Monday 4/25: Lifting Upper Body and music by Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears - Sugarfoot

I am currently out of town and don't have much time to write. Also, Monday's workout was just a lifting session, which is just boring to talk about, so I will take a page from Jessie Pants and share a song that I like.

Come Take a Run With Me: Umstead in Pictures -- Easter 2011

While Hiro slept in on Easter, I went for a run.  Please come along!  (All of the following pictures but one were taken on the fly as I ran.)

Starting Out on the Company Mill Trail



Umstead has a way of making me feel like it is a world all it's own

Me!

Foot bridge over one of Umstead's many creeks

A picture of the creek as I ran across the bridge

A nice flat section along the stream, but lots of bugs!

another small foot bridge

Green!

this portion of the trail is soft with few roots and rocks

Ok, time for some hills!

this timed shot is the only photo not taken on the fly as I ran



About to cross the multi purpose trial.  Can you see a guy riding a mountain bike on the multi-purpose trail ahead of me? 



Backside of the loop: here is where things get fun!

I really need to pay attention here. 
The trail narrows, gets more rocky and rooty at times,
and has lots of switchbacks, which can send you straight into the woods.

Still there are still some soft pine needle covered sections to enjoy

The trial narrows to the point where two people can't pass in a few places

these roots will get you if you're not careful!

About to leave the hiking trails behind

More hills!

Heading for home on the Ready Creek trail

By 11am we were in the mid 80's, so the shade was welcome!

Another runner zooms on by

I really enjoy the sound of my feet running across this wooden bridge

a right turn and we're nearly done!

The little lake is a welcome sight, but the flies buzzing about my head I could do without.

The bridge ahead is my stopping point, I plan to walk out the rest of the way.

We're done!  let's enjoy the view before the Horse Flies get us!

4.6 miles run in Umstead:  Here is map of our run:

Follow the yellow line.

Thank you for coming on this run with me.  I shot nearly 140 photos but selected these 28 because they reflected the terrain best.  I twisted my ankle on this run, but ironically I wasn't taking a picture at the time.  In fact, I had turned of the camera because I knew the section I was in was a bit tricky.  Oh well, such is life!  I hope that you have enjoyed these photos and can see why I feel so strongly about Umstead.

Returning to Umstead: 4/23

After races on two straight weekends, I couldn't wait to get into Umstead and get away from the streets of Raleigh.  I love running in races, but I hate that they take me away from my weekends runs in more natural areas.  I've been reading Runner's World: Trail Edition, which really makes me want to try my hand a trail race.  Honestly, I love running on trails much more than I do streets.  My only issue is that I often end up with sprains and twists.  I have weak ankles as well as not own a single pair of trail running shoes, so these minor injuries keep me from running on some of the more difficult trials that I truly enjoy.  I am fairly certain that my lack of trail running shoes will be remedied rather quickly because the trails are a callin'! 

Saturday, I did five miles on the multi-purpose trails in Umstead.  It was just about the perfect day to run: a little cool with a light rain that was just a bit more than a mist but rarely reaching a sprinkle for more than a few seconds.  I felt stiff, my arms were still sore from lifting, and my hips were SCREAMING on the up hills, but still . . . what an incredible run.  After finishing the run, I felt so relaxed.  Just what I needed.

I did 5 hilly miles over an out and back course in 52.51 for a 10:33 pace.

Mile 1: 10:43
Mile 2: 10:38
Mile 3: 10:48
Mile 4: 10:05
Mile 5: 10:33

Wait . . . Weights . . . Don't Tell Me! (4/21/11)

I hate weights and lifting.  There I said it.  It's true!  I have never been one of those guys, who was obsessed by how much I could or couldn't bench press.  However, since I am half-giant in appearance, people who do care about such things always seem to think that I too share their obsession.  When I was younger, I think that 37% of all conversations I had either started off with one of two questions: did you play football in High School or how much can you bench?  The answers never really seemed to register in the mind of the person correctly.  When I would say, that I played chess instead of football and hated weights, people seemed to think that either I had misunderstood the question or answered in some foreign tongue they had no hope of decyphering.  Oh well . . . I still hate lifting, but I know that I need to add it into my workout, so here it goes.

I ran to the gym on Thursday morning: 1.64 in 16:17.27 9.55 pace.  Then began a lifting workout that I did last summer when I was injured.

