Family Athletics

Stats are in on the Country Half Marathon

2009-04-27T15:05:00.003-05:00

I fared well. Finished in the top 15% in my age group in a little over 2 hours and 7 minutes. I have the full story on another blog. Click here to read about it.

Nashville Country Half Marathon

2009-04-25T12:09:00.004-05:00

I rolled to the finish line, rock'n and roll'n to fine country music this morning, arriving about the same time as those Kenyan runners in the full marathon. They were vying for the 10,000 prize and the $10,000 bonus on who crossed the finish line first. The ladies were given an 18-minute head start to make it a contest. This is an interesting event from many angles. It has gotten better every year in its 10 year history. This year they opened up a pasta dinner cruise for contestants the night before the race. They also made the course more difficult by adding the famous streets in downtown Nashville. That added steep hills near the end of the race. I was physically stressed to the limit and made sure I kept myself a survivor at the end. I saw one girl collapse and felt I could do the same if I was not careful. It was too hot for a marathon, 15 degrees higher this year than last year. At the last minute, they added several water stations and had fruit at several places. There was location where a resident turned on their water hoses and was giving cooling showers. I went into it and came out soaked. But of course I was already soaking wet from sweat. How great that water spray felt!!!

The preliminary stats gave me a 2 hour and 8 minute finish. I wanted a 1 hour 53 minute finish but that was not in the cards today. 36000 contestants lined up in corrals (it felt like we were cattle as well.) I could not see any end to runners in either direction - behind or in front of me. I was in the 6th corral, with runners expecting to complete their race in 1hr and 53 or so minutes. I lost the 8 minutes when I nearly collapsed going up the hills. Three times I walked part of an uphill section. The street was crowded all the way. Very little space to run past people. At the end, there was insufficient space to properly cool down. Everyone came to an abrupt stop, but I did find a place to sit down and stretch.

Calf Cramps

2009-04-21T13:44:00.002-05:00

I have been fighting calf cramps off and on during the last two months of training. I believe mine are from two issues: dehydration and strain. These two excerpts apply to me and may help you as well:

Calf Cramps: Causes and Solutions
Calf cramps can be exceedingly painful, and everyone has experienced this pain at least once in their life. The most agonizing pain comes at some point during your sleep, but painful cramp pain can also occur during athletic training.
http://www.associatedcontent.comarticle/218563/calf_cramps_causes_and_solutions.html

Training finally complete

2009-04-20T15:25:00.000-05:00

This week is rest week. I will run a little just to exercise some muscles. Last week, I ran over 40 miles including two full half marathons. This is recuperation week. Saturday is the big race in downtown Nashville. I am in the 9 minute mile corral, as well as I recall, but worry a little that I said 8 minutes. Anyway, this will be a new and interesting experience with live country western music at each mile marker. This event has a normalization factor for age. They will compensate for times of older contestants by factoring their time with a speed/age curve so that runners will know how they did relative to age brackets.

After several days of rain

2009-03-15T20:09:00.002-05:00

I don't know about you, but I had a hard time getting myself out of the house and on to the road this week. I did need a little rest and break but 5 days? I got out when it was dry enough this morning, but guess what? After about one hour, I heard a clap of thunder and whack! Down came the rain. I was not carrying my cell phone this time but was carrying my wallet which got soaked! I turned into a frog. Been thinking about doing that anyway with so many contiguous days of rain. As it turned out, I enjoyed running in the rain. I wore a long sleeve running shirt this time and a cap. That kept me warm. Yet on arriving at the house, I stepped in the shower with the cold water running and wham! It felt like it was boiling! The surface of the skin was super cooled by the rain and cold even though it wasn't but in the 50's. A few minutes later I adjusted to the water and even got take a real warm shower in the end.

I resumed the alternating sprints in the distance strategy. I ran 12.98 miles at a 8.9 pace. Full stride sprints occur on downhill and a slower shorter stride pace on uphill. That is Ok. Slower than I want to run a half marathon, but ok considering I was playing it safe on the wet surface.

Randy has broken his speed record - now under 8 min/mile

2009-03-07T13:50:00.002-06:00

This has been a pretty good week for training. Despite the heavy pollen count, I have finally managed to break 8.0 min/mile in a decent length. I went out this morning on a relatively short course speed training run. I was not consciously trying to break my record, just get a good workout. It was 7.36 miles. This ends a week of two long and one short run for a total distance of over 36 miles in 3 runs. The longest was more than 15 miles. I am happy with this progress. I am proving to myself that I can run under 9 minute miles in the half marathon. Other runners tell me that I should be ready now for the full marathon, but I have not really been seeking extreme sports as my goal. Now I see I can do that and probably will make that the full marathon my goal before I turn 65. The only problem I experienced this week was some wheezing. That occurred on the 15 mile run, right after I drank while running. So I decided to stop that practice and only to take a drink while walking. That is defined as three gulps and no more. I carried my own water on the 15-mile trip. That was extra weight and it helps to further strengthen the leg muscles. All of this training is done on the Woodlands hills. My course is quite challenging for runners in this area. I will need it in Nashville! Today I will also cross train on a bicycle.

Next for Randy comes Nashville

2009-03-01T09:24:00.003-06:00

I am planning to run the half marathon in Nashville, Tennessee in late April. The setting will be downtown on the river. The venue will of course be Country Music! It includes an evening party the night after the race. We will run to the music as there will be music stations along the way.Refer to the site below for additional information, for those who might be interested in running his with me.

Nashville Country Music Marathon -April 25th

10K Results for Randy

2009-02-28T19:54:00.004-06:00

I was the only one of our family to participate today. Reed had a grandson birthday to attend (flu got him earlier also) and Sarah had a migraine headache and soreness from a softball game. I did something the night before but went with the program anyway. I was sore from dancing at a party.

