6053.

4:39.

2008-10-19T16:15:00.000-07:00

i ran today, and i finished. i am overjoyed. i completed a 26 mile 385 yard race.

i had hoped to finish in 4:22, but i was 16 minutes shy of that. apparently john and i ran an average of 8:12 miles from mile 14 to mile 18. we had absolutely no intention of running that fast, and it haunted us both. i had to walk a little on belle isle. and then i had to walk a little more around 21 miles. and i pretty much walked almost all the way from mile 22 to mile 25. but i finished the last 1.2 miles on the run. everything hurt. it started with my quadriceps, and then it moved to my feet. my hamstrings started to tighten up, and i even got a bit of a stomach ache.

around mile 25.5, my friend, dave, from church showed up on the sidelines to cheer me on. he also greeted me in the finish area to congratulate me. he finished in an amazing 3:48. his excitement for me at the end really helped me along to the finish.

and right after i finished, my wife called my name. i was so happy to see her and so overwhelmed with the emotion of actually finishing a marathon that i ran straight to her and gave her a kiss through the fence. i think that made my day.

i feel bad, though, because john really found some pain around mile 18. he had been trailing me but within eyesight for about a mile, but i forgot to keep track of him for another mile, and he fell off from me. i didn't see him again, and i was afraid he had passed me without me noticing. but he was shortly behind me, finishing in 4:46.

we were both in pain. it took me a long time to make it to the car. we would walk and stop. i had to sit down a lot. john told me that he would walk about 20 steps and then sit down. at this point in the day, after largely laying around on the couch, i am feeling much better. i'm still quite sore, but it doesn't hurt to move, stand up, sit down, and i'm not getting any spontaneous cramps.

i'd also like to congratulate amy chu, another co-worker, who finished in 4:29, and jamie shinko, another church friend who ran the third leg in the relay. i assume she finished and feels amazing about it. she usually doesn't run much farther than 2 miles, so to run a 6 mile leg was quite an accomplishment for her. it reminds me of the first (and only) competetive 10k i ran. previous to that, i was working really hard to run 3 miles consistently.

i also ran into a former colleague, erez. he called out, "is it you?" to me as he was running past. i think i have lost a fair amount of weight since the last time i saw him. this was around the 4:10 mark. he said he was having knee pain and should have finished 90 minutes earlier. but i was glad he didn't so that we had a chance to see each other again.

so congratulations to john, dave, amy, jamie, and erez. and for whomever is reading this, thanks for following my path to this race.

robb.

GREAT weather (how embarrassing).

2008-10-16T10:02:00.001-07:00

it looks like the weather is going to be phenomenal on sunday. the overnight low is 45, and the high is 62, meaning the bulk of the race will be in the mid 50s. partly cloudy, and chance of rain is 20%. this is perfect running weather.

*****

why 6053? because it's my bib number. or so i thought.

i guess i had the dumb when i created this blog, because i checked my registration email, and it clearly says my bib number is 6350. how i got 6053 is kind of beyond me. but i'm glad i didn't get custom sunglasses with 6053 etched in the lenses.

*****

i finished my last training run today at lunch. we did a very easy 2 miles. now i wait (and eat) until sunday morning.

you can follow my progress with either my last name (zimmerman) or my bib number (6350) at http://www.detroitmarathon.com.

robb.

robb.

6 days (carb up).

2008-10-13T05:14:00.000-07:00

i woke up this morning and had a big bowl of brown rice with soy sauce and green chili chutney. (for the uninitiated, green chili chutney is a very spicy green chili paste used in indian cooking. it rivals sriracha vietnamese hot sauce for its flavor and hotness.) i will be eating a metric shit ton of rice and pasta this week, in a time-honored practice called "carbo-loading."

essentially, i am trying to cram as much carbohydrate energy into my body as possible so that i can be stored in my muscles as glycogen. the more glycogen, the farther i can run without pain. it's probably time for me to re-read the chapter in "martahon" about the week before the race. that is where i'm drawing this wisdom from.

i did another fast, compact 15 miles on the bike yesterday. every good week of training was preceed by a sunday bike ride.

the weather this weekend is going to be absolutely amazing. saturday is sunny with a high of 55. we're going to see msu v. osu in east lansing. it will be cool and comfortable pre-game, and get a comfortably fall chilly as the game wears on. sunday is partly cloudy and high of 57 with a 10% chance of rain. the temperature at race start will be in the low 40s. this is about perfect running weather. i can wear shorts and a longsleeve shirt for the whole race without much issues at either end.

and i will keep telling myself, "i can do it, i can do it, i can do it."

robb.

no rest for the weary.

2008-10-11T07:30:00.000-07:00

i went running with my friend, dave, from church. the last time i ran with dave was in july, when i first ran 10 miles. it was a difficult run for me, and we finished in 1:45, which is a 10:18 pace. we only ran 8 miles today, but his watch charted us at a 9:07 pace, with our fastest mile at 8:40 (mile 7) and the slowest at 9:28. our last two miles were 8:40 and 8:45 pace.

it's funny because we agreed beforehand to go slow. i thought we were going closer to 10:00, but it felt fine, so we stuck with it. i don't think i'll go that fast for the race. but it seems increasingly realistic to beat a 10:00 pace. dave is hoping to beat 4 hours, which is close to 9:00 per mile. (9:00 works out to 3:55:48.) if i run at my 20 mile pace, i'll finish in 4:17:28.

my left arch is a little sore, but i'm going to ice it for the rest of the morning. (and by that, i mean i'll alternate 20 minutes ice, 20 minutes without. i will not be all ice, all the time for another hour.) i took last thursday off to give it rest. now that i know it's a real issue, hopefully all i need to do is ice it, and it won't be a problem for the race.

8 more days. i'm starting to get restless. i can really feel the difference in the decreased mileage the last two weeks. i have a lot of extra energy, and i'm getting very motivated for the race. i'm going to be a little ball of energy next week. we're going to msu v. osu in east lansing, so in addition to the game excitement, i'll be completely coiled for the race, too.

8 more days. 8 more miles.

robb.

running in the cold.

2008-10-07T09:04:00.000-07:00

i think the jetstream has a calendar. in the week preceding october 1, the high temperatures were 79, 75, 68, 72, 63, 62. since october 1, the high temperatures have been 54, 56, 53, 55, 59, 58. considering that my 12 mile run was up north on saturday morning (low of 32), i had to switch very quickly from running in a t-shirt and sweating on 30th to running in long sleeves and still being very chilled.

i did a fair amount of running last winter in sub-freezing, snow on the ground and ice on the sidewalks conditions. i have a cross-country skiing jacket that is great for running in these conditions. but i don't remember having so many issues with keeping comfortable in these conditions in the past.

my sister-in-law got me a wonderful longsleeve running shirt last christmas, and as soon as i signed up, i planned to use it for the race. now i'm not sure it will be warm enough. i have also tried double-layering my warm weather compression longsleeve with a shortsleeve warm weather shirt.

i will be wearing that today (currently 60) and see how it goes. if i feel ok today (and saturday, therefore, was colder than i realized or would expect the race to be), i should be fine.

robb.

fighting the sense of accomplishment.

