It's like deja-vu all over again...
The training has been going well, perhaps not as much mileage as I should be at, but it's about quality more than anything else. I put in a 17.26 mile run yesterday, which went exceptionally well. I was trying to run a very easy pace so that I had energy at the end. I also wanted to be relaxed and feel like I wasn't running hard. Easy being the mantra of the day. At the half mark, I was around 1:36, certainly not as easy as I had intended it to be, but I felt strong and relaxed. The final average pace was 7:33. My "goal" (Boston cutoff) pace is 7:38.
My feet were a little tender, but that may be in part due to the Hood 2 Coast last weekend. That took most of the week to recover from, and I'm still not at 100%. So, there's still work that needs to be done. I need to continue focusing on rehabing the tight, sore areas. I need to get in at least an 18 and a 20 (I'd be better off if I could get in a 20 and a 22) and stay injury free.
The kids motivate me. Watching them run is like a breath of fresh air. I miss the "good ol'" days of running XC. Coaching them has been a good distraction for me and more importantly, I think several of them will benefit from my wisdom (how scary is that!).
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Sunday, August 24, 2008
We may be old... but we're not slowing down!
Hood to Coast Part 3:
In the wake of losing my job, I had time to run a little more, coach, and find a competitive team to run on. That was the last thing I wanted to try, run H2C on a competitive team. There was a group of 40 yr. old guys that lost a runner in the 11th hour and needed a 39 minute 10k runner to fill in the gap.
There's nothing like jumping into a van with 6 strangers for 24 hours with little to no sleep, running in the dark, trying to stay ahead of the congestion, trying to keep your intestines, well, flowing...
197 miles and a love for the Honey Bucket. The lines, the traffic, the running half asleep, the excitement of Fred Meyer in Sandy, the feeling of standing in the Pacific Ocean after a long, hard 24 hours. I love it. I hate it... or at least my body does today.
The excitement really sparked up when we found out that we were projected to finish second in the Masters Men division. Could we hold it together and finish second? How close and how possible would it be to win it all? Anything can and will happen on the Mother of all Relays...
First leg, our runner had bad calf cramps towards the end and lost a few minutes on his leg... this is NOT how to start off the H2C. Leg 1 is hell. It's been the death of many runners. This is an extreme downhill sprint. After the first van exchange we were down 10 minutes on our projected time.
Van 2 takes to the roads and we nail it. No time lost, and we dropped a few teams that we were trying to keep pace with (OK, so really we were a bunch of 40 year old men that didn't want to get passed by the girls...). I killed my first leg, a short 4.38 mile that I was supposed to run at 6:20 pace. I was less than 30 seconds over the time, which was awesome considering several of the intersections I had to cross.
Tragedy: A teenage girl in the P2C high school relay was hit on HWY 30. First accident in 27 years. She's alive, but will have a long road to recovery. I wish her well. I saw the emergency vehicles on the side of the road and knew something bad had happened. My heart goes out to her, her family, and her team today.
Little to no sleep for the wicked... we get 2 hours at St. Helen's HS and we're off again. Fortunately I get to snooze a little longer in the back of van. My second leg is around 4:30 in the morning heading into Jewel. A nice 4.1 mile roller through the early morning mist. At one point, my Nike+ registers a 5:28 mile pace. The projected pace for me was 6:05, ummm, yeah, OK. I was only 5 seconds off my time. Sweet! At the start of the third round of legs, we're still only about 10 minutes off our projected time. However, there are 3 legs to this relay (just as there are 3 phases to a race). You have to finish what you started. And finish it right. The good news was our first leg injury has proved to be cramps and he is still able to run (just slightly hobbled).
No rest for me at the second rest stop. Bathroom and food lines won over the sleep. That's the challenge of a competitive team. You don't get as much rest as you normally would. Plus I needed to try and get something in me. My intestines were not happy.
Last legs. Our top guy had a rough last leg. I've done leg 33 the previous 2 times and know how bad it is. The weather can make or break this leg. Even though it was only about 70, the exposure to the sun, the rolling hills , and the fact that you are beyond exhausted from lack of sleep and proper nutrition. He only lost a few minutes, but you could see the pained look on his face. I've lived it and know it... and knew that I might just be feeling the same thing soon.
