Growing, Glowing, and Going: Randomness

So, if you've missed the news, my wife and I are expecting our fourth kiddo in February. She was just getting into running when she became pregnant with our last one, and quickly came to learn the many amazing benefits of staying fit during pregnancy. Over at her Birth Faith blog, she is starting a series entitled "Growing, Glowing and Going" relating her experiences of running through this pregnancy. Here's a taste. I'm going to make you click over for the full article because I think she's got a cool site, and I'm proud of her and what she's doing. Without further ado, Growing, Glowing, and Going: Randomness...

1. Last night I found the “doggy tag” necklace my bro-in-law gave me for Christmas a couple of years ago. It has my name and emergency phone numbers just in case something happens to me while I’m out on a run. And the other side has one of my favorite quotes from one of my heroes. It got me thinking that I should tell you about her some time. I think I will. Be sure you carry some form of I.D. when you run (especially if you’re pregnant)! (Click here to read the rest of the article)

Holy amazing run, Batman!

I was up at 4:45 this morning hoping to get my run in pretty early. Unfortunately, it was pouring rain with thunder and lightning, so I held off for a little while. At 5:30, it seemed to be clearing up, so I drove over to South Mountain. When I got there, it started coming down again. So, I waited about 10 minutes, but the rain just kept coming down harder and harder. I ended up deciding to head back in the direction of home since it wasn't raining there (at least it wasn't when I left. Well, it poured all the way back home. After about 20 minutes or so, it began clearing up again, so I mapped out a new route and headed out. The plan was to run the same 8 mile loop I did on Thursday, stop at home and change into my new/used Kinvaras (Thanks Ted!), and go out for another 5.

The first 8 felt really good. It started raining on me about mile 2, but it only lasted a couple miles. After a relatively slow first mile, I settled in to a comfortable pace for the rest of the run (except for mile 6 which was on a gravel trail where I had to stop like 5 times to dig out mud and rocks from my socks). Turns out that pace was BQ pace. Cool!

I got back home in just under an hour and changed my socks, shirt and shoes, and headed right back out for my final 5. I think I may have tied the shoes a little too snug, but other than that, they felt great. Maybe it was all the hype I've been reading about these shoes, but these last mile were really fast. Like 7 minute miles and below. Man, it felt great!

I got back home in time to enjoy some homemade chocolate chip/banana pancakes and fresh blueberries and strawberries.
Besides the new shoes, I had a few other "firsts" for this run. I just got a new Halo headband. Loved it. It's time to retire the old (really old) headband. :*( (see here for more on my relationship with this headband. In addition to my usual toast and banana, I had a green smoothie for breakfast and a spoonful of organic blackstrap molasses. Turns out molasses is super good for you. I'll be trying it out as an energy gel again. I really think both of these really helped on the run today.

Enough of my ramblings. Here are my splits:

Goal pace - 7:30
mile 1 - 7:58
mile 2 - 7:20
mile 3 - 7:23
mile 4 - 7:14
mile 5 - 7:17
mile 6 - 8:00 (mud, rocks)
mile 7 - 7:15
mile 8 - 7:12
Intermission ~ 7:00
mile 9 - 7:01
mile 10 - 7:02
mile 11 - 6:59
mile 12 - 6:48
mile 13 - 6:26
Total time - 1:33:51

Race reports - May to July 2010

I've been meaning to post some race reports for a long time now, and in fear of them never getting done, I am just going to post what I wrote in my training log. Maybe I'll add a few extra details. Here they are in chronological order.

Martin Charities 5k - Glendale, AZ - May 22
This race is put on by the former Arizona state treasurer, who just over a year ago lost his wife during childbirth, and his baby shortly thereafter. The race benefits water safety programs, which his wife was passionate about.

