Running for Life

Miles for Moffitt

2008-05-11T08:23:00.001-04:00

Race Report

Ran in the Miles for Moffitt in Tampa Florida this morning. As expected, I didn't do real well. I finished in 25:10. Steve did much better than last week, and his brother Peter continued his successful North American Tour by picking up another 2nd in the 50-54 age group.

Steve and I both did something a bit nuts this weekend, we each bought a pair of racing shoes. Steve bought Mizunos and I bought Brooks, which is weird, because he wears Brooks as running shoes and I wear Mizunos. We bought them on Friday and wore them for the Saturday race. They felt great throughout the 5K.

Looking back I did finish 171 out of 1233, so that's not too bad.

Now that I am over my illness, again, I am going to do 5 miles tomorrow. It will be good to get back to training.

10 miler

2008-04-27T10:38:00.001-04:00

I put in 10+ miles today at a nice slow pace of 10:30, and it was agony. I don't know if it was because I am not used to keeping the pace slow, or because I ran a hard 6 yesterday. Anyway, I decided that from now on my long runs are going to be on Saturday, with a short recovery run on Sunday. I think the long runs will be easier after having two days off.

10 mile data

15 mile run

2008-04-20T12:51:00.002-04:00

I started out this morning for an 11 mile run and I stretched into 15. Perhaps not real smart, but I did finish. It was 1.6 miles longer than I have ever run before.

Garmin data

Stingray 5K

2008-04-19T11:13:00.003-04:00

So this morning Steve and I ran the Stingray 5K in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. It was a perfect morning for running. I think the temp was in the mi 60's , low humidity, no wind, that and the nice flat course made for some damn fine running. At the start I went out way too fast, after about half a mile I looked at my Garmin and saw I was running 7 minute miles. I slowed my pace to a more sedate 7:30ish. As usual Steve ran out at a much faster pace and unlike a lot of races, this time I was catching him. I finally caught up to him right before two miles and realized that he was struggling a bit, he had not been running a lot because he has been a bit ill. I decided that since I was training for a marathon now I was not really worried about my time in 5K's. So I slowed down to run with Steve for the rest of the race. We seemed to be running a nice easy pace, at one point I noticed that is was around 8:20. So Steve and I ran side by side for better than a mile, and I tried to keep Steve going by verbally encouraging him. We get to the 3 mile mark and Steve picks up the pace a bit, then he starts sprinting toward the finish. Well, Steve can always out sprint me, so the butthead ended up beating me by two seconds. The big surprise came when I saw the official timing clock at the end. Steve did it in 23:49, and I did it in 23:51, one second slower than my PB. Which is really weird because I felt like I was running slow and easy for a good third of the race. I even had enough energy to talk to Steve as we went along.

Oh yea, Steve and I both got 3rd place medals for placing in our age groups.

Pictures

Garmin data

10 miler

2008-04-13T20:50:00.002-04:00

I got in a 10 miler this morning. I also registered for the Space Coast Marathon being run on November 30 of this year.

Marathon Training

2008-04-11T09:32:00.001-04:00

So I am now committed to running a marathon sometime between Nov 29 and Feb 28. I was hoping to make the announcement after I had registered, but my spouses job situation and our forthcoming 20th anniversary cruise is making it hard to narrow down an available date.

My long runs lately have been 9 and 10 miles. The 5K season in Florida pretty much ends on May 17th. The next week I am planning to run my first 15 miler. I am also going to increase my mileage on weekdays from 5 milers to 6 and 7 milers. Every three weeks I will decrease my mileage by at least 30% to give my body a break. Every month I am going to increase the distance of my long runs until I have at least one run more than 20 miles before the marathon date. I would love to have a 26 mile training run just to convince myself that I can do it.

I have created a tentative training schedule. The cross training will probably be a spin class, taught at a local YMCA, that is run by a woman I work with.

Also I will continue my crunches 5 days a week, and I will be doing some strength training on Mondays and Fridays.

When I start the longer runs at the end of May I will probably be posting a lot more (if that is possible) to update progress and for valuable feedback. My only goal for the race is to beat 5 hours. So I will not be worrying about pace during the runs, especially at the beginning of the training.

With a little luck I will have a great experience and this can be the first of many.

Tempo Run

2008-04-10T08:31:00.004-04:00

Last night I did a 3 mile tempo run with a warm up and cool down mile. I was extreme;y happy with my effort as I almost equaled my 5K race pace.

Map and statistics of run

No runs until this weekend.

9 miler today

2008-04-06T12:29:00.002-04:00

This morning I got in a good 9 mile run, actually 9.15, in just under an hour and twenty-seven minutes.

I started uploading my Garmin data to Garmin's Motion Based web site, here is everything from this morning's run.

