Racing Reminiscing

Do you remember your first time?

I hadn't really thought about it recently, until today. A Daily Mile friend posted a picture of her and her daughter from the Halloween Trick or Treat Trail Run in Sioux Falls and the memories all came flooding in.

I remember how new I was to running. Back in 1999 I was running in cotton shorts and t-shirts. No Garmin or Timex watch, just me looking at the clock on the wall as I headed out the door. I remember that a long run back then was 5 miles. Running has been quite the journey for me. I have saved most of my racing bibs and I generally write the race results, date, my age, finish time, average pace, and placing on the back of most of them. Here are what I would today consider my top ten for various reasons.

1. The Trick or Treat Trail Run in Sioux Falls. Of course number one has to be my first race, it was back in 1999. I remember several runners wearing costumes, in particular a group of guys taking turns pushing each other in a wheel chair. This was a 4 mile race, I still have the newspaper results, I finished in 31:03, not too shabby for my first! My most memorable moment of this race is coming around the last turn before the finish, I was giving it all I had just to make it to the finish line when all of the sudden....a speed walker passed me. Pretty damn funny if you ask me!

1999 Trick or Treat Trail Run - Sioux Falls, SD 

2. I moved to Illinois shortly after my first race. I found a strong running group in Illinois, the Illinois Valley Striders (IVS). The great thing about IVS is that there were 5K or 10K races within about an hours drive almost every weekend. I really "cut me teeth" for running with 5K's. My first 5K was on July 1, 2000, I finished in 24:16. It was ok, the most memorable part was finishing up at the Peoria Chiefs Ballpark by running across home plate.

2000 Peoria Chiefs 5K - Peoria, IL

3. Race number three is my 5K personal best.This took place on June 15, 2002 in the Prostate 5K. I finished in 19:11 and was also first in my age group at that race! I don't remember a whole lot about that race other than seeing 18 minutes slip away on the clock. Still a great race and a PR to this day.

June 2002/ 5K personal best of 19:11 - Peoria, IL

4. Race number 4 is my first half marathon. This took place in Delavan, Illinois. We had a bus take us out into the middle of the country. We ran two 6 mile loops and finished up by running into town and finishing at a school. This was in March, I remember it was cold and there was really nothing to see but miles of blacktop roads and empty corn fields. I finished in 1:50:29 and was 3rd in my age group. They did a great job of using up old leftover racing bibs as this one was 3 years old when it got to me!

May 2001 Delavan Half Marathon - Delavan, IL

5.First Marathon. Throughout most of my running and racing history I had no desire to run a marathon. A good friend of mine in Sioux Falls talked me into it. We decided that we would train together and run it together. About halfway through the training he became injured, so I had to go solo. I made a lot of rookie mistakes, went out too fast, bloody nipples, didn't drink enough fluids. It was a tough go but very emotional at the finish. There is nothing like finishing your first marathon. Finishing time was 4:10:12, I haven't improved a whole lot from the first.

October 2009 First Marathon - Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN

6. Frisco High Line Run for Scouting Half Marathon, Springfield, MO. This is my half marathon personal best and I got it this year! I must say that I was in pretty damn good shape coming out of the winter. I did this race in preparation for a Fargo Marathon BQ (that never happened). It was a nice little race. I remember it that it was extremely flat and we ran it in the middle of a thunderstorm. I was surprised that they didn't call it because there was lightening and thunder going off all around us. I finished in 1:33:45, I was 10th overall and 3rd in my age group. I was also lucky enough to meet Jon and David of  Daily Mile fame!

