Thanksgiving Day Run race report

We got to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with our family in Utah, and BRRR was it cold. A big winter storm blew through. It didn't leave much snow, but it left the coldest temperatures I've ever experienced. We had a great trip, but I am glad to be home and out of the cold and snow (which we hit on the way home)!

I met up with my speedy brother-in-law in the 10 degree (or less) weather for the International Thanksgiving Day run in Orem. I don't think I've ever run in that cold of temperature, even when I lived in Utah. After a good warm up (not sure you can call it that if you're still freezing!), we headed back inside to stay warm until the start. By the start of the race, I was ready to get the suffering over with. I had sort of given up the hope of winning a pie (2nd place age group award), because of the cold and all my extra layers. My main goal was to go under 25 minutes, but that would be in question as well.

I also forgot to pack my watch for this trip, so I had to just run this race by feel. After a quick jump off the starting line, I settled into what I thought was a pretty good pace. I felt a little slow all bundled up with a scarf over my face, two jackets and long pants, but that was ok. I hit the first mile marker really wishing I could check my split, but oh well. I just focused on the group ahead of me and gradually made my way toward them. I eventually caught that group, but another small group caught me. By about 3.5 miles, though, I managed to catch all but one of them. I thought I might be able to catch another couple in the final stretch, but their final kick matched mine. As I approached the finish, I could still see 24:something on the clock. My face was a little frozen, and my eyes too blurry to make out how much time I had before 25. Just as I came close enough to focus, it turned to 25, and six seconds later, I crossed the line. So close.

Official stats:
Time: 25:06
Overall place: 22nd
Age group: 1st
Age group award: Turkey! I guess Christmas dinner is covered. :-)

Quick update

Hey folks, sorry about the delay in posting. Here's what I've been up to...

• The running group hasn't panned out so far. No one showed up that first Saturday, and I wasn't able to do it the next Saturday. I haven't gotten a response from anybody, but I am not giving up. I think I'll have to talk to people in person and let them know about it and spread the word.
• I volunteered at the RNR AZ Marathon Expo the Saturday before the race. That was a lot of fun. I couldn't believe how busy it was the entire 5 hours I was there! I was at the tables handing out the goodie bags. I was hoping to see some fellow blogging buddies, but there were so many people, the chances of that happening was very unlikely. I sure had a blast though! I'll definitely do it again.
• My knee has started bugging me again. I've been icing it almost everyday, sometimes twice. I've been taking it pretty easy. Not a whole lot of running lately. Hence the lack in posting here. It's been pretty frustrating, but I'm trying to stay optimistic about it.
• Lani and I have been taking a lot of walks lately with the girls. We are loving the Arizona sunshine and just soaking it up. I feel for all you folks who have to deal with the cold, cold winter, but it really is perfect here. Sorry.
• We're down to about 2 months until the baby is due. Lani says he seems a lot more active than the girls were. Hopefully, we'll be able to channel all that energy into running and exercise as opposed to other mischeif little boys get into.
• Since I haven't been running much, I've started some strength exercises. Whenever we take the kids to the park, I always look for some bars on the playground to do pull-ups and dips. I'm also doing push ups and working on my core in hopes of being a stronger runner when I get over this injury.
• Things to look forward to: I get to volunteer at the NBA All-Star Jam Session next month. I've never been involved in anything like that. It should be a lot of fun. Track season will be starting in about a month, I think. I'm hoping we'll have a lot of our kids return and bring along some new faces.

That's about it. Thanks to everyone who is still keeping tabs on me. I appreciate the comments and support.

Silver lining?

This knee injury of mine has given me quite the roller coaster ride. I've had this injury for over a month now, but the ups and downs have mostly come today.

I don't even know what is wrong with it. It's not very painful at all, but the discomfort I feel never stays in one place. It started out on the outside of my knee, and since then, I have felt discomfort all the way around the knee cap. But never all at once. At first I thought it was my ITB causing trouble, then I started wondering about a stress fracture, then maybe it was a damaged ligament. I'm just not sure.

