PIcture from Zoo Run Run

The Nashville Striders have posted pictures from the Nashville Zoo Run Run 5k including this one:

Thats me!

I Ran the Nashville Zoo Run Run 5k

My leg was in so much pain when I woke up Saturday morning that I was convinced I would not be able to run the 5k race I had signed up for. I thought maybe it would feel better as I walked around the house, but it didn't. The thing is, I had spent $35 to register for the event and I really didn't want to waste it. I also didn't want to do anything foolish and hurt myself so bad that I wouldn't be able to run for a month.

I eventually decided that I would at least go pick up my shirt (which turned out to be a sweet technical long sleeve). If I was going to go down there then I at least needed to dress as if I was going to run just in case I felt up to it. Maybe I would walk it.

By the time I got suited up and down to the zoo, I had convinced myself that I was going to run. I knew it would be smart to stop running if it hurt, but I think I was too vain. Luckily, it wasn't that bad.

I ran the race. As I had mentioned, my goal time was 26:21. I ran the 5k in 25:43. SWEET! Not bad for 2 weeks training.

I am going to run another 5k next weekend. Hopefully I can do that one in under 24:00. My sister is going to be in town that day too, so she is going to run it too.

After that I am going to start upping the mileage again. I need to do a 10 miler the 2nd or 3rd week in February if I am going to pull off the Tom King Half Marathon in early March.

My goal for the Tom King Half Marathon is to finish. Then I can try to run the CMM 1/2 in late April in a good time (under 1:45).

It feels good to be back.

Here is a link to the Nashville Zoo Run Run results. You can see I was in the top 1/3 of racers and the top 1/2 of my age bracket.

Run Through the Pain

After feeling some pain in my calf on Wednesday, I too Thursday off. Yesterday (Friday) I ran a 5k on the treadmill at the gym. My leg started hurting shortly after I started, but I made myself run the full 5k. I am not sure if it was a good idea or a bad one.

Today I am registered for a 5k at the Nashville Zoo. My leg is sore and I won't be able to run with a great time. It is also cold outside which I think makes my muscles more prone to getting hurt. I don't want to waste my $35 entry fee, but I also don't want to hurt myself. I am thinking I will run, but take it real easy.

Tales From the Treadmill

Yesterday I set out to run 4 miles. It was cold and rainy so I went to the Y and hopped on a treadmill. I wasn't too pleased with my 3.1 the day before, so I wanted to really impress myself. Naturally, that meant I would start out faster than I had before, but that was not enough.

When I have been running on a treadmill I have been leaving it perfectly flat (incline 0.0). I know this is nowhere near the real world so I thought I would pick one of the random-ish incline patterns to make the run more "realistic". I decided to pick Cross Country #3. It was a up and down that gradually increased over the course of the run.

About 2 miles into I was getting my ass kicked by the incline. I realized that it was only going to get worse and decided I better drop the incline and just finish the 4 miles. Well, as I was pushing the "down" arrow real fast to get some relief I accidentally pushed the big red "stop" button. The treadmill came to a halt and all of my momentum was lost. As I got it started back up I decided to just run one more mile and to finish strong.

Wednesdays are my long mid-week run. Today I was going to run 6 miles; once again I would be running on the treadmill. After not being pleased with a 3.1 mile day and not being able to finish a 4 mile day, I didn't want to take any chances on today's run. I walked a quarter mile and then started slow (just under 12 min mile pace). I gradually sped it up, but not too fast. At the halfway mark I was running just over 10 minute miles. I sped it up a little more. After the 4th mile I really started to get my stride. I noticed that my heart rate was lower than other days and that I was able to breath easier. Maybe I was actually starting to see some progress from my short time running again. I could take a drink without gasping for air after, and the best part was I was sure I could speed up and still go farther than the 6 miles I set out to do.

I was well into the 6th mile when I hit the 60 minute mark...

COOLDOWN...

The damn treadmill had decided I had run long enough. The pace automatically slowed from a 7.0 to a 5.8. I was almost to 6 miles so I decided to just run through the cooldown period and the be done with it. The weird thing was that it never slowed down any more. After a short while I decided to speed it back up and finish the 6 miles. I like to finish strong and didn't want to hold up the machine b/c people were starting to fill in, so I really pushed the pace. I ran the last quarter mile in well under 2 minutes and it FELT GOOD.