March 2011 Frisco Half Marathon - Springfield, MO

7. Hy-Vee Triathlon. This was my first Olympic distance triathlon. I did run two sprint triathlons prior to this but I am not quite sure what I did with the bib numbers.The triathlon is a whole other beast. The training takes a lot of time and dedication while the actual race itself requires patience and discipline in order to make it through all three events. I am probably more proud of this than any of my other accomplishments because of the training and logistics involved. If you are a triathlete or considering becoming one, I highly recommend the Hy-Vee Triathlon. It is well organized and a first class event all the way! (I may be a little biased because I work for Hy-Vee so do your homework first)

September 2011 First OD Triathlon - Des Moines, IA

8. Dam to Dam. I ran this race back in June of 2002, that was a really strong year of running for me. If you recall from # 3, this was my year of the 5K PR. The Dam to Dam was the first time that I had met up with people from a running social networking site. I can't remember the name of the site but I believe that Josh Cox  ran it before it was turned over to Cool Running. I remember running near a barefoot guy for awhile, I thought he was crazy. It was a great race, I finished in 1:28:01 (7:05 pace) and was 135th overall out of 2,500. I was pretty proud of myself!

June 2002 Dam to Dam - Des Moines, IA

9. Lake Run - Best Darn Race By a Dam Site. This also was in my 2002 breakout year. Interesting note about this race is that it is a 12K and a 4.37 mile run. The 12K runs around the lake and the 4.37 mile is an out and back course. They start at the same time in opposite directions but finish at the same place. I do remember that there were some ladies walking 3 abreast for the 4.37 mile run taking up half of the road. I was pretty mad that I had to run around them because they were inconsiderate and didn't even think to move. Yeah...you would have thought I was trying out for the Olympics or something. Still a great race, my 12K PR with a finishing time of 49:12 (6:37 pace).

2002 Lake Run - Normal, IL 

10. Polka Pace Race. Really nothing special about this 5K, I just thought you might find the name amusing like I did. I ran this back in 2000, two moths after I had run my first 5K. I lowered my time to 21:55 by the time I ran this race in September. I was a 5K machine back then! My fan club (my daughter) decided to write a little note on this one. :-)

2000 Polka Pace Race - Havana, IL

As I finish writing this there are a lot of other races I could have included. Running and racing has allowed me to have a healthy hobby and meet a ton of awesome like-minded people. It has been an awesome journey and I look forward to the future!

Do you remember your first time? Any interesting racing stories from the past? 

I have completed race distances of 2.5 mile, 5k, 4 mile, 4.37 mile, 10K, 12K, 10 miles, 15K, 20K, Half Marathon, and Marathon. I am working on a possible 50K for 2012. What unusual race distances have you run?

Sunday Run

Took a nice Sunday drive in the Asics today. I had a new route in mind that I figured would take close to 2 hours to complete. I cruised through some nice rolling hills this morning, none of them real massive but as you can see, they just never stop around here.

Surprisingly, I realized after I was done that this was the longest distance that I have run since April. Now that I am falling back in love with running, it's time to see if I can spend some more quality time with her. :-)

Being able to check out the elevation profile after a run is pretty cool if you ask me!

Sights on today's run included:

• Miniature horses (they ran with me)
• Cows (they ran from me)
• Amish family walking down the road to church
• goat
• flock of sheep
• field of mums
• pig
• Chickens
• 8 vehicles in 13.1 miles

Running out here can be an adventure, I will try to take the camera with me next time.

I do have my next race in mind. I am looking at the Fall Fell Trail Race in Olathe Kansas on October 16th, or maybe, (probably not though) the Lake Perry 50K on October 22. This would be my first attempt on the 50K distance. We'll see how it all pans out with the short training window, it may be biting off a little more than I can chew, but that wouldn't be anything new for me.

Frisco High Line Half Marathon Report

My training plan called for a half marathon on this particular weekend and the closest thing that I could find was the Frisco High Line Run for Scouting half marathon in Springfield Missouri. A nice little 4 and one half hour drive from home...road trip!

While checking the weather for Springfield it looked like it would be between 34 and 46 degrees with some rain in the late morning or early afternoon, a little cooler than I would like it to be, but very doable. Saturday morning, this is what I woke up to. A beautiful 36 degrees and a steady rain!

