NEW BLOG SITE

Please head over to HispanicRunning.Com for the new blog site. Thank you!

Friday Morning 9 Miler

Great run this morning to start the weekend of running related events. Nine miler in the am and ran at an average pace of 10:41 which is not bad for me at that distance and amount of time on the road. Absolutely perfect morning, crisp cool air with all the stars in the Kansas Sky! There were a couple of runners out closer to the 6am hour but I like it when I am one of the only runners on the road and have to look out for the zombies all by myself. I actually think that it helps my pace a little when I hear something and want to put some distance between me and them...! At the end of the workout I put on a little Podrunner music and it was a nice way to keep pace when I might have otherwise slowed down at the end of the workout. Check them out and buy a t-shirt to help keep the workouts coming!

2010 Worldwide Festival of Races

Today I parcipated and finished my first half marathon distance as part of the 2010 Worldwide Festival of Races and I must admit it was harder than I thought. The first 10-11 miles were somewhat slower than my normal pace but this was intentional as I wanted to finish strong and not limp across the finish line. The overall average pace was 11:49, not too bad for a late-starter and still overweight runner. Here is the screenshot of my Garmin Connect information:

Begging to my usual impromptu decision making I decided to go buy some gels and nutrition because I thought it was the right thing to do on a run that I knew was going to be over 2 hours in length. What was really funny was that during my run I was listening to the most recent episode of the Extra Mile Podcast and the subject of nutrition was discussed with the founder of Hammer Nutrition. I learned a lot in that short discussion of nutrition that I am going to work into the upcoming training for a spring marathon, the newly renamed Oz Marathon in Olathe, KS which is held at the Garmin Headquarters. Back to nutrition.

I purchased a pouch of the Accel Gel and Cliff Shot Blocks both in a citrus flavor, Orange and Lime respectively. Those flavors were chosen because I was not sure of how any other "creamy" or strong type of flavor would have worked out on the road as this was the first time I was going to use any kind of nutritional product on the road. I think the gel was a better choice and a good one to build upon as it contains a bit of protein and everything I have ever read always states that a balanced approach is the best approach. The Accel also had a lower amount of sugar. This being said I am not finished experimenting with products and I have only tried three and there are many more out there to be sampled, I will probably go with some Hammer products next. Not really because I know about them from a scientific angle but they have always, in my short tenure, supported local races and I hear about them all over the podcast landscape. Water, or lack of.

Probably the most misjudged item on the run was water. I have a Ultimate Direction waist hydration pack with one bottle and I filled it twice on the run. Maybe it was a combination of slight dehydration and not enough on the route but I felt more dehydrated than anything else. The next two long distance races I have planned are supported and I will make sure to run a shorter loop or find a gas station or something to fill the bottle a couple more times. Finishing felt great!

Up until mile about mile 11 I felt strong and was running in the low 11's to high 10's on the pace scale, this whole time I had followed my intervals to the second and ran head high, eyes to the horizon. However somewhere along mile 11 the horizon began to dip and all I could focus on was the next few feet that lie ahead. My legs began to really feel tired, not cramped or ready to give out, just tired from the pounding. This was after all my first attempt at a 13 mile run. The second to last interval was slow and I did muster the strength to keep going, albiet slowly, to the finish and stopped the Garmin at 13.14 miles. There were no tears or cheering, just a nice sense of accomplishment and a desire to train for 26.2!

Thanks to all of my fellow runners worldwide who participated this weekend and especially to the race organizers and supporters, you all know who you are! Take a gander at the goodie bag!

What a great idea to fill a virtual goodie bag with items every runner needs, music, stickers, inspiration and links to important online resources. I look forward to next year's race and to all of my fellow runners across the globe running together in spirit!

First 2010 Kansas City Run in Shorts!

First run in Kansas City wearing SHORTS in 2010! Very beautiful 48F at 527am! Nice midweek EMR 5K, felt good the whole run and did not take any walk breaks. Slowed down a couple times and managed an overall 11:25 pace with nice bits of 8:39 mixed in as well...would really like to get the training average down into the 10's and high 9's by mid summer.

Sunday 6 Miler!

Nice Sunday long run for the week, about 20 degrees out when I started but no wind to speak of so I warmed up quickly. Changed the loop slightly to get a couple of more hills along the way. They are not too steep, but just enough to break the pace a little. Listened to the Extra Mile Podcast which was a perfect companion!

Week 1 Half Mary

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Today was the fourth and final workout of the week for my first half
marathon on April 18th, 2010. The half will be in Lawrence, KS and
should be a very hilly affair!
My workouts this week were all indoors on the treadmill as it has been
very cold (in the teens) in the mornings and it was for the best to
run indoors. Thankfully my mother in law recently purchased a
treadmill for our house making the gym obsolete. I went online and
got a Garmin footpod for my 405 and calibrated it with he GPS and
remarkably I have found it to be pretty accurate.
There were four workouts this week two two milers one five mile and
finally a six mile long run which I completed this afternoon in the
midst of a 12 inch snowstorm! My total mileage for the week was 18
miles, representing the longest week of running in my short running
career. I feel good about the week and other than some very minor
stiffness in my knees I feel quite good. Next week will be very
similar and will hopefulle be as good as this week!

Sent from my iPhone

It's Been Awhile

Yes, it has been a while since I have posted and as I sit here on my lunch hour I thought I would recount a few things from the past month or so.

First of all I completed the longest run in my life, the KC Trail Nerds Clinton Lake 8.5 Mile Trail Race a few weeks ago in Lawrence, KS. It cannot go without saying that trail running is a completely different animal than road running or jogging. As I believe I mentioned after my first trail experience, I really love trail running! Each step is different and just as soon as you can find a "groove" the trail turns or the surface changes which require you to change as well. This time the trail was wet and muddy in sections and there were also sections with wet limestone which is super slippery. None the less I finished the race in 2 hours and felt great. What I think it did for me more than anything was prove to myself that I can do a longer run. My new goal is to complete the Olathe Half Marathon in Olathe, KS next April.

One of the main things I have been thinking about recently is my addiction to sugar and my overall laziness when it comes to eating well. Anyone would be remiss to try and abstain or force themselves to something extreme but with me I find myself nearly always leaning towards the "easiest" food option. The easiest food option is usually something pre-packaged, out of a box or from a quick serve restaurant...all, for the most part, less than the smartest choice. As of late I have also been reading and listening to folks talk about our addiction to sugar, processed sugar, in all forms - breads, sweets, almost everything packaged has high-fructose corn syrup.

I am not entirely sure what I am going to do about this addiction, but in the coming posts I hope to not only relate my running stories but also my fight to win the war against sugar!