I just wanted to post a quick blurb thanking those of you who have emailed, text messaged and called me to wish me good health and good luck for my race on Sunday morning. As always, thanks for the support and good vibes that you all have sent my way.
The weather in Chicago is going to be warmer than they expected initially, but should be perfect for me, d/t the conditions I have been training in. I will be leaving for the airport in the early morning and will fly out first thing in the morning. Chris will be with me throughout the trip, and we will probably spend a decent amount of time at the expo, and maybe go check out NikeTown and Garmin shop in Downtown Chicago if time allows. My schedule will be quite tight, as I plan on returning to Tampa on Sunday after the race. When I return to Tampa, I will post a race report on my 1st Chicago Marathon experience. I am excited, anxious, nervous and quite optimistic all at the same time!!! As always, I pray (and ask for your prayers also) for God's protection over myself and others that are participating in the race, along with my immediate family that will be back in Tampa, and my extended family who is in Jamaica for a funeral.
Thanks again to all of you.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Sunday, October 5, 2008
I did it!!!
At least the training for the marathon, that is.... I feel so blessed and happy that I was able to get through the training for my 3rd marathon. I guess the more amazing thing is that my 1st marathon was a little less than 10 months ago, and I feel as though I have learned so much about marathon training, and about myself since then. I have completely changed my training regimen since the 1st marathon, which has been less intense, but much more volume. I have had to make a new found commitment with re: to getting up early in the mornings and running in very uncomfortable conditions this summer. I lost a bit of confidence midway through my training regimen, because the heat and humidity were starting to get to me and slow down my training paces considerably. Over the last few weeks, everything has changed... the humidity has lessened and the temps have gone down, and my paces have gotten so much quicker. I actually have started to run later in the day (around noontime, because I want my body to stay acclimated to the heat, and for me not to get too confident and cocky). My wife and kids have liked that because now when they wake up, Daddy is now home to greet them, instead of them greeting me when I come back from my runs.
Most importantly, I am relatively injury-free. I was able to get a massage yesterday from Chris, and that was perfect. My body feels loose and ready to run. This morning, I completed my last long run of the training period of 12 miles with Chris. I was able to run the whole time, and have a full conversation without really breathing hard at all. It was just a perfect run for me. The last two miles, I was able to hold a much faster pace, but I didn't feel spent at all. I just came back from church and we taught the little kids this morning and I don't even feel stiff.... I feel so blessed!!!
So here are my stats for this marathon training period:
I started my training in June
June: 167 miles
July: 200 miles
August: 190 miles
September:189 miles
October: 25 miles so far... and a little 26.2 mile run next Sunday
771 miles since June:
New 5k race PR: 19:38
Unofficial 10k time trial: 41:52
This is just awesome.... I can't believe I have been able to run a 5k under 20 min. based on marathon training that has me going fairly slow most of the time. Can you tell I'm happy??
But now comes the big one.... I guess this race means a lot to me, like everyone else that is running it. The marathon is such an emotional event, because you are running with so many people that have put in as much or much more time and dedication to their program than I have. You just want everyone to do awesome, but the truth is that the marathon is such an unforgiving distance, that anything can go wrong, and if you crash....it gets ugly.....real ugly. So with that said, I am happy about all the great things that happened throughout my training cycle, but I expect good things to happen next Sunday, God willing of course.
My marathon PR (personal record) is 4:52. That should be crushed next weekend (noticed I said "should") Based on my training, I should be comfortably under 4 hours, as long as I do the following:
1.Don't get caught up with the fact that I am running with 45,000 other people, with many of them much faster than I am. I have to run my own race, and not worry about anybody else.
2.Try to stay relaxed
3. Don't do anything stupid this week with re: to nutrition and hydration.
4. Pace evenly and properly and listen to my body.
Easy, right???
No matter what happens next week, one thing is for sure.... this is my last marathon for awhile. Why??? Because my wife and I agreed on it... more like my wife said it is!! LOL!!
Kerry is so supportive of me running, and has never stopped me from my training... and I mean never. She never complains about my running habits, my running obsessions, etc. But with a new child on the way, the training is very time consuming, and we don't have a major support system here in Tampa to help with our kids and other stuff, so I have decided to scale it back a bit. This has nothing to do with how well or poor I do next weekend. This is more of a family thing...which is a hell of a lot more important than marathons.