Run data

While on the run this morning I must have really experienced a runner's high, because I decided that I was absolutely going to run a marathon. Which one I will run has not yet been decided.

Tomorrow after work I am going to start weight training. My goal is to be able to get my 5K time under 23 minutes.

Run for SPARC 5K

2008-04-05T14:35:00.002-04:00

This morning I ran another 5K race. While not as fast as last weeks, I did have a respectable time of 24:03. Tomorrow I will be running 9 miles and back to my regular schedule next week . The next race is the Stingray 5K on the 19th.

Sanpiper 5K

2008-03-30T06:45:00.003-04:00

It's a new track record. (my apologies to Tom Carnegie)

Ran a 5K race yesterday morning and finished in 23:50, 2 seconds better than my previous PB, and it was a very hilly course. I also finished 3rd in age group and received a nice little trophy. When the results are up I will post a link.

Victoria Park 5K

2008-03-15T09:38:00.002-04:00

Sorry for the lack of posts. I was sick for a couple of weeks and I am just getting back to running.

This morning I ran another 5K race. I finished in 24:48, about 50 seconds slower than my PB but 40 seconds better than two weeks ago.

Because my wife had to work today, and Steve is not yet running races again since his groin injury, I went to the race alone this morning. My Garmin ran out of power so I have no stats, but I did do the first mile in 7:38. To be honest I did not push myself to run full out but I did get a surprise at the end. Another runner had passed me just before the 3rd mile mark. As I passed the 3rd mile I heard a loud piercing voice yell out, "pick it up Lancaster", I looked up, as there was a hill right before the finish, and there was Steve's better half. I have to admit I was surprised because the race was in another town about 15 miles away from our homes. Well I picked it up, passed the other runner and finished ahead of him. It turns out that he was in my age group and I beat him by .9 seconds.

Race results

Interval Wednesday

2008-02-13T20:46:00.002-05:00

This afternoon I completed my interval training for the week, and for the first time I did 4x800, rather than 3x800. In other words I ran 4 fast half miles during my run. Fast being, just a bit better than my race pace.

Todays run:

Warm up (1 mile) - average pace of 10:38 m/m

Interval 1 (1/2 mile) - average pace of 7:42 m/m

Rest 1 (1/4 mile) - average pace of 10:36 m/m

Interval 2 (1/2 mile) - average pace of 7:44 m/m

Rest 2 (1/4 mile) - average pace of 10:17 m/m

Interval 3 (1/2 mile) - average pace of 7:32 m/m

Rest 3 (1/4 mile) - average pace of 10:40 m/m

Interval 4 (1/2 mile) - average pace of 7:32 m/m

Cool down (1.25 mile) - average pace of 10:21 m/m

Totals 5 miles in 46:59 at an average pace of 9:20 m/m

If I am feeling well tomorrow morning I will be going out for a nice easy run. Right now my legs are feeling todays run.

Also this evening I got in 250 crunches and about 10 minutes of leg and ab exercises with the stability ball.

Faith and Health 5K

2008-02-10T19:06:00.000-05:00

I ran a 5K race this afternoon, and damn was it hilly. Living in Florida I have not really trained on any hills so I did not know how I was going to do in this race. It turned out that I had a fairly good performance, and I am happy with it.

I finished in 24:21, a 7:50 m/m pace, only 30 seconds slower than my PB at the distance. I finished 3rd in age group, and 19th of 163 overall. This marks the first time I have finished in the top 20 at a race.

Pictures

Results Link

Faith and Health 5K
Find more Runs in Deland, Florida

Tempo run

2008-02-06T17:08:00.000-05:00

I ran my first temp run this afternoon. It seems that I had to pick the hottest day yet, it is still 81 out now.

Anyway, I completed the 5 miles in 44:46.

Warmup 1 mile 10:13

Speed 3 miles 24:25

Cool down 1 mile 10:08

My goal was to stay between 8 and 8:30 during the speed part, though until I saw the data I thought I was closer to 8:30. It was a pleasant surprise.
Tomorrow morning I have a nice easy 5 mile run, and then I will be shutting down until the race Sunday afternoon. Next weekend will be interesting as I am going back to Indiana for my wifes brothers memorial service. I am planning to run on Saturday and Sunday morning, but the temps there are supposed to be in the high 20's low 30's.

January totals

2008-01-31T06:14:00.001-05:00

Most of my friends think I went nuts when I started running regularly. Now, even running friends like Steve think I have gone a bit daft. I got out at 4:45 this morning for a nice 5 mile run at a 9:47 pace. My legs were just a bit sore after yesterdays intervals so the first two miles this morning were run at over 10 m/m.

January Totals

105.2 miles

9.33 avg pace

2 races, one successful and one not

16 hours 43 minutes total running time

15836 calories burned

Last January I was only able to run 57.5 miles.

