running in the Columbus Marathon. I knew I had a very good chance of achieving my goal of qualifying for Boston so I was running hard yet confidently. The interesting part was that the course had been changed to run through some of the buildings in downtown Columbus. One building included a McDonald's. A McDonald's with a play area. A GIANT play area. And the course had us climbing up the giant indoor jungle gym and sliding back down the huge slide. Being a good rule follower, I removed my shoes as you're supposed to do when playing in the playground. I made good time going up to the top and was able to make the return trip on the slide just fine. But when I reached the bottom I couldn't find my shoes anywhere. I thought for a brief instant about just forgetting them and running in my socks, but decided to search for my shoes instead. I looked all over the place but could not find them. By the time I gave up the search and decided to finish running, it was about 9 hours after the start and the race was over. Workers were dismantling all the fences and tearing down all the arches and banners and such. I never got to finish and I missed my BQ.

So I'll take from that either A) Avoid McDonald's on race day, B) don't be afraid to keep running if for some reason I lose my shoes on race day, or C) don't put too much pressure on myself to achieve a certain goal, because ANYTHING can happen on race day.

In other news, I have been very busy lately and haven't made the time to keep up with reports. So to catch everything up, last week saw back-to-back days at the track, as this week will as well. Last Tuesday I was running 2 mile repeats with Connie and some others at Clagget. Nothing terribly fast, just 7:30 per mile pace or faster. Then on Wednesday we did the heavy duty speed work at Root, 7 X 800m repeats. We had a fantastic head wind down the back side of the track which really added resistance to the training parachute Ladd brought. We took turns wearing it for an 800. The legs were burning and the lungs were screaming with that thing on. Wow!

Saturday we met at the Hinckley Reservation for a 20 mile group run. We ran trails. I wasn't expecting trails. Somehow I missed that part. It would have been nice to have a second pair of socks and shoes available seeing as how I had one foot miss a rock at a creek crossing and go into the water early on. But it dried out and there was no harm done. I didn't know about any of those trails we ran. The park is MUCH larger than I was aware of. We did two laps of what was supposed to be a 10 mile loop, but was probably just under. At least the Garmins registered it under. (Of course the Garmins were losing track of the satellites in the trees and weren't getting a good reading.) Then we did a loop on the all-purpose trail, another 3 miles. And then for good measure we did a loop on the gravel hiking trail around the lake for another 3 miles. We ran for 3:15 to 3:20 and covered about 23 miles. I believe it was more, but that's what I'm going to call it. What a great run that was. I definitely need to do that more often. There were so many hills! A perfect training course to get stronger on.

Sunday I made it back to the pool for the first time in what has been too long. I was tired from the long run, but not too sore. I was hoping to swim at least a mile. But after starting, I just was having such a hard time I thought about cutting it to a half mile. But at half a mile I decided to not cut it short yet and do another quarter mile. After those 16 laps I decided to just push myself to finish the final 16 laps. It was a weird swim. The pool was packed. There was a scuba diving class in the lane next to me and I could see them when I would be down on the deep end. That was different, looking down and seeing a group of people directly below me.

It's a nice sunny day today and we should have great weather to run tonight. Hopefully tomorrow will be nice as well as it's back to the hard-core speed work.

What's Two More Miles, Really?

Sunday brought sun, then some clouds, then just sun, a chilly breeze (at times), and a planned 19 mile run to Medina. So, the fact that the run extended itself by 2 miles wasn't unpleasant at all. I had plenty of fluids, gels, and layers to deal with alternating hot, cold, and thirst. I even had a bit of Cliff Bar for when I got hungry. Of course I paid for that with about 10 minutes of stomach pain, but that was really the only snag in the day. That, and somehow my Garmin turned off. I must have hit the power button when putting my top layer back on at one point because when I looked down, it was off. By the time it powered back up, it was reading at least a half mile behind. Oh well.

It looks like we averaged an 8:37 per mile pace overall, but that included a quarter mile cool-down walk at the end. We could have gone the full 26.2 if we wanted to. It felt really good out there. And that makes me very hopeful for a good showing in May. I still have three more 20+ mile runs planned before race day. I'm just going to need to order some Powergels and Gatorade Endurance because I can't find them locally.

