Saturday, July 14, 2012

Half Marathon Nightmare!!!


COMPLETED FIRST HALF MARATHON  TODAY!!!!! 2hrs 16 min ... we were happy with time but not at with how we started the day. Here is a little summary that still does not describe how horrific it was to actually go through.

Beginning was a NIGHTMARE!!!!! Got up at 4am and left hotel feeling yuck in my belly .... it was pouring cats and dogs on the way... our plan to drink a protein shake for breakfast in the car failed when we were so consumed driving in the dark and rain that we forgot to make and drink them. We pull up to park in a grass field and its still pouring and then starts lightening. We make half a shake and choke it down because its all we could muster with the conditions and nerves. We had 7 minutes to board shuttle to the start and were forced to get out in the rain. We avoided puddles in the grass as long as possible but water was seeping in our shoes. Lightening continued and then struck the campground and snapped a tree within a few hundred feet of us and the thunder was the loudest I have ever heard in my 33 years of life. It was EXTREMELY TERRIFYING as we stand in water. Then beside the shuttle bus was nothing but 6 inch deep standing water and no way around it to board the bus. Everyone had to wade through to get on. So now our socks and shoes were 100% water logged. We had to pee so bad it was bringing tears to our eyes as we road in a bus with air conditioning blowing us as we were hungry, cold, had to pee, and soaked to the core. The ride up the mountain took 40 minutes to go 20 miles at about 20-30 mph because the bus could not go up the hill any faster. During the ride I realize that my sleep was not super great and my legs were just achy and not feeling fresh. We get there and I jet to the woods for relief as Christina has to stand in line for the porta-potties which was very long. Then it begins to drizzle again and I go to a covered porch as she holds umbrella and waits in line. Then we deicide we have enough time before the start so we might as well try to wring out our socks. So we take off our shoes and wring our socks out like washcloths. It at least kept us from squishing around as much. We then realize we are so thirsty and forgot our bottle of water. We are standing beside a gas station and then realize we have no means of money, no cash, or plastic.  We knew there would be some aid stations but I practically had cotton mouth at this point from nerves and hustle and bustle. So we make it to the start and we attempt to warm up our legs a little. We could not hear any of the pre-race instructions except for at mile ten the dirt road is soupy and if you lose your bib to do something but we had no clue what he said.  The air horn goes off and we start.  The first 2 miles fly by and I was so glad to see the first aid station with water. The volunteer is holding out a cup and as we approach a lady just in front of me zigs over and snatches it and the volunteer looks at me sad and says sorry that was the last water we are so sorry. I was miffed to say the least. We forged on and to mile 4 and the next aid station and they had water and we began to feel more in control. Thank God it never rained during the race and we began to get in a groove and then it hit me that I had to pee again. I looked for a any way I could go and see a trail that forks off so I take off down the trail as others laugh at my adventure. It works out perfectly because the trail looped right back to the race course where i met right back up with Christina. From then on it went well. There were some hills at the beginning that were tough.  My hips started feeling it at about mile 6 but at mile 7 the downhills got kinda steep and we just went for it. We ran about 4 minute per mile faster pace then we had been because just took off and let gravity takes its course.  It was crazy but fun. We just started picking people off left and right. Everyone probably thought were crazy because its about mile 10 and people are starting to really struggle and we were just flying down the hills. Then it flattened out about mile 11 and it all caught up to me and so we walked for a minute up a huge hill and then as soon as we started back I realized I had excruciating pain in my right foot and I seriously thought it was a stress fracture and I was limp running until soon my left quad started burning so bad from the over compensation that I had to just bare the foot pain but then all the sudden it started to fade and we gutted it out to the finish. Overall we did have a great time but boy was our will tested at first. It was the hardest thing I have ever forced myself to do. We grew in huge ways today. It was good for us in hind sight. We can tackle anything now. We just kept reminding ourselves while we suffered in the beginning that at least we were alive and healthy and able to partake in this journey. We tried to find the positive in everything that happened. Even though my prayers for no rain seemed to not be answered they were on the course with no rain and I think God had put it together the way He wanted. We learned a lot today. Thanks for everyones support. Be blessed everyone!