February will be an interesting month. I will be in Indiana on the weekend of the 16th, so I expect to experience the cold as the rest of you have been doing.

One las thing, if anyone likes to run in the dark I would recommend purchasing one of these. I wore one this morning and it was very comfortable. I found a guy selling them on ebay, 4 for one price. I think I paid 25 bucks.

I hope everyone else is enjoying running as much as I am.

Speed Work

2008-01-30T17:33:00.000-05:00

This afternoon I ran my speed work run. 1 mile of warm up, 3 intervals of 1/2 mile each with 1/4 mile between each, 2 mile easy run to finish. My next workout won't be until the 5K race on Feb 10th. Tomorrow I am planning an easy 4 to 4.5 mile run at 5am, it should be fun.

I am up to 200 crunches, 5 nights a week. My workout also includes about 5 minutes of other exercises.

5 miler

2008-01-30T05:51:00.000-05:00

Last evening I got in a good 5 miles. Tonight is interval night.

10.3 miles

2008-01-27T10:32:00.000-05:00

This morning Steve and I ran the 10.3 mile course. It was a bit slower than last wek, but that was because I ran the 5K race yesterday and my legs were a bit sore. I finished the run in 1:38:30, a 9:34 pace. Tomorrow is a day off from running, but it is my 19th wedding anniversary. We are going out to a place called Bonefish Grill, I hope that it is a nice place.

Daytona 5K

2008-01-26T11:16:00.000-05:00

This morning I completed the Daytona 5K. Last year this was my first race ever, and I beat my time by six minutes and one second. I finished in 23:57, 6 seconds off of my personal record for the distance.
The big news from this run is that my wife joined me for the first time. She completed the race in 56 minutes and 57 seconds, which is phenomenal as she practically did no training for it. She is registered for another 5K next month and I think that with a bit of training she can do it much faster.

Link to results

Sorry, no pictures as we were both in the race.

5 miles

2008-01-23T20:33:00.000-05:00

5 miles today at a nice 9:21 pace. This was the last run before the race on Saturday. The Daytona 5K will mark the first anniversary of my first race. While I don't expect a personal best I am almost assured of beating last years time of 29:58. Today I got in my copy of Running- the sacred art. It looks to be an interesting book about running and the spiritual life. I am hoping that this book will allow me to enjoy running even more.

5.2

2008-01-22T22:08:00.000-05:00

I got in 5.2 miles at a 9:36 pace tonight. I also was able to get in all of my exercises from yesterday as well.

Non running day

2008-01-21T20:07:00.000-05:00

No running today, but I did do 150 crunches, 29 3/4 pull-ups, 60 side planks (30 on each side), and 60 heel raises (30 on each foot). I do the pull-ups laying on my back, my legs being supported by a pilate ball, and pull up my body using the top bar from my ab roller.

10.3 miles

2008-01-20T11:59:00.000-05:00

This morning I ran 10.3 miles at a 9:27 minute per mile pace. Even though the pace was a bit faster than my training runs of late, it was fairly comfortable. Tomorrow is a rest day and I will be back at training Tuesday.

There is a cold front that came through last night and the temp this morning was in the 40's. It would not have been so bad, except for the winds that gusted at about 15 miles per hour. Wearing layers helped a bit but overall it wasn't that bad.

Saturday Ride

2008-01-19T11:16:00.000-05:00

I rode 15.6 miles this morning in just over an hour and seventeen miles. It was a chilly, rainy morning, but I had a good ride. I will be raising the seat a little bit higher as I felt like I was riding a kids bike. I am hoping that this cross training will help me get my legs stronger. Only one week until the next race.

6 miles

2008-01-18T17:55:00.000-05:00

I ran just over 6 miles today at a 9:38 m/m pace and everything felt great. Even though I just started a new training regimen next week will be a bit different. I have a 5K next Saturday and I will not be running next Thursday or Friday. This race will mark my first anniversary of running races. What a great year.

Easy Miles

2008-01-16T19:03:00.000-05:00

I ran 5 easy miles this afternoon. Everything felt great and the Pearl shoes, that I thought were no going to work, out felt good today. Tomorrow I am starting my Art Appreciation class so there will be no running. I am planning around 6 for Friday.

This evening I was able to do 150 crunches and 25 squats. I going to try and increase the crunches by 25 a week and the squats by 10 a week.

Speed Tuesday

2008-01-15T17:27:00.001-05:00

I did my scheduled speed work for the first time.

1 mile easy warm-up (~ 9:50m/m)

800 meters (1/2 mile) at 5K pace avg 7:29

400 meters (1/4 mile) easy (~10:00 m/m)

800 (1/2 mile) 5K avg 7:37

400 (1/4 mile) easy (~10:00 m/m)

800 (1/2 mile) 5K avg 7:47

Finish distance easy 1.5 miles (~10:00 m/m)

My garmin is set up for miles not kilometers, but 1/2 and quarter are close enough. I was fairly happy that I was able to keep it under 8 m/m, though the last quarter was 7:49. The first quarter mile at 5K pace was 7:01. I started out just a bit to fast.

