Surfside

I finished the Surfside Marathon in 4:11:06. It is not my worst marathon time and not my best. The wind was tougher than I imagined it would be. At thirteen miles I was under 2 hours but I started to have some cramping in my legs. From that point on I slowed it down and ran comfortably. I walked some in the last four miles.

Over all it was a good experience. It was kind of weird to run a marathon so close to home. This was the first marathon I’ve run without Andrea in attendance so that was weird too. I saw Barbara (whom I’d never met) before the race and said “hi”. I saw Edwin, and Mark working the race for BARRA. I talked to Jason too.

Surfside Marathon

On Saturday I will attempt to run the Surfside Marathon - 26.2 miles on the beach. My goal? To finish… that’s all, just to cover 26.2 miles and get a medal.

In December I ran the Dallas White Rock Marathon. I set a PR and felt pretty good when it was over. Around the same time that I finished White Rock, my mom was asking what I wanted for Christmas and telling her “surprise me” was not an adequate response.

In the afterglow of a good performance at White Rock and in a fit of optimism, I asked her to buy me an entry for the Surfside Marathon.

I reverse tapered to recover from the marathon and started training for another one. The training has gone okay but it has not been near as focused as training for White Rock.

I am to the point now where I am a bit tired of having to run so far. I am ready to run some middle distances on the weekend or take off a day or two without worrying about losing conditioning.

I am ready to not have to eat carbs. Don’t get me wrong I love carbs, but I feel like I am eating to run.

This weekend I am going to run as hard and fast as I can, but it will not hurt my feelings if I do not run the fastest race ever ….

You're freaking me out ...

I ran 20 yesterday morning.

I was running along the side of FM 2004. It is a fairly busy road with a wide shoulder. As I crossed the railroad track between Richwood and Lake Jackson, a guy in an Explorer waved at me and I waved back. I thought nothing of it because people give me a wave often. A quarter of a mile down the road I passed a convenience store and in the parking lot was the same guy who waved at me and he stared as I ran by.

I continued to run and as I passed him up he pulled out on the road the same direction I was running. The Explorer pulled into the bowling alley parking lot ahead of me and he turned around and stared at me again and slowed as he passed.

He apparently turned around again in the convenience store parking lot and passed me again pulling ahead in the Family Fitness parking lot. He turned around and passed me yet again. This happened a couple of times.

As I approached the Family Fitness parking lot he was approaching the highway. At first I picked up my pace so I could beat him to the pull out drive. As I passed the Explorer I thought, “This has got to stop.”

So I spun in my tracks and made two strides toward the Explorer. The guy had his window down and a funny grin on his face.

In as gruff a tone as I could manage I said, “Are you following me?”

His funny grin turned to a startled look.

He stammered and said, “No, I’m supposed to meet some family in this area.”

“Well,” I said, “you’re freaking me out by driving back and forth past me.” I shook my head and ran on.

I never saw him again and the rest of the run was uneventful.

It’s time to taper for the Surfside Marathon.

Half Marathon Pictures

We're all smiling because we all had a lot of fun.

Andrea

Jakeb

Tommy

Houston Half-Marathon

We made it to the race just in time to stand in the line at the porta-jons and line-up. Andrea, Gwen, Jakeb and I walked around just a little bit before the start but we never made it into the George R Brown Convention center. At the back of the corral we ran into Wes, Jenny and Dan (Jenny’s dad). We talked with them for a while and then we were off to find our places.

Jakeb and I told Andrea and Gwen good luck and we headed to the green corral. Jakeb and I had trained for this race for a while and we were both ready to get started. We got in place and Wes walked up to us wearing a trash bag. Jenny and her dad were right behind him. After standing for a while the gun went off and we were running.

We hit the first mile in 9:24. We had planned on running 9’s and hitting the finish in just under 2 hours so the first mile time was okay. Jakeb looked over the crowd as we came down the overpass and said, “This is incredible, look at all of the people.”

We ran the next couple of miles a little faster, 8:37 for 2, 8:32 for 3, 8:47 for mile 4. Wes, Jenny and Dan were running with us. We all stuck pretty close together.

Then we picked it up and started to run faster. Wes was pulling us along and pacing us faster than I had planned for us to go and it worried me a little for Jakeb because I was not sure he would be okay in the last couple of miles since we were pushing it this early. I asked him if he needed to slow down and he said, "No, lets keep it up."

