To the sun that is. I decided to go on a short 4 mile run when I got home today just to try to loosen up a bit after saturdays half. Although the clouds had been black and the wind was blowing the rain had not started so I was safe right?
Well I was as far from home as I could be on my route when it started raining, yup 2 miles out no stopping now. I guess that was just natures way of making sure I got my whole run in.
It really wasn't that bad the wind was worse than the rain cause my legs are tired today and running into a head wind well you might as well be running uphill. I guess its good for me but dang it what happened to all that sunshine we just had. I know in about 2 months I'll be complaining its to hot but could we just have some nice 75-80 degree weather for about a month solid, that would be really nice.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Second Time Around
So out the door at 5:30 A.M.... yes you heard that or maybe it should be read that right. Picked Dennis up by 6 and head to Sac for the parkway half marathon http://www.parkwayhalf.com/ . So it was a little rainy and were in the heck was all that sun we had lately?.
When we got close to the park it was obvious we were going to have to park on a side street and walk a little. I could not belive how many people were there. The mood was light and festive, I felt a lot looser than I did at the Bidwell Classic and thought "this is gonna be fun"
The run was scheduled to start at 8:15 and was only about 5 minutes late starting. It took a couple miles for things to start spreading out, it amazes me at how many people will start towards the front of the pack, even when they have signs saying 6 min/mile 7 min/mile and so on. I guess some people just think they are going to be faster at a race. It is kind of satisfying to pass those guys as they are walking next to the path sucking air cause they didn't pace themselves.
The course was really nice with some gentle rolling hills (did I mention I train in flat farmland) good thing Dennis and I are working on some hill training just not enough to make a difference yet. I was bound and determined to keep a steady even pace and not try to push the uphill portions and it worked. I am not going to say it was easy but I pushed, pushed and then pushed some more and when I passed that 13 mile marker and knew I had 1/10th of a mile to go I spent every last bit of energy I had and even passed a few more people before the finish line. I think one of the coolest things they did was call out your name as you finished it really added a nice touch to hear that over the speakers
So I just looked up the results this morning and I finished 835 out of 1837 overall so that means more finished behind me than in front of me which was a goal I had for this race and finished 54 out of 84 in my division ( men 45-49) so a little work needed there my official time was 2:09:30:7
When we got close to the park it was obvious we were going to have to park on a side street and walk a little. I could not belive how many people were there. The mood was light and festive, I felt a lot looser than I did at the Bidwell Classic and thought "this is gonna be fun"
The run was scheduled to start at 8:15 and was only about 5 minutes late starting. It took a couple miles for things to start spreading out, it amazes me at how many people will start towards the front of the pack, even when they have signs saying 6 min/mile 7 min/mile and so on. I guess some people just think they are going to be faster at a race. It is kind of satisfying to pass those guys as they are walking next to the path sucking air cause they didn't pace themselves.
The course was really nice with some gentle rolling hills (did I mention I train in flat farmland) good thing Dennis and I are working on some hill training just not enough to make a difference yet. I was bound and determined to keep a steady even pace and not try to push the uphill portions and it worked. I am not going to say it was easy but I pushed, pushed and then pushed some more and when I passed that 13 mile marker and knew I had 1/10th of a mile to go I spent every last bit of energy I had and even passed a few more people before the finish line. I think one of the coolest things they did was call out your name as you finished it really added a nice touch to hear that over the speakers
So I just looked up the results this morning and I finished 835 out of 1837 overall so that means more finished behind me than in front of me which was a goal I had for this race and finished 54 out of 84 in my division ( men 45-49) so a little work needed there my official time was 2:09:30:7
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Longest Yet...
Run that is. We did 14.14 miles this morning, that is a full mile longer than our longest run. Time wasn't bad at all 2:17:40, half of the run was into a stiff wind but most of that was the first half so not really that bad, in fact we talked about it and that is probably some really good training conditions cause when the wind isn't there our time should be better. Overall it was a great run and both of us felt like we could have made the 15 miles, which is the next step in 2 weeks. So full marathon watch out we are coming for you.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Done
So we headed out this morning abot 7:15 got up to Chico and the atmosphere was just really cool everyone was excited and talking about the day. We got checked in and just kinda walked around and soaked up the great vibes. We watched the start of the 5K and also saw the first guy finish in 15:51 now thats a smokin time. He was 2 minutes ahead of 2nd place.