Morning Run

2008-01-14T06:23:00.000-05:00

For the first time I ran a training run before work. I went out at 4:55 this morning and ran about 4.5 miles in 44 minutes, 27 seconds. This run was a test to see if I can run 4 miles and then work all day without any problems. Starting in June I will be working 4 10 hour days while the schools are closed for the summer. Since I will be working until almost 6pm, I think it will be easier to run in the morning than late afternoon. I will certainly know by tonight if this idea will work.

I am back to class this evening with the start of the Microcomputer Applications class. I hope it will be interesting.

Here is a workout I found online.

Step One – Starting Position

Lie face down on a mat or soft surface. Support your body weight with your feet and forearms. Tuck your pelvis so that your hips are pressed forward and your body is very straight. Hold this position for about 30 seconds.

Step Two – Right Arm Up

From the starting position raise your right arm straight out above your head. Your right hand should be about 6 to 12 inches off the ground. Your weight should now be supported by your left forearm and both feet. Do not twist your body. Keep your hips pressed forward and your body very straight. Hold this position for about 30 seconds.

Step Three – Left Arm Up

From the starting position raise your left arm straight out above your head. Your weight should now be supported by your right forearm and both feet. Do not twist your body. Keep your hips pressed forward and your body very straight. Hold this position for about 30 seconds.

Step Four – Right Leg Up

From the starting position raise your right leg straight up off the ground. Your right foot should be about 6 inches off the ground. Your weight should now be supported by both forearms and your left foot. Do not twist your body. Keep your hips pressed forward and your body very straight. Hold this position for about 30 seconds.

Step Five – Left Leg Up

From the starting position raise your left leg straight up off the ground. Your left foot should be about 6 inches off the ground. Your weight should now be supported by both forearms and your right foot. Do not twist your body. Keep your hips pressed forward and your body very straight. Hold this position for about 30 seconds.

Step Six – Right Arm and Left Leg Up

From the starting position raise your right arm and left leg at the same time. Your weight should now be supported by your left forearm and your right foot. Do not twist your body. Keep your hips pressed forward and your body very straight. Hold this position for about 30 seconds.

Step Seven – Left Arm and Right Leg Up

From the starting position raise your left arm and right leg at the same time. Your weight should now be supported by your right forearm and your left foot. Do not twist your body. Keep your hips pressed forward and your body very straight. Hold this position for about 30 seconds.

Nine miles

2008-01-13T08:53:00.000-05:00

This morning I completed my first long run since last Sundays race. I did 9.15 miles at a 9:46 pace. It turned out to be a nice easy run with no complications.

Sometimes it is amazing to me just how clear my mind becomes after I have run a couple of miles. Today I was thinking about everything I did wrong leading to and during the last race. I made three mistakes that probably led to the problems I experienced.

1. I had catfish for dinner the evening before the race. While catfish is not necessarily bad for me, it was the first time I had eaten it in over a year, and it could possibly have caused problems while doing something as extreme as running the next day.

2. After the catfish dinner I had a container of rice noodles. This is probably the stupidest thing I did, and probably contributed the most to the problems during the race.

3. I drank the water that the race provided. After the first water station I should have either stopped drinking the water, or at least drank a lot less.

Just three weeks prior to this race I ran a half marathon and did none of the things mentioned above and I had a successful and fun race. Live and learn I guess.

School starts up again tomorrow. I am taking Art Appreciation and Microcomputer Applications this semester.

5 miles

2008-01-10T17:27:00.000-05:00

5 miles again this afternoon at a 9:21 pace. A bit quicker than yesterday, but it felt good. I am going to run another 5K on the 26th. Plus this will be the first race that Veronica will participate in. Though probably at a much slower pace.

Success

2008-01-09T18:49:00.000-05:00

I ran 5 miles this afternoon at a nice slow pace and it felt great. This was also my first run in my new Mizuno shoes.

Back to it

2008-01-09T06:05:00.000-05:00

This afternoon after work I will be going out for the first time since Sunday morning. I am going to run 4 easy miles and try to take it easy. Even though my legs really needed the rest I have felt extra lazy the last couple of days.

