runningchunk.com

Welp, I finished the 2012 Journeys Half Marathon. My time was 2:45:11, quite a ways from my 2:35 goal, but I'm pretty satisfied with how I did for other reasons.

• I finished.
• I wasn't last in my division.
• I figured out how to keep my pace in check for the first two miles, something that I've struggled with even in training.
• I solved the nutrition problems I was having for my longer runs.
• I didn't have a wardrobe failure, run into any other competitors, or knock over any aid station tables.

The heat and hills conspired to make this a pretty challenging run for me. My pace was where I wanted it to be for the first 9-10 miles, but I just couldn't hold it for the last few. My heart rate would creep up as my pace crept down. I think more long-distance and hill training is in my future.

Nancy did really well, beating her record by two minutes. Check out her write-up. 

Today I passed the 250 mile mark in my running career. Feels good man.

Just a quick couple of miles today. Two more on Thursday, and that's it until The Big Race.

Today's run was a short 4 miles. Yay, taper time.

Nancy thinks maybe fig newtons didn't give me enough in the way of calories on our long run last weekend. It's kind of late to start experimenting with other stuff, but I did take a Gu today to see how it was. It's almost, but not quite, entirely unlike food^[1]. More like a pleasantly consistent sweet snot. At any rate, it didn't have any negative gastrointestinal effects, but I'll probably stick to fig newtons on race day.

The little sidebar calendar was looking bare, so I ran.

I felt like I was running underwater today, but it felt good in the end. I even ran another quarter or half mile at the end, off the clock.

And we're signed up for the Fox Cities half marathon in September already. Not sure what I'm getting myself into.

It goes like this: "Hey, I'm gonna run up to my house." Josh takes off on foot and runs to his house.

It didn't exactly work that way, but it did work. Instead of running from Houghton to Calumet, we ran from Calumet to Houghton along the Jack Stevens Trail (the old Mineral Range Railroad grade). The warm-up walk started at my house at 9:30 yesterday morning, and my 12 miles ended in Hancock about a mile before the lift bridge. Nancy continued on to finish up her 14 miles.

Most of the interesting stuff Nancy talks about in her blog post. The last mile was rough for me, since I ran out of energy and was kind of hitting the wall. I think I didn't eat enough for breakfast, and then didn't eat enough while running. Depending on which algorithm you believe, I burned between 2500 and 2700 calories, and this Cadillac doesn't go far on fumes.

But hey, again, 12 miles and not dead. If I can figure out the nutrition thing and stay uninjured, I might just make it to the finish line. 

Still working on pacing. My goal was a consistent 10:45 for the whole five-mile run. Not as consistent as I'd like, but I'm getting there:

10:38
10:30
10:41
10:49
10:59

Overall was a 10:42. 

Work, class, weather, blah, blah, so I missed my Tuesday run. No matter, tonight's run was fun (except for me being pissy during the first mile).

The Ghost 3s came for a run today, and they really do feel faster than the Glycerins. Definitely less cushioning, but they seem more nimble.

I had some ideas about doing a tempo run, but ended up doing it the wrong way. The first mile was fast, and fun. I almost blew up at near the end of the mile, but made it in 9:46. Somewhere in the run I managed a 9:22 mile. We bounced along both Nara boardwalks, and I manage to eke out a 10:13 for the last mile.

This was the first trial for the Alien Happy Turbo Bottle Lovely or whatever it's called, and it wasn't too annoying. I need something for longer runs, and this should do the trick.

RUNNING YESSS.

Here's a thought exercise. Think back to the life experiences you recall when you hear the phrase "bleeding nipples". I'll list mine to get us started.

1. Lending a t-shirt to Wil Spicher (designated funny guy in the grade ahead of me) during a high school trip, after which he remarked "I guess this would be a good time to tell you about my bleeding nipple disease."
2. Finding the runner with the bleeding nipples on the top of a Brooks running shoe box, "Where's Waldo" style.
3. My own nipples today, after a ten-mile run.

In the course of today's activity, my man-bosoms jiggled enough to cause some serious chafing, which I didn't notice at all until the end. I think they make special pasties for this purpose (tassels optional). At any rate, please hold off on any friendly titty-twisters for the next few days.

Nancy rode her bike along with me, operating a simulated aid station service. I drank water every two miles, and scarfed Swedish fish and fig newtons nearly as often. She'd ride ahead and hand off the fuel, me still barreling along, fig newton particles soon flying out of my mouth. Here I come, race photographers.

Anyway, it worked. The fatigue I felt at the end of my nine-miler was gone today. My legs are pretty sore from all the mileage of the past few weeks, but I still felt strong, managing negative splits for several of the miles.

Also, let me know what you think of my new custom t-shirt design: