The Tale of Three Long Runs (Or, How a Long Run Can Redeem).

Any marathon runner knows that September is a big month for fall marathon training. Today is the 19th, and already I have more miles this month than in any full month so far this year. Of course, this year has not been a model of overtraining, but it has been a big month even so. I have completed three long runs this month, and each had its own, definite character.

Saturday, September 4. 7:10pm. This was my "impromptu" long run, in the sense that I originally planned to do this run the following morning. In fact, I spent a part of the afternoon prior to the run with a couple of beers and some ghost peppers. Still, when 7pm rolled around and all three daughters were in bed for the night, it seemed like a great opportunity.

This run was, to some extent, all wrong from the start. I went out at a stupid pace for such a run - my pace didn't rise above 8:19 until mile 9, and there were a couple of sub-8:00 miles thrown in just to make things interesting. After that, I only hit a sub-9:00 pace for three of the remaining miles. There was even a 12:00+ mile at the end, after I had submitted to my aching stomach and legs. Ugly run, and a good lesson that it is tough to fake an 18 miler.

Total distance 17.95, total time 2:44:25, 9:09/mile average pace.

Sunday, September 12. 6:00am. I tried to apply my lesson learned from the prior week's 18 mile run and go out at a more reasonable pace, and succeeded hitting paces in the mid to high 8:00s for the first 10 miles. Mile 11 was slow, yet interesting, as I made my way from our local "River Greenway" onto a golf course and spooked three white tail deer. Running on a few fairways certainly helped ease the impact on my feet and legs, but did slow me down considerably. Other than another 10:00+ mile at mile 18, this run finished uneventfully.

Total distance 21.02, total time 3:12:05, 9:08/mile average pace.

To be honest, after two runs in a row without averaging a sub-9:00/mile pace, I was a bit disheartened. I try to keep perspective about training runs, since they are just that. Still, my AA+ goal for the Grand Rapids Marathon in October is a Boston qualifying time of 3:15:59 or less. Using a conservative rule of thumb, my long runs should be coming in at no slower than 8:57/mile. Although 0:10/mile is not a lot, particularly on a training run, these two runs shook my confidence not just slightly.

Sunday, September 19. 6:20am. After the last two long runs, I needed this. Everything about this morning's run just felt better. I got out of the door about 20minutes later than I wanted, but didn't feel the need to push the pace. The run was scheduled at 22 miles, with 19.5 miles at "base" pace and the last 2.5 miles at "marathon" pace. I ended up in my driveway about 0.5 miles earlier than I had planned, which led to the shortened total distance for the run.* I also did not quite hit a true marathon pace for the last two miles. Still, it felt good to push myself at the end, and it felt even better when my legs responded.

Total distance 21.43, total time 3:06:58, 8:43/mile average pace (last 2 miles at 7:49/mile average pace).

* No, my trusty Garmin 405 did not mislead me into a shortened run. However, I do blame the Garmin, or at least my reliance on it. Because the Garmin records my every step for later full review, I no longer plan out my runs. Instead, I usually decide to run a loosely defined route that I estimate will meet my distance need for the day. As I run, I find myself estimating at various turns about how to navigate enough road to hit the full desired distance. Sometimes, like today, I overestimate the distance back to my house from whatever point at which I make the fateful decision to head for home. Today, I cut out a tour of the golf course from last week's run, which would have gotten me at least the extra 0.5 miles.

Another bit about me

I started writing this blog for two reasons, really. First, I wanted to try writing things down contemporaneously for once in my life. I have never kept a journal, so I am not used to chronicling my life’s events. I thought this might be interesting, at least for me, and writing about running seemed to be “easy” enough. Second, though, and probably more importantly, I REALLY wanted to be accepted into the Brooks I.D. Program. This program is intended for people who “evangelize” Brooks and who inspire others through running. Personally, I love Brooks Running products. I have exclusively worn Brooks shoes for about two years, and have worn Brooks shoes for all four of my marathons. Even in 2006, when I otherwise exclusively wore Nikes, I wore a pair of Brooks Trance 6 shoes (the red and white ones that had the 90 day money back guarantee) for the Detroit Marathon. I made the switch, no pun intended, to the Brooks Switch in 2008, and am currently favoring the Ravenna.