DeLeon Springs Half Marathon

2008-01-06T12:08:00.000-05:00

This morning I ran my second half marathon in three weeks. I was fine and running to plan for the first 4 miles, and then I started to get fatigued and started slowing down. I knew that I would not match my Jacksonville time at the half way point, but I figured I would finish just under two hours. I was wrong. Between mile 7 and 8 my stomach started hurting, I ran as much as I could, but for the first time ever in a race I had to walk. It stopped hurting when I was walking, but every time I ran it would hurt even more. I walked /ran through to mile 9 and I toughed out that one and ran all the way to mile 10. Then I had to walk more. Except for having to stop and tie my shoe between mile 12 and 13 I was able to jog most of the way home to finish in 2:10:47. A disappointing time, but I was very happy to average 10 minute miles with the way I was feeling. I knew that everyone eventually has a bad run and this was mine. Next year there will be only one 1/2. I only have 5 and 10k's coming up so I shouldn't have any more trouble. Steve on the other hand had a great run, finishing in 1:53:30 and bettering his time from Jacksonville.

Here is video of my finish.

Results

Easy run

2007-12-19T05:38:00.000-05:00

Steve and I ran a real easy 5.8 miles yesterday. The legs were a little stiff after the race, but they loosened up nicely by the end of the run. I am planning to run a bit harder this evening.

The professional pictures are up from the race. Click here, and I am considering ordering at least one to commemorate my first half marathon.

2007-12-17T07:22:00.000-05:00

This is the race data from my Garmin 305.

Jacksonville Bank Half Marathon

2007-12-17T07:18:00.000-05:00

Finally the race day I have trained and waited over 6 months for finally got here. Steve and I were up early at 4:50 to catch a bus from the hotel to the race site. I was able to get on the bus before Steve, but it was the last time I was to be ahead of him until the race was over.

While training for this race I kept improving my times until I was able to run 13.4 miles in just over 2 hour and 8 minutes. I was hoping that I would be able to beat 2 hours in the race, but sometimes things happen and what you hoped for gets dashed on the rocks of life. So after over 1000 miles and 171 hours of training I took off with over 2000 runners at 7am-ish. 13.1 miles and 1 hour, 56 minutes, and 45 seconds later I crossed the finish line. The race was the hardest thing I have ever physically accomplished. My mile times during the last three miles were not great, but they were good enough to meet my goal. I did finish 44th of 104 in my age group, and 376th of 1300 half marathoners. There were over 800 full marathoners and we all started at the same time. Now that I finished what I started last December, am I done? Nope. Even though immediately after the finish I told myself that I would never do that distance again, I am going to register to run a half marathon in Deleon Springs, Florida on January 6, just three weeks from today.

Oh yea, Steve beat me by 1 minute and 36 seconds.

December 1st 10K race

2007-12-04T10:13:00.000-05:00

Ran a 10K last Saturday and it took only 50:59, over 5 minutes faster than my first 10K. I found a good training program in the latest issue of Runner's World and I am going to implement it after the Half in January.

I got my Garmin 305 yesterday and I am going to start using it this afternoon. It will be an invaluable tool in my never ending search for fitness and speed.

I promise more updates, more often.

My first ten mile race

2007-11-23T05:07:00.000-05:00

I finished in 1:25:08 officially, and kicked my 1:30 goal right in the ass.

Mile Splits according to my watch
1 - 8:17.8
2 - 8:17.4
3 - 8:35
4 - 8:33.8
5 - 8:37.2
6 - 8:41.4
7 - 8:27
8 - 8:33.1
9 - 8:25.6
10 - 8:38.9

AVG 8:31

I started out to quickly, but it did not really hurt me. Once I slowed my pace in mile 3 I ran fairly easy and was actually chatting with another runner. It was a very nice run and I am looking forward to the half next month.
I finished 21st of 26 in age group bag.gif , but 116 of 257 overall. For some reason there were a lot of fast runners in my age group. Steve did beat me by 30 some seconds, but he was ninth in his age group. Those slow old farts.

Also the times are all gun times, Steve and I started about 10 or so seconds from the official start line. So unofficially I beat 1:25.

New personal best in 5K

2007-10-07T09:06:00.000-04:00

I ran the Whitecane Awareness 5K in 24:43, my fastest race yet. I also finished 3rd in my age group.

Here is some video of me finishing yesterday.

South Daytona 5K

2007-09-29T10:43:00.001-04:00

This morning I finished the South Daytona 5K in 25 minutes. I placed 46th out of 160 overall, and 2nd of 7 in the 40-44 age group. I won the nice award in the picture.

Upcoming South Daytona 5K

2007-09-18T07:45:00.000-04:00

South Daytona 5K
Find more Runs in Daytona Beach, Florida

Tomoka 4 Miler and Toe

2007-09-18T07:41:00.001-04:00

It has been a while since I have updated the blog. I recently ran the Tomoka 4 Miler and I finished in 32:32, placing 31 out of 100. I was very happy with the run.

I ran an easy 5 miles the next day and I felt great, and then the problem happened. I was moving a couch and it slid over my left foot completely ripping off my big toenail. I am such a klutz. Two days later, everything is felling better and I am going to get back into training tomorrow evening.