Lifting:

--Chest--
Dumbbell Bench Press:
12 reps @ 25lbs
10 reps @ 20lbs
8 reps @ 15lbs
6 reps @ 10lbs
12 reps @ 25lbs

Dumbbell Incline Press: 12 reps @ 25 lbs

--Back--

One Armed Dumbbell Rows:
12 Reps @ 25 lbs
10 reps @ 20lbs

8 reps @ 15lbs
6 reps @ 10lbs
12 reps @ 25lbs

Pull Ups (assisted)

3 reps @ level 20 assistance  . . . DNF . . . Haha . . . pathetic!  I used to be able to do much much better at this.
--Shoulders--

Seated Dumbbell Press:

12 reps @ 25lb
10 reps @ 20lbs
8 reps @ 15lbs
6 reps @ 10lbs
12 reps @ 25lbs

Upright Cable Rows:
12 Reps @ 50lbs

--Biceps--

Barbell Curls:

12 reps @ 50lbs
10 reps @ 40lbs
8 reps @ 30
6 reps @ 20lbs
12 reps @ 50lbs

Alternating Dumbbell Curls:
12 reps @ 25lbs

--Triceps--
Lying Tricep Presses

12 reps @ 25lb

10 reps @ 20lbs
8 reps @ 15lbs
6 reps @ 10lbs
12 reps @ 25lbs

Dips 12 reps

This workout didn't suck as much as I had thought it would, but I was sore for several days afterwards.  I took it easy the first day, but I'll need to make it more difficult next time I do it.

afterward I ran home: 1.63 in 16:08.77 for another 9:55 pace.

Weds. Sports Conditioning: Abs Hell Day 4/20

This post will be short and sweet. 

• Ran to the gym in the morning, but Old Bob was out of power
• First naked run (sans Garmin) since buying OLD Bob: kind of liked it . . . kind of didn't.  Hmm not ssure what to make of it.
• Took Teresa's class again . . .
• As we left on Monday, she told us that Wednesday we would do Abs until we puked
• I didn't puke
• Wish that I had.
• My abs still hurt
• Ouch
• Ran home after class
• Thought that I might die.
• Ouch
• Biked to work
• Ouch
• People at work said that I looked like I was either about to die or about to puke . . . opinions varied
• Ouch
• My abs still hurt . . . I am not sure my internal organs are in the right places . . . ouch.

Monday Morning Wake UP Call From Boston: 4/18

After running in my local 5k and failing to get my PR, I went to the gym and took Teresa's Sports Conditioning Class: the last place that you want to go when your opinion of yourself is on shaky ground.  It is rumored that she is a former Drill Sargent, and I have no reason to question the validity of the rumor.  There is no bullshitting about in her class, she picks difficult exercise, piles on reps, and people who finish first are rewarded with being the first to begin the next exercise.  There are no breaks.  The class is an unending onslaught of exercise  and pain from start to finish.  If you want a break it's on you.  If you die, we'll call your next of kin after class ends.

I hadn't attend Teresa's class in months, but I knew what I was getting into.  The class was brutal and left me destroyed! 

After Teresa's class I weighed myself and saw that my eight was 10 pounds higher now than it had been during the race I PR'ed the 5k.  Those 10 pounds cost me a PR on Sunday.  I've no excuses for this. I let injuries and mental fatigue get the better of me, and I got complacent.  I have improved since the New Year, but I know the truth.

It is time to face some facts, I love running.  I want to run all the time, but I need lose weight for so many reasons that extend beyond running, and running alone is not the most effective way for me to lose weight.  I'll either breakdown or plateau.  I enjoy the fitness classes that I take for the most part, but I tend to shy away from the more difficult classes these days.  I hate weights, but they are an extremely effective way to lose weight. 

All of these ideas realities were floating around in my noggin as I started tracking AR and Emily as they set fire to Boston.  Now, I have NO dreams of EVER running Boston.  None, none, none.  But, I do have dreams of running faster and longer distances.  I also have dreams of being able to walk when I am in my 60's, being able to dress myself, and play with any children that I might one day have. 

All of this stuff just kept churning away as I watched AR turn in Rock Star negative split on bum knee, and I just couldn't escape the fact that if I want to achieve my goals I need to pick up some frickin weights, maybe try some yoga, take a break from races, and work.  I need to get up early and work my ass off, which is what I am going to do.  Work is what every single person in Boston has done, and even though Boston is not my destination, I'll except this wake up call from Boston . . .That's right operator, I'll take the call!

