Flagpole 8k Race Report

It was a warm and muggy morning for the 20th running of the Flagpole 8k at Flagpole Hill in Dallas, Texas. The race started at 7:30 and when I arrived at 6:45 it was already 77 degrees. But in Texas we have to expect that, so there was still a good crowd of racers. The race course is on city streets and has a few small hills. After about a mile on major roads it turns onto nice quiet neighborhood streets until turning back on the major road for the final mile.

I went out hard and fast, probably a little too fast, and I slowed at mile three, my slowest split. But I was able to gut it out at the end and achieved my goal of finishing at a pace below 10 minutes per mile. My time was 48:50, for a pace of 9:49 per mile. My splits were:
9:52
9:41
10:02
9:57
9:17

As I've mentioned in previous posts this race was my first race ever last year, so I've been racing for exactly one year today. How much have I improved?

Last year my time was 1:00:24, a 12:09 pace. So I cut almost 12 minutes from last year's time, and 2:20 minutes per mile off my pace! This pace is also faster than my 5k PR (10:08) and my recent 5 mile race on May 1st (also 10:08/mile). Also, I compared this race from an Age Graded Performance perspective with last year's race. This year's graded performance was 62.93% (my best ever!); last year's performance was 50.57%. So I feel like this race is a real success for me. I remember when 11:30 per mile seemed fast, and now I can see that one day I might actually get below 9:00 per mile for shorter races! I'm still no Olympian, but I'll be very happy with times like that.

Happy 4th of July, everyone, and good luck to any other racers out there!

Tour de France Blog

There's a good Tour de France blog that posts on the race and posts links to good news sources. For all you cyclists and Tour enthusiasts you'll want to check it out.

Blog Survey

I copied this from Pam, who I think copied it from someone else, but oh well, it's kind of fun. Here we go:

There are TWO rules when answering these questions:
1) Only ONE answer to each. Of course its tough - thats the point!
2) Each blog/blogger may only be used ONCE. [I had to abandon this rule; I couldn't answer honestly without using some blogs more than once.]

What blogger inspired you to FINALLY start a blog?
Sean

What blog do you visit the most often everday?
Boing Boing

What blogger do you think you have the most in common with?
Chris Brogan. I swear we're long lost brothers.

Which blog can you be sure will make you pee a little you laugh so hard?
Running related: Rebecca!
General topic: Fark

Which blogger leaves you the best/funniest comments?
Charlotte

What blogger do you wish would update more often?
Race Walking Record

Which blog do you wish more people would read?
Running related: Annalisa. I love her insights into running and herself, and I love to read about her effort to run despite obstacles. Always interesting and entertaining.
General topic: AntiWar.com

Which blog do you learn the most from?
Mark

What blog is your newest addition?
James

Who has been on your blogroll the longest?
Sean (I know, I'm supposed to use each blog only once, but I can only answer this honestly by using Sean twice. I started reading him first and he inspired me to start blogging.)

Whose blogroll would you LOVE find yourself on?
Alison's

Whose blogroll were you the happiest to find yourself on?
Dianna

If you could write like any blogger, who would it be?
Running Related: pjmorse (running plus little extras)
General topic: Juan Cole

What blogger are you the happiest you've "met?"
Chris Brogan (OK, I cheated again, but not repeating blogs is TOO hard)

Which blog do you recommend the most?
Richard

Who is the next person you'll add to your blogroll?
Not sure.

Who is the blogger you hope to meet in "real" life?
Most of them!

Which blogger do you admire the most?
Annalisa

Who would you trust with your blog while you were away?
Chris Brogan

Which blog has your favorite design?
Annalisa

How many blogs are on your blogroll(s)?
Running related: 66
All blogs: 161 (see them here)

I'm back

I had to go to San Antonio for one day for work so I didn't get to blog yesterday. I stayed at a different hotel on this trip and they didn't have a fitness center! However, they gave me a half-price ticket for a fitness center around the corner, so I paid $7.50 (which I will expense) to walk on their treadmills. It was a pretty nice place, nothing fancy, with lots of equipment. I was glad because I wanted to do a long walk and didn't want to hog the treadmills. I didn't push hard but kept the pace steady.

Distance: 7.90 miles
Time: 1:30:00
Pace: 11:23

4x8 pushups

Today I had a great walk on the jogging trail near my house. I was able to maintain a pretty good pace, especially considering the additional mileage I've been logging lately.

Distance: 7.00 miles
Time: 1:14:18
Pace: 10:36

4x8 pushups
4x10 situps

Tomorrow I'm taking a vacation day from work, and I'm also tapering for my July 4th race, so I can sleep in tomorrow and Saturday and try to catch up on sleep and relax. On the 4th I'd really like to break a 10 minute per mile pace but I'm not sure if that will be possible. I know I can beat my current PR (12:09 mpm) since this was my first race ever last year and my pace is more than a minute slower than typical training paces these days. The only question is how fast I can go. I would at least like to beat my May 1st 5 mile race PR (10:08 mpm).

