1 Day to go

The last few weeks have been crazy busy. I'm headed out the door to go to day two of Blizzcon today, but I'm taking all my race gear with me. I won't be running the race, but I'll be walking it. My knee has improved considerably since visiting the doctor, even though all he did was tell me to stretch it out more. I'm a bit daunted by the fact I haven't really been able to test it, though I did a fair amount of walking the last few days and it's holding up well. I'm confident that tomorrow will go well enough all things considered.

19 days to go - Uncertainty looms

The race is only two and a half weeks away and I'm not in a good spot. I don't know what I did, but about two weeks ago my right knee said uncle and started complaining horribly. On the morning I was supposed to hit 8 miles, it threw a holy conniption and Katie made me stop after a mile because I was limping. I've been wearing a patella brace on my knee for the last ten days and staying off it in the hopes of some quick rehab. Tonight was the first time I've tried to run on it in that span of time, and the results weren't terribly encouraging. I started off strong but at about 3/4 of a mile the aching started to creep in and by a mile it was bordering on outright pain.

I'm in a pretty good pickle over this one. I don't have enough time before the race to fully rehab and get caught back up. In fact, I may not have time to fully rehab period, and it's not out of the question that I may scratch the race because of this. I'm hoping that I can somehow keep my lung and cardio stamina up while my knee recovers with some cross-training, but the day of the race is looking like it will be much harder than it did two weeks ago. I'd hoped to use the last week as a pure taper week and go easy, but it looks like that's going to be more like the three weeks leading up to the race instead. I'm going to be very, very tired when I cross the finish line.

31 days to go

Hello Interwebs! I have been very lax about updating this blog but I have not been lax about running.

After the horrid start to Labor day weekend things went much better and the long weekend off provided a good break. I got a run in on the Tuesday and Wednesday (4 and 2.5 miles) before the big run on Sunday morning. Katie and I got up early and churned out seven miles down San Vicente. This distance is the furthest either of us has ever run, and it felt great to make such marked progress. The following week I did a short run on Tuesday and a longer run on Thursday before work in which I was yelled at by a teacher for jogging across school grounds (even though school had not started yet, big bag of WTF there). The rest of the week didn't go so well, as Katie got sick over the weekend and then I picked up what she had earlier in the week. This means we didn't get the scheduled 8 mile run in, so last week was a wash and this week is the re-do on it. Fortunately the remaining schedule was aggressive enough that it won't really spoil our efforts. I got back in the saddle last night with a very rough long uphill run, and tonight I plugged out five miles. I could definitely tell the week off had not done me any favors. My right knee is complaining very loudly, and it's not really gotten any better over the last few weeks. I'm well convinced by this point that I did something earlier in life to screw it up, but I am not sure what the extent of the damage really is or how to treat it or even what's specifically causing it. It seems to be much worse going up hills, but I can't really tell if it's impact-related or if the joint is just not that good. I'll be doing some extra stretching the next few days and possibly getting some ice on it.

The run is only a month away. I've got a very busy month planned between now and then, and it's going to be tough to stick with it between work, Civ 5, my sister's wedding, Halloween planning and Blizzcon but I'm determined to give a good accounting of myself.

Remaining Training Schedule

Sept 13, Week 4: 3-5-3-8
Sept 20, Week 5: 3-5-3-10
Sept 27, Week 6: 4-5-4-11
Oct 4, Week 7: 4-6-4-12
Oct 11, Week 8: 3-5-3-8 (taper week, normally week 15)
Oct 18, Week 9: 3-3-3-13.1 (race day)

Livin' on a Prayer

I shouldn't be posting right now. I'm supposed to be spending time with my sweetheart in Santa Monica, but instead I'm at home blogging about a run I shouldn't have had the time to take. Sorry to say my streak of stupidity continued today as I managed to take a routine turn in to a gas station too short and manage to clip the curb just perfectly to tear a chunk of my tire's sidewall out at 5:30 PM on the Friday going in to a four day weekend. Long story short, I don't feel comfortable driving on it and I can't get it fixed until 10 tomorrow morning making me very late for what was supposed to be a very lazy drive up the Pacific Coast Highway. As one might imagine this infuriated me, and after a bit of cooling down I decided to take out my frustration on the pavement. I initially set out to just do the three miles I'd need to leave only the big run for the week, but not long out the door I realized that I hadn't run yesterday and I certainly wouldn't be running tomorrow, so I might as well go for it. The goal was set: six miles. I've never made it further than five.

