Circuit Training in the COLD!

Today was not a good day for running...more a good day for sleeping late. I contemplated doing that when I heard the wind and rain hitting the outside of our house last night. Yesterday was 83 degrees. The temperature dropped like a rock overnight. It was 38 when I left the house and the radio said the wind chill was 30 degrees.

I hooked up with the hearty Gazelles at Runtex for a warm up run to Austin High. Gilbert was waiting for us for circuit training. There were a few new Gazelles including a guy named Patrick who used to train with us at Galloway. He was in for a huge shock! I did my workout with Jay and we were able to do it leisurely and visit a bit. The wind was blowing really hard out of the NW and the day felt like Moto in 2003...not a good day at the races.

Jay and I did 3 of the circuits and then headed back to Runtex. It was a 5.5 mile day between the 3x800 during the circuit and the jog back and forth to AHS. I headed to the AMD gym, did some calf raises, leg extensions, ab machine, and 2 sets of crunches and 1 set of leg lifts in the "chair" apparatus. Gilbert told me to lift weights to keep the strength in my legs that is zapped out during the long runs.

Recovery Run + Many 100s

Today was an interesting workout. It consisted of a 7+ mile run and medium pace and 20 x 100 on the grass at Auditorium shores. I took off a 6AM with Pam. We headed east on the trail across the dam, across the Pfluger bridge and back to the mile zero marker. Pam cut it short and went across the first street bridge. I am fighting a cold, so I wasn't able to pick up the pace as much as I would have liked. I ended up with 7.56 mile - 1:07:58 - 9:00 pace. It felt pretty good considering the 18 I ran on Saturday plus I still had the 20 strides in front of me.

I ran the first few strides with the group and then got the "personal" coaching from Gilbert for the last 7. He was telling me to swing my left arm and lower my shoulders. I tend to hunch my shoulders when I am tired and it caused cramps in my shoulders when I run. The total mileage for the 20 strides plus the jog back to Runtex was 2.01 miles.

So it was a total of 9.57 miles for the day on a warm, humid morning. The weather will be at least 20 degrees cooler tomorrow morning.

The Last Half of Freescale - Long Run

Today we ran the last 20 miles of the Freescale course. I haven't run since Tuesday and have eaten like crap the past two days so I was a little sluggish getting up in the AM. I am also battling a little cold, so when the alarm went off, I wanted to roll over.

I was really worried about my foot when I got to the starting line at Anderson and Shoal Creek. I rode up in a lady named Greta's van. I got aced out of Jay's truck by all the women. :) I started out running with Gilbert and then started running with a new Gazelle named Pam. She was a very interesting lady and I really enjoyed running with her.

My foot started out hurting pretty bad, but felt better as we progressed. I put two strips of mole skin on top of the part of the foot that hurt. It seemed to help. Running the first part of the course down to Trinity was very easy. After running the NYC marathon, it reminds me of how easy the Freescale course is. I felt really good during this section and let the slight downhill carry me. I couldn't find any of the water that Gilbert had put out, so I went without for the first 10 miles. I finally got some water at a park off of Trinity. The hills through downtown and heading across 6th street were a bit harder. We had a very strong headwind heading west that took a bit more out of us. The turn around part was also kind of boring. I need to remember that when I run the marathon so I stay mentally tough. Pam started slowing a bit so we separated on the out and back. I ran into Jay and his posse of women right across from Mangia and he led me to the power ade...I was so thirsty. Pam kept going and I never caught up with her. I headed down Lake Austin still feeling pretty good. The trail is still closed by the rock due to all the flooding, so I took the detour and got back on the trail after AHS. I started getting some stomach cramps, so I took a potty break and that did the trick. I didn't do the full 20 miles...taking a detour and crossing the I-35 bridge and heading back. I only lost about 2.5 miles, but with my foot still hurting, I figured better safe than sorry. I am still only 3 weeks past my marathon so today's effort was really good. I did 5 strides and then headed home.

My foot feels pretty good tonight, but my legs are really sore. I think it's a combination of the distance and all the crap I have been eating. It's time to get back on the healthy diet and continue flushing the bad things out of my system. Tomorrow is another rest day as I get back on my normal schedule.