Mile 5 – 8:23
Mile 6 – 8:25
Mile 7 – 8:38
Mile 8 – 8:33
Mile 9 – 8:26
Mile 10 – 8:13

The 15k and 10 mile signs had been switched. We joked with a lady beside us that we had run the 10th mile in 2:09 and congratulated her on setting a new world record in the mile. She laughed and we ran on.

Wes started to realize that he had a shot at a PR. This was mine and Jakeb’s first half so we would PR by finishing. So our new goal was to push it and try to help Wes PR.

Mile 11 – 8:16
Mile 12 – 8:15
Finish – 8:35 (1.1 miles)

Total time - 1:51:07

Excellent time. Jakeb ran better than I imagined he would. I knew he would do well but I am amazed how well he did. This half marathon was as much fun as any race I have run. It is an awesome feeling for me to train with my son and watch him reach a goal he has worked so hard for. After the race Jakeb said, “Thanks dad for training with me. This was awesome and incredible and I would never have done it on my own.”

That was enough for me…

Andrea and her sister Gwen finished the half in 3:17 – a 15:03 pace. It is faster than they walked in all of their training. I am proud of my wife for working toward her goal of walking a half-marathon and exceeding her expectations.

We had a lot of friends who did well today too. Cindy finished the half in 2:10 overcoming an injury she had in training. Laurie and Melissa finished the half in 3:31:22. Nathan debuted by blazing through the marathon in 3:29 … wow!

It was another good day.

Believe In Yourself ... It's Alright, It's Alright

I ran 4 miles this morning with my Nike + iPod sport kit. It would be very easy to get addicted to running with it. That could be bad because I used to pride myself on the meditative effect of running with nothing to interfere with the brain waves. I need to leave it at home some of the time.

Having said that though, I have built a “running tempo” playlist. The first four songs are Believe by King’s X, Hitchin a Ride by Green Day, Vertigo by U2, and What Would You Say by The Dave Matthews Band. This morning my plan was to run an easy four wherever my legs took me while my iPod measured the miles. I usually run a familiar mapped out route. The problem is that I heard the beginning notes of Believe and I had no chance at running “easy”. I finished at a 7:50 pace which is pushing it for me.

Jakeb is ready to go. Andrea is ready too. Sunday we all three will finish the Houston half-marathon.

2007 - A Look Ahead

I've never really been much of a planner. I do not set long range goals in my life. Usually I try to live by a set of principles and values I believe in deeply and then I just take what comes my way. I could have never planned what happened to me last year. If you would have asked me when I was 18 where I would be at 40 and how I would get there I would have never even come close to picking my current situation. I am not complaining. I like my life and it is good to be Tommy.

With that stated, I have to look ahead somewhat in running or I could never prepare for what the distances require. So this year here is what I am thinking:

On January 14 Jakeb and I are running the Half-Marathon in Houston. Together we have prepared him for it most of last year. Our goal is to finish, but I think Jakeb has a secondary goal of less than 2:00.

This year for Christmas my mom bought me an entry into the Surfside Beach Half-Marathon BUT the week after the White Rock Marathon I put together a training schedule to get me in shape to run the full that same day so I switched races.

Andrea and I both like to do the Bayou City Classic 10k in Houston. I think we will try to do that again this year. No time goals, just a run for fun.

In the summer I'd like to do some speed work and lower my 5k time a bit. My PR is 22:06 which I ran in 1996. I'm not sure I can beat that PR this year but I would like to lower my times from last year. In 2005 I only ran one 5k (the Mosquito Chase) which I finished in 23:34. I think I can do better.

Every year on July 4th our family likes to do the Firecracker 4. Every one of us did something last year and we all have matching t-shirts. I assume we will do that again this year. I will have to talk to the family logistics coordinator - Andrea.

I am thinking about doing Sunmart 50k next year. It is just a thought though. If I don't run Sunmart I will run a marathon again. I really want to move beyond 26.2 - if only once.

I've considered doing some multi-sport events but I am really enjoying just running right now. Besides I hate swimming for competition. My technique absolutely stinks. If I do a multi-sport event it will be an adventure race that has nothing to do with swimming like a run, bike, paddle - we'll see.

And last a reminder from an old Hebrew Proverb - "Man makes his plans but God guides his steps."

2006 Running Year in Review

This has been a good year of running, which I am happy with considering what has been happening in the rest of my life. I have thought through transition and done some soul searching while I’ve run this year. I’ve perpetuated bad thinking but eventually turned it around and started thinking well, all while I put one foot in front of the other.

This year I ran more than ever with Jakeb which has to be the highlight of the year.