I will still be running around 3-4 days/week, and will be able to participate in local races from the 5k-1/2 marathon distance, but I will not enter marathon training until at least a couple months after the baby is born, which would put me at doing no marathons for the rest of 2008 and all of 2009. I guess everything is subject to change, but for now.. that is the plan. With that said, that is why Chicago will be so special, because I know that I just need to soak in the whole experience.
Most importantly, I am relatively injury-free. I was able to get a massage yesterday from Chris, and that was perfect. My body feels loose and ready to run. This morning, I completed my last long run of the training period of 12 miles with Chris. I was able to run the whole time, and have a full conversation without really breathing hard at all. It was just a perfect run for me. The last two miles, I was able to hold a much faster pace, but I didn't feel spent at all. I just came back from church and we taught the little kids this morning and I don't even feel stiff.... I feel so blessed!!!
So here are my stats for this marathon training period:
I started my training in June
June: 167 miles
July: 200 miles
August: 190 miles
September:189 miles
October: 25 miles so far... and a little 26.2 mile run next Sunday
771 miles since June:
New 5k race PR: 19:38
Unofficial 10k time trial: 41:52
This is just awesome.... I can't believe I have been able to run a 5k under 20 min. based on marathon training that has me going fairly slow most of the time. Can you tell I'm happy??
But now comes the big one.... I guess this race means a lot to me, like everyone else that is running it. The marathon is such an emotional event, because you are running with so many people that have put in as much or much more time and dedication to their program than I have. You just want everyone to do awesome, but the truth is that the marathon is such an unforgiving distance, that anything can go wrong, and if you crash....it gets ugly.....real ugly. So with that said, I am happy about all the great things that happened throughout my training cycle, but I expect good things to happen next Sunday, God willing of course.
My marathon PR (personal record) is 4:52. That should be crushed next weekend (noticed I said "should") Based on my training, I should be comfortably under 4 hours, as long as I do the following:
1.Don't get caught up with the fact that I am running with 45,000 other people, with many of them much faster than I am. I have to run my own race, and not worry about anybody else.
2.Try to stay relaxed
3. Don't do anything stupid this week with re: to nutrition and hydration.
4. Pace evenly and properly and listen to my body.
Easy, right???
No matter what happens next week, one thing is for sure.... this is my last marathon for awhile. Why??? Because my wife and I agreed on it... more like my wife said it is!! LOL!!
Kerry is so supportive of me running, and has never stopped me from my training... and I mean never. She never complains about my running habits, my running obsessions, etc. But with a new child on the way, the training is very time consuming, and we don't have a major support system here in Tampa to help with our kids and other stuff, so I have decided to scale it back a bit. This has nothing to do with how well or poor I do next weekend. This is more of a family thing...which is a hell of a lot more important than marathons.
I will still be running around 3-4 days/week, and will be able to participate in local races from the 5k-1/2 marathon distance, but I will not enter marathon training until at least a couple months after the baby is born, which would put me at doing no marathons for the rest of 2008 and all of 2009. I guess everything is subject to change, but for now.. that is the plan. With that said, that is why Chicago will be so special, because I know that I just need to soak in the whole experience.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
The 1/2 Century Mark
I am currently in the 3 week taper period of my upcoming marathon, and I am enjoying it...and today was no exception. I was able to do something that I very rarely, if ever, get to do. I was able to take a little longer lunch break since I had another therapist work with me this morning, and go out for an afternoon run. I very rarely try to run in the afternoon, because it is usually just too hot and muggy for me. But, I want to keep my body used to the heat, and the weather today was very nice this morning, so I was able to run at 11:15 am and run 5 miles in 45 minutes. It was perfect for the 1st 3 miles and started to get a bit warm for the last 2 miles...but I got through it fine, without a hitch. I was able to shower at the Seven Oaks Clubhouse, and later I ran into some people that I know from Saddlebrook. The cool thing is that Seven Oaks has a cafe with some really good food... so I was able to have lunch (by myself) and enjoy a Chicken sandwich and a smoothie.... yum!!!! This was perfect for me.... I deal with people all day, and I was able to get a full 1 hour and 45 minute break by myself doing things that I love to do.... run and eat!!!!! So anyways, I was able to weigh myself today and I realized that I have now lost 50 lbs. since I started this running endeavor 2 & 1/2 years ago. I'm sure that I will probably gain a few pounds back over the next few weeks, since my training will decrease, and a few more after the marathon as I will be taking a break from running for a little... but still, it is pretty cool. The funny thing is that it really just happened... I wasn't even trying to lose this amount of weight, but I just really started to enjoy the sport, and I have been so focused on becoming a better runner at all distances from the 5k to the marathon... that this just happened indirectly.... so maybe that is the key to weight loss, huh?? Stop thinking about losing the weight and start thinking about starting a journey that you can enjoy and pursue bigger and better things for yourself. At the end of every training period for a major event, you get time to reminisce and think about the fruits of your labor... and this is no different. So far, I have PR'd in my weekly distances with running (highest mileage week at a little over 55), I have PR'd in the 10k distance, this Saturday I hope that I will PR in the 5k distance, and hopefully great things will come on October 12th.
