Hola,

It has been a little over 3 weeks since the Doctor told me I could start running following my broken collar bone.  I have found the desire to run is there but my speed is much slower and my heart rate/effort is greater than before the injury.  I ran ~30 miles the first week back and that I was way too much.  I thought I could go from 0 – pre break mileage without a problem.  That was a mistake I felt a twinge of plantars faciitis in my left foot.  I immediately started more stretching and rolling my foot on a baseball and the twinge has abated.

Week two I put in 20 miles and week three 25 miles.  I think I will hold at 20- 25 miles until I am able to get some speed back.  I will work on creating a solid base then increase the mileage and long runs.  It is clear that I didn’t need to follow the 10% increase rule but return to pre injury distance wasn’t right.  Somewhere in between would have been better.

On April 25^th I was notified I have been selected via lottery to participate in the 2012 NYC Marathon.  This was my third try at the lottery and I hit it big.   On November 4^th I will be joining 40,000 other runners and make our way around NYC.  I am really looking forward to the run.  I have run in NYC and Central Park several times and enjoyed it immensely.  I plan on taking a few days of and enjoying the town before the race.

The training for the marathon starts in earnest following the Peachtree Road Race.  I will be working on speed over the next two months in prep for the P’tree and then transition to distance runs for the marathon.  I am looking at an October marathon as a training run.  The 7 Bridges marathon is only two weeks before the NYC marathon so I am debating running it. 

We will see how the recovery training progresses.  I have learned that the seven week layoff significantly impacted my fitness, which was not a suprise but, my desire to run did not go away.  Now I need to just work on getting back to the  fitness I was at.

I hope everyone has a safe run.

Adios,

Abuelo

C

Hola,

I am back on the road running again.  After a 7 week layoff due to my fall and subsequent broken bones the Doctor has released me to run.   I immediately went over to Outdoor Chattanooga and picked up my race bib and shirt for the Chickamauga Chase.  I went home and laced up my shoes and ran 4 miles in 41 minutes.  I felt pretty good but found it was difficult to breathe.  My legs felt fine, it seem like I had a long layoff.  The run gave me the confidence to run the Chickamauga Chase 15k on Saturday.

I went to the race with a running bud.   On the way over to race I started having second thoughts about trying a 15k and I decided to switch to the 5k.  We got to the race 20 minutes before the start and I didn’t have the time to change.  I set my goal to finish and optimistically was hoping for a 10 min/mile pace.  The weather was great, ~60oF and overcast.  There were ~1600 runners.  I started with the 10 min group and off we went.

The first two miles were slow and crowed and I completed them in 20:30.  The 5k runners split off at 2.3m and it thinned out markedly.   My pace picked and I was able to get into a groove.  I came through 5k at 30min.  I kept a good comfortable pace and watched my HR.  I tried to keep it under 155 bpm.  I got through miles 4 and 5 with no problems and felt really good.  I let my pace and HR sneak up a little and miles 6-8 passed quickly.  At 8.5 my running bud came back to run it in with me, (he finished under 1:10), I pushed the pace to about 9 min with a HR of 170 bpm and finished at 1:28:24.

I was really pleased with the run.  It was a 9:30 pace and I had no problems with my breathing or legs.  I felt really good at the end and still had plenty left in the “tank.”  I am not sure how much faster or farther I could have gone but I ran the race “right”.  I pushed enough but not too much.  I had no pain from my shoulder or rib.

The challenge will be to rebuild my base mileage and restoring my pace.  I don’t know how quickly I can get back to a 30 mile/week.  My mind says I can easily do it but, my body will be protesting.  I have learned that I was able to maintain some fitness even after a 7 week layoff.  I think I lost 15 miles in distance fitness and 1-1.5 minutes/mile. 

I am just glad I am able to run.  I have a lot of work ahead.

Adios,

Abuelo

Hola,

I have completed my 10^th Marathon.  This one revealed a valuable lesson.   Before I get to the lesson here is the recap.  I drove down the Saturday before the race to meet up with good friend @mrhump (Chris H) and head to the expo.  We headed to the expo and picked up our race bags and check out the various booths.  The weather was projected to be cold during the race and I decided to get a pair of tights instead of using loose pants.  The expo wasn’t too bad and I was able to get a pair of tights at the Trax Shak booth.  It looked like many other runners were preparing for the cold and hats, gloves, jackets, and pants were moving like hot cakes.  Chris introduced me to several of his fellow Alabama runners and we had a nice time.  Chris had signed up to run the half but after hearing his friends talk about the full he decided to see if he could switch to it  The director told him he could at no cost.  The race was almost so there was room.  We told him to go for it since he and I had run the Goofy he was trained.   So off he went and switched to the full.  We loaded up and went out and had a great pasta meal and settled in early for good night’s sleep.  The only concern was the weather; the forecast was for high teens and a light wind.  I planned on bundling up.