2008-10-06T15:07:00.000-07:00

saturday was sobering.

all last week, after i had my massage, running wasn't as easy as i might have hoped. i don't know if it was because i didn't spend nearly the time on the bike on sunday as i should have, or if the massage helped alleviate even more pain after my peak training week. (perhaps the massage made it worse; i don't know.) but it wasn't easy like i had expected the decreasing distance to be.

to make matters worse, i never committed to saturday's 12 mile run like i should have. in many respects, it was very much like my 14 mile run -- the course was a straight line from start to finish and it was a lot harder than i would have thought. i felt like i had been running forever, and i looked at my watch to see 46 minutes had passes.

so i ended up walking some stretches between 10 miles and the end. i still finished under a 10:00 pace, but i had run the first 7 miles at a 9:00 pace, so i slowed considerably.

to fix this, i got out on the bike for a strong 49:00 minutes, covering about 13 miles. it is not the longest i've gone, but i should be tapering back my cross training at this point, too, and i put a lot of energy into it. in the past, my best weeks have come after a good bike ride on sunday. so expect this week to feel a lot better.

and it should, not only because my mileage decreases drastically this week (21 miles total), but also because i am under two weeks to the race. i think it was a good reality check to have a bad run on saturday, because my biggest concern was feeling too much like i had already accomplished my goal after running 20 miles. and the fear of another run like saturday's will hopefully keep me focused in the last two weeks before the race.

a short 4 miles tomorrow. i will try to go at lunch, as sarah and i may be laying grass seed and mulch tomorrow evening before the sun goes down.

robb.

i am officially on the backslope towards the race!

2008-09-30T11:03:00.000-07:00

the internet connection at my in-laws was not working for some reason unbeknownst to me, so i was unable to write about saturday's run over the weekend.

somewhere about 16 miles, i couldn't help but think about what i was going to post. in my head, it sounded something like this: "i killed it. i stepped up and slayed it." about the 18th mile, though, i encountered a difficult hill that was far more traumatic than i thought. and then when i took me longer to reach 36th street than i had expected, i kind of broke down a little and walked for 45 seconds.

but in the end, i finished in 3 hours and 17 minutes (9:51), which was three minutes faster than i had reasonably hoped to finish. if i had run at my 18 mile pace (10:13), i would have finished over 7 minutes later than i did. this is progress, and it is far better than i had expected. and i had no pain like i did for the last couple miles of my 18 mile run.

shortly after i finished, i had a thought that i never wanted to run that far ever again, but after encouragement from my wife, mom, and in-laws, i am confident i'll feel as fine as anyone could after running 26 miles 385 yards. my mom, especially, helped. she told me that she had absolutely no doubt in her mind that i would finish the race. barring the bizarre, she's probably right.

*****

john and i set out to run 5 miles and stop at subway for lunch today. it ended up being almost 6 miles, and we finished around 53 minutes (i forgot to stop my timer), which is about 9:20 per mile. i am supposed to run 8 tomorrow evening, and then only 4 on thursday. my mileage is decreasing! i'm starting to conserve energy for the race.

*****

sarah has asked me to figure out how far i've run through the course of training thus far. she has (and i have, really) been struggling to grasp the sheer distances i've run. even though i was awake for, and can remember the entirety of, my 20 mile run on saturday, it's still difficult to really appreciate how far that is to run all at once. and combined with three mid-week runs of 5, 10, and 5 miles, i ran 40 miles last week. that is most of the way from my parents' house to my former dorm at michigan state, and hour's drive away.

so i just did a quick calculation including today, and i have run 368 miles since commencing my training on june 17. by the time i have run the race, i will have run 449.2 miles. that is the equivalent of running from my house to marquette, MI in the upper penninsula. it would put me about 60 miles shy of ottawa, ON, the national capital of canada. i'd be about 20 miles past madison, WI or 30 miles past of elizabethtown, KY, an easy mid-way point for my parents' drive down to visit us in meridian, MS.

it's hard to imagine.

robb.

10 miles. 93 minutes.

2008-09-24T18:44:00.001-07:00

i cut a minute (!) off my first ten mile time. i took energy beforehand, and that seems to make all the difference. i felt great the whole way; i felt strong, and i felt comfortable. and i wasn't worn out at the end. my legs feel great.

i am taking bagels to work tomorrow morning. i think i will eat two. and it's birthday cake day. and it's jeans day.

robb.

this is a big week.

2008-09-24T10:18:00.000-07:00

this week is my peak in training. i run my longest run on saturday, 20 miles. i started with a good 5 mile run at lunch yesterday with john. my legs felt great because i got out on the bike on sunday. i did an hour and a half through royal oak, birmingham, southfield, and berkley.

i have 10 miles tonight. i think i will replicate my first 10 mile run.

one thing that i was thinking about regarding my performance in last week's 9 mile run and last saturday's 14 mile run was that i didn't take energy *before* the run. i have no plans to take energy during the run tonight, but i will be eating a package of honey stinger chews beforehand to fuel my run. the times i've run the best, i've taken energy before starting, and then as needed during the course of the run.

i'm still a little intimidated by the 20 mile run, but my confidence is growing. since my legs felt great yesterday and feel good so far today, i am not as worried about it. we'll see how i feel tomorrow during my run, but maybe i'll survive it with a little less pain than i expect.

today's run will be the barometer.

robb.

ack.

2008-09-19T09:25:00.000-07:00

google earth, my best friend in the whole wide world, is telling me that my plan tomorrow is actually for 15.5 miles, not 14 like i'd had in my mind. worse, i've been telling people all week that this is my plan. i can't back out now, so this is the plan i've hatched.

i will jog the first half-mile (from my house to cody park) and then walk to 12 mile and main street. this will put me a mile closer to work, a mere 14.5 miles from my destination. at that point i will stretch and relax, and then depart.

victory is mine.

robb.

msu v. ND.