Monday, September 22, 2008
We The Best!!!!
Two other things that really made my weekend fantastic:
My daughter, who started kindergarten last month, was picked as "Student of the Month"..... oh yeah!!!! Amazing for her, because I don't think that Kerry or myself were ever picked for Student of the Month. I'm so happy for her. We will be celebrating with her school and other students this Thursday... very happy!!
Also, Renewal Rehabilitation-South Tampa got picked as the Best Physical Therapy Center in the Tampa Bay area. Click here to read about it.
Very proud moments for both of my families (working and personal).
My daughter, who started kindergarten last month, was picked as "Student of the Month"..... oh yeah!!!! Amazing for her, because I don't think that Kerry or myself were ever picked for Student of the Month. I'm so happy for her. We will be celebrating with her school and other students this Thursday... very happy!!
Also, Renewal Rehabilitation-South Tampa got picked as the Best Physical Therapy Center in the Tampa Bay area. Click here to read about it.
Very proud moments for both of my families (working and personal).
Sunday, September 21, 2008
My Birthday!!
Yesterday was a very interesting, but fulfilling day for me. To set it up, I have been a bit under the weather since Wednesday night, and have been trying to fight off the flu since then. Unfortunately (or actually fortunately), I had a really busy day on Friday, so my body really felt run down by time I ended up going home (around 8:00 pm). About 6 weeks ago, I committed to sponsoring a breakfast for the Blue Sharks running group on a Saturday morning, which happened to be yesterday. The other thing that I had to do yesterday was finish my 20 mile long run (the last 20 miler of my training cycle). The reason why I wanted to do the 20 miler yesterday instead of today was because last night was a date night for my wife and I, and I didn't want to have that 20 miler hovering over my head. I wanted to know that it was over, and that we could go out and do whatever we wanted, as late as we wanted, and just have a blast.... but as I said earlier, I felt terrible at the end of my work day, and actually told Chris and Julie (who were running in Downtown also, that I would probably have to skip out on my 20 miler).
I was able to get to my bed by 10:30, but I was very stuffy. I woke up at around 12:30, and went to the bathroom, and when I went back in the bed, I was so uncomfortable and congested, that I could not sleep. I knew I had to get up at 4:30, in order to drive down to the Downtown YMCA and host the breakfast, but I was so frustrated because I was not able to go back to bed. I tried to relax my mind as much as I could to no avail. Finally, I think I fell back asleep, but woke up again before 2:00 am, and was even more uncomfortable at this point. So, I started to think..... should I just do my 20 miler now??? I know, it sounds crazy, but at least I could get it out of the way... I just didn't know if my body would hold up. I realized that this would take me around 3 hours, and it wouldn't give me enough time to complete it by my house, shower up, and get down there in enough time. So..... I decided to get dressed, drive down to our office in South Tampa, and I started to run on Bayshore.... at 3:15 am!!!! Right before I started, I called Chris to let him know what I was doing (he just laughed at me) because I knew that he was going to be down there around 4ish to start his run also. I figured that we could meet up at some point and run together.
As I was driving in Hyde Park, it must have been around 2:45 or so, and I saw many people by their cars, at bars...even saw a few people puking on the side of the road (from too much alcohol I assume)... and thought to myself....as crazy as I may be, I would rather be doing what I am doing, than what those folks are doing right now.
