I had to polar opposite runs (weather-wise) on the same course 2 days in a row. Yesterday I ran 5 miles. We were experiencing a snow burst in Waterford. It was snowing small flakes for awhile then large flakes, but none-the-less, snowing the entire time. I did 2 laps on a 2 mile route and then 1 lap on a 1 mile route. It was interesting to see my footprints after each lap to see how much snow fell in the last 2 miles (~17 minutes). Sometimes it was difficult to find them, sometimes not. It was a good run though. Cold, yes, but comfortable. I ended up averaging 8:30 pace and it wasn't difficult.
The today it was cold again, but it was bright and sunny. It was nice to run in the sun again since we don't get too many of those days here in the winter. Plus I usually run after work so in December and January, it gets dark so early. It was so bright that at times I had to look down to make sure I was running in the right place. Too much glare, I love it! Today was only 4 miles, 2 laps on the 2 mile route. today was faster, I averaged 8:13 pace but I really didn't try to run that fast. It is much easier to run fast when you don't run on snow.
Speaking of snow, I am looking forward to running where there is not any snow. Well, maybe there will be snow in southern Georgia, but not nearly as much as here. I am also looking forward to running outside in shorts. I can run outside in the cold in shorts, but it has been just a bit too cold so I have been in the running tights for a long time. Hopefully we won't get anymore snow (of significance) before next week. I would prefer not to shovel anymore.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
A Great Girls Basketball Game
Good News! It looks like Mike and Paul will be coming down to Albany, Georgia to run the Albany Marathon with me. They were booking some flights today. Paul is going down on his own but Mike plans on driving down with me and my family and flying back. It makes these out of town marathon more fun when you have friends there, even if we don't run together. It will be nice to have someone there at the finish line to share in the joys of a great run (or the disappointments of a poor run, but this won't happen). It will definitely be fun. None of us have run a marathon in Georgia so we can all add another state. Once done, Mike and Paul will have 14 states completed and I will be up to 9.
As most of you know, I have 3 daughters. I have always wanted the best for them and try to show them that girls can do just about anything. So with this in mind, I like to take my 2nd grader to the local High School to watch the Girls Basketball team play. We have a neighbor who is on the team so she likes to watch her play as well. So I took her to the game tonight in which they were playing the #1 ranked team in the state. The local team are not slouches themselves, they are ranked in the top 10 as well, but we were treated to a great game tonight. Our team defeated the #1 team in a close game all the way. It was a very exciting game and our neighbor played a great game.
Melissa likes going to the games but sometimes I think it is because of the cheerleaders and sometimes just being with all the people, and sometimes I buy her some candy. Which do you think she likes most, LOL.
As most of you know, I have 3 daughters. I have always wanted the best for them and try to show them that girls can do just about anything. So with this in mind, I like to take my 2nd grader to the local High School to watch the Girls Basketball team play. We have a neighbor who is on the team so she likes to watch her play as well. So I took her to the game tonight in which they were playing the #1 ranked team in the state. The local team are not slouches themselves, they are ranked in the top 10 as well, but we were treated to a great game tonight. Our team defeated the #1 team in a close game all the way. It was a very exciting game and our neighbor played a great game.
Melissa likes going to the games but sometimes I think it is because of the cheerleaders and sometimes just being with all the people, and sometimes I buy her some candy. Which do you think she likes most, LOL.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
A Little Snow, A Lot of Wet
I ran with Mike again this morning. We decided to run a single looper out by his house in East Troy early int he morning. We started at 6:37 AM and it was snowing some. It had snowed about a 1/2 inch over night so not enough to really bring out the plows or the salt trucks on the county roads.
I was feeling sluggish and mike didn't want to run too fast because his knee was bothering him. It was slippery out so we really didn't get moving too well over the hills. Then at about mile 9, a small white "yip yip" dog comes out and runs after us and in to the road. There were a few cars around so we stopped running for a bit to make sure the dog would not keep following us. I thought if we kept going, there would be a good chance a car would hit it. So I walked back toward the house and had to wait until the owner walked through the snow to get their dog. It kept barking and circling me but I figured it would not bite me.
After we started again, I looked at the Garmin and it showed we were at an average of 9:09 pace so far and Mike said we needed to get back as he was going to work on his basement and his Dad was coming over. So I told him I would try to suck a little less.
We turned onto a a busier highway for the final 2 miles and they salted this road pretty good. So good that it was very wet and slushy on the sides. Not a half mile into it and I felt like I had 2 really big soakers in my shoes. The next problem was that it was a COLD soaker. This made me want to finish even quicker because it really wasn't all that comfortable. Mike pulled away some from me, maybe 30 meters or so, but made me want to catch him. I did near the end and we did indeed pick it up. We ended the final 2.64 miles with times of 8:02, 8:03 and 6:52 (pace). The downhill at the end really helped.
