A new year, a new goal

Who's in for a July 4th, 2013 race? "The party people scream, "Oui, oui, c'est vrie!" 'cause I got a remote for my bidet"

A long way to go, fellas

but I think, for me, it will look something like this:

So now what?

Unless I'm mistaken, I am the only one actually registered. Comments and/or suggestions would be appreciated.

2009 Newsletter
July 7, 2008 In This Edition Marathon & Half Marathon SOLD OUT 2009 Race Date

Greetings from the Chevron Houston Marathon, Aramco Houston Half Marathon, EP5K and ABB Team Challenge.

Marathon & Half Marathon SOLD OUT

The 2009 Chevron Houston Marathon and Aramco Houston Half Marathon have reached their combined cap of 18,000 participants and are now SOLD OUT. Congratulations to the 18,000 registrants who helped sell out our races in record time and with a record number of participants.
Individuals who did not register for the 2009 Chevron Houston Marathon or Aramco Houston Half Marathon before they reached the registration cap may put their name on a wait list to receive a transferred registration.
Registered participants who will not be able to participate may opt to transfer their registration to someone on the wait list and receive a partial refund of their registration fee.
For more information on registration transfers and the wait list, click here.
Registration for the EP5K, sponsored by the El Paso Corporation, is still open and will not close until its 5,000 race limit is reached. To register, click here.
Registration for the ABB Team Challenge, sponsored by ABB, is also still open. For more information and to register, click here.
2009 Race Date The 37th running of the Chevron Houston Marathon, Aramco Houston Half Marathon, EP5K and ABB Team Challenge will be held on January 18, 2009.

From my inbox this AM

Greetings from the Chevron Houston Marathon, Aramco Houston Half Marathon, EP5K and ABB Team Challenge.

Registration fees to increase on July 1
Registration fees in both the Chevron Houston Marathon and Aramco Houston Half Marathon will increase on July 1. The marathon rate will go up $20 and the half marathon fee will increase by $10. For more information and to register online, click (on the link provided by Micah on the side.) Also, as of June 25th, the marathon registration was 70% full.

In other news, I started running again. It sucks. I can't believe I agreed to do this.

Love to you all.

What are ya'll doing?

I am in a slump. Who knew when we started that I would take off and challenge myself (not one who runs) to run? I have officially been training since Christmas. I have logged over 200 miles. My longest run has been 8 miles in 1:20-ish. My fastest mile has been 10:24-ish. I have been chased by dogs on multiple occasions and even bit once. (I even shopped for mace) I have graduated to wearing proper running clothes instead of just "workout wear" due to rubbing raw skin. I love my nike+ system that keeps me organized. (I love numbers and graphs)

Since the hot weather has become a constant, I have not enjoyed my morning runs. To avoid the heat, I should wake up and run earlier than 8 am, but that is proving to be close to impossible. (Apparently I am not the early morning person I used to be... I blame a night-owl husband and two kids) I began a training program with nike+ for a half-marathon in mid-April so that I could work up to training for the marathon, but I have failed the computer program. I have dropped the ball. I have fallen off the horse. My spirits are low, my excitement is gone. I do not have the perseverance related to marathon training. I need help. I need direction. I need accountability. I need training. I need team support.

Is anyone else thinking this? Maybe I am the only one totally overwhelmed. How did I get into this? I am no runner. Perseverance is not my thing. Where's my team?

I'm #1! (At least in one respect)

support@active.com to me
show details 11:43 AM Reply


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In the words of the famous Half Moon Cafe on Cherry Street in downtown Tulsa, OK, "You can't be first, but you could be next."

The Story

For your reading pleasure, the story of The JLowe Pre-Wedding Invitational Beer Mile is now available online. Submit all changes to Malcolm or Mrs. Malcolm.

a picture says 1,000 words

5:30.5

Result for my mile time trial today. Not exceptionally fast, but shows im in a decent form. We ran heavy sprints the day before in football practice, leaving some muscles sore today. Other factors include: dirt track, no racing flats, no competition. Perhaps a 5:20 is within reach.
see u guys real soon.
sj

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.

Videos for your amusement

I've been rummaging through you tube, watching some great middle distance races.
I think the more I watch, and the more I think about how fast a sub-4:00 mile is, the more I am amazed. My body doesnt even want to feel the pain of a mile that fast. If you want to be amazed, go to a track, run 200 meters in around 28 seconds, and then imagine trying to do that 8 times in a row. Or better yet, try to run 1 lap in under 56 seconds. good luck... in the words of Micah Strange to Wes Moulden ca. 1996, regarding the number 1,000,000... "You can't fathom that!"
1. Jim ryun vs snell and others 1965


2.800m final 1972 olympics


3.Steve prefontaine 1973 L.A. times mile


4. Steve cram crystal palace mile 1983


5. Sebastian Coe's leap into the world track scene

It's snowing in Fort Benning!

