10 miler

Saturday was a weird running day for me. I knew I had to get a 10 miler in per my half-marathon training plan. My first attempt at this started at 6 am. I managed 2.83 miles at 9:47 pace before being forced to return home for a bio-break. Once again, never eat the "homewrecker" from Moe's the night before a long run! So at that point I decided to push the long run back to Sunday morning. But once the family went down for naps Saturday afternoon and I found myself restless, I thought what the heck and got back out there. I ran a new route that was exactly 5 miles out, which was nice because if I had arrived home with another mile to go, then I'm pretty sure that last mile would not have happened. In my humble opinion, the 10 mile distance is what separates the men from the boys. It is also a distance that I underestimated on Saturday. I have a hard time coming to terms with the fact that I am in no way, shape, or form at a marathon capable fitness level. This time last year I was deep into my training plan for St. Jude's and I could run 10, 12, even 15 miles and not be sore the next day. NOT ANYMORE! Saturday's 10 miler was challenging to say the least. It didn't help that I did not prepare (leave water along the route) like I should have. My new 10 mile route was pretty hilly, but so is the new route for the Spinx half-marathon in October. No unchained dogs (sweet!), and it was very scenic.

So as I dragged myself up to the house and laid straight down on the floor, that familiar question came back to me..."Why do I do this?" As the initial shock of pushing past the comfort level that most people never venture from, thoughts of "this hurts" and "I won't be doing that again anytime soon" turned into thoughts of "it'll be easier next time" and "maybe I could have pushed a little bit harder toward the end." And then I thought, "That's why I do this, because I never want to stop searching to find just what I am capable of."

Playlist:

Phedippidations Episode 144: Moving to the Music
My G'N'R playlist featuring:
Rocket Queen
You Could Be Mine
Bad Obsession
My Michelle
Locomotive - my personal recommendation on this one for motivational running.
Breakdown
Nightrain

Let me introduce you to my enemy. On my 5 mile route, I come to this hill at about 3.2 miles into. It is a deceiving hill because it goes up and up and up and then the road curves about 90 degrees. So just when you feel like you're at the summit..BAM!... you realize you have part 2 ahead of you. When you read that I had to take a breather during one of my runs, you can pretty much bank on the fact that it was at the top of this hill. I never rest in the middle of a hill because that feels too much like quitting, but once I get to the top, I have no problem taking a minute or two to compose myself.

As for the latest run, it was yesterday (Thurs): 4 miles even at 9:30 pace. Even though it was cooler, I still didn't feel the euphoria of a couple days ago. I guess if I got that too often then I would take it for granted. So I have 15.2 in for the week so far with a 10 miler scheduled for this weekend. 25 miles per week seems to be the mileage where I can see visible changes in this spare tire I lug around. By the way, I've lost 4 pounds since returning from vacation, not changing much except trying to control portions instead of eating everything in sight every meal.

High Times

I finally found it today...maybe it was the cooler weather, maybe it was the pasta I ate for dinner last night and lunch today...but I finally found that place where you feel like your feet are not hitting the ground and you could go on forever.

I've been struggling with my running lately and honestly it has seemed like more of a chore than something I love doing. But today changed that. I've read all the theories about runner's high, the endorphins and the adreneline and all that. Please allow me to give you my perception of the runner's high. Running basically involves 3 things...leg turnover, breathing, and heart rate. Sometimes your breathing is too labored for the leg turnover you want to achieve. Sometimes your heart rate is skyrocketing when your lungs seem fine. Maybe your legs feel like rubber even though you're not breathing all that hard. The thing is, there is a special, magical place out there on those roads when, like a finely crafted watch, all the gears synch into place. That is my version of a runner's high. Your heart rate, breathing, and legs are all moving in synch with each other and they find that cadence that makes you feel like you are not really running at all but floating and you feel like you could go on like that for a very long time. Of course, anyone that has pushed their body into the upper reaches of endurance knows that there is a limit to how long you can sustain that runner's high before aches and pains start to creep up on you. But today, it happened for me and it reminded me why I get out there...

Ended up with 6.23 @ 57:41. That's good for a 9:16 pace. I don't know how to pull up my mile splits on my Garmin 305, but I feel that the last mile and a half was probably done at around 8:30 pace.

By the way, my playlist today was the Crash Test Dummies album "God Shuffled His Feet" in its entirety. Not exactly upbeat running music, which makes today's experience all the more abnormal.