Last leg. 7.2 miles on a trail. Sounds good right? Yeah, whatever. No shade, little breeze, and it was either flat or uphill the whole way (mixed pavement and gravel, which kills me). I went shirtless as I knew I'd just take it off in the first mile. I had water to pour on my head and drink as needed. But I was tired, my calves were lifeless from the previous 2 runs, and I had to average 6:40's. It was brutal, not overly bad, but not that great. I kept it going as strong as I could, hoping that the time lost wouldn't be the difference (the winning women's teams were seperated by 8 minutes). In the end, I lost a few, averaging 7:05's. It felt like it would never end...
In the end, it was worth it. I'm tired, but not too sore today. The Parkland Youth (PLU) Masters team took third in our division, 28th fastest overall team out of 1000. Not bad for a bunch of old farts!
In the wake of losing my job, I had time to run a little more, coach, and find a competitive team to run on. That was the last thing I wanted to try, run H2C on a competitive team. There was a group of 40 yr. old guys that lost a runner in the 11th hour and needed a 39 minute 10k runner to fill in the gap.
There's nothing like jumping into a van with 6 strangers for 24 hours with little to no sleep, running in the dark, trying to stay ahead of the congestion, trying to keep your intestines, well, flowing...
197 miles and a love for the Honey Bucket. The lines, the traffic, the running half asleep, the excitement of Fred Meyer in Sandy, the feeling of standing in the Pacific Ocean after a long, hard 24 hours. I love it. I hate it... or at least my body does today.
The excitement really sparked up when we found out that we were projected to finish second in the Masters Men division. Could we hold it together and finish second? How close and how possible would it be to win it all? Anything can and will happen on the Mother of all Relays...
First leg, our runner had bad calf cramps towards the end and lost a few minutes on his leg... this is NOT how to start off the H2C. Leg 1 is hell. It's been the death of many runners. This is an extreme downhill sprint. After the first van exchange we were down 10 minutes on our projected time.
Van 2 takes to the roads and we nail it. No time lost, and we dropped a few teams that we were trying to keep pace with (OK, so really we were a bunch of 40 year old men that didn't want to get passed by the girls...). I killed my first leg, a short 4.38 mile that I was supposed to run at 6:20 pace. I was less than 30 seconds over the time, which was awesome considering several of the intersections I had to cross.
Tragedy: A teenage girl in the P2C high school relay was hit on HWY 30. First accident in 27 years. She's alive, but will have a long road to recovery. I wish her well. I saw the emergency vehicles on the side of the road and knew something bad had happened. My heart goes out to her, her family, and her team today.
Little to no sleep for the wicked... we get 2 hours at St. Helen's HS and we're off again. Fortunately I get to snooze a little longer in the back of van. My second leg is around 4:30 in the morning heading into Jewel. A nice 4.1 mile roller through the early morning mist. At one point, my Nike+ registers a 5:28 mile pace. The projected pace for me was 6:05, ummm, yeah, OK. I was only 5 seconds off my time. Sweet! At the start of the third round of legs, we're still only about 10 minutes off our projected time. However, there are 3 legs to this relay (just as there are 3 phases to a race). You have to finish what you started. And finish it right. The good news was our first leg injury has proved to be cramps and he is still able to run (just slightly hobbled).
No rest for me at the second rest stop. Bathroom and food lines won over the sleep. That's the challenge of a competitive team. You don't get as much rest as you normally would. Plus I needed to try and get something in me. My intestines were not happy.
Last legs. Our top guy had a rough last leg. I've done leg 33 the previous 2 times and know how bad it is. The weather can make or break this leg. Even though it was only about 70, the exposure to the sun, the rolling hills , and the fact that you are beyond exhausted from lack of sleep and proper nutrition. He only lost a few minutes, but you could see the pained look on his face. I've lived it and know it... and knew that I might just be feeling the same thing soon.
Last leg. 7.2 miles on a trail. Sounds good right? Yeah, whatever. No shade, little breeze, and it was either flat or uphill the whole way (mixed pavement and gravel, which kills me). I went shirtless as I knew I'd just take it off in the first mile. I had water to pour on my head and drink as needed. But I was tired, my calves were lifeless from the previous 2 runs, and I had to average 6:40's. It was brutal, not overly bad, but not that great. I kept it going as strong as I could, hoping that the time lost wouldn't be the difference (the winning women's teams were seperated by 8 minutes). In the end, I lost a few, averaging 7:05's. It felt like it would never end...
In the end, it was worth it. I'm tired, but not too sore today. The Parkland Youth (PLU) Masters team took third in our division, 28th fastest overall team out of 1000. Not bad for a bunch of old farts!