My right calf was hurting a little bit when I got done, but I think it will be alright. Tomorrow I am planning to do 4 again and then rest on Thursday. I am now confident I will be able to do my 8 mile long day this weekend. If so then this will be a 30.1 mile week. If I was going to run a marathon at the end of April, my weekly mileage would be good even though my long run is a little short.

Motivation

On March 14th, 1992 I was given this mug as a trophy in the Music City Half Marathon. (I know, what a crappy trophy)

I finished the half marathon in around 1:45. I wish I knew the exact time. My time was fast enough to win 3rd place in the 19 and under age group. I was 14.

I know I can do it because I have done it before. However, I am over twice as old as I was then. That is weird.

5k Time to Beat

I ran a 5k this evening. It wasn't a race or anything, but I tried to run it like it was. I started out a little slow and gradually picked up the pace as I went. I was definitely feeling it at the end.

This was another treadmill run. I will wait until it gets a little warmer before I start venturing outside. One thing I am noticing about running on a treadmill is that I seem to use a shorter stride. It isn't until I get it up to an 8 min mile pace before I start feeling myself stretch it out more.

So my 5k time was 25:10. That sounds slow, but I sure felt like I was running as fast as I could (and still finish). At least I now have a time to beat for this weekend's 5k at the Zoo.

Tomorrow I am planning to run an easy 4 miles. Once again it will be on the treadmill. I am actually going to miss the page/time/distance screens when I run outside. Maybe I should pick up one of those Garmin watches.

First Long Day

A long run each week is an important part of training to run a long race like a half-marathon (or a marathon, I am still a little undecided). This long run is typically on Saturday or Sunday. I had planned to do my long runs on Saturday with a day of cross-training on Sunday, but that didn't work out this week. Instead of skipping the long run yesterday and doing cross-training today, it was more important to do the long run today. Tomorrow I will go back to my plan.

My long run today consisted of a 6 mile run on a treadmill at the YMCA. I didn't turn on the TV on my tradmill because I wanted to focus. I ran with an iPod listening to a DrumAndBass Arena podcast (hour long DnB mix). For the last mile I through out the headphones and picked up the pace.

My old self finds it a little amusing that I am talking about picking up the pace on a long run where the "long" is 6 miles and the pace is 1 hour and 6 minutes. Still, I am pretty pleased to have struggled to run 2 miles on Monday and to complete 6 miles on Sunday. This week was between 18 and 19 miles. Well, last week was a 12 mile week and I have started out this week with a 6 miler, but you know what I mean. I am going to have to site down and revise my training plan to reflect my good progress so far.

I said earlier in the week that if I could run 6 miles this weekend then I could run a marathon at the end of April. I made that goal. While I still think that is possible, I am leaning towards running the half in April. I may be able to pull of the half in May as well. Who knows, if I run a couple of halfs in the spring I could train to run a Fall marathon with the goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon (i.e. running 26.2 in under 3:10:59)

Let's cut this in half

I am thinking that it is a bad idea to run the Music City Marathon in April. I still think I could do it, but I won't be able to run the marathon I want to run.

I like to compete. I don't have any delusions about actually winning any races, but I would like to log some respectable times. If I run a half marathon in April I will be able to be more competitive. I ran the Music City Half Marathon once upon a time and I did it in about 1:45. I may be able to do something close to that in April, but it would be dangerous to my body to run a 4:00 marathon with the same amount of training.

So here is a new plan. I am going to run a half marathon in April and a full marathon sometime later in the year. I am also going to do some smaller races as part of my training. First up: Nashville Zoo 5k next weekend. Desired time: under 24 (I think it is doubtful).

A Breath of Fresh Air

This afternoon I went for a run at Shelby Bottoms. My training plan had me running 3 miles today, but I didn't know what to expect since I had never been to Shelby Bottoms before (even though it is just a couple of miles from my house).

First off, it was cold. I had forgotten what it was like to run in cold air. I also haven't run outside in a long time. In some ways running on a treadmill is easier. A treadmill tells you how long you have been running and how far you have run. It also keeps the pace steady for you.

I don't know if I started out too fast or if it was the cold air or if it was the hills, but I just couldn't get settled into the run. I was running with an iPod and wasn't able to hear my breath and steps. Maybe that is why I just couldn't find a groove. After two miles I was getting pretty bad cramps in my side (lack of oxygen?). I stopped to pee and started walking back. I walked for one mile and then ran the last mile back. I made sure to pick up the pace for the last half mile and ran as fast as I could for the last 50 yards or so.