2008-09-18T11:27:00.001-07:00

michigan state is a considerably better team than notre dame.

if i were setting odds for the game, i'd think 8 or 9 points is reasonable. if i were picking straight up, i'd definitely take state. but i have a sneaking suspicion ND will make it much closer. i am simply unable to bring myself to believe that we will beat them that badly on saturday.

i don't know why. this is a team that needed a gift of a goalline turnover by SDSU to win the opener, at home. they also needed six turnovers from a bad UM team in order to win that game. UM and SDSU might be two of the worst teams in college football this year. they are both definitely bottom-third teams. (and it boggles my mind to honestly assess UM at that level. they are *way* worse than i thought they could possibly be this season.)

anyway, i take MSU straight-up, but i'll take ND with the points. i think the final score will be in the realm of 31-24, or maybe as close as 31-27. i'm pretty set on MSU scoring a special teams or defensive touchdown. and ringer definitely gets his two.

go green!

robb.

stiff legs/looking ahead.

2008-09-18T11:27:00.000-07:00

i did 5 miles on tuesday in 42:42 (8:33). this is way faster than i need to be going at this point in my training. and i paid for it last night. not that i felt bad during my 9.23 mile run in 93 minutes (10:05), but my legs have been sore since i finished including all of today. i'm glad i only have 5 miles to run tonight. it was a little warm last night, and i was trying to run to a pulse of 140. it was very difficult, and part of the reason why i ran so slow. since i wasn't taking an water or energy for the run, though, i thought it would be better to go slow and conserve energy. i'm not proving anything to myself or anyone else by going faster.

and i don't want to overtrain. this is a step-back week, so why would i waste the rest my body needs by going fast?

*****

i got curious today and looked into possible 20 mile courses for next weekend in grand rapids. it turns out the distance is too far to simply embellish the runs i have done from my parents' house before. so i had to go in a largely different direction -- the unsettled east towards lowell.

this will be good as these roads are not often travelled, and they should be reasonably empty and safe on a saturday morning. it's so remote i couldn't use google earth, so i created a personalized map in google maps. (zoom in on the map to see the course. it's 20 miles exactly.)

View Larger Map

i'm already mentally preparing.

robb.

we don't know.

2008-09-15T05:01:00.000-07:00

i got a late start on saturday morning. and it took me all of the three hours i expected it might. but i finished my 18 mile run, and i wasn't in too bad of shape, considering. my left thigh started to get a little sore, and then the muscle above the inside of my left ankle started to hurt. so the last two miles were pretty uncomfortable. but it really didn't hurt bad enough to stop running, and the one time i considered it, i reminded myself that i had 8 more miles to go to finish the race. i finished in 3:04 (10:13), which is a little slower than i had hoped. i think i sped up a little around 10 or 12 miles, and that made the difference.

when i hit the 17 mile marker, i envisioned it as the 25.2 mile point. the last mile was a lot easier, mentally, knowing that i was coming to the end of a grueling run. but it is sobering to think that in two weeks i will run my longest training run, and that i will still be 6.2 miles short of the total distance. that's an entire hour at my marathon pace. it is not insignificant, even if it is a fractional length of the race.

****

i was telling a friend at work whom i haven't seen in a while about my training. i showed him the schedule of long-runs, starting with 6 miles on june 20. and i was struck by how amazing this training has been. i told him that i had no idea what my body was capable of doing until i did it. i had no idea what i am capable of doing with a good plan and some applied effort. i'd like to believe i'm reasonably athletic, but i don't think there's anything special about me. i think this thought really applies to everyone. so i'll say it again.

we have no idea what we are capable of doing with a good plan and some applied effort.

i don't know if anyone other than my parents read this blog, but i think it's an important idea to put out into the world. it took me until i was 25 to realize i didn't have to be overweight. it took me until i was 25 to reach my point where i couldn't continue lying to myself about my weight, my appearance, and how i eat. it took me until i was 25 to overcome family influence and habit. it took me until i was 25 to have the discipline to do what is right without making excuses.

in that respect, i suppose this training is a microcosm of what i've already been able to accomplish in my life. at the same time, it feels bigger and greater. i'm never finished. there is always more i can do, always more i should do. now that i've established a new paradigm for living, i'm exploring the limit. i suspect i'm nowhere near my peak, and in that respect, i'm still at the beginning.

i have no idea what i'm capable of doing.

for that reason, i have to keep working. and it starts with finishing this marathon.

robb.

2008 course announced.

2008-09-11T05:44:00.000-07:00

download the .pdf here.

disappointingly, due to the construction on I-75, i won't be able to run through mexicantown. but the bridge and tunnel border crossings are still there, as is the run around belle isle.

robb.

i can't eat enough.

2008-09-10T19:05:00.000-07:00

i did 9 miles tonight after work. my pace wasn't extremely fast (1:24/9:17), but it was pretty reasonable considering i didn't really feel up to it all day. i felt fresh at the end of the run, but i didn't have to stop to walk at any point. so it was a new personal best for distance without stopping.

i also realized how hard it is to eat enough while training. i have 18 miles to run on saturday, so i'm trying to carbo-load for that. and yet, today i felt full all day, like i had eaten a lot, but i'm not sure i ate enough. i had 2 eggs, 2 pieces of low-calorie toast, some butter, and a bowl of cereal for breakfast. this is a lot, about 13 weight watchers points (which is roughly 1,300 calories). for lunch i had a footlong veggie sub at subway (9 points) with a bag of chips (4 points) for another 1,000 calories. according to weight watchers, i should be eating 22 to 27 points a day in order to lose weight.

running burns about 100 calories per mile. factoring in my weight and pace, according to one calculator i burned another 1,300 calories. that is another large meal. i had a brownie this afternoon, for about 300 calories, and a 390 calorie energy bar after my run. that means i had to eat another 500 calories tonight or risk eating too little and starving my body.

it's actually difficult. it can be fun eaing virtually whatever and whenever i want, but it can also be hard to keep eating when i'm used to stopping. (and i know it'll be hard to slow back down when i'm recovering from the race.)

i'm not as concerned about 18 miles on saturday, since i felt so fresh today and last saturday. i hope it's not too hard, because i have a line on tickets to the msu game saturday at noon. 5 miles at lunch tomorrow, and then rest and eating lots of rice on friday.

robb.

4 more miles today.

