2:59:46 - exhale

It's about time.  I have been trying for this for a long time.  I'm not going to pretend that I was in shape to break three hours for each of the 11 marathons I lined up for.  But, it has been a goal for a long time.


I am going to be pretty detailed in this post.  Not because I want to talk about myself, more because I want a record to look back at someday.  Alright, alright, maybe I do want to talk about myself for a while, but c'mon...who wouldn't want to talk about me?

First things first, Teresa did great, and got her PR with a 4:14:43...awesome!  Rae, our neighbor ran really well, not her fastest but much faster than needed for Boston.  Sam was impressive with a first time marathon of 3:50:00, Andy was on fire with a first time marathon of 3:25:00.  Nick had a tough day but hung in there.  He proved a lot by keeping-on even when his body was done.  Well done Nick!

Everyone did great and the support was perfect.  Chad and Lizzie were everywhere and really helped out.
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This morning I felt pretty good.  I was really unsure how the day would go, but the weather looked right and I felt right.  It was cool at the start with a temp of about 56 degrees.  Perfect.


"Warm it up Chris, I'm about to, cause that what I was born to do."


The first mile I held back a bit and ran 6:55, it was hard to pull the reigns but I knew I had to.  The second mile comes off of 1-74 and I dropped down a bit but nothing out of control.  Miles 2.5 to 5 are hilly.  Up down, up down, but not too bad.  I think it helped to keep the pacing in check.


At mile 5, the course hit the bike trail along the river and runs all the way to mile 10 at the Centennial Bridge.  I ran pretty consistent through there and got to mile 10 in 1:08:12...right at 6:49 pace, right where I wanted to be.

 It was very sparse through the next bit.  Runners were spread out pretty well.  There was one guy ahead of me that I was gaining on.  He was tall, lean, with no shirt.  His kids were on the course and kept getting him water.  You could tell how proud they were to be watching their dad.  I caught up to him and shadowed him for a half mile or so.  He wasn't running the pace I wanted so I went ahead.  The next dude was wearing snazzy yellow Adidas shoes, black shorts, and a bright shirt...and gloves.  Not cold weather gloves, but weird fingerless driving type gloves.  I started on him next.


But first the half marathon runners and marathoners re-connected on the Island right after the 13.1 mark for us.  I hit the half at 1:29:35.  A little tighter than I had planned but I felt really good and controlled.  I wanted to go harder a couple of times, but held back.  Good thing.


Okay, back to the yellow Adidas glove dude.  I caught him about 3/4 of a mile later and shadowed him for a couple of minutes.  We spoke a few words to each other.  I always feel bad when you stalk someone for so long and then don't say a word.  He was slowing down, so I went on ahead.  

Up ahead was the 3rd place woman.  She looked really strong and I was nervous to take her on too much.  But I did.  I caught her at about mile 17 and hung around for almost a mile.  My pace had slowed from high 6:40s to low 6:50s so it was time to go again.


I caught another guy the last mile on the Arsenal and stayed behind him for a while.  Picking these people off helped the miles go easier and made the Arsenal a good section.   I averaged 6:46 through the island.  The guy I caught had on long compression socks, black shorts, singlet, and a hat.  He also looked really strong, and I never passed him.  He finished one spot ahead of me.  I did pass pony tail guy in the picture below at mile 22.

I still felt good and at mile 20 and was at 2:16:20, or 6:48 pace.  I had managed to keep a very steady pace which was my biggest goal.  And a little boring by the way.


They say a marathon starts at mile 20.  In the past I would argue that it starts and 8, or 13.1, or on a good day 17.  But today it really started at 23.  I held on to 6:48 pace all the way through 23, but at 23 we turned back towards the finish, and right in to a headwind and the sun.  It was brutal.  I knew that I was right on the line.  I couldn't loose much time or I would miss my sub 3.


Long three miles short.  I put my head down and just kept moving.  I had some wiggle room in my time but not much.  I gave up time with each mile.  At mile 25, I calculated (yeah, me doing math in my head while tired = boo) that I needed to just hold a 7:30 pace and I should make it.  With each step I lost confidence in my chances.  Chad and Lizzie cheered, and told me I was right there.  I still didn't know if I could pull it off.

For the last three miles I had to fight off some serious demons.  I started to allow negative self talk.  "It's okay Chris, there is nothing wrong with a 3:01:00", "you are still going to get a PR", and just fighting to keep moving.  I didn't want to run anymore.  This supposed to be fun right?


