Adrian Peterson, I get you. I just came up short of 1300 miles for 2012 by 7 miles. 2013, watch out.
Running: the cure to not purposefully sleeping for 25 hrs straight. After trying to lift after 3rd shift and coming up with a pounding headache, I ran for an hour. Washed away the involuntary insomnia known as the graveyard shift.
As we find ourselves elbow to elbow with resolutionists, I am here to say that in our 4th season, I am ready to find the next gear. After a pair of 26.2s last year, it's time to hit some 5ks, halfs, and maybe another full. Good luck, and see you at the next race.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Running in the Cold
I've run once in the past 4 or 5 months, but for you who are still pounding the pavement, I found this article interesting... http://gizmodo.com/5978216/everything-you-need-to-know-about-running-in-the-cold
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Trail running in the snow
A) We should have listened to the plowmen
B) I am not ready for the Polar Bear Plunge come New Year's Day
C) Ice skating in rental skates half a size too small that qualified for AARP membership definitely does not help your feet
It definitely is nice to mix up locales since at this point I could run Providence blind folded.
Spotted: a team of runners exchanging a sledgehammer "for extra weight", when asked.
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
Devotion Deion and Da Future
I decided to go for a 'long' 7 miler around Providence on Christmas Eve. I was greeted by an old lady and her dog and all I heard her utter while looking on was "devotion". It's not so much devotion as me chasing everyone's times.
Stopped in to my local CVS to say hey to Nikki.
The end of my run featured a gentleman running a block with me before he high stepped it like Prime Time.
So as we head towards 2013, remember one thing: the gym is going to be PACKED come January 1st.
I decided to go for a 'long' 7 miler around Providence on Christmas Eve. I was greeted by an old lady and her dog and all I heard her utter while looking on was "devotion". It's not so much devotion as me chasing everyone's times.
Stopped in to my local CVS to say hey to Nikki.
The end of my run featured a gentleman running a block with me before he high stepped it like Prime Time.
So as we head towards 2013, remember one thing: the gym is going to be PACKED come January 1st.
Monday, November 19, 2012
Philadelphia Marathon 2012
As I type on the delayed Amtrak train back home to Providence, all I can think of is this non-running quote:
"Looks like someone took the slow train in from Philly" -Angela from The Office, referring to, uhm, women of the night
Pre:
Jess and I arrived to Philadelphia a day early (Friday) via train to get acclimated to our surroundings, especially after the nightmare that was Miami. Before the rest of the gang arrived, we sight saw (if that is grammatically correct) and snapped pics of the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Rocky foot prints/steps, and let's not forget the black medieval/Dungeons and Dragons/LARP protestors in front of the Expo where I quickly developed a one-day addiction to honey mustard and onion pretzel pieces.
Where was I when the Great Depression part two happened aka Twinkies and Hostess' demise?
In a Philadelphia hotel room eating pretzel pieces, watching Alton Brown on 20/20 talk about cheeseburgers.
Anyways, what I did not foresee was that all the walking around in this (vastly underrated) city days before would leave me a bit sore the morning of the race. Not to mention visibly embarrassed on the 48 bus when Jess sang the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song.
Saturday, I got to meet up with ex-resident/kickball teammate Brian and family down in Fairmount (home of the Eastern State Penitentiary, Al Capone's one time residence) despite the insane traffic and GPS issues leading him to the 'hood. Most inspirational quote? Brady, Brian's 16 month old, saying "Tang".
On to the next hotel at the hustling and bustling Sheraton to meet up Knapp, Sri, and Sean before dinner at Il Pittore for post cards and jacket gender mix-ups. As great as it was, I will say I couldn't really enjoy dinner with that looming 26.2 staring at me. On the way back after dinner we picked up predictably stale Dunkin Donut bagels and trash bags (what? and at a convenience store with different types of fancy cheeses) for the morning. What was pretty clutch was watching the Rocky I montage before sleep (because of course Rocky I would be on TV in Philly, commercial-free the night before). Slept on and off, got around 5 hours of sleep and woke up roughly every hour and a half.
Race:
Sore but wide awake at 6, we donned Mugatu's Derelict campaign trash bags (only runners would see this as sane) the morning of as we looked like pre-packaged humans or (stupid work) light-protected chemo. Since it was 36 outside, other runners had on trash bags but were definitely from an older generation; trash bags aren't in the latest issue of Runner's World (not sure who I just insulted here).
I rocked the Cox black long sleeve underneath and the team shirt since the one race I ran this year and didn't PR was with a non-team shirt. The rest of the ensemble featured my light Nike gloves that I flip-flopped during the race, shorts, and ASICS 2160. Gambled on no chafing and won (but somehow, a bit sensitive in the (TMI) nips).
I will have to admit that I was pretty nervous before this race thanks to a multitude of excuses (Miami's implosion a mere nine months ago, bachelor party the weekend before, swiss cheese'ed 2nd half of training, oh it IS a marathon). The thing is, if I were to fall short again, it's not like a written exam (nerd) where even if you fail, you can be done with it and nobody would be the wiser. It is pretty obvious if I walk the last 10k like Miami (especially with my pretty much mandatory race report), except this time it would be sans KOB to lament with.