2008-09-09T12:48:00.000-07:00

i ran 4 miles today. it was kind of easy, though i was feeling light-headed at the beginning. it comes with the territory of running at lunch.

i ran 12 miles with my friend, john, last saturday. he got the crazy-fool notion that he should run the capital city river run half-marathon in lansing on september 28. so we devised a plan for his last three weeks of training, and his longest pre-race run coincided with my 12-mile step-back week. we finished in 1:53 (9:25), taking energy at 6 miles. the course was mostly dirt roads, and included some cows and a few dogs as spectators. john lives between fowlerville and webberville, east of lansing, near I-96. it gets pretty remote less than a mile from the exit.

for the first time in a few weeks, i also got out on the bike sunday. it was great. i was out for about an hour and twenty minutes. i don't know exactly how long, because i stopped my watch at a red light and neglected to restart it. so it was frozen at 40 minutes for some time. it had to ahve been longer than my 14 mile ride, though, because i went farther north and had to backtrack to get west. i kind-of lost my way a little bit in beverly hills, too.

the end result, though, is that my legs feel fine, which is good. i have 9 miles tomorrow and 5 more on thursday before saturday's big 18 mile run. i am doing my long runs around 6am, since that is when the race will begin. i'll be crawling out of bed saturday around 5am or 5:30am. i have to be done before state's noon game against FAU.

robb.

19 miles of northern california.

2008-09-04T12:22:00.001-07:00

in chronological order, here are the maps of the running i did on vacation. while i ended up skipping my 16 mile run, i am pretty pleased that i ran 19 miles during the week long vacation.

monday, 25 august.

wednesday, 27 august:

thursday, 28 august:

saturday, 30 august:

robb.

a personal best.

2008-09-03T19:00:00.000-07:00

i did an 8 mile run today. this is noteworthy because it's the longest i've ever run without stopping to walk, whether for traffic or for energy and hydration or for any other reason. for this alone i'd be very proud, but i guess the hills in san francisco did me well, because i also ran at an 8:42 pace for a total time of 67 minutes. this is very fast for me for this distance, and my pulse was pretty manageable the whole time. i wasn't strictly at 150bpm, so i will have to take it easy during tomorrow's 5 mile run, but i wasn't at 170 most of the way, either.

this was my course:

google earth on sarah's laptop was on the fritz while we were in california, so i wasn't able to chart my running courses there. i will probably do so retroactively and post them tomorrow (or, at least, soon).

i am running 12 miles saturday, and then 18 miles comes down like a hammer on the 13th.

robb.

a slight adjustment.

2008-09-02T06:14:00.000-07:00

i decided i won't do my 16 mile run. i would rather focus on running the week 12 schedule including a 12 mile run this weekend than try to force in a 16 mile run some time while still trying to "step back" this week. running near 40 miles (16 + 12 + 17 scheduled mid-week miles = 43 miles) in a week is not a step back for me, but more aggressive than my schedule calls for at any point during training.

so while i'm disappointed i won't be running to work this week, it'll be a good rest for my legs for the 18 mile run i'm scheduled to do on september 13.

i'm doing 4 miles at lunch today.

robb.

perseverance (in san francisco).

2008-08-28T20:17:00.000-07:00

nevermind that i'm on vacation. i ran 7.5 miles in san francisco this evening. the city is known for its hills, and they worked me over pretty good. nevertheless, i ran a 10:00 pace over this course.

this is how my training has worked while on vacation. last friday was my very difficult 15 mile run. saturday was a travel day, and then we did a 2.5 mile loop through muir woods in marin county. i took sunday off, as well, because we were eating lunch at the french laundry. why take the whole day just for lunch? because lunch took us four and a half hours. i had the vegetable tasting menu, in all its 9 course glory.

i got up early monday morning and ran 1.5 miles into the west foothills of the napa valley, and then i ran 1.5 miles back. i think i took it easy and managed a 9-ish pace. i took tuesday off, because we had a coupe winery tours and went to santa rosa to buy a new digital camera.

wendesday, i ran across the napa valley to silverado trail and back, 4 miles in 32:20 (8:05). that evening we drove into the city. today we woke up early for a tour of angel island and alcatraz. then we wandered around pier 39 and up through the city back to the hotel. after spending the whole day psyching myself up quietly and mentally preparing for a physically draining run after a long day, i got dressed and got out and ran.

and i feel great. which is not to say there weren't a couple times i wanted to quit running and walk back, but i had to laugh at myself, considering how i've felt in some of my previous runs. hills or not, i know i can run through a little discomfort. i've gotten soft this week. it is definitely getting harder to run day in and day out, but i know i can do it. so i have to do it.

i'm glad i did today.

robb.

the hardest thing i've ever done.

2008-08-22T21:32:00.000-07:00

i drank water and fluids all day today. i drank water before i went out to run. i carried a 500mL water bottle with me for the first 6 miles. i drank another 20oz. of water at my first energy and hydration break. i carried [i]another[/i] 500mL water bottle for the second 6 miles. and i had yet more water at my second break.

and then my body broke done, likely due to dehydration. not only could i not run, i could barely walk. for three miles. my feet hurt, my thighs hurt, my back was starting to hurt, my sides hurt. it took me over 3 hours to finish 15 miles, and it took everything i have to finish. but i did finish, and since it was near 90 degrees and rather humid when the run began, i guess that's all i can ask for. the weird part is that i kept my pulse around 150-155 most of the time. it wasn't like i worked to hard or asked more of my body than i have been.

but i am strangely not discouraged. i took two advil after i showered, so i am not that sore, and i don't expect to be sore for long. i am sure the disappointing result is a confluence of strange factors that are largely beyond my control. i wasn't exactly feeling fresh after 12 miles, but it wasn't traumatic. just like my 13 mile run two weeks ago, the last 3 miles are just entirely different than the first two laps. the difference is that i was already hurting before the end of my second lap tonight.

anyway, we're flying to california tomorrow. that will be perfect for my legs -- no movement, just sitting still and getting all stiff and not working. but i am going to eat great food, see beatiful sights, and watch msu own all over cal. and i'm going to run while i'm there. at this rate, though, i will be more than happy to postpone my 16 mile run until i come back.

robb.

deviation (from the schedule).

2008-08-20T16:11:00.000-07:00

we're going to california on saturday, so for the first time i have to deviate from the training plan i've been following since june. i am supposed to run 3, 7, and 4 miles this week and 15 miles on saturday. instead i have run4 and 7 miles, and i'm taking tomorrow off in anticipation of a 15 mile run friday after work.

i did 7 miles today in 65 minutes. my legs were pretty stiff the whole time. it wasn't awful, but it wasn't as comfortable as last week. i didn't really cross train last sunday, because we had guests from out of town. apparently walking around the detroit zoo isn't considered cross training.

i'm taking tomorrow off, and then 15 miles. i'm a little worried about it, if my legs still feel this stiff. but at the same time, i'm also considering doing 16 miles, so that i can experiment with taking energy at 6 mile intervals instead of the 5 mile intervals i have been doing.

robb.

it's only 10 miles.