We were in the second starting wave of the HM so we watched the first wave take off and my excitement kept building. Now our estimated finish time was supposed to put us at the front of the second wave, but neither Dennis or I wanted to be the pace setters so we went all the way to the back of the pack. When that starts horn went off we started moving, my excitement built and when we got to the start line and could take off in true Greg fashion I went just a little to fast. I did manage to reign myself in after about a 1/4 mile and we took about a 9:15 pace. Got to the first aid station and the guy had a nice cup of water in his hand and I kind of threw it at my mouth figuring I would catch some and cool off with some...guess what it was lemon flavored energy drink DOH!! Just a little stickier I kept on going and learned a valuable lesson when approaching the aid station ask "who has water?" problem solved.
This half marathon was setup as 2 6.5 mile loops and then the 0.1 finish trail. The first loop went really good and we started the second loop. At about mile 8 Dennis was starting to put some distance between himself and me (I had told him earlier to run his race) and I was starting to slow. By mile 10 I could no longer see Dennins and my pace had slowed quite a bit. Between mile 11 and 12 was bad I actually stopped and walked 3 times for 30 seconds each. This is not normal for me I have never stopped to walk and when I stopped the third time I gave myself a good talking to and said "You are not going to stop again, you will be running at the end of this race . Now get your butt in gear and go boy!" so I did cause myself sounded kinda ticked off and I didn't want that guy mad at me. I also took off my headphones when I restarted running just to focus a little more.
When I came to the point that I knew I had about 1/2 mile left I started pushing a little harder and when I turned the corner and had that last tenth of a mile I put it all out on the line. Dennis had already finished and was waiting about 100 feet from the finish clapping and hollering encouragement and then it was done. When I crossed the line and went to the little stations they had set up to cut off your timing chip, well when I went to put my foot on the stool I almost fell over. Just a little dizzy, kinda cool actually. My gun time was 2 hour 14 minutes my time on my heart rate monitor was 2:08:48 I don't have my chip time yet. Dennis and I talked and he finished about 6 minutes ahead of me. I couldn't for the life of me figure out what had slowed me so much, well the course had some incline, not hills just long steady inclines and that is not something I am used to. So hill training is in my future cause that will not happen again. As for Dennis finishing so far ahead...he is 21 years younger than me we will just chalk it up to youthful exuberance.
All in all it was great day and I am so happy. I did say no more running in those shoes and we went to Big 5 I rewarded myself with 2 new pair of running shoes and a new compression shirt. I think the next big run is May 3rd Avenue of the Giants. Its on the NorCal coast through the Giant Redwoods.
We were in the second starting wave of the HM so we watched the first wave take off and my excitement kept building. Now our estimated finish time was supposed to put us at the front of the second wave, but neither Dennis or I wanted to be the pace setters so we went all the way to the back of the pack. When that starts horn went off we started moving, my excitement built and when we got to the start line and could take off in true Greg fashion I went just a little to fast. I did manage to reign myself in after about a 1/4 mile and we took about a 9:15 pace. Got to the first aid station and the guy had a nice cup of water in his hand and I kind of threw it at my mouth figuring I would catch some and cool off with some...guess what it was lemon flavored energy drink DOH!! Just a little stickier I kept on going and learned a valuable lesson when approaching the aid station ask "who has water?" problem solved.
This half marathon was setup as 2 6.5 mile loops and then the 0.1 finish trail. The first loop went really good and we started the second loop. At about mile 8 Dennis was starting to put some distance between himself and me (I had told him earlier to run his race) and I was starting to slow. By mile 10 I could no longer see Dennins and my pace had slowed quite a bit. Between mile 11 and 12 was bad I actually stopped and walked 3 times for 30 seconds each. This is not normal for me I have never stopped to walk and when I stopped the third time I gave myself a good talking to and said "You are not going to stop again, you will be running at the end of this race . Now get your butt in gear and go boy!" so I did cause myself sounded kinda ticked off and I didn't want that guy mad at me. I also took off my headphones when I restarted running just to focus a little more.