Friday, August 8, 2008
Updates...
It's been a while since I last updated, so here's the short version...
July was a busy month with a trip out to Toronto for work followed by some big meetings with partners. Beth headed out to Longmeadow for the start of her "vacation" (one week with Mom before I joined her and we headed to the Cape). The doctorate program is, in a nutshell, hell for her.
All was going fairly well until the day I was supposed to head out east to join her. I had a "download" meeting with my boss and was informed that they were going to have to let me go. Restructuring. Whatever the reason, it sucks. Sure I can collect unemployment and I got a package, but it still sucks. Job hunting today is not easy. To some extent it's not really about how good you are, it's about who you know. Fortunately I was given my vacation as paid time off and would be on the payroll until the 6th of August.
So, off I go on the red eye to Hartford, wondering how I'm going to tell my already stressed out wife that I'm no longer employed. She took it in stride and has been extremely supportive. The 2 weeks out east were great, we had a whole week on what was almost a private beach on the Cape Cod National Seashore, I went to Fenway Park TWICE (Yankees and Angels, although we lost both), ate lobster TWICE, and got real tan. Considering I'd just lost my job, it was a great vacation.
Back home and ready to leave InFocus after 7 1/2 years it all feels so surreal. I'm going to volunteer at Aloha HS as a cross country coach for a while (hopefully for the season) and find the next great adventure in life.
July was a busy month with a trip out to Toronto for work followed by some big meetings with partners. Beth headed out to Longmeadow for the start of her "vacation" (one week with Mom before I joined her and we headed to the Cape). The doctorate program is, in a nutshell, hell for her.
All was going fairly well until the day I was supposed to head out east to join her. I had a "download" meeting with my boss and was informed that they were going to have to let me go. Restructuring. Whatever the reason, it sucks. Sure I can collect unemployment and I got a package, but it still sucks. Job hunting today is not easy. To some extent it's not really about how good you are, it's about who you know. Fortunately I was given my vacation as paid time off and would be on the payroll until the 6th of August.
So, off I go on the red eye to Hartford, wondering how I'm going to tell my already stressed out wife that I'm no longer employed. She took it in stride and has been extremely supportive. The 2 weeks out east were great, we had a whole week on what was almost a private beach on the Cape Cod National Seashore, I went to Fenway Park TWICE (Yankees and Angels, although we lost both), ate lobster TWICE, and got real tan. Considering I'd just lost my job, it was a great vacation.
Back home and ready to leave InFocus after 7 1/2 years it all feels so surreal. I'm going to volunteer at Aloha HS as a cross country coach for a while (hopefully for the season) and find the next great adventure in life.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
4 years in the making...
I've had this vision for sometime now... pretty much ever since we first moved into the house. Time, money, time, lack of vision, and a plethora of other excuses kept me from starting this project.
This would be the year that I'd start and finish the backyard. It had to be done if we're going to sell this house and not get a lot of negatives due to the back being unfinished (and worn down by the pooches).
April: It begins... I wear the dogs out the first big weekend of work. The storage shed gets moved to open the space up more. You can see the beginning of the "trench" where the retaining wall will eventually be. The 2 cement pads to the left will eventually be removed (2+ hours with a jack hammer, yeah, I busted out with the big boy tools). The whole backyard pretty much looks like this surface, well packed down bark dust.
May saw little work due to a lot of little things, but there was the weekend with the Bobcat MT-52 mini-loader (google that bad boy! it totally kicks ass!). One long day of leveling things out on the upper end of the backyard, finishing the retaining wall, and realizing I've now made a HUGE mess back there.
June: This was the month I had to get this done. One big push the weekend the pavers were delivered. Rototill, level, spread, 3 loads (ultimately needing 4) of 1/2 cubic yard of gravel (3/4 minus with a top layer of 1/4 minus), and 4 pallets of pavers.
240 sq. ft. of patio space is done, put a fork in it...
Final weekend of June: Wash, rinse, repeat. It was a do-over of the previous weekend of leveling, smoothing, gravel, plate compactor, laying the pavers, and realizing I'm not 20 anymore.
About another 180 sq. ft. of patio is done. The project (for the most part) is complete. We now have a kick ass place to beat the summer heat. In all, I estimate that it took me roughly 60 hours of labor to do this project over several weekends.