This was a reasonably optimistic goal considering that my run on Wednesday had been a near-disaster. After doing 3 miles the day before (sorry, no data for that one, the Forerunner crapped itself again), I made the mistake of eating too much at lunch and my side stitched up very early in the run and would not go away, even when I walked for a quarter mile. I finished the four miles, but it took me nearly as long as five miles had taken me on Sunday. I felt a bit discouraged, but like so many things lately it was my own damn stupid fault and I could have avoided it.

Tonight there would be no failing. I set out up the hill, starting on a wide loop to leave myself an out if my body wasn't up to the task tonight. By the time I made it through the office complex loop I was barely tired at all, so I chugged up the next hill to the Pacific Life building. Near the top the stitch in my side threatened to make a comeback, so I shortened my steps significantly, remembering the story from Born to Run of trying to pace a metronome at 180 beats/min. This didn't eliminate it, but it did buy me enough time to go on a long downhill stretch on Pacific Park (past the $#^@ curb) before settling in on the run I'd also done a couple nights ago. Finishing the loop across Alicia, Moulton and finally Aliso Viejo Parkway took me to just shy of six miles. I probably should have felt exhausted, but at some point my body had just given up fighting so I did an intentional extra jaunt to the 73 onramp before turning around and running back to my door. This little extra bit of distance put me up and over 6.2 miles, meaning tonight I ran a 10K in a hair over an hour and a half only stopping for traffic lights. I started this blog fifty days ago and it's now fifty days to the race, and I've made it to the halfway point of the distance I need to run the race. It's a good sign, but I can't let up now.

Half marathon course announced

Short update today, the course for the half marathon was just announced. Thankfully the elevation change looks pretty minimal, so the Aliso hills should provide more than enough training in this regard. The time limit to run the race is 4 hours, and even at my slow-roll pace I should be able to beat that handily.

Ran 3 miles last night that were kind of tough due to a full stomach and a bitchy left ankle that loosened up later in the run. No stats update as the Forerunner didn't pick up reception for the first 3/4 of a mile.

54 days to go

Although I haven't made an update in nearly a week, it hasn't been because I've been slacking. been worth the wait.

Last Wednesday I managed a good but uneventful run down the trail and back.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/45289562

After a few days off for recouperation, last night I did five miles down Wilshire.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/46935378
This was a really good run for me, as I made it nearly the entire way without stopping for traffic lights. As a result my overall time was extremely good. I've discovered it's a lot easier on my legs to run at around a 12 minute pace, so it will be a challenge to train my lungs up to pushing enough oxygen to make this happen.

These two runs mean I finished week one of the marathon training program. For week two I'll need to stretch that five miles in to six, which will likely be a tall order given that this is a holiday weekend and I'll be out of town. I'm going to ensure I get my 3/4/3 in first so that I keep up the stresses on my body and it keeps adjusting itself to being more and more used to running.

60 days to go

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/45909074

I went for a late run last night due to both the heat we've been having and the fact that I forgot to plug in my ForeRunner until about 8. After letting it charge up, I geared up and went out to tackle a longer run. This week I'm going to make it through week 1 of the training program (for real) which means I need to run 3-4-3-5 miles this week. That's really quite a lot for someone who couldn't make it two miles without dying for the longest time. I didn't run much over the weekend, so I decided to take the 4 mile run on while my legs were still relatively fresh. Of course, since it was so late by the time I went out it would have been a poor idea to run the trail since it's unlit. That means I'm left with one option: hills.