I'll post on Sunday and let you know how I did. Good training and racing, everyone!

And another thing

Last week was the first time I've ever walked 50 miles in a week. It's the first, but it won't be the last! ;)

My first Long Run Tuesday

In preparation for the Ultracentric 24 hour race I'm starting to build up to three long runs per week (preferably in the 3-5 hour range). Today I started that process by walking 10.5 miles. It's not a really long walk yet; I don't want to increase my distance too aggressively and injure myself or burn out. I was able to keep a pretty good pace and felt good the whole time. On the way to work I had some discomfort behind my left knee but it has mostly subsided.

It will be difficult to get my long weekend walk this week; I've got an 8k race Sunday morning. I haven't decided if I want to walk at the lake after the race or get up Monday morning (work holiday) and do it. Sunday would be preferable so that I could sleep in on Monday and so that my training week would not be disrupted, but I don't know if I'll feel like walking 17+ miles after a race. I guess I'll just play it by ear.

This afternoon I'm off to San Antonio for a quick business trip so I'll be doing tomorrow's mileage on the hotel treadmill.

Distance: 10.50 miles
Time: 1:56:13
Pace: 11:04

Scott Jurek wins Western States, again!

Six times in a row. This guy is incredible. I'd give anything to run like that.

Weekend Recap

This has been a busy week and weekend! My ten year old nephew has been visiting for the week so we've been very busy entertaining him. My daughter's birthday was last Monday but her party was yesterday, so we've had a week of birthday celebrations and preparations. Wednesday night we went to Medieval Times (ugh, but the kids loved it). Friday night we went to the Texas Rangers game. Saturday night we went to a wedding. Sunday afternoon was the official birthday party (Lord of the Rings theme, Lela dressed up as Arwen [including pointy elfin ears]).

I managed to get in my long walk yesterday but in order to get home in time to prepare for the party I had to get up at 4:00 AM (ugh again!). It was misting as I drove to the lake, but by the time I got there it was a full rain storm. I promised myself I'd start walking by 5:00, so at 5:01 AM I stepped out of the car and into the rain. It rained almost the entire walk; I was soaked to the bone, including my shoes and socks, but miraculously I didn't get a single blister. I think my feet are magic! In all my training and racing the only blisters I've ever gotten have been very small blisters on the tips of a couple of toes, and they have never hurt or bothered me while walking.

My long walk was great--I reached my goal of 22 miles and maintained a good, even pace (11:35). I was definitely tired and sore at the end but I spent the rest of the day on my feet (preparing for the party, hosting the party, cleaning up afterwards) and I felt good the whole time.

This week my training will be off a little bit because of the Flagpole 8k on July 4th. I'm planning to walk 10 miles tomorrow, 7 miles on Wednesday and Thursday, then taper on Friday/Saturday, race on Sunday, then long walk on Monday July 5th. I don't want to let up on my long distances because I don't have much time before Ultracentric.

Good running/walking, everyone!

Distance: 22.00 miles
Time: 4:14:46
Pace: 11:35

I'm a little behind

I didn't get around to posting yesterday. Not much going on here. Still celebrating my daughter's birthday! Her party is actually this Sunday (we had to push it due to scheduling conflicts) so we'll be preparing for that this weekend. It's a "Lord of the Rings" themed party; she's dressing up as Arwen (pointy ears and all). I'm still hoping to get up early and get in a long walk (22 miles?) on Sunday morning before preparing for the party.

Yesterday I was pretty tired and just did an easy 7+ miles. It's ironic because an easy pace (11:30 - 11:50) is still about two minutes faster per mile than my 24-hour pace will be. I'm actually going to start training at that slower pace on some of my long walks to get myself used to the slower pace.

Distance: 7.21 miles
Time: 1:25:32
Pace: 11:51

4x8 pushups
3x10 situps

Today I also did 7+ miles, a little bit faster than yesterday. I'm glad tomorrow is a rest day because I need a chance to sleep in. Since we are entertaining our 10 year old nephew this week we've been very busy and I've been getting to bed rather late. My alarm goes off at 4:45 AM so late nights are really hard for me.

Distance: 7.07 miles
Time: 1:19:33
Pace: 11:15

4x8 pushups
4x10 situps

Good weekend running, everyone, and good luck to all those racing (Charlotte has a Half Marathon this weekend. Go, Charlotte!!!)

It's Official!

The race director of the Ultracentric 24- and 48-hour run has agreed to make it a Centurion event, so I'm officially training for my first 24-hour race and my first 100 mile event! I think I must be crazy..........it's only five months away..........

Quick Post

I'm very busy today (boo hoo for me) so just a quick post. I inadvertently did another tempo-type walk this morning, a little slower than yesterday. I started at 11:30 and ended up at 10:37 for two miles. It was a little cooler today (70 deg.) so that was a nice change of pace.

