I am finally getting around to writing about my experiences and thoughts from the marathon I ran this past Sunday. I will be blatantly honest. It was the WORST run of my life. There were many great experiences on the way and I was able to learn a lot, but it was a completely miserable run due mostly to weather conditions.
For those of you who are looking for a very brief description on what happened at the marathon, I would suggest not continuing on. I am going to just write out all the things I feel are worth typing and have no idea how long that may go on for. For those of you who wish to hear the long version of the race, here you go...
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Training hard quote
I just found this part below in an article I was reading on the internet about training. Ok, so I really was briefly reading over the different subject titles to see if I wanted to read the article and came across something interesting, but that's close enough to reading the article right? Anyways... here it is:
RED-LINING
Top marathoner's talk about "red-lining," a term borrowed from auto racers. The red line is the mark on the tachometer of a high performance automobile where if you consistently rev your engine higher, it will disintegrate. Whoom! $125,000 worth of junk. Red-lining in running is pushing your body in training right to the point of self-destruction, achieving maximum efficiency, training the necessary miles to run P.R.s, but not so much that injury, or staleness, occurs. The red line for one of Dr. Kenneth H. Cooper's fitness joggers, interested only in good health, is 15 weekly miles. Dr. Cooper, the author of the best-selling Aerobics and subsequent books on the subject, suggests that if you run further than 15 miles a week, you're doing it for reasons other than fitness.
Someone whose goals extend beyond fitness to performance might red-line--after a gradual build-up--at 30 miles. Or 45. Or 60. Most often, these limits are physiological in nature. There's a Catch-22 in red-lining. You have to train hard to be able to train hard. But if you train too hard, you no longer will be able to train hard. Confused? It's simply that too many miles too soon result in injuries: strained tendons and ligaments, stress fractures, chronically dead legs, what commercial advertisers might label "tired blood."
- http://www.ultrunr.com/buildupmiles.html
My favorite part, and the reason I am posting this, is towards the end when the author talks about the Catch-22 in red-lining. I'm not sure why I like it so much but I started laughing when I read the line "You have to train hard to be able to train hard. But if you train too hard, you no longer will be able to train hard".
Oh well, now back to the rest of the article.
All Glory to God and thanksgiving for the gift of running.
RED-LINING
Top marathoner's talk about "red-lining," a term borrowed from auto racers. The red line is the mark on the tachometer of a high performance automobile where if you consistently rev your engine higher, it will disintegrate. Whoom! $125,000 worth of junk. Red-lining in running is pushing your body in training right to the point of self-destruction, achieving maximum efficiency, training the necessary miles to run P.R.s, but not so much that injury, or staleness, occurs. The red line for one of Dr. Kenneth H. Cooper's fitness joggers, interested only in good health, is 15 weekly miles. Dr. Cooper, the author of the best-selling Aerobics and subsequent books on the subject, suggests that if you run further than 15 miles a week, you're doing it for reasons other than fitness.
Someone whose goals extend beyond fitness to performance might red-line--after a gradual build-up--at 30 miles. Or 45. Or 60. Most often, these limits are physiological in nature. There's a Catch-22 in red-lining. You have to train hard to be able to train hard. But if you train too hard, you no longer will be able to train hard. Confused? It's simply that too many miles too soon result in injuries: strained tendons and ligaments, stress fractures, chronically dead legs, what commercial advertisers might label "tired blood."
- http://www.ultrunr.com/buildupmiles.html
My favorite part, and the reason I am posting this, is towards the end when the author talks about the Catch-22 in red-lining. I'm not sure why I like it so much but I started laughing when I read the line "You have to train hard to be able to train hard. But if you train too hard, you no longer will be able to train hard".
Oh well, now back to the rest of the article.
All Glory to God and thanksgiving for the gift of running.
Marathon this Sunday
This Sunday I will be running the Dallas Whiterock Marathon with my brother and a friend. This will be the 2nd of 4 marathons I am running in the span of 16 weeks. To be completely honest though, I haven't run very much since the last marathon. I guess I will see what it feels like to run 26.2 miles without any long runs within the past month.