Initially I was nervous about running that early...because there was obviously no people running or walking on Bayshore, except for homeless folks sleeping on the benches. I tried to keep my breathing quiet so I wouldn't wake any of them up, but once I got going and turned on my Ipod, it was like any other run. I basically ran all the way on Bayshore to Interbay and 1st St. and then back to the YMCA. About 8 miles into the run, I met up with Chris and Julie and ran another 7 miles with them. We met up with the Blue Sharks and Fred (the director) introduced myself and Chris to everyone and mentioned that the Renewal Rehab facility was sponsoring the breakfast (we appreciated the plug!). I then proceeded to run an additional 6 miles to finish up with a little over 20 miles, which was done by 6:15 am. After I finished, Chris, Julie and myself went to pick up the breakfast, set up our tables, and meet with all the runners as they finished their runs. I ended up staying until close to 10:00 am and met a lot of people, including a good amount of people that are also running the Chicago Marathon.
When I got home, I had my 3 favorite people waiting for me, and sang Happy Birthday to me, and greeted me with loving arms (luckily I took a shower at the Y, so they were safe). All these things happened today, and it wasn't even 11 am yet....
I did relax for a few hours and then Kerry and I went out for my B-day and had a blast. From Bennigans to Splittsville to Grille 54 for dessert (which is an awesome restaurant!!!!).... we had such a good time... anytime I can be with my sweetheart are good times.... felt like college again... but always so nice to have a great time, and then come back to our kids and kiss them goodnight.
This was my best birthday in a long time! Actually my best birthday ever, because every year I feel blessed that God has given me another year to enjoy my kids, my wife, and the people that he has put in my life.
I was able to get to my bed by 10:30, but I was very stuffy. I woke up at around 12:30, and went to the bathroom, and when I went back in the bed, I was so uncomfortable and congested, that I could not sleep. I knew I had to get up at 4:30, in order to drive down to the Downtown YMCA and host the breakfast, but I was so frustrated because I was not able to go back to bed. I tried to relax my mind as much as I could to no avail. Finally, I think I fell back asleep, but woke up again before 2:00 am, and was even more uncomfortable at this point. So, I started to think..... should I just do my 20 miler now??? I know, it sounds crazy, but at least I could get it out of the way... I just didn't know if my body would hold up. I realized that this would take me around 3 hours, and it wouldn't give me enough time to complete it by my house, shower up, and get down there in enough time. So..... I decided to get dressed, drive down to our office in South Tampa, and I started to run on Bayshore.... at 3:15 am!!!! Right before I started, I called Chris to let him know what I was doing (he just laughed at me) because I knew that he was going to be down there around 4ish to start his run also. I figured that we could meet up at some point and run together.
As I was driving in Hyde Park, it must have been around 2:45 or so, and I saw many people by their cars, at bars...even saw a few people puking on the side of the road (from too much alcohol I assume)... and thought to myself....as crazy as I may be, I would rather be doing what I am doing, than what those folks are doing right now.
Initially I was nervous about running that early...because there was obviously no people running or walking on Bayshore, except for homeless folks sleeping on the benches. I tried to keep my breathing quiet so I wouldn't wake any of them up, but once I got going and turned on my Ipod, it was like any other run. I basically ran all the way on Bayshore to Interbay and 1st St. and then back to the YMCA. About 8 miles into the run, I met up with Chris and Julie and ran another 7 miles with them. We met up with the Blue Sharks and Fred (the director) introduced myself and Chris to everyone and mentioned that the Renewal Rehab facility was sponsoring the breakfast (we appreciated the plug!). I then proceeded to run an additional 6 miles to finish up with a little over 20 miles, which was done by 6:15 am. After I finished, Chris, Julie and myself went to pick up the breakfast, set up our tables, and meet with all the runners as they finished their runs. I ended up staying until close to 10:00 am and met a lot of people, including a good amount of people that are also running the Chicago Marathon.
When I got home, I had my 3 favorite people waiting for me, and sang Happy Birthday to me, and greeted me with loving arms (luckily I took a shower at the Y, so they were safe). All these things happened today, and it wasn't even 11 am yet....