2008-08-18T08:16:00.000-07:00

my long run this week was 10 miles; it's a step back week. but the fun part about it is that going into it, i know i can run 10 miles. and i know it isn't that taxing any more if i do it right. and i know how to do it right. so i wasn't worried. the paradigm shift is the most amazing part. two months ago, 10 miles was an impossibly long run. i could never run that far. now it's pretty easy and doesn't take a special amount of effort. compared to my first 10 miler a month ago, in which i hit the proverbial wall and finished at a 10:18 pace, the progress is remarkable.

i ran with my heart rate monitor and kept my HR around 155 for the whole run. i took energy and water at 5 miles. and i felt good enough at the end to kick it up a little, and i finished at a 9:30 pace (1:35 total time).

to make the water and energy stop easier, i ran two laps of my 5 mile loop and left water and energy chews on my front porch. the loop includes about a half mile of woodward, between vinsetta and 11 mile. and it also happens that saturday was the dream cruise, a lineup of vintage and classic cars, from old sedans to 70s detroit muscle. (it is a curse on my existence.) the sidewalks were very crowded and unsuitable for running, so i ended up running on the street, with traffic, passing all these cars. i'm sure the spectators thought i was some kind of vain prick for doing it. and while i enjoyed knowing that i was running comfortably in mile 8 of 10 in front of all those people, it was mostly fun to run faster than cars on the street.

i can't believe i leave for california on saturday! currently my plan is to take today off and run tuesday and wednesday per the schedule (3 miles and 7 miles), and then take thursday off and do the long run friday after work. i think it'll be tough to do 15 miles after work like that, but maybe i can enlist family help instead of running three laps.

robb.

sarah graduated!

2008-08-18T07:54:00.000-07:00

congratulations to my wife, sarah, who graduated from the university of detroit-mercy (UDM) with an MS from their PA program. we went to a ceremony on friday night. she has only to pass her boards in three weeks before she begins work and is every bit a professional PA. UDM is a great school and has the best program in the state. her new job in general surgery is incredibly exciting and fascinating. i am so proud just being a part of her achieving her dreams.

robb.

don't overtrain!

2008-08-13T19:25:00.001-07:00

i am just about done with "marathon," hal higdon's book on marathon training. one of the most consistent themes in the book is not to overtrain. don't work so hard in trying to achieve a specific speed or time. it is better to start the race undertrained than overtrained.

and i have been heeding his advice. for much of the first six weeks of training, i have been running to a 165 bpm heart rate. i have found this to be where i consistently ran my regular 4 mile loop. after struggling with my 10 mile run, along with reading this book, i started to rethink this plan. when i ran my first 13 mile run, i decided to run to 155 bpm. whenever my heart rate goes above 160 bpm, i know i need to slow down, and if it drops below 150, i can speed up safely.

because i had struggled at the end of last saturday's 13 mile run -- without my heart rate monitor or a watch -- i decided to take it really easy on my 3 mile tuesday run. my friend, john, was also planning on doing a triathlon today, so he wanted to take it easy yesterday, too. we ran 3 miles in over 10 minutes per mile. my heart rate didn't go above 150 bpm until we ran across 12 mile road at the end of the run. it was great and my legs felt fresh.

the best part happened today. my scheduled run is for 7 miles, which used to sound like a really long distance, but now is pretty manageable. armed with my hrm, i set out at a comfortable pace, aiming to keep my heart rate at 155 bpm. with a little over a mile left, i was feeling good enough to speed up, but my heart rate didn't sustainable get above 160 bpm. i got home in 64 minutes, good for a 9:00 pace. contrast that with my 64 minute run two and a half weeks ago up north, where i ran to a 160 to 165 bpm heart rate. today's distance was actually 0.12 miles longer, with a slower, more sustainable heart rate, but in the same amount of time. i actually got faster over a couple weeks by 8 seconds per mile! all because i decided to take it easy.

the lesson learned is don't overtrain. it doesn't make you faster, it only makes you tired. no wonder i felt like i was getting sloweryear after year.

robb.

another week already?

2008-08-09T21:04:00.000-07:00

i finished a 13.25 mile run today, emphasis on finishing. i experimented again with energy, this time with apple pie flavored clif shot get at 5miles and 10miles. i'm home this weekend, so to do this i ran my five5 mile loop twice and finished with my 3.25 mile loop.

i don't know what happened, though. i felt fine at both 5 and 10 miles, but just shy of mile 11, i couldn't run anymore. i can't imagine it was energy, and if it were, i would've felt fine after it kicked in. i struggled the rest of the way home and had to force myself to run the last 2/3 mile from 11 mile home.

my only theory is that i was running too hard, since i didn't have my heart rate monitor with me. (i left it at work.) this is entirely possible, so i'm not really discouraged. my legs did and do feel better than last week, so hopefully next week will be easier. i suppose the fact that i was back on concrete and asphalt instead of finely crushed gravel rail-to-trail made a difference, too, though my feet didn't get sore like the end of last week's run. whatever. it's all in the wash now.

i do 10 miles next saturday, which is good because we're having friends stay with us, and it's sarah's graduation. and then i get slapped with 15 miles the following friday (before we leave for california). i will be going slow the next two weeks. i don't want to wear myself out. somewhere between last week and this week, speed just isn't a priority anymore.

ergonomically, i prefer the chews to the gels. i get the gel into my stomach faster, and i've read it digests faster than the chews, but it leaves more of a residue, which leaves my mouth dry. i didn't ever feel like i needed to rinse extra well, but then my dry mouth came out again. next week is a one-packet run, but i'll probably need two the following week. i'm not sure what i'll do about water, but mayabe i'll run past a 7-11 or something.

robb.

half way there. (don't overtrain.)

2008-08-04T05:42:00.001-07:00

i ran 13.2 miles on saturday, which is a mile farther than the training schedule called for. it's also half of the race distance. the important part, though, is that it went great. i had no problems finishing. in fact, when i took water and energy at 7 miles, i was at a pace where i felt like i could run forever.

this was the first time i used energy in a long run, and i think it made all the difference. i ate 5 margarita flavored clif shot blocks at 7 miles, approximately 70 minutes into the run. i also drank 500mL of water, the only water i drank during the run. i had no troubles finishing the last 6 miles, though i believe i could have taken energy earlier -- about 5 or 6 miles -- and maybe twice during the run. my upcoming 15 mile run will give me a better idea of how much and how often i need to take energy. i'm still divided whether i want to use chews like the shot block or if i want to use gel. i've tried both, and i can't say that one is better, though the apple pie flavored gel did taste better.

considering how concerned i was for how the run could go, i couldn't be happier with the results.

i think the biggest reason is that i slowed down. instead of trying to hit a pulse rate between 160 and 165, i stayed slow around 150 to 155. this equated to a 10-minute mile pace rather than a 9-minute mile pace. i'll say it again. at 7 miles, i felt like i could run forever at that pace. perhaps i have been overtraining, or at least pushing too hard. i'll save the speed for the short runs when i feel like it, but i'll be taking it easy for the long runs from now on.

i want to finish the marathon, and i know i won't win it. what's the rush?

robb.

new shoes = tiring.