Second Empire 5k Classic 4/17: Race Report (Updated)



Michel, Stephane, Hiroko, and I before the Race

 Despite the tornadoes touching down in Raleigh on Saturday, The Second Empire 5k Classic was still held on Sunday.  Driving around town, you can see trees uprooted, broken branches, and minor wind damage across the city.  The parts of town that were hardest hit have entire houses destroyed and most of the residents are just thankful to be alive.  Hiroko and I spent Saturday night on edge because our friends Stephane and Michel were traveling down from Canada, straight into the path of the storm, and we were unable to contact them until morning.  To our relief, they were just fine.

Both of them had planned on running in the race with Hiro and I, but after a tense night of driving Stephane had a splitting headache and decided not to run, but Michel did run in what would be his first 5k.  We arrived at the race very early because we needed to get Michel registered and  figured that we could take some time to show them a little bit of the downtown area.  The weather was so perfect, 68° with clear blue sky, that it was difficult to imagine that the weather had been so deadly just the day before.  After our tour, I tried to loosen up a bit and see how my legs were feeling.  Surprisingly, my legs felt much better than they had before the Cary Road Race last week.  I felt none of the stiffness that has plagued me since my misadventures in Umstead two weeks ago, but my legs weren't as springy as I had hoped. 

Regardless, I didn't have any real complaints going into the race and was pretty hopeful that I might be able to challenge my PR.  I felt very comfortable with the course, which was flat for nearly the entire first mile.  The second mile consisted of two long slow inclines with a short decline between them and the turnabout.  The remainder of the course was on a decline except for the short decline of from the second mile was now a slightly steep little rise.

The race started of well and there was very little jostling at the start and since this race was part of  the Second Empire Spring Race Series, there were more experienced runners in the field, so most people seemed to have lined up appropriate to their level.  There were no costume runners to deal with, and few people sprinting out at the start and dying a half a mile into the race, so it was a nice start to the race.  I got out well and was right on the pace that I set for myself.  We ran east on Hillsborough Street towards the state capitol building.  Michel went past me just as we took the first turn to go around the Capitol building and Hiroko was still running just over my shoulder as we completed out loop of the Capitol building and head back onto Hillsborough street.  The first half mile had gone by quickly and we were now preparing to pass by the start/finish area again.  The crowd gathered there gave us a good cheer as we went by.  Michel was still a little ways ahead of me, but I could tell that I would be catch up to him soon.  Hiroko was still over my shoulder, and Iknew she was going to pass me pretty soon, which she did just after we caught Michel at the mile marker.  My first mile was nearly exactly where I had wanted it to be.  8:07.96.  I had felt a little soreness inside of my pelvis around the 3/4 mile mark, but I wasn't worried or effected by it at all and it soon passed. 

We began the first incline just at the mile mark and a soon as we did were hit with a strong headwind that would last until the turn around at the traffic circle just in front of the NC State bell tower.  Hiro was in front of me and pulling away a bit as we came down the decline.  I was only shocked by this because she hadn't been running at all prior to this race.  I am well aware that as it stands, Hiroko would easily smoke me at every race if she only trained more (or at all).  But, as we began the second incline, I was fairly confident that I would pass her at some point in the third mile.  The front runners came past us heading towards the finish line as we were passing the mile and a half marker.  A guy running somewhere around fifth bonked right in front of Hiro and I.  His knees went all wobbly, and I thought that he was going to hit the deck, but instead he just puked and staggered on.  I  turned my head a kept running on toward the turn around.  This wasn't the first time I had seem someone puke in a race, but it was the first time I had been face to face when it happened. 

I tried to just focus on my race because I knew that I was off my pace and wasn't sure why.  The incline on this portion of Hillsborough street is deceptive, the wind was fairly strong, but I wasn't sure if they accounted for my being off by so much.  I did the second mile in 8:57.61, which was nearly 45 seconds off my goal pace. 

I passed Hiroko just after the we rounded the traffic circle and began our run back toward the finish line.  I had expected her to either fight me or fade, but she didn't do either and hung with me until I began my kick.  The third mile was mainly me trying to figure out where to begin my kick.  I felt that perhaps I had run the second mile too conservatively, and wanted to try to get everything out of my legs that I could over the remainder of the course.  Michel was still hanging tough but had fallen well behind Hiro and I.  After the rise, I picked up my pace with about 800 meters to go and went into a my kick at 400, by 100 meters I was in a sprint.  The crowd had noticed my kick and began to cheer me on as I tried to run down a guy much younger than me and in much better shape.  He was wearing a green shirt and I was wearing white.  I began hear people yelling "Go WHITE!  GO WHITE!"  He heard me coming in picked up his pace but I was closing fast and easily passing the three or four people between us, but the Green shirt edged me out by a second. 