Jess and I headed to the back towards our colored corrals (great organization, Philly) and I jumped out of the corral at the last second (Serra style) to use the portapotty without my usual TP utility belt and made it back in time for the beginning. Bart Yasso made a cameo appearance at the starting line where I tried to get a high five from him but his back was turned as I hit the start button on my Garmin.
Wiser runners that we are now, I let the race come to me, taking what the race gave me and sat at 10 minute pace for a while instead of shooting gaps and finally hit mile 6.5 (quarter done) feeling fine while pacing with a backwards-capped Cowboys runner (albeit easier to wear since Philly is an even worse run team at the moment-ba ZING). To remind me more of home, saw a Luke's Locker shirt and a Rhode Runner shirt.
No matter what, the inevitable human wall would appear as two bulky runners would somehow always be two abreast as I had to swerve or blow through them. Picked up "the point" move from backwards-capped runner as he'd point at open spots to let runners know where he was going before passing.
The course to this point showed roughly a .19 mile difference in mile marker to GPS watch. This would be payback for the previous two 5ks. I also thought my left shoe was going to pop off at any moment but never went to re-tie it.
Thanks to scouting the elevation map, we knew mile 7 and 9 were the only hills on the course. Hills? That elevation map has jokes. The inevitable downhills were my chance to let go and let gravity whittle my pace back down and keep me within distance of 4:00. Around mile 9, I heard some Go! Team song with actual cheerleaders and then around mile 10, foraged and pocketed some Raspberry Gu's (which proved fortunate) since I only brought 2 honey stingers for each hour, leaving me just shy on calories if I was to avoid 'The Wall' we all knew was very real. This was also around the spot of the nice huge building with pillars that Sean mentioned; this was the one spot we DIDN'T walk to on our walking tourism tour de force.
I hit 13.1 at 2:02 roughly with the emcee shouting about the elites finishing to the right of us as we took a left. I came in slower at the halfway point than Miami but felt a million times greater. I didn't think, man, I should have stopped here. Mainly, I kept telling myself I was just getting warmed up and kept telling myself it's just like a long training run. The elites passing us from mile 13-16 gave me hope as we cheered them on. I just kept chugging away, telling myself "4:30, 4:30" to relax myself and not blow up.
It was strange since I remembered during Miami, I had gotten pissed at seeing runners heading towards the finish line as I started. Whatever mentally happened in Miami, it seemed to never come up in Philly.
Between miles16 and18, I pushed the pace to see if I could keep the 4 dream alive and on the table. It was here I gambled and gnawed on some of that Raz Gu. This is where we crossed a tiny bridge reminiscent of the Dallas half bridge that shook due to the amount of human traffic pounding away at the concrete. There was a "Hey Ya!" cover at mile 17 which helped me to loosen up the arms and fingers via the "Hey Ya!" dance that everyone has to automatically do upon hearing Andre 3000. (Gangnam style before Gangnam Style).
At mile 19 (I think?), Manayunk main street was where there was beer and a ton of crowd support.
I kept plugging away, keeping myself within sub 4 goal while not having unleashed anything too motivational. It was at mile 19/20 that I knew I had a real shot at this and finally opened up a mental can of (excuse my 1990s white trash French) whoop ass as I channelled the training run on East Bay I had with Angela where we went 19 at 8:49 pace. I knew I could do this. I was at mile 20 and knew this is where the race starts.
Between 20-26.2, I felt great and knew I had two 5k's left to hammer out as the mental games started. Hello, negative splits, it's nice to finally meet you after 3 years of racing. I was looking up from that little village at mile 20 and that's where I pushed the pace to roughly 8:30 and passed cheering people, runners, future wall victims and wall-bound walkers.
I used to want to walk at the end of these long races whenever I saw a walker since mentally I knew it was now OK to give up because others had but today would be fateful as I had enough in the gas tank and never hit the wall as my brain never let the thought of stopping in to my docket as an option. I think I have finally crossed over in to the insane runner category.
I checked myself around mile 22 and I felt like my form was relatively good.
The 4:00 pace group (with the same balloon-covered sign as Dallas' half that I ran) was in sight towards the end of the first 5k and I edged pass them on the left side. At some point, I thought the comeback story to 4 was almost done but I would have to finish this off for this story to write itself.
Along the way I garnered quite a few "Go Aaron!" cheers thanks to the bib and that proved helpful along with high fives being given. The crowd support was amazing and definitely a boost. This must be what home court advantage feels like.
At mile 25, my left groin tightened up and my right foot went numb and I knew that I had to hobble it in after passing the 4:00 pacer and didn't look back.
I saw the girl who was ahead of me in the beginning wearing a Victor Cruz jersey who kept getting "Giants!", "Cruuuuuuz!", and (stupidly (or sarcastically?) ) "Shockey!" shout outs and knew that I could not stomach that salsa celebration (since my gag reflex showed up around mile 24).
Didn't stop. Skipped the last 2 water stations knowing I could muster up a finishing kick.
Gagging was still a very real issue but the last half mile proved to be all adrenaline (accounted for as I sprinted to get to my adrenaline deadline) as I kicked up some dust for Miss Cruz with a chute made of cheering humans.
3:56:17
Got a high five from the mayor of Philly, got my aluminum foil-like blanket that I secretly have always coveted for what it signifies and my finisher's medal. I swam upstream through the huge, sweaty caloric-challenged crowd, bypassing free food for a nice ice-cold shower and a chance to lay down.
