20 mile run this Sunday........

....should be fun!

The Detroit Marathon is only 26 days away.......

....hmmmm that doesn't seem that far away. Still, I ask myself: can I do this? AM I going to actually finish this? Under 4 hours? I've been told that as long as I can finish a 2 hour run by myself, I will be able to push through for the entire marathon based on the atmosphere alone. That is shoddy logic to me, but I guess it makes sense.

I started training June 1, and have been keeping a pretty solid 4 day a week running schedule throughout. I missed a couple runs when we moved, which coincided with my Wife's Gramma passing, and then I had some IT-band issues 2 weeks ago, that resulted in shorter runs, but overall I have been pretty true to my schedule. I do wish that I would have altered my diet and have eaten better, but at this point I am going to have to go into the marathon with what I have.

I ran 14 miles on Sunday, and it was pretty uneventful. My IT-band pain was coming and going, which in reality is a good sign because it used to come and stay. Hopefully my IT is not an issue during my 20 miler on Sunday, or the 26.2 miler on Oct 21. I saw my in-laws on the trail, which was a nice surprise, but they were 'only' running 5 miles that morning. Slackers. Actually, I think my brother-in-law 'only' ran 3. Double-slacker. No really, they have ran with me and keep me motivated. I love them.

My ipod said I ran 14 miles in 1:45 or somewhere in that neighborhood. Two words: YEAH RIGHT. I really don't think I was moving that fast, I actually thought I was running slower than usual. Usual for me is about 8:30/mile. I have been running faster lately, but that time sounds ridiculous. So maybe Sunday's run wasn't 14 miles exactly, but it was still 1:45 worth of running, and I was still a little tired towards the end. Stuff like this really makes me wonder about this marathon and how it's going to go. I am thinking about getting a Garmin 205, maybe for X-Mas, but even then, how accurate is a Garmin compared to an Ipod? One will never know.....

What has changed over all these years?

I was speaking with my father-in-law over dinner last night and we got to talking about sports, technology, and relevance. We discussed the sports of running, tennis, and golf where back in his day, the 70's, the technology was drastically different than it was today. Running shoes from the 70's are very different in look and feel than running shoes of the 21st century. Why? People were running marathons, successfully, back in the 70's in those vintage nikes that "Pre" used to wear. Why wouldn't those shoes work today?

I don't get it. I like to live by the motto "If it's not broke, don't fix it...", but I do not really know what the real benefits are of the modern technology in running shoes when compared to "old school" running shoes.

The same argument can be made about golf clubs and tennis rackets, to a point. I understand that the sweet spots are bigger now, thus making the equipment more necessary for success. Also, if the equipment today is making it easier to be 'good', you could almost say that players from "way back" were better than today's golfers and tennis players, simply because they had to be better. The equipment was inferior.

To me, it's an interesting topic. I'd really like to get my hands on a true 'vintage' pair of running shoes and try them out---to see if I could tell a difference. I really am curious to hear what people have to say about this....discuss!!!!

I'm feeling a little sick....

...I don't know if I have already mentioned this, but my last 2 years living in Detroit (2005-2006) were spent working for the Detroit Tigers. I have an emotional bond to them that is stronger than any other sports team.

They just got swept by the Indians, the current 1st place team in the division, and the Tigers chances of making the playoffs are practically zero now. I am bummed out.



In more cheerful news, tomorrow is a future national holiday....also known as my birthday. Hooray. Also, I am finding humor in my cubicle neighbor's concerns over popcorn lung. Every time he sees someone eating popcorn, he reminds them about this faux-disease. Talk about Debbie Downer.....

Wears Valley 15K

On Sunday, Sept 16 I ran in the Wears Valley 15K, which is sponsored and hosted by the Knoxville Track Club. The Knoxville Track Club is awesome and they really do a good job keeping an organized race schedule and drawing really good runners to their races. There is a schedule of races that are for 'series points' and those are the ones that draw all the local top runners. This was a points race, and boy did I get smoked. Well, I didn't show up expecting to win the race, but my 1:13:57 was nowhere near the top 3, even in my age group. After I wiped away the tears of not winning anything at a race for the first time, I reflected and realized I ran a pretty damn good race.