When I came to the point that I knew I had about 1/2 mile left I started pushing a little harder and when I turned the corner and had that last tenth of a mile I put it all out on the line. Dennis had already finished and was waiting about 100 feet from the finish clapping and hollering encouragement and then it was done. When I crossed the line and went to the little stations they had set up to cut off your timing chip, well when I went to put my foot on the stool I almost fell over. Just a little dizzy, kinda cool actually. My gun time was 2 hour 14 minutes my time on my heart rate monitor was 2:08:48 I don't have my chip time yet. Dennis and I talked and he finished about 6 minutes ahead of me. I couldn't for the life of me figure out what had slowed me so much, well the course had some incline, not hills just long steady inclines and that is not something I am used to. So hill training is in my future cause that will not happen again. As for Dennis finishing so far ahead...he is 21 years younger than me we will just chalk it up to youthful exuberance.
All in all it was great day and I am so happy. I did say no more running in those shoes and we went to Big 5 I rewarded myself with 2 new pair of running shoes and a new compression shirt. I think the next big run is May 3rd Avenue of the Giants. Its on the NorCal coast through the Giant Redwoods.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Beautiful Morning
I woke up this morning and just like it said on weather.com it was sunny and nice. Got in a really good 10 mile run 1:37:38 not a bad time. Signed up for the half marathon last saturday so it is official I will be running it on March 7th. Dennis won't be running with me he has been sick and hasn't run in over 2 weeks now so he begged off, which I can totally understand. So it will just be me and several hundred others, I still have my music and after his mornings run I know without a doubt I can keep myself motivated throughout the run.
Have a great week
Have a great week
Thursday, February 19, 2009
12 Days Later
After 12 days I finally got to run again. I didn't run the first part of last week because we had a trip planned to pismo beach and riding a 400 pound quad on the sand dunes is a really good workout and I was taking the week off and going to do a 5 mile run last sat in pismo. But the weather didn't cooperate and not only did we only get one day on the dunes but we had to come home early and in the process I got sick. Yesterday I finally felt better and almost went out to run then but decided to wait one more day. It felt so good to get out there and feel the pavement under my feet the sweat flowing and the heart rate climbing. I did 4 miles in 38:10:09 not bad considering the circumstances average HR was 171 which is kinda high I usually stay about 155-157 peak was 190 WOW still recovered fast though. My body really feels better after the run I was really sore in my hips and back from lying around for days and after about 1 mile things started to loosen up. I guess lying around really is bad for you... lol.
Have a great week.
Have a great week.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Pismo Got Rained Out
Went to sunny Pismo Beach on Thursday. Was going to ride the dunes for 3 days. When we got there we set up camp and headed for the beach it was a little windy but otherwise sunny and nice. 4 hours of ripping up the dunes and just having fun then back to camp. Dennis and I had a great dinner and just hung out slept really well after all that riding. Got up the next morning and made breakfast and while we were eating the rain started and man did it come down. The next thing we know we have a lake forming around our table...hmm thats not good. So we start making a trench cause we are smarter than this water we can beat it after all we are men. Well we lost that battle, then we looked in the tent...oh crap its leaking!!! I guess we shouldn't have been laughung at those other people with the same tent who tarped theirs earlier. So now we are out there tarping the tent, have I mentioned it is still pouring rain? Get the tent tarped and look at lake will-be-gone (thats what we named it) and it has gotten bigger, look inside the tent and water is coming up through the bottom...oops. So now we have the bright idea to move the tent and we do. Long story short we finally gave up as the weather report said rain all week and packed up and headed home. Did I mention that its a 6 1/2 hour drive? Now on the way home I am not feeling to good and by the time we got home unloaded Dennis' stuff and I got home and unloaded mine it was quite obvious that I had caught the crud my wife had, yay. That was the cherry on top of the weekend. Here it is monday and I am finally feeling better. The upside is at least we got one good day of riding in.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