Post:
My iPod died on the walk back. I wanted to not bring it? Thanks Knapp for telling the insane me on Saturday to pocket it in case.
No Wall, but no runner's high.
I wasn't as dehydrated this time since I didn't excrete concentrated apple juice from my body. I laid up in the hotel for 5 hours until a Philly-famous Pat's cheesesteak was walked and hand delivered to me after a long wait in line. Ran up the steps again post-Marathon, took some more tourist pictures on our way to celebrate at the Knapp (and less importantly, Zagat) approved, hidden treasure (literally) that is Morimoto's.
Back of my left knee is a bit sore and my left groin but I feel great otherwise. Walking downstairs to the bathroom at Morimoto's proved to be the hardest thing that day.
Great job by Knapp again, picking two stellar restaurants and a race that could not have gone any better; perfect weather and flat, made obvious by the great times.
Future:
5k in December. Will it be a showdown between Pat, Knapp, and Tang? I am waiting until the last price hike (12/1) before throwing my hat in to the ring. I originally planned on a month hiatus but after the great finish and lack of immobility (sooo in English, I'm mobile), I may chop the layover down to 2 weeks. Next year's races will be very entertaining to say the least.
Notes:
We saw 2 people trip and eat it on Friday, thinking that was an omen for the race.
Wawa (convenience store in the Mid-Atlantic) needs to go national.
Seen during the race: A spartan from '300', Ivan Drago, panda, giraffe, 2 ghostbusters, a juggler
A conservative first half allowed me to gamble on the second half:
first half of the race: ~2:02
second half of the race: ~1:54
last 10k: 8:25/mile pace
2012 Triple crown implications were dashed as Knapp broke the half marathon times, jumping two spots and making me re-organize a majority of the times. Thanks, Knapp, for being the fastest half marathoner this year (and all-time for non-Pat Henderson named runners).
Let's not forget Jess smashing her old PR by 15+ minutes.
I "smashed" mine by 40+ minutes...
Team's been on a tear, keep the mo going.
Speaking of teams, Plano Senior High School alum finishes 2nd in the marathon. PSHS alumni representing.
What a small world we live in.
Best signs:
If marathons were easy, they'd be called your mom.
If you were Paul Ryan, you would have been here an hour ago. (early (mile 5 or 6?) in the race)
SWF seeks man with stamina Call Me!
Smile if you pooped your pants
Keep Going! Don't Stop! (That's what she said)
Here's my bib number, so call me maybe
Worst parade ever
Less than 0.17% of Americans finished a marathon in 2012
huge cardboard cutouts of heads of (I'm assuming) runners
A picture of Gob with a sign that read "Family love Lisa"
Definitely heard Gangnam Style at some point, I think towards the very end.
The further along we go, the less amped up we have to be; it has just become a part of us. I didn't even make a playlist for the race; instead just going by what I have currently. No running videos (minus the Rocky montage).
Philadelphia is underrated; I never knew there were so many photogenic parts to this city. I guess the sports fans give it a bad rap. The crowd support was phenomenal, it was decently organized, it was a flat course. Great trip all around.
If I retire early, I'd love to go around the country and run races/review the city for a week.
Lessons learned:
-sleep two nights before is more important than the night before (since I am too nervous to sleep soundly)
-rendezvous points suck; just go back to the hotel ASAP
"Looks like someone took the slow train in from Philly" -Angela from The Office, referring to, uhm, women of the night
Pre:
Jess and I arrived to Philadelphia a day early (Friday) via train to get acclimated to our surroundings, especially after the nightmare that was Miami. Before the rest of the gang arrived, we sight saw (if that is grammatically correct) and snapped pics of the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Rocky foot prints/steps, and let's not forget the black medieval/Dungeons and Dragons/LARP protestors in front of the Expo where I quickly developed a one-day addiction to honey mustard and onion pretzel pieces.
Where was I when the Great Depression part two happened aka Twinkies and Hostess' demise?
In a Philadelphia hotel room eating pretzel pieces, watching Alton Brown on 20/20 talk about cheeseburgers.
Anyways, what I did not foresee was that all the walking around in this (vastly underrated) city days before would leave me a bit sore the morning of the race. Not to mention visibly embarrassed on the 48 bus when Jess sang the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song.
Saturday, I got to meet up with ex-resident/kickball teammate Brian and family down in Fairmount (home of the Eastern State Penitentiary, Al Capone's one time residence) despite the insane traffic and GPS issues leading him to the 'hood. Most inspirational quote? Brady, Brian's 16 month old, saying "Tang".
On to the next hotel at the hustling and bustling Sheraton to meet up Knapp, Sri, and Sean before dinner at Il Pittore for post cards and jacket gender mix-ups. As great as it was, I will say I couldn't really enjoy dinner with that looming 26.2 staring at me. On the way back after dinner we picked up predictably stale Dunkin Donut bagels and trash bags (what? and at a convenience store with different types of fancy cheeses) for the morning. What was pretty clutch was watching the Rocky I montage before sleep (because of course Rocky I would be on TV in Philly, commercial-free the night before). Slept on and off, got around 5 hours of sleep and woke up roughly every hour and a half.