I ran two marathons. On January 15th I ran the Houston Marathon in 4:13:41. It was the marathon where I hit the wall and blew up in the last five miles. Then on December 10th I ran the Dallas White Rock Marathon in 4:00:54 improving my PR by close to 13 minutes. It was a tough marathon but good for me.

On March 4th I ran the Lone Star Trail Run. It was my first trail run and I learned some valuable lessons like wear trail running shoes – they’re made for it. And I learned to bring something to carry your own water in, because even though they have it on the course it might be a long time before you get to it. I finished the 25k in 2:31.

This past year while I was on the road I ran in Dallas, Chicago, Lake Conroe, Lake Catherine State Park in Arkansas, and the Arkansas River Trail along the Arkansas River in Little Rock. I dig running in new places.

If I finish this week as planned I will have run a total of 1255 miles. This year was my longest year beating last year by 213 miles (1042). May was the month I ran the least amount of miles with 48. May is also the month I went on a hiking mission trip to the Himalayas in Nepal so I didn’t lack exercise. November was the longest month beating October by a mile coming in at 162.

I am looking forward to what 2007 running holds for me. I’ll post more about that soon.

Fog

I sweat like a pig when I run, but this morning during my five miler the moisture on my skin was more from the water in the air than it was from the liquid that seeps from my pores. My goatee had drops of water in it from the mist that hung in the air. It reminded me of a Stephen King novella I read once.

I felt abandoned by the rest of the world and almost claustrophobic as the fog closed me in and my iPod isolated me from any sound other than the Dave Matthews Band. Cars would appear as if from nowhere as the fog concealed them until they were just in sight. It was a good morning to stay off of the road and on the sidewalks where my ankles fear the uneven pavement I can barely see.

It is another typical December in Lake Jackson Texas where the weather feels more like April than a holiday morning. I am not complaining though because the heat and humidity suit me better than ice and cold wind.

It will probably sleet tomorrow.

Dallas White Rock Splits

1 - missed the mile marker
2 - 18:35
3 - 9:10
4 - 8:56
5 - 9:09
6 - 9:00
7 - 8:48
8 - 8:45
9 - 8:38
10 - missed the mile marker
11 - 18:36
12 - 9:27
13 - 8:34
14 - 9:00
15 - 9:29
16 - 9:29
17 - 9:25
18 - 9:20
19 - 9:18
20 - 9:43
21 - 9:27
22 - 8:33
23 - 9:06
24 - 10:09
25 - 8:01
26.2 - 12:05

Marathon web sight says I finished in 4:00:54

I plan to try and run 3 with Jakeb tomorrow morning. My legs are starting to feel normal again.

Dallas White Rock Marathon

I ran the Dallas White Rock Marathon this morning in 4:00:55 (chip time by my watch … unofficial). I wish it my time had been 55 seconds faster but I am happy with it and I cannot complain. It was windy during the second half of the race and the hills from mile 18 to 21 were more than I bargained for. This marathon was more of a mental battle for the entire distance than the other two I’ve run.

Andrea and Jakeb made the trip with me. It was good to have the support of my wife and son. The three of us will attempt the half-marathon in Houston in January.

I saw EQ there. We picked up his packet yesterday and I saw him this morning in the American Airline Center before the race.

I was going to post some pictures but our dial-up is painfully slow. We’re scheduled to get fast Internet later this month.

I may write more later I may not …

Getting ready to leave ...

Today I’m off of work and I am hyped up. Tomorrow we leave for Dallas and Sunday I run the White Rock Marathon. I had a friend who told me good luck and asked if I was ready.

I said, “Yeah, I’m ready. Even though I have run two marathons, the distance still scares me to death so I am a bit nervous.”

Hopefully I will be okay and be the finisher of a four-hour marathon on Sunday afternoon … we’ll see.

Tapering is a pain. I have been eating a lot and running a lot less than I had been.

Since I have felt good I have been running my miles too fast. I think I will have to jump into a pace group so I don’t take off too quick.

Last week I ran 8 on Friday and 6 with Jakeb on Saturday.

I let you know how it goes.

1111.1

Today after I ran my four-miler and posted the distance in my training log, the yearly total reads '1111.1 miles'. It must be a sign ... of what I do not know.

11 Days until the Dallas White Rock Marathon.

Thanksgiving morning run

This morning I ran here … link.

Nice asphalt trail with excellent scenery and distance markers every quarter of a mile. Perfect weather too.