I recently completed my I.D. Program application, and received a follow up email letting me know that I need a recommendation letter from a Brooks sales rep, GURU, or a manager from my local running store. This is a problem. I don’t know anyone who works for Brooks. I do know some of the people at the local running store, but really, I don’t operate personally within that sphere. Not to be rude, but my sense is that if you didn’t grow up in Fort Wayne running track and/or cross country for a local school, go to a local college and run competitively, or immerse yourself in the local track club, you don’t really rate. It should be no surprise, based on my tone, that I don’t meet any of those criteria. I could possibly convince the running store manager to write a letter or email for me, but it wouldn’t be sincere. He doesn’t know me, and the things that I do and the people I interact with in the running world aren’t a part of the “local scene” either. So, I may have to give this one up.

This week I had two night runs in a row; one ten mile interval workout on the treadmill at the Y and one 8 mile recovery run. The interval workout was significantly more difficult, with 30 minutes of 1 minute on/1 minute off at a 10K pace for the “on” sections. Still, any kind of 8 mile workout on a weeknight is a pretty big dent in the schedule. I was talking about this with one of my lunchtime running buddies the other day. He is married with one child, and was commenting that he doesn’t feel like he has time to run as much as he should. He is not “interested,” as he put it, in running at 9;30pm, which is what time I started my recovery run this week. We talked about this for awhile, and I started to realize something.

My story is not special in any way, but that is the point, I think – if I can manage this with all that I have going on, than I would think anyone can. That is, I guess, how I would seek to “inspire” anyone who happens to read this. As I said before, I am not a coach or a race organizer or anyone who inspires others to run in the normal sense. I ran my first ever 5K race in 2004 in just over 31 minutes. I ran my first half-marathon in 2005 in about 2:06, and my first marathon in 2006 in 4:15. I have hit all of my PRs in the last year, and not because I don't race that often, but because I train as hard as I can. I don't have a lot of time, and there have been Sunday long runs that don't start until well into the evening, but I think if you make the decision and commit to working out and running better, you can. I plan to set all new PRs this year. You should, too.

Runners On Parade 5K Race Report

The Runners on Parade 5K is, locally, one of the largest 5K races each year. I have run the race for the past three years, as long as I have lived in this city. The race simultaneously represents triumph and tragedy for me.

Triumph in that the 2009 and 2010 races resulted in PRs at the 5K distance (techincally, 2010 was not a PR for running 5 kilometers, but it was a PR for a race that ended after 5 kilometers). Triumph in that the 2009 race packet included a sleek fitting (read: too tight) racing singlet, pictured above.

Tragedy in that the race organizers cannot, even in this year of 2010, figure out how to effectively operate the chip timing system so that runners obtain a true chip time. Tragedy in that the 2009 race saw the Badrunner standing in a porta-john line five minutes before the race start, only to have the starting cannon fire and the race begin, again, FIVE MINUTES BEFORE THE RACE START with no notice or announcement from the organizers. This would not be a huge deal in a race with proper chip timing, as any particular person's race "net" time would not begin until he or she crossed the starting line. However, on this particular day, the race organizers could not figure out how to begin the race timing correctly, so everyone registered only "gun" times. For Badrunner, standing in the aforementioned porta-john line at the start of the race, this resulted in approximately 35 extra seconds added to his final race time. Not awesome.

2010 found the Badrunner ready for the bumbling idiots that are the race organizers - standing as close as possible to the starting line (no timing mat present, mind you) at 7:50am, a full ten minutes prior to the scheduled start time. This year's race started only about 2 minutes early, but with as little warning as 2009 - no announcements, no "Welcome Runners," just a gun shot and a surge down the road.

