Looking for a Place to Run

Wintertime blues.  Just when I'm feeling motivated and have a little break at work I see the race schedule for Atlanta in December is BLEAK.  I was hoping for a nice little wintertime 10K or maybe even 13.1 (I will be gone Thanksgiving) but only the Hillgrove Holiday Classic (a small race at a highschool with only 50 finishers last year).  What I see is a host of 5K's, and a Braselton 8K.  Is there anything I'm missing, or am I destined to do my long winter race alone?

 

December 08 Atlanta-area races:

ATC December Cross Country 5K Marietta 12/6

Mistletoe Run 5K Alpharetta 12/6

Run for Reading 8K Braselton 12/6

Run to the Star 5K Douglasville 12/6

WCA 5K Monroe 12/6
Hillgrove Holiday Classic 10K Powder Springs 12/6

Optimistic Flapjack Fun Run Jasper 12/6

Sleighbells on the Square 5K Marietta 12/13

Jingle Jog 5K Loganville 12/13

Jungle Jog 5K Atlanta 12/13

Viginia Highlands 5K Atlanta 12/20

Flashlight 5K Lawrenceville 12/31

No Sweat No Run 5K Kennesaw 1/1

Yikes the knee!

Admittedly I've been lazy since the marathon about running.  This morning I headed out for what I hoped would be a long run.  Atlanta was beautiful today - clear, 50-degrees and breezy.  Very nice for running.  At about mile 4 I felt my left, then my right, IT band acting up at my lateral knee.  I tried to be careful about my mechanics and stay on smooth asphalt but finally at about mile 5 I had to stop.  The pain was too much and I was worried I would hurt myself further.

Turns out my right IT band was the worser.  I walked the next mile-and-a-half home.  Defeated.

Being my hard-headed self I then went out to try my new Bike for a road test.  All I've really done so far is tool around the neighborhood getting used to the gearing and adjusting the seat.  Why should I let a bum knee hold me up?

So I headed for a ride over to Decatur (about 16 miles round trip).  The bike went great. I had to adjust the seat again, actually higher than I liked but made for better pedalling.  Only at about mile 15 did I start to get a twinge of the knee pain again.  It was actually quite funny to see how (relatively) fast I did this trip cycling as it seems like it takes forever to run it. :)  The other "funny" thing was to see my cheap-o Bell bicycle computer go flying off the handlebars at 20mph and skip into some bushes... Nowhere to be found.  It's only funny because I do actually have a sense of humor.

My knee now OK but will rest it some this week.  Will also try some stretches to get the IT band loosened up.

I thought about reinventing the wheel and devoting a blog to IT band treatments but there are plenty of other sites out there that do already.  Here's One.

Stretch on!

A Bike for a Runner

Today I picked up my new (cheap-o) road bike.  For the past couple months I've been thinking about doing some biking to mix up my workout routine as well as add a little bit of simple commuting here and there.  I wanted something I could do some good aerobic training with, would take a beating (at least wouldnt hurt so much in the wallet), and would let me commute a little.

Oh yeah, forgot to mention that I've never really been "into" biking so am quickly catching up on all the lingo and gear options out there.

I decided on a very lightly USED aluminum-frame noname bike with entry-level Shimano components.  New from discount online retailer this bike was $600.  I got for under $350 after just 50 miles use, and seller threw in $20 computer, clipless pedals and underseat bag.  I figure its a good cheap way to figure out exactly what I want for a serious bike one day OR its a cheaper way to figure out I'm not really a cycling kinda-guy.

I picked up a cheapo helmet, lock, and pump from Wal-mart after gawking around Performance Bicycle (a great store but will wait a bit before over-upgrading my hobby).  I zipped a few times around the block today, trying to figure out the gears and whatnot (my last bike was a 1997 Gary Fisher Marlin with gripshift shifters; not nearly as much education required). 

 

The specs:

Model: Mercier Orion AL (bikesdirect.com brand) 54cm

Front Fork: Kinesis carbon fiber

Crank: TH RPM 52/42/30T 165/170/172.5

Seatpost: Al / Carbon thing (?)