First off, I had to wake up at 5:30 am and down an iced tea, to get the ole' bowels moving. I was crossing my fingers and hoping this pre-race routine would work, and at about 7:45 (15 minutes before the start of the race) I knew that it did. I was beginning to worry there for a bit. So after I took care of my business, I headed to the start line. I didn't feel 'ready' at all. I was about to run 9.3 miles in a race, which I've never done before, on top of that I've been having IT pain for the past 2 weeks and didn't finish any of my long runs. So I thought this was going to be a "lets just finish" type of race, but it turned out to be quite the opposite.

So the race starts after a fellow runner sang the national anthem--despite the fact he needed a cue card--and forgot a lyric but quickly recovered--he did alright. Did I mention it was about 55F outside!!!! Perfect running weather. I actually wore long sleeves. Once the race began, I found my pack of comparable runners and stuck with it--the first 3 miles we came in around 25:00 flat. Not too bad.

The pack started to string out a little around mile 4, most of them dropping back. (because I am the bomb and they couldn't hang w/me.....but one guy was determined to stay right in front of me......) So this guy, I never got his name because he wasn't much of a talker, was literally like a foot in front of me from miles 4-7. No big deal. He was a little older and a little bigger than me, so I got the impression that he didn't want to get passed by a young punk like me. When I sped up, he sped up. I went right, he went right......this went on for 7 miles.

So, at mile 7, he SPEAKS!! I was starting to worry that he was unable to talk, but thankfully he spoke and broke the awkward silence between us. It kinda felt like we were standing next to each other at the urinal for 7 miles. It was a little awkward. (ladies...guys don't talk when they are peeing....) The funny thing is what he said. He was all like "see that guy up there, he's dying. We're going to catch him." I was thinking to myself "I've been tailing this guy for 7 miles, I feel great and now I am going to start passing some people...." so I replied with "alright, we're going to start to pick some of these people off" I was using 'we' as an invitation to speed it up, because I am about to pick up the pace. So I picked it up, and he didn't. I felt betrayed.

Anyways, passing people who are on the verge of puking near the end of a race is the best feeling ever. From mile 7 to the finish I really picked it up and caught 7 people. It felt awesome. I ended beating 'the mute' by about 4 minutes. Secondly, my IT pain was creeping up around miles 2-4, but then it went away. The 2nd half of the race was the best feeling while running I've had in a long time. It was a good day.

Chiropractors are........amazing

I have been having IT band issues with my left leg for a long time now. I always had a theory as to why it would hurt, and never wanted to go get it looked at. I just figured once my quads and hamstrings were in good shape, my IT wouldn't hurt anymore. I attributed my IT pain to weak legs. Because I am a doctor and I can make my own theories up.

My wife is a massage therapist for a chiropractor, and she has been for about a year. Yesterday, I finally mustered up the nerve to go have my leg looked at by said chiropractor. He is awesome. He had me lay on a table, on my back and then on my stomach, he flexed my knee a few times and then started twisting me up like a pretzel and 'adjusted' both of my hips. (One hip at a time)

He then told me that my IT was sore because my right hip was tilted forward and my left was tilted back--which also led to a poorly aligned knee and ankle on my left side.

My left leg from the knee down felt really weird the rest of the night. Not bad weird, but good weird. Like I have a new leg. I am very eager to run tonight and see how my left leg feels. I can already notice a difference in even walking, my left leg doesn't feel shorter anymore.

I am pumped.

My weekend

On Saturday, I attended my first college football game outside the state of Michigan, at my wife's school, the University of Tennessee. They played Southern Mississippi at 7pm Saturday night. A good time was had by all.

In Michigan, I don't recall any sort of pre-game parade, where the band and the team walk from their respective buildings to the stadium through the crowds of people. They do that here in Tennessee and I will admit it was pretty cool to see. Neyland Stadium holds 106,000 people, and I am willing to bet that 50,000 of them were there 2.5 hours early for the bands performance and to welcome the players into the stadium and wish them luck. That was neat.

With Amber being a student, naturally, we were sitting in the student section. Or I should say standing, sideways, falling off a bleacher most of the game in the student section. It was a lot of fun, and in true college student fashion, Amber and her friend Emily snuck in booze in their bras and it became 'cocktail time in Tennessee' real quick with the cokes we bought once we got in the gate. Tennessee won, 39-19 and I swear Southern Mississippi's QB is related to Vince Young somehow. His name is Jeremy Young, and he wears #10 and plays a lot like Vince Young of the Tennessee Titans. There has to be some relation.