IOP

This past Sunday to Sunday was spent in the IOP, which anyone in the Carolinas knows stands for Isle of Palms. IOP has a very special place in my heart because when I was a young District Manager for one of the Big 3, I was assigned the Charleston district and I scraped together enough money for a downpayment on a condo that was almost directly across Hway 17 from the Isle of Palms Connector in Mt. Pleasant. The floors squeaked, the pipes were made of polybutalene and leaked, only 1 of the 2 showers worked, the carpet was stained, but dang it, I loved that place. Kristal and I got married while I was living down there so it was our first place together. Once she moved in, she promptly put her touches on it. New carpet, and a great new paint job on the walls (our first attempted at painting), and before we knew it, the place was quite livable. We definitely took advantage of living that close to the beach (about a 4 minute drive) as we were down there in all seasons. I love that it still has that local feel to it without the skyscraping hotels and the throngs of sun worshippers.

We stayed at a condo in Wild Dunes. I love having kids young enough that we can vacation when all the other kids are in school. Next year will be our last chance to do that. The place was a ghosttown (probably also because of the hurricane scare from the previous week). We literally had the beach to ourselves.

I only managed to get in 2 runs while on vacation. I was hoping for a lot more, but a teething 6-month old tends to make you want to sleep in in the morning when you get the chance.

Managed to get out on Tuesday for a 4 miler. Went our via the nice wide sidewalks and came back on the beach. That beach running in strenuous to say the least. I was sweating like no tomorrow despite the nice ocean breeze. Stats: 4.09 @ 9:18.

Wednesday: I ran north this time and after a mile and a half, I came to a point (literally) where the land just ended. So I only managed 3.01 @ 9:14.

I did manage to get out today. I am determined to get my mileage up this week (even considering 2-a-days) to make up for my sloth for the last 3 weeks. I spent the morning just trying to clean out emails that piled up and finally managed to get out about 11:30. I paid dearly, but I was determined to get in 5 miles day. I accomplished that, but had to take 2 breaks and really REALLY wanted to take a 3rd break. Ended up with 5 even @ 9:25 pace. Note to self: How bout let's try to get out before the sun comes up next time. WAY too HOT!

Hamburger Helper

First off, happy 6 month birthday to the happiest baby on earth...Rachel!

"...I don't know why they call it Hamburger Helper...it tastes just fine by itself to me Clark." - Cousin Eddie in Vacation

Alright, as a symbol of just how domesticated I've gotten in my old, married age... one of my favorite things to is pick out Hamburger Helper flavors at the grocery store. I mean, seriously, how many different ways are there to prepare meals using 1 lb of hamburger meat? Apparently quite a few. Since I can never narrow it down to just 1 flavor, today I came home with "Bacon Cheeseburger" and "Cheesy Ranch Burger." We went with the Ranch Burger tonight and it did not disappoint! Unexpected bonus today because HH has on sale for $1 per box. Really, pay about a buck fitty on a pound of meat and a buck on the HH, feed the family and you still have leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Plus Luke eats the stuff like nobody's business. Where's the downside? I'll be back at Ingles tomorrow to take further advantage of the $1/box deal. Until then, on to running...

Did a nice easy run yesterday starting at 5:55 am. Completed 5.09 @ 9:29 pace. These early morning runs keep getting darker and darker. Wouldn't it be nice to have the long days of summer with the cooler weather of winter?

Got out a little late today for 3.05 miles @ 8:28 pace. That is the fastest I've run in a while and it felt nice. It was tougher on my legs than I thought it would be. Must be something to the whole fast twitch/slow twitch muscle fiber theory. I seem to always get side stitches when I fall in the 8:30 range. That didn't happen today, it was just my legs felt like rubber. Nearly a year ago I ran the Spinx Runfest Half-Mary at 8:40 pace. I REALLY need to work on speed to get back to that level of fitness. Of course, at the time I was training for St. Jude so the half was ONLY a 13 miler in my training plan. My gameplan starting now is to try to pick up the pace a little for my weekday runs and save the slow plodding runs for the weekend. What a novel idea, how come no one else though of that. Oh yeah, that's basically the crux of every training plan known to runners.