But, that is what we line up for, isn't it? The race itself, logistical and organizational nightmares aside, is run on a pretty fast course in downtown Fort Wayne. The course doubles back on itself several times, giving the runners a chance to cheer each other on at multple points on the course. The original plan for me was to try to break the 20:00 mark. Of course, I signed up for this race three days prior, and had been focusing on the early stages of fall marathon training, which for me is more mileage than speed. Still, sometimes it pays to go ugly early, and I think I may have even held a sufficient pace for much of the first mile. However, after passing the first timing clock and clicking the Lap button on my Garmin, I realized that I likely would not break twenty minutes that day.

First mile 6:38

About halfway through the second mile, the course made a quick right onto a quarter mile stretch that was, at least in my memory, completely uphill and directly into the sun. Not a good section of the race for me.

Second mile 6:56

I tried to pull it together for the final mile to possibly pull out a PR, which sort of happened - it was a PR for a 5K race, but not the fastest that I had ever run 5K during a race.

Third mile 6:30 (and last 0.1 at 0:54), with a finish time of 20:58

Overall a pretty good race, but in the end it was just a good beginning to a great day at the Three Rivers Festival with my daughters.

And, my first ever (but hopefully only the first of many)experience with the "Donut Burger."

I don't know how you can't love that...

Up to Speed

I am not the person who needs a blog, in any way. A 36 year old corporate tax lawyer with two kids and one on the way, a lovely wife, and "big plastic house in an Indiana cornfield" as my wife puts it, I have enough going on.

Still, for some reason crazy shit happens and I guess I feel the desire to talk about it. Sure, I'll tell the same story twenty times to twenty people over the course of the day, but inevitably the last few people to hear the story get the best, most refined version. So, I thought, I could just write something every now and then and simply tell those same twenty people "Hey, I am not talking today, see www.ftwbadrunner.blogspot.com."

So, as indicated by the title of the page, I run. I run what I think is a fair amount, what my wife thinks is an excessive amount. Often I run at lunch with a group of guys at work, but lately (because of the aforementioned baby on the way and all the havoc she currently wreaks on our lives) I have been opting to run at night, after my two post-gestational daughters have gone to bed.

I set out on one of these nighttime runs just a day or two ago. My house being the constant trainwreck that it has been lately, I didn’t start my run until about 10pm. From my house, a simple out and back down Wheelock Road to Stellhorn Road (some of you know those roads) gets me about 6.3 miles, so I chose that route.

Shortly after I hit the turnaround, and on a particularly dark stretch of Wheelock Road, I noticed a car pass me and almost immediately start to slow down. When it got to about 50 yards ahead of me, it stopped in the road. I thought this was odd, but just kept running, of course in the direction of the car. When I got close to the car, a guy leaned out the window and the following conversation ensued:

Man in Car: Hey Hey!

Badrunner: Uh, hello?

Man in Car: Where are you headed?

Badrunner: (confused/annoyed) I’m out on a run, just running this way.

Man in Car: What kind of miles are you doing?

Badrunner: (annoyed/slightly disturbed) About 6 miles tonight.

Man in Car: Wow. That takes dedication to stick to it. Good for you.

Badrunner: (fairly disturbed/ready to punch the suspected rapist in the face) Right.

Man in Car: Well, have a good night, and be safe.

Badrunner: Well, as long as you don’t rape and kill me down the road …

I am not sure what it was about my outfit (running shorts, headlamp, two flashing red lights for visibility) that said "cruising for dudes," but anyway... Needless to say, the rest of my run was pretty nerve wracking. One slight silver lining, the incident turned my relatively easy run into a tempo run since I was trying to simply get home as quickly as possible.

Anyway, that is the ridiculousness that is my life these days. I hope you'll keep reading.