Went out for a run this afternoon around 6:30 and it was drizzling. It wasn't enough to cool things off though. It was still in the 90s and the humidity was obviously through the roof.
My goal... 4 miles.
Mission accomplished. I did a half mile warmup at around 12 min pace. The first mile and a half I did around 8 minute pace. My legs started to feel heavy and I was breathing heavy at that point and I slowed down around 9 minute pace for another mile. Did a half around 10 minute pace and I was having a hard time just to keep going. Finished up with a half mile cooldown about 12 minute pace back home.
I failed to follow a basic rule. It was hot and humid and I didn't stop for water during my run. I probably could have kept my pace going by drinking some water along the way.
My core temperature was way too high by the time I got home. I had to stand in front of the air conditioner for 20 minutes with cool air blowing directly on me before I stopped sweating.
I hope it starts getting cool soon... dreaming. That won't happen until October.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Xentury City I-Drive U Run 5k
Today, I ran a 5k down at Xentury City, which is next to the Gaylord Palms Resort and close to the Nickelodeon Hotel by Holiday Inn. Dora the Explorer was there... so was Sponge Bob Square Pants.
I haven't run much lately and this was a last minute thing. I just signed up a couple days ago. I didn't know what to expect of myself and I didn't have anything to lose.
Got up at 5am, took a shower, got dressed and started eating a Snickers Marathon bar. Not sure if that was a great choice, but it came free with my race packet, so I was going to give it a shot. 11 grams of fiber in that thing. I'm close to my normal daily intake, well... recommended intake.
It was a nice intimate race with under 500 runners and walkers.
My wristband watch has been broken for a few months, so I didn't have a good way of gauging my pace other than running what felt comfortable and using the mile split clocks.
According to the official results, I finished in 26:25 with an adjusted time of 26:10. It's funny. My girlfriend asked me what my goal was just prior to the start and I quickly thought 8 minute pace would put me just under 25 minutes. I added a minute since I haven't run consistently in over 3 months and out of my mouth comes 26 minutes. I was close. If I hadn't stopped during the race, I might have run the 25 minutes.
So it apparently took me 15 seconds to get to the starting line. I remember my mile split time said 7:57, so my real split was 7:42. Faster than I wanted to be going, but it felt good to that point. That's the problem. I had 2 more miles to go.
The water station was at the 1.5 marker. I slowed to a walk to drink my water, but got right back to my pace. I might have lost 5-10 seconds by walking, but hey, it's not the Olympics. For that matter, if it was the Olympic 5000 meters, there are no water stations.
I don't remember the time when I hit the 2 mile marker. I kept looking for the highway overpass after that point because my back started cramping. Not my lower back. The middle of my back and it was affecting my breathing. It was very uncomfortable. I tried to concentrate on a guy about 10 yards in front of me. It helped for a little. I tried concentrating on my arm swing to keep my pace from faltering.
Oddly enough, when I saw the overpass I gave out and stopped to walk. I tried stretching my middle back by raising my arms overhead it helped, so started running again. I must have walked for about 20 seconds. Not long, but enough to lose some ground. I made it about another quarter mile and I had to stop again. I did the same routine until I could breath comfortably. I ran at my pace the whole way into the finish line. I didn't have any juice left to kick at the end.
I just checked the Track Shack site for the race results and if I had run the same race as the Corporate 5k, I would have won a 2nd place in my age division. That's what makes small races fun. You actually have a shot at a ribbon.
I wanted to run this race to kick myself in the butt and after knowing that I could have placed, I think I'm going to get back into my running routine. I need to take it a little easier than before so I don't get hurt, though.
I haven't run much lately and this was a last minute thing. I just signed up a couple days ago. I didn't know what to expect of myself and I didn't have anything to lose.
Got up at 5am, took a shower, got dressed and started eating a Snickers Marathon bar. Not sure if that was a great choice, but it came free with my race packet, so I was going to give it a shot. 11 grams of fiber in that thing. I'm close to my normal daily intake, well... recommended intake.
It was a nice intimate race with under 500 runners and walkers.
My wristband watch has been broken for a few months, so I didn't have a good way of gauging my pace other than running what felt comfortable and using the mile split clocks.
According to the official results, I finished in 26:25 with an adjusted time of 26:10. It's funny. My girlfriend asked me what my goal was just prior to the start and I quickly thought 8 minute pace would put me just under 25 minutes. I added a minute since I haven't run consistently in over 3 months and out of my mouth comes 26 minutes. I was close. If I hadn't stopped during the race, I might have run the 25 minutes.
So it apparently took me 15 seconds to get to the starting line. I remember my mile split time said 7:57, so my real split was 7:42. Faster than I wanted to be going, but it felt good to that point. That's the problem. I had 2 more miles to go.
The water station was at the 1.5 marker. I slowed to a walk to drink my water, but got right back to my pace. I might have lost 5-10 seconds by walking, but hey, it's not the Olympics. For that matter, if it was the Olympic 5000 meters, there are no water stations.
I don't remember the time when I hit the 2 mile marker. I kept looking for the highway overpass after that point because my back started cramping. Not my lower back. The middle of my back and it was affecting my breathing. It was very uncomfortable. I tried to concentrate on a guy about 10 yards in front of me. It helped for a little. I tried concentrating on my arm swing to keep my pace from faltering.