The good news for me was a record breaking race. I surpassed the best speed of all my races, short and long. This 10K run had a very slow start and I did not think it was possible to improve my speed over other races, but I did. My best 5 mile speed to date was 8.1 minutes per mile. Today I finished with a 8.07 minutes per mile over a distance of 6.2 miles (10K). That put me in the top 20% of my class. I was the oldest in my age bracket but finished 9th in a peer field of 56 runners, Best time in my class was 42 minutes, 28 seconds by a runner from Angleton, Texas. I finished in 50 minutes, 31 seconds. If I had been one year older, this speed would have gained me sixth place in a field of 27. Overall, I finished 757th of the 2518 men running in the 10K.

Sarah posts excellent time in Houston Park to Park 5-miler

2009-02-22T08:31:00.003-06:00

Yesterday, Sarah ran in the Houston 5-Mile Park to Park race. This is the annual race which several of us ran last year from downtown Houston to Herman Park. She is now running competitive, having achieved 12th place in a peer field of 43 runners. Her time was 8.7 minutes/mile. Next is the 10K Rodeo run next weekend.

Thought I was doing better. Got to work harder!

2009-02-08T13:03:00.003-06:00

Today, I pushed for speed in a 7.7 mile run. Of course that is more stressful than a 10K, but still, I expected a better time. I did it in 8.7 minutes/mile using long strides. This is in preparation for the Houston Rodeo 10K coming on February 28th. This tells me that I need to work on speed. I am shifting towards the morning to prepare my body for the race as well. I expect that will have something to do with the outcome, so I am now officially in training for a specific event. Reed and Sarah should be in this with me. I got my race packet this past week. I am really looking forward to this.

Houston Livestock and Rodeo 10K

2009-01-27T12:52:00.002-06:00

Randy just signed up for the 10K on Feb 28th. This will be my first 10K. Starts downtown Houston. Can catch a bus from the Astrodome area to downtown and leave the truck parked at the Livestock show.

Programs - we all should be in one

2009-01-24T10:55:00.002-06:00

Well, Sarah is signed up for several more races and I need to sign up for some. Kelly and Russ supposedly are now into boxing training. Reed is working towards a race. Jeff started his running program, but I have not heard if he has continued with it. I started running 2-3 times a week, 8 or more miles. This week in two runs, I totaled 21 miles. Yesterday I did fairly well, running 11+ miles at a 9.4 pace. I hope everyone is doing something aerobic for their health this year.

Sarah's First Half Marathon - Houston Marathon 2009

2009-01-19T09:17:00.004-06:00

I was a lucky dad yesterday to be able to see my daughter run her first half marathon race. She did it in about 2 hours 10 minutes, finishing in the top 10% of her peer age group. Her time was about a 10 minute mile average, maybe even less. Congratulations to Sarah for such a high accomplishment! This photo is four miles into the 13.1 mile race.

Sarah getting ready to run half-marathon

2009-01-13T22:08:00.002-06:00

Sarah is gearing up to run in the Houston Half Marathon on Sunday. I have registered to be notified when she crosses 6.2 miles(10K), 9 miles(21K) and finishes at 13.1 miles. This service is provided free and is an automatic text message sent as as an athlete passes over the detection pad at those locations.

REALLY back in the saddle

2009-01-07T17:03:00.002-06:00

Well I'm not going to sit back any longer and let the Scott family have all of the fun.....it's time to join the ride. Today I signed up for the Houston Livestock Show rodeo 10k at the end of February......I had to set a specific event to get the ball rolling for myself. My running has been so totally inconsistent I needed something that will make it consistent; nothing like a 6.2 mile run to do it!

New record run distance in training program

2008-12-19T16:26:00.004-06:00

Today, I left it wide open for how far I would run. The course that I chose is 18.94 miles. I tried it but had to stop running at 14.7 miles due to a sharp pain in a knee. I have resolved to play it safe in such cases, so I just walked home from there. Now 14.7 miles at 9.5 minutes per mile pace is my highest achievement. This means I will probably not run a full marathon until next season. I have set a goal of 20 miles before I will register for a full marathon (26 miles). I still have enough energy and strength for a half marathon and am planning to run one, probably in the Austin Marathon this coming February. In the meantime, keep that training going!

Back in the Saddle

2008-12-06T16:59:00.001-06:00

Hey Folks! I’m back…. After a long siesta Jeff is back into training! Git-e-up! Thank you Sarah for the inspiration. On the way home from Cooper's Baseball we stopped to watch a StrongMan competition which also motivated me to get back into lifting and running. I have set a few goals and hit the pavement today. Short run to start... but will be back to prime condition in no time. :-) Jeff

Sarah is successful in 10 mile race

2008-12-06T14:20:00.004-06:00

After preparing for the last month or so, this morning, Sarah competed in the annual December Pearland Jungle Jog 2008 race, finishing 4th in her age group. A 10 mile race is both a challenge and an accomplishment. She ran the entire distance and was in the top 1/3rd of competitors in her group. She does not yet know her elapsed time. Congratulations for setting a goal and exceeding it!

Stretching

2008-12-04T14:45:00.003-06:00

I am wondering how others stretch to maximize training benefits. I stretch to keep limber and to minimize pulled muscles or ligaments. My Cuz Reed advised me to use the stairs in the house to prevent calf ligament issues. I have been doing that regularly for months now and it seems to help.