Fortunately, the plan is to go slow. As of right now, although race day always throws curve balls, the plan is to just enjoy ourselves and finish the run. I am really looking forward to this marathon as it will be my fourth, my brother's second (his first was MCM earlier this year where he got injured pretty bad) and our friend's first official marathon, although he is a great runner and may have already run a marathon - or close to it - just because, at some point in time.
Hopefully, we stick to this plan. Although anytime my brother and I are in a run together it automatically becomes a race. His first marathon earlier this year is a great example. We ran the MCM this past October together and were planning on running around a 6:45-7:15 pace. We came through the first 5K at just under 20 min putting us at a 6:15 pace. It was at this point I realized it was going to be a difficult run. Long story short, my brother (having never run a marathon before) decided he felt good and continued to pick up the pace. I slowed down and dropped back. At one point my brother hit a 5:45 mile if not faster than that which is quite impressive for a marathon. Unfortunately, he ended up hitting the wall early because of the hills at the beginning of the course. He pulled both his calves within the frist 10 miles and I caught him at the half way point. He finished that marathon in more pain than I could imagine, but he finished. My pride for my borther finishing that race cannot be put in words. He ran 16 miles with both his calves pulled, compensating by changing his stride and further injuring himself, and still ran a sub 3:30 marathon. He ran through more pain that I can imagine.
Anyways, I hope we are better able to stick to the plan this time around and just have fun.
I am finally beginning to get used to the thought that it is almost normal to run 26.2 miles just for fun. I think this just goes to show how crazy I truly am. Many people hear the word marathon and run for the hills (ironic how fast they run to get away from the thought of running long distances). I love watching people's faces when I tell them I have run multiple marathons. I honestly am one who believes that almost anyone is physically capable of running a marathon. True, some might need a lot more training than others (I am lucky and can get by without much training although that will have to change for the 50 miler), but I still think almost anyone could complete a marathon.
It is all a mental thing. If a person is able to break the mental barrier telling them that 26.2 miles is an impossibly long run and they just can't do it, they would be surprised to see how much fun it is to complete a marathon. Running has always been a mind game for me. If you can trick your mind into thinking you can accomplish something, you most likely will.
I think I'm gonna have to eventually put up a post just trying to explain what goes on in my mind during a run, because I approach running with the idea that 90% of any run is completed in the mind, and only 10% is the actual physical doing of the run. This of course assumes that you have done the proper training and the goal is reasonable. I in no way mean to say that if someone wants to run a 4 minute mile but has never broken 8 minutes, they will simply cut their time in half by just believing it. But if that person's goal is to run a 7:30 mile and they are willing to put in the time to train and truly believe they can do it, they I am willing to bet they are successful.
Alright well that is all for now. I will be putting up a post after the marathon this Sunday. Hopefully I am able to report about how successful it is and how great of a time we all had. I would like to thank all those who support me in my craziness of running and those who will be running with me this weekend.
As always, all Glory to God who has given me the ability to run. I thank the Lord each day for this gift He has blessed me with. May He protect all the runners out there this weekend and keep us safe and injury free.
Fortunately, the plan is to go slow. As of right now, although race day always throws curve balls, the plan is to just enjoy ourselves and finish the run. I am really looking forward to this marathon as it will be my fourth, my brother's second (his first was MCM earlier this year where he got injured pretty bad) and our friend's first official marathon, although he is a great runner and may have already run a marathon - or close to it - just because, at some point in time.
Hopefully, we stick to this plan. Although anytime my brother and I are in a run together it automatically becomes a race. His first marathon earlier this year is a great example. We ran the MCM this past October together and were planning on running around a 6:45-7:15 pace. We came through the first 5K at just under 20 min putting us at a 6:15 pace. It was at this point I realized it was going to be a difficult run. Long story short, my brother (having never run a marathon before) decided he felt good and continued to pick up the pace. I slowed down and dropped back. At one point my brother hit a 5:45 mile if not faster than that which is quite impressive for a marathon. Unfortunately, he ended up hitting the wall early because of the hills at the beginning of the course. He pulled both his calves within the frist 10 miles and I caught him at the half way point. He finished that marathon in more pain than I could imagine, but he finished. My pride for my borther finishing that race cannot be put in words. He ran 16 miles with both his calves pulled, compensating by changing his stride and further injuring himself, and still ran a sub 3:30 marathon. He ran through more pain that I can imagine.