2008-07-31T11:31:00.000-07:00

i have run the last three days on my new shoes. they feel great -- comfortable, familiar, and much more stable than my old shoes. also, they are great for whatever was causing the occasional pain in my right knee.

but, man, are they making me tired.

they're definitely stiffer than my old shoes, and i think that's prt of the problem. i feel like i'm putting much more energy into every step. it's weird, though, because i am still running at a good pace. last night i did a 10k in 57:44 (9:17) and today i did 3.2 miles in 28:00 (8:45). but i feel fatigued much earlier, even if i can keep running for a long time.

it's leaving me quite apprehensive about my long run on saturday. the schedule calls for 12 miles, but i might run 13. i'll be up north again, and it's 13.2 miles to run from indian river to wolverine and then back to the cabin. i haven't decided if i'll do the half marathon or if i'll give myself some extra walking time back to the cabin. it's a tough choice that i'll likely make some time after turning around in wolverine.

i would be surprised if the fatigue is also due to my lack of cross-training on sunday. i did 7 miles last saturday in respectable 64 minutes, good for a 9:08 pace. i fell asleep that afternoon and still got a lot of sleep that night. i love the cabin. i sleep so well up there.

robb.

it's because i'm lazy.

2008-07-30T10:51:00.000-07:00

i had pretty good running last week, but i didn't post about it. i think you know the reason.

i think the leader is experimenting with energy over the weekend. i had a great 7 mile run along the north central rail trail. it begins in gaylord and ends in mackinaw city. i followed it from the river in indian river to rondo road in wolverine. this weekend i will be doing a similar route, though nearly twice as long. it is 13 miles to go from indian river to wolverine and back to rondo road. i

last week i tried a little energy in my 7 mile trip and it worked well enough that i will have some with me this weekend. i tried some honey stinger chews and a clif shot (apple pie flavor!). this weekend i will be using the clif shot block margarita with salt flavored chews. i will stop to walk at the 7 mile point to take them and some water.

the other good news is that i got some new running shoes. i had bought some new balance shoes in march and immediately started having knee pain on my right knee. i returned those shoes and have been running in my old asics gel nimbus VII. i bought them in 2005 and have run a difficult to estimate number of miles. three years of running in all seasons is a lot of running, and they were starting to show their age. and i happened upon a brand new pair of gel nimbus VIII -- one year later than my VIIs. they feel very familiar and the fit is as perfect as my old ones. so i'm wearing them in all week and saturday will be my first long run with them. i anticipate much happiness is my legs and particularly in my knee.

six miles tonight. i haven't been timing myself on 3 and 4 mile runs anymore. i probably will tonight. with the heat, i'll guess closer to 60 minutes than 55 minutes. i might even go longer than 60 minutes. it's pretty warm out there.

robb.

the update.

2008-07-21T05:48:00.000-07:00

3 miles last thursday was difficult. my legs were still weak, and it was still hot. i ran at lunch, because i wanted to rest as much as possible for saturday's run.

i ran 10 miles through royal oak with a new friend from church. dave ran the dexter ann arbor half marathon in june. it was nice to have a partner to run with. the path was really fun, too. i set it up for us to run past the zoo and rackham golf course and finish by running the length of vinsetta blvd. my goal was to maximize greenspace and minimize major roads. we were on woodward for less than a half mile, and we finished with about a half mile of 12 mile. overall, it was a very relaxed run. we finished in 1:45, which is a 10:18 pace. slower than i expected, but it was really humid and we were carrying water.

regardless, my primary goal is to finish the race. i have tempted myself to run for a 10 minute pace, or even faster, maybe finishing under 4 hours. but the realistic goal is to cross the finish line, even if it takes 6 hours.

and i learned a few things. whereas i felt strong toward the end of my 9 mile run, i started to get fatigued towards the end of this run. i need to buy energy gels and experiment with energy and hydration more the next couple weeks. fortunately i'm only doing 7 miles on saturday, and i'll be up north, which is always good running.

i also got out on the bike yesterday for cross training. i feel great today, and i think waiting until monday to cross-train was a mistake and the primary reason why my legs were so tired last week.

i am finding more and more that i love being on a bike. sarah and i went to downtown royal oak to find her a dress for graduation. (she found a dress that is a bit of a departure for her, but it is very sexy and stylish.) we have been commuting locally by bicycle a lot lately, to the point where we crave being on the bike. it's great time together, and it's really fun. i also got out into the city last thursday with my friend, brandon. he lives in a loft on woodward, just north of campus martius park. we went to corktown to see the ongoing demolition of tigers stadium and then took the river walk to the dequindre cut before heading home. i love the city.

robb.

heat + fatigue = no fun.

2008-07-17T05:27:00.000-07:00

agh. that was the worst last night. my legs were tired before i began. and while it wasn't mississippi hot or austin hot, it was hot enough (over 90F), especially considering how relatively cool this summer has been (low to mid 70s on sunday, for example).

i gutted through it and finished under a 10 minute pace, but it was not enjoyable for any amount of time. i had a hell of time controlling pulse. there were a couple points where i couldn't slow down any more.

i drank a gallon of water yesterday, a quart of which was divided evenly between the hour before the run and immediately after the run. and i still think under-hydration had an effect on my pulse.

gah.

robb.

do not want.

2008-07-16T08:08:00.000-07:00

today is the first training day where i really don't feel like running. it's not that i'm hurting, i just feel kind of lazy. so while i originally was going to crow about running 3.45 miles yesterday in 27:29 (7:58), now i think that's part of why i don't feel like it. also, i didn't cross train until monday, when i swam at lunch, so today will be my third day in a row.

do not overtrain, kids. looks like i will have to take it easy tonight and tomorrow, or my 10 mile run saturday will be full of fail.

robb.

i didn't think it would go that way.