I did relax for a few hours and then Kerry and I went out for my B-day and had a blast. From Bennigans to Splittsville to Grille 54 for dessert (which is an awesome restaurant!!!!).... we had such a good time... anytime I can be with my sweetheart are good times.... felt like college again... but always so nice to have a great time, and then come back to our kids and kiss them goodnight.
This was my best birthday in a long time! Actually my best birthday ever, because every year I feel blessed that God has given me another year to enjoy my kids, my wife, and the people that he has put in my life.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Nailed it!!!!
Just a great run this morning...due to being inspired by what I saw yesterday. Unfortunately, about 3 of my patients had to cancel last night because of a gas leak on I-75, so I finished work a little earlier than usual. I knew that Wiregrass High (which is a school that our facility sponsors for Cross Country) had their first meet of the season at their school.... so I decided that I could at least catch part of the race. I was able to get there by 7:05 pm, and the boys meet started less than 2 minutes before I got there. For those of you that don't know, a cross-country race is a 5k, and the winning team is the team that has the most amount of runners place in the top 20... I think??? I'm not sure completely about this, but I know that the winning teams had the lowest numbers. Anyways, it was really cool to see this, because I had never really been to a cross country meet before.
Anyhoo, Wiregrass girls and boys team won the meet, and more impressively, the Boys team beat Land O' Lakes High, which hasn't lost against a Pasco team in over 4 years... so it was pretty cool to see it all go down.
This morning, I was able to do my hardest intervals during this marathon training... and I nailed it. I envisioned myself being in that meet last night while I was toughing out those interval sessions. Between the 10k and the intervals this morning, I really have a lot of confidence that my speed has returned, and that it is better than ever. I do realize that the temptation is there to really test my speed this weekend during my 20 miler this weekend, but I'm going to resist. Someone told me... don't leave your marathon performance on the roads this week.... save it for Chicago... and that's what I plan on doing.
Anyhoo, Wiregrass girls and boys team won the meet, and more impressively, the Boys team beat Land O' Lakes High, which hasn't lost against a Pasco team in over 4 years... so it was pretty cool to see it all go down.
This morning, I was able to do my hardest intervals during this marathon training... and I nailed it. I envisioned myself being in that meet last night while I was toughing out those interval sessions. Between the 10k and the intervals this morning, I really have a lot of confidence that my speed has returned, and that it is better than ever. I do realize that the temptation is there to really test my speed this weekend during my 20 miler this weekend, but I'm going to resist. Someone told me... don't leave your marathon performance on the roads this week.... save it for Chicago... and that's what I plan on doing.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
On the 6th day of running.....
Today will culminate the toughest 6 days in my training cycle so far. After my 5 mile run today, I will have run 6 days in a row for the 1st time in my life. As they say, sometimes the journey feels like more of an accomplishment than the actual event itself... and that is the way I feel now. But on the way, I've been feeling pretty beat up, especially after yesterday. So here is how the week went for me:
Tuesday: 8 miles with intervals
Wednesday: 4 mile recovery run
Thursday: 11 mile run
By that time I was feeling pretty tired after Thursday. Friday was a planned day off for me from running, and I was supposed to do a time trial 10k Saturday, and a 17 mile long run Sunday, but I was able to run Friday after work, because the wifey and kids went to a party. So after a full days of work (and a workout at Sports and Field with Scott before work at 6 am), I decided to do the 10k time trial and give it all I had. My reasoning for it was that I really wanted at least one of my weekend days to sleep in and not have to get up at 5:00 am and train.
So I did the 10k, and finished it really strong. I held on for dear life at the end... I thought my heart was going to explode!!!! But I was able to hold my pace the whole way. Unfortunately my Garmin 405 watch failed me at the end, and wouldn't stop... so it kept on ticking away seconds even though I was done. I don't know for sure what my official time was... and I guess it doesn't fully matter since it wasn't official anyway, but I do know that it has me on pace to finish the marathon in the projected goal time that I wanted to aim for. This was so key for me, because through the whole summer, I felt like I was getting slower and slower, and that my tempo and interval pace runs have been so hard for me to hit my goal times due to whatever reason(heat, humidity, training, etc.). So I was really please to see what happened with the 10k. You just never realize what you truly have in you, until you just let it rip (giving everything you got!). So with that said, I headed back home, showered up and had some leftover pizza and watched the USF vs. Kansas game (while I waited for the family to come home).