It had been a couple of weeks since I had tried to take on the big hill near the office, so I decided to do that instead of going directly up to the office complex where there's a flat half mile-ish loop that I can run over and over. I mistimed the light right before the hill and had to sprint across the intersection - not a good start. As the angle started becoming more steep, I remembered back to just after I had moved here and started walking to work once in a while. The first day I walked up the hill I had to stop part way up because my legs hurt. I was so un-used to that physical exercise and especially hills, so I was going to show the hill who was boss. And I did. And then I kept going. I took the short downhill before the office loop to recover my legs, then padded my distance on flat terrain before heading back down the hill overlooking the parks. As I got closer to home I realized I was going to come up short of 4 miles unless I ran the very steep hill near the apartment, and that wasn't going to happen since I was starting to feel tired. Instead I ran down to the ball fields and in front of the school before turning around and heading back up. By the time I stopped running and walked I was at about 4.3 miles.

I ran the whole thing, except where stoplights made me pause. Since I was out so late I only had to wait once, so this was essentially a continuous run. It was not only the furthest I've made it without stopping, I did it conquering a pretty mean hill. I'm getting somewhere, and it feels damn good.

Wherein we crack a barrier.

Last night I went out for a run before heading up to Santa Monica. I took this as one of the lighter 2 mile runs for the week and hit the pavement hard so I could get back and get showered before I had to be on the road. Since I knew I was only running two miles, I pushed myself to see how fast I could knock those two miles out.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/45289562

23 minutes for two miles isn't amazing by runner standards, but it's important to me for a big reason. What this one doesn't tell you is that my first mile took me almost exactly ten minutes. If you cut out the time where I stopped to re-tie my shoe, I ran a mile in under ten minutes. When I started, I couldn't run a mile without stopping period, and so my time was more like 15-17 minutes for a mile. I didn't think I'd actually crack the ten minute mark at any point during my training. Granted, that pace isn't sustainable, but a ten minute mile is something that has always eluded me going back to the Presidential Fitness Tests in grade school.

It's a sure sign progress is being made, and it's encouraging.

68 days to go: wherein we learn to be like Chun Li

... and lead with your heel.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/44886875

To this point I haven't been concentrating on where my foot was striking on the ground, so tonight's focus was making sure I landed heel-first or more flat. The marathon training guide says that you shouldn't be running on the "balls" or front of your feet when doing long distances, and it turns out I've been doing just that. The difference in foot fatigue was very significant, though I was stretching some other parts like my calves more than I was used to. It will take some getting used to, but the reduced fatigue is well worth it.

I didn't get any running in over the weekend, primarily due to the horrendous sunburn I got on the back of my knees that made it hard to stand on Friday. I do feel like I'm finally at the point where I can do 30 minutes of running each training day, so that means I'm out of the warmup program for the marathon trainer's guide. I'm going to try and make it through the first week of training this week, with tonight counting as a 3 mile run. I'll need to do 2x 2 miles and one five mile (ulp) before the week is out to meet that goal. If I can manage to stick to the progression I'll hit week nine by the time the half marathon rolls around and I should be in really good shape to tackle it.

73 days to go: my ass hurts

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/44170499

I went a different route for two reasons tonight: 1) variety and 2) the nights are coming sooner already. I didn't head out until 8:30 and it was already dark, so I decided against running the trail and tripping over something in the dark.

Hills still kick my ass. The long 15 minute climb to the top of the hill (intersection of Columbia and Aliso Creek) tapped me out pretty hard. I had to walk the last 20 yards or so to the stoplight, but I kept my pace up through the office complex well enough. I only needed to make it 2 miles tonight, so I am pretty happy with 2.3 and some change considering the elevation involved. Fortunately I seem to be recovering well once I stop; it's only a few minutes removed from the end of the run and just my feet that hurt right now. I might take some pre-emptive ibuprofen tonight though.

74 days to go

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/44041919

What a difference it makes from sunshine to cool evening temperatures. I ran more than I did last Friday at a better pace with notably less effort, despite being a mostly lazy pile of crap over the weekend. I managed to run the whole 3 miles (it's 3 miles dammit, the GPS didn't kick in right away) without stopping and without dropping my pace off too hard. I clocked out mentally a few times and had to re-focus on my running form and footfalls to keep my energy conservation reasonable.

The fields by the school were flooded with kids playing soccer and moms watching them play, so I didn't get to run in the grass as much as I prefer to. I was noticing that I had to work harder on the uphill sections moreso tonight than I have in the past, probably due to me apparently becoming okay with running on flat surfaces to the point where uphill seems like more effort than just a variation on dying by inches. My shoes have broken in well and I experienced no discomfort from them tonight.