I did mile three in 8:17.6 and the last .13 in .49.48  My time was 26:12 and a pace around 8:26.  I fell short of my PR by nearly half a minute, but I felt like I ran fairly well.  Hiroko PR'ed the race and never really fell off like I thought that she would.  She came in at 26:34, which is frickin' awesome when you consider that she has run only once in the last month!  I effin' hate her!  Michel came in at 28:19, which when you consider that this was his first 5k, and I don't think that he trained a lick, it is pretty frickin' solid!

As for me, I think that my confidence failed me in the second mile and could have run harder, but I know that I am carrying 30 pounds more than I want to be carrying.  And, I know that if that weren't the case, my PR would get CRUSHED!  Currently, I am singed up to run a race on June 11th.  That race is the Komen Race for the Cure and will mark my birthday as a runner.  The Komen was my first race and began my love affair with running.  I've decided that I will not run another race between now and then, in order to focus on conditioning.  I know that I can't lose all the weight that I need to by then, but I can sure as hell put a big dent in it, which is what I plan to do.  Overall, I am happy with this race.  I am happy that the stroms didn't do more damage than they did, and I am pretty thankful for the chance to do something I love with people I care about!

Saturday's Twisters: 4/16

Saturday, my town was struck by several tornadoes.  A tornado hit downtown Raleigh and several neighborhoods.  Sadly, there were some fatalities and a great deal of damage.  NC was hit by over 60 tornadoes Saturday, which is just mind boggling.  Between the earthquakes and tsunami in Japan and now these tornadoes, I am wondering what's next.  Hiroko's family is alright in Japan and we're OK here, so I feel like knocking on all the wood that I can find.

Saturday, started out so normally that I went to the track early in the morning and did two miles as a shakeout for my 5k on Sunday.  It was windy, the sky was dark, and the air was cool, but I didn't give it much thought.  I just wanted to get my run in before any rain could begin to fall.

I did an easy peasy two mile in 19:45.72  mile 1 in 9:51.41 and mile 2 in 9:52.  After running, I went home showered, ate my lunch, watched a crappy movie, and was just about to go pick Hiro up from work when the already dark sky and strong winds went from bad to "oh shit!"  The storms were over quickly, but they have left a lasting mark on the community.  I didn't really put things together until I started writing this post, but since Saturday, I have felt a surge of Carpe Diem rushing over me, because this little life of ours is just way too random to waste watching bad reality TV!

Thursday Fleet Feet Social Run: 4/14

I attended the Fleet Feet Social Run on Thursday.  We did 4 miles in 38:15.42 at a 9:34 pace.  In the past, I've spoken about how I am sort of in between pace groups on this run, which is frustrating because I don't run with the slower group and be unintentionally pushing them to run faster or run with the faster group that will run me into the ground by the second mile.  Staying my own pace would most often would leave me running alone, which kind of defeats the purpose of attending a social run, but I have been thinking more about it, and this run could be a good place for me to learn about pacing.  I have just been so happy to be running that I haven't given enough attention to pacing and understanding how it will benefit me as a runner.  Up till now, I have just been amazed to be running.  Recently, I have come to think of myself as in the my toddler stage as a runner: I am up and about, happy as hell to be doing it, but not skilled in the slightest!  Now that the weather is getting nicer, more people are beginning to show up to the run, and almost all of them are more experienced than I.  They may not be running at my pace, but they know how to maintain their pace, which is a skill that I lack.

As for my past post regarding Frayed Laces and her Chicken Nugget post, she has since removed the post from her blog, which has caused a lot of folks to come to my blog to read what she wrote.  I know that FL is taking tons of heat in lots of forums right now for what she wrote, which I think she deserves.  But, I would ask that people refrain from getting nasty.  She wrote something pretty boneheaded and smug sounding, but I honestly think that it was more out her own over exuberance and commitment to the sport she loves.  I am not saying she deserves a pass for what she said, but that one post doesn't sum her up as person anymore than eating nuggets after a long run sums up a persons status as a runner, which is I hope the lesson that she learns from all the ire she brought down upon herself.