I knew Chris, Julie and some other folks were going to run at Flatwoods Saturday, along with the Wiregrass team being out there, so I decided to just get the 17 miler out the way on Saturday instead of Sunday. I knew it would be helpful to have some company for at least part of the run. So, between the 10k and the start of my 17 miler on Saturday morning was 10 hours... and boy did I feel it by mile 14. My legs were shot, and I just pushed through it. It was the first time that I have felt like I wanted to cut off my legs for this whole training period. I got to my car, and literally had a difficult time getting in my car. I gingerly got myself in the car, and got to a gas station close to my house and bought a bag of ice.
As soon as I got home, I filled up my tub and poured all the ice in there and just let my body enjoy the ice bath. My body has been as stiff as a board all day yesterday, and every time I tried to stretch, my legs cramped up... so my lovely wife gave me a massage at my right hamstring for a few minutes and I fell asleep.
Today, I am feeling about 50% better, but I think I need to actually run really slow to get some of the soreness out of my legs. So that's what I plan to do later on today. A really slow 5 mile run, and hopefully I will feel great again. It will also allow for me to sleep in until 6 am tomorrow, instead of having to get up early and run before work.... so I'll take it.
So there it is... 6 consecutive days of running for me. It's a big deal for me, and just another moment that proves that you can push your body further and further (within reason, that is).
Thanks for reading
Tuesday: 8 miles with intervals
Wednesday: 4 mile recovery run
Thursday: 11 mile run
By that time I was feeling pretty tired after Thursday. Friday was a planned day off for me from running, and I was supposed to do a time trial 10k Saturday, and a 17 mile long run Sunday, but I was able to run Friday after work, because the wifey and kids went to a party. So after a full days of work (and a workout at Sports and Field with Scott before work at 6 am), I decided to do the 10k time trial and give it all I had. My reasoning for it was that I really wanted at least one of my weekend days to sleep in and not have to get up at 5:00 am and train.
So I did the 10k, and finished it really strong. I held on for dear life at the end... I thought my heart was going to explode!!!! But I was able to hold my pace the whole way. Unfortunately my Garmin 405 watch failed me at the end, and wouldn't stop... so it kept on ticking away seconds even though I was done. I don't know for sure what my official time was... and I guess it doesn't fully matter since it wasn't official anyway, but I do know that it has me on pace to finish the marathon in the projected goal time that I wanted to aim for. This was so key for me, because through the whole summer, I felt like I was getting slower and slower, and that my tempo and interval pace runs have been so hard for me to hit my goal times due to whatever reason(heat, humidity, training, etc.). So I was really please to see what happened with the 10k. You just never realize what you truly have in you, until you just let it rip (giving everything you got!). So with that said, I headed back home, showered up and had some leftover pizza and watched the USF vs. Kansas game (while I waited for the family to come home).
I knew Chris, Julie and some other folks were going to run at Flatwoods Saturday, along with the Wiregrass team being out there, so I decided to just get the 17 miler out the way on Saturday instead of Sunday. I knew it would be helpful to have some company for at least part of the run. So, between the 10k and the start of my 17 miler on Saturday morning was 10 hours... and boy did I feel it by mile 14. My legs were shot, and I just pushed through it. It was the first time that I have felt like I wanted to cut off my legs for this whole training period. I got to my car, and literally had a difficult time getting in my car. I gingerly got myself in the car, and got to a gas station close to my house and bought a bag of ice.
As soon as I got home, I filled up my tub and poured all the ice in there and just let my body enjoy the ice bath. My body has been as stiff as a board all day yesterday, and every time I tried to stretch, my legs cramped up... so my lovely wife gave me a massage at my right hamstring for a few minutes and I fell asleep.
Today, I am feeling about 50% better, but I think I need to actually run really slow to get some of the soreness out of my legs. So that's what I plan to do later on today. A really slow 5 mile run, and hopefully I will feel great again. It will also allow for me to sleep in until 6 am tomorrow, instead of having to get up early and run before work.... so I'll take it.
So there it is... 6 consecutive days of running for me. It's a big deal for me, and just another moment that proves that you can push your body further and further (within reason, that is).
Thanks for reading
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