The course we ran was atypical, with lots of uphills toward the end. Normally it's nice to get those out of the way early. But I didn't mind them too much. Call me crazy, but I like hills on the long runs. Just as long as we're not trying to set any records running up them. Maybe that's why I like the Akron Marathon so much. I really need to decide what I'm going to do there, half or full.

I also had my first 40 mile week last week, thanks to the extra mileage Sunday. I'm beginning to believe that if I can keep this up for the next month, a sub-3:30 marathon shouldn't be impossible. Now, I just need to get back into the pool. I've been running at the expense of the other disciplines for a while now.

2009 Around the Town 5K

5K and 2/10ths of a mile would be more accurate. Same course as last year. About the same weather as last year. (Just as cold but no sun). So how did I end up running it 1 minute and 25 seconds faster than last year? Well that part's easy. I wasn't in anywhere close to the same running shape last year as I am right now. Maintaining some speed work through winter has really paid off.

I ran a 21:36 and finished 4th overall. Once again the very limited field has allowed me to come off much better than reality. In reality, 21 and a half isn't very fast for a 5K. Not in my age group anyway. But it was colder than ideal. It was hillier than ideal. And it was also longer than advertised. 3.31 miles by my Garmin. But I'm happy none the less because I spanked my time from last year! My splits were 6:39 / 6:47 / 6:22 / and 1:48 for the final .31 mile for an average of 6:31. Which is right where I would like to be with a marathon two months away.

Bailey and Heather ran (walked) it too. Heather ran her 11 mile long run last night and followed it up with the 5K this morning. Although Bailey had some problems like he did last week, he ended up winning his age group by default. Man, there are some nice goodies in there! For his $15 entry fee, he came home with over $100 worth of gift cards, certificates, and things. I'm going to have to get faster to win one of those for my age group.

3/18/09 Speed Work

Someone must have left a door open because all the warm air disappeared. It was there early in the day yesterday, but was gone by 6:00. I must be easily spoiled by nice weather to complain about running in 50 degree temps. It wasn't even raining. Just cloudy and very windy. And getting colder. It could have been worse. It could have been snowing. And I'm sure we're still in for more snow yet this season.

But for all the complaining, the speed session was great. I was the last one to arrive, so I got to choose the workout. 6 X 800 repeats with 400m rest. We intended to run 3:10 to 3:15 pace. Not only did we hit our splits, but we stayed below them and progressively got faster. The splits were: 3:12 / 3:13 / 3:06 / 3:06 / 3:10 / 2:57. "2:57"? Yeah, sub-three minute pace for the last one. It was hard, but worth it. I have to keep hammering out these 800's every week now. They're great training for a marathon, and Cleveland is quickly approaching.

I've had back to back 7 mile days and I think I'm feeling it this morning. My right knee, which I've never had problems with, is stiff and sore this morning. The stairs really aggravated it so I'm glad I don't have any of those to deal with at work. A couple days off are in store.

St. Patrick's Day 10K

Not a "real" 10K, as in an official race. But a 10K I ran on the track while Heather was doing her 5 miles this evening, on St. Patrick's Day. Originally, I was planning on doing my speed work tonight, but I decided to save it for tomorrow when there will be others to run with.

When I started running the first mile tonight I didn't have any plans in mind. I knew about how long it would take her and it just kind of came to me. The weather was amazing today for March 17 in Cleveland, 67 and sunny! It's always cold and rainy for the parade. Not this year. I am still a little sore from Saturday so I took it easy the first mile. But each mile after kept getting faster, except for one. Here are the splits: 7:38 / 7:20 / 7:23 / 7:04 / 7:00 / 6:36 / and 1:36 for the final quarter mile. A three quarter mile cool-down gave me 7 total miles tonight in 50:47.

So I have another round of speed work tomorrow, a 5K race on Saturday, and a 19 mile run for Sunday. I think Thursday and Friday will be off days with some low impact cross training. Lots of miles now. I'm in the thick of marathon training. I started breaking in my 2nd pair of shoes tonight. They felt great. I wonder if Second Sole still has Gel Stratus in my size?

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Updated St. Malachi Results

Just checking in with the "Official" results this morning. The chip time was actually less than my watch time at 33:48.98. Nice! An extra three seconds! I placed 17th in my AG out of  141 and 104th overall out of 1,592. Not too bad.

I should also add that Heather finished the 2 Miler in 18:46.31, placing 43rd in her AG out of 414. (It was one of those wacky 19 and over age groups!) And Bailey finished in 25:24.57, placing 18th of 26 in his AG.