I have a good sleep and was awaken by a tweet from Chris.  It was 23 degrees with a 5-10 mph wind.  I decided to wear tights, two long sleeve shirts, my marathon maniac singlet, gloves, and hat.  I put a plastic bag on just to stay warm while we waited for the start.  We met up at 6 am and headed to race start for the 7 am start.  When we go to the start point we were able to hang out in the Boutwell auditorium to stay warm.  I met some more of Chris’s running friends and met up with John Twitty (@twittyruns).  It was good seeing him again, we met at the Rocket City marathon in December.  John will be joining us at the Choo Choo Loco.  At 6:45 we wandered out to the corral and the cold started creeping in.  The half had 4000 runners and full 1400.  We started together so the start was a little slow and congested but not bad.  The race started right as scheduled. 

The cold and wind kept me cool and from going out too quickly.  We started at a good pace around 9min/mile.  Chris and I were able to maintain the pace for the first several miles.  We separated at aobut the 3 mile mark.  I took off my plastic bag at mile 4 and stepped up the pace just a bit.  At the mile 6 water stop the cup had ice in it and there was ice on the ground from the spilled water.  The hills hit  at mile 7 to 9 and they weren’t too bad on the first lap.  At mile 12 the runners were split into half on the left and full on the right.  We were able to watch them turn to the finish line as we turned for the second lap.  I completed the first half in 1.59.  I was feeling pretty good and had a steady pace. 

Running the second lap of a full was a little different.  I knew what was coming up so I had a good idea of the challenges ahead.  I reached 20 miles right at 3 hours. The second lap hills were ahead and I was starting to labor and feeling some pain in my left knee.  I was drinking the NUUN and water but the legs were getting tired.  I started to push because I could tell my pace was dropping off.  At mile 22 we hit the long hill and it was all I could do to keep running.  My pace dropped to 10:15.  I picked the pace backup as I slugged through the last 3 miles but it was tough.  My left leg was cramping and I wanted to walk.  I kept going and finished at 4:00:28.  A new PR by 1.5 minutes.  I am disappointed I wasn’t 29 seconds faster but I ran as hard as I could.

I picked up my medal, finisher hat, space blanket, food and collapsed on the ground.  I took a 15 minute break when I saw Chris come through the finishing area.  He finished in 4:15 also a new PR.  It was a good race for both of us. 

There are two big lessons for me from this race. First, I don’t like double loop races because you see the half runners finish while you have another lap to do. Second and most important, five fulls in 5 months was too much for me.  My legs are worn out from all the training and racing.  I am in fantastic shape but maintaining full fitness is tough.  I don’t think I will run monthly fulls again.  I now agree with much of the written race tips that you should not run more than 2-3 fulls per year.  You can certainly due more but the ability to run fast races is difficult.  You can run good races but not best ones.

I am glad I did the 5 races in 5 months but not again anytime soon.  I think it is time to backoff a little and improve my speed for the Peachtree.

Adios,

Abuelo

Hola,

Goofy #2 is done, finis, over, and in the books. I had an absolutely wonderful time running the Donald and Mickey on January 7^th and 8^th.  Completing both allowed me to earn the coveted (and crazy) Goofy medal.  I was accompanied on this quest by my oldest son.  This was his second Goofy also.  I don’t think I would have attempted it without him running with me.  It was certainly much easier training and running the race knowing we would be doing it together. 

We flew down to WDW on Friday Jan 6^th.  We went to the packet pick up and expo Friday afternoon.  We found it was a little confusing because you had to go to two separate venues to get your race packet and then one for the expo.  The crowd wasn’t too bad at 5pm; we heard it had been packed earlier in the day.  After getting a bite to eat we headed back to the Disney hotel and go to bed early.  The 3:15 wake up time for the races comes quickly.

The Saturday morn temp was in the low 50’s not bad for a run but chilly when you get to the runners marshaling area and then walk a mile to the start corrals.  The crowd of runners was enormous, 23K runners.  It took us 45 minutes to walk from the marshaling area to the start.   We got to the corral at 5:15.  The race started at 5:35 and our corral went across the start line at 6 am.  The number of runners was so great the first several miles were a very slow and we never got into a good rhythm.  We were constantly moving around walkers.  There were many 1^st time half participants.  WDW is a great place for a race and it makes for an even more memorable first long race. The crowd of runners never really thinned out and we ended up finishing the half in an easy 2:12.  We both felt really good after the race.  We spent the rest of the day taking it easy.  I sat in the pool for 45 minutes just letting my legs relax and cool off after the race.  The pool time paid off the next day.  Again, we hit the sack early on Saturday, turning the lights off at 8:30 pm.

Sunday, the wake up time was again 3:15, way too early.  I had no problem getting a good night’s sleep so I felt pretty good.  My legs were not stiff or sore.  Patrick and I slipped on the running gear and shuffled off to the busses. The weather was a couple of degrees warmer than on Sat.  We wore trashes bags to keep from getting to cool.  There wasn’t the crowd, only 13k, for the full that we saw the previous morning for the half.  We were able to walk around the runners meeting area.  We met up with Chris H. and a couple of his friends. The five of us joined the herd and moved to the start corrals.