Then I saw the clock...2:59:00 and ticking.  I picked it up and gave it my best.  2:59:20...2:59:30.  I'm almost there...fist pump...finish and the clock says 2:59:50.  I could not have cut it much closer.  I don't care.  Sub 3 is sub 3 right?  


I FINALLY RAN UNDER 3 HOURS.  Boo Yah!

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Post script

Teresa and I worked the QC marathon for 6 years and were never able to run the Quad Cities Marathon.  I thought it was a great course and run very well.  There was plenty of water, plenty of GU, good crowd support.

The last 6 miles was rough, but I can't remember any final six miles that I enjoyed.  If not for the wind, I might have enjoyed it.

What went well - Obviously, overall I am very pleased.  Pacing was good and that was the biggest piece.  I worked hard on staying mentally tough and positive.  I worked hard to stay relaxed and calm.  All of those were key.

What went not so well - The last three miles were killer.  I made it to the line on fumes.  I need to figure out if that was fitness or mental or both.  I ran this race to break 3 hours and not a second faster.  Now I wonder how much harder I could have gone?

I am going to take a few days off and probably run on Wednesday or Thursday.  I will not make a decision on the 50 miler until next week.  I am on the fence about that.  No need getting injured right now.

24 hours...tick tock

Well, almost right at 24 hours until the Quad City Marathon.  We are heading to the QC in about an hour, just need to drop House off at the kennel.

My folks are going to Lisa's house today in Madison, I hope to cross paths with them before they leave.

The weather looks okay tomorrow.  The start of the race should be in the 50s and end in the 60s.  The wind will be a bit of a concern.  It is supposed to be about 5 mph ssw at the start and increase.  By the time the race is over it could be 15+ mph.  That's a good motivator to finish fast.

I feel pretty good.  The hammy is okay, the shin / ankle has been rested and should be okay too.  My Boston qualy time is 3:15.  I think I can do that.  I haven't been this unsure of my fitness in a long time.  I can't explain it.

This last week has been tough...not running.  I am ready to go.  All this rest is making me antsy.  Antsy pantsy.

Wish me luck...I'm out.

Bad decisions

My plan - run a total of six miles with a four mile tempo run at 6:35 pace in the middle.

My reality - run one mile at 6:58 pace, then drop to a 6:16, then a 6:14, then my hamstring nearly exploded, then stop running, then walk for five minutes, then run a one mile cool down at 7:30 pace while cursing myself for being a moron, then drive home.

My now - First, stop being a moron.  That would be a good start.  Ice, Advil, rest, stretch.  Repeat.  Ice, Advil, rest, stretch.  Repeat.  Ice...you get the idea.

My next - I don't know.  Eat Nutella I guess.

Back at it

I ran 4 miles with Reno today. We ran a route I used to run quite a bit. The bugs were terrible today...I had bugs all over my shirt and face. Our pace was right at 8 minute miles which was right where I wanted to be.

Reno and I went to see the movie "the Informant" at Cobblestone. I was getting very annoyed with Reno and his beacon light coming from his iPhone. I guess he didn't think the entire theatre would mind the extra lighting. I was getting angry until the old couple next to me would not stop talking about it. I began to hope that Reno would keep using his phone so I could see how mad they would get.

Now I hate the l the old couple. The same constant jabbering about Reno's cell phone use continued throughout the movie about everything. They would not shut up. Reno informed me that it was not okay to strike a woman over the age of 80. Whatever Reno.

By the way, the movie was okay. It got weird and I lost interest around 9:00 p.m. yeah, I know.

No run, what to write?

I have never posted to my blog on a day that I didn't run. I won't be running much this week but want to keep the blog thingy going.

What to write about?

I wore my black DKNY suit to work today. It is from their Essentials Collection. The suit is a three button single pleat style that suits my thinner frame pretty well. I also wore my Steve Madden dress boot called the Swerve. I didn't name it. Steve is so crazy. The Swerve looks a lot like the Swiffy but with a bit less flair. I don't think they make the Swerve anymore. Boo. With the suit I just wore a simple white dress shirt, high collar from Eton. Click on Eton (not that Eton, the one before it...okay fine, I added it to all of them) to check out their site, cool stuff. Add my Brooks Brothers watch, and a simple black belt, and that's my get up for the day. Please pay the Brooks Brothers site no mind. Those watches are not what they sell at the stores here...not even close.

Wow, I can talk about something other than running and football. That felt good. I'm a dork.

Mr. Reno and I are going to watch The Informant at the Cinema's tonight. It is supposed to be pretty good. Hope so.

As I write this, Reno texted me that he is out for the movie tonight because he would rather watch MNF. I hate Reno....