The run was only 11.64 miles but I am OK with that. I won't be doing any long runs before the Albany Marathon which is 2 weeks away. I didn't even get in that many miles this week. What can I say, I like a good taper :).
Time for me to watch some more Winter Olympics. These are the best Winter Olympics I can remember. (I don't remember 1980 very much).
I was feeling sluggish and mike didn't want to run too fast because his knee was bothering him. It was slippery out so we really didn't get moving too well over the hills. Then at about mile 9, a small white "yip yip" dog comes out and runs after us and in to the road. There were a few cars around so we stopped running for a bit to make sure the dog would not keep following us. I thought if we kept going, there would be a good chance a car would hit it. So I walked back toward the house and had to wait until the owner walked through the snow to get their dog. It kept barking and circling me but I figured it would not bite me.
After we started again, I looked at the Garmin and it showed we were at an average of 9:09 pace so far and Mike said we needed to get back as he was going to work on his basement and his Dad was coming over. So I told him I would try to suck a little less.
We turned onto a a busier highway for the final 2 miles and they salted this road pretty good. So good that it was very wet and slushy on the sides. Not a half mile into it and I felt like I had 2 really big soakers in my shoes. The next problem was that it was a COLD soaker. This made me want to finish even quicker because it really wasn't all that comfortable. Mike pulled away some from me, maybe 30 meters or so, but made me want to catch him. I did near the end and we did indeed pick it up. We ended the final 2.64 miles with times of 8:02, 8:03 and 6:52 (pace). The downhill at the end really helped.
The run was only 11.64 miles but I am OK with that. I won't be doing any long runs before the Albany Marathon which is 2 weeks away. I didn't even get in that many miles this week. What can I say, I like a good taper :).
Time for me to watch some more Winter Olympics. These are the best Winter Olympics I can remember. (I don't remember 1980 very much).
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Pet Peeves?
I am in a good mood about my running recently. I am starting to reduce my miles in order to try to run a good race in Albany, Georgia in 2 1/2 weeks. Yesterday was a nice 5 miler that was sort of a Tempo run. I did not intend to run that fast, but I felt good so I averaged 7:48 pace. Today was a nice run of about 4.5 miles at somewhere near 8:25 pace. Both runs were by myself but I am OK with that.
How abut running with others? Do you have some running buddies that you run with? If you read my posts, you know I have a few friends I run with from time to time. I think it DEFINITELY helps you get better if you can train with someone else. But as I was talking to Paul today, he brought up something that i thought I would write about. Annoying things your running friends do.
We were talking about the Albany Marathon we are planning on running and I told him they have pace groups and he may want to join one. He said he would like to run with a group but often the other in the group are annoying with all the chatting they do. So this is something that annoys Paul, too much chatter during races. So here are a few things that annoy me whether I am on a run with a friend or in a race.
1. People who start a race in the front that are either slow runners or walkers. They just get in the way.
2. In the same breath are walkers or slow runners who run 3 or 4 abreast in a race just chatting away not caring how difficult it is to get past them (when they started up front). I find this to be too often the "Purple People" in races. I have no problem with the cause of the Purple People and I appreciate all they do for charity, I just with their "coaches" would teach them all runner etiquette before races.
3. I run often with faster runners and I like this. It makes me elevate my own training. But on an easy run, a pet peeve of mine is when a friend runs 1 to 2 steps ahead of me the entire run. Just run next to me for crying out loud. And when I pick up the pace to get even, they regain that 1 to 2 steps. aaaarrrrgggghhhh!!!!
4. And finally, this is something one of my friend I used to run with would do. We would be running on a busy road and he would run just inside the white line. I try to tell him to run on the gravel when a car comes but he just responds with "I have a right to be here" or "If I get hit, it would be their fault". Yes, you are correct, it would be their fault, absolutely, but you are still dead.
Like I started this post, I am in a good running mood so this post does not reflect how I feel about running today. It just seemed like something to write about, that is all. So, what are you running pet peeves? I would love to hear them!
How abut running with others? Do you have some running buddies that you run with? If you read my posts, you know I have a few friends I run with from time to time. I think it DEFINITELY helps you get better if you can train with someone else. But as I was talking to Paul today, he brought up something that i thought I would write about. Annoying things your running friends do.