It's supposed to be really nice here today. I'm thinking about possibly getting the bike out of the basement and out on one of the new trails I just found out about. Maybe later this afternoon.

2009 St. Malachi 5 Miler

I'm fairly exhausted as I write this. Either that or the cold I'm battling is attempting another incursion. I hope it's the former. I felt pretty bad last night so I took some of Heather's Nyquil. It's not real Nyquil. It's the Target generic form. I like theirs better than the original. So, because I didn't feel 100% last night, I didn't expect much in the way of performance this morning. Maybe that was a good thing.

A good thing because I went out and destroyed my time from last year's race. I also set a new 5 mile PR in the process. The weather wasn't a factor. It was much like last year, only a little bit colder and not as humid. We had upper 20's and a slight wind. There were even some icy/slushy patches along the course like last year. So what was different?

1. I had the cold medicine last night. I woke up, not quite rested, but not in bad shape. I still felt a bit whoo-hoo if you know what I mean. The pre-race anticipation started to hit me, but it was magnified by the medicine so I was a little bouncy this morning.

2. I had a few chocolate covered espresso beans before running. I normally don't consume caffeine so that when I do, it HITS me.

3. Bailey and I ran/walked the 2 mile run together. That was a decent warm-up. Warm-up cardiovascularly (is that a word?) not literally. I was colder at the start of the 5 miler than I would have been had I sat in the car.

4. I knew the course. I knew where the first icy spot was and positioned myself to avoid it. I lined up closer to the front to avoid lining up behind traffic.

Maybe it was those things. Maybe I was just lucky this morning. I don't know.

Heather was running the 2 miler and trying to beat her time from last year. I think she missed it by a little. But she's been sick all week, so she shouldn't be disappointed. Bailey and I also ran the 2 miler. He did it for time, and I did it for a warm-up. He did pretty good for not doing ANY training. Unless you consider playing the Wii to be training, that is. He ran it in 25:27, averaging 12:41 per mile. I kept trying to pace him, but he would run ahead of me too fast, then end up walking. Then he said his knee was bothering him and he was having trouble breathing. So we just walked and ran. The last hill got him pretty good. Or so I thought. He tells me that he might be able to run a little faster to the finish line and the next think I know, he's sprinting away from me. I didn't even try to catch him. I told him that if he had that much left in him, he could have been moving at a little faster pace before the finish. But he did a good job!

I grabbed a couple swigs of water, took off a layer of clothing, and headed back to the start line while Heather and Bailey went back to the car to warm up. I was able to get over the mats at the start without incident and the field began spreading out. I kept to the left and jumped up on the sidewalk when I knew the ice patch was approaching. That first mile is way fast. We drop into the flats and it's ALL downhill.

By my Garmin, I ran a 6:40 mile 1. That would be my fastest mile. Mile 2 flattens out, though we do cross a couple bridges that have elevation gains. I'm showing a 6:47 split for the second mile. Still, not bad! Mile 3 has the first major uphill and it showed with a 7:14 split. I don't think there is anyone who isn't affected by that climb. Mile 4 gets the downhill and a split of 6:38. Mile 5 crosses another two bridges and has the climb to the finish. That hill is a monster. But to have a 6:29 split for that last mile is great. No wonder I was so out of breath after I crossed the finish line!

Now I'm just waiting for the official results to be posted. They should be fairly close to what I'm showing. I curious as to where I placed within my age group. Unofficially, I cut 2:18 from last year's race and :40 from my best 5 mile time.

I'm tired. I would like to take a nap. Maybe I will after I get done finishing things before everyone starts coming over for a little St. Patrick's Day party. Can I get anyone a Conway's?

Wednesday Night Speed Work

We went fast on Wednesday instead of Tuesday this week. It just worked out better. And we finally had a group involved. Much better than going solo. A group of five of us met at Root Middle instead of Claggett. The weather was drier and sunnier but also windier and colder than it was on Tuesday, but that didn't seem to hurt the splits too much. Neither did whatever I've been coughing on since waking up on Monday. I thought for sure I would experience some breathing problems. But that was not the case.