Race:
Sore but wide awake at 6, we donned Mugatu's Derelict campaign trash bags (only runners would see this as sane) the morning of as we looked like pre-packaged humans or (stupid work) light-protected chemo. Since it was 36 outside, other runners had on trash bags but were definitely from an older generation; trash bags aren't in the latest issue of Runner's World (not sure who I just insulted here).
I rocked the Cox black long sleeve underneath and the team shirt since the one race I ran this year and didn't PR was with a non-team shirt. The rest of the ensemble featured my light Nike gloves that I flip-flopped during the race, shorts, and ASICS 2160. Gambled on no chafing and won (but somehow, a bit sensitive in the (TMI) nips).
I will have to admit that I was pretty nervous before this race thanks to a multitude of excuses (Miami's implosion a mere nine months ago, bachelor party the weekend before, swiss cheese'ed 2nd half of training, oh it IS a marathon). The thing is, if I were to fall short again, it's not like a written exam (nerd) where even if you fail, you can be done with it and nobody would be the wiser. It is pretty obvious if I walk the last 10k like Miami (especially with my pretty much mandatory race report), except this time it would be sans KOB to lament with.
Jess and I headed to the back towards our colored corrals (great organization, Philly) and I jumped out of the corral at the last second (Serra style) to use the portapotty without my usual TP utility belt and made it back in time for the beginning. Bart Yasso made a cameo appearance at the starting line where I tried to get a high five from him but his back was turned as I hit the start button on my Garmin.
Wiser runners that we are now, I let the race come to me, taking what the race gave me and sat at 10 minute pace for a while instead of shooting gaps and finally hit mile 6.5 (quarter done) feeling fine while pacing with a backwards-capped Cowboys runner (albeit easier to wear since Philly is an even worse run team at the moment-ba ZING). To remind me more of home, saw a Luke's Locker shirt and a Rhode Runner shirt.
No matter what, the inevitable human wall would appear as two bulky runners would somehow always be two abreast as I had to swerve or blow through them. Picked up "the point" move from backwards-capped runner as he'd point at open spots to let runners know where he was going before passing.
The course to this point showed roughly a .19 mile difference in mile marker to GPS watch. This would be payback for the previous two 5ks. I also thought my left shoe was going to pop off at any moment but never went to re-tie it.
Thanks to scouting the elevation map, we knew mile 7 and 9 were the only hills on the course. Hills? That elevation map has jokes. The inevitable downhills were my chance to let go and let gravity whittle my pace back down and keep me within distance of 4:00. Around mile 9, I heard some Go! Team song with actual cheerleaders and then around mile 10, foraged and pocketed some Raspberry Gu's (which proved fortunate) since I only brought 2 honey stingers for each hour, leaving me just shy on calories if I was to avoid 'The Wall' we all knew was very real. This was also around the spot of the nice huge building with pillars that Sean mentioned; this was the one spot we DIDN'T walk to on our walking tourism tour de force.
I hit 13.1 at 2:02 roughly with the emcee shouting about the elites finishing to the right of us as we took a left. I came in slower at the halfway point than Miami but felt a million times greater. I didn't think, man, I should have stopped here. Mainly, I kept telling myself I was just getting warmed up and kept telling myself it's just like a long training run. The elites passing us from mile 13-16 gave me hope as we cheered them on. I just kept chugging away, telling myself "4:30, 4:30" to relax myself and not blow up.
It was strange since I remembered during Miami, I had gotten pissed at seeing runners heading towards the finish line as I started. Whatever mentally happened in Miami, it seemed to never come up in Philly.
Between miles16 and18, I pushed the pace to see if I could keep the 4 dream alive and on the table. It was here I gambled and gnawed on some of that Raz Gu. This is where we crossed a tiny bridge reminiscent of the Dallas half bridge that shook due to the amount of human traffic pounding away at the concrete. There was a "Hey Ya!" cover at mile 17 which helped me to loosen up the arms and fingers via the "Hey Ya!" dance that everyone has to automatically do upon hearing Andre 3000. (Gangnam style before Gangnam Style).
At mile 19 (I think?), Manayunk main street was where there was beer and a ton of crowd support.
I kept plugging away, keeping myself within sub 4 goal while not having unleashed anything too motivational. It was at mile 19/20 that I knew I had a real shot at this and finally opened up a mental can of (excuse my 1990s white trash French) whoop ass as I channelled the training run on East Bay I had with Angela where we went 19 at 8:49 pace. I knew I could do this. I was at mile 20 and knew this is where the race starts.
Between 20-26.2, I felt great and knew I had two 5k's left to hammer out as the mental games started. Hello, negative splits, it's nice to finally meet you after 3 years of racing. I was looking up from that little village at mile 20 and that's where I pushed the pace to roughly 8:30 and passed cheering people, runners, future wall victims and wall-bound walkers.
I used to want to walk at the end of these long races whenever I saw a walker since mentally I knew it was now OK to give up because others had but today would be fateful as I had enough in the gas tank and never hit the wall as my brain never let the thought of stopping in to my docket as an option. I think I have finally crossed over in to the insane runner category.
I checked myself around mile 22 and I felt like my form was relatively good.
The 4:00 pace group (with the same balloon-covered sign as Dallas' half that I ran) was in sight towards the end of the first 5k and I edged pass them on the left side. At some point, I thought the comeback story to 4 was almost done but I would have to finish this off for this story to write itself.