When I arrived at the race start I was able to meet up with fellow Daily Mile friends David M. and Jon W.  David just finished the Rocky Racoon 100 and Jon was there as not only part of the support crew but helped pace David for 20 miles in the event, very cool! They are a couple of great guys and some serious running machines!

Luckily before the race start we were able to hang out inside of a warm building while we hoped that the rain would stop. At one point shortly before the start, somebody announced that they would delay the race while a storm cell passed by. At this time there was a some thunder and lightening. About one minute later, the same guy came out and announced that we were going to start soon and needed to head to the start line, so much for waiting out the storm. At the start line, there was a small group of us up front and most everyone else was huddled under a tent about 100 feet behind the start line. (hello - you are running 13.1 miles, you WILL get wet!) 

We were started off with a train whistle in honor of the Frisco High Line Trail, the rails to trails path where we were running. 

OK - too much fluff detail going on in the post so here is the breakdown.

My goal for this race was to run even 7 minute splits or even a hair under. Like a rookie, I cruised through the first mile at 6:35, much faster than I intended. I wasn't too upset though because it felt good and I was able to slow down and relax a little while keeping a solid pace. My second mile was spot on 7:00, perfect! I felt like I was locked in at a good steady effort at this point. After mile 2 I didn't hear my watch sound off the splits and I didn't see any mile markers again until mile 6. I went through miles 3 - 6 in 6:57, 6:47 and 7:03 - things were looking good and I was just about half way through the race. Because this is an out and back course I was able to count that there were 8 or 9 people ahead of me and when I hit the turn around I noticed that there was not really anyone close enough behind me that would present a challenge. 

All through the race we could see and hear the lightening and thunder as it continued to rain. The wind and rain were at our back on the way out, so when we turned around it was right in our faces. I think it hailed a little too because at various times it had a nice sting to it as it hit my face. 

Whether it was knowing that I was really not going to gain or lose a position or that fact that we were now running into the wind my pace slowed on the back half. I ran miles 7 and 8 in 7:07 and 7:18 respectively, then by mile nine my feet were cold, soaking wet, and felt like bricks. I slogged through mile 9 in 7:23, then I think my mind drifted off in mile 10 because I dilly-dallied through it with a 7:33 pace so I had to kick it back into gear and ended up finishing with 7:14, 7:28, 7:24 and final push of 50 seconds at the end. 

Race stats copied from Training Peaks log.

I was cold, soaking wet, and my face was frozen, but I finished with a nice PR,10th overall and 3rd in my age group! In retrospect, not bad for such crappy conditions, i'll take it! I even scored an extra medal for my age group award!

Looking back at my Garmin stats, my heart rate didn't make it into zone 4 which tells me that I could have run this a little faster. I know that if I would have had a someone closer to me either in front or behind it would have helped push me to a faster finish. 

I am in no way unhappy with this race, but I am also not completely satisfied with the result. The great thing is that I know I can run it faster next time, especially if I have some competition to push me.

Finally, a quick but important plug for my motivators.

First of all, Jeff and Diane at PRS FIT have helped to keep me motivated and educated along this journey. They have helped my train smarter and harder while staying pretty much injury free the entire time. I have been working hard this year in preparation for the Fargo Marathon. My goal is to qualify for Boston there. With a lot of hard work and a little luck I will do just that. Qualifying or not, it's pretty much guaranteed that I will have a PR there. If you are serious about putting in the time and effort to improve your running, I would encourage runners at any level to contact them for assistance. 

Second, and no less important, the great Daily Mile friends who continue to inspire and and bring positive thoughts to every workout. I feel lucky knowing that it has reached the point where I can participate in almost any race across the U.S. and even internationally, and find a friendly Daily Miler. I even moved from a city of well over 100,000 people to one of 3,000 people in an entirely different state and was able to connect with local Daily Miler Sara D.  in my new town. Pretty awesome stuff in my book!

Random Update for March.