17.56 Mile long run; 2:42:48; 9:16 pace
.62 mile strides and cool down
18.2 miles total for the day

Extra Rest and Thanksgiving

My foot was hurting all day on Tuesday after the 1000 workout. It was a dull pain in the ball of my foot like I was stepping on a tack. I decided to take Wednesday off and see how it felt then. Wednesday came and the pain was still there when I walked so I decided to rest in hopes of completing the 20 miler on Saturday.

My friend John came in from Houston for Thanksgiving. We also had my sister in law, niece and nephew, and the Dikkoli family over for dinner. It was a lot of fun having a big crowd over. It made not being with my family a bit more easier. I always miss Thanksgiving with my family in Arizona. I have so many good memories of Thanksgiving...many funny times! I ate way too much and felt sick after the meal. My body needed to run.

On Friday, we went to the UT/A&M game. It was a wonderful experience. Although I didn't go to UT, I am becoming a huge fan. College football is great and an awesome rivalry game like this one is one of the classics. I have been to many Arizona vs. ASU games as well as a USC vs. UCLA game, but this one was the most intense that I have ever been to. I hate A&M so I fit in quite well. Texas won 26-13 and the game wasn't that close at all. I hope things work out for UT to get into one of the BCS bowls. They are one of the best teams in the country.

1000 Repeats

Today was 1000 repeat day at Lake Austin HS. The trail was still under water, so we had to take a detour to get to AHS. I felt a bit tired going into the workout with Motive and NYC behind me in the past 15 days, but decided to go as hard as I could. I ran my repeats with Jay, Joseph and Amy. I ended up doing 6 for the day because my right foot started hurting in the ball of my foot. It was a good day except for the sudden foot pain

4:54.14
5:00.55
4:54.64
4:53.23
4:50.37
4:25.28

8.82 Miles total with warmup and cool down.

A Day Inside

It has been raining in Austin for almost a week now. It's very hard rain causing flooding around the area. Parts of the Town Lake trail are under water which is really bad. I was supposed to meet Alex and Liliana at 6AM to run around the trail, but didn't make the attempt. I heard it raining all night and assumed that the trail was going to be a mess. I got up and headed to the health club for an hour on the treadmill. I hate the treadmill, but didn't want to run on the road the day after a race. I was able to run 6.5 miles in an hour. I passed the time watching TV reports of the Town Lake trail under water...even at mile zero. Hopefully the rain stops soon so the trail isn't damaged too bad.

2004 Motive Half Marathon

This is my 3rd Motive half marathon. Each year I dread the hills and they usually kick my butt. After struggling at NYC two weeks ago, I decided that I was going to treat this race as just another training run so my mind wouldn't get in my way. I had pizza for dinner like I usually do before training runs and drank a lot of water and gatorade.

I got to the course around 6AM to meet Gilbert and the gazelles at 6:30. I mixed two packets of Gilbert's mojo with 16 oz. of water and drank that on the way down. I also ate a Clif bar. I chilled in my jeep to the music of the Carpenters...of all groups. Jay came by around 6:15 and we headed to the finish line to meet the group. We did a 20 minute warmup and then did some drills. I found a tree, put on my race singlet and hung out with Jay until it was time to go.

I told myself to start out slow and actually did a good job of it. The run down Jolleyville is a bit downhill and a great place to get into a rhythm. My plan was to start at around an 8:00 pace for the miles before the hills, maybe in the 8:30 range for the hills and then in kick it in the last 5-6 miles.

1 - 7:51
2 - 7:38
3 - 8:11
4 - 8:08

The hills begin at about mile 4.5 after the big downhill. The past two years the downhill has caused an injury to my left lower shin. I found out from Gilbert that I have been going down the hills wrong and used his technique this year. I was able to keep a decent pace without hurting my leg again. I hit the start of the big uphill and felt really good. The next part was the hardest piece of the race. I used the "high knee" that Gilbert taught us and had no problems climbing this hill. At Pervasive I quit...at this race I kicked its ass as well as the other remaining hills!

5 - 8:08
6 - 8:29
7 - 8:18

The hills are now over and it's time to head out of the neighborhood and across 183 on Oak Knoll and back into the west side of the Motive campus. This part was mostly flat with some downhill parts. You don't get another uphill until mile 12 and that one is only a slight uphill. The bad part is that you don't want to see it at that point in the race. It's the part of the course that curves around the apartments behind the Motive campus. I was very happy with the back half of my race. I did a negative split by two minutes and was pretty consistent with my splits...even on the last uphill mile.