Along the way I garnered quite a few "Go Aaron!" cheers thanks to the bib and that proved helpful along with high fives being given. The crowd support was amazing and definitely a boost. This must be what home court advantage feels like.
At mile 25, my left groin tightened up and my right foot went numb and I knew that I had to hobble it in after passing the 4:00 pacer and didn't look back.
I saw the girl who was ahead of me in the beginning wearing a Victor Cruz jersey who kept getting "Giants!", "Cruuuuuuz!", and (stupidly (or sarcastically?) ) "Shockey!" shout outs and knew that I could not stomach that salsa celebration (since my gag reflex showed up around mile 24).
Didn't stop. Skipped the last 2 water stations knowing I could muster up a finishing kick.
Gagging was still a very real issue but the last half mile proved to be all adrenaline (accounted for as I sprinted to get to my adrenaline deadline) as I kicked up some dust for Miss Cruz with a chute made of cheering humans.
3:56:17
Got a high five from the mayor of Philly, got my aluminum foil-like blanket that I secretly have always coveted for what it signifies and my finisher's medal. I swam upstream through the huge, sweaty caloric-challenged crowd, bypassing free food for a nice ice-cold shower and a chance to lay down.
Post:
My iPod died on the walk back. I wanted to not bring it? Thanks Knapp for telling the insane me on Saturday to pocket it in case.
No Wall, but no runner's high.
I wasn't as dehydrated this time since I didn't excrete concentrated apple juice from my body. I laid up in the hotel for 5 hours until a Philly-famous Pat's cheesesteak was walked and hand delivered to me after a long wait in line. Ran up the steps again post-Marathon, took some more tourist pictures on our way to celebrate at the Knapp (and less importantly, Zagat) approved, hidden treasure (literally) that is Morimoto's.
Back of my left knee is a bit sore and my left groin but I feel great otherwise. Walking downstairs to the bathroom at Morimoto's proved to be the hardest thing that day.
Great job by Knapp again, picking two stellar restaurants and a race that could not have gone any better; perfect weather and flat, made obvious by the great times.
Future:
5k in December. Will it be a showdown between Pat, Knapp, and Tang? I am waiting until the last price hike (12/1) before throwing my hat in to the ring. I originally planned on a month hiatus but after the great finish and lack of immobility (sooo in English, I'm mobile), I may chop the layover down to 2 weeks. Next year's races will be very entertaining to say the least.
Notes:
We saw 2 people trip and eat it on Friday, thinking that was an omen for the race.
Wawa (convenience store in the Mid-Atlantic) needs to go national.
Seen during the race: A spartan from '300', Ivan Drago, panda, giraffe, 2 ghostbusters, a juggler
A conservative first half allowed me to gamble on the second half:
first half of the race: ~2:02
second half of the race: ~1:54
last 10k: 8:25/mile pace
2012 Triple crown implications were dashed as Knapp broke the half marathon times, jumping two spots and making me re-organize a majority of the times. Thanks, Knapp, for being the fastest half marathoner this year (and all-time for non-Pat Henderson named runners).
Let's not forget Jess smashing her old PR by 15+ minutes.
I "smashed" mine by 40+ minutes...
Team's been on a tear, keep the mo going.
Speaking of teams, Plano Senior High School alum finishes 2nd in the marathon. PSHS alumni representing.
What a small world we live in.
Best signs:
If marathons were easy, they'd be called your mom.
If you were Paul Ryan, you would have been here an hour ago. (early (mile 5 or 6?) in the race)
SWF seeks man with stamina Call Me!
Smile if you pooped your pants
Keep Going! Don't Stop! (That's what she said)
Here's my bib number, so call me maybe
Worst parade ever
Less than 0.17% of Americans finished a marathon in 2012
huge cardboard cutouts of heads of (I'm assuming) runners
A picture of Gob with a sign that read "Family love Lisa"
Definitely heard Gangnam Style at some point, I think towards the very end.
The further along we go, the less amped up we have to be; it has just become a part of us. I didn't even make a playlist for the race; instead just going by what I have currently. No running videos (minus the Rocky montage).
Philadelphia is underrated; I never knew there were so many photogenic parts to this city. I guess the sports fans give it a bad rap. The crowd support was phenomenal, it was decently organized, it was a flat course. Great trip all around.
If I retire early, I'd love to go around the country and run races/review the city for a week.
Lessons learned:
-sleep two nights before is more important than the night before (since I am too nervous to sleep soundly)
-rendezvous points suck; just go back to the hotel ASAP
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Pre-Philly Post
And we are 72 hours away from crossing a hard earned finish line in Mo Town Philly, the city Boyz II Men and The Fresh Prince built. It's weird seeing the transformation in the past 3 years but after a while, it isn't about pumping yourself up for a race but it becomes just a part of who you are. It's not about if you'll run, but for how long. Here's to finishing my last 2012 race strong as the gang tackles the marathon.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
last (and only) 20
To better handle the urban landscape for marathon #2, I decided to run my 20 inside Providence.
Ran a round trip of 5 to go back home and get some water and honey, my preferred caloric need for the race and to use the restroom. Then did another 10 in my usual College Hill avoiding, Blackstone park using route. As for the final 5, I rolled my left ankle pretty hard in front of a couple and again have hamstring issues. I think I am mentally ready since this was my first semi-continuous 20 miler.