I am going to stick to writing about running...much safer.

5K relaxed

Well, I felt better today.  Not great, but better.  I just ran a quick 5K from home to see how it went.  My shin / ankle is still a problem, but I can run through it...just not sure for how long.  I think I will switch to my NB shoes for the Marathon.

I need to decide pretty quick how I am going to run the QC Marathon.  Will I run 100% or run easier and save something for Madison?  It may come down to a race day decision.  The weather forecast changes everyday...right now it looks like good weather.  Rain, rain, stay away.

After the run and some laundry, I met the group at the Coop again for some football.  Cross your fingers, it looks like I am going to start 2-0.  Gillum is going down...again.  Last week did not go my way with FB teams...

Wake up late, run to work

I ran last night with Reno but didn't write about it.  It was about as bad as I have felt on run in a long time.  We only ran a smidgen over 3 miles and I called it a night.  I just felt lightheaded, not really sure how to explain it.  It was how I think I would feel if my blood sugar was off.

Anyone that knows me, knows that I don't oversleep.  I never set an alarm and make it everywhere on time.  Today, was a different story.  Teresa and I woke up a 6:55 when we were supposed to be at Grays Lake 7:00.  I suppose it is a sign that I needed the rest.  I was having the weird dream again about a half white, half pink monkey / gorilla that I befriended.  The bad news, I had run on my own now, without my new monkey gorilla friend.  He is pretty fast though.

It is almost exactly 10 miles from my house to my office and a pretty good route too.  Teresa had a few things to do at work so I ran there.

Sadly, I didn't feel any better than yesterday.  I had a cold sweat and had a bit of the chills.  My thought was just run through it and hope to feel better.  I didn't feel any better, or worse.  My pace was right at 7:00 minutes...just under 7:01.

I would rather feel bad today than next week.  I will chalk it up to a bad day and hope that is it.

Teresa picked me up at the office and we went to La Mie.  Another good meal there with Mrs Brooks.

Track easy

I switched shoes today and went back to my New Balance.  I was hoping that they would make a difference with my ankle.  They (the shoes) did feel better, but my ankle was still bothering me.  Sad face.  I will take tomorrow off and run easy on Friday.  Next week my miles will drop way down...I hope the ankle enjoys the time off.

Work is very loco right night.  Good loco, not crazy loco.  hmm, doesn't loco mean crazy?

I ran my usual 3+ miles to the track to meet Sammo and Nicki.  Nick was already there and was 800 in to the workout.  I just did 4 800s with 400 jog rest.  I didn't have my watch with me, but I am guessing that I was around 2:55 pace for the first three.  I opened it up a bit for the forth and Nick timed me at 2:39.

From there I ran a bit over 7:30 pace home and ate a delicious Burrito.  I am supposed to go to Blue Moon tonight for Chadly's 30th birthday.  I lack motivation to get a move on it.

aaaaaand ACTION.

Easy Six

What's up dudes?  Thank you for dialing in in today to the world of my nerd blog.

I looked like more of a nerd today than usual. I wore my bright yellow North Face trail shoes for the run.  They are bigger than most shoes and are higher on the ankle.  I had to wear longer black socks with them.  They didn't have to be black...but they did have to be longer.  Pretty awesome look.  Me in my giant shoes, black socks, and tiny black running shorts.  Who's bringing sexy back?  It's me.

Today I ran a 6 mile route up to Valley and back over.  See my Garmin info HERE. 

My ankle did not feel good today.  I should go to the doctor so he can tell me to take a couple weeks off.  That's not helpful, so I won't be going to the doctor.  How bad could it be right?

After the run I mowed the yard and ate chicken and noodles with water.  Yummy yummy in my tummy, I could use a coke and rummy.

New route, same pain

I didn't run yesterday.  I usually run on Sundays and then take Mondays off.  BUT, I went and watched some football with friends at the Coop...and we had a few REEBS.

I was going to run when I got back, but I didn't want to get an RWI otherwise known as the "Reno Law" or more probably an RUI (running under the influence).  The good part about that would have been getting a free ride home from the Popo.

Today was not a good day.  I was uber crabby all day.  I don't know if I was Living The Dream today.

Okay, so what did I run?  A nice and easy 7.5 miles on a route I haven't run before.  I rarely looked at my watch today and just ran.  It was relaxing to just go for a run, not worry about where, not worry about pace, and just chill.  See info from my Garmin HERE.

Sidebar - What's the deal with Kanye West?  What a D-bag!

My ankle deal is weird.  I'm not sure whats going on with it...but I don't like it.  Stupid ankle.  It could be the shoes, it has bothering me since I bought them.

