Running Without Direction and Finding a Great Route

I got out early this morning for my run but wasn't sure how far or where I was heading. Sometimes having a plan to run but not really having a plan of where or how far to run makes for an interesting day.

Today it turned out to be a great idea. I just laced up the shoes, put on the heart rate monitor, and turned left outside my front door. The past few runs I've done have been tough. I haven't been comfortable until well into the run, sometimes 4-5 miles before I start to feel normal. So, this morning I decided to take the run easy and to keep my Heart Rate Average down.

The random route I picked had me turning left down side-streets where I knew large hills lived. I wanted to get a couple of good hills in and the random left and right turns paid out with the big hills.

The run turned out well. A little over 7 miles and my AVG HR was only 135 BPM and with my pace at only 8:00/mile the run was clearly a relaxing few miles through the rolling hills.

I've got a few more runs scheduled for this week. Might make a couple of those just as random as today to see if I can land another run as great as today's.

Running with friends is an important part of life.

I had a good run today with one of my friends. I ran the 4+ mile route with him and pretty much spoke the entire time. The pace was slow and I was not feeling any suffering at all. I literally could have kept up that pace for hours. It wasn't the training run I had scheduled for today, but during the run I realized that it didn't really matter about that scheduled workout. What was more important was that I was able to spend an afternoon run with a friend.

I haven't been training with other runners for many years now. I don't know the reason, I just have strange hours that I keep at work so my running is usually while others are still sound asleep or they are sitting down to dinner with their families.

I do think, however, that it is important to take the time to run with friends. You learn a lot about them, and about yourself. When you run alone, you have many thoughts to yourself that you don't voice to anyone but your internal voice. When you run with friends, you can change it up a bit and bounce those thoughts off your friends, and they can do the same.

In the end, I think both runners gain more than good health and that makes the run, no matter the pace, very worth while.

2010 MetroPCS Dallas White Rock Marathon Route - Estimation

The MetroPCS Dallas White Rock Marathon route is still not confirmed, but the the Official Website www.RunTheRock.com does have a good estimation graphic of the route. I went ahead and tried to take it a step further and map it with MapMyRun.

Click here for my estimate based on their estimate: Unofficial Route map

I'm looking forward to the route and noticed that it has a couple of good inclines over the course of the 26.2 miles. Click the image below for a larger representation of what we have to look forward to.

All Runners have Vices - Mine is Beer

As runners I think we all have our little indulgences. Some like sweets, others are freaks for pizza, or chicken wings, while others like myself choose a nice cold bottle of the good stuff... beer.

Good beer goes a long way. I've drank it, cooked with it, marinated with it, and drank it while cooking and marinating.

This year, I decided to start chronicling my love of beer with my iPhone. With every new bottle I enjoy, I take a picture of it and add it to my beer album.

Here is a growing list of awesome and not so awesome choices I've made along the way.

Click this link for: My Beer Album

Some beers are great, others absolutely suck, but in the end they have one thing in common... they are all beer and I love them for that.

Running with back pain

I am 7 days into my recovery from the jarring blow I received to my back last Saturday. The immediate pain was nearly unbearable and as the hours passed all I could think about was how I was going to be able to run with all this pain. Running with back pain is not easy. You use the muscles in your lower back for stabilization, power, and pretty much every other thing I can think of.

Running through the pain is mind over matter, as long as the pain is not structural. I went to the Orthopedist to find out how bad my back really was and it turns out there was no structural damage to the spine. That was the good news. The bad news was that it was muscular damage which meant "rest" was the best medicine. Since I had no intention of sitting around and letting my back pain keep me from achieving my running goals I decided to augment my training plan to make sure I kept some miles under my feet. That meant changing my routes to flatter, less hilly runs as well as backing off the pace.

I did rest for 3 days when I was scheduled to run. That was depressing, but I was still unsure about how bad the back injury really was. The day I got the all clear from the Dr. I decided to take an easy run. It turned into about 4.5 miles of running at an easy 8:15/mi pace. My heart rate was low and my only focus was on not jarring my back too much. In the end, I think that run was a great idea because it not only gave me a rise in my spirits, but my confidence also received a boost.

That short run was painful, as was the 6.5 mile run in the hills I did yesterday, but they were both important to my success in achieving the running goals I have set for myself. I am still committed to increasing my mileage over the next month to a consistent 40 miles per week. Until then, I will be running away from back pain one mile at a time.

Running 40 Miles Per Week

I am one more run away from finishing my second week of my latest running goal. These days, running seems to be influencing my habits. Take tonight; I skipped Happy Hour to make sure I ate a good meal took in fluids and would get to sleep at a decent time.

What does it say about a runner when a goal becomes more important than something he loves to do. In this case, going out would completely derail my ability to wake up at 5:00am and get in a good run. I think it also means, that running is more important to me than I thought it was and that I'm able to make small sacrifices to achieve great gains of enjoyment, fitness, and hopefully hitting the goal I've made for myself.

I'm only a hand full of weeks away from when my current goal of running 40 miles per week. Once achieved and maintained, the running goal will shift into marathon training. That will take my mileage to another level which I have not seen in my running lifetime. I'm told 50 and 60 mile weeks will be my goal and I can't wait for the challenge.

So, as I take this rest day to contemplate how things are going with my training, I am reminded that I am finally taking my running seriously. More importantly, I'm setting goals that are difficult to hit but they are teaching me that, at times, pain and suffering are worth the end result.

40 miles per week, here I come.

Beat the heat by running early in the morning

Great run this morning at 5:15am. It was already 75 degrees but with no sun in sight it was actually quite pleasant. I warmed up my first mile at 8:30/mi and cooled down on mile 4 at 7:30 per mile. I pushed the pace on miles 2 and 3 hovering around sub 7 minute pace.

Overall a good run through some rolling hills in the dark. A great way to start Monday morning!