Post race, I will definitely take a month off from running and return to hitting the weights and maybe elliptical or ... a bike.
As for the race?
Run a conservative race for 4:15 OR roll the dice on a 4:00 (or potentially blow up again)?
Ran a round trip of 5 to go back home and get some water and honey, my preferred caloric need for the race and to use the restroom. Then did another 10 in my usual College Hill avoiding, Blackstone park using route. As for the final 5, I rolled my left ankle pretty hard in front of a couple and again have hamstring issues. I think I am mentally ready since this was my first semi-continuous 20 miler.
Post race, I will definitely take a month off from running and return to hitting the weights and maybe elliptical or ... a bike.
As for the race?
Run a conservative race for 4:15 OR roll the dice on a 4:00 (or potentially blow up again)?
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Free to Breathe 5k Race Report
Funk Bustin'
This had to be the worst prepared pre-race mindset I have ever had for a race. No youtube videos to pump me up, no Pre montages, didn't even know if I wanted to sport the Nike Lunaracers because, well, if you sport those, you need to be at your best. Hadn't run in a week due to sore hamstrings and quads that were screaming from volleyball that started Tuesday night. This all happened to fall on a hectic personal and work week that is all wedged in to marathon training.
The usual dream of missing the race came up and as I was awoken by the heavy rain at 2 A.M., (THAT heavy, that Aaron Tang woke up)I was so sure I missed the race and felt relieved.
And this next part is why I love running.
Wake up to a dreary Saturday and head on over to Roger Williams Park (which I should run through more, it's actually pretty nice) early to pick up a bib and pins, shirt, and wrist band. Meet up the Cabrals, Jimmy, Souksanh and Souksanh's sister beforehand. As we killed time before the race, we walked around and I am now aware that there is definitely a working carousel in the park. We climbed up a muddy hill to what we thought was the starting line (sorry Lunaracers, you're not my most pristine pair any more) and warmed up to what we thought was a 10:15 start time.
10:30 rolls around, sun finally peaking through with my friend, Mr. Humidity, and the legit looking runners appear out of nowhere up at the front of the line, with me tucked in right behind. The timer guy (had "TIMER" on his shirt) drove in his car and honked once for the "gun" time and then wailed on it to let us know for sure it was the start.
As usual, the beginning started way too fast as I tried to keep up with the lead pack (rookie mistake). The first 3 finishers disappeared immediately as I tried to stay within the second lead pack. I gently floated back to 7 minute pace as I knew that that was where I needed to be.
The mile marker was a bit early again as it had 6:4x. Slowly, people started dropping like flies due to the slick (dangerous) rolling hills and humidity. No offense but I had to pass the guy who was running a 5k with a water bottle belt.
Even though I kept climbing the ranks, there was this one upstart blaring his iPod zooming by in Minimus's which proved to be costly since he had to re-tie them twice.
All that stood in front of me was an older runner, a female runner, and cars driving by us. Yeah, they didn't close off the roads so running the tangents was interesting. Good thing I am a veteran of doing this running Providence streets.
The older runner pulled something and had to stop around mile 2. Even though I knew there were some runners out of my sight, I thought the race was down to me and a pumped up female runner. The first part of the race chopped my finishing kick in half and I was left to hold on as the battle of the sexes was won by the fairer sex on this day.
Towards the end of the race, we were coming towards the starting line and familiar territory. As I chased down the female runner in futility, she looked back knowing she had this all day with less than a quarter mile to go. On the left turn going downhill towards the finish line, I had lost sight of her and was a bit worried I made a wrong turn but was relieved as people cheered me on and one of the top 3 congratulated me as I had mustered enough to kick it up a gear for the final 200.
21:13.
Unofficially ( since I have 3.02 miles on my Garmin) age and gender graded at 70.7, considered an 'above average' runner. SOOOO pumped about reaching that goal. All that's left is sub 1:45 13.1 and sub 4 26.2. And then I can retire?
Per Pat protocol, I looped back to cheer on everyone as they came in. Sarah beat Kevin by a millisecond for those wondering at home; their times were a bit slower since they pumped the brakes for an autistic kid that was finishing the race and even clapped him in. The running gods will be handing out karma points to them on their next race.
The finishing times came out quick this time and I saw my name as #5 and was so happy about that that I didn't even confirm my time.
The awards ceremony commenced and I came behind the #1 female at 20:4x, :bows down:.
I received 2nd in my age group of 20-29 and had my name pronounced correctly this time.
Two 2nd place finishes. In Without Limits, Pre says "Is there anything worse than finishing 2nd?". Not really when I can produce back-to-back PRs. Most importantly, this broke me out of my week long funk. Yes, this was a personal funk buster.
New post-5k staple songs:
Cotton Eyed Joe
Call Me, Maybe
Gangnam Style
2012 races: If it is A race day, then it is the hottest, most humid day of the week.
This had to be the worst prepared pre-race mindset I have ever had for a race. No youtube videos to pump me up, no Pre montages, didn't even know if I wanted to sport the Nike Lunaracers because, well, if you sport those, you need to be at your best. Hadn't run in a week due to sore hamstrings and quads that were screaming from volleyball that started Tuesday night. This all happened to fall on a hectic personal and work week that is all wedged in to marathon training.
The usual dream of missing the race came up and as I was awoken by the heavy rain at 2 A.M., (THAT heavy, that Aaron Tang woke up)I was so sure I missed the race and felt relieved.
