Getting ready for Donna and Snickers

This weekend was suppose to be a nice long run. Normally we have been running about 2 minutes slower than out target pace at a sub 5 marathon. Well we went out yesterday and I was feeling good. I don't know if it is because I am eating better or if it is because of the continuous training. Anyway it is working for me. We did a 10 mile run and we did it at an average pace of 10:52 and that is about 45 seconds per mile faster than my goal pace.

I hope that when I go to the Snickers marathon that I will be able to keep this pace but I know that the Donna marathon is going to be a training run. I am going there to have fun while running a marathon.

More to come later. Have a great week and keep it in the roads.

Where is the warm weather?

I like to have some cold weather here in the south but enough already. I am ready for some warmer temps. I want to get out and run but when you have so many clothes to stay warm and not get wind burn, it is ridiculous.

I am going to run the 26.2 with Donna Marathon next month and I am looking forward to the warmer temps. I realized this weekend that we spend too much time wondering about the future and that is one thing that I am going to try and not do anymore. I am just saying that I am ready for some changes in the temps.

It makes me mad that I don't go out and run but I go inside the Wellness Center and run on the warm concrete track. I guess if you have to do something, you might as well be happy.

Well for now, have a wonderful day and put all worries behind.

Museum of Aviation Marathon 2011

Warner Robins, Ga WRAFB
COLD with no wind and no rain. This was the first time in 4 years that we had good weather. It was about 21 degrees at the start. I was trying to go for a sub 5 race today. I was not feeling it early and was hoping that it would kick in during the run. My friend Karen was running with me today to help pace me.
I was waiting on my new shoes to come in yesterday from Run Fit Sports but with all the snow and ice that has hit the east coast, UPS was not able to deliver them. So it was off to another race in my old shoes. Well I have to blame it on something. Ha-Ha
When they started the race, they use a traditional race gun. When Karen and I hit the 3 mile marker, I heard a LOUD roar. I looked on the runway and a F-16 was taking off. I was so happy. I love seeing planes. I think that is why I love to run this course which is 2 loop course around the AFB. When he took off, he pointed it up and shot to the sky. It was awesome. I don't know who the pilot was but thank you. It was fun watching.
Then when we got around on the opposite side of the runway, the plane went up again. Then he started doing rolls after take off and he was right above my head. I was waving to him and I think he waived back. YES, he was this close. I could see the pilot. This made this the best race ever. I have always wanted to see planes flying during the race but they have never done it before.
I was holding a good pace at the 1/2 point and was on track for a sub 5. I got a chance to run with a dear friend of mine, Gen. She is a breast cancer survivor and is going through chemo right now. She looked great today. When I went out for the 2nd loop, I knew what was ahead of me. I don't like the 2nd loop and miles 15 - 18 is a bad area for me. I have never liked this time of the race. This is when I want to give up. Once I get to mile marker 20 I feel much better. I knew that if I was able to finish the last 6.2 miles with 1 hour and 10 minutes left to go on the clock. I was feeling o.k. Then at mile 22, THE WALL LAID THE BRICKS DOWN ON ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My body started to shut down. My left leg was hurting and my foot was getting a bad hot spot. I was tired and I knew it. It was time to walk, come to reality and just finish. Well that is exactly what I did. I finished with a time of 5:14 and found out that is was a course PR for me by 27 minutes from last year. WOW I did something good and didn't even though it.
Well I have had my dinner and now it is time to go to bed with some muscle relaxers. Good night and God bless.

2011

Every year our local running club likes to meet on Jan 1st to go for a run so that we can say this is what we are going to do all year. So there was 3 of us that met at our normal starting location and started out for a 20 mile run. We are getting ready for the Donna 26.2 marathon coming up in Feb.

We started out on our journey making up the route as we went on. We could have gone on an easy route but no. I chose a much more difficult route with a lot of hills and long inclines. I think that this was my downfall. I was feeling good until around mile 14. I could tell me strength was falling off and I was falling back. I was not sure what was going on cause I have not felt like this in a long time. I guess the extra weight and time off during the holidays has really made an impact in my training. It is like know I will have to start from scratch.

Well I am going to do what ever it takes to get back into shape. I have 3 marathons in the next couple of months. I am going to have to put everything behind me and just do it.

Christmas 2010

Well it was a great holiday weekend but now it is time to get back to the training schedule. I have 3 marathons coming up, Donna 26.2 in Feb., Snickers in March and Country Music in April. I have run these races before but I like them cause they are local.

As we get closer to the end of March, we are starting up our Galloway program again to get prepared for the Savannah Marathon. This is going to be a 1st for Rock and Roll to come to Ga for a race. I love to run innagural races.

More to come later but for now it is time to put on the new shoes and RUN!!!!

Bartram Forest 50K 2010

This morning as I woke up, I crawled out of bed as my body is killing me. I am very sore. I have not ever felt like this before. I hurt from my toenails to my hair on my head. I forgot how much torture your body goes through when running trail races. Rocks, gravel, roots, jumping small trees. It all takes the toll on your body when your done. But hey, it is fun.

I arrived with my wife at the forest around 6 a.m. to start putting things out and there was one runner who started before I got there. It was cold and windy. The wind was coming across the lake and I thought it was going to change to snow but it didn't. As we were trying to prepare the bags and goodies, runners were starting to pile in. This was great because we were not sure how people were going to show up. When the race started 5 years ago, there were only 5 runners. This year we had an all time high of 90 runners. Thank you for all who came out.