The basic stretches I do these days take about 10 minutes before I run and 10 minutes after. (1) Leg bends where feet touch buttocks. I hold this for about 10 seconds and do it several times on each leg. I do it standing up and on the floor. (2) Calf stretch on stairs. Heels down and hold for 10 seconds several times. The opposite direction also is wise where you stand on your tiptoes for 5 seconds. That stretches the top ligaments. (3) Hip stretch where you put one foot in front and one in back to stretch the ligaments where the leg muscles connect to the hips, like a super long stride stretch. Hold for 2-3 seconds, Do several repetitions for each leg. This enables long strides without pulling muscles of ligaments. At first it can cause some soreness on the inside of the hips.(4) Top leg muscle stretch is putting a foot under your buttocks, stretching the thigh muscle and ligaments to the knee. Press forward to stretch out the muscles and hold for a minute. Do several times for each side. I like to put both legs under me and watch some TV to give this exercise more time to gradually lengthen the muscles in a relaxed position. (5) Touch the ground with knees not bent. If you are like me, this one is tough and it takes time. I learned to do this in Yoga. Go to the point of discomfort and just relax. Gradually seek the ground but not by sudden movement. Just seek the ground gradually. Do this for about 1 minute minute, repeating several times. I now touch the ground and hope to stretch further in coming months.

Next Step - 1/2 or full Marathon?

2008-12-01T21:32:00.005-06:00

Today I ran for 13 miles, but not at competition speed. This Spring the 1/2 Marathon was completed at a pace of 9.0 and today's practice run was 9.2. I finally stiffened up at about 11 miles but had no real trouble getting to 13. In two weeks, I want to try to run 15 or 16 miles. My goal is to get to a point so I can commit to a full Marathon or just leave it at 1/2 for February in Austin. I believe that requires me to run 20 miles once. I have never run more than 13 yet.

I think I should sign up for the Austin Marathon pretty soon either way I decide. I rested two full days this time after the five mile race to run a 1/2 Marathon practice. Hopefully I can do another 1/2 Marathon in April like I did this year. That also could turn into a full marathon race for me.

Randy Placed fourth in the Run Through the Woods

2008-11-29T19:08:00.006-06:00

I did improve on my time and placement this year. I placed 4th out of 20 contestants in my age group, was the oldest person in the top 11 in my age group and placed 413th overall of 1670 contestants in the 5-mile race. Prizes went to the top three in each age category (darn! just missed).

I did my best. Therefore, a finish in the top 25% of all runners is enough for me. Had I competed in the man's age 35-39 age group, I would have won the 36th spot out of 105. My time was 8:10 per mile . If I had trained exceptionally hard, I would have never made first place in my age group, but might have gained second place. First place ran a very fast 6:56 per mile average. The best pace in the entire race was 4:55 by a Houston runner and second place was 4:56 by a Dallas man. Very close finish! Must have been a fast sprint the entire way! I exceeded my goal of 8:15.

First Race of the season for Randy - Run through the Woods

2008-11-24T20:12:00.002-06:00

I ran this YMCA race last year and did well. It will be a challenge to do as well this year. The race is Turkey Day, in the morning. Many people will run in this 5 mile race.

There have been too many interruptions in my training this year. This last one was a double whammy. I worked out with a new program of weights as designed especially by a YMCA trainer for my running. That was just bad timing, because it stiffened all my muscles right before this race. Not good. Then the next day, I helped a neighbor to recover her son from a fall, trying to get from his wheelchair to his sofa. He was in dire need and I did not think about what I was doing to help him except for his pain and necessity. Trouble was, the guy weighed a lot and I pulled something in my back in the process. That put me out of training for 4 days less than two weeks before the race.

So here I am back again. I have run twice without hurting the back at all. Yesterday was a day of testing my back and laying off of speed. I bought new shoes today and ran a decent run with them - 8.7 minutes per mile average over 5.8 miles. I still did not put a lot of speed into the run, so I have more to give. I will run the next couple of days also but not much on Wednesday. I plan to run significant distance tomorrow but not with speed. It is hard for me to run at a slower pace but I can and will.

Injury

2008-11-18T16:48:00.004-06:00

This is likely to change tomorrow. I was making rapid headway using my new routine and had big plans. However, a lady came out of her home on my way back today and asked for immediate help with her son who had fallen trying to get out of his wheelchair. What was I to say? I told her I would see if I could help him even though I was sweating and had not cooled down from my run. So I went inside her house and found this young man in a terrible position on the floor. He was big but I did not think much about it. I just got one side and tried to help her raise him and get him on the sofa. We did but when I stood up straight I had to say "oh oh". I noticed a slight pain in my lower back. It is now considered by me to be a moderate injury. I can still walk with some pain but doubt if I can run for several days. I think it will be nip and tuck to make it by Thanksgiving day.

Two more weeks until the RunThrough the Woods

2008-11-16T12:25:00.002-06:00

On Thanksgiving day, Randy plans to run this race for the second year in a row. It is on Thanksgiving morning. What better excuse for gorging oneself than having run five miles for charities the same morning as the feast? You get a pancake breakfast after you run and does that taste good on a chiller morning after a race!

I am ready to run the race now but want to continue building strength and speed. I have discovered that I need to change how I land on long strides to make more efficient use of that stride. I will try that new technique this week. I am notably slower than I was this past Spring.

Seem to be getting the pattern down again

2008-11-09T12:45:00.004-06:00

Seems that work brings rewards. Today, I continued to push myself but not deliberately. Like Forest Gump, when I reached my goal in half-distance today, I said "well, I feel OK, so I might as well keep running". And that I did. I ended up running 12.58 miles at a 8.4 minutes per mile speed when my intention was 9 miles at an 8.8 speed. My legs felt it when I got back, but all in all, I am happy about it. Strength and stamina are coming back rapidly. After working hard for one week, I have gone from 7 to 12+ miles by going further every time I went out. In five days now, I have rested for one day and ran a total of 33 miles. This was the first day that I started at racing speed. The pattern will be a short run of about 5-6 miles one day and a longer run of about 8-10 the other days. I am ready for competition on Thanksgiving and will probably be ready for the 10 mile race in December in Pearland by the time Thanksgiving arrives.

