Not really sure what happen to my posting, but I have neglected this journal.  So lets bring everyone up to date with what is going on with myself.  Seeing how my last post was August 11, I have two races that I have run in. 

First was a 5k, The Greatest 5k Ever, to be precise.  This was a wonderful 5k and one that I PR’d with a time of: 27:16.  The weather was damp and cool, perfect conditions for me, it had stopped raining and the temp was around 50deg.  With a pace of 8:48/mile, that is a great progress from the Riverbank 5k with pace of 10:26/mile.

Next race was my goal race and the big one: Grand Rapid’s Half-Marathon on October 18, 8:00am start.  It was clear and cold morning, with temperatures hovering around 30 degree for the start.  I had been training hard for 4 months to complete this 13.1 mile test of my physical being.  Fortunately I had my friend, Gary Loew, who was running the full marathon being by my side running until we had to split off around the 8 mile marker.  Around 12 miles I started to hit my wall and fought with everything I had in me to keep moving at pace.  I succeeded in this and finished with a time of 2:10:34, a pace of 9:58/mile. My goal was for 2:10 to 2:15 and around a 10:00 pace, I think I did a good job hitting my goals.

So now here we are in the opening week of November and no more races for the rest of the year.  I am still running, though not as focused as when I was preparing for the half-marathon.  But in light of this I have big race plans for next year.  If all goes according to plan and the funding is there, I am planning on running the Disney Princess Half Marathon on March 7, the 5/3rd Riverbank 25k on May 8th, and the capstone for the year: 2010 Chicago Marathon. In addition there will most likely be a few 5k’s thrown in there/

An addition bright spot is my wife starting to run a regular basis and working to complete her first 5k in the spring, most likely the Riverbank 5k. This is a awesome development and the beginning of a lifelong running partner.  Of course we need to start running together, but that seems to be more a scheduling conflict that must be corrected!

Until next time

Been a while since I last updated this blog, so lets dive in! A few weeks back I started having symptoms of a IT band injury on my left leg.  I cannot pinpoint the exact cause but I have a few theories.  One could be the heavily crowned road I run on for long runs or possibly the concrete sidewalks.  Either one is no good option for running, so I will have to be very careful about choosing to run on those surfaces. Regardless, I have made changes to my training, most importantly adding stretching into it.

I ended up taking a full week off of running, though with a 3-day backpacking trip of 20-miles mixed in. The backpacking trip went well, the knee was a little stiff, but no pain.  Then came last night and my first attempt at a run.  Plan was a 1-3 mile run depending on how everything felt.  I ended up running 3.25 miles with only a little stiffness in the left knee about halfway thru the run.  I ended the run with a cool down walk of a few hundred feet and then right into IT-Band focused stretches.  After a cool shower, I had some ibuprofen and iced the left knee.  This entire post run recovery worked as I am pain free and not stiff at all today.

I am 10 weeks out from my first half-marathon, and paying attention to all aspects of my training is of utmost importance to me now.  I really need to increase my longest run up into the 10-12 mile range before the race.  Next step this week is for a detailed week-by-week training plan that I will follow into the race.

Enough for now…good running to all.

I ran the 36th annual Buck Creek 5k in Grandville on July 3rd. It was a good morning for running: cloudy and in the 60s, so not too bad for a 5k. It was a good run for me, giving me a new PR(out of two races). Officially my time was 31:16, but that was a scam in a my opinion. My real time should of been around 28:30-29:00, all because of how they did the timing. The used the chip system, just like many other races but with one catch.  The actual chip on each person is only used when they cross the finish line. So everyone starts at the same time, regardless of where they were in relation to the ‘start’ line. I was toward the very back and took a minute or so to pass the supposed ‘start’ line.  Frustrating, but since I was wearing my Garmin Forerunner 305, I have a record of my entire run and know for sure that I did indeed break the 30 minute barrier I had my eye on. So there you have it, another race behind and another (big one) looming on the horizon in three months(Grand Rapids Half Marathon). Time to lace up and start some serious training.

Wow, it has been a long period once again since I have updated my blog.  Where to start? Class is done for the summer(yahoo!), I somehow injured my ankle a few weeks ago, and I have a 5k in two days.  My ankle injury was more a sprain that happen a few weeks ago, I took a two weeks off from running and was quite surprised to see how much I lost my endurance level for running.  My return to running was light and easy, 3 miles, and that proved to be fairly difficult with myself not able to run the entire distance without a short walk break.  That was over a week ago, and my last run this morning was almost back to normal.

Buck Creek 5k Run is Friday and my second road race.  Seems like this race has a few hundred runners verses the thousands the Riverbank had. My goal is break 30 minutes, which I believe is possible.  Recalling the course, it is fairly flat without the hills that the Riverbank threw my way.  I look forward to it and will have a great time regardless of my actually time.  Looking down the road, I am signed up for Grand Rapids Half-Marathon in October which will be big milestone in my running career.