Well, I hope the Bills win.  They are looking good so far.  And, I need Darren McFadden of the Raiders to have a good night too.  Wadle is going down.

Raccoon Raccoon Raccoon Raccoon

What I planned to run today - 12 miles at Marathon pace with the first mile at 6:50.  The main goal was to run all miles at an even pace.

What I did run today - 12 miles at a variety of paces with the first mile at 6:52.  I didn't run two miles at the same pace but did average 6:35 pace.

The Good - Overall I felt good even though I was tired and ate poorly today.  My ankle / Achilles felt a lot better.  I ran each lap faster than the previous.

The Bad - My pacing sucks.  I ran too fast and need to fix that stat.  Even though my ankle feels better, I am still a bit nervous about it.

The Ugly - C'mon...there is nothing ugly about this guy!  Blammo.

See Garmin info HERE.  You know you want look.

Iowa v Iowa State - I worked the game today.  This is the first time I had to escort a dude out because he was very over served.  Oh yeah, and he poo pooed himself.  Not cool.  I kicked 2 Nebraska fans off of the field 3X.  And, I picked up garbage by one of the gates.  It is good to be me...or is it?  

Reno Camaro Raccoon Molester

Odd title maybe, but it all ties in.

I met Reno for 6 miles down at Raccoon River Park.  Reno wanted to go 3 laps but I was only planning on doing 2.  I broke him down and we ran 2.

The pace was pretty close to 8:00 minute pace.  8:04 to be exact.  This is the first time I ran in my new North Face trail shoes.  I got them for the 50 miler...they felt good. light weight, soft, cushioning.  Good shoe.  See my Garmin info for today HERE.

Reno drove his van, affectionately called, Mo or the Molester to Raccoon.  If you saw the van, you would understand the name.  Reno's Camaro died at the Wal-Mart parking lot. After the run we drove the Molester to Wal-Mart to rescue the Camaro...success.

Tomorrow is the big Iowa v Iowa State game.  Go Clones!  Boo me working! 

Easy breezy 4 miles cheesy

Pain, pain, go away.  I felt sluggish today so I just ran 4 miles.  This worked out well because I needed to mow the lawn anyway.

I was going to take tomorrow off, but I will tun an easy 6 and that should help.

Not sure how Saturday is going to work out.  I need to work the Iowa / Iowa State game, and will not be able run with the Striders as usual.  My guess is that I will run sometime Saturday night(ish).  yep, that's a word

We had a little Chinese for diner...delicious.  

Now let's watch some NFL.  Go STEELERS.   

Mile Repeats

It is getting hotter again.  Last week the track was nice and cool, today it was hot and humid.  The speed didn't come quite as easy as last week.  But we got it done.

I wanted to run my mile repeats at 5:50 pace.  I averaged about that, but got there a unique way.  The first mile was the fastest at 5:37, then settled nicely into a 5:50, slipped a bit to 6:00 flat, and then gathered myself for a 5:47.

In between the mile repeats I jogged an 800 at an easy pace to keep the legs moving the whole time.

There were bugs all over the track that ended up stuck in my chest hair.  Yet another failed look for me.  At least someone loves me...

Got home and had some chicken, some corn, and a little potatoes.  I miss coca cola and french fries.  I wonder if they miss me?

I wish Tuesday was still booze-day

Sorry about the non-running friendly picture...it makes me laugh.  I'm sure my mother is very proud.

Just another Tuesday easy run.  Once again I ran to the gym to meet up with the PLF Streakers.  Today though my Achilles(s) were a bit inflamed (no flaming jokes Nick) and made the run interesting.  There are less than three weeks until the Quad Cities Marathon so I need to tend to these little aches and pains.  Ice, Advil, and rest.

Feldman was about 10 minutes late for the run, and then yelled at us for not knowing what route we were going.  Sweet.  From the gym we ran around 4 miles and ended of course back at PLF.

After that I ran home nice and slow.  See more info on my run HERE.

I am going to ice my dogs tonight and eat some chicken & corn...and water.  Yeah.

If Tuesday was still Booze-day I would know that the belt buckle (Nick's see last post) was not a Jack Daniels, it was a Jim Beam.  Sadly, I didn't know there was a difference.  Probably the same reason the day after Saturday doesn't mean the same thing to me either?

Being boring sucks.

RRR

I don't really feel like an update today.  All I did was run a bit over 6 miles at Raccoon at 7:30 pace.  Pretty basic.

Curtis ran 15 today after dropping 12 yesterday, well done sir.