Sarah's second race of the season

2008-11-04T16:05:00.002-06:00

She averaged 8.81 minutes per mile in the Pearland Texas 5K.

Training for fall events

2008-10-01T13:46:00.002-05:00

I have started my training for the fall. I am challenging my family to do the same. I started by running three times a week for about 5-6 miles each time. Last night I looked down at my watch because I was hoping that I was well into the workout. Only 7 minutes had passed. Now that is not what you would call good! I had only begun the workout. I am considering entering a Houston race in early October, but my mom is sick and I do not think I can get prepare for it. October has already arrived!

2009 Marathon

2008-09-09T12:39:00.002-05:00

I am considering the Austin Marathon this year. I have plenty of time to train. The half-marathon is probably the target, although I am going to wait until I see what I can do. I am already running 4 miles.

Leadership comes from Sarah this time

2008-09-03T11:03:00.002-05:00

Yes, my daughter has shown me once again to try even when it seems like you cannot do it. I did not register for the next Houston Half-Marathon thinking it was instantly full like Sarah discovered. However to my surprise, those on the waiting list were added to the roster yesterday. I did not get on that waiting list, but may do that today in case they open it up again.

As a result I finally got off my rear and ran yesterday evening. It really felt good! Now maybe I can get myself into some events this fall.

Randy has started again

2008-07-29T08:47:00.002-05:00

I began running in the gym yesterday and walking. There was a slight pain in my left knee but I took it easy. It felt great to run again. Now I am waiting for the rest of my family to begin again. Sarah just took a run. I am hoping to get her to post here as well. Now looking at an 8k run in Mason Texas later this year.

Recovery from knee displacement

2008-06-11T07:24:00.003-05:00

Our family has been inactive lately, especially me! Nope, it has not been the hot weather. It has simply been the need to not stress my knees. One knee started collapsing and was painful, so I decided just to rest it for a couple of months. I will start back at the gym very soon and gradually increase the strength and endurance of the knee. I will likely use a knee support in the future to prevent a serious issue from recurring.

New milestone passed - Bear Chase Half Marathon 2008

2008-04-13T08:10:00.009-05:00

I am happy to report that I accomplished this goal and have as a result, passed another milestone in my life. Unfortunately, Jeff was not able to participate, so I did it alone. The night before, I got everything together to rapidly leave the house early the next morning. I did not sleep well. I got up at 4:15AM on Saturday and could not find my short-sleeved running shirt. So I found a substitute. I had my long sleeve shirt in my carrying bag also. I have learned to carry a bag with me to a race and check it in when I am ready to begin the race. The weather turned out to be chilly - 47 degrees. I arrived at the starting point at 6:15AM. The school was not easy to find in this little town, but a policeman gave me directions. This was the first annual Bear Chase Marathon. Participants came from several countries including UK and several states as far away as Washington. I met one runner from Georgia in the shower afterwards who told me that he was on vacation and plans his vacations with marathon stops. He said this was an easy race and flat.

The truth is there was more than 300 feet of elevation change on the course. Although there were only a few places where the hills were of any significance, one had to run on an incline for long long distances. That proved to me to be a challenge. The beginning of the course was a 1-mile sandy road, leaving the football stadium at the high school. That connected to a small two-lane country highway where you pass farms (you could hear the cows) and country homes. Here were the long climbs and descents. Alongside the highway were many colorful wildflowers. This led to the Davy Crockett State Park, part of the Big Thicket forest of East Texas. About 4 miles on this road, we came to a gravel and dirt road for the third segment. This is where person can really enjoy the forest. The trees are huge and the forest is thick. This segment was about 1.5 miles in with a turnaround and 1.5 miles back.

I finished within my goal of 2 hours in the 58th position. The theme was you are "chasing" a bear (or as the emblem implies, being chased). It was a very organized but relaxed race environment. Some contestants walked a large part of it. The course was open for 7 hours. Near the end, about at the 12 mile point, I drank some Gatorade passed out by the youngsters helping at the odd mile markers. I started to have side cramps and not feeling well. I had to slow down and overcome the problem. I did, and by the time I entered the stadium I was running at a pretty good pace. On entering the stadium, we ran an entire lap, sort of a victory lap where your name, city and placement was announced over the speaker system. Each contestant had their name posted on the rails of the track with a congratulations on completing the run. We got to bring those back as a souvenir. As each person crossed the finish line, the announcer congratulated him on finishing the race. A bear with your finishing number and a medal was awarded to each contestant crossing the finish line. The organizers had some small refreshments to help them recover. That was perfect for me. Then a bit later, they served hot dogs and chips. They had a small town festival at noon; we were invited to stay, but I had already committed my time to work in our own small town festival here in The Woodlands, "Earth Day".

The really good news is that I had no shin splint pain at all and no injuries. One participant fell during the race and had blood on his face as I passed him in the forest. But he was going to run anyway!

Statistics
58th of 149 runners or 39th percentile of all age groups
4th of 5 from The Woodlands
3rd of 8 in my age group
Time achieved: 1:57:44 Pace: 9 mi/min
Time Goal: 2:00:00

Less than one week away to the half marathon

2008-04-06T11:37:00.003-05:00

It is very early in the morning on April 12th. That is good and bad. It is 101 miles from IAH airport, so I will have to plan 1.5 hours to get there. It will be in the coolest part of the morning, so that is good. Materials are passed out starting at 5:30. The race starts at 7AM. So I want to leave the house about 4:30AM.

I am feeling healthy enough. I even have a doctor's OK to run. I ran twice this past week without any pain but felt the place in question. I just have to run with caution, so my time will likely not be too good. I will go for a steady pace race. Yesterday, I ran for 5.3 miles and was not stressed much, so my confidence is rising. Tomorrow I will try to go 7 miles. Then, I will fall back to 3 on Wednesday to complete all preparation except for stretching.