8 - 7:56
9 - 7:44
10 - 7:42
11 - 7:36
12 - 7:39
13 - 7:49
0.1 - 00:47

I finished the race in 1:43:56 which is a 6 minute improvement over last year. It is a course PR, but 6 minutes slower than my half marathon PR (3M 2004). I felt awesome this race and never walked. I didn't feel tired until about the last uphill mile, but my times didn't waver. I tried the Envertin instead of the gel packs and that worked really well for me.

Race day night - Gilbert's Bday party
This was a very nice event hosted at Pete Rauch's house. Pete and his wife were expecting 30 folks when he volunteered his house, but there were at least double that. There were old and new Gazelles and many folks brought their kids. I hung out with Henry, Jay, Amy, Sean, Alex, and Jan. Everyone looked totally different outside of their running clothes. It was a fun event!

Easy Jog and Stretching

Today I ran with small group of Gazelles prior to the big race tomorrow. We did a brief, slow run and even did some chanting to one of Gilbert's native songs about the lion chasing the gazelle. The cool part was that before we started chanting, we all got in perfect running rhythm...everyone's feet were hitting the ground at the same exact time. It was awesome!

We ran the trail counter clockwise from Runtex to the first ave bridge and then back to Runtex for the usual Saturday stretching ritual. Gilbert then gave us some tips for the Motive 1/2 marathon and we were off.

Carla dropped the kids off at Runtex and we attended Gilbert's kids running clinic. Only a few kids showed up, but the girls really liked working with "Daddy's" coach. I went to drive the Motive course after the clinic and only drove the hilly parts. The evilness of it came back from years past. This race is always a challenge!

Rest Day

Today is my normal rest day...no running today. I brought my workout clothes to work to possibly lift some weights, but thought better of it since I have a race on Sunday.

Back with the Gazelles

Today was my first day back with the Gazelles. We did a 10x1 fartlek. I ran with Margaret, Jay, Amy and Joseph. Due to the flooding of the Town lake trail, we ran counter clockwise toward I-35 and then back across the Pfluger bridge and back to the zero mile marker. The workout was followed by some strides. It was a nice, easy way to get back into the swing of things.

Easy 30-45 Minute Run

4.05 Miles; 33:09; 8:11 pace

Today was my normal "run as you feel" day. It was raining very hard throughout the whole run, but it wasn't cold. It felt like my running days in Oregon, but in Oregon it doesn't rain this hard. My shoes were soaked within the first 10 minutes. Many people don't like the rain, but I find it to be a nice change...kind of exhilirating. I need to make this run a bit longer in the future.

Tomorrow I am back with the Gazelles...I am going to miss sleeping until 6 or 6:30 every day!

First Day Back...on to Freescale

My first day back! I ran 5.35 miles in 43:36 in the warm rain through the streets of Circle C. My legs felt a bit more sluggish than I expected, but it was great to get out. I tried to do a "run as you feel" just to see how my legs would respond. I did the first 3 miles at a pretty good clip and then sped up a little for the last two miles. 1 - 8:19 , 2 - 8:17, 3 - 8:13, 4 - 7:58, 5 - 7:58 , .35 - 2:51 (8:10 pace)

I did some stretching after and my legs have a few spots of soreness, but I think that is to be expected from no pounding for 8 days.

Monday, November 15th

No orthotics this AM, so I did 45 minutes hard on the elliptical trainer followed by some stretching. I haven't sweat this much or got my heart rate up since the marathon.

I picked up my orthotics at lunch time and they feel great. I get to run tomorrow and begin my training for Freescale!

The Week After - 11/8 - 11/12

It's time for some well deserved rest. I flew home without any complications on Monday. I was a little stiff, but nothing major. I worked from home on Tuesday since Emma was home sick. We had a nice day together. My legs actually felt better than on Monday...which is a first. Usually post-race day two feels a lot worse than day one.

Wednesday I returned to work and hit the gym on the way in. I rode the elliptical trainer at a moderate speed for 30 minutes...still no pain or anything. I stretched really well and felt good about the day.

Thursday was a school holiday and Emma's birthday so I worked from home. My legs feel great and I am itching to run.