Nick, Andy, Adam, and Curt came over for some cards tonight.  Nicki won the pot and is going to buy himself a Jack Daniels belt buckle.  Sweet.  Last night Teresa and I went over to Motley's for a cook out and some reebs.  Dems is good.

That is it.  Tomorrow is an off day...off from running and off from work.  Double sweet.

Last Twenty...for a while

Another good day of weather, another good day to run.  We have been really lucky with the cooler temps this year.

Today's run was 20 miles as you can tell from my uncreative title.  Almost as uncreative as the route we ran today.  Grays lake to I-80 via the Greenbelt traillllllllll...sorry, I was yawning.

If you can't tell, I am not a big fan of running on the greenbelt.  It is too flat, too curvy, too shady, too boring.  But it was the route today, so off we went.

I ran the first half pretty controlled at around 7:26 pace.  I ran the first mile with Nick and Curtis.  We tracked Feldman and the Sandman down (at a blazing 7:52 pace) and ran the next mile or so together.  No one seemed all that interested in going any faster so Feldman and I picked it up a bit.  Feldman ran to the 6 mile point with me and turned back.  I have a feeling she dropped the hammer after dropping me.  From that point on, I was on my own.  The next four miles were nice and steady.

One the way back was a different story.  The way back is slightly downhill overall.  Again, it is very flat but the last five miles go down a bit.  I averaged 6:40 on the way back and it felt pretty good.  I tried to do negative splits and did a fair job of it.  My Garmin info is HERE.

Teresa did great as usual.  Nick, Lizzie, and Carol came in strong.  Sammo the Gimp did nice too running his 18 miles on a bum leg.  Too bad he got some one's GU on his shorts.  Creepy.  I bought Reno some shirts at Younkers...does that make me creepy?

Some bagels, some G2, a nice Recovery Drink from Fuel, and that wraps up the morning.

Going to a friends house tonight for a cookout and some REEBS.  Looking forward to unwinding.

"Easy" 9

Not too much to share today.  I just ran from home to the gym.  From there, Feldman, Curtis, and I ran our Midgetville route.  When we got back I ran home.

The pace was a bit faster than I had intended...surprise surprise.

Garmin info on today's run HERE.

Today is Iowa State's first football game of 09 - 10.  They shouldn't have any trouble with North Dakota State.  I wonder if Reno has passed out yet?

I had my first shot of Wheat Grass tonight.  The Madden's are growing their own.  It didn't totally suck.  But I don't know that I will be signing up for a daily dose.

Crazy Eights - 12.2

Today started off in a rush.  Nathan and I had an appointment in Denison that went long but well.  I thought we were in for a one hour presentation to a Hospital, it turned in to three hours.  It will be well worth it in the end when we get the contract.

I was supposed to meet Nick, Lizzie, and Sam at the track at 6:00 p.m.  That was hard to do as I didn't get back to the office until 6:15.  I ran from home to the track (3 miles) and got there about 7:00.  Nick and Lizzie were just finishing up their workout.  Sounds like they had a good go at it.  Also sounds like Nick wanted to puss out at 4 800s, but Lizzie stepped up and made them do 6.  Nice job Elizabeth!

I ran 8 800s at 2:55 pace.  The last 2 were at 2:49 and 2:41.

The weather was great again tonight again.  No wind, nice and cool, and late enough in the day that there was no real sun.  I have a goiter on my nose the size of my nose from too much sun.  It is not a great look for me.

After that I ran home for a total of 12.2 miles.

I don't know how to use my Garmin yet for track work.  So I used my Garmin for the warm up and cool down, then used the Polar for my track work.  You can find my entries HERE and HERE.

Oh yeah, and I got in a car accident on the way to work this morning.  Not sweet.

Almost nine miles, almost felt good

Today did not feel great.  As a matter of fact if felt pretty bad.  The worst part of today's run was knowing that tomorrow's run is a track workout.  I am supposed to do 8 800s...it is going to be rough.

I ran from home to the gym where I met up with Pete, Feldman, and Curtis.  From there we ran down 50th, over on Grand, and back on 35th.  The last 2 miles of that are all uphill...boo.  And then I ran home.

That brings the grand total for today to 8.75 miles at a 7:28 pace.  You can see more info HERE if you'd like.

After that I met Teresa over at Samurai, she was with the Auditors from Deere.  Then I met Sammo and Curtis over at Buffalo Wild Wings.  Gooooood.  And, I "forgot my wallet" so Reno had to pay.  Double sweet.

Winner winner, chicken dinner...on Sam.