We had a fun workout that began with me joining Frank for some warm-up miles. Ladd and Marsha arrived shortly after me with Chuck running the anchor leg as he arrived last. 3.76 miles of warm-up including some 100m sections of bounding, butt-kickers, karaoke twists, and backward running. Then it was off for the fast stuff:

200m - :45
200m - recovery
400m - 1:31
200m - recovery
800m - 2:59
400m - recovery
400m - 1:31
200m - recovery
800m - 2:59
400m - recovery
400m - 1:28
200m - recovery
800m - 3:00
200m - recovery
1.06 mile cool-down

The workout lasted an hour and eleven minutes, which is longer than any I've done since last fall. Also, the recoveries were shorter than what we've been doing, so it felt like we were really pushing hard. Which we were! All three 800s at 3:00 or below. That's a great grouping. And the 400s were on the same pace as well. Now if I could just begin stringing the three minute half miles into six minute miles, and string those miles together for a full race. The possibilities...

What I need to focus on now is getting over whatever I'm fighting off right now. I've had a minor sore throat since waking up this morning, I'm still coughing a little, and my nose is getting runny. The St. Malachi races are Saturday and I'd like to not feel too horrible running them. I say "them" because I'm running the 2 Miler with Bailey and then running the 5 Miler. Looks like I've got some hill work coming up Saturday!

17 Miles in the Rain

Honestly, not all 17 miles were in the rain. It actually went dry after the first two miles or so and lasted for a bit. But on the whole, Sunday's run was a washout. That's how I'm going to choose to remember it anyway. What was supposed to be a group run, ended up being a duo, as most everyone else canceled. But Ladd and I, as well as Marsha, Lisa, and Sharon, running in a trio at a different pace, toughed it out despite Mother Nature's best efforts.

Perhaps we were being paid back for the great weather we had Friday afternoon. I was glad we were able to take advantage of it and get out there. On the whole, the rain wasn't intolerable while we were moving. It was the couple of stops when things started getting cold. Cold in the core, when it starts to become uncomfortable. My fingers, however, were numb for most of the run. It began to sting pretty bad on the face during one stretch as we ran into the wind. My shoes were completely soaked but my feet managed to stay warm thanks to all the miles. The cold from hitting a puddle or some of the rain runoff was only noticeable for a few seconds.

Upon finishing is when I really began to get cold. I had the heater in the car cranked all the way home but could barely feel it. Even the shower couldn't warm me up quickly enough. My fingers felt like I had been outside in the winter. I was surprised I didn't have frostbite beginning.

But a very good run considering the conditions: 17 miles in 2:20:27, an 8:16 per mile pace. I'm very pleased to be doing that kind of mileage right now. If I can keep this up, I'm excited to see what happens in May.

Welcome Back 60's

60's as in degrees Fahrenheit, not the decade! Ladd and I met for an after-work, kind-of mid-week, not-quite-the-long-run long run. What that means in plain English is that we ran a 10 miler after work this afternoon. And the weather was amazing. We had mid 60's, a cloudy sky that threatened rain but held off, and a persistent wind hitting us out of the west and a bit of the north (by my estimation).

Meeting at Ladd's house, we went south along the newly discovered (for me) Buckeye Rail Trail to RT. 162. We went west, made our way through the University of Akron Medina Campus, and eventually into Buckeye Woods Park. I had never been there before. We made our way from a paved trail, to gravel, and eventually to mud. There was a lake we went around, trees we went under, and fields we went through. There was even a young couple, who thought they were quite alone, that we surprised when we came up on them. I'd like to head back over there sometime when the ground has had a chance to dry out a bit and it doesn't smell so much like an outhouse.

We made our way back after that, dodging the evening rush hour traffic along 162, to finish with 10 miles in 1:23 at an 8:20 pace. Not too shabby for an afternoon run! We have 17 planned for Sunday morning, so I'm toying with the idea of getting in a short and easy 3 tomorrow to give me 30 miles in three days. Since I've been neglecting my swimming and biking lately, I think I'll go ahead and push for this run goal.

3/3/09

Just a quick speed work note for tonight. Once again I was running solo at the track. And once again I was freezing. I was all bundled up for the cold weather, so I wasn't expecting anything spectacular. Fortunately the track was free of snow so I could push harder than last week. Imagine my surprise when my half mile splits were WAY below what I was anticipating: 3:06 / 3:10 / 3:09 / 3:02 with a 2 mile warm-up (not very warm) and a 1.25 mile cool-down (more like a cold-down!). My fingers were numb for most of the run and I didn't start warming up until my third 800. But another 6 miles in 20 degree weather. Come on Spring!