Happy Thanksgiving

Don't stand so close to me, shorts and 20 miles

A couple of weeks ago I was running my scheduled five miles at 5:30 am. At about 2.5 miles in I was lost in John Mayer's cover of Jimi Hendrix's Bold as Love when I was startled to realize that there was another runner right on my heals. I sped up trying to shake this person who was rude enough to run up on another runner and then match him stride for stride for a moment or two. As my pace quickened my heart beat did as well as I found that I couldn't lose him/her. It may be an axe murderer rather than a runner. When I finally was brave enough to look around, I found that there was no one behind me.

The city of Lake Jackson has just completed construction on Oak Drive near down town. It has a wide sidewalk that is good for running. I wish they would have chosen a softer surface than concrete but it is nice to run on none the less. Part of the new construction includes street lights on both sides of the road. The lights on the side of the road where I run casts a shadow in front of me and the light across the street casts a shadow behind me. As I progress down the street the shadows alternate occasionally giving me the illusion that there is someone behind me. This has happened a couple of time since but now I understand what is really going on faster than I did the first time. When it happened the first time I almost had to stop and clean out the running shorts.

Speaking of running shorts, I bought a new pair last week, which is a rare occurrence for me. I wear my running clothes until they are threadbare. I bought some Nike shorts that are longer than typical running shorts. The bottom thread almost touches my knees and I like them a lot. I have always hated the super short short running shorts for guys. How much faster can shorts with a slit up to my hip bone actually make me? I really would rather not wear something that short. I hear that Lance Armstrong told the Nike reps the same thing when they brought him a pair of running shorts to wear in the NYC marathon. I'm sure Armstrong started a new trend and I have benefited personally.

I ran 20 miles on Friday and it went exceptionally well. I ran it in 2:57 for an 8:51 minute per mile average. The weather was much nicer than the previous Friday and I felt like I could hold my pace forever.

The taper has begun in earnest. I ran a hard 5 miles this morning with Dave Matthews playing in my head. It feels good to know I'm past the hardest part of my training and that another marathon is close to being a reality.

Friday am 20 miles

I ran twenty this morning. It was hot and humid - relative to what the weather should be this time of year. The last five were brutal. I ran it at 9:30 pace. The first half was too fast. I should have quit at ten.

I am going to run 20 again next Friday. I messed up on my training schedule and set it up a week off and didn’t realize it until after my run today. I need another 20 anyway to redeem for today.

20 next Friday and then a taper.

Friday am 12 Miles

Twelve miles seems like nothing now. Just a middle distance run that doesn’t take up half of the morning. It was an emotional roller coaster kind of run though. My mile splits aren’t marked out all that accurately so they vary as far as times go. I am pretty confident in the total distance.

The first mile I clock 8:01 and thought, “a marathon in less than four hours will be a breeze.”

Then the second mile I ran a 9:41 and thought, “dang it I’ll never finish close to four hours. I’m doomed to 4:13.”

Total time – 1:42:24 (8:32 pace)

Overall I’m happy with it and feel confident again. Just don’t ask me tomorrow.

Friday am 20 Miles

The weather cooled off just in time. As I walked out of the door this morning it was 72 degrees and a little humid and overcast. During the first mile the wind switched directions and it started to feel a lot better. I’m not sure the temperature dropped that much but the humidity did.

I felt good for most of the run. I had to run into a four hundred thousand mile per hour head wind between miles seventeen and nineteen and that was rough – it is amazing I survived. But the last mile felt pretty good. I will definitely be sore today.

Instead of keeping each mile split I ran four 5-mile loops and kept my time for each loop. I didn’t want to spend the whole run watch watching.

Here are the splits:
1st 5 – 44:39
2nd 5 – 41:40
3rd 5 – 45:38
4th 5 – 46:08

Total – 2:58:06
8:54 pace per mile

Seven Miles with Socrates

I got up really early this morning and was out of the door by 5 am for four miles by myself. Then I looped around and met Jakeb at the house and we ran 3 more together. Tomorrow is the first of two 20 mile long runs before I start to taper for the Dallas White Rock Marathon. I wanted to be a little fatigued but I hope the seven miles wasn’t over doing it.

Running this year has been good. This is the part of the training where I get more introspective because I wonder if I have it in me to finish my training at the level I desire. I wonder if I have it in me to finish 20 when I am not as rested as normal. I wonder if I can run a marathon in less than four hours. If I fail at either it will not be the end of the world and I will try again.

Training for a running a marathon is a great form of self-examination and Socrates said “The unexamined life is not worth living.”

Thirteen miles Friday am

I ran thirteen this morning. It seemed like it was over before it began. The weather was good and I felt pretty strong. I just ran and did not keep up with my splits.

Total time – 1:53:02 (8:42 pace)