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

A Runner burns enough calories to power a house ...


The Power of Running InfographicRunner.com - Information and Inspiration for the Runner



  • Total calories burned by core runners in one year equals 4,234,278,397,440.  That’s enough to power the electricity needs for 1,771,622 homes for a year.  That is equivalent to all the homes in Los Angeles and San Francisco combined.            
  • Total energy used by all core runners is equivalent to 177,162,208 gallons of gasoline  That’s enough to power a Boeing 747 around the world 1,093 times. That’s also equivalent to the energy expended by 177 atomic bombs the size of Little Boy, the bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
  • Calories a man runner burns per year of running equals 175,386 which is enough to power an LCD TV for 107 days.                                            
  • Calories a woman runner burns per year of running equals 119,574 enough to power a clothes washer for 6 months
  • An average woman running a marathon will burn enough calories to power a 60 watt bulb for 8 days
  • An average man running a marathon will burn enough calories to power a laptop computer for 8 days
  • For a half marathon, a woman runner will burn enough calories to charge cell phone for more than 21 days
  • For a half marathon, a man runner will burn enough calories to run a clock radio for over 3.5 days
  • The total calories burned by all finishers of the New York City Marathon equals 145,154,457, that is enough to light up NYC for 7 .5 hours

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Sorry for the delays ...

This post will be very informal so forgive typos or grammar mistakes. So lets get to it.  I did try the shoes below and did not keep either of them. The Brooks Ghost was decent but my heel did not stay in place well and they were a little wide. The Saucony felt pretty good but was too long and a size down was snug around my foot. It was light and responsive and I liked it but never quite got the right fit. After a month long search and trying on at least 15 different pairs of shoes I found a great one. It is the Brooks Launch pictured to the left. I was not super excited about the color buts its the only color produced this year.


Ok moving on lets talk about whats been going on with running for me. My last post about actual running was about the Turkey Trot in November.  I continued to run a some every week but when I am not racing it seems harder for me to run as consistent. Well I finally signed up for another race back in March. I registered for the Bearfoot 5k in Bostic, NC. Its a fun raiser for Sunshine School and its a always a great turn out. Well I wanted to set a new PR (personal record) for this race and if I was going to I would have to work hard to do it. The whole first mile is up hill and I knew it would be tough to keep the pace I needed to PR. Long story short training went well and I felt good the morning of the race and completed it in 26:39 which was indeed a new PR for me. I placed second in my age group.

This past month I signed up for the Miles for Messiah 5k on April 28th. I had no idea how this course was going to be and had decided I would just run this race a with little less focus on time and more for fun. Well of course my competitive nature got a hold of me and I ended starting out way to fast. I pulled back finally and tried to get into a good pace. I had no Idea that most of the race would be uphill. I ended up running this one with a time of 26:35 which was a new PR by 4 seconds.  I again placed second in my age group at this race.

So now I am looking ahead to the Leader of the Pack 5k on May 12th. Now this race I am planning to go for a loftier PR goal. I want to run somewhere in the 24 minute range ... I will even take 24:59 .. lol... I only have 2 weeks to work on speed so we will see how this goes.

Well that should catch everything up to speed ... pun intended :).  Oh oh oh ... I almost forgot I officially signed up for my first Half Marathon in July. I am very excited to go for this accomplishment. My wife is going to run with me which delights me so much more. Its going to be a wonderful experience and the course is gorgeous. I will not be going for a specific time at all .. I just want to finish without walking at all.

Thanks for reading. Remember.. Put in the time, believe in yourself, trust the process, change forever.

Be Blessed!

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Well I know its been forever since I posted and I also know I was supposed to review how running in my Vibrams was going, but I decided to not run in them currently ... long story but still loving them and love wearing them.

I did need some new running shoes though and so this week I will be trying out a couple pairs ... they should arrive Friday.





Brooks Ghost 4  



Saucony ProGrid Triumph 9 




Cannot wait to try them ... running a race next week and going for a PR so hopefully the ones I decide on  will give me the edge I need.

Be Blessed!!!