Weekend catch-up report: a bit of running around on Saturday for a scavenger hunt and a mile walk to the farmer's market on Sunday. This was easily offset by the huge meal we had Sunday night to send a couple of Katie's friends off on an adventure, so no real progress from the weekend.

79 days to go: I'm a workout vampire (I hate the sun)

Today I attempted to make up for a mid-week slump of laziness by running at lunch (it wasn't going to fit anywhere else in the schedule for yesterday or today).

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/43397365

I say attempted because the sun is an evil, evil thing. I know I sweat pretty hard when I run but I guess I didn't realize how much heat that's pumping out of my body until today. Running in the sun (there's no shady trails near my place) cooked me in my skin after about 15 minutes and I was not able to keep up a running pace for the entire run. I still managed two and a half miles, but probably only ran a mile and a half of it. I also repeated a previous mistake and snugged my shoes up before the run, so once my body temperature shot up and my feet swelled I once again experienced some foot cramping. By the 1.75 mile mark my body was calling it quits not because I was out of breath or that my muscles ached, but simply because my body was overheating. I am definitely going to need to stick to morning or evening runs for a while until my body's efficiency improves.

I also missed an update from Tuesday night where Katie and I ran to the ocean and back for a whopper of a 6 mile outing. Our pace wasn't very aggressive and there was a lot of stop and go from the traffic lights but we still managed a 10K on a random Tuesday night!  We were both tired but neither of us was completely spent afterward, though I am pretty sure I ate somewhere north of 3000 calories on Wednesday due to ravenous hunger at running the 3 days previous.

83 days to go

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/42942126

That's right, after nearly a month since my initial order, the third time's a charm and Amazon has delivered unto me a Forerunner 305. Let there be grafs! Not only that but I purchased some new running shoes this weekend which should be a little bit better than my old ones. These aren't as wide and are lighter, so I don't feel like I am plodding along so hard when I run.

My goal for tonight was 30 minutes of jogging without stopping. I should be able to do this four times in a week in order to start on the marathon training program. I didn't make it, but I did reasonably well considering I was breaking in new shoes and wasn't really fueled up. The biggest problem was that my right foot was very cramped up through the latter half of the run, and the point where I stopped (31:00) was to loosen up the laces and re-tie the shoe. These shoes run wide, but they aren't the 4E width I'm used to so I guess it isn't surprising I had to relax the laces a bit. I'd loosened up the left shoe in a similar manner yesterday, so here's hoping this is the last of the adjusting. After I did that the rest of the run was better, so I'm hopeful the next run is 30 minutes without stopping.

Not really worth charting was the weekend activity of a 4 mile run/walk in which Katie and I did a loop around the country club near her place, then walked to the farmer's market and back to purchase large volumes of deliciousness (fruit, mostly).

88 days to go

http://bit.ly/brlM7B

Distance: ~5 miles
Ran: ~4.5 miles
Time: ~75 min

After a day off yesterday and a short run the day before (which I forgot to log), tonight I set out to do a longer run to see what my body was capable of. I made it about 2.8 miles before I had to walk for a short stretch to get rid of the stitch in my side, but I was able to pick it back up again. All told I made it about five miles tonight and ran most of it -- more than I have ever ran before. I saw a guy flying a model airplane with great skill, dozens of rabbits, and two dog-sized animals that were either bobcats or coyotes, I couldn't quite tell which. It was the best run I've ever had. I'm tired but not completely shelled, and nothing hurts so badly that I need to ice it. With nearly three months to go, I'm feeling good about my prospects of being able to do the half marathon successfully.

91 days to go

 http://bit.ly/9darw9

Distance: ~2 miles
Ran: ~1.8 miles
Time: ~30 min


Last night's run was short but hard. I hadn't fueled my body well, and the hills were very steep. Even though it was only about a 2 mile run I was tired by the time I was done. The good news is that I only had to stop to walk once up each hill, so I am making some progress on how far my lungs are going in keeping up.