We were talking about the Albany Marathon we are planning on running and I told him they have pace groups and he may want to join one. He said he would like to run with a group but often the other in the group are annoying with all the chatting they do. So this is something that annoys Paul, too much chatter during races. So here are a few things that annoy me whether I am on a run with a friend or in a race.
1. People who start a race in the front that are either slow runners or walkers. They just get in the way.
2. In the same breath are walkers or slow runners who run 3 or 4 abreast in a race just chatting away not caring how difficult it is to get past them (when they started up front). I find this to be too often the "Purple People" in races. I have no problem with the cause of the Purple People and I appreciate all they do for charity, I just with their "coaches" would teach them all runner etiquette before races.
3. I run often with faster runners and I like this. It makes me elevate my own training. But on an easy run, a pet peeve of mine is when a friend runs 1 to 2 steps ahead of me the entire run. Just run next to me for crying out loud. And when I pick up the pace to get even, they regain that 1 to 2 steps. aaaarrrrgggghhhh!!!!
4. And finally, this is something one of my friend I used to run with would do. We would be running on a busy road and he would run just inside the white line. I try to tell him to run on the gravel when a car comes but he just responds with "I have a right to be here" or "If I get hit, it would be their fault". Yes, you are correct, it would be their fault, absolutely, but you are still dead.
Like I started this post, I am in a good running mood so this post does not reflect how I feel about running today. It just seemed like something to write about, that is all. So, what are you running pet peeves? I would love to hear them!
Saturday, February 13, 2010
It Was Cold Out There
{I had a major problem with my computer so I wrote some of this on Saturday and the rest on Sunday}
Mike was unable to run this morning so I decided to go to East Troy anyways and run a modified looper. I woke up nice and early and even though I knew it was cold, I has no thoughts of bagging it and just crawling back in the warm bed. It was 5 when I woke and still very dark. Heck, it was still dark when I started at 6:06AM from the Square. But I have to tell you it was cold, no, I take that back, it was F'ing cold. The sun was still down and the temp was a nice 9F at the start.
I was only planning on running 17 miles today since I had to be home buy 9:30 the latest as it is Pinewood Derby day for 2 of the girls. I ran 6 miles last night so at least in a matter of 15 hours, I would get in the 23 miles I had planned for today earlier this week. I had also looked at the map and found a nice 17 mile loop that uses a lot of the usual roads we run out in East Troy, but adds a road I was interested in seeing what was like.
So, like I said, it was cold when I started. After 1 mile, I was actually contemplating going back to my car as I was so cold. The chill was going right through my running tights and my hands were quite cold through my gloves (socks actually). I also do something that is not so smart when running in the cold, I do not wear a hat! I can't stand the feeling so I only wear ear muffs. Dumb, I know. I decided to keep going hoping I would warm up after a few miles and when the sun came up. I was right, sort of, I did warm up at times and also got colder at times.
At about 2.25 miles, I took my first short walk break and got a little water in. At mile 4.5 or so, I stopped for more water and found out I had a problem. My water bottle caps were frozen shut. I could shake and feel some water moving, but I could not get any out. This made me nervous since I had 13 miles still to go with no water but at least I wasn't sweating too much. Good thing I drank a lot of water the night before and while this helped me last the entire run, it caused a new problem. I had to pee. The roads were not travelled much so being seen wasn't an issue, the issue actually was my fingers. They were already cold from the socks only working a little, but when they were in the open air, it was frickin cold. During the run, the tingled often from the cold. I ended up pulling the sleeves of my long sleeve shirt down further to cover my hands for double protection.
At about mile 6, I had a "Forrest Gump" moment. I was running down the new road I had never run down before while passing some horses that were startled by me going past when I looked over just at the moment the sun was rising over the horizon. It was spectacular to see and the light was so bright. I couldn't stop looking over again and again as it felt like it was just me and the sun out there. I was one with the road and the ice and the cold for just a moment.
The roads I took had quite a lot of hills so I was able to work out that part on my training. One part of the run that was a little annoying was that when I got to the bottom of some of the large hills, it was really cold, something like 5 to 10 degrees colder than at the top. The cold air just sits in the valleys.
By mile 10, I looked at my Garmin for the first time and noticed I was at 9:25 pace which actually surprised me because I thought I was going much slower because of the cold.
{It is now Sunday Evening}
The computer seems to b working now so I will try to finish the post.
There was a major hill at about mile 11 that is quite steep. To maintain running form, I have to run on my toes like a sprinter. This caused some discomfort in my ankle that has issues but by now (Sunday Evening), it is feeling better. The rest of the run went well and I maintained close to the same pace. The run ended up being 17.25 miles.