Oddly enough, when I saw the overpass I gave out and stopped to walk. I tried stretching my middle back by raising my arms overhead it helped, so started running again. I must have walked for about 20 seconds. Not long, but enough to lose some ground. I made it about another quarter mile and I had to stop again. I did the same routine until I could breath comfortably. I ran at my pace the whole way into the finish line. I didn't have any juice left to kick at the end.
I just checked the Track Shack site for the race results and if I had run the same race as the Corporate 5k, I would have won a 2nd place in my age division. That's what makes small races fun. You actually have a shot at a ribbon.
I wanted to run this race to kick myself in the butt and after knowing that I could have placed, I think I'm going to get back into my running routine. I need to take it a little easier than before so I don't get hurt, though.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Running in the Heat
I knew it was hot when I went for my run on Wednesday, but I was not expecting how hard it was going to be to breathe and how how hot my core temperature was going to get.
I hadn't felt that in a while. It was in the 90s around 6:30pm and so humid that it felt like a running in a cloud.
My legs felt great and I planned on doing 4 miles. I ended up doing 3 miles. I felt like I needed ice in my chest and especially my head or I was going to explode. I stopped every half mile to drink some water, but it wasn't enough. I had to stop at 3.
As soon as I stopped, I get into some shade and then laid down on the concrete which seemed a little cool at that point. I was always told not to stop and lay down by my coaches in high school, but it just seems like the only thing that makes sense when my heart is pounding so hard.
Note: When it is over 90 degrees, wait until the sun goes down to run or just wait until the next morning. *
I hadn't felt that in a while. It was in the 90s around 6:30pm and so humid that it felt like a running in a cloud.
My legs felt great and I planned on doing 4 miles. I ended up doing 3 miles. I felt like I needed ice in my chest and especially my head or I was going to explode. I stopped every half mile to drink some water, but it wasn't enough. I had to stop at 3.
As soon as I stopped, I get into some shade and then laid down on the concrete which seemed a little cool at that point. I was always told not to stop and lay down by my coaches in high school, but it just seems like the only thing that makes sense when my heart is pounding so hard.
Note: When it is over 90 degrees, wait until the sun goes down to run or just wait until the next morning. *
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Easy Run
I just read an article in Running Times by some guy McMillan that says one way that runners sabotage their training and either get hurt or just throw off their schedule is not taking an easy day as it should be taken.
He says that you need to take an easy day as easy and don't get caught up in racing someone or forget that it's an easy day because you feel good and want to prove something to yourself. Take the day and run easy according to your schedule and save the energy for your hard workout whether that be a fartlek, tempo, or long run.
So with that being said, I obviously had an Easy Run scheduled for today. Well, I didn't really have anything scheduled, but I am trying to get back in the groove of things after taking 2 months off and I wanted to run today. I knew I wanted to run, but I also knew that if I tried to run hard, I might get hurt since I'm a little out of shape.
Easy Run it is.
I started by doing 10 minutes on the treadmill at 5 mph, so 12 minute pace. It came out to just over .8 mile. Then, I did a quick set 3 x 10 on the bench press at 115 lbs. Followed that with 3 x 10 standing arm curls at 15 lbs. I figured this would tire me out just a little and it would keep me from running to hard. It worked. My legs weren't fatigued, but my arms and chest were.
I ran about 2.5 miles very easy. Probably about the same speed ~ 12 minute pace. It felt good the whole way.
Part of my run took me past the Orange County History Museum in downtown. There was some kind of "tailgate party" going on? No trucks to be seen, but there were vendors and people representing every major school in Florida that has a football team.
The reason I mention any of this is because Nike had a van there. It had a huge starting line that went on to infinity with young runners ready to start their lives. It said The Human Race and then NikePlus.com. I didn't see anyone passing anything out and I didn't see a Nike rep or tent anywhere. I wonder why Nike would send a rep out to primarily a drinking event? Oh wait, it probably has to do with the Madden 08 thing going on at Wall Street tonight starting at 10pm. That would make more sense. Kinda.
He says that you need to take an easy day as easy and don't get caught up in racing someone or forget that it's an easy day because you feel good and want to prove something to yourself. Take the day and run easy according to your schedule and save the energy for your hard workout whether that be a fartlek, tempo, or long run.
So with that being said, I obviously had an Easy Run scheduled for today. Well, I didn't really have anything scheduled, but I am trying to get back in the groove of things after taking 2 months off and I wanted to run today. I knew I wanted to run, but I also knew that if I tried to run hard, I might get hurt since I'm a little out of shape.
Easy Run it is.
I started by doing 10 minutes on the treadmill at 5 mph, so 12 minute pace. It came out to just over .8 mile. Then, I did a quick set 3 x 10 on the bench press at 115 lbs. Followed that with 3 x 10 standing arm curls at 15 lbs. I figured this would tire me out just a little and it would keep me from running to hard. It worked. My legs weren't fatigued, but my arms and chest were.
I ran about 2.5 miles very easy. Probably about the same speed ~ 12 minute pace. It felt good the whole way.
Part of my run took me past the Orange County History Museum in downtown. There was some kind of "tailgate party" going on? No trucks to be seen, but there were vendors and people representing every major school in Florida that has a football team.
The reason I mention any of this is because Nike had a van there. It had a huge starting line that went on to infinity with young runners ready to start their lives. It said The Human Race and then NikePlus.com. I didn't see anyone passing anything out and I didn't see a Nike rep or tent anywhere. I wonder why Nike would send a rep out to primarily a drinking event? Oh wait, it probably has to do with the Madden 08 thing going on at Wall Street tonight starting at 10pm. That would make more sense. Kinda.
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