Here are the results of the Tomoka 4 Miler.

13 mile run and scans of blood work

2007-07-28T15:07:00.000-04:00

This morning I successfully ran 13.37 miles for the first time. I did it in three stages just about like I planned. I ran for 50 minutes, walked for two minutes, ran for 50 minutes walked for two minutes, then finished with the last 42 minutes. Totaled 2:22:40 at a pace of 10:40 m/m, which I think is pretty good for the first time at this distance. I was real pleased with the effort as I had been hoping to run the half in December in under 2:30. I guess I need to change my race goal time. I was able to run the final two miles at 10:15 m/m, which was my fastest split time. But I felt like I was barely moving, if I had stopped to walk in the last mile I would never had gotten started running again.

I finished the run 5.5 hours ago, and I really thought I would be more tired right now,. But instead of napping I am feeling more awake and alert than I was yesterday after work.

I hope everyone else is doing well,

Darrin

The pics are of the latest blood work tests I had done. First time in years I went to a doctor and I felt the urge to share the results.

Another 7 miler

2007-07-17T21:08:00.001-04:00

I ran 7 miles tonight.

I did learned a couple of valuable lessons though, never run 7 miles less than an hour after eating 3 big plates of salad. I felt like I was going to barf almost the whole run. I also forgot to vaseline the nips, so I had another bloody shirt when I was done.

Despite those two problems I still managed to average under 10 minutes per mile, and finished only 2 and a half minutes slower than last week.

I hope everyone had a great day.
Darrin

11 mile run

2007-07-07T10:18:00.000-04:00

Just finished my first 11 mile run. I completed it in 1:57:53 a ta pace of 10:42 m/m. Though to be honest the actual time should be about 3 minutes less at 1:55:53. The Busch race was rained out last night and is being run this morning. My running course takes me right by the speedway and I got stopped for two minutes by race traffic. It was the same place I got stopped in my bike ride on Thursday. I did try to keep moving while at the light and I think that might have hurt me more in the end. I basically bounced for two minutes and in the last mile my hips started bothering me a bit. The next time I get stopped at a light I am just going to stand and wait for it turn.

Overall I feel pretty good, knees and legs are fine. For the first time since I decided to run the half marathon I am positive that I will be able to run the complete distance.

First 10K

2007-07-01T10:05:00.001-04:00

OK, I finished my first 10K just over an hour and a half ago. I was very pleased with my run, especially considering that the run was on the sand and it was 80 degrees by start time.

I started out too fast.

Mile 1 - 7:54.9

Got closer to my projected pace during second mile.

Mile 2 - 8:49.2

Right on pace for third mile.

Mile 3 - 9:07.2

Paid for the fast start during the fourth and fifth mile.

Mile 4 - 9:30.4
Mile 5 - 9:42.3

The was no 6 mile marker, lazy race coordinators I guess.

Mile 6 plus last .2

11:19 a 9:25.8 pace

I was very happy that I was able to speed up the last mile and some. By the time I was getting close I was beat. Plus they only had warm water at the end.

My total time was 56:23 @ a 9:05.6 minute per mile pace.
I thought I could run it at a 9 m/m pace so missing it by only 5 seconds per mile is not disappointing at all.

I do know that I finished 6th in my age group, 40-44, but they don't have it online yet as the 5K was yet to be run when we left. Funny thing, if I had been in the 25-29 (I think) I would have finished third. And if I had been on the 30-34 (I think) I would have finished second.

I will post links as soon as they are available.
Overall a good experience.

13 miles

2007-06-24T11:43:00.002-04:00

I put in 13.3 good miles this weekend. Every bit of the runs felt great. 10K race next Sunday.

Weight Loss Part 2

2007-06-19T10:11:00.000-04:00

Three hundred and eighty pounds, I am glad it wasn’t much more, because the scale had a 400 lb limit. Just the act of saying 380 pounds made me tired. I had tried dieting before and had limited success. At one point in 2003 I was injured at work and when I went to the doctor’s office I weighed in at a tremendous 430 pounds. So over two years I was able to take off about 50 pounds by cutting down a little bit. But exercise never really took off with me. I remember when I bought a new bike; I purchased a cheap one from Wal-Mart because I was not sure how much I was going to use it. That turned out to be a good call financially. The first time I got on it was to ride approximately 150 yards to get the mail from my mailbox. When I got to the box I had to get off the bike, sit down, and rest. It literally exhausted me to a point where I could not walk. I didn’t ride the bike again for almost a year.