This week has been great for running though. The knee had seemed to be getting better, so I tried running on Tuesday, and I had a tremendous run. No pain at all. Getting back to my routine, I went for another run on Thursday. It felt a little sore for the first half mile, but after that it felt totally fine. Later that day, it felt a little sore, though. Today, I went for a really easy jog with Lani and our girls. There wasn't any real pain, but it just doesn't feel right.

While we were running, I started thinking about my running plans. I was thinking about a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving weekend, and the LA Marathon in February. Those are both likely out of the question as I will now be giving myself some more time off. As much as I want to run that marathon, I also want to run a marathon when I'm 80, and I don't want to jeopardize my future running life. I need to take care of this body as it's the only one I've got.

I started feeling a little depressed when I logged my run this morning. I guess it was sinking in that I won't be doing much running for a while. Winter is the best time to run in Arizona, and I will have to miss a good chunk of it.

While Lani and I were cooking dinner tonight, I tried thinking positively about this injury. I've always wanted to do a triathlon, but I love running too much to take time away to ride a bike or swim. Maybe this injury will cause me to pick up these other sports. I'm likely to go crazy if I can't run, so I'll need to have something to focus my energy on. And maybe when I do start running again, I'll be more likely to cross train on my non-running days, which will in turn improve my running.

I got one of those Marathon Pace Bands from the Runner's Lounge in the mail the other day. Turns out the wrong one was sent to me (if you are one of the other winners, let me know if you got the wrong one, and we can make an exchange). However, the quote on it is very relevant, and helped me see the bright side.

"In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity." ~Albert Einstein.

Pretty good timing, huh?

The other night, I was talking to Lani about what I'd like to accomplish next summer. I want to focus on my speed again. I'd like to break 5 minutes in the mile again, and then aim for 2 miles in under 11 minutes. Heck, if I'm doing that, it's just another 6 minute mile for a sub 17 minute 5k. That seems pretty doable when I look at it that way. Maybe this time off and cross training will make this more likely, and then next fall/winter I can kick out my 3 hour marathon.

Marathon Plans

Over the last week or so, I have really been looking for a winter marathon to train for. Locally, there aren't many possibilities as most are on Sundays, and I don't run on Sundays. I started looking in southern California since my brother lives in LA, and there were a few Saturday marathons, but not really at convenient times of the year. Yesterday, I thought I'd check Nevada since I have a sister near Vegas. A quick search on MarathonGuide.com led me to discover a new racing company called Calico Racing, and they have organized several races around Las Vegas, and most of them are on Saturdays!

They have the perfect marathon for me. It's called the Running From An Angel Marathon, run along the western edge of Lake Mead, and it is on January 3, 2009. Don't ask me where the name comes from. I haven't figured that out yet. This will be the second running of the event. Reasons for me to run this:

1. It's on a Saturday.
2. The drive wouldn't be too bad. Vegas is about 5 hours from PHX.
3. It's got raving reviews on Marathon Guide. All are 4.5-5 stars. The organization, the scenery. It sounds like a great run.
4. January 3 is during my Christmas break. Granted it is the last weekend of the break, but otherwise, it's great timing.
5. It is a Boston Qualifier. That'll have to wait until 2010, though.
6. We'd get to see my sister and her family who are only about 30 minutes from the start. And I'd imagine she'd let us stay with her.
7. Last year's winner finished in 3 hours 22 minutes. I'm thinking I could be ready for a sub-3 hour marathon by then. Hmmm...

All in all, this looks like it will be an awesome race. I am looking forward to training for another marathon. I can't wait to run it!

What have I done?

And what am I doing?

This week's Take It & Run Thursday at the Runner's Lounge provoked some self-examination of what I have accomplished this year and my goals for the rest of the year.

This last year, I haven't been able to much racing because I had to save my money for our trip to Boston back in April, but that it perfectly fine. I would not have traded that experience for any amount of racing. The Boston Marathon was something I have wanted to do since I first started considering running marathons just over 4 years ago. Running that marathon was such an incredible experience. None of my other marathons can come close to comparing. This was definitely the highlight of my year so far. As of right now, there are no other marathon plans in the very near future, but I am looking for a good one to run this winter. If you know of any good ones run on a Saturday in the southwest, please let me know.