On Friday I hit the gym again and did another 30 minutes on the elliptical trainer followed by a mile of run walk on the treadmill. My legs feel great. I was supposed to pick up my orthotics today, but they aren't ready to go. I am going to venture out tomorrow without them and see how my feet do. I can't sit around anymore. I am going to treat the upcoming week like a taper week to get ready for Motive next weekend.

The NYC Marathon!

Well race day finally came and went. I got up at 5:30am to get ready for the bus ride to Staten Island. I drank my first bottle of Accelerade, ate a bagel, and ate a Clif Bar before leaving the hotel. I walked the two blocks to the bus stop and got on board. I ended up sitting next to a guy from Akron that went to UofA a few years before I did. The bus took off in a caravan with a police escort down the Westside highway. I did get to see Ground Zero from the window of the bus as we went by. It was really weird seeing the big hole in the ground. I can't believe that those huge towers took up such little space. It was really sad. I ate a Clif bar and drank my 2nd and 3rd bottles of Accelerade on the bus.

Our bus got stuck in traffic so we didn't get to the SI until around 9AM. That meant I had about 40 minutes to drop off my stuff and get to the so called VIP tent. The Orange baggage drop off took 10 minutes to get to and I couldn't find the VIP tent. By the time I found the tent, it was already time to start lining up. I ate a quick bagel, took a pee and headed to the starting line. By the time I got over to the line, there was a line to get in line...what a mess. People were going to the bathroom anyplace they could...and being the runner that I am, I joined them! Things finally got moving so I finally got in line and started moving towards the bridge. It was already getting warm...so much for the 50 degree weather. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. The high ended up being 68.

Someone sang the national anthem, there was a loud bang and we were off. They started playing New York, New York and it was really cool taking off over the bridge. I started out at a nice pace to warm up and was running with crowd. I wasn't dodging in out and and just kind of taking it all in. The views looking off the bridge were awesome. Some folks were taking pictures from the bridge, while others chose to pee off the bridge.

We were off into Brookly after the bridge and my my side of the road was all in the sun with no shade at all until the merge at mile 8. The crowds were amazing...many people deep and all cheering. I kept good pace, but started to feel a bit tired right after the 10k mark.

Mile 1: 8:58
Mile 2: 7:30
Mile 3: 7:27 (1.02 Miles)
Mile 4: 7:36
Mile 5: 7:31
Mile 6: 7:44
Mile 7: 7:38
Mile 8: 8:57 (had to pee)

After the merge we finally got into some shade and I started to feel better. I got into "run how you feel" mode like Gilbert preaches and got back into a good rhythm. I had to take a pee break right before the merge which slowed me down a bit. I couldn't believe the number of international runners. It is truly an international event. I am still in the heart of Brooklyn on the way to Queens.

Mile 9: 8:18
Mile 10: 8:02
Mile 11: 8:41
Mile 12: 8:37
Mile 13: 9:04
Mile 14: 9:36 (1.07 Miles)
Mile 15: 9:21

Now it's time to head over the Queensborough Bridge and into Manhattan. I had already started to walk a bit the last few miles as the times show. The bridge seemed like it went on forever and I walked a lot through it. I heard from friends how loud the crowd was as you come onto first avenue, but I never thought it would sound so loud and feel so great. It gave me a lift for about a mile and then I was back to the run walk. I started to feel like I couldn't get enough fluid. I was taking two cups of gatorade and water at each stop. I was totally thrown by that since I trained in the heat of Austin all summer and we only drank every 3-4 miles. Going up first avenue was a bear. It looks flat, but it is a slight uphill all the way to the Bronx. The road was really wide though and the crowds were strong all the way up to the bridge.

Mile 16: 16:57 (1.4 miles) the garmin got wacked while inside the bridge
Mile 17: 9:10 (1.04 miles)
Mile 18: 11:46 (had to stop to get a band aid for the blister on my right little toe)
Mile 19: 10:15
Mile 20: 10:07

Finally into the Bronx...the crowds were really nice on this little stretch in the Bronx. I was high fiving the kids and trying to have some fun with the race during this stretch. I was still having a hard time and was really thirsty throughout the rest of the race. I was drinking two cups at every water stop. BTW, I ate my Carboom every 45 minutes.

