Being a life long fan of the New York Metropolitan's it is my job, nay, my duty to do everything within my power to distract you from the fact that today begins The 2009 World Series; with two of my least favorite teams competing. I will distract you with an announcement!
100 DAYS until the running of Tybee Island Half Marathon...otherwise known as the Duel in the Dunes.
Duel in the Dunes? Snail, you can't have a duel without a proper adversary! (Cue villain music)Hailing from the mountain's of North Cackalacky, I give you Carolina John. What began as friendly banter amongst fellow bloggers has turned into an all out battle, a duel if you will. (Incindiary comments from the villainous CJ)
February 6th, 2010 we shall settle this like men on the streets of a sleepy little beach town in coastal Georgia. Most of the locals (okay 95%)will not have risen from their drunken slumber before I will have run CJ into the ground of their fair island community. As you travel over to CJ's blog you may read reports of being "tired from the Half-Iron" training or twinges of "hip pain". Don't be alarmed faithful readers, just a case of another carpetbagger from "North" Carolina...
Consider yourself warned Mr. Flynn... 2 hours...
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Is it the weather or the marathon base?
Sooo.....I am running fast and I am loving it!!!
Let's back up a little. Over the last 2-3 weeks my runs have been a very consistent, every other day, run. I wanted to give my body, especially my knees, proper time to recover from the marathon. After this weekend's run, my mileage for the month is about 50(okay, 48.4 but who is counting?)
Here is the kicker, I am running faster. AND easier!
I should put this into proper context and in the interest of full disclosure; my marathon training pace/long runs were done at about an 11:30 pace. Who cares about that, that is the past, lets get to the meat and potatoes!
So, two weeks after finishing my marathon, I run 5K's on back to back weekends. 2nd 5K I drop a 25:54 time for a 8:20ish pace. My regular weekly runs with Cubbie are at average 10 min pace. We have been shaving minutes, (Yes, literally minutes, plural!) off of our time on our regular 7 mile loop. Example? Sure! Average time on 7 mile loop in August was 1:17 -1:20 on any given day. Route PR was 1:13:50, Thursday night we ran 1:12:01...Yesterday we ran a 7 mile route with two passes over the bridge in 1:10.
Here's the best part, we are having a BLAST!
Gee Snail, I want what you have. How ever can I obtain the joy of running you seem to have stumbled across?
So glad you asked dear reader, now if you will send me $1.99 in an envelope addressed to....No, that's not right, you have to give it away to keep it!
So this is what is different...
First of all, Mother Nature has been VERY kind to us here in Coastal Georgia, the weather as of late has been fantastic. Our run yesterday began with temps in the 50's. Perfect weather to run, humidity is almost non-existent.
Secondly, I just logged 550-600 miles of base/marathon training miles over the last 6-7 months, my body is ready to go.
Thirdly, Cubbie and I have begun running with our buddy Ryan. I will refer to him as "Crackhead" from here on out. Crackhead is one of the top local triathletes and for some reason he has decided he will run with us snails on occation. No, it was not court ordered....Anywho, he has helped push us to run faster without overly pushing, if that makes any sense.
Combining all of these factors, we (Cubbie and I) are running faster and we are having a blast doing it! I have labeled this "The Winter of Speed" and am working towards some Spring races hoping to drop my PR's. Not to get ahead of myself, I am enjoying every run as I firmly believe one of the reasons I am enjoying running right now is that I do not have too much structure in place...yet.
One foot in front of the other, one step at a time.
Let's back up a little. Over the last 2-3 weeks my runs have been a very consistent, every other day, run. I wanted to give my body, especially my knees, proper time to recover from the marathon. After this weekend's run, my mileage for the month is about 50(okay, 48.4 but who is counting?)
Here is the kicker, I am running faster. AND easier!
I should put this into proper context and in the interest of full disclosure; my marathon training pace/long runs were done at about an 11:30 pace. Who cares about that, that is the past, lets get to the meat and potatoes!
So, two weeks after finishing my marathon, I run 5K's on back to back weekends. 2nd 5K I drop a 25:54 time for a 8:20ish pace. My regular weekly runs with Cubbie are at average 10 min pace. We have been shaving minutes, (Yes, literally minutes, plural!) off of our time on our regular 7 mile loop. Example? Sure! Average time on 7 mile loop in August was 1:17 -1:20 on any given day. Route PR was 1:13:50, Thursday night we ran 1:12:01...Yesterday we ran a 7 mile route with two passes over the bridge in 1:10.
Here's the best part, we are having a BLAST!
Gee Snail, I want what you have. How ever can I obtain the joy of running you seem to have stumbled across?
So glad you asked dear reader, now if you will send me $1.99 in an envelope addressed to....No, that's not right, you have to give it away to keep it!