After Boston, I didn't really have any plans or other races in mind, but I wanted to work on my speed in the mile. This idea actually started last September when I watched the film Without Limits for the first time. Inspired by the dedication and drive of Steve Prefontaine, I decided I'd like to break 5 minutes in the mile. This summer I have been seriously working on it, and I am getting very close. You can follow my progress in the sidebar of my blog. Just a couple weeks ago, I came across an organized 1 Mile Race in Tucson, AZ at the end of August. I am really looking forward to testing myself against other runners.

With school starting next week, I am looking forward to coaching the cross-country and track teams at the middle school in the district where I work. Now that I have some coaching experience under my belt, I think this year will be a lot better than last year. Hopefully, I'll be able to pass on some of my knowledge and motivate the kids to have a great season (and hopefully, we'll have more kids come out!).

What to expect for the rest of the year:
- A lot of speed work. I will be breaking that 5 minute barrier in the near future. I hope to build up some more endurance with that speed to then improve my 5k and 10k times.
- Increase my mileage as fall approaches. I would really like to train for a marathon this winter and shoot for a PR. Who knows, maybe with the speed I have built up, a sub-3 hour marathon is possible.

I am really looking forward to my future in running. Working on my speed has been a fun change, and it has been very exciting to see the progress I have made. Achieving goals is extremely motivating. I can't wait to see what else I am capable of.

What a week!

This week was such a great week for me. I am on Christmas break (I'm a school psychologist in a local district, so I have three (!) weeks off for the holidays), and I am loving it. If you haven't read any of my recent posts, the weather is so perfect. I love the Arizona winter! I won the "Time for some lovin'" clock from Topher in the Runner's Lounge virtual white elephant gift exchange, and my training has been going so well. It's got me feeling very confident that I will be able to reach my goal of breaking 3 hours in Boston (less than 4 months to go!).

My week started out with some speedwork on Tuesday. I did 4x 1200 meters each at 4:30. That was really tough, but it sure felt good to run fast again, and to be able to keep it up over that distance. Wednesday wasn't a scheduled run, but since I didn't have to work, I thought I'd take my littlest daughter out for a few easy miles. Thursday was a great tempo run. That had me feeling so good that I wanted to go out on Friday, but I thought I'd save my energy for my 9 miles on Saturday. That run only made me more excited for my training. I ended up with an average pace of 7:12 per mile, and a total time of just a few seconds over my 8 on the 8th race time. I really don't know what has made the difference in the last couple weeks, but I am totally on a high, and it feels so good. I can't wait to get out there this week.

On Saturday, my older sister and her family from Las Vegas came to visit for the weekend. My older brother from north Phoenix also came for the evening. We had a lot of fun hanging out, playing at the park, having dinner, opening some early Christmas presents, and our kids had a great time together.

p.s. I hope I'm not sounding cocky or arrogant or anything, but I am just kinda proud of how my training is going, and want to share my excitement.

p.p.s. Merry Christmas!

I love winter!

I never thought I'd say that. But after the run I had yesterday, I can no longer deny it. I don't know where that photo was taken, but it was definitely far, far away from Phoenix! Holy cow! That looks freezing! Beautiful... but freezing! It was 64 degrees yesterday afternoon, and I don't think it's going to get too much colder any time soon. I ran out in a t-shirt and shorts and did some speedwork. It was great! I don't mean to rub it in to those who have to deal with the snow, ice, and freezing temperatures, but Topher asked for some sunshine, so I just wanted to share the love.This isn't where I ran yesterday, but this is the beautiful scenery I get to enjoy. Don't get me wrong. I moved from Utah this summer, so I know what it is like to run through the snow and cold. And this is the type of running I have been looking forward to. It certainly makes up for the 30-some odd consecutive days of 110+ degree weather we had this summer. I hope you are staying warm this winter.