Running is therapy

This week is going to be tough. Because of the race on Saturday, I only did 6 on Sunday Yesterday my legs wanted a break, so I took off. Over lunch today I grabbed a 5 miler. My goal for this week was 26 miles. That puts me at 11 miles, with 15 remaining.

If I run tomorrow and Thursday, 5 miles each day, that will get me within 5 miles for Saturday (and will allow me to take Friday off). While that seems like a lot from this vantage point, I think it’s very doable. Hopefully I will be able to do 10 miles this coming Sunday so I don’t start the week with such a deficit.

Today felt terrible. I felt weak and wanted the run to be over about 3.5 miles in. The nice part was that I finally got out in the neighborhood around the new office.

1 Mile Splits: 9:06, 9:03, 8:59, 8:53, 8:43

Strangely I ran negative splits despite feeling worse and worse as the run went on.

Some Stats:
Distance: 5.02
Time: 44:46 (pace: 8:54)
Average Heart Rate: 148 bpm (which isn’t that bad for feeling so crappy)
Calories Burned: 725
Distance

In my previous post I mentioned that upgrading to Leopard installs the latest version of the Apple web browser Safari. Unfortunately Garmin’s Motionbased web application that I use with my Garmin Forerunner 305 does not work in version 3 of Safari.

A quick scan of the forums and it’s clear Garmin and Motionbased are not going to fix this anytime soon. I need to run version 2 then of Safari, and I am guessing my options are to downgrade Safari, or use parallels and XP to upload. I would have opted to downgrade because I use Firefox to browse the web, and only use Safari to upload from my Garmin. However, I ran across this site, which hosts multiple versions of Safari. Works wonderfully. Install version 2, upload as normal.

Despite missing our exit and arriving at the starting line 5 minutes before start time, Jen and I had a really good race today.

On Thursday, I went over to the barracks for a 4 mile run and my goal was to get out, touch 8:10 miles for most of the run and see how it felt. If I could keep it up for a couple of miles I figured I would be gold for today. I ended up running all 4 at 8:10, and figured the magic of race day might yield a 40 minute 5 Mile PR.

We got there just in time, and I had to hide our race bags inside the check-in building and sprint across the street to use the bathroom before the start. As we lined up I spotted Bill milling around with his camera. he came out and talked to us for a couple of minutes before race time and was even kind enough to lend Jen his gloves.

“Runners set, runners GO!”. And we were off. Turn out was good, but it wasn’t terribly congested at the start. I started in the back of the pack and picked my way through people for the first half mile. I clocked in the first mile at 7:30, too fast but not fatal. I felt great, but knew trying to sustain that would be a mistake. 5 miles is the first common racing distance where you can really hurt yourself if you don’t pace (IMO). I reigned it in and hit the next couple of miles around 8 minutes a mile. I knew I was in good shape for 40 minutes.

During the 3rd mile there is one decent hill, it takes you up and up and up. Bill was there with his camera, and that always lends a boost. After all, no one wants to be making a puke face in their picture. I finished the hill stronger than I would have thought if I had seen it prior and started lopping down the other side. The last mile was in sight and I felt really good.

I did have some nerves as I realized 40 minutes was probably going to happen, but it wasn’t written in stone. In the last 3 tenths of a mile or so, I saw Bill again, and I asked him if I had a shot at 40, I figured he could see the clock. He had no idea, as we were both too far yet. I was struggling to see through my foggy glasses that I had forgotten to leave in the car and I thought I could make out 39:4x, crap, there was no way I was going to beat 40.

Then as it clicked over to what should have been 40 minutes, I realized it had said 38:4x and I was in perfect shape to hit sub 40. I crossed the line (officially) in 39:17.

Bill and I walked back up the street a bit to watch Jen come in. As she made her way down the street, I ran out to run in with her. She asked me “How close is that girl behind me”. Looking up the street and seeing no one for a 1/4 mile behind her, I said “I think you got her, there is no one there”. She finished up in 57:14 feeling good.