2008-07-14T05:14:00.001-07:00

i got up at 7 saturday morning to eat breakfast in anticipation of a 9am run. it began to rain aroudn quarter to 9. and then it started raining harder. and the forecast called for rain all day, with strong storms in the after.

forget it. i'm running on sunday, and i'm going to eat some more.

a half hour later the rains started to let up, and it was sunny by noon. and the sun stayed all day. so i changed my afternoon plans and ran. i started around 4:30, and it took me 1:29:05 to run this path:

it is 8.8 miles long, and i had to walk for 10 minutes at 5.25 miles due to some knee pain. my first mile was in 9 minutes, which is a full minute faster than i had expected to run, but a pace which was largely sustainable, considering i was able to finish 9 miles in 90 minutes including 10 minutes of walking.

the weird thing was that while i was finishing my run, i saw a girl i had gone to high school with and hadn't seen or really thought about since. she and her sister were walking their dad's dog. we ended up walking nearly a mile back to 30th street and back together, just catching up. it must have been quite some time, because my dad had gone out in the car to look for me and make sure i wasn't writhing in pain along the path.

i apologized profusely, appreciative for his concern and active pursuit of my health and safety. he commented again that when he gave me water (around 4 miles) i looked very much in control with my effort and breathing, so he didn't expect me to be injured.

despite having to walk, i am very optimistic. i ran well faster than i had expected, and it seems running longer distances, for me, is simply a matter of doing. i have never run 9 miles before, but i didn't feel any worse after 9 miles than i do after 6 miles. what i am reading seems to indicate this is how it should be up to 20 miles. so that is good to see correlation.

*****

i got home to a voicemail from my guitar player saying he wanted to talk about some "band shit." i could guess what that meant. i called him back and he informed me that i was being dismissed from the band. it wasn't because i wasn't a good enough player, or that i was a bad person, but just that i wasn't fitting in with the band socially as well as they would have liked. apparently there have been some awkward moments that are just no acceptable.

i can trace it to three things. back in march they finally figured out that i don't drink alcohol. it wasn't a big deal, but i can see how that can add up over time. more recently, after i returned from amsterdam, i had mentioned that i was there, and when asked why, i said it was a service trip with church. i never actually used the word, "mission," but apparently they got the point. and i think justifying event was the last rehearsal that i was at. i hadn't gotten enough sleep over the weekend, i had had a long day at work, and practice started later than usual. it was nearing midnight and i was really exhausted. i was falling asleep during intervals between playing, and i wasn't very active while playing.

i was disappointed, but i wasn't entirely surprised.

robb.

learned it yesterday, applied it today.

2008-07-10T20:24:00.000-07:00

so i ran with my friend from work, John, at lunch yesterday. for the first time during training, a mid-week run was more than 3 miles. so we did a 3.85 mile loop that starts and ends across the street from work.

i felt like i was holding him back, like my natural pace was slower than he wanted to go. but i pushed myself and kept up. and then when we got to the last corner, a quarter mile from the end, i decided to push myself and run hard to the end. i ended up finished in 35:54, which is an 8:48 pace. but apart from having pushed myself, i realized i had a lot more energy at the end than i thought i would. i realized that i could have been pushing myself harder throughout the rest of the run and finished much faster overall.

so i went out for a 3.25 mile loop this evening. i ate a large lunch, so i kind of felt like taking it easy. but i started rather quickly and decided to stick with it, pushing myself. i finished the first mile at 7:41. the second mile was at 15:32 (7:51). my final time was 24:47, for a total pace of 7:55. i nearly died during my first run at a 7:54 pace for barely more than a mile.

there is a lot more inside me, and i can push myself harder than i thought. i will be a lot more diligent about interval training on tuesdays now. it will be interesting to see my pace for the nine mile run. i am going to try monitoring only my heart rate during the run, and not peeking at time. i don't know where the mile markers are, anyway, so i guess it doesn't matter. but i wonder if my pace will improve for the long runs, too.

my friend from work, Amy, ran the chicago marathon five or so years ago. she said her training pace was pretty much her racing pace. so i am definitely in line to finish at a 10:00 pace. we'll see if that improves as training progresses.

but my confidence for saturday's run is very high. i will be very conscientious about eating tomorrow to prepare for it. the weekend runs are getting long enough that i have to worry about nutrition beforehand as well as hydration during. soon enough i will also have to worry about energy during the run. i'm not sure what i will do about it, but i think i may try solid food first. i've heard too many horror stories of bad GI reactions to energy gels.

robb.

bike maintenance + the benefit of HRM.

2008-07-08T05:33:00.000-07:00

5 miles was pretty manageable on saturday. and i was diligent on sunday. i did 13 miles on my bike between church and going to see the dirty dozen brass band down at cityfest. while cycling, i felt like i was doing a pretty good job of working hard until i glanced at the heart rate monitor (HRM) my father-in-law bought me for christmas. i've been using it while running, so i know what i'm capable of in terms of heart rate and exertion. the HRM told me that i could be working harder at the bike, and it was right. i wasn't extra tired or working harder than i could to increase my heart rate. the result was that i completed the 13 miles in 45 minutes. apparently that's pretty respectable. i am already mentally preparing for my 9 mile run on saturday. it will begin at my parents' house and end near my in-laws' house. just like the 7 mile run, i am shocked the route is only that distance. for all the times i've driven these streets in my life, i can't believe the distance is only 9 miles and not, like, 80.

this week is 3 miles today, 4 miles tomorrow, and 3 miles thursday. i need to go out and buy a book about nutrition for marathon training. i have already noticed how much more i eat while training. it will be interesting when i get into the distance stuff how i will eat. i will also have to figure out what to do about eating during the race. i'm suddenly at distances where this stuff matters.

robb.

it's been a good week.

2008-07-03T17:38:00.000-07:00

i was lazy on sunday and didn't cross train. so i got out on my new bike (1997 giant kronos road bike) at lunch on monday and did 8.25 miles. i have no idea how long it took me.

i ran at lunch on tuesday and did 3.45 miles in 29:15 (8:27). it felt pretty good to push hard. my calves were feeling fine after last week's punishment in the fivefingers (or gloves, as my co-worker and friend, John, calls them). they were feeling so fine that i decided to run in the glvoes wednesday after work. but i wanted to be able to walk afterward, so i ran the first mile and a quarter, then walked a mile, and then ran the last mile. also, i picked up a pair of toe socks at REI to alleviate the blister issues i had the first time. problem solved.

i didn't realize i was feeling so good today, or maybe i turned a corner. people who use the fivefingers say they make you faster. i finished today's 3.25 mile run in conventional shoes in 26:54 (8:17). this is not monumental, obviously, but considering last week i was running over 8:30, i feel very pleased with my progress. i would like to continue using the fivefingers as much as possible in my training. if possible, i would like to run the race in them, but i won't push too hard for that. i have to work my legs and my feet into shape first, and i don't know if my strength will catch up to my distance training.

five miles on saturday. that's pretty manageable. next week will be a long run, and i'd like to do some interval training mid-week, too. we'll see how that goes.

robb.

strangers like my band.