The start was similar to the previous day but the reduced number of runners made it an easier start and there weren’t any walkers.  The five of us ran together for the first 3 miles and I found that I was feeling really good.  At the mile 3 water stop we got separated and I ended up by myself.  I settled in to nice ~9:30 pace and just started knocking the miles out.  I came in at 2:13 for the first 13.  I was taking powerade or water at every stop.  I had one gel at 60 min and a banana at 2 hours.

I was feeling good and just plugging away during the second half.  I started drinking my NUUN at mile 16.  I would take a swig every other water stop. I had another banana at 22  and finished my NUUN at 25.  I never had any cramps or ran out of gas.  I found I ate and drank more than previous runs. 

I came across a number of other Marathon Maniacs and talked to each of them.  I met #131, I told him my number 4319 and he remarked they thought it was a big deal when they reached 100.  One of the things I noticed this time was the full runners are much more serious than the half runners.  Fewer runners stopped to have their pictures with the Disney characters at various points on the course.

The weather warmed up nicely during the day but I never thought it got hot.   I chugged on and was able to get through the long road run from Animal Kingdom to MGM park feeling really good.  In 2008 and 2006 the section was very hard for me.  I kept moving forward and passing people.  As I was on the boardwalk headed to EPCOT I picked up a second , maybe a third wind and picked up my pace.  I was able to enjoy the run through EPCOT and actually sprinted across the finish line.   I ended up with a 4:18 finish, 2:05 for the second half.   This was 20 minutes faster than in 2008.   I am really pleased with the runs on both days .  

Patrick and Chris finished not long after I did.  They each were pleased with their runs.  I was really impressed with Patrick for being able to complete the full with the limitations that he had with his training due to his work.   We hung around the runners assembly are and met up with the Palmetto Runner.  It was good to finally met him.  We have been tweeting for the past year.  We took a number of pics and posted them on twitter and dailymile. Unfortunately Patrick and I could not stay and enjoy WDW.  We headed back to the room showered and immediately headed back to the airport to head home. 

Overall, it was a wonderful weekend.  I was able to run with my son and a good friend.  WDW does a great job putting on the race and course through all of the parks really adds to the experience.  Will I do it again, I don’t know.  I have run it the full 3 times and completed the Goofy twice.  I know I can do it so the challenge is not there. Running at WDW is neat but it is expensive.  I guess if any of my children or my dad want to run the races I will do it with them.  We will see what the future holds.  Right now the next race is the Mercedes full in February.

Adios,

As the year is rapidly coming to a close I am looking at next year’s running goals.  After the WDW Goofy I have two set runs, the Peachtree Road Race and the Choo Choo Loco.  This will be my 25^th consecutive PRR, I know I will be toeing the line on July 4^th in Atlanta.  The family will be there for our annual race pilgrimage and reunion.  It will be a lot of fun.

The Choo Choo Loco is an event that I am hosting on April 28^th, 2012 here in Chattanooga.  The Choo Choo Loco is a continuation of the Mojo Loco concept created in 2010 by several web tied runners in Florida who wanted to run and socialize without all the trappings and cost of a race.  The idea was to come together to run as friends and spread the camaraderie of the running community.  The run was named the Mojo Loco and was held in December 2010 in Florida.  It consisted of a run from St Augustine to Daytona.  The participants were “celebrities” of the podcast and twitter world, SteveRunner, the ZenRunner, EddieMarathon, MaddyH, Nik and Dan of 4 Feet Running, CYKT Russell of RunRunLive, the CrazyRunner, and  SteveChopper.  The run was huge success and spawned other Locos across the world.  Races have been held in Boston (Poco Loco), St. Louis (Mojo StLoco), Sydney, and England (HoHo Loco).

I was able to participate in the Poco Loco and had a fantastic time.  I finally met a number of virtual friends in person and they all were friendlier than I could have hoped.  Though many of us had never met before there was no awkward silence when we met.  Our shared love of running and web/internet communications bridged the gap.  The weekend flew by and the run along the Charles was incredible due to the company.

I hope we are able to duplicate the friendship and energy of the previous Locos with the Choo Choo.  It will be run along the banks of the Tennessee River from downtown Chattanooga to the Chickamauga Dam.  It will be an out and back run of ~15 miles.  We will run as a group on the Riverwalk.  We will take a break at the dam before heading back to town.  It will be an easy and mostly flat run.  The run will be all about socializing and expanding the Mojo Loco experience.  Several of the original Mojo Loco participants will be joining me along with several runners from the other Locos and several local Chatt runners.    I anticipate 12-15 of us be doing the Choo Choo.  If you want to join us drop me an email or tweet. 

There is much more to come on the Choo Choo Loco.  Many of my 2012 posts will be about the run.  I hope you can join us in April. 

Adios,

Abuelo

PS The picture is Poco Loco gang.