I read the Non-runner's marathon guide this weekend. It was a very useful read, and confirmed that I was on the right track with some things I was doing already and gave me some great ideas about what to do next. Since that program takes you from being able to jog 30 minutes to a full marathon in 16 weeks, I am confident that in the remaining 12 weeks or so before the half marathon I'll be able to work my body up to the point where I can handle it without dying. Of course I still have to make it to the 30 minute mark, but I'm getting closer.

93 days to go

http://bit.ly/9F8jbm

Distance: ~2.6 miles
Ran: ~2.1 miles
Time: ~30 minutes

One of the better runs I have done so far. I made it from my apartment door to the south end of the Pacific Parkway underpass without stopping. I probably would have made it further if not for a surprise shooting pain up my right trapezius. After walking a block or so to recoup, I made it about a mile back before running out of gas again. Running two longer stretches like this back to back is encouraging. This weekend I'll be reading a couple of running books borrowed from a coworker; with any luck I'll have some new theory to put in to practice soon.

On a more irritating note, this morning Amazon helpfully informed me that my Forerunner will be here about 3 weeks after I ordered it with 2-3 day shipping. Fffffffffff

94 days to go

http://bit.ly/bXhUEC

Distance: ~ 2 miles
Ran: ~1.8 miles
Time: ~35 minutes

I'm pretty happy with this considering I forgot to eat a clif bar late afternoon and wasn't really feeling up to it before I went out. This was a tough run, I went right out of the complex gate which leads to the bottom of the hill. From there it was straight uphill for almost a mile, and I made it about 3/4 of the way before my legs said no more. The stoplights were just enough of a breather for me to catch up. Somewhere down the hill on the way back I had a glimmer of hope that I might just be able to do this half marathon intact.

Still no Forerunner. Amazon claims it's shipped, but we'll see soon enough.

96 days to go

http://bit.ly/b8KO1p

Distance: 4.25 miles
Ran: ~1 mile
Time: 90 minutes

Less running and more walking tonight. My body wasn't really up to the task of running after putting in several miles in sandals at the Strawberry Fields triathlon on Sunday combined with poor food fueling during the day, so I walked extra distance. The running path extends down past the Aliso Niguel high school at about the two mile mark across relatively flat ground, so I am going to set the goal to be able to run from my house to the school without stopping. After that we'll see about making it a round trip. My original order for the Forerunner was out of stock, and my second order hasn't shipped yet. I got to see one in action this weekend and I am officially excited to start using it when it shows up this week.

103

http://bit.ly/bJ4aSI

Distance: 2.3 miles
Ran: ~1.8 miles
Time: ~35 minutes


The distance was shorter tonight but much harder on me as the hill leading up Enterprise is quite steep. I made it about 80% of the way up before my lungs said uncle. Considering I used to not be able to walk up that hill without stopping because my calves were tight, this is still a good accomplishment.

Wherein 104 days after registration I run 13 miles

This blog exists to track my progress toward running theRock 'n' Roll Los Angeles Half Marathon. While I am sure this is about as interesting as watching paint dry on plain white toast, I have recently (as in about 2 hours ago) purchased a Garmin Forerunner 305 which I will use to provide information about where and when I run. As I am a firm believer in metrics, I hope that by blogging this information I will be able to provide and analzye trends in my training schedule.

I am not a runner. I have never been a runner. Ever since a particularly hot summer when I discovered the wonders of the Nintendo Entertainment System I've been more or less classified as a couch potato. I have set out to change this over the last few years and have made slow but substantial progress. Until today I have never taken a real fitness challenge upon myself, but this morning I registered for a 13 mile run. I put my finish time estimate at 3.5 hours, which is quite likely a very optimistic time. I'm not doing it alone though; my wonderful girlfriend will be running it with me. She has just come off her first successful triathlon finish and we're going to keep her strong momentum going during the off season by giving ourselves a goal to shoot for. She's quite a bit better conditioned than I am at this point, so I've got a lot of ground to make up (figuratively and literally).

Come October 25, I hope to be posting victory pictures.

104 days to go

And we're off. http://bit.ly/crSlbK

Approximate distance: 2.5 miles
Ran: ~2 miles
Time: ~30 minutes