It was not a great run, but it was a needed one. I learned that I don't much care for running outdoors with an iPod (though it seems to help on a treadmill). I am going to have to put in some serious time running outdoors, which is hard because the YMCA has childcare.

Next Saturday I am going to run the 5k at the Nashville Zoo. Sometime between now and then I want to find a 5k course and time myself running it without music.

Tomorrow I am going to try and run 6 miles on the treadmill at the YMCA.

Looking Back to Look Ahead

Last night I set out to run 4 miles in under 44 minutes (11min/mile). I wasn't sure I could run 4 miles since just two days before I had to push myself to run two. I was also surprised I wasn't really sore from running 2 days in a row. If I couldn't pull off 4 miles I promised myself I would at least run for 45 minutes.

The first mile took just under 12 minutes. I knew I was a little behind pace, but I figured I could make it up later. I sped up a little for mile two, finishing just over 22 minutes. I was right on pace, but I was starting to get tired. It wasn't muscle soreness or pain as much as it was something in my head telling me to quit.

"I can't do this," I thought. "Maybe I bit off more than I could chew. I should just run 3 miles and slow it down a little. What if I hurt myself?"

This is where I expected my previous experience to come into play. Even though I haven't run in 10 years I should still be able to win the battle in my head. I can power through; I have done it before. How did I do it then?

At this point I started thinking about my previous experience. I remembered running the Music City Half Marathon. I remembered crossing the finish line first in a mile track race. I remembered chasing The Kenyan for the last mile of another half marathon. I remembered 5ks and 10ks and fun runs and training runs. I remembered pain and I remembered reward. I remembered strides and I remembered breaths.

As I picked up the pace I realized that I was half way through the 3rd mile. At the pace I was going I would finish 4 miles in just over 41 minutes. Could I hit 40? I thought, "There is no reason to push it. I don't want to injure myself. Let's just keep it steady and smooth." Gone were any thoughts of not finishing 4 miles. Gone was the fear of pain. I was focused.

As I started the 4th mile I wanted to stretch my legs a bit. It was time to really run and feel the speed. I have always liked fast finishes. Without pushing too hard I should be able to run the last mile at my desired marathon pace (8:45min/mile). As I started picking it up I realized that I would be very close to hitting 40 minutes. I pushed harder, thinking back to how it felt to finish strong in the past. I felt like I could go faster and faster. As I approached the final quarter mile I was wishing I was on a track so I could burst into an all out sprint, but alas I was on a treadmill. I continued strong without sprinting and completed the 4 miles in 40:18. Not too shabby considering I ran a total of 3 miles in all of 2007.

After last night's run I revised my training plan a little. Instead of 5 miles this Saturday I am pretty sure I can run 6. Instead of an easy 3 miles on Friday I am going to try to run sub 9 minute miles. As I think about running 3 miles in under 27 minutes I think back again. This time I think back to when I could run 5k races under 20 minutes every day of the week. I start to feel stupid for being proud of my 40 minute 4. The thing is, by looking back I am able to find motivation in all kinds of ways. I may never be as fast as I used to be, but each mile means more now. I just have to keep telling myself to keep it slow and steady and I will get there. A single week of running is nothing but a start and I can't finish without starting. Who knows, maybe the wisdom of age will trump the speed of youth.

The Journey Has Begun

First, let me introduce myself:

My name is Jackson Miller. I have another blog at jaxn.org where I have posted regularly since 2001. Recently I posted an entry titled Defining "The Best Shape of My Life". As a result of that post (and the thoughts behind it), I have decided to run the Country Music City Marathon. This blog is where I am going to post training/fitness/racing information. I am also thinking I may post some relevant stories from my past that I have been thinking about to get motivated.

I am pretty close to day 1. A couple of weeks ago I ran 2 miles on a treadmill and it almost killed me. This week I have been staying in a hotel room with a treadmill in the room. On Monday I ran two mile. On Tuesday I ran 3.1 miles (a 5k) in just under 30 minutes. Last night (Wednesday) I ran 4 miles in 40:18. Today is Thursday. I have to travel today so I am going to take the day off. Friday I am going to run 3 miles at the pace I hope to run the marathon (8:45 mile). Saturday I will run 6 miles. If I can run 6 miles on Saturday, I can run 26 miles in 17 weeks.

Am I crazy? maybe.