We had some changes in the course this year due to changes in the forest. Normally we had a figure 8 course but this year we had some small changes. For a 1st time runner at Bartram, it is a little confusing. It has taking me about 2 or 3 times before I have finally gotten comfortable with the course. We had some runners saying that they had gotten lost and that is normal. We are going to try and fix this problem next year with more signs and ropes. But one problem I can't fix is that we were told that some runners were cutting corners and making their race short. I told them that is between them and God. I can't do anything about that and they were NOT going to place in any awards. If we had to, I would look at their Garmin to see the total distance, but we did not have to do it.

I would like to thank all the volunteers who showed up yesterday. We could not have done it without yall. Their were so many that I can not thank everyone personally. Whether you brought something for us to eat, helped out in cooking and cleaning, sat at one of the aid stations to help with food/drinks, thank you to everyone. Yall are awesome and races could not go on without yall.

Today is going to be a day of rest and thinking of how the race could improve next year. I truly hope that everyone is o.k. this morning cause I know there were some that fell and twisted some ankles. Bartram Forest is a technical, off road course that will get you off your feet if you are not looking. Once again thank you to all who came out to help us with keeping the race going this year.

Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon 2010

I am finally getting around to writing my recap from the marathon. We met at the local high school on Friday to pick up our packets. I loved watching everyone for the first time gathering their stuff. This was a first for me. I was not only running the race, but also watching my running students running their 1st marathon. I was nervous for me and them. I wanted it to be a fun day but most of all, a day of no injuries.

We left from the expo and headed out to Logan's for a good dinner. I had plans to go to Fazoli's and get some pasta but everyone else had other plans. So I said "I will go where everyone wants to go". Well then we get there and we all have to sit in different seats. Bummer. I wanted to talk about the race. Well Mandie and I had a wonderful dinner and it was time to head back to the motel for some rest.

We got back to the Motel and I put my race number on my belt. I already had everything else laid out like I normally do before a race. I want to make sure I have not left anything behind. Now is when my nerves start to kick into overdrive but not tonight. I didn't know what was different. I guess I have told myself so many times that I finally listened and it was soaking in. I am going to do this and do it right. Well I tried to go to sleep early but I was not tired. I was not nervous, restless or shaky. I just could not sleep, until about 3 a.m. when I really HARD asleep. Then at 5 a.m. the alarm clock went off. I was up and starting to eat and drink my usual breakfast. Peanut butter and jelly with water and gatoraid.

We arrived at the race to gather with everyone under a large tent with heaters on. It was cold out. The temps were in the low 40's with no breeze. Everyone was dressed with throw away clothes on that they would shed during the race. I decided not to except for the arm sleeves and gloves.

We lined up and I kissed my wife by and told her I love her. We all get our watches ready and BOOM!!!! the canon went off. I love the start line. This is only race with a live canon as the start gun. I like to see every one's faces when it goes off. We were off on the first loop which circles back around for a 1/2 mile and you go past the start line again. I was feeling great. I was trying to watch my Garmin to make sure that we did not go out to fast. I wanted to hold a 12 min pace for the first 6 miles. Well we hit mile 6 and we were averaging 11:47. I was praying that we did not go out to fast and crash at the end.

I had fun running with our group. We started out with Don, Sean, Adam, Nicole, Karen, Stef and Melissa. As the race progressed, we feel into our own groups of speed. Don and Sean went ahead like I knew they would. Adam, Nicole and Stef ran with me and Melissa went by herself. We were telling jokes and laughing for the first half of the race. The hills were OK at first but later would HURT.

We went out for the second time around and I think I heard my name being called. I had told many people that the course was flat with rolling hills but now it was not feeling that way. The hills were getting harder. I was glad that we took the time to train on hills for 6 months prior to the race. There were times when I thought I was not going to make it. I even said to myself that I would like to have a PR and that's it.

Then I looked at my watch and saw I had 3 miles to go and about 36 minutes to do it. I told myself to average 12 min miles and I would do it. I struggled with it limping and running as much as I could. Tears begin to roll out of my eyes because I knew I was so close and did not want to miss it again.

Now I was at mile 25 and I had about 16 minutes to go. My legs were cramping and it HURT to run. I was telling myself to push as hard as I could. I did not want to give up and miss my goal by 1 second. I had let myself down before and it hurt. I pushed forward grabbing my legs and chewing on gu's and slurping power aid. Now I made it to the top of the hill at mile 26. I now have the dreaded .2 miles to go. I looked at my watch and I had 4 minutes to get my butt down there and cross the finish line. I could see it. I was so close. I had to do it. I pushed myself into tears and ran as hard as I could possibly go. I made the last turn down the final sprint and I heard Don on the sidelines yelling "You better do it".

As I crossed the finish line, I stopped my watch and looked at the official clock and it read 5:00:05. But wait, I then looked at my watch and my chip time said 4:59:02. YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I finally did it. I bet the dreaded 5 hour demon that has plagued me for nearly 4 years. The last 6 months of training had paid off. I not only bet the 5 hour mark, I took 6 minutes off of my PR. I was 50 minutes faster at the race this year than I was at last years race. Training, training, training. That is all I can say. It pays off. I love me some Galloway training.