The shirts are pretty nice Brooks tech shirts. A well put together race, that was a total blast, I recommend it.

Motionbased Link (I started the Garmin a little late).

Some Stats (unofficial):
Distance: 5.05 Miles
Time: 0:39:12 (pace: 7:45)
Average Heart Rate: 175 bpm
Calories Burned: 744

**Update** I found a workaround to the Motionbased problem, so I added stats and edited the post. **Update**

122 more days till Daylight Saving Time. :(

I worked from home today, and I like to run when I do that, since I can run right at 5 pm then.

I went over to the barracks because now it gets dark at 5:30 or something crazy. I ran slow purposefully. This was the third day in a row and it was also going to be 21 miles in 3 days when I hit the 5 mile mark.

I did two laps and then turned back at the .5 mark on the third lap. It was ok. My calf hurt and I wasn’t feeling it…but I am not sorry I went, not by a long shot. Even a bad run is better than…well actually that’s not true, a really bad run can suck the life right out of you and make you wish you were dead…this wasn’t that kind of run.

I did have to go out of my way to keep the pace down. I keep gravitating to 9:30 - 9:15 miles.

1 mile splits: 10:20, 9:50, 10:00, 9:54, 9:59

Some stats:
Distance: 5.01 Miles
Time: 50:05 (pace: 9:59)
Average Heart Rate: 144 bpm
Calories Burned: 736

I am not always interested in putting names on things. Sometimes I like to just let things be as they are. Like my favorite color. I don’t like to think about why it’s my favorite color, it just is.

And so this goes with running. I think a lot about running, why I run, how to run better etc. Some days though I prefer to just run. That is how I felt today. I was happy to just swing my legs, stare at the earth and move forward for a hour and half. Until I made a realization about a part of running that I think I sub-consciously really like. I think the rhythm of running is what really appeals to me on a sub-conscious level.

Ask anyone who has ridden in a car with me for more than 100 yards. I push in the gas pedal and let it out in a syncopated rhythm. I do not notice I am doing it at all. However, it makes every passenger that has ever ridden with me very ill.

For the past couple of weeks I have gone running in the dark, no outside visual stimulation at all. I really enjoyed those runs. It was just me and my pounding feet.

On the trail run the other day, I missed a nice wide flat trail. At first it seemed counter-intuitive. Why wouldn’t I prefer to have the scenery changing all around me versus a long flat trail where things stay the same for long periods.

After examining it, in addition to all the other great things running does for me, I think it also feeds part of my brain that wants to move along to a rhythm.

All in all, a really good run. I felt like I could break two hours in the half now if I had one to run. Might have to look into that ;)

1 mile splits: 9:58, 9:39, 9:25, 9:26, 9:23, 9:24, 9:18, 9:16, 9:15, 9:28

Motionbased Link

Some Stats:
Distance: 10.10 Miles
Time: 1:34:35 (pace: 9:21)
Average Heart Rate: 145 bpm
Calories Burned: 1466

The York White Rose 5 Mile Race is next weekend, so it’s time to think strategy.

Going over my times on Motionbased I was surprised to see that in the recent past, I had run 6 miles at an 8:32 pace (Though as I recall it was difficult). Then I looked at my current 5K PR on McMillan. McMillan thinks I can run 5 miles in 38:47. That seems incredibly fast to me at 7:45 a mile.

I know how I felt at the Pumpkin Chase turning in a 7:30 first mile. Running 15 seconds slower with 2 more miles doesn’t seem like a good plan to me. Taking those two paces into consideration, 8:32 over 6 miles and McMillan’s crackhead 7:45 prediction, I am going to split the difference and shoot for 8:10 miles. Total time for the race would be 40:50. I think that’s doable, and challenging.

Over the last few weeks I have been slowly formulating my new running goals and rules. I have been letting them shape up on their own and not forcing myself to establish new ones.