And this next part is why I love running.
Wake up to a dreary Saturday and head on over to Roger Williams Park (which I should run through more, it's actually pretty nice) early to pick up a bib and pins, shirt, and wrist band. Meet up the Cabrals, Jimmy, Souksanh and Souksanh's sister beforehand. As we killed time before the race, we walked around and I am now aware that there is definitely a working carousel in the park. We climbed up a muddy hill to what we thought was the starting line (sorry Lunaracers, you're not my most pristine pair any more) and warmed up to what we thought was a 10:15 start time.
10:30 rolls around, sun finally peaking through with my friend, Mr. Humidity, and the legit looking runners appear out of nowhere up at the front of the line, with me tucked in right behind. The timer guy (had "TIMER" on his shirt) drove in his car and honked once for the "gun" time and then wailed on it to let us know for sure it was the start.
As usual, the beginning started way too fast as I tried to keep up with the lead pack (rookie mistake). The first 3 finishers disappeared immediately as I tried to stay within the second lead pack. I gently floated back to 7 minute pace as I knew that that was where I needed to be.
The mile marker was a bit early again as it had 6:4x. Slowly, people started dropping like flies due to the slick (dangerous) rolling hills and humidity. No offense but I had to pass the guy who was running a 5k with a water bottle belt.
Even though I kept climbing the ranks, there was this one upstart blaring his iPod zooming by in Minimus's which proved to be costly since he had to re-tie them twice.
All that stood in front of me was an older runner, a female runner, and cars driving by us. Yeah, they didn't close off the roads so running the tangents was interesting. Good thing I am a veteran of doing this running Providence streets.
The older runner pulled something and had to stop around mile 2. Even though I knew there were some runners out of my sight, I thought the race was down to me and a pumped up female runner. The first part of the race chopped my finishing kick in half and I was left to hold on as the battle of the sexes was won by the fairer sex on this day.
Towards the end of the race, we were coming towards the starting line and familiar territory. As I chased down the female runner in futility, she looked back knowing she had this all day with less than a quarter mile to go. On the left turn going downhill towards the finish line, I had lost sight of her and was a bit worried I made a wrong turn but was relieved as people cheered me on and one of the top 3 congratulated me as I had mustered enough to kick it up a gear for the final 200.
21:13.
Unofficially ( since I have 3.02 miles on my Garmin) age and gender graded at 70.7, considered an 'above average' runner. SOOOO pumped about reaching that goal. All that's left is sub 1:45 13.1 and sub 4 26.2. And then I can retire?
Per Pat protocol, I looped back to cheer on everyone as they came in. Sarah beat Kevin by a millisecond for those wondering at home; their times were a bit slower since they pumped the brakes for an autistic kid that was finishing the race and even clapped him in. The running gods will be handing out karma points to them on their next race.
The finishing times came out quick this time and I saw my name as #5 and was so happy about that that I didn't even confirm my time.
The awards ceremony commenced and I came behind the #1 female at 20:4x, :bows down:.
I received 2nd in my age group of 20-29 and had my name pronounced correctly this time.
Two 2nd place finishes. In Without Limits, Pre says "Is there anything worse than finishing 2nd?". Not really when I can produce back-to-back PRs. Most importantly, this broke me out of my week long funk. Yes, this was a personal funk buster.
New post-5k staple songs:
Cotton Eyed Joe
Call Me, Maybe
Gangnam Style
2012 races: If it is A race day, then it is the hottest, most humid day of the week.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Aaron and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Week
Goose egg after goose egg. It was bound to happen since the training was going too smoothly. For whatever reason, my hamstrings are making me feel like I'm running through mud and my tank is on E despite getting enough rest and food. On top of it, of course this is the 20 mile long run week. Hopefully a wiser runner now, I am not going to try to make it up but just plain get rest.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
James Paquette 5k Race Report
race: James Paquette 5k in Norfolk, MA
weather: humid and 70
goal: PR/ make up for the non-PR 5k last race
Sri, Kevin, Knapp, and I road tripped it all the way to Norfolk (Mass) for the 1st annual 5k at a saloon, featuring Kenny Powers' stunt double. In our hour of wait from 9-10, the cleanest portapotties were dealt with and warm ups began on the road after the walkers left at 9:30. Delusions of grandeur were abound as the thought of finishing 1,2,3 came about when looking around for males in our age group. Unfortunately, Kevin's knee would not allow that dream to even toe the line.
We had to be walked a street further down for the starting line. As the horn went off, it was nice not having to dodge anyone as we toed the line at the front of the pack (pack being a loose term since there was probably tops 50 people (edit: 70)).
Running past the saloon, we received personalized cheers as KOB was our cheerleader today. GPS watch saves me again as I and everyone else ran way too fast. The first mile was basically me trying to rein it in and corral myself back to 7 minute pace knowing full well 6:30 pace would kill me. Knapp caught up as we ran together for a portion of it. Around 0.9 miles, there was a volunteer spitting out times. 6:30 pace? Yeah, because it wasn't a mile in yet.
When the dust settled and there was separation, there were two out front and a pack of 3 girls and 1 guy with a knee brace. The pack went out a bit quick and I was able to catch up to them around the 1.3 mile mark and eventually pass them from 1.5 on. Once the decision was made, there was an older runner and a guy around my age in front of him and me.