Tanner

Anyone in the Greenville area has heard of Big O Dodge. It has been an icon in the upstate and happens to be the largest Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep dealership in South Carolina. The driving force behind the business for the last 5 years has been Tanner Odum. He was thrust into the roll of Dealer Principal after his father died in a motorcycle accident in 2003. He was 24 years old at the time. I had just become the Chrysler District Manager for the upstate and the first time I met Tanner, I remember feeling sorry for him because he was dealing with the loss of his father and was forced into running a multi-million dollar business all at the same time. During his time at Big O, he has faced personnel issues, facility issues, and many other issues, but he never failed to learn something from every experience.

I spent a year working in the Greenville market and Tanner was still getting his feet under him when I left. I spent 4 years in Atlanta and Savannah and when the Greenville position came open again, I put my name in the hat. Tanner was a completely different person when I met him again, in a good way. He was in control of his business and no longer had that deer in the headlights look. Sadly, Tanner Odum died in a car crash early Monday morning near his home. In this business of dealer/factory relationships, there are not many chances to make good personal friends. Tanner was one of those rare exceptions for me. He will be missed...

Run: 3.3 sad, hot miles at 9:30 pace.

Catching Up

Enough with the non-stop emails and the incessant telephone calls begging and pleading for me to post another blog. I apologize, I've been out of town and life's been pretty hectic. OK, so no one emailed, and not a single phone call, but I have to think that SOMEONE was hoping I would catch up soon.

So basically I was in Atlanta 3 weeks ago, Orlando 2 weeks ago, and then Orlando again last week. Usually I get to get in some good running while I am away for work because I get pretty good sleep and don't have contant family commitments. However, I wasn't as disciplined as I would have liked for the last 3 weeks.

Week of August 11 - 17:
Spent this one at a Marriott in Marietta, GA. The location was not at all conducive to running. And the hotel gym lacked any sort of air circulation whatsoever, so I'm sure I lost some fitness this week. Toward the end of the week I just had no motivation because I didn't want to get mugged outside and couldn't put up with the dingy, dungeony basement gym. Hopefully, my company will not pick that as a destination hotel again.
Monday: 4.02 miles at 9:15 pace in Easley.
Tuesday: 5.04 miles at 9:24 pace.
Wednesday: 3 miles at 8:57 pace.

Week of August 18 - 24:
This week I was at the Shingle Creek Resort. Now THAT'S more like it. Good points, plenty of cart paths and sidewalks for some great running. Bad points, our stay was in the middle of a freaking HURRICANE! So no running outside again during the workweek. The gym was light years ahead of the Marriott from last week. Nice and cool with good air circulation.
Monday; 6 miles @ 9:20 pace on treadmill.
Tuesday: 3 miles @ 9:20 pace on treadmill.
Wednesday: 5.25 miles @ 9:20 pace on treadmill.
Saturday: Back home for long run. 7.02 miles @ 9:36 pace. After 2 weeks on the treadmill, it was great to get outside again.

Week of Aug 25 - 31st:
Ritz Carlton - Orlando. One thing about Chrysler, even when we're hemorraging cash, we still know how to pick the hotels. Did not run on Monday evening like I usually do because I got persuaded to eat at one of my favorite places, Amura Japanese Steakhouse. Which leads me to my Tuesday morning run. Please note, never, ever have the filet and salmon combo with extra fried rice and then try to get up early the next morning and run. Especially if you unfamiliar with the running trails. I was looking so foward to running the cart path at the Ritz, and all I could manage was 2.96 miles total before having to return to the hotel with extreme intestinal distress. One funny thing that happened was I was getting directions to the cart path and the lady actually said, "Oh yes, there are alligators in the ponds and surrounding areas, but most of the time they just run away from you." Most of the time?!?!?! What happens when they don't run away? So Tuesday afternoon we were let out early and I played beach volleyball all afternoon, so that counts as cross training in my book. I was actually pretty sore in the gluteus area on Wednesday. We went home on Wed and I enjoyed some much needed family time so no running on Thurs or Fri.

Saturday - Longest run so far in this training cycle. 8.01 miles at 8:50 pace. It was an early morning run and the weather was perfect. Felt really good about my fitness level after this run because even the hills that normally kill me were management on this run.

So there it is, finally caught up with my blogging. I must try to do better because once I miss a few blogs I feel overwhelmed and it just keeps snowballing. Also, I don't really like to write, "Well I'm down in Orlando for another week" translated - my wife is home alone with our children and anyone looking to rob the place would have an easier time this week.