1:01:27

Or 1:02:04 if you go by the chip time. It turns out there was about 37 seconds of transition time factored in there. I don't have exact splits, but I do have my halfway time. So, I ran the first half of my leg (6k) in 32:45. I ran the second half (slightly less than 6k) in 31:19. I do know that I ran a couple of my miles around 8:40, one around 8:30, one around 9:00, and one around 8:00. My overall pace was 8:35 or so.

The conditions for the day can best be described as blustery. There was a 10-20mph wind from the north throughout the run. My last couple of miles were actually running south so I think the wind helped me there. As previously stated I was/am sick, but other than perhaps being more cold than usual and having more mucus to hawk up during the run I'm not sure it really affected me much. The temp around the start of the race was 45-50. By the time my leg started, it was probably up to 50-55.

As for my thoughts on the race, all things considered I'm happy. My stated goal was to run 59:50, but I figured that probably wouldn't happen even if everything had been picture perfect. My secondary goal was to run a PR for the event, which I did. My previous best time was around 1:02:25. I do feel like I'm in a pretty decent spot to try and continue running from here. I think that may be the most exciting part.

Other news: I talked to the people with the Houston Marathon at the expo before the race, and registration is now officially open and only accessible online. Even my (soon-to-be) wife seems excited about the marathon. I would go ahead an register, but I would like to do it with my Mississippi address (which is another story entirely.)

Jackson, I hope I've answered all of your questions with this post. I am sure there is some more stuff I should have paid attention to that either don't know or didn't post. As for everyone, I would like to say that this blog helped me acheive one of my goals just by giving me a place to discuss/vent about training. I appreciate your tolerance of my ramblings and all the feedback. Onto the marathon.

itching for results

as your previous entry states, we, or at least I, am itching for results..
cant find anything on-line... its allready the 28th here in Argentina.
jacks

Snot Fair

4 months of training. 14.5 hrs of driving. 2 days of family fun in my home state. And it all comes down to the fact that I can't breathe when I wake up because of the excessive mucus and sinus congestion my body has chosen to produce. My father has a similar ailment and welcomed me home by sharing it with me. I have just about 24 more hours to go until I actually start my leg of the race. One can only hope that the symptoms improve by then.

(As an aside, I have now had significant symptoms twice this year after going at least 3 years with no problems. And they have both begun while I was on leave/vacation. I never get sick at work around the sick people, but somehow I manage to get sick when I'm supposed to be enjoying the fact that I am well and away from sick people. The irony is not lost on me, my friend.)

I'll post tomorrow with the results. I know how much y'all are itching with anticipation for my race time. Our long regional nightmare will be over soon.)

DO NOT TAUNT HAPPY FUN BEER MILE

bad news and more bad news.
Bad news number 1: my training has taken a turn for the worse, and I am not getting in many runs. Nothing to be overly upset about, but running less means i am probably just maintaining or slightly losing shape, as opposed to progressing.

BAD NEWS #2: 4:15 4:15!!!!!!!!!! 4 stinking 15 and I have been silenced and put into place. What the heck is jack-nut talking about? well, today i had a track workout, so i decided, why not take a couple of beers to the track and see what i can do Half a beer mile in. Is the first 2 laps in 3:10 a realizable goal? I wanted answers. So, on a warm day, i headed to the track and did my warm-up, stretching, and intervals. I had planned to do 8 X 400 on the track, saving the last 2 400's for the practice beer mile. After hammering out the first several pretty good, i decided to cut the number to 7 400's. My times for the first 5: 73,75,77,78,82. I took an extended rest of about 7 minutes between the last 400 and the start of the "half beer mile". The beer i had was in bottles, as i couldnt find cans. I chugged the first one slowly, finishing it in roughly 20-25 seconds. Running the first lap was good and fast.. for the first 200.. then horror set in as the pain set in for the last 200 of the first lap. I managed to painfully chug the 2nd beer, and finished with a total time of 4:15. I have been humiliated. I have been floored. Jack-nut ran his mouth about sub-8:30's and talking about the beer mile as if it was not that big of a deal. The problem is that i learned, or maybe re-learned, that no one ownes the beer mile, the beer mile ownes people. (or at least me). I am not saying nesesarily that i want to take back everything i said about the beer mile, but I am saying that from here on out i will not throw out times, predictions, or whatever else. The beer mile inflicts pain. Pain indeed. Maybe i forgot about that pain. I know no analogy is perfect, but i want to describe how finishing the first lap of the beer mile feels, breathing heavily, with the 3 cans staring you down, knowing you have a LONG way to go. It is much like a 2nd grader picking a fight with the 5th grade bullies on the play ground. the first bully takes the little guy by the ears, throws him to the ground, and maybe knocks the wind out if him. If that was it, it wouldnt be to bad... but then suddenly... the 2nd grader looks up, and sees 3 other bullies waiting their turn to dish out a beating.... and there is no mommy in sight, not even a phone with which to call mommy. The pain will be inflicted.. horrors!!!
Yes, i have been beaten over the head with a 2X4 with just half of a beer mile.
I would have been lucky to finish under 10 or 11 minutes.
The ONLY SLIGHT bit of thing that i can consider "in my favor" was that i was allready slightly tired from the 5 400's previously. anyways, good luck racers, the race is anyones to be had. I do not run the beer mile to win, to break a certain time, or whatever.. i will run the beer mile to find that Steve Cram inside of me, that is bold enough to push through the pain.
gsj