Tools of the trade:
Bobcat MT-52 with bucket and tiller attachment
5 HP and 9 HP tiller (the 5 didn't cut it).
Bosch electric jack hammer.
Plate compactor
Brick Saw
I'm done, put a beer in me. Barley's satisfied with the quality, that's all that really matters.
This would be the year that I'd start and finish the backyard. It had to be done if we're going to sell this house and not get a lot of negatives due to the back being unfinished (and worn down by the pooches).
April: It begins... I wear the dogs out the first big weekend of work. The storage shed gets moved to open the space up more. You can see the beginning of the "trench" where the retaining wall will eventually be. The 2 cement pads to the left will eventually be removed (2+ hours with a jack hammer, yeah, I busted out with the big boy tools). The whole backyard pretty much looks like this surface, well packed down bark dust.May saw little work due to a lot of little things, but there was the weekend with the Bobcat MT-52 mini-loader (google that bad boy! it totally kicks ass!). One long day of leveling things out on the upper end of the backyard, finishing the retaining wall, and realizing I've now made a HUGE mess back there.
June: This was the month I had to get this done. One big push the weekend the pavers were delivered. Rototill, level, spread, 3 loads (ultimately needing 4) of 1/2 cubic yard of gravel (3/4 minus with a top layer of 1/4 minus), and 4 pallets of pavers.240 sq. ft. of patio space is done, put a fork in it...
Final weekend of June: Wash, rinse, repeat. It was a do-over of the previous weekend of leveling, smoothing, gravel, plate compactor, laying the pavers, and realizing I'm not 20 anymore.About another 180 sq. ft. of patio is done. The project (for the most part) is complete. We now have a kick ass place to beat the summer heat. In all, I estimate that it took me roughly 60 hours of labor to do this project over several weekends.
Tools of the trade:
Bobcat MT-52 with bucket and tiller attachment
5 HP and 9 HP tiller (the 5 didn't cut it).
Bosch electric jack hammer.
Plate compactor
Brick Saw
I'm done, put a beer in me. Barley's satisfied with the quality, that's all that really matters.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Legacy
22 years in the making... I grew up in a house where the Celtics were the team my father loved dearly. Being Irish, what other team would he root for? Bird, Parish, DJ, McHale, Ainge, Russel, Havlicek... and of course, Red. Now it's Pierce, Allen, and Garnett.Watching the Celtics DESTROY the Lakers tonight was amazing and emotional. 3 years ago my father passed away on Father's Day. I wish I could call him tonight about this game. I know he'd be very happy and probably a bit choked up too. I know I was...
Boston. Beantown. City of Champions. Red Sox, Pats, now the Celtics. 17 Championships in 62 years. Beating LA by a ridiculous amount at home. Priceless.
This one's for you dad... one for the Irish!
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Drop Top 10k
I had this goal last year, run a 10k in under 40 minutes. Well, I never raced that distance until this weekend, so the goal was still there.
I felt real good at the start and went out a little too fast, but it didn't feel out of control. I got into a solid rhythm through 2 miles and kept that pace through 4 miles. Then, just like old times, mile 5 I dropped off my pace, way off... but still in good position. I was in 10th place through the first 3.5. I dropped a place but kept him in check until we crossed back over the highway. With 1.5 to go, I slowed and lost contact and didn't get it back. I did push hard through the last mile and finished strong in... just under 40 minutes.
6:25 ave pace.
11th overall
10th male
3rd overall masters men
1st in age group
How sweet it is!
I felt real good at the start and went out a little too fast, but it didn't feel out of control. I got into a solid rhythm through 2 miles and kept that pace through 4 miles. Then, just like old times, mile 5 I dropped off my pace, way off... but still in good position. I was in 10th place through the first 3.5. I dropped a place but kept him in check until we crossed back over the highway. With 1.5 to go, I slowed and lost contact and didn't get it back. I did push hard through the last mile and finished strong in... just under 40 minutes.
6:25 ave pace.
11th overall
10th male
3rd overall masters men
1st in age group
How sweet it is!
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Running through the Past - Darkly
Well, I did it. I went and ran Eugene. Saturday I arrived at the Expo in time to listen to Kenny Moore speak and get him to sign his book (Bowerman and the Men of Oregon). Dinner at Track Town Pizza (a trip down memory lane), so all was good.