More later…

I often wondered when and what my first running related injury would be and now I know. My last run was 4 days ago, a simple 5 mile run nothing to exciting and nothing out of the ordinary.  My memory does not even bring back a particular step that caused it.  For the record, my left ankle has been sore to varying degrees from mildly sore to almost “hey what are you doing!”.  But seeing how I have a backpacking trip next weekend and a 5k run in a couple of weeks I decide to put the brakes on my running.  I do know that if I take some ibuprofen, I could run without even having any pain or anything, but I am being cautious and taking a few days off to see how it goes. I probably should go see my doctor and I might still.  Bottom line is it sucks not running, I feel like I am missing out on something that has become a part of my routine.  I have come to enjoy my time alone running, being able to sort things out in my head.  More to come…

Well I have been away from my blog for a bit.  The Riverbank Run is behind me now along with my first 5k race.  My time was 32:21 which is better than I predicted in my last post.  It was a very satisfying run and the experience of running with thousands was something that will be with me for the rest of my life. I can confidently say now that I am a runner, I have really come to enjoy it.  So next up is going to be the Buck Creek Run on July 3rd.  My goals is to break 30:00 which I think is really possible over the next 8 weeks.  I have also started to increase my runs with the ultimate goal of running a full marathon.  That might be a couple of years from now or next year, I will have to see where my training goes.  Another exciting area for me is that my wife, Brenda, has started to run also.  I think that is great and look forward to having her run with me and we both work on a healthy lifestyle together. That is it for now.

I am still on track to run the Riverbank 5k on May 9th.  Over the past few weeks I have been making the shift to outdoor running.  If any runner reads this they know what I am about to say.  Treadmills and outdoor running are different! I was not really sure how different, but sufficed to say they are different and outdoor is proving to be a bigger challenge that I thought.  But with each run, it gets easier and more enjoyable.  I am mostly ‘just’ running 5k at a time, but this is more to get myself ready for the Riverbank.  Looking beyond the race, I want to start increasing my daily runs and the frequency of them. 

I cannot wait for the weather to improve and actually get warmer, that will make things much better for me. I have always known I have asthma and dealing with this as I become a runner is a challenge, especially with the colder temps.  But I am making progress listening to my body and figuring out the best way to breathe while running.  For myself at the moment it is best when I breathe totally with my mouth so I can grab as much air as possible to get the oxygen to the muscles(or lack of them).

That is all for now, but if anyone actually reads this, I will work on making more frequent postings about my progress.  Speaking of progress, the weight is coming off, slowly but surely. For the record it is currently around 30lbs from when I started this lifestyle change.  It took years to pack it on and it is going to take time to get it off again.  Not easy when your in mid-30s, and things are already starting to go downhill!

I have always thought that going to a store like Footlocker, Meijer, Kohl’s and getting the type of shoe you needed(dress, boots, running) was a pretty simple matter. For that matter I thought a shoe was a shoe and that all these specialty stores were a reason to raise the price and make a little better profit. Or a place for the elite to hang out and talk amongst themselves. Oh was I a wrong.

I have been doing plenty of reading on runnersworld.com and listening to some fellow runners I know and they all said the same thing: get fitted for the proper running shoe.  Not doing so could possibly lead to injury, discomfort, or inefficient running. I thought about this for a little bit, I had just purchased some running shoes at a department store and thought they were “perfect” for me. The first couple of times running, I felt discomfort and something not “right”. I brushed those thoughts off thinking it was just a result of breaking in the new shoes.  After a few more times running and the same feeling, I decide to take the advice and go get fitted.

I went down to Gazelle sports and stood there feeling a little out of place. I was surrounded by obvious hard core runners and wall full of shoes by manufactures I never heard of before.  So I stood around the shoe area until a worker named Jeff ask if I need help. I explained why I was there and before long, he was having me do all sorts of things to figure out what kind of shoes I needed.  In the end I walked out with some Saucony running shoes and some different insoles. I was beyond impressed with the service I received.

My first day running with my new shoes was a little short do to some cold weather induced asthma. But outside of that, my feet felt a little different for the first 5 or 10 minutes, which I figured was more a break-in period.  After that I felt better and better as the run went on.  I feel I did the right thing getting fitted for the proper shoe and highly recommend it to anyone going make running a part of their life.  With around 10 weeks left before my first 5k I need to stay focused and injure free!

Been a bit since I last wrote, so catching up is in order. My workouts are getting better by the week, I am up to a 7 minute running / 1 minute walk interval.  I am feeling good during and afterwards, a little sore, but no injures. It is tough not to go faster/longer, I know I would pay the price.  Just need to keep focus on building up my endurance and ability gradually.

I got my birthday present a bit early, a Garmin Forerunner 305. Unfortunately I have not tried it out yet, due to the weather(yeah I know excuses!) I really look forward to moving my running outside and using these neat device to its fullest.  Technology can be a great motivator and tool in training.  Once I get a chance to use it a few times I will post a small review on it.

Since the end of December, I have been starting to workout and eat healthy on a pretty regular basis.  My goal has been to become healthier and be more active.  I figure that since I am entering my mid-thirties this year, it is a now or never proposition.

I have a few goals for this year, like running the Riverbank 5k,  having a easier time on the annual guys backpacking trip, and just become the fit guy I use to be.  So I am going to make a commitment to journal about my progress and thoughts on this life changing endeavor.

So to bring everyone up to date, I have been going to the gym at lunch and couple of weeks ago started doing some work on the treadmill.  Just walk/jogging cycles, but I have to start somewhere.  Today was not too bad, just a little soreness afterwards, and no shin splits(yeah!) I am currently doing this cycle: 5min warm-up walk, then jog 3minutes/walk 2 minutes for 25 minutes, followed up with a 5 minute cool down period.  I am going to do the same next week on Mon, Wed, Fri.  Tues and Thu I want to hit the strength machines.  Of course I am trying to figure out what to do over the weekend.

Weird thing is that I never really was ever into running. But all of a sudden after my time on the treadmill and reading more about running in general, I have found a liking to it.  That is a good sign, since you have to enjoy something to do it on a regular basis.