As I said, I joined Weight Watcher’s and started to really investigate what their program was all about. A person starts out with so many points of food available on a daily and weekly basis. As they eat certain foods, they use up points, until ideally they have zero points left at the end of the day. As a person loses weight and reaches certain weight goals the daily available points reduce. The points are based on a formula that takes into account a foods total calories, total fat, and total dietary fiber. I started out at 34 points [One point = (calories/50) + (fat grams/12) - (min{r, 4}/5)], Where p is the number of points, c is the number of calories, f is the grams of fat, and r is the grams of dietary fiber (if the dietary fiber is greater than four, use four). As it turns out, 34 is the maximum amount of points available on this system. I would have to lose almost 50 pounds before my daily points went to 33.

I spoke to my friends about the program and they gave me several ideas about what kind of foods to eat. Basically, chicken breasts, turkey breasts, and several different kinds of fish, were best on this program. But the most important part of meal preparation was portion size. I needed to know how much of each, calories, fat, and fiber I bought a small food scale along with the food that I would be eating. For every meal I would need to weigh each food and insert that into the WWO website to get the amount of points for the meal. While this sounds tedious, weighing the food helped prepare me for what was to come better than anything else. The first week I decided to have a little fun with Dawn. I ate a little less for breakfast and lunch so I had over 25 points available for dinner. My wife was working that night so I was able to get just about anything as I would be eating alone. I went to McDonalds and ate a Double Quarter Pounder/ w cheese and a medium fries. I think it totaled out at 20 points. I remember enjoying informing Dawn that I was able to eat McDonalds and still stay on the program. Needless to say she was disgusted. I lost 5 pounds the first week.

9 Miles

2007-06-16T11:14:00.001-04:00

Been a bit since I posted. Today has been a great day for me. I ran 9 miles for the for the first time ever today. Plus I did it in just under one hour thirty minutes. Still training for a 13.1 mile half marathon in December. More on the weight loss later.

Weight Loss Part 1

2007-06-06T21:19:00.000-04:00

I was having the dream again. You see, for as long as I can remember I have had a recurring dream. I am outside, wearing shorts and a shirt, and I am running. Not only am I running, but I am doing so easily, and really enjoying the view while the scenery flies by. As always I awake to stark reality when I look down at my body and realize that running is in fact a dream. I roll over, see it is only two am and I get up to go to the bathroom. Looking in the mirror I see a man who just turned forty-one and has spent the last twenty of those abusing his body, this man has a huge, fat-layered, hanging over the belt line stomach. There is no way that he would ever be running. I am disgusted with this man in the mirror, how could he have let this happen? What can I do about this man?

Along with everyone else I have spent hundreds of dollars trying to lose weight, and nothing has really worked. Over the last two years I had been able to lose about fifty pounds, but I had not lost any lately. I might even have put a few pounds back on. I do know that this night when I had the dream I was morbidly obese, and realistically had only about another decade of life ahead of me. This was the day I turned forty-one, Dec 5 2005.

My mother and her husband John came down to visit us for Christmas 2005, and we had a good time. But that Christmas is very important in my life as that was the day I found out that my very good friends, Dawn and Steve, were losing weight with Weight Watcher’s Online. At the time Steve had lost about thirty pounds and Dawn was down almost forty. They were successfully losing, without completely cutting out their favorite foods. That day, as I ate my candy and drank my beer, I started to think. I thought about it for just over two weeks, and then on Jan 9, I took the plunge and joined the Weight Watcher’s Online program. I weighed myself on a good balance scale at work, and found I weighed in at 380 pounds.

Training

2007-06-06T20:37:00.000-04:00

I started serious training for the December half-marathon this week. Saturday I did my first long run of 7.77 miles. Today I ran a fast (for me) 5 miles in 46:43. Tomorrow will be an easy day to get ready for Saturday's run.

I am feeling great right now, looking forward to the next six months of training.

Hot run

2007-05-30T20:12:00.001-04:00

I ran in the heat of the afternoon for the first time this afternoon. Everything went fine.
Veronica drove home from work again today and she is improving every time she gets behind the wheel. I can't wait until she gets her license.

Time for a longer race

2007-05-28T14:29:00.000-04:00

In the world where you either crap, or get off the pot, I decided to crap. Maybe that is not the best term, but I just signed up for the Jacksonville Bank Half Marathon.

http://www.1stplacesports.com/jm.htm

It is not until December, but I want a lot of time to train.

These are my runs.

http://www.mapmyrun.com/user_profile?username=darrin40

I will be using the 4.5, 6.29, 7.77, 8.35, and 9 mile runs for the first three-quarters of my training.

I have yet to map out the 10 mile run.