Anyways, I hope we are better able to stick to the plan this time around and just have fun.
I am finally beginning to get used to the thought that it is almost normal to run 26.2 miles just for fun. I think this just goes to show how crazy I truly am. Many people hear the word marathon and run for the hills (ironic how fast they run to get away from the thought of running long distances). I love watching people's faces when I tell them I have run multiple marathons. I honestly am one who believes that almost anyone is physically capable of running a marathon. True, some might need a lot more training than others (I am lucky and can get by without much training although that will have to change for the 50 miler), but I still think almost anyone could complete a marathon.
It is all a mental thing. If a person is able to break the mental barrier telling them that 26.2 miles is an impossibly long run and they just can't do it, they would be surprised to see how much fun it is to complete a marathon. Running has always been a mind game for me. If you can trick your mind into thinking you can accomplish something, you most likely will.
I think I'm gonna have to eventually put up a post just trying to explain what goes on in my mind during a run, because I approach running with the idea that 90% of any run is completed in the mind, and only 10% is the actual physical doing of the run. This of course assumes that you have done the proper training and the goal is reasonable. I in no way mean to say that if someone wants to run a 4 minute mile but has never broken 8 minutes, they will simply cut their time in half by just believing it. But if that person's goal is to run a 7:30 mile and they are willing to put in the time to train and truly believe they can do it, they I am willing to bet they are successful.
Alright well that is all for now. I will be putting up a post after the marathon this Sunday. Hopefully I am able to report about how successful it is and how great of a time we all had. I would like to thank all those who support me in my craziness of running and those who will be running with me this weekend.
As always, all Glory to God who has given me the ability to run. I thank the Lord each day for this gift He has blessed me with. May He protect all the runners out there this weekend and keep us safe and injury free.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Running Background
I am beginning this blog as I begin to prepare to run a 50 miler. How I came to be here, sitting down starting a blog with the idea of running 50 miles at once is a story that would take a lifetime to tell. Instead I will fill you in on the basics and hopefully give you a look into what could possibly possess a 20 year old college student to attempt such a run. Some of what is written below is also in the About Me on the right, but I hope this gives more detail into how I came to where I am now.
I remember sitting in the car with my mom as she dropped me off for school one morning when I was in the 5th grade. I saw some people who had just finished running that morning. I don't remember exactly what went through my mind, but somehow I got the idea that I wanted to be one of those people. For some odd reason, I thought it would be fun to wake up super early and go run multiple miles 3 times a week at 6am. To this day, I'm not sure what caused this idea, I just know it was there.
So when the summer before 6th grade rolled around and I was finally old enough to join our school's cross country (xc) team, I went out for tryouts. I remember that first day of tryouts. My very first time ever running "long distance". Looking back, it couldn't have been more than 1 1/2 or 2 miles total that day, but boy did it feel like a lot. During that first run though, I knew I had found my passion. I have been in love with running since that very first day and my love only continues to grow each day.
I don't remember most of those middle school days, but there a few memories that stick out very clearly in my mind. My favorite one has to do with one morning when we did a timed run during my 7th or 8th grade year. This was a lot different for us because we were used to doing specific distances. At that time, the most I had ever run was close to 3 miles and thought I was tough stuff for having done that. Well, on that day, because it was a timed run, my brother and I (my little brother has been the greatest running partner in the world and will doubtlessly be mentioned more in future posts) decided to go out kinda fast. The loop around the campus of our middle school was supposed to be about a 1/2 mile. That morning we ended up running 8 laps. We both thought we were the coolest people to ever walk the earth. I remember thinking I had just run the longest run of my life and couldn't believe I had actually completed a 4 mile run.
This memory is especially special to me now, because looking back, I was always pushing myself. I always wanted to run farther. Even now, running 4 marathons in 16 weeks isn't enough for me. I had to find something harder, something more punishing. If you had told me on that day that I would one day be planning to run 50 miles I probably would have died right then thinking of how impossible that distance is. Yet here I am.