I haven't had much time to post lately, it's been tough just getting my workouts done because of the J-O-B. It's a good thing that I love what I do because I spend a lot of time doing it.

Anyway,  I wanted to drop by and update the status of my training. Things seem to be going very well, I have really been nailing my workouts. I feel like my running has recently advanced to the next level. My speed and strength have increased and I really like the results. My 1:30 tempo runs have been consistently well under an 8 minute pace on challenging terrain but the bonus is that I feel there is also still room for improvement.

It is difficult to judge how my Boston Qualifying attempt will go in Fargo. I have been running on some major hills the last 5 months that continue to challenge me on every run. They are definitely getting easier, but they are still a real bugger towards the end of my long runs.

As I write this there are about 10 weeks until Fargo. With lots of hard work and a little luck it will be a great race. Even better yet, I will be surrounded by several friends that will also be running, it will be an awesome reunion!

Elevation profile from my March 6th run.

Here are some random pictures from some of my recent runs.

Sometimes running through the countryside can be confusing!

View from the top of a long hill

Some runs have started out like this.

While others have ended like this.

Marathon # 3 - Mankato

Marathon number 3 is in the books. It was much more difficult than I anticipated, I did not reach either of the goals that I was aiming for...but it was still a rewarding experience and my best effort on that day. Sometimes that is all that you can ask for.

Fellow Daily Miler Tom and I after the race.

Before I start rambling about my marathon experience I would like to recognize some people. First, congratulations to my sister-in-law Kari who rocked the half marathon! And a huge thank you to the rest of the family, including my wife, that raced around to cheer us on throughout the run and put up with my whining about my performance after the race. It wouldn't have been the same without them there!

My coach and I had been talking about the possibility of a Boston qualifying run at this marathon. My training had gone very well this summer and I had a strong PR at the Sioux Falls Half Marathon. If you have been keeping up with my blog you will know that the thought of running an entire marathon in the 7:30's was all a bit overwhelming to me. Additionally, my last month of training had not really gone well due to my relocation and starting a new job. After talking it over with the coach, we decided that 3:30 pace (8:01) was completely obtainable and would not be out of reach by any means. This really helped take the pressure off, but in the back of my mind, I was still considering the 3:20 finish. I would wait and see how I felt on race morning, but I didn't tell of any of this to the coach.

Along comes race day! The weather forecast leading up to the race was for a 60% chance of rain all morning. It was cloudy and sprinkling on and off before the race. I ran in to fellow DM'ers Tom and Sara before the race and we had to get under a tent for a little while to stay dry. Luckily the rain stopped before the race started and never became a factor. In fact the weather was almost perfect. It was nice cool and cloudy morning, great weather for a long run!

Back to the race. I was excited and feeling good. I had decided that I was going to see how it felt to hang with the 3:20 group, I decided to go for it. Part of me said that if it was too much I would just drop back with the 3:30 group while another part of me knew that it doesn't usually work that way. After a brief pep talk from Dick Beardsley to start the race, we were off!

The pace was great, I had no trouble keeping up and felt very comfortable. At about mile 5 we approached the first of two large hills. Instead of trying to keep up with the pacer I ran my own pace up the hill and then picked it up to catch back up. I stuck with the pacer until around mile 11, then I let him go and decided that I had better run my own race.

I get pretty focused on what I am doing when racing. I really don't know what is going on so much around me because I am thinking about pace and running form and constantly evaluating my exertion level. My wife told me that I ran right by her at mile 10 while she was shouting and clanging the cowbells, I never heard her or saw her. Fellow DM'er, Jeri, told me the same thing, she was screaming at me and taking pictures, I ran right by her, didn't see or hear a thing.