Up at 5 am to get in breakfast and head out to Autzen for the shuttles to the start at Hayward Field. It was crisp and cool, perfect starting weather for a race. Standing outside Hayward memories of the many track meets that I attended there running through my mind. We start off heading towards Hendricks Park and Pre's Rock. My knee's were tight from being cold, but I figured they'd loosen up (and they did). Easy pace through the first mile, running through the residential streets and heading towards Roosevelt Middle School. Down to Amazon Parkway, it's like I was a kid again on a training run heading home from South. At the first turn around I saw Bill and Marcia McChesney. Kenny Moore was at mile 3 and 6 cheering us all on. Through Amazon Park and past the SEHS track. The memories were all coming back to 22 years ago. Mile 7 was the Bill McChesney Jr. mile, right near the SEHS gym. The crowd there was amazing! I see the Axemen Track sweatshirts at the water station in front of the school, a glowing moment of pride.
My pace through all of this was perfect, low 7's and fairly consistent. Everything feels great. We head past UO, over the footbridge, and out to Springfield. I try to slow down a little to conserve energy. Since I was down for so long, I knew that endurance and fatigue would be my enemy. I come through the half in 1:36, sweet! I needed to be between 1:35 and 1:40, when I need to, I can run pace perfectly. By 16, I was a little tired but still feeling strong. I'm told that I looked strong through 17 (felt pretty good too), but I knew it would only be a matter of time before fatigue was going to be an issue. Mile 18 I had sock issues (lovely blisters as a result) and dealt with it as best as I could. Still good at 20 although I've dropped my pace (while fussing with my socks around 18).
OK, so 10k to go. Gut check time. I think I might be able to pull this off...
At 22, I'm tired. I know my stride is not where it needs to be and my lack of endurance is showing. I could still pull out a BQ, but I'm not overly optimistic. I've had an awesome run and and happy with whatever comes my way. 3 to go and I'm losing it. 2.5 and the wheels come off. With just 2 miles to go, I can't run anymore. I've given it everything I had, and that's OK. I stroll to the footbridge, see Autzen, and start to jog it in. I run through the finish line and it's done. Marathon #2 is in the books. It was hell to get here, but I'm not complaining about a thing. I ran as perfect a race as I could considering all that had been going on the last 3 weeks.
I'm dreading walking down stairs...
Up at 5 am to get in breakfast and head out to Autzen for the shuttles to the start at Hayward Field. It was crisp and cool, perfect starting weather for a race. Standing outside Hayward memories of the many track meets that I attended there running through my mind. We start off heading towards Hendricks Park and Pre's Rock. My knee's were tight from being cold, but I figured they'd loosen up (and they did). Easy pace through the first mile, running through the residential streets and heading towards Roosevelt Middle School. Down to Amazon Parkway, it's like I was a kid again on a training run heading home from South. At the first turn around I saw Bill and Marcia McChesney. Kenny Moore was at mile 3 and 6 cheering us all on. Through Amazon Park and past the SEHS track. The memories were all coming back to 22 years ago. Mile 7 was the Bill McChesney Jr. mile, right near the SEHS gym. The crowd there was amazing! I see the Axemen Track sweatshirts at the water station in front of the school, a glowing moment of pride.
My pace through all of this was perfect, low 7's and fairly consistent. Everything feels great. We head past UO, over the footbridge, and out to Springfield. I try to slow down a little to conserve energy. Since I was down for so long, I knew that endurance and fatigue would be my enemy. I come through the half in 1:36, sweet! I needed to be between 1:35 and 1:40, when I need to, I can run pace perfectly. By 16, I was a little tired but still feeling strong. I'm told that I looked strong through 17 (felt pretty good too), but I knew it would only be a matter of time before fatigue was going to be an issue. Mile 18 I had sock issues (lovely blisters as a result) and dealt with it as best as I could. Still good at 20 although I've dropped my pace (while fussing with my socks around 18).
OK, so 10k to go. Gut check time. I think I might be able to pull this off...
At 22, I'm tired. I know my stride is not where it needs to be and my lack of endurance is showing. I could still pull out a BQ, but I'm not overly optimistic. I've had an awesome run and and happy with whatever comes my way. 3 to go and I'm losing it. 2.5 and the wheels come off. With just 2 miles to go, I can't run anymore. I've given it everything I had, and that's OK. I stroll to the footbridge, see Autzen, and start to jog it in. I run through the finish line and it's done. Marathon #2 is in the books. It was hell to get here, but I'm not complaining about a thing. I ran as perfect a race as I could considering all that had been going on the last 3 weeks.
I'm dreading walking down stairs...
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