And I'm about to run 7 miles in Wartown with my friend Keeley. By the way, Fort Benning and its snow are actually south of here. I'll be back in about 71 minutes or so to give you the full scoop. I'm so fired up about this!

UPDATE: 1:10:09, and one of the best runs ever. 37F or so with wind chills in the 20s when we started. Their were intermittent patches of sunshine as well as moments of fairly heavy sleet. We both were reminded of running in Colorado, which is quite the notable event when you're actually running in central GA. I felt like an actual runner. Awesome feeling.

2 months down and 1/2 mile closer to a PR (sort of)

So we're into March, and I'm still running. I talked to Jackson this weekend via internet phone for a while, and he was kind enough to take some time to look at my proposed training schedule for the next 8 weeks. As you may recall, I'm preparing for the 12k leg of the 3rd Annual Lowe Family OKC Marathon Relay. I've run the same leg the other 2 times, and as silly as it may sound, I have learned some new things about the actual distance in just the past few days. The OKC Marathon Relay website has the mile equivalent of 12k listed as 7.6 miles. After using an actual metric conversion tool, I was able to confirm that what I have read on several other sites is correct. 12k is actually about 7.46 miles. But wait, there's more.

If you scroll to the bottom of the aforementioned OKC Marathon Relay website, you can see that the 3rd leg (the 12k leg, my leg) is actually "about 0.3 miles short" because they can't put the transition zone in the middle of an intersection. They then go on to list the total distance as 7.3 miles, which presumably, means the distance is actually about 7.16 miles.

I guess my point is this: I am now almost 0.5 miles closer to my goal of completing the leg in 59:50. I felt like it was pretty doable before, but now I feel pretty confident that I can pull it off. Just thought I would share the positive vibes. If that doesn't work, try out this video of what happens when you raise your children to favor Notre Dame.

Much love,
jlowe

State of the Shape

7 weeks into my new training program, I am feeling rather optimistic. I can tell that I am in much better shape than when I started on 1 Jan 08, but it is also obvious how much further I have to go. I'm having several random thoughts all jumbled together at the moment. I offer that as a disclaimer for the following comments.

Due to heavy rains in the area, last night I ran a 5k time trial of a sort. I tried to run it at an 8:00/mi pace, and I succeeded...painfully. I am also convinced that I would not have done it had I not been on the treadmill just because I don't think I would have kept the pace on my own. While I am sure that is right, I am not sure why it is that way. Do I give into being tired too quickly? Am I mentally weak? Does the treadmill act as another person encouraging me to run at a quicker pace? That might make sense, but when I run with a friend of mine (who is faster) he often has to wait on me if we are to actually run together. What's the deal? How can I get the most out of myself on a non-treadmill workout?

As many of you know, my family participates in the Oklahoma City Marathon Relay every year as a form of fun, fitness, family reunion, and with the Arts Festival a couple of blocks from the finish, a lot of food afterwards. Recently, my sister sent me a proposed training program to run/walk a 10k portion of the relay. My sister currently participates in rowing classes and dance/pilates for exercise and doesn't really run. After she showed me the program, my concern was that it may be too much too soon, and she may end up overstressing herself in the beginning in order to try and keep up. She countered with her need for a set schedule in order to be able to avoid "just skipping a day" turning into being a week or more behind. I am now of the opinion that she can go ahead and try it, but she needs to make sure that she doesn't overdo it in an effort to keep up with everything. My question is this: specifically, what signs/symptoms should she most attentive to that would let her know before it is too late that she is trying to do too much in her workouts starting out? (If you are really interested, let me know; and I will e-mail the actual proposed workout to you.) She is planning on starting on Monday, so any advice prior to that would be most appreciated. Jen, if you feel qualified to offer an opinion from the perspective of one who is or has recently begun running from scratch, I am sure that would also be welcome.

As for my own relay goals, I have decided I would like to try and run the 12k portion in under 1 hour. 59:50 is the arbitrary goal. For my own training purposes, does anyone know of a place/site where you can design a training program with specific goals like that over specific lengths of time (64 days and counting)? If not, I need to get faster and increase my mileage. Any opinions on how to structure a workout plan with this in mind would be most appreciative. My current fitness level is best described with a 9:30 pace over 4 miles (non-treadmill) being a good workout for me. My treadmill results would be about 8:30 for 4 and the aforementioned 8:00 5k.

Thanks for any and all help/advice you want to give. Gooooooooo Catahoulas!

jlowe