Aphrodite

2007-05-28T14:08:00.001-04:00

When Veronica informed me that we were getting a cat, we decided that Isis was to be the one. Before we got Isis, Nicodemus came into our lives. Aphrodite was the last of our three cats. She was originally obtained from the ARNI people by MaryLee Brong, one of our first acquaintances in Florida. She also had an older cat, and that cat abused Aphrodite so much that they just let her run outside in the apartment complex. We started feeding her, and decided that we would just take her in as our other two cats seemed to get along great with her. Even after four years she is still a skittish cat. She will jump and run at the slightest sudden noise. Since Aphrodite us a mouthful, we simply call her 'Ditee. She is not really a lap cat, but when she wants attention, nothing stands in her way, not even our being asleep. She does not seem to understand that no civilized human enjoys being awoken to pet their cat at four in the morning. Overall she is a good cat, and she doesn't fight very much when someone picks her up to hold her.

Next, last but not least, Nicodemus.

Saturday Run

2007-05-26T09:13:00.000-04:00

Last week my legs and knees bothered me abit after my Sunday run, so I took it easy and didn't run any until today. I ran my usual Saturday 6.29 mile course in 1:00:35. A minute and a half slower than last week, but I did intervals for 42 minutes starting 8 min into the run. My intervals now are 1 minute at >5K pace, 3 minutes rest pace. Of course by the time of the last interval at about the 49 minute mark, my fast time was much slower. I felt like I was running in molasses.

Next week I am going to try and do intervals with 1:30 min >=5k with 3 minutes rest pace. The 10K is on July 1.

My plan for the rest of the week is:

Sun 4.5 easy miles

Mon 3.83 miles

Wed 3.83 miles

I have been increasing my long run distance .5 miles every month, but I am just going to work on increasing the intervals in the time before the race. After the race I will probably increase the run to 7 miles. On January 12, 2008 Disney is holding their half marathon. I think I will train for that one.

With my long run being about 10K now, can I prepare well enough to do 13 miles in the next 6.5 months?

Maybe I should shoot for a race in later 2008 or early 2009.

What a weekend

2007-05-14T06:37:00.000-04:00

Over the weekend I ran a total of 10.83 miles, by far my best mileage over a two day period. On Saturday I ran 6.29 miles in 1:01:32, and Sunday I ran 4.54 miles in 45:51, I was not interested in speed, but rather setting and keeping a consistent pace. I am positive I could have run either day faster.

Everything else over the weekend went great, we got in all of our shopping including the vegetables at the flea market. For Sunday dinner I made stuffed eggplant. It was, in my opinion, delicious.

Today is my friend Dawn's birthday, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAWN. You will get your gift later this evening.

And Happy Mother's Day again Mom.

Wow

2007-05-10T08:14:00.000-04:00

What a difference a day makes. I feel great today. It is still early in the day, so I may post again later, but right now everything is wonderful. Except, of course, for the early start to the hurricane season, and all the smoke everywhere from the fires. But, even paradise has to have it's problems. Tonight I am planning on playing tennis with Steve, but the smoke may be to bad to be outside. Tomorrow is a scheduled rest day, though I may run a couple of miles after work since I missed my run yesterday.

1st of 3

2007-05-09T10:24:00.000-04:00

Yes, we have three cats. Isis is not the oldest, nor is she the first one that shared our home, but she was supposed to be the first and only. She was a kitten of a cat that belonged to a friend of a friend, and she was the runt of the litter. When we got her she was about the size of my palm and weighed practically nothing. She is now about five years old and still only weighs about twelve pounds. When we last took her to the vet we found out that she has a heart murmur, though it is not life threatening. She loves to sleep under covers, whether it is in bed or just under a throw on the couch. She hates thunderstorms, somewhere I have a picture of her cowering under the covers during her first storm experience. She is more my wife’s cat than mine, but she has been known to join me in the recliner when Veronica is not around.

Next: Aphrodite, the weird one.

Not Well

2007-05-09T09:48:00.000-04:00

I left work yesterday morning because I was not feeling well, I am home today for the same reason. Because I am home sick I will not be able to run today and that is making feel a bit guilty. I am planning on going back to work tomorrow, and my next running day will be Saturday morning. I am going to try a new course that totals just over 6 miles. I got my grades back for my two spring classes at DBCC, my streak of A’s continues. Thought it was close in the report writing class. I am going to take my pain pill no and take a nap. Have a great day.

I struggled today

2007-05-07T17:40:00.000-04:00

I am taking a generic Lortab for the pain from Friday's root canal and it is making me very tired. I had a heck of a time staying awake at work. After work I did run 4.67 miles in 45 minutes on a treadmill at my gym. Right now I am very tired and I just want to get dinner done so that I can go to bed.

Meals On Wheels 5K

2007-05-07T17:36:00.000-04:00

Saturday I ran in the Council on Aging 5th annual Meals on Wheels 5k.

http://www.altavistasports.com/results/2007results/mealsonwheels5k050507.html

I turned in my best time yet, 25:18. 59 seconds faster than the race two weeks ago.

I finished 6th of 12 in my age group, and 71st of 189 overall. It was a fantastic run and I feel great right now. Which is amazing as I had a root canal done just yesterday.