After I finished, I went into a coffee shop to warm up and put on some warmer clothes. As I was changing, a guy asked me about my Garmin. He was interested in getting one for Cross Country Skiing. I told him there are newer versions but they work very well. He was looking at it and saw the 17.2 miles and asked if that is what I just ran. I said yes and he just looked dumbfounded. Yes, the normal folks out thee just don't understand us.
Time to watch some Winter Olympics. The Moguls are on right now. I love to watch the Speed Skating and a lot of the skaters live in the Milwaukee area and I see them at times at the Pettit Center where I run at times. Good Luck to Shani Davis as he skates later in the Olympics. I ran a few laps with him once at Pettit. He seems like suck a nice guy!
Mike was unable to run this morning so I decided to go to East Troy anyways and run a modified looper. I woke up nice and early and even though I knew it was cold, I has no thoughts of bagging it and just crawling back in the warm bed. It was 5 when I woke and still very dark. Heck, it was still dark when I started at 6:06AM from the Square. But I have to tell you it was cold, no, I take that back, it was F'ing cold. The sun was still down and the temp was a nice 9F at the start.
I was only planning on running 17 miles today since I had to be home buy 9:30 the latest as it is Pinewood Derby day for 2 of the girls. I ran 6 miles last night so at least in a matter of 15 hours, I would get in the 23 miles I had planned for today earlier this week. I had also looked at the map and found a nice 17 mile loop that uses a lot of the usual roads we run out in East Troy, but adds a road I was interested in seeing what was like.
So, like I said, it was cold when I started. After 1 mile, I was actually contemplating going back to my car as I was so cold. The chill was going right through my running tights and my hands were quite cold through my gloves (socks actually). I also do something that is not so smart when running in the cold, I do not wear a hat! I can't stand the feeling so I only wear ear muffs. Dumb, I know. I decided to keep going hoping I would warm up after a few miles and when the sun came up. I was right, sort of, I did warm up at times and also got colder at times.
At about 2.25 miles, I took my first short walk break and got a little water in. At mile 4.5 or so, I stopped for more water and found out I had a problem. My water bottle caps were frozen shut. I could shake and feel some water moving, but I could not get any out. This made me nervous since I had 13 miles still to go with no water but at least I wasn't sweating too much. Good thing I drank a lot of water the night before and while this helped me last the entire run, it caused a new problem. I had to pee. The roads were not travelled much so being seen wasn't an issue, the issue actually was my fingers. They were already cold from the socks only working a little, but when they were in the open air, it was frickin cold. During the run, the tingled often from the cold. I ended up pulling the sleeves of my long sleeve shirt down further to cover my hands for double protection.
At about mile 6, I had a "Forrest Gump" moment. I was running down the new road I had never run down before while passing some horses that were startled by me going past when I looked over just at the moment the sun was rising over the horizon. It was spectacular to see and the light was so bright. I couldn't stop looking over again and again as it felt like it was just me and the sun out there. I was one with the road and the ice and the cold for just a moment.
The roads I took had quite a lot of hills so I was able to work out that part on my training. One part of the run that was a little annoying was that when I got to the bottom of some of the large hills, it was really cold, something like 5 to 10 degrees colder than at the top. The cold air just sits in the valleys.
By mile 10, I looked at my Garmin for the first time and noticed I was at 9:25 pace which actually surprised me because I thought I was going much slower because of the cold.
{It is now Sunday Evening}
The computer seems to b working now so I will try to finish the post.
There was a major hill at about mile 11 that is quite steep. To maintain running form, I have to run on my toes like a sprinter. This caused some discomfort in my ankle that has issues but by now (Sunday Evening), it is feeling better. The rest of the run went well and I maintained close to the same pace. The run ended up being 17.25 miles.
After I finished, I went into a coffee shop to warm up and put on some warmer clothes. As I was changing, a guy asked me about my Garmin. He was interested in getting one for Cross Country Skiing. I told him there are newer versions but they work very well. He was looking at it and saw the 17.2 miles and asked if that is what I just ran. I said yes and he just looked dumbfounded. Yes, the normal folks out thee just don't understand us.
Time to watch some Winter Olympics. The Moguls are on right now. I love to watch the Speed Skating and a lot of the skaters live in the Milwaukee area and I see them at times at the Pettit Center where I run at times. Good Luck to Shani Davis as he skates later in the Olympics. I ran a few laps with him once at Pettit. He seems like suck a nice guy!