It's a borderline case

2008-04-05T08:00:00.001-05:00

I have no idea if I am going to run in the half-marathon. Although I was in condition to do that 4 weeks ago, I have run only two times in the last month. As long as I feel the shin splint, I have a shin splint. Yesterday's trial short run gave me minor pain in the area previously effected, but I had no after-run consequences. Today I took a 12-mile walk at a relatively relaxed rate of speed and felt twinges of pain now and then, but in the last half, I felt no pain whatsoever. So I will work in the gym and run a little over the next two weeks, but will try to keep the risk of injury at a minimum so I will have the choice to run when the race comes around.

Running the Park to Park run

2008-03-08T10:24:00.006-06:00

This was sheer determination to beat the lady running behind me. It was right at the end of the race when I was pushing the last energy I could muster.

Running a race is very invigorating. In practice, I generally wear heavier clothes. For the race, I wore my very light clothes. I can feel an ounce or two difference. At the start of this race, I felt like a feather. Having to wait for openings in the crowd in order for me to begin racing frustrated me. There were many people in front of us at the starting line. The 6:45 surprised me due to this very slow start.

I had plenty of rest and my muscles were mostly rested, but not as rested as some runners like them to be. My first mile was completed in 6 mins 45 secs. When they called out that time, the knowledge of that influenced me to slow down. I was expecting to run about 8.4 mins/mile. I did not look down at my personal timer. The second mile was similar, running much faster than I wished to run. I must have slowed quite a bit in the last two miles to end with an 8.1 mins/mile pace.

It was great to see the non-participating members of my family waiting at the finish line. By the time I cooled off, Jeff and Sarah had already crossed the finish line. I wanted to be there when they crossed, but a runner must go through a cool down process to allow the heart and circulatory system to return to normal without over stressing the system. I managed my heartbeat rate through the race and it remained relatively low compared to some practice days. The legs were the issue at the end of the race, because I had gone into a long stride sprint in the last 500 yards.

5 mile Park to Park Race

2008-03-02T15:21:00.004-06:00

Last week, I went down to Houston to support three members of my family running the 5 mile race. Here is a picture I shot after the race. -Kelly

Scary Month of March - Half Marathon critical month

2008-02-28T18:23:00.005-06:00

Runner World calls it Monster Month.¹ I call it Scary Month. March is the time to determine if we are fit enough to do the race. Three weeks before the race, we are supposed to forget about running the distance. It is all about the elapsed time endurance training. So about the end of March, we should taper our training program down so that our soft tissues are ready for the gruelling distance and associated body stress that comes with a Marathon or Half Marathon.

Personally, I think I can do it, despite the minor but potentially hazardous issues I am currently having with Shin Splints. I have abandoned my plan for highly strenuous training. I can now see that I have done the work I needed to do and now need to focus on maintaining and doing one long run before the race in April. I will take a week more of rest before I start the final training up to that end, the killer month! I will begin to use my new shoes since I have been approaching the maximum on the older ones. I was told today to not use them past 400 miles and I have passed some 320 miles or so. They said the shoes might be helping to cause the shin splints. On hindsight, maybe I should have used them on last Saturdays race. But then again, how smart would it have been to use new shoes on the day of the race? I have no idea yet what they will do for me.

The dress rehearsal¹ should come at the third week of March. I will put it on my calendar for March 23rd. This will be a distance run, not race, but a two hour run in my race gear. I will not care about the distance, but it must be on pavement like we will race on and maybe even on the roads where we will run. Jeff may go with me; we will see. With constantly rising temperatures during these weeks, it is any one's guess what we will face on run day. The plan is to dress for heat, not cold, but take gloves with us in case of cold. I will carry water on the run as well, so the dress rehearsal will have a little extra weight than normal.

¹ Half Marathon Training

Houston Five Mile Park to Park Run

2008-02-23T18:20:00.003-06:00

This race was well organized. Just about all our family who could be there were there! Sarah, Jeff and myself competed. Kelly, Russ and Maria came to support us. We all did much better than we thought we would do. I finished 9th in my bracket (237th overall) with a time of 40 minutes, 50 seconds, or 8.10 minutes per mile. That beat my previous 5-mile race in the Woodlands by more than a minute. This was Jeff's first five mile race. He finished in 29th place in his bracket (267th overall) in 42 minutes, 29 seconds or 8.28 minutes/mile. It appears there were about 670 participants. Sarah's time was nmot posted. We do not yet know why. She did finish and ran the entire distance.

It was a great day for our family. My son-in-law raced in off road cycle competition and we went to support him in Conroe. The mud which resulted from recent rains made the course very treacherous.

I am ready also

2008-02-21T17:17:00.005-06:00

It has been 11 days since I ran, so this morning I decided to give it a try and test my readiness. I ran 6 miles at 9 mins/mile - slow!

It was tough getting started. Everything was stiff. I have been walking every day lately using long strides, so that probably had something to do with it. Will need to be jogging in advance of the start on Saturday. I used my normal hilly run to practice today. The calf that has been giving me problems behaved quite well. Now no more running, weights - nothing but maybe a short walk tomorrow to only remove stiffness, until the race. We gotta leave early Saturday morning and get handouts and emeitionally ready. My heart beat was higher today for some reason and I had to slow myself down because of it. It was at 181 at one point and my goal is to keep it below 175, with a normal running pace of 165.

I guess I'm ready

2008-02-20T20:02:00.003-06:00

Well I guess I am ready for the 5 mile. Wish I had another week or so but I should be able to run it and in a fair time. I got up this morning and ran 4.5 miles and then ran another 5 miles after work today. I most likely won't run again till Sat and let my legs heal. It's great to have Kell on the Blog with us now! Let's get this family in shape! :-) -Jeff

Getting back into shape...