Through the first 15 miles I had an average pace of 7:38, right on target for BQ, but that was all that I had. It seems that after 15 - 17 miles life gets much more difficult for me. Between 15 and 19 miles my average pace dropped a full minute to 8:37. After 19 it was pretty much a battle for survival. I finished off the race with a walk run strategy and my spirits were crushed. I was really hoping that I wouldn't have to walk any parts of the race but my calves were cramping up and my right knee was really starting to hurt. Finishing the race was painful, I had to talk myself into running any way that I could. I ran with a guy that was struggling like me for awhile for inspiration, but it wasn't enough. I even had to walk some during the last mile of the race, it wasn't until 25.5 on the Garmin that I decided one way or another that I was going to run it in the rest of the way.....and I did.

Dragging my sorry ass to the finish.
Photo courtesy of Jeri !

I heard and saw my family cheering me in just before the finish, it was a great ending to the race! It's funny how the first hour or so the pain and fatigue are so great that I tell myself I will never run another stupid marathon. What's the point of putting yourself through weeks of training for this torture called a marathon? I couldn't even remember why I had decided to attempt such a thing.

Then the pain begins to fade and the mind clears. I am starting to think about how it all played out and what I could have done differently. Hmmm....could there be a # 4?

Technical Stuff (sort of)

My fuel plan worked well for this run. I took a Hammer Gel about every 5 miles. I also took 3 Endurolyte capsules each at miles 9 and 18. I drank either water or Gatorade at every water stop sometimes even 2 cups  to stay hydrated because I sweat like a man!

I likely would have finished a little sooner had I followed the plan and went with the 3:30 group, but I will never know. Besides, I would probably be kicking myself for not doing it had the 3:30 run gone well.

I am not sure what's going on with the knee, but I will be doing some spinning and very little running this week to recover. I am definitely looking forward to some cross country running on tap for this fall!

Mankato really shined when putting on this race. There was fantastic support along the route and the water stops were great. Because it was the first year for this marathon and a limit of 2,000 runners the expo was small but still offered a nice variety. I would recommend this marathon to anyone considering it but I would also encourage you to be ready for some hills. You can't run in Mankato without running some hills!

Sioux Falls Half Race Report

Sprinting to the finish!

While training for the marathon, every fourth week coach gives me an easier mileage week with a race at the end of it. It's a great test to see where I am at in training. Last weeks race was the Sioux Falls Half Marathon. With my heart rate training zones adjusted and the recent progress that I have been making I really felt like I had a solid chance of running my fastest race ever at this distance. Discussing my race goal with Coach the day before, I had told him that I wanted to finish under 1:38 which was my previous PR (personal record) at this distance. Coach agreed and thought I could pull it off, then he used one of his motivational tricks and tried planting a seed in my mind. He told me that one of the people he coaches (who shall remain nameless) had just finished a half the week before in 1:36, I thought that would be pushing my luck and pretty much blew off that competitive jab he gave me. So here is how it all unfolded.

The Race

With my goal time set, coach had me break down the race by 5K times. He told me that it was much easier to break the race up into 5K goals than to think about how many more miles there were. I took his advice and the morning of the race I wrote on my hand where I needed to be for every 3 miles. My goal was to average 7:25 per mile or better so my 3 mile goals were 3(22:15), 6(44:30), 9(1:06:45), 12(1:29:00).  When my first 3 mile split came in at 21:24, I didn't feel like I was pushing the pace too much and was happy that I had banked a little time in case I started slowing down a little. As I write this, I see that I ran the second 3 at exactly the same pace 21:24. This put me almost 2 minutes ahead of my goal pace at 6 miles, I has banked a little more time, I was still feeling good, things were going great! I did my best to focus on keeping my arms and shoulders relaxed and trying to keep a good running form. At mile 9 my time was 1:05:03, I had run the last 3 miles at 22:15 (goal pace) and had not lost any of the time I had banked. This meant that I had to just hang on for another 4.1 miles and I even had a little wiggle room. I was still feeling good but I also knew that could change at any moment. Upon reaching the 12 mile mark I was still running some strong miles. I reached 12 at 1:27:16 which meant that I was still running fairly consistent splits and had run the last three in 22:13, pretty much goal pace. At this point I knew that I was going to decimate my goal of coming in under 1:38! My plan was to try and kick hard the last 1.1 miles but I didn't know how much kick I had remaining and I was not sure exactly where the finish line was. Mentally, I really like to know where the finish is so that I can gauge just how hard to kick to the end. I completed mile 13 in 7:25, right at goal pace, and then kicked it down for the final sprint to the finish. My final time was 1:36:18, I smoked my previous best by over 2 minutes! This was one of the better races ever for me. I felt good the entire run and I really believe that breaking the race down into 3 mile segments helped too.