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Slow and Sloppy
It was snowing pretty good here today. I woke up early to shovel the driveway before I went to work for the day and then shoveled a lot more when I came home. So today I did a double workout. After work, Mike and I actually put on the running shoes and went for a slow and sloppy 4 miles through town. It was actually rather fun. The roads had a lot of slop on them but nothing we are not used to. We ran really slow, I think about 9:20 pace or so but kept up a good conversation. The only problem was at one point, the snow was falling so much and blowing right into our face, that it stung our eyes and made it difficult to see. Ahhhh, that is what makes you tough! Or as my Dad used to say "It builds character"
The second workout? You guessed it, the snow shoveling. There was about 7 to 10 inches on the driveway when I got home and lots of drifts so out I went and spent about an hour and a half removing the snow. It is still falling so I will have to wake up early to get out there again. I am ready for spring!
I am not complaining about the snow here (though my back says otherwise). I know there are many out there in DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia that got a lot more snow that we did. I feel for you guys, you will get though this and spring will come. Hey, where is that Global Warming when you need it, LOL.
The second workout? You guessed it, the snow shoveling. There was about 7 to 10 inches on the driveway when I got home and lots of drifts so out I went and spent about an hour and a half removing the snow. It is still falling so I will have to wake up early to get out there again. I am ready for spring!
I am not complaining about the snow here (though my back says otherwise). I know there are many out there in DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia that got a lot more snow that we did. I feel for you guys, you will get though this and spring will come. Hey, where is that Global Warming when you need it, LOL.
Monday, February 8, 2010
More Snow to Come (But Not Too Much)
I was planning on running today after work with Mike for about 5 or so miles. I went to change and suddenly realized I did not have my running tights with me. It was 25F out so I thought I could handle one run in shorts but alas, there are no shorts in the bag either. So I told Mike I was not going to be able to go with him and went home knowing I could run once I get there.
The good thing about running from home is that I could get a little more miles in than if I ran from work. I decided to run to a particular road and back which ended up being a total of 6 2/3 miles. It was a good run as I kept a decent pace up and averaged 8:16 pace.
I wanted to make sure I got my run in today as I may be unable to tomorrow. We are expecting snow. Now it is not as much as they had in DC and Baltimore, but it is suppose to be between 10 to 16 inches. I hear it will be the light fluffy kind so my back is thankful. With all this snow going on all over the country and the large amounts in areas not used to so much, I wonder what the Global Warming/Climate Change people say to explain this. I usually get a kick out of how they keep changing their answers to fit whatever is the latest type of weather. Just like you don't really hear "Global Warming" much anymore, instead you hear "Climate Change". I have news for everyone, the climate has been changing the entire history of the world. Perhaps people have forgotten the multiple times we have had ice ages and then melts and back.
OK, off my soap box now.
It is less than 4 weeks until the Albany, GA Marathon and I am seriously thinking of joining a pace group during the race. I did this at Grand Rapids a few years ago and had great results but also did this in Madison and had bad results. I think that was because I joined a group a little too fast for me on a hilly course. Another long run planned for this weekend then I will begin to drop the miles again. I would like to run well in this race but I am driving all the way down there and that may tire me out some. I think it is like 16 hours or so but I will take 2 days to do it driving a little over half way on day 1. Nothing like a good road trip.
The good thing about running from home is that I could get a little more miles in than if I ran from work. I decided to run to a particular road and back which ended up being a total of 6 2/3 miles. It was a good run as I kept a decent pace up and averaged 8:16 pace.
I wanted to make sure I got my run in today as I may be unable to tomorrow. We are expecting snow. Now it is not as much as they had in DC and Baltimore, but it is suppose to be between 10 to 16 inches. I hear it will be the light fluffy kind so my back is thankful. With all this snow going on all over the country and the large amounts in areas not used to so much, I wonder what the Global Warming/Climate Change people say to explain this. I usually get a kick out of how they keep changing their answers to fit whatever is the latest type of weather. Just like you don't really hear "Global Warming" much anymore, instead you hear "Climate Change". I have news for everyone, the climate has been changing the entire history of the world. Perhaps people have forgotten the multiple times we have had ice ages and then melts and back.
OK, off my soap box now.
It is less than 4 weeks until the Albany, GA Marathon and I am seriously thinking of joining a pace group during the race. I did this at Grand Rapids a few years ago and had great results but also did this in Madison and had bad results. I think that was because I joined a group a little too fast for me on a hilly course. Another long run planned for this weekend then I will begin to drop the miles again. I would like to run well in this race but I am driving all the way down there and that may tire me out some. I think it is like 16 hours or so but I will take 2 days to do it driving a little over half way on day 1. Nothing like a good road trip.
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