Spotlight Runner

Here is an excerpt from the Medina County Road Runners Newsletter for February that I thought would be an appropriate addition to my blog. Each month someone is asked to provide answers to a series of questions. This time it was my turn.

Spotlight Runner

Name: Dan DeRosha

Birth Date and 5 year age group: 9/30/74 30-34 running 35-39 multi-sport (age up rule)

Occupation: Prototype Model Maker for product development

Children/Grandchildren: 1 son, Bailey, who will be 10 on Tax Day

Any interesting facts about your life we should know? I started running track in the 8th grade. I wanted to run sprints because I had no desire to run long. I tried running my first marathon two years later. I dropped out at mile 16. Also, l started competing in multi-sport in 1989, duathlon (biathlon back then). I'm working my way into triathlon this year (finally). I've also finished 6 marathons and look forward to many more. My best finish was in Columbus 2008 with a 3:34. I need to take another 19 minutes off to qualify for Boston.

How many years have you been running? 21 years, but with a break from 1996 to 2006

How many days a week do you run? Only 3 to 4, I need my rest days

What’s your average weekly mileage? 20 to 30 miles, more if I'm in serious marathon training mode. Plus I have all the cross-training to fit in.

Favorite Running Shoe? I didn't used to have one, but now it seems like it's the Asics Gel Stratus
Favorite Running Magazine? I'm still getting The Running Times (courtesy of the Akron Marathon) but I don't really need magazines anymore. There's so much information available on the Internet now, I just go surfing for results or tips.

Morning or evening runs? I prefer morning, but due to schedule I usually run in the evening. So,
weekends = mornings, weekdays = evenings.
Prefer to run alone or with someone? Both. Sometimes I prefer to be by myself because it's great "thinking" time. Company is awesome on the long runs though. Makes the miles fly by.

Where do you run, neighborhood, park, treadmill, etc? In my order of preference: Neighborhood, outdoor track, park, indoor track, treadmill. I HATE the treadmill. Although it's not as bad as a stationary bike trainer. That's much worse!

What’s your favorite race distance? I'd have to say the half marathon because I can run hard, achieve a good result, and not pay for it for weeks after. Although, the marathon is such a challenge, the sense of accomplishment upon finishing 26.2 is unparalleled for me. (for the moment, anyway)

Any future running goals? Qualify for Boston at 3:15 (I've got a few years to hit it), Half Ironman
Triathlon in August, full Ironman Triathlon within a few years.

Ipod or Purist (no music)? I used to like my iPod while at the Rec. Center or at home when everyone is still sleeping. I prefer to run outside without any distractions. It's impossible to hear the dogs coming with Metallica blaring in my ears. I've only done one race with my iPod, and it was just OK. My iPod died, so I don't have to worry about it anymore. I think it's fine for those who "need" it. I'm glad the big races are allowing them this year.

Favorite running gadgets ( Forerunner, heart rate monitor, etc)? I've run 3 times with my Garmin Forerunner 101 and I love it! I don't know how I went so long without it. No heart rate monitor, just distance, mile splits, and pace.

Favorite or most memorable running moment: Finishing my first marathon in Columbus in 1992 after failing horribly in my very first attempt in Cleveland in 1990. I really didn't know if I was going to be able to do it until somewhere around mile 24. The realization hit me harder than "the wall" and I'll never forget it.

Any superstitious rituals, ie. favorite race socks, shirt, etc.? Nothing in particular. Just eating a good breakfast. Usually peanut butter and jelly toast.

Favorite post run indulgence? Chocolate milk, then guilelessly indulging the rest of the day in food and beverages including but not limited to Reese's Cups, cookies, ice cream, and Great Lakes.

As a follow up to this last question, I guilelessly pigged out Saturday after our 16 mile run. The Garmin said I burned over 2,000 calories, so I wasn't worried at all about what I was eating. Like the Reese's Valentine Heart that I ate in one sitting. It was about 800 calories and served four. Long distance running certainly has some advantages!

Looking forward to speed work tonight (sort of). It's cold again. About two weeks till spring and we had temperatures near the single digits yet again this morning. I am so ready for it to warm up. Fortunately, Dick Goddard is calling for 50's this weekend. About time!