2008-02-19T22:04:00.005-06:00

Kelly here. As a brief introduction, I'm the youngest son and I can't sit back and let my dad and oldest brother have all the fun. I just made arrangements to visit a friend up in Toronto in June and I decided to be in some decent shape when I get there.

I've had a reasonable amount of experience with fitness having participated in soccer, cross country, and lacrosse in high school. Additionally, after college, I hit my personal fitness peak participating in a Body-For-Life 3 month program and continuing the routine for an additional several months. If you haven't heard of the Body-For-Life challenge, I highly recommend you google it and take a look. My dad said something at the time like "you shouldn't gain any more weight". I was probably about 170 lbs or so and maintaining a fairly low body fat ratio. My face was just a lot fuller than it had ever been. I also had the arms I always wanted. Unfortunately that didn't last.

Right now, I'm a light weight weighing 150 lbs at a height of 6'. Using my Tanita Body Fat Monitor/Scale, I'm reading about 11.5 % body fat. Not too bad on the fat side. Now I just need some muscle before the wind carries me away. I started back at the gym on Sunday.

Now, getting that muscle isn't just all about pumping iron. My main problems are controlling the other big factors: food and rest. Like right now it is 10:30pm. Normally, I'd just be starting to enjoy my evening. Maybe I'd start reading or pop in a good flick. But being rested in one of the most important aspects of my training. I can't peak in a routine if I'm not rested and my muscles aren't going to repair themselves as quickly. I'm taxing my body more and so I need to give it more rest. So, right now, it is bed time.

A few notes about my favorite ammo:

Myoplex Original is cheaper than EAS's newer protein shake. These taste good and make for a great breakfast.

Clif bars are pretty cheap and taste great. One of these around 3pm help me to get to dinner. They come in a million flavors so they don't get old.

Tiger balm doesn't really take the ache away but it does feel pretty good when you are just getting back into the swing of things. It also feels better if someone ELSE applies it. Follow with your choice of over the counter pain killer keeps your aches from getting to your spirits your first few weeks in.

French pressed coffee makes waking up with your aches that much easier. I boil water and getting the grounds seeping every morning before a shower. After a shower, I turn on NPR and drink a couple cups. Then I'm ready for the day.

Working out in the morning is almost always better than working out in the evening. I'm currently trying to rotate my sleeping schedule to have time to start working out in the mornings again. That's where the best progress for me always happens.v Having a goal is of utermost importance. Right now, my aim is to be between 162-65 lbs and 9-10% body fat by June. I'm looking to do some hiking on the west coast around September so I'm aiming for 170 lbs and about 8-9% body fat by then.

Alright, that's all for now. Time for a little muscle repair. -Kelly

Three signed up for Houston race

2008-02-16T17:23:00.003-06:00

The three of us are registered to run from Reliant Center to Hermann Park. Should be a lot of fun to run at least part way together. This five-miler hopefully will be in decent weather, but rain or shine (or snow), we (my daughter and son) will be out there (competing?) trying to run a decent race. This will be my second five-mile race. There is also a family walk and my wife might participate in that. If she does, my second daughter might also. Five miles does not sound so daunting to me anymore, but it is a significant distance. Wish us luck!

Rain Rain... Go Away...

2008-02-11T19:08:00.002-06:00

Still sore from my Sat run. It was pouring down rain today after work... but I was determined to get at least a short run in. Soaked through and through.. but it didn't feel 1/2 bad! Ran 2.61 miles in 21:42. Pace 8:17 per mile. Hopefully it won't be raining tomorrow. Jeff

First Time to Break 6 Miles!

2008-02-09T19:00:00.001-06:00

Well I did it! 6.57 Miles in 55 minutes and 18 seconds. Pace was 8:24. Not sure how I did that with trying to slow myself down. My Ipod says I burned 820 Calories. Not much in the whole scheme of things. So tomorrow I think I will run just a couple of miles and then on Monday see what I can do. There looks to be at least 2 days of rain next week so I may use those days for strengh and core training. Progress! :-) Jeff

Increasing Distance

2008-02-08T20:51:00.000-06:00

Over the past couple of runs I have learned something. My pace has been way too fast. I have been playing with the Nike+ Website and reviewing the two Challanges that I have entered. Many people have their profiles set to Public which allows me to view the distances and their average pace. When comparing to mine, they are running farther but at a much slower pace. So yesterday I set my goal at 4.5 miles and slowed my pace. I typically run an 8:30 mile, on average. I bumped that pace to 8:52 and easily ran 4.5 miles. So I am skipping running today and in the morning going after 6.25 miles. If I stick to that distace for a week or two and focus on increasing my pace back to 8:30 per mile I should be doing good. I will then increase distance again and work on pace for the next week. I'm developing my own training routine I think! Maybe I'll write a book! :-) Jeff

The Day After a Marathon

2008-02-08T20:44:00.001-06:00

What is it like the day after a Marathon? According to You Tube it is something like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-hCuYjvw2I&feature=related

Half Marathon Training

2008-02-05T14:18:00.000-06:00

One might think that it is relatively hard to train for a long race. The truth is that it is! But let's qualify that. Everytime I think I have reached the maximum I can possibly run, I prove that it is only a mind barrier. Today after about four months of training, I almost ran 12 miles on my distance day. Near the end, the legs were heavy, and I felt exhausted but the time was well within my goal. I am getting close now to completing one run at half marathon distance. That is reassuring. It is telling me that the plan is working and my body continues to be trained at a reasonable pace. In one month, I have increased the distance more than three miles by reaching out in small increments in each long run. Even the other practice runs are longer now. The practice run that was 3-4 miles a month ago, is 4-7 miles now. I might run my first half marathon distance this month. It appears to be within reach now! Today I started out at an easy relaxed pace, similar to what one faces in a crowd at the start of a race. In the middle I picked it up a lot and near the end, I had to force myself to keep going at a slower pace. I eat a lot of carbs these days. It is difficult to keep my weight up where I want it. In todays run alone I burned over 1500 calories. For the first time, I consumed more than a pint of water during the run. I am considering changing to Gatoraid in at least one of the pint bottles that I carry with me. I'm confident that Jeff will catch up with me. He started in better shape than I did when I began. However, he must run and run many times to be ready for the half marathon.