So, after the game, we went to a bar in the 'Old City' part of Knoxville. The area is kinda ghetto, but rebuilding. At that bar I had another drink, I was in no way drunk, but it led to a late night and dehydration Sunday. Sunday I was supposed to run 18 miles.

I woke up at 10 am on Sunday (I never wake up that late) and by the time I started my 18-miler it was 11 am, on a day where the high temp was going to be in the 98F neighborhood. I really gave it the old college try, but I gave up after 12.5 miles. Granted, 12.5 miles is still a pretty far run for being dehydrated and hot, but I am a little bummed I didn't make my 18 mile goal. So, it was a lesson learned, don't drink and stay up late thinking you're going to be able to run 18 miles the next day. I am still having IT band issues, I think I am going to go see a chiropractor, to make sure my shoulders and hips are aligned properly.

The rest of the day on Sunday, I folded laundry and watched football. The Titans won a pretty boring game, and my Lions won! I didn't see much of the Lions game (it wasn't on in TN, but once the Lions started blowing their lead Fox switched over to it at the end), but they looked good. The Lions might actually be better this year.

Why am I doing this to myself?

That was the question going through my mind last Sunday during my 15 mile run. Miles 1-12 were pretty good, miles 12-15 were pretty bad. My legs felt like they weighed 100 lbs. each, and I was questioning why I was out there, what's the point of running a marathon, basically any negative thought that could creep into your head about running was racing through my head during miles 12-15. I made it through, but my legs (mostly my IT bands on both legs) hurt for the rest of the day. To my surprise, my legs felt really good on Monday, after a good night's sleep.

My run this coming Sunday is 18 miles, and after last Sunday's 15 miler, it makes me wonder how I am going to survive 26.2 miles. Do I run slower? Do I eat better? Do I start lifting weights?

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2005 Age Group Breakdown AgeGroup Avg. Time Percent M0-19 5:04:39 1.17% M20-24 4:22:21 3.10% M25-29 4:24:42 6.03% M30-34 4:25:28 8.14% M35-39 4:22:45 9.72% M40-44 4:21:46 9.83% M45-49 4:26:23 8.37% M50-54 4:37:25 6.22% M55-59 4:49:04 3.82% M60+ 5:13:32 2.96% F0-19 5:46:58 0.86% F20-24 4:52:38 4.12% F25-29 4:54:45 7.49% F30-34 4:58:18 6.82% F35-39 4:55:37 6.59% F40-44 4:59:01 6.13% F45-49 5:11:46 4.20% F50-54 5:31:03 2.58% F55-59 5:48:39 1.17% F60+ 6:08:12 0.68%

Age Demographics Between 2004 and 2005, the average age of marathon finishers remained the same at 38.8 years-old overall - 40.5 years-old for men and 36.1 years-old for women. In 2005, the average finishing time was slower than 2004 by just over 20 seconds. Fastest Age Groups In keeping with historic trends, the fastest average age-group were men aged 40-44, with a mean finishing time of 4:21:46. Average times were negligibly slower (less than one minute) in the M20-34 age group (4:22:21) and the M35-39 age group (4:22:45). The women's fastest times were posted by 20-24-year olds, who averaged a time of 4:52:38 for their finishes. Largest Age Groups In addition to being the fastest age group, men aged 40-44 also represented the largest single age group for marathon runners in 2005, accounting for nearly 10% of all marathoners and more than 16% of male marathoners. For women, the largest group was females between ages 25-29 representing approximately 7.5% of all marathon finishers, and nearly 19% of all female finishers.

I found this above at Marathonguide.com and it's encouraging to know that my projected marathon time is above average for my age group. I am usually not that competitive of a person, but with my running times I really am for some reason. I like knowing where I stand as a runner, and how I can improve my times. Last night, for instance, I had a 5 mile run scheduled. I had an afternoon that didn't go exactly as planned, so at about 7:30 pm I went out for my 5 miler. Once I got to the park, I said "screw it" and ran much faster than I normally do. I was expecting to burn out at some point, but I never did and finished my 5 miles in 37:57. I was a little dehydrated at the end, but other than that I felt fine. It was nice to burn off some frustrations of the day during my run. That is the fastest 5 miles I can remember running.




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