I ate in to the older guy's lead slowly as I was loading up for a final attack on the final 800. It was important to stay within striking distance since I had no clue where to turn other than having walkers or 8x11 printer paper turns that I'd see on telephone polls upon passing.
Unknowingly, the final mile was mostly downhill so my attack began earlier than anticipated as the course begs for a negative split and gets it. The final 0.7, we ran by a lady encouraging me to catch the older runner and I was happy to oblige and shout out that I would just for her.
Following the older runner proved fruitful as he had a sixth sense for when to cut the road before traffic. The final left turn was it as roughly the last 400 was the race. We were side by side with 200 to go as he told me I couldn't let a 59 year old beat me and I told him he looked 40. As obedient as I am, I did as I was told by my elders and threw down the afterburners/ gag reflex and finished 9 seconds behind 1st.
21:27.
Looped back around to cheer on Knapp and Sri but Knapp had already finished before I could:
22:16.
Shook hands with the older runner and even got an Eamer-style point as he drove away before the ribbon ceremony.
Sri was in a race with the aptly nicknamed Big Bosom runner, as she was boxed in for the race.
30:19.8
To cap it off, breakfast buffet the Ron Swanson way. Ron Swanson breakfast: at least 6 eggs, 8 pieces of bacon.
An hour after finishing, I heard the words I wanted to when second place was announced:
Aaron...Tongi?
Ribbon and an additional free shirt, with the likelihood that the saloon had extra shirts from some Olympic watch party (because there are saloons. There are Olympic watch party t-shirts. Those two together make sense)
21:27, good enough for my goal of sub 7, 1 second off of being considered an "above average" runner by age-graded standards. 10/20 5k, need to shave off 1 second.
Addendums:
Check out the top 4 PR 5k times; all in Massachusetts. What's in the water over in Mass?
Believing in karma and Running Gods, I donned the Tang Clan shirt after abandoning it for the last race. Result? PR
weather: humid and 70
goal: PR/ make up for the non-PR 5k last race
Sri, Kevin, Knapp, and I road tripped it all the way to Norfolk (Mass) for the 1st annual 5k at a saloon, featuring Kenny Powers' stunt double. In our hour of wait from 9-10, the cleanest portapotties were dealt with and warm ups began on the road after the walkers left at 9:30. Delusions of grandeur were abound as the thought of finishing 1,2,3 came about when looking around for males in our age group. Unfortunately, Kevin's knee would not allow that dream to even toe the line.
We had to be walked a street further down for the starting line. As the horn went off, it was nice not having to dodge anyone as we toed the line at the front of the pack (pack being a loose term since there was probably tops 50 people (edit: 70)).
Running past the saloon, we received personalized cheers as KOB was our cheerleader today. GPS watch saves me again as I and everyone else ran way too fast. The first mile was basically me trying to rein it in and corral myself back to 7 minute pace knowing full well 6:30 pace would kill me. Knapp caught up as we ran together for a portion of it. Around 0.9 miles, there was a volunteer spitting out times. 6:30 pace? Yeah, because it wasn't a mile in yet.
When the dust settled and there was separation, there were two out front and a pack of 3 girls and 1 guy with a knee brace. The pack went out a bit quick and I was able to catch up to them around the 1.3 mile mark and eventually pass them from 1.5 on. Once the decision was made, there was an older runner and a guy around my age in front of him and me.
I ate in to the older guy's lead slowly as I was loading up for a final attack on the final 800. It was important to stay within striking distance since I had no clue where to turn other than having walkers or 8x11 printer paper turns that I'd see on telephone polls upon passing.
Unknowingly, the final mile was mostly downhill so my attack began earlier than anticipated as the course begs for a negative split and gets it. The final 0.7, we ran by a lady encouraging me to catch the older runner and I was happy to oblige and shout out that I would just for her.
Following the older runner proved fruitful as he had a sixth sense for when to cut the road before traffic. The final left turn was it as roughly the last 400 was the race. We were side by side with 200 to go as he told me I couldn't let a 59 year old beat me and I told him he looked 40. As obedient as I am, I did as I was told by my elders and threw down the afterburners/ gag reflex and finished 9 seconds behind 1st.
21:27.
Looped back around to cheer on Knapp and Sri but Knapp had already finished before I could:
22:16.
Shook hands with the older runner and even got an Eamer-style point as he drove away before the ribbon ceremony.
Sri was in a race with the aptly nicknamed Big Bosom runner, as she was boxed in for the race.
30:19.8
To cap it off, breakfast buffet the Ron Swanson way. Ron Swanson breakfast: at least 6 eggs, 8 pieces of bacon.
An hour after finishing, I heard the words I wanted to when second place was announced:
Aaron...Tongi?
Ribbon and an additional free shirt, with the likelihood that the saloon had extra shirts from some Olympic watch party (because there are saloons. There are Olympic watch party t-shirts. Those two together make sense)
21:27, good enough for my goal of sub 7, 1 second off of being considered an "above average" runner by age-graded standards. 10/20 5k, need to shave off 1 second.
Addendums:
Check out the top 4 PR 5k times; all in Massachusetts. What's in the water over in Mass?
Believing in karma and Running Gods, I donned the Tang Clan shirt after abandoning it for the last race. Result? PR
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