After middle school, I kept running and joined my high school xc team. There are so many memories and great stories from those years that I will save them for later when I have nothing better to post on the blog. I will however mention here the person who changed everything about me as a runner. My sophomore year of high school we got a new coach. He was much different than our previous coach and always seemed to have some reason or other to yell at me. Everyone says he loved me, but from my perspective as one of his runners, I definitely never felt that love. He did however, make me the runner I am today. He took the amateur runner who knew almost nothing other than "run as fast as you can til it hurts and then keep running" and taught me to think like a runner, race smart, and to love running more than ever before. He is one of my role models and has had a huge influence on my life. I hope to get his help in training for my 50 miler and also help on setting a marathon PR on the way.
As I went through high school, I began to look at longer races (the 5Ks we ran in xc were just too short to test my limits as a runner). I loved the speed of the mile, but wanted to see what my body could handle. So, my freshman year of high school, I ran my first half marathon. I ran my 2nd and 3rd in the two following years and hoped to run a marathon my senior year of high school. However my coach told me if I ever tried running a marathon while he was still my coach, he would never let me race again. That was enough to keep me away from anything longer than a marathon until after graduation.
After graduating high school, I left town to attend college. To my coach's disappointment (I'm positive he is still upset at me for wasting my potential) I chose not to run competitively in college. However this did not mean I was done running. No longer under my coach's supervision, I set my sights on completing my first marathon. I completed my first marathon on November 14, 2010. Within minutes of having finished, I was already planning my next one. I had found an even deeper love with running than ever before. It was a new way to test my limits, push myself til I felt I could go no farther, and to prove to myself that I can do anything I want. After completing my 2nd marathon on February 20, 2011, I decided I needed to make things a little harder for myself. So, I began planning to run 4 marathons in the span of 16 weeks. I begin this blog right in the middle of those 4 marathons. I completed the first of the 4 on October 30, 2011 and will run the second of the 4 in one week on December 4, 2011.
Over this past summer, knowing I was going to be doing 4 marathons in 4 months, I knew that if I accomplished this, I would have to find something new to test myself. Being a college student, I don't have the funds to run more marathons than this in a given year. Since I cannot increase the number of marathons, I figured I only had one other choice. Increase the distance. So over this past summer I began looking into ultras. I had heard a lot about different runs before, but now began to take it more seriously as I looked into possible runs.
So this brings us to present day. A week ago, I was lying in bed and could not sleep. Being the runner I am, I reached over to my bookshelf and grabbed a book with different people's accounts of running through the wall in ultramarathons (title and author to come when I can get back to the book). This got me thinking about how I planned to challenge myself next. Reading that book, I realized that these people had been exactly where I wanted to be. They had done the impossible. They had all done what their bodies told them they couldn't. They had pushed through unbelievable pain, suffering, and injuries on pure will power and adrenaline. Right then and there, I knew there was my next challenge. I tossed the book back onto the bookshelf and grabbed my laptop to immediately begin searching for nearby 50 milers I could run in a year or so. That night, I made up my mind. I was actually going to do it. I was really going to run 50 miles. The boy who thought he was the toughest guy ever for completing 4 miles in middle school was now going to try yet again to push his body farther than imaginable.
Many people have asked me over the years (I feel really old saying that considering I'm still in college) why I run or various questions related to that. I have a quote at the top of this blog that I think begins to express my thoughts on why. But its even deeper than that for me. I run to push myself. I run to test myself. I run to see if I can accomplish what most would never dream of. I run to feel the pain. I run because God gave me the gift of two working legs and I plan to use them to their full extent in His glory.
You cannot fully understand who I am as a runner If you do not understand that all my strength comes from the Lord. I am a proud Catholic that understands it is a wonderful gift to be able to walk or run, especially the distances that I run. Although I often take this for granted, I do stop every once in awhile to thank God for this gift and offer up a prayer for those who cannot do all the things I am capable of because of God's grace. No matter how great of a feat I am capable of, I know that it really is not my own accomplishment, but God's. Without Him, I would not even exist. Therefore, I do not take the glory for any of the successes I have, but instead place all of them at God's feet as my gift to Him in thanksgiving for His gift of running to me.
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