Now on to the last 6 miles. Again, it seemed like all uphill heading back towards the park. There was finally some downhill relief when we actually entered the park. We ran South through the park to 59th street and then headed west along Central Park South. We went through Columbus circle and then North into the park. I saw myself on the big screen at the corner and made sure to raise my arms. I had been jockeying around this freak from Britain that was wearing a "man thong" with his ass hanging out and a British flag around his neck. I couldn't let him beat me. Even though I was dead tired, I focused and was able to "butt-kick" as my coach Gilbert taught me for the last part of the race I passed the thong guy and many for folks like they were standing still. I looked at my watch before I crossed the line and I was going at a 7:11 pace.

Mile 21: 11:13
Mile 22: 10:52
Mile 23: 11:56 (1.08 Miles)
Mile 24: 11:20
Mile 25: 10:37 (1.03 Miles)
Mile 26: 4:15 (.499 Miles)

Final chip time: 4:03:35

My splits are based on my Garmin watch which flaked out in the back half of the race due to the tall buildings. It gave me a total distance of 26.1 miles. All in all, it was a rough day, but very satisfying because I fought through it and finished again and in a decent time. I wasn't one of the many people on their knees or laying on the side of the road during the last 6 miles. I felt really bad for them. Now it is time to put the race behind me and get ready for Freescale 2005.

I gathered my stuff...thank God for being only UPS truck 30 and the Orange exit which was about at 80th street. I packed my birckenstocks at the last minute on Saturday night and they were a welcome sight. I took off my running shoes and walked back in socks and my sandals. I probably looked foolish, but I was able to walk. I think the two mile walk back to the hotel really helped me. I took an ice bath and was ready to head to dinner.

I met up with Sean, Peter and Sean's folks and two sisters at this wonderful Brazilian steak house for dinner. I thought I would want to eat like a beast, but I wasn't really famished. I did eat a lot, but not enough to feel sick. Sean, Peter and I then headed to a local pub for a few beers. I decided to pack it in around 9PM instead of heading to the marathon party. I was exhausted and had to get up at 6AM to get back to Newark to catch my flight home.

All in all my 5th marathon was a great experience! Every marathoner should have the privilege of running NYC.

The Day Before NYC

I slept until 8AM this morning and then met Pete and Sean downstairs for a quick run through Central Pak. We headed up 7th avenue and to Central Park and then joined the huge "Freedom Run" that the NYC Roadrunners have for the international participants. We were able to run the last part of the race course and actually cross the finish line a day early. I have never been to Central Park and it was very beautiful. I saw the skating rink they always show on the movies and a the leaves were turning as well. Along the way Pete's calf seized up, so he ended up being put out of the race. It was a shame since he worked so hard over the Summer to peak at NYC. He went back to the Expo and pulled out of the race, so he has a guaranteed entry for next year.

After the run Sean and I ate breakfast at the Star Diner and I headed back to my hotel. I ventured out and probably shouldn't have, but I wanted to pay my respects to the Ground Zero. I jumped on the subway, but due to construction ended up getting with a couple of miles before I decided to turn around. I rode back uptown to Rockefeller plaza and headed over to American Girl to buy Emma and Caroline some birthday and Christmas gifts. The place was a zoo...they are making a killing. I then dropped by St. Patrick's Cathedral and lit a candle for a safe race day. It is such a beautiful church. There was a couple getting married amidst all of the tourists. I finally walked back to my hotel and got in around 2PM. That was 3 hours on my feet that I didn't need.

I spent the afternoon napping, watching football and preparing my race bag. I left around 6:30 to meet Sean and his buddy Peter for dinner. We went downtown to an ale house and has some great pasta. We watched UT look like crap in the first half against OK State and finished around half time. I headed back to my hotel and watched the rest of the game before going to bed...big things happening in the AM!

Friday Before NYC

Well I made it to NYC for the big race. I flew in today and met up with Elizabeth and Linda who i used to train with when I was with Galloway. We rode the train from Newark to Penn Station and then cabbed back to their hotel. We then grabbed lunch at a deli and headed over to the expo. The Expo was huge...lots of stuff to see and buy. I ended up with two long sleeve shirts, some NYC marathon socks and this cool red blinking light thing so that I don't get run over while I train in the winter. We left the Expo around 4:30 and my legs were pooped. Hopefully a nice dinner tonight and a quiet evening before a rest day on Saturday.