No Spiderwebs

but some great early morning running today. I'm guessing it's too cold for spiders? Got started a little before dawn, enough light to see without my headlamp, still brought it just in case. In case I was stuck out there tonight, I guess.

I dressed warm (it was 29 degrees, probably), and took to the solitary trails. Literally. As far as I can tell, no one else was on the trails while I was. No cars at the trailhead when I got back, one lady getting ready to run. Didn't see another human while running. Plenty of squirrels, though. And at least 5 deer, which spooked and started running parallel to me, until my trail went away from their route. Kinda wanted to follow them.

It was another training run, partially for the 13 miler there on 1/23, partially for the upcoming marathons and ultra(s). I should have planned better, and set out on an established run 5 walk 1, but instead I ran for the first 15 or so minutes, before walking. Then felt tired for the next half hour, running intermitently, although it was a rather hilly section, I usually have problems there anyways. Once I got on the run 5 (or 6/7) walk 1 (or 2), I felt better, and knew there was still gas in the tank for more running, if needed. Instead cut it off at 9.65, 10:55 average.

It was a good learning experience, as well as a great run. I learned that I really need to have a plan on these long runs, because I'm sure I would have been faster had I started slower. Kinda like what my last post said. And obviously a race would also allow me to find a pack to pace with, though it does create the possibility that I'd get sucked into an excessively fast group. While one can start a 5K slow and pick the pace up if legs/lungs/body feel good, I'm guessing it's harder to do that in a long-distance run like what I'm preparing for, unless you can see the finish line (metaphorically). And I need to work on pacing myself early, so that I can finish strong. My next long(ish) run will be a dedicated 5/1, to see what kind of pace that results in, and to see how it feels. Might need less, might need more. And most importantly of all, I'm learning that after 9.6 miles, my legs can feel like they can do more. It isn't much, in the grand scheme of things, but 9 miles is a lot of running compared to when I was struggling to do 3 a few years ago. Also, the 13 miler is well planned, because the final 3.5 is relatively flat, basic trail. which will really be nice after the technical trails of the first 9.5.

I'm stuck debating if this counts as a half marathon. Technically, it's only 13 miles. Should I run back .05 at some point, and then keep going, so that at least I'll have done 13.1?

Why I Like Running With My Girlfriend

She keeps me from being an idiot. Her new shoes showed up today, so we did a little road running to see how they felt. For her. Too small for my feet. 2.6 miles, 9:17 pace. Good tempo, nice and easy run, and I never had to walk. That's why I like keeping pace with her. Had I been alone, I would have run faster, but I also would have walked some. A useful trait, obviously, since ultras you'll eventually have to walk, but it was nice to actually run nearly 3 miles. In fact, had she not wanted to stop, I could have easily done run a full 3 miles, based on how my legs felt. In fact, they felt so good, I think I'll do a long run at Whitewater Tuesday morning.

Mid Run

First off, can I just say how happy I am that I know honestly think of a 5-miler as a mid-length run? Like "I could go longer, but this will suffice"?

That being said, after doing 15 miles in 2 days, I wasn't sure how to do this run. And I think I did it wrong. Probably by running at all. Especially by running in "minimalist" shoes. I did my Tuesday recovery run in regular shoes, with the extra support. Now, I know that studies have shown people instinctively hit the ground harder in shoes with more cushioning, and step lighter in shoes with less, but I didn't want to overdo the minimalist running, so I had the padding. I might have needed it today, as well.

Originally, this was supposed to be a 4 miler, with the Thursday Meetup group. However, due to a forgotten Inter-Americas 2011 planning session, I couldn't make that run. So I hit Whitewater early, and decided to do some laps around the whitewater section, semi-interval-ish. There's about a half mile of gravel around the water, so I just ran on that, up and back, up and back. Recovery walks in between, but I probably did it wrong. I did do .34 miles at a 6:53/mile pace, but slowed after that, and started to notice a pain in my left shin. Stopped after 3, and went on the trails, slowly considerably, just enjoying the silence, jogging occasionally, pushing up hills, etc. 5.77 for the day. 11:29 pace.

But I still have pain in my shin, and I'm worried about shin splints. Or just over-doing it. The 12 miles might have been too much, too early. Sure, I'm doing a 13 miler on Jan. 23, but maybe I should have stopped at 10? I'll take tomorrow off, and see how it is Saturday, since I don't really need another long run this week, I might do a medium, and I'm also thinking about doing some barefoot work at a nearby soccer field. Or that could be Sunday, before the hash, since I won't be FRB even if I try. 6-7 miles Saturday, maybe half a mile Sunday barefoot, then hash and hope it isn't too much. It isn't too too much, I don't think I'll risk injuring myself more, but it could be a good amount to see how my legs are actually feeling.