Man, there were so many turns in this race, it was unbelievable! I met a couple of my track kids and one of the other coaches and a friend. One of the kids, who also ran cross country and really wants to beat me, just ran a 4:59 mile and a 10:52 2 mile at Regionals a couple weeks ago, so I was finally ready to concede that he is faster than me now, and I was fully expecting him to beat me. He took off like lightning, and I held back. By mile 2, I had caught him though, and unfortunately, he didn't stick with me. I'm very pleased by the time of 18:42, 8 seconds off my PR from like 5 years ago. There's another 5k next Saturday that we might do. New PR is in my sight!

UPDATE: Official race results say 18:25, and put me in 4th place overall. I know that's not right. The 18:42 is more believable, and I'm pretty sure I finished about 10th overall (unless there were some speedy bandits).

Arizona Road Racers Summer Series 5k #1 - Phoenix, AZ - May 29
This 5k was a little different than your typical race. Everyone was handicapped based on their age. I started 14 minutes and 5 second after the first people. If you ask me, that was a terrible idea for this course. It basically puts the faster people at the back of the pack, and the course was very tight along the bike path parallel to a canal. It even goes through a very narrow tunnel, where I got stuck behind an old lady with a walker who was being passed by another lady with a jogging stroller. That caused a slight loss of momentum (sarcasm).

Overall, though, it wasn't a bad race. I certainly felt like I was working harder than last week's 5k. Unfortunately, my time (19:37) didn't show that. But, I still beat my track runner. (Dang it! I want him to beat me!)

Freedom Run 5k - Provo, Ut - July 5
This event has become a tradition for us. My bro-in-law also runs it with several members of his family. I really wanted to race the 10k, but I didn't want to do too much the week of my half marathon, so I just ran it with my wife. It actually felt really nice to take it easy after the intense training I've done for the half. We had a nice time together. Official time was 34:18.

Hobbler Half Marathon - Springville, Ut - July 10
This was the event I was training for. I really wanted to build up and get a new PR, and I really thought I'd do it, or at least come close. The course ran down the Left Fork of Hobble Creek Canyon, and down through town. I started out exactly where I wanted to be. My pace was almost perfect. I felt like I was just cruising down the hill. After a couple miles, I started running with another guy, and we helped pace each other for the next several miles until he disappeared at a water station. I sure could have used him later on in the race because about mile 10, I just died. I had gotten out of the canyon, and just couldn't hold my pace any longer. Luckily, my bro-in-law and his family were parked along the side of the road and cheered and rang their cowbells for my. They leap-frogged me a few times and then took off to meet me at the finish. This really gave me a boost, and kept me going. I really appreciated that, but I was still not getting back on pace. I ended up crossing the finish line in 1:29:23, relieved that I was still under 1:30. Definitely not a bad time, and good enough for 19th overall and 2nd in my age group. My bro-in-law wants to do it with me next year. That'll be really fun to run it with him.

After the race, my name was pulled out for the raffle. I won a set of Skullcandy ear buds. They are pretty cool. Too bad I never listen to music on the run.

So, there you have it. A quick and dirty, 4 in 1, race report. I've got a couple marathons planned for this fall/winter, and hopefully some more shorter races thrown in somewhere. I'll try to get those race reports done sooner than I got these ones done!

And don't forget about the giveaway on my wife's blog! She's looking for ideas for a title of a series of blog posts she plans to write about exercising through pregnancy, while she, herself, is pregnant(!). She's got some great books and baby wraps to give away, and $25 from BornFit. So if you know anyone who is prego or may become so, this is a great opportunity to score some cool stuff!

Could lecithin be the solution to running related joint pain?

I've posted before about my wife's birth blog, but her latest post got me thinking. In her post she describes the common pregnancy pain in the pelvis and how eggs, more specifically lecithin, essentially rid her and others of the pain. The pain is caused by strain on the ligaments. So, I wonder if lecithin would be helpful in alleviating other joint pains. What do you think?

My dad had to give up running years ago because of bad knees, and subsequently had surgeries to repair damage, yet is still unable to run. I wonder if lecithin would have been helpful in getting back out there on the road.

Several months ago, I was having issues with my feet and ankles. Could lecithin have sped up my recovery? Who know? But it is all very intriguing, isn't it?

Check out her blog post, "Got Lecithin?" if you're interested.