2008-06-30T05:22:00.000-07:00

my band had another show last friday night. it went well, and apparently a detroit music blogger agreed. i am very excited that we are going to record a full-length album this summer. that should help us in the future. maybe we should print some shirts for our, no doubt, imminent fall US and european tour.

as a side note, nashville was great a little over a week ago. i saw more hawaiian shirts than i care to see for the rest of my life. i don't know why guys who thought they were cool in the 70s and 80s because they played guitar now have to have long, stringy grey hair and wear hawaiian shirts. these are the same fashion disasters who make fun of emo kids today. seriously.

robb.

7 miles.

2008-06-30T05:02:00.001-07:00

my seven mile run in grand rapids on saturday went better than expected. i finished in 1:10:38 (9:51), which is a minute or two longer than i had hoped, but considering all the hills i don't have in detriot, i'm pretty pleased.

the first thing that i want to do is thank my parents for meeting me at 5 miles and giving me water. that made a huge difference in my ability to finish strong. i really needed the water at that point. and i was glad they could see what distance running looks like for me. i think it is now very real for them and not just something that i talk about.

for those who know the area where i grew up, nearly half of the run was along thornapple river drive, between cascade road and buttrick ave. even though i know it's not even 3 miles, it's still kind of inconceivable to me to run this road. i know how long it takes to drive it, and it feels like a really long distance in my mind. just for that i think the run was a success.

the other thing that has me optimistic is how fresh i felt afterward. i rested for about ten minutes after the run and then stretched, and i was fine for the rest of the day. i tracked my pulse (thanks, steve, for the HRM watch!) throughout the run, and i kept it between 165 and 170 almost the entire time. i did hit 180 at the top of a big hill just over a mile from the finish. but the rest was very manageable.

i didn't cross train yesterday like i was supposed to, but i will be out on the bike today. i'm looking forward to it, though. my new bike is mostly pretty awesome, and it feels like it weighs about half of what my MTB weighs.

robb.

testing, one two...3,4,5.

2008-06-26T18:47:00.000-07:00

i'm surprised how tough my feet are.

i bought these shoes a month ago, and i've been wearing them largely as comfortable sandals replacements. however, the larger goal was to test them as running shoes to see how they work.

i admit it's a bit counterintuitive to take the cushioning and support away from my feet for the extended running that i'll be doing in the next four months. but the ideas behind the shoes made sense when i read them, and i like having shoes that no one else has. it's kind of my thing.

so i began week 2 with a 3 mile run in them on tuesday. it was awesome. and awful. my feet felt great. there was a little rub on the tops of my feet with the straps, and i got a small blister on my left big toe, but those are things that are easily fixed with the toe socks i bought. my feet felt great the whole time, and i ran with a slightly lower pulse for a reasonably fast time of 27:53 (8:30). but i used muscles in my calves that i didn't realize i had. i could barely walk yesterday, and they are still sore today. it didn't help that i did a 3.5 mile run the next day at lunch, or that i did another 3 miles today (27:57, 8:31), both in regular shoes.

the regular shoes felt really spongy and inefficient. and it rained both times. but i'm going to be in them for another week. the good news is i don't have to worry about my feet being more sore than usual, but i will have to find a way to strengthen my calves, or i will have to run the marathon in my normal shoes. gracias por dios tomorrow is a rest day.

i am going to pick up my bike in grand rapids this weekend. this will be instrumental for cross training and a potential triathlon in august. i also get to wish my dad a happy birthday in person. and i will be doing my 7 mile run originating from my parents' house. the route is along a road that i would never -- even as a runner -- have thought i could run the full length of. it's kind of amazing, actually, to think about what this means to me, even though it is a distance i have run before. it feels so much farther in my mind.

and yet i still believe the really hard work won't start until week 7, when i should run 12 miles.

robb.

10k.

2008-06-23T18:05:00.000-07:00

last friday i ran 10k a day ahead of schedule. typically the long run is saturday, but i was in nashville all weekend and didn't want to plan to run there.

my calves were a little sore, but i ran through it. it really wasn't too bad. i kept my heart rate under control until the very end, when i worked a little harder to finish. final time was 59:25 for 6.28 miles, for a 9:28 pace.

this week i'm going to incorporate some interval training. i know i can do more than this. i think i'll do 3 miles tomorrow at a comfortable pace, but wednesday or thursday will be interval.

robb.

worst run ever / best gig ever.

2008-06-18T16:33:00.000-07:00

yesterday i did my first run, 3 miles. i've done this a million times.

so i decided to push my pace and see how fast i could go. i ran the first mile and a third at a 7:54 pace, but i had to stop because i had a horribly painful stitch in my side. it was so bad that i could only run a block or two at a time for the rest of the way. in fact, even walking fast made it noticeable. i finished around an 11:00 pace. and all this for only a 7:54 pace. awful. embarrassing.

but then my band played last night. i think it was the best gig i've ever played. i personally played really well, and the band played really well, too. plus the venue was great and the other bands were really good. additionally, the sound man was one of the most competent and friendly i've ever worked with. if that really was something of an audition for us to play there in the future, we'll be back soon.

today i got back on the horse and ran another 3 mile. (actually, it's a 3.25 mile loop, but whatever.) the first mile i ran at 8:40, which is still oddly slow. the second was around 8:30, and the third split the difference at 8:35. i finished in 27:54. two and a half weeks ago i ran 5k in 27:29 after swimming 400m and biking 16k. i don't know why i could muster 8:52 miles then and only 8:35 today. maybe my lunch at on the border had something to do with it. i'd like to believe it's that and not that i've forgotten how to run.

robb.

training begins today.

2008-06-17T11:40:00.000-07:00

ok, it actually began yesterday, but i dutifully rested on monday according to the training regimen i'm using.

i'm following hal higdon's novice marathon program that my friend jonathan used to successfully run his first marathon last year. every week monday and friday are rest days, with a long run on saturday and cross training on sunday. this week is pretty easy with 3 mile runs tuesday through thursday and a 6 mile run on saturday.

i will be going to summer NAMM in nashville this weekend, so i'm already deviating from plan. i'll be running my 6 miles on friday morning and then relaxing in nashville and hanging out with old friends in the pro audio industry.

tonight i'll do a quick 3 mile run when i get home. my band has a show, so i have to get after it. as my training progresses, i'd like to track how i feel, my weight, and my food and energy strategy for both training and racing. the first few weeks are pretty trivial for me, but i'll be breaking new ground the first full week of july with a 9 mile run.

i have already registered for the 2008 detroit marathon. race day is october 19.

robb.