Sick

I’m sick. Very very sick. It just happened yesterday. Better now, 10 days out, than 4 days out. Apparently, all transgressions must be paid for in full.

How Not To Race a Half-Marathon

The following are things I strongly suggest you do not do before racing a half.

1) While the party bus is stopping for more beer and liquor, do not run .25M to a Taco Bell to grab some deliciousness—even if you are very hungry and inherently suspect of wedding food. I specifically do not recommend running almost half a mile in your rented shoes (read: ice stakes with shiny black tops).

2) Do not assume that your race bib and d-tag (which are located in your car) are safe because they are in your car. Especially when you have to give your keys to a friend because you are on the party bus. If you do, you will realize at 6:45am race day that your race bib and d-tag are in fact no longer in your car, but at your friend’s house roughly 30 minutes away.

3) Do not fail to recognize that the groom is going to reenact the famous dance move from Dirty Dancing and you end up unexpectedly catching a 260lb man while simultaneously straining your lower back. Because, said lower back will hurt for the rest of the night and the following morning before the race.

4) Do not dance your little booty off in previously mentioned destroyer of feet rental shoes until about 10pm (when you finally realize how much your feet actually hurt and you put on a pair of running shoes—retired of course).

5) Do not go out to a club/bar after the wedding and dance for several more hours. And really, do not close down the bar.

6) Do not stop and eat greasy pizza at 2am. I mean, you do have a race in about six hours.

7) Do not get home and to bed around 3am. This is true no matter what. But this is even more true when you have previously agreed to meet up with some friends at 6:40am so that everyone can get to the race early. Because that would mean you have to get up at 6am to be on time.

If you fail to observe these rules, you will find yourself at the starting line with just under 3 hours of sleep, very sore feet, an even worse lower back, all kinds of angry digestive problems, and the stupidest smirk on your face.

The aforementioned notwithstanding, I had an amazing time at the wedding. Congrats J and J. The back pain went away during the race and I sat on the 7:00/M pace group for the first 11M. Then I surged with another member of the pack and finished just ahead of the group. All things considering, it was a great race. I was right on pace.

Shortcut

Thanks for caring, but not enough to read my entire race report. Just kidding, I love you regardless.

I BQed, finishing under 3:10.

What the Long Run Giveth, the Long Run Taketh Away

Last Saturday presented my final long run before Chicago. I had a goal of between 22M and 24M, depending on how things were going (and whether drunken students messed with my hydration).

I awoke at 4:30am to begin my run at 6am, but was thwarted by my Garmin (pbtn), who had decided that a blank screen would be all I got regardless of the frequency or ferocity with which I pushed the on/off button. Fortunately for me, after consulting an awesome friend who had experienced a similar problem, I found my Garmin bible (read: owners manual) and was able to reset it and begin my run by 6:30am.

The weather was perfect and I proceeded to pound out some awesome miles. I felt so good in fact that I decided to rock the 23rd and 24th miles. I went home, ate a yogurt and then bought two McDonald’s sausage and egg muffins. Delicious. Healthy. Wonderful.

But, such good long runs are never for free, and I paid for it today on my 8 800s. For the official first day of fall I was greeted with 82 degree temps with some humidity to boot. *Thank Running Gods* They were a struggle, going 2:49, 2:49, 2:51, 2:53, 2:51, 2:56, 3:05, 2:59. Yep, I lost all hope and desire during that 7th repeat. Oh well, I responded pretty well on my last.

I am now in full taper mode. I only hope I can keep it together.

An Ode to Fall

Winter Chasing Fall

sometimes Fall stretches its long legs and darts into mid-November,
sometimes Fall just concedes defeat and pulls-up short in October,
sometimes Winter surpasses Fall, and Fall responds in turn,
regardless, every year Winter catches up with Fall,
it’s a race with a foregone conclusion, the result is never in doubt,
but it is a wonderful race to watch, as it is never exactly the same,
and the colors of Fall always outlast the Winter’s white grays,
so, while Winter may win the day, it is Fall that wins our hearts.

Track Track Track

Last weekend’s long run was awesome. I started at 6am (well, I had to make it to tailgate early) and clocked off 15 very comfortable miles. Despite the fact that there was some wide variance of my pace (fastest mile was 6:53, slowest was 7:14), my average was a very solid 7:03/M.

But my track workout yesterday was much more consistent. I ventured back to MSU’s track with the hope that it wouldn’t be closed to runners. Fortunately, it was not. So I plowed through 10 400m. My fastest was 71 seconds and my slowest was 74 seconds; and laps 2-7 were all 73 seconds. Such consistency is rare for me, but I’ll gladly take it.

Owned

I could tell you about how my speed workout and 10M marathon pace runs went, but I believe this video does a better job. Oh, and I'm the proverbial kid.