Recovery Run

While my Garmin tells me I did 11.6 miles at a 12:00 pace yesterday, SportTracks tells me it was 12.21, at 11:29 pace. Either way, it was the most consecutive miles I had done in . . . . . . . ummmmmm, 3.5 years? On November 25th, we ran 13 miles for Joel's birthday, but that was 5 miles, 10 minute break, 5 miles, 3 hour break, 3 miles, and all roads, all flat. Before that, I had done at least 11 in August, 5 in the Marine Mud Challenge, then 6 or so on the hash that afternoon, once again, there was a break. Before that, it was probably my half-marathons in 2006. Those were both sub 10:00's, one flat, one hilly, but doing 11:30 for 12 miles felt pretty good, especially considering the severity of the trails. And I was consciously taking it slow, to get the distance in.

Anyways, decided to follow that up with the weekly Tuesday run at the Whitewater Center. Temperature was below 30, and with only 3 miles of running, my legs never really warmed up. Part of that was probably the fatigue from yesterday, definitely makes a difference, but I still managed 11:00/mi, and didn't injure myself. Eyes wouldn't stop tearing up from the cold, should have worn glasses to shield them.

So I'm up to 15 miles in 2 days of running this week. Taking Wednesday off, probably running on Thursday, not sure on Friday, then a mid run on Saturday, possibly barefoot running before the hash on Sunday.

Memorial Run

While I was running today, I missed a call from my mom, telling me that my dad's dad had passed away. He had been in a nursing home for a while, and was fading away, not from any disease, but simply because his 90th birthday was last August. And so my short training run changed. I did some quick math, deciding to somehow get in 2 hours and 15 minutes, or 135 minutes, which would be 90 seconds for each of his 90 years. Figured that would involve most of the trails at the Whitewater Center, ended up doing everything except for the Figure-8 trail, and did Goat Hill twice, both for some hill work and to see the alternate route down it. 2 hours and 20 minutes, so technically 93 seconds per year, and 11.6 miles according to the Garmin, probably closer to 12.5 in reality.

It was a good run. Gave me time to reflect on his passing, and my memories of him. I've now lost all 4 of my grandparents, so if I ever have kids, they won't get to meet them. Also realized that it's up to my brother and I to carry on the Vance name, since the rest of our cousins are either female or have a different last name. I know it's hardly logical, but he was one of 9 children, he and my grandma had 6 kids, 9 grandchildren from those 6 kids, and at least 11 great-grandchildren, from only 4 of the grandchildren. I'm also sad that he never got to meet Stephanie and Maya, they would have really liked him. It's definitely tough losing another grandparent when I am out of state. My mother's father died when I was a kid, still playing baseball, so I was probably 11 or so. Her mother died when I was in South Carolina. My father's mother died on December 26, 2007, and I couldn't make the funeral because I had to go back to Georgia for work. And now I'll miss another funeral, because I literally can't afford to go up there.

I've decided to run at least 4 marathons this year, one for each of them, and I'd like to wear a t-shirt with a picture of each grandparent on there. A little extra motivation when it gets tough. Probably should also do that for the ultra(s), because those will definitely have some tough spots. First marathon is 2 months away, need to keep training.

Starting the New Year right

The local Meetup group had a trail run scheduled for January 1, which I was looking forward to. Originally it was supposed to be held at Whitewater, but the rain 2 nights before had it closed, so instead we went to McDowell Nature Preserve. I had hiked there before, but never really thought about running there. For one, there's only 7 miles there. Also, they're all hiking trails. No mountain biking. This meant a lot of slick areas, because walking and running require different levels of trail. But still, it was right by my house, so I made the trek over. Hard to beat a 20 minute round trip to trail running.
11 hardy souls showed up, temperature was around 38, not much in the way of wind. Trails were somewhat muddy, mainly an issue around the sharp turns/eroded trails. It was supposed to be 6 miles, but multiple Garmins said our route was 4.75, so I'd guess it was around 5 or so. We then stood around talking for a while, discussing races and nutrition and such, discovered a guy I had hashed with before was on the same high school xc team as Geoff Roes, ultra-geeked-out for a while.
Eventually most of the people started to leave, but 4 of us decided to run some more. I, for one, did not want my first run of the year to be a paltry 5 miles. So instead, my first run of the year was 8.15. Debated doing another 1.85 or so to get to 10 to start '10, but a quiet evening sounded better.

Bringing in the New Year

I've started 2010 with a goal to run more. Both in terms of weekly/monthly/yearly distance (at least 1000 miles, going for 1500), and race distance, as I'd like to complete several marathons and at least 1 ultra. Let's see how that goes.

Oh, and lose more weight. Started 2010 at 195, goal is below 180, assuming that weight still lets me run well