I finished 67th overall out of 1137, 10th in my age group, and the 51st male.

Tech notes: 

I chose not to wear the compression leggings on for this race. I had only worn them once during a training run and wasn't ready to try them on race day yet.

I did not use any gels or other fuel options for this race. It was a cool morning, the weather was perfect and I was pretty sure that I could run my goal time without needing to take anything considering the conditions and actual running time. I did take a little water and Powerade throughout the run but not much. I had made sure to drink lots of fluids the day before and the morning of the race so that I was well hydrated. Other than being slightly cramped in the calves, I felt great after the race. I was planning on taking some Endurolytes before the race but I didn't get them set out the night before and forgot to take them.

Once again for you runners, I highly recommend breaking your next race up into 3 mile or 5K splits. It is so much more mentally manageable for long runs. This was great advice from the Coach.

Daily Mile

Daily Mile is a social media network for athletes. The greater portion of athletes are runners but there are a good variety of other endurance athletes on this site as well. It is an extremely supportive online community where I post my workouts. We comment on each other's workouts, share triumphs and tribulations, and can ask or answer a variety of training related questions. Here are some great Daily Mile members that I have had the pleasure of meeting from the Sioux Falls area. It is such a great thing it is to spend time with like minded people that understand the allure of running as you I do. Non-runners just don't understand why we would torture ourselves with chaffing, cramps, muscle soreness, and running through the various crazy weather conditions.

Awesome group of Daily Mile friends!

Me with Angela and Matt. This was their first half and they both ran a fantastic race!

Trying to finish strong!

47 to 3

It's been just over a month since I have updated the blog and a lot has happened since then.As I write this, there are 47 days until the Mankato Marathon, which will be my third marathon. I am at the point in my training that running a fourth does not sound very appealing. It's been a lot of hard work to get to here and I still have just over a month of training to go. Here is my long winded story of what has happened within the last month.

Century Ride for JDRF
What an amazing event! Because of my limited cycling training, I was very concerned about being able to ride then entire 100 miles. My longest ride prior to La Crosse was only 50 miles and when I told some of the other riders this, I could see them trying to mask a look of concern on their faces. My Coach had assured me that this would not be a problem, but I was not 100% sold on it. When race day came, it was not nearly as difficult as I had feared. The last 15-20 miles my feet started to get a couple of hot spots on them, but overall I was feeling good. With stops along the way for food and stretching, it took about 7.5 hours to finish. More importantly, it made me realize what a fantastic event this was. JDRF is a great organization that is funding research throughout the world to not only find a cure for Juvenile Diabetes but make lives easier for those that have it. The Wisconsin ride raised over $600,000 for JDRF and all rides combined last year raised over $4 million. It's a great feeling for me to be a part of this; helping someone with their fight against diabetes. Throughout the weekend I was able to meet many people who had children or siblings with Type I diabetes, it was truly inspiring to hear their stories and to know how thankful they were for us being there for them. I will definitely be participating in this event again!

About 60 miles into the ride at a rest stop right by the Mississippi river.

Marathon Training Update
Yesterday I told my good friend Jeff Pickett that I wasn't very happy with him for getting me started on these stupid marathons. Just over one year ago he suggested that we train together for the Twin Cities Marathon. Half way through the training he developed an injury that kept him from running it, for some crazy reason, I keep doing them.
Maybe it's knowing that they were not perfectly executed and with a little work I can finish faster and with less pain. Maybe it's just that I need to have a goal ahead of me in order to keep running and challenging myself. Nevertheless, marathon training is no cake walk. There is a huge time commitment and many sacrifices along the way.In a nutshell, 18 - 20 weeks of training, all for three and a half hours of running your ass off.