Over the Flu, FINALLY!

2008-01-30T19:41:00.000-06:00

Knock on wood... I am 99% symptom free of what I believe to have been the Flu. It has been a rough 3 to 4 weeks. I had days of throwing up and many more days of congestion and throbbing head pressure. But I think it's all over! I have run two days in a row and feel soooooo much better. It's going to take everything I have to get in shape for my run. I am way way way behind where Dad is in his training. I ran right at 3 miles today and it felt pretty good. Jeff

Now in the cold rain

2008-01-15T18:33:00.000-06:00

It was cold today. I stepped out in my usual shorts and tank top only to ask myself, what in the world are you doing? Brrrrrr. So I went back in the house and put on my new long sleeve running outfit from my daughter. A perfect Christmas gift it is! Then I put on the gloves my wife and children got me for Christmas. Boy did all that make a difference! I ran comfortably in the cold rain, a normally shorter run for recovery, but today 6.3 miles in my recovery run after the 9+ miles yesterday.

Thanks for the perfect gift Sarah! And to my wife - you did a really nice thing by getting me those gloves. Thanks, they are perfect for winter running.

As a postscript, another serious running day came a week later. I set out for a 7 mile run and noticed it was a little cooler than I expected. My hands were cold even inside the gloves! The weather forecaster said the temp was going to be about 50. Well, it was sleeting and raining while I was running, so I went in the house afterwards to find out how cold it really was. It was 38 degrees according to the weatherman. I made good time because I wanted to get back into the house.

New Gadget - Polar F6

2008-01-14T14:39:00.000-06:00

I started using my new Christmas gift from my thoughtful wife today. For the first time, I now understand how hard my heart is working during a run. This gadget measures heartbeat, time of runs and estimates calories burned. It does not know about elevation, so it cannot get the effort factor into the solution but it all generally averages out anyway. It keeps a weekly tally of workout times. I use my pedometer for mileage but also have several routes mapped out on MapMyRun.com to make sure the pedometer gives me what I need.

The Polar F6 has a chest band that I thought would bother me, but I rarely noticed it when running. It beeped a few times as I crossed the beat limit for my age as it automatically calculated for me. I am typically running about 6 beats over the recommended maximum for my age, and at times, get over 12 or 13 beats too high on elevation grades. The device helped me to lay back a little on the grades and put more into the level and downhill segments of the run. It is easy to use and a good reference since it is a watch, stop-watch and heartbeat monitor all on a watch-like device on your wrist.

Back In the Saddle

2008-01-08T22:37:00.001-06:00

Well it has been a rough Holiday season as I endured a nasty cold that just would not quit. So back to starting from scratch with my training. For Christmas my wonderful wife got me an Nike + Ipod setup. The shoes are Nike+ Air Pegasus which have the slot for the Nike + transmitter to your Ipod. I have a half of a run now recorded on my Ipod, as the other 1/2 of the run was for calibration. If you haven't heard about it.. read about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nike%2BiPod
My Nike + Profile Updates
So let the running begin!!! I am scheduled for a 5 mile in Feb for starters. Hopefully Sarah, Russ, Dad and I all will run that one together. Lets do it guys!! Jeff

Maintaining a running training program while traveling

2008-01-06T07:08:00.000-06:00

Running in Venezuela presents new problems. Right here in the middle of winter, I am in a tropical setting. Traveling some distance that requires a full day does not do the body well! The next day, friends and family did not allow me to run and I had to party with them. That does not do the body well either! Recovery on the third day did not permit a run. So the fourth day I went out reluctantly to a park and it was difficult to get back into the swing of things. The good news is that there is a park here and from my pedometer and time running, I estimated the distance around the park to be about 2 miles. The park is on the lake and there is always a significant wind blowing to help cool ones body. Nevertheless, it is a challenge although a flat surface. The wind serves as an obstacle when running into it and provides a good training environment. I decided to run every other day, not every day since the park is quite a long way across town. So the last run was 6 miles. Today I will try to extend that a bit. I am falling short of the 20 miles a week program but it will hold me over in the program until I get back home. Dodging the children in the park is an issue, but so far, I have not collided with anyone on a bike, anyone walking nor anyone running. There are many runners there and one time someone tried to run with me, but could not keep up with me. We selected this park because it has police in it and we feel more secure in an otherwise less-than-desirable sucured environment.

Run in nature - Woodlands new trail

2007-12-27T12:11:00.000-06:00

I took an opportunity this past week to run in the new preserve which officially opens in February. A trail has been built from an old logging road in a low area along a small creek feeder for Spring Creek. This is a two mile circle trail that starts and ends on Flintridge just west of N. Rush Haven. There is a sign on Flintridge indicating the trail head. The trail was a little wet at the end, at the lowest spot, where the trail will intersect with the George Mitchell Preserve on the Montgomery side of the larger Spring Creek preserve and park project. I felt quite isolated and realized the tremendous size of the park that is being developed there. This new public area is very natural and will be a very welcome addition to our amenities here in The Woodlands. One can walk or run in this and enjoy the birds, the solemnity and the foliage. I will publish an extensive article on this soon in the parks section of The Woodlands Commentary.