Shifters: Shimano Sora STI

Brakes: Tektro

Front Derailer: Shimano Sora

Rear Derailer: Shimano Tiagra

Rims: AlexRims D22

Tires: Michelin 700x23C

Pedals: cheap-o alloy

Weight: 20 lbs

 

I know the purists out there will hate that I got a "cheap" bike sold at an online discounter.  While a "starter bike" costing around $800-900 at a local bike shop wasn't totally unreasonable, I just dont see the expense being worthwhile right now.  If I keep riding then this basic setup will get turned over and upgraded soon enough, and the guys at the SoPo Bike Co-op will have great fare for a stylin' fixed gear.

Run on! (and ride a little)

This Man did it!

At just under five hours I finished my first marathon today. Chicago
was a bit warm, and sunny, leading many to jump ship and some to get
carted off. I can't say I'm super happy with my time but am
satisfied, and it certainly gives me something to improve upon.
The frst half went great - as planned - averaging a 9:30 pace.
Starting about mile 16 though things slowed down drastically. I
started hitting every water stop, walking through the stops. My run
became a shuffle and had to outright stop twice to stretch cramps out.
Finishing though was great, as was able to catch enough wind to finish
the last 1/4 strong. BTW have never felt so much muscle pain before.
What a blast! Now I'm preocupied looking for next year's.

--
Sent from my mobile device

Here we go: Chicago 26.2

Just got dropped off at the airport and in a few minutes will be
departing for the windy city. Admittedly I'm feeling a bit anxious,
nostly worried about the possibility of failure.
In less than two days we will know.
After a night out with old college friends tonight will spend a day in
recovery and preparation.
Goodluck everyone.

--
Sent from my mobile device

Chicago Marathon: The taper begins

Hopefully I'm not too little too late.  My attenuated training has left me hitting only 16 miles (today) as my maximum distance.  In less than 14 whole days I will be trying a race 10 miles longer.

 

The good news is my exhausting 16-miler today came on the heels of a tough week for running: a PR 10K 8 days ago, 3 days of running since with 8 miles yesterday, and less-than-race-quality nutritional status (multiple Mohitos and Cuba Libres last night).  I'm hoping that correcting those factors (plus the fact Chicago is FLAT) will get me the additional 10 miles.

 

The [revised last minute] Plan:

1. Only short elliptical workouts for the next 9 days or so.  Will keep doing nautilus / abs to keep in shape, but will stop that too 5 days or so beforehand.  My best races have come after 2-3 weeks off totally.

2. A salad every day starting tomorrow.

3. Limit red meat and fatty meat.  Replace with fish.

4. Day/Night before: No alcohol, no fat, carb-load, in bed early.

5. Morning-of: Power bars x 2, coffee x 1, water at least 1 hour before running.

6. During race: Will hit probably every-other water/Gatorade stop, alternating between the two.  Will walk 30sec or so during drink stops.  Will bring spare dry socks.  Will do a Gel at 12 miles, then the one provided at 18 miles.  No iPod.

New 10K PR

Something about this week brought about my best couple of runs lately.  After getting beat up in Hitlon Head last weekend doing an 8-miler in the humidity and just a few hours after seafood dinner, I redeemed myself with a good run around the neighborhood thursday.

 

And today at the Four Seasons Run for Research 10K in Atlanta I heartily beat my old 10K PR with a 50:10 time.  Looking back I left a little bit on the field and probably could've beat 50:00 if I planned a little better.

 

The course was a tow-lap midtown Atlanta course that didn't enter Atlantic Station (thank God for the change of scenery).  The hills were slow rolling, and only about 2 hills (times 2 laps) with lots of gentle downhill and flat.  Aside from a run along the river, it's as flat as Atlanta gets.  There was music, a DJ, and Falcons cheerleaders to root us on.  Best of all it is a Peachtree Qualifier.  In all it is a really great run with good sponsorship but oddly pretty low runner numbers (maybe a couple hundred in the 10K).

 

Headed out to Chicago tomorrow for some conference action and related festivities.  Going to do my best to get in a little pre-marathon warm up while in town.