So this is what is different...
First of all, Mother Nature has been VERY kind to us here in Coastal Georgia, the weather as of late has been fantastic. Our run yesterday began with temps in the 50's. Perfect weather to run, humidity is almost non-existent.
Secondly, I just logged 550-600 miles of base/marathon training miles over the last 6-7 months, my body is ready to go.
Thirdly, Cubbie and I have begun running with our buddy Ryan. I will refer to him as "Crackhead" from here on out. Crackhead is one of the top local triathletes and for some reason he has decided he will run with us snails on occation. No, it was not court ordered....Anywho, he has helped push us to run faster without overly pushing, if that makes any sense.
Combining all of these factors, we (Cubbie and I) are running faster and we are having a blast doing it! I have labeled this "The Winter of Speed" and am working towards some Spring races hoping to drop my PR's. Not to get ahead of myself, I am enjoying every run as I firmly believe one of the reasons I am enjoying running right now is that I do not have too much structure in place...yet.
One foot in front of the other, one step at a time.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Zen Run 10K
I was over at JoyRuN's blog and decided, well I am scheduled to do 7 miles today, why don't I do the bridge run course instead and get one of these snazzy little certificates to post on my blog...
I have also been wanting to try out this new podcast that is supposed to have music set at a certain BPM, thus keeping you locked into a consistant pace. Today was a day for new things...
Armed with my podcast guiding 170 BPM music and a well established 10K course on the toughest bridge in the southeast, off I went!
I started the music and my run, this motiontraxx podcast is specifically designed for the 10K distance. I felt like the first mile was fast but I attempted to keep with the beat. I hit the first mile around 9:45 but felt comfortable. The route puts you on the onramp of the bridge at about 1.75 miles into the course.
2 mile mark came on the first climb of the Talmidge beidge, I hit is at `19:24, holding that 9:45 pace. "There is NO way I will keep this pace!" Crested the bridge and began the first decent. Three mile mark at 29:24. "hmmm, 10 minute mile while on the bridge?!?! When will the wheels fall off?"
I hit the 5K mark while in the flat, looping around to the onramp of the other side of teh bridge, 30:18.
This second climb is actually easier, although it FEELS harder! 4 mile mark is also on the climb of the bridge, 39:14. I am actually really impressed with A.) my ability to hold this pace on this bridge, and B.) the fact that this wordless "drum music" isn't driving me bonkers.
Okay, crested the second pass on the bridge and my legs are shot. As the decent speeds up, I can't let go like I usually do. Hitting the 5 mile mark at 50:44 (11:30 pace) explains alot, that second pass on the bridge really took alot out of me.
I know there are two sneaky hills left ahead so I put me head down and run. I cross the finish line as the music is ending and my watch reads 1:02:24...hmmm right at a 10 minute pace just like the website said.
Logging into the Worldwide Festival of Races website I was able to get this fancy certificate from the "Crack Race Directors"!
I was fairly impressed with the MotionTraxx podcast. I really want to see how consistant I can be on a flat run, so maybe I will play around with it over the next few weeks and let you know...
One foot in front of the other, one step at a time.
I have also been wanting to try out this new podcast that is supposed to have music set at a certain BPM, thus keeping you locked into a consistant pace. Today was a day for new things...
Armed with my podcast guiding 170 BPM music and a well established 10K course on the toughest bridge in the southeast, off I went!
I started the music and my run, this motiontraxx podcast is specifically designed for the 10K distance. I felt like the first mile was fast but I attempted to keep with the beat. I hit the first mile around 9:45 but felt comfortable. The route puts you on the onramp of the bridge at about 1.75 miles into the course.
2 mile mark came on the first climb of the Talmidge beidge, I hit is at `19:24, holding that 9:45 pace. "There is NO way I will keep this pace!" Crested the bridge and began the first decent. Three mile mark at 29:24. "hmmm, 10 minute mile while on the bridge?!?! When will the wheels fall off?"
I hit the 5K mark while in the flat, looping around to the onramp of the other side of teh bridge, 30:18.
This second climb is actually easier, although it FEELS harder! 4 mile mark is also on the climb of the bridge, 39:14. I am actually really impressed with A.) my ability to hold this pace on this bridge, and B.) the fact that this wordless "drum music" isn't driving me bonkers.
Okay, crested the second pass on the bridge and my legs are shot. As the decent speeds up, I can't let go like I usually do. Hitting the 5 mile mark at 50:44 (11:30 pace) explains alot, that second pass on the bridge really took alot out of me.
I know there are two sneaky hills left ahead so I put me head down and run. I cross the finish line as the music is ending and my watch reads 1:02:24...hmmm right at a 10 minute pace just like the website said.