Wading into the Fray and Tuesday's Toning

Common Ground for FL and I

Tuesday Hiro and I attended Toning Class and It was uneventful.  Nice class, good to give my legs a rest, but not a lot worthy of a post.  However, yesterday Frayed Laces put up this post after hearing an NPR story about Boston's changes.  Here is basically what FL had to say on the subject:

"I know this is a hot topic, and there are many heated opinions about this. I've kind of kept my opinions to myself about this since I don't want to piss off any readers, but when I got to the "Chicken Nuggets at the End!" part of the story I started to get pissed off. The context of that statement is Team-In-Training runners. To motivate the runners to finish their 20 mile training runs they reward them with chicken nuggets at the end. Chicken Nuggets? Are you friggin' kidding me?!? If you can eat chicken nuggets at the end of a long run you may want to consider kicking things up a notch. I can barely keep down a recovery drink at the end of my long runs. I am a runner, and technically they are runners, but to lump us both in the same category is a bit ridiculous. I may not be setting any world records, and when I did start out I wasn't nearly as fast or serious about training as I am now. In the past few years I've dramatically changed however, and it really dills my pickle when someone hears that I do Ironmans and they say "Oh yeah, I did one of those once. It only took me two hours!" when in fact they're referring to a sprint triathlon they did 20 years ago. (Same thing goes for marathons) I usually just keep my big 'ol mouth in those situations, but what I want to scream out is "I train 20 hours a week! I push myself in training to the point of puking! You're doing this once to cross something off your life goal list, and I train harder-harder-harder to get faster each year! I eat, sleep, breathe this sport!

So, are there too many marathon runners? No, there aren't. There are too many "chicken nuggets at the end!" marathon runners and not enough "eat, sleep, breathe" runners. I think it's great that so many people are embracing fitness and tackling the goal of a marathon, but don't lump us all in the same category."

After reading FL post, I gave this rather sarcastic reply:

"I got started running last year and am not the type of person that anyone would look at and say "that guy looks like a runner." I'm 6'1 275. So, I am really careful not to call myself a runner because I don't want to risk offending people I who consider themselves "runners". Here's my question . . . I've done 15 race in the last 10 months, ran in the snow, ran in the rain, ran during my lunch hour, ran an 8k while on vacation in Hawaii, run 5k's at close to an 8 min. mile pace, suffered through Plantar Fasciitis, get up at 4:30am to run, have a subscription to Runner's World, keep a running blog, plan social events around my running, talk about running so much it annoys my wife, sprained an ankle running, read "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running", own more pairs of running shoes than dress shoes, and know who Bart Yasso is . . . so when will my calling myself a runner not irritate people who BQ? Because honestly, it keeps me up at nights. Sometimes, I even get a little weepy just thinking about it and want to take up curling -- but I'm screwed because I live in NC and we only get snow like twice a year."

In a follow up post Follow up to "the" post FL used my comment as an example of the responses her post has gotten and elaborated on her opinion in order to clarify that she wasn't attacking slower runner.  Personally, I never thought that was her intent.  I got that she thinks that a person, who runs a Marathon just to say they have done it, shouldn't be considered a "Marathoner."  Personally, I see the difference, and I think that most reasonable people would or should.  My issue is that a lot of people make these kinds of judgments based upon completely arbitrary criteria and superficial observations and then proceed to treat people like something akin to dog poo.

Now, I realize that is not FL's intent, but I think that making these type of judgements about people is a very slippery slope (If you need an example of this, just look at all of the Team in Training bashing that went on in response to FL's comment.  You would think that Team in Training were the biggest bunch of posers to ever put on a pair of running shoes).  Personally, my response was more than a little bit fueled by the looks of disdain that I get from people when I show up at events.  They don't know anything about me or my commitment to running, but they see a big guy with a new running jacket and just look at me a some sort of window shopper denigrating their sport. 

Now, I realize that these people are not representative of every "Runner" out there and are most likely asshole outside of their running life, and this elitism is only how their prick-ishness manifests itself in this setting, but it is this type of elitist BS that intimidates some people and keeps them from participating in something that may awaken and hidden passion.  It also can lead to efforts to devalue the accomplishments of slower runners, such as different color medals based upon finishing times, which one comment spoke about in response to FL's post.  Personally, I am the biggest person at nearly every non-major charity race I attend, and it is intimidating at times to line up with people that are in much better shape than I am.  There is no way for me to show them that I am just as serious about this sport as anyone else.  Honestly, I don't care what motivates a person to run.  I am glad to see people out there doing it, and their reasons good, bad, or ugly are their own and have no effect upon me.  I am a  runner.  I don't need a BQ or anyone else's nod of approval.  I don't care if some 400 lb Sumo Wrestler completed the LA Marathon in 9 hours and a bunch of media outlets wrote stories about it.  It doesn't water down how I feel about my accomplishments.  And, I hate to see people like FL, who have a lot people's respect buying into the idea and not realizing where such sentiments can easily lead.