The long distance running wall - maybe I found it

2007-12-17T20:11:00.000-06:00

Today I broke all my old records and managed to run 8.75 miles under 9 minutes per mile. I just decided to see where my limits are. That is where it is! I felt like stopping several times on the hills near the end. I stopped twice this time to take a drink. I need now to work on breaking through this wall. I have added a speed workout and strength workout to my weekly schedule to improve on this. Monday is my distance day, and I try to run at race pace to make it more beneficial.

Shoes and their importance - black toenails

2007-12-13T08:11:00.000-06:00

I have learned how to tie my shoes! I bet you thought you knew how to do this little task, like I did, but guess what? I had to have a toenail problem before I discovered that I did not know how to tie shoes! Runners World has a short video on how to avoid black toes. I am changing to this method. Also keep in mind that runners are advising to purchase shoes 1/2 size bigger than normal street shoes to also prevent this problem. I still have the toenail issue and it hurts if I bump it into something but it is not interfering with running right now. I have been told that I will probably lose the nail in about two weeks. Long distance running has its special considerations. Running World Video - Zigzag shoelaces Update - three weeks afterwards, the nail is 3/4 disconnected but I cannot get it off altogether. So I am continuing to use a bandaid to keep the nail secured to my toe. It sometimes hurts with the wrong casual shoe, so I still have to watch what I wear. Fortunately, my running shoes are secure and I do not have any problems with the toe when running.

Welcome note from coordinator of the marathon

2007-12-11T11:37:00.000-06:00

We look forward to seeing you on April 12th. I'm sorry it has taken so long to get back with you but we've been busy with work and running a marathon or two every weekend.

The course will be certified by race day and both of you will easily survive. If we can run 40 marathons this year, you two can easily accomplish your goal. It's inspiring to see a father/son team sharing the same vision.

Merry Christmas,
steve&paula
www.50statesmarathonclub.com/bear.html

Top Times for 1/2 Marathons

2007-12-10T14:57:00.000-06:00

So I was curious... and started looking around to see what the top times are for 1/2 Marathon runners. Check out these times... Pacific Shorline Marathon First: Nick Arciniaga Male 23yrs Time: 1:05:46 Pace: 5:01 5.2 Mile time: 25:47 8.9 Mile time: 46:34 500th Place: Breezy Anson M 28yrs Time: 1:42:38 Pace: 7:50 5.2 Mile time: 38:22 8.9 Mile time: 1:11:04 Interesting Article

Injury but not serious

2007-12-06T21:20:00.000-06:00

I wore a pair of old shoes to run today and it left my right big toenail black and blue. It hurts on a toe that has little feeling from past surgery. Now I will have to be careful with it and that will slow down progress significantly. I have been running more than 5 miles every day lately. SO we will see ....

Run 1 - Near Death Experience

2007-12-02T14:19:00.000-06:00

Just kidding.... it really wasn't so bad. Got up this morning and decided today is the day that I start my training. It took forever to find all my stuff. Running shorts, running socks, a t-shirt that I didn't bake in and where the heck did I put my running headphones? It was nice run. I am sure I will feel it tomorrow. Ran 1.7 miles without stopping... then walked a ways.. then ran another .6 miles. So 2.2 miles on the first run. Not so bad. I think I'll do a short run tomorrow, rest a day or two... and then kick it up. -Jeff

IndianSprings Guy Training Goals & Progress

2007-12-01T11:22:00.000-06:00

This will be maintained to show progress against goals until the marathon in April. The plan is to seek maximum distance once a week but cautiously. The maximum of these trial runs will be considered the progress milestones and will be published here.

Month	Distance		Pace		Projected time for 13 mi
	Goal	Max actual mi	Goal	Actual at max distance
Nov	5.	5.8	9	9 mins/mi	117 mins
Dec	7.	8.75	9.2	8.6	112 - big surprise achieved 12-15-07
Jan	8.	10.4	9.3	9.0	Jan 19th - one of two 10 miles runs
Feb	10.		9.5
Mar	13.		9.6
Apr	14.		9.6

I went to marathon.com and used a tool to see what milestones would be neccessary to finish about in the middle of the running pack of any given marathon. Jeff and I would need to finish the full marathon within about 4 hours. That is of course two hours for each half marathon. We can use the table below to guess what our goals would need to be.

Distance	Time mins
5K	26
5M	42
10K	54
10M	89
Half Marathon	120
Marathon	251

I now have upgraded my training program: (Jan 16th)
Mondays: Distance runs
Tuesdays: Recovery runs
Wednesdays: Speed training
Thursdays: Intermediate practice run
Fridays: Strength day. Weights and muscle workout. Short run.
Saturdays: Intermediate practice run. No speed!
Sundays: Rest

What have I gotten into?

2007-11-29T08:42:00.000-06:00

11/29/07: What have I gotten myself into? 13 miles? Am I crazy? I don't believe I have ever run more that 6 or 7 miles in one run. So I guess I should start running hu? As of today I have not run even once in months. I have however done quite a bit of hiking around ponds and lakes as I fished... So maybe I will be in a little better shape than I would be if I had been laying around on the Sofa every day. This weekend I will be making a road trip to Kansas to pick up Blake's first car... a 1951 Chevy Pickup Truck. I guess I will begin running after I get back. I can't imagine drivng for 22 hours sore and in pain from my first training run. - Jeff

The Family Run

2007-11-27T22:32:00.000-06:00

Today, a family event and tradition has begun. It is expected to last until one of us is not able to participate any longer. You know of course who that should be. The father and son will take on new adventures together, bringing the third generation into it as they are willing and able. Since the second generation is quite athletic, this may very well evolve into a larger family group over time. I do not expect this to be limited to only running. We will tackle what we may, possibly even a triathlon.