Enough bitching already...

My training is actually going very well. I have been putting in some solid weeks of training. I finished the month of July with 150 miles and August with 143 miles of running.

I am still struggling with my endurance on the long runs. After 2 - 2.5 hours I really start to go downhill. My calves get cramped, I begin to run out of energy, and at times I struggle keeping hydrated enough because I sweat like like a beast. I have been experimenting with my hydration and electrolyte replacement on these runs and I feel like I have made some improvements, but still feel like I am not 100% there yet.
First, I have been using Endurolyte capsules for about 3 months now. These are electrolyte replacement capsules. They are easy to swallow and seem to help reduce my calf cramping. I generally take 3 capsules before running, then about 3 every hour during my run.
For yesterday's run I tried two new items in addition to the Endurolytes. I finally broke down and purchased a pair of Zensah compression leg sleeves. I have been wearing some cheapo compression tights from Walgreen's for several months now for recovery after runs. I finally splurged and purchased the Zensah's and I am glad I did. I hardly noticed that I was wearing them and I have absolutely no calf soreness after yesterday's long run. They may not be the sexiest things in the world, but my calves were happy!

Zensah compression leg sleeves.

The second thing I tried out for my long run was a new fuel replacement. I have been using gels for quite some time and really don't mind them; but I don't believe that I have been getting everything from them that I need for endurance, so I tried another Hammer Nutrition product, Perpetuem. I was a little concerned about the flavor and consistency of this product prior to trying it, but it is actually very good. For my first trial I mixed it a little light, I made up a 2 hour bottle using 3 scoops in an 8 oz bottle for my fuel belt. I premixed it in a measuring cup before pouring it into the bottle. It had some lumps when I poured it into the bottle but they disappeared after I shook it up. The flavor was great, not too strong, and the consistency was similar to that of a thin protein shake. For this run I took a mouthful every 20 minutes and followed it up with some water. The early consensus, I like it! It is much easier to use than trying to tear open a gel and get it swallowed down and I didn't feel hungry during my run either.

Hammer Nutrition Perpetuem

Last but not least is my coaching. I must say, Coach Kline from PRSfit really knows what he is doing. He gives me my weekly workouts, answers my annoying questions, and gives great feedback from the workouts. He is definitely a teaching coach who along with his wife Diane, are very supportive of their team and others. It is obvious that they love to see others grow and succeed.
When teamed up with the coach he had me run a lactate threshold test. This is a test to determine your anaerobic threshold and help set heart rate training zones. Coach had me run this test again on Monday and my LT was much lower than the initial test back at the beginning of June. This means I have made some progress! Because of this test, Coach set up new training zones for me that kicked my butt this week. Aerobically, they were not too bad to run, but physically, my legs have some work to do. I had a difficult time running a fast pace to get to and stay in zone 4 or even the top of zone 3 during my last two runs. I am sure it will come in time, but it is currently quite a challenge. I am sure that the cooler weather helped, but yesterday's long run was scheduled for 2 hours and 15 minutes. I completed 17 miles in this time which is just a hair under 8 minute miles for the duration. This has been my strongest long run to date and I was not completely wiped out when I finished either. I love seeing progress like this!  I have my first half marathon in quite some time scheduled for this coming weekend and I am excited to see how it will turn out!

If you actually made it this far reading through my blog without falling asleep, I thank you. When I look at the road ahead and behind me, my training it seems a little daunting at times, hence the whining at the beginning of the post. I do love running and the challenge of the training and the races. In life, seeing progress and growth is a great motivator for all of the hard work we do whether it be running, working, or raising a family. The fight is the journey, the results are our rewards...never stop fighting.