Congratulations are in order

many miles remain, but the first are always the most difficult

1:23:17

I'm a little disappointed, but I'll get to that in a minute. Here's the race recap. Rain the whole way. I ran the first 3 miles in just under 28 (something like 27:54), and I picked it up a little at that point. I used my iPod to mark the miles, but I have just realized that it doesn't give you the actual time at that point. It just gives you what it deems to be your pace and distance. Annoying. Perhaps the best indicator is that I got passed by about 60 people in the first 3 miles, and no one passed me for the next 3 miles. After that I slowed the pace a little. In hindsight, I just don't think I had the juice to go too much faster and finish well. Maybe I did. At any rate, I didn't feel as though I approached the next 3 miles as aggressively. I still ran faster than the first 3, I think. I got passed by about 5 people or so, and I probably passed another 2 or 3 myself. I had my traditionally strong kick at the end. One important note is that I really don't think this race was a full 15k. After 9 miles, it really didn't seem as though we ran another 0.3m to me. I was running faster, but I don't think it was that fast. Anyway, my best guess is that it was closer to 9.1m or maybe 9.15m than a true 15k.

Here's the disappointment factor: I don't feel as though I can really run at a fast enough tempo and maintain it for long stretches. This is obviously something I need to address in training. Bluntly, I need to train faster. Why I haven't been doing more of this I don't know. The next question becomes how. Do I finish out the last 3 weeks of my current program before the marathon relay? Do I try to switch one of the two easy 4-5m runs I have in a week to a faster or speed-focused workout? Questions abound. Perhaps I really can run faster, and I just need to do it more in practice so I feel more comfortable with it. Who knows? I'm just a guy who looks remarkably like some dude named Leonard from Buffalo who runs a mean steeplechase.

3 months, 2 days, 1 man

This is mainly because of the fact that we can't go more than a month without a new post. So it is written. So it shall be done.

Random jlowe facts and thoughts:

(1) Shouldn't the subtext to the Houston 2009 blog read "...challenge OF life, liberty..." rather than "...challenge to life, liberty...?" Any English majors are encouraged to comment. If English is now your second language, your opinion will be discounted. Darn furiners.

(2) Are we still thinking that 8 people will be involved with the marathon in some way? I don't even care if everyone actually runs; I just think it would be cool if we could get everyone together in the same place. Do 8 people even read this?

(3) I've now completed 3 steady months of training (minus 1 week of flu-like illness). As you know if you care to remember, I am running a 12k leg of the OKC marathon relay in just over 3 weeks. My stated goal for the run is 59:50. I don't think there is really anyway I'm going to be able to pull it off. My training program has been great for endurance, but it has failed me in preparing me to run at or even near race pace. I plan on doing more treadmill workouts over the next few weeks just to try and get used to running at a necessarily faster pace. I suppose in the end this training problem is really more my own and less due to the program, but hey, the point is it seems to be too late to salvage the goal.

(4) I'm running in a 15km race this weekend that I just found out about. More updates on that after the race.

Hope everyone is well, and I plan on talking to y'all soon.