Logging into the Worldwide Festival of Races website I was able to get this fancy certificate from the "Crack Race Directors"!
I was fairly impressed with the MotionTraxx podcast. I really want to see how consistant I can be on a flat run, so maybe I will play around with it over the next few weeks and let you know...
One foot in front of the other, one step at a time.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Heart of Savannah 5K recap
It turned out to be a pretty good evening for racing, the temp. was a little higher then it had been all week; it was somewhere in the high 70's by the time the race started. I live a mile or so from the start of the race so Cubbie and I jogged to the starting line for our warm up. Getting to the race early enough to see the kiddie 1/4 mile run, this race is very much a social event. According to the final tally there were 469 finishers.
I had to make several trips to the bathroom before we started, note to self, lay off of the Gatorade in the afternoon leading upto an evening race.
The horn sounded and we were off! One word for the start of this race. Congested! It was really hard to get into a comfortable stride, it finally opened up half a mile into the course. I didn't feel like I was hitting the 8:00 mile pace I was hoping for, I knew I would find out shortly as the one mile mark approached. 8:22. I was thinking this was okay because it took me about 10-12 seconds to actually get to the starting line and this was a chip timed event. I really fell into a comfortable groove in the second mile, it hurt just enough to let me know I was alive. I saw the 2 mile mark coming could read the timing clock in the 16's. 16:42. Crap, I really need to get moving if I am going to get under 25! I started pushing and began reeling in runners, I was passed by three runners in all of the third mile; I probably passed 10 or 11. As we turned the final corner I could see the finish line about a 1/10th of a mile down the road. All out, don't leave anything in the tank!!! 25:52! I was happy with my time, I had knocked off a few seconds from the 5K run earlier this week. Cubbie hung on for dear life and cruised in right behind me at 26:19, this was good enough for 7th out of 28 in her AG.
Final stats:
Chip time 25:54 (?!?! there was no starting matt, so the chip time started with the gun.)
116/211 Men
16/29 AG
NEW PR!!!
I had to make several trips to the bathroom before we started, note to self, lay off of the Gatorade in the afternoon leading upto an evening race.
The horn sounded and we were off! One word for the start of this race. Congested! It was really hard to get into a comfortable stride, it finally opened up half a mile into the course. I didn't feel like I was hitting the 8:00 mile pace I was hoping for, I knew I would find out shortly as the one mile mark approached. 8:22. I was thinking this was okay because it took me about 10-12 seconds to actually get to the starting line and this was a chip timed event. I really fell into a comfortable groove in the second mile, it hurt just enough to let me know I was alive. I saw the 2 mile mark coming could read the timing clock in the 16's. 16:42. Crap, I really need to get moving if I am going to get under 25! I started pushing and began reeling in runners, I was passed by three runners in all of the third mile; I probably passed 10 or 11. As we turned the final corner I could see the finish line about a 1/10th of a mile down the road. All out, don't leave anything in the tank!!! 25:52! I was happy with my time, I had knocked off a few seconds from the 5K run earlier this week. Cubbie hung on for dear life and cruised in right behind me at 26:19, this was good enough for 7th out of 28 in her AG.
Final stats:
Chip time 25:54 (?!?! there was no starting matt, so the chip time started with the gun.)
116/211 Men
16/29 AG
NEW PR!!!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Heart of Savannah 5K
In an effort to see where I am sitting for Saturday's Heart of Savannah 5K, I decided to run the course last night.
I hit the first mile at 8:10 and felt pretty good. Around the park, chase some runners and hit the 2 mile mark at 16:44. Lost a little steam but was still moving well. As I was about 2 1/2 miles in I just keep telling myself, "Hold on, fast turnover" I looked at my watch at about the three mile mark and saw 25:04. "Push, last 1/10 of a mile!"
25:59!
What? Beat my PR by a minute in a non race situation?
High five's all around! Cheeseburgers and milkshakes for all of my men!!!
I am going to destroy my current PR on Saturday! Thoughts of my PR's from my early 20's are starting to creep back into my head, but let's not get ahead of ourselves...
One foot in front of the other, one step at a time...
I hit the first mile at 8:10 and felt pretty good. Around the park, chase some runners and hit the 2 mile mark at 16:44. Lost a little steam but was still moving well. As I was about 2 1/2 miles in I just keep telling myself, "Hold on, fast turnover" I looked at my watch at about the three mile mark and saw 25:04. "Push, last 1/10 of a mile!"
25:59!
What? Beat my PR by a minute in a non race situation?
High five's all around! Cheeseburgers and milkshakes for all of my men!!!
I am going to destroy my current PR on Saturday! Thoughts of my PR's from my early 20's are starting to creep back into my head, but let's not get ahead of ourselves...
One foot in front of the other, one step at a time...
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