First, my new rules. I use rules to help me stay focused and on task. It also makes scheduling my runs easier because I know what criteria I have to meet. Currently my rules are, no run can be less than 3 miles, and I can’t run less than 3 days per week. I also have to have one long run per week that is a minimum of 8 miles. The last rule is not set in stone, but I plan to follow it and more. That is, I don’t want to run less that 20 miles in a given training week (Which for me is like a regular week running Sunday to Saturday).

This brings me to my goals. I want to up my mileage (it was really hard not to title this post “I upped my mileage, so up yours!”). To that end, I decided that I would run 20 miles this week as a foundation week and build from there. As the week moved forward, I decided that I would actually get 22 miles in this week. While out on my 6 miler this morning I came up with my schedule for the next two weeks in order to continue increasing.

Next week (which starts tomorrow) I will run 10/5/5/4 and the following week I will run 10/5/5/6. That will get me to 26 and within 4 miles of my new goal, of 30-35 miles per week for winter. After these next two weeks I can reassess and probably will add a day to my week taking me to 5 days per training week.

With all this running to think about, I needed a good run this morning to sort it all. I drove down to the rail trail in Newville and hoofed it out 3 miles to the turnaround. I was really pretty cold and didn’t get comfortable till the middle of the 5th mile. It was pretty unpleasant. I have to get some warmer running clothes.

1 mile splits: 9:08, 9:02, 9:13, 9:32, 9:20, 9:28

Motionbaed Link

Some stats (these are a little off b/c I didn’t turn off the Garmin when I was done):
Distance: 6.06 Miles
Time: 56:37 (pace: 9:20)
Average Heart Rate: 148 bpm
Calories Burned: 881

It’s been 4 months since I had a smoke. July 2nd, 2007 10:18 pm, I snubbed my last cigarette.

It’s crazy. Before I stopped again, I forgot what it was like to have quit. Like most things in this world, day to day, there isn’t much to it. I wake up, live, and don’t smoke. The next day I do the same thing.

When you are getting ready to quit and actually in the throes of your initial quit you think, man, I can’t wait till 3 or 4 months have gone by and I am done with this part. And time moves on, and it gets easier. But it’s still not over at 3 or 4 months, you are still there still fighting the good fight.

So here I am 4 months on, looking forward to 1 year. Right now, that seems like it will be easier than this, and then, I imagine 2 years will seem easier. The thing is, every step of the way it will seem easier at the next step, and it will be.

You are all aware of the things I have gone through in this quit, as I have chronicled them here so I won’t go over them again. I will say currently I am feeling pretty good about my quitting. For a couple of weeks there I was facing multiple urges on a daily basis. Work was crazy, and my life was crazy, as a result with stress levels high, I wanted to smoke a lot more often. Life has relaxed a little, and so have the urges. I still think about smoking everyday, but I go longer without the thoughts. And for the last 3-4 days, it’s been a few hours into the day before the thought enters my head. That is an improvement I can get behind.

Nathan “4 months smoke free” Powell

It’s no secret that I work in Lancaster, PA. At work we recently moved offices and as a result had to go for the last month with no shower at work. For me that put an end to any lunch time running. Until today.

As of yesterday the shower was in operation. Some Cow-orkers and I had agreed to head over to Central Park and they were going to show me around the trails. We headed over and took off for a 4 mile jaunt through the woods. It was a lot of fun to get out with those guys as few of us (though a lot of us run) actually run together.

I am, however, not a huge fan of technical trail running. I don’t wear my glasses when I run, so seeing the best spot to put my foot sometimes will elude me. Like I often do when the trail is trickier than just a rail trail, I twisted my ankle. I did a pretty good job of it, it still hurts, but I think it will be fine tonight or tomorrow. I don’t want to get injured, and trail running seems like a good way to get hurt. My goal is consistency not speed. I want to make sure I am still running, week after week, not out of the game because I hurt myself.

1 Mile Splits: 11:44, 11:24, 9:51, 10:32, The last .15 in 1:53

Motionbased Link

Some Stats:
Distance: 4.15 Miles
Time: 45:18 (pace: 10:46)
Average Heart Rate: 149 bpm
Calories Burned: 588