Distance: 7.13 miles
Time: 1:18:19
Pace: 10:59

3x8 pushups
3x10 situps

New Wilco Album!

The new Wilco album, A Ghost is Born, was released yesterday. I've been listening to it on their website for quite a while and I really like it. It's a departure from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot but there are still familiar stylistic touches and themes. I hope to have time to but it today. If you're interested you can still listen to the entire album on their website! Try before you buy....

Great training today!

I had another great A. Tempo training session today! Considering that I walked 19 miles on Sunday and was pretty beat afterwards, I was really surprised with my results today. My splits were:

11:00
10:48
10:31
10:21
10:10
9:43 !!!

What's great is that I felt tired afterwards, but not totally exhausted. 10:10 is almost my 5k and 5 mile PR pace, and 9:43 is below any pace I've ever raced (I hit 9:30 once in a 5k but I didn't sustain it). I'm very pleased with these splits. I think maybe I can finish my upcoming 8k in below 10:00 per min. pace! That would be so awesome and the first time I would be able to maintain that speed over distance. We'll see.....

Distance: 7.16 miles
Time: 1:16:05
Pace: 10:37

3x8 pushups
3x10 situps

Happy Birthday to my sweet little baby

Five years old!! I can't believe it. Love you, monkey!

Sunday Roundup

Here's a summary of my training to date:

Miles this week: 47.6
Avg. Pace: 11:15

Miles this year: 862.6
Avg. Pace: 11:16
Cumulative Time: 6 days, 15 hours, 5 minutes, 23 seconds

For more details, visit my training log here.

Not quite what I had planned

I went to the lake today for my long walk, but things just didn't click. First we went to a wedding last night and, although I tried to resist, I ate too much wedding cake. Friday and Saturday nights I didn't sleep well or long enough, so this morning I just didn't feel great Then I left my Garmin Forerunner at home and had to go back and get it. That meant I started later than expected, and that means I dealt with the heat longer than necessary.

Once I got to the lake I got in the groove of things and felt pretty good. It was hot (I'll be repeating that phrase for several more months) but not unbearable. I had plenty of liquids (I brought an ice cooler with extra water and gatorade so I could replenish liquids halfway around the lake), had a snack, had my Hammer Gel and my electrolyte caplets. As I finished my first lake lap I caught up with some other racewalkers and passed them pretty easily (I hate to admit it but it felt good). One young punk (just kidding, a good young racewalker) decided to play with me and tried to out pace me, but I hung on his elbow until he got tired and then I passed him. That was the start of my second loop.

My plan was to do 24 miles. The lake is about 9.3 miles around, so that meant two loops plus another 5.5 miles. As I got close to the end of my second loop I had a little discomfort in my right knee. Nothing too severe but something to pay attention to. When I got to my car I refilled my bottles and drank some nice, cold water. I was feeling very tired and was tempted to quit there but I pushed myself to go on. However, I made it only another mile before I had some pain in my chest/side that was very uncomfortable and I was very tired. I decided there was no reason to push myself too hard so I walked slowly back to my car and called it a day.

I was a little disappointed but 19 miles is still good mileage, especially after 4 days of 7+ miles this week. I'm pushing my mileage in anticipation of the 24 hour race, but I know that if I push too hard I'll probably burn out or injure myself. I also know that I need to slow down if I want to go farther (I'll be doing the 24 hour race and 1.5 - 2 minutes slower per mile). So I'll just be happy with what I did and start planning for the week. This week will be more of the same (4 days of 7+ miles) and then my long walk (maybe 22 miles is a good target to aim for). The week after that will be the Flagpole 8k on July 4th.

Distance: 19.0 miles
Time: 3:37:36
Pace: 11:27

Recipe Recommendation

I've made this dish twice and it's incredible: Bar-b-que'd Sweet Plantains. We don't have a grill so I just broil them on the broiler pan in the oven. Instead of hamburger I use Morningstar Farms veggie crumbles with some onion powder, garlic powder and a little romano or parmesan cheese.

Make sure you let the plantains ripen until they are black and getting soft. They should be as sweet as possible. This is a tasty dish with an excellent mix of carbs and proteins. Check it out!

Whew! Warm and muggy this morning

When I opened the door this morning at 5:15 AM the muggy air hit me like a wall. It's getting hot down here in Texas. I did my usual route to the track and back, a little slower than yesterday. I did decide to carry a water bottle and I think that helped; I didn't feel so parched and tired when I got home. By 30 minutes into my walk all of the ice had melted; by the end of the walk the remaining water was tepid. I miss Fall/Winter training!

This weekend I've got to spend some time working on the yard! We'll also go to the Farmer's Market (we've gotten addicted to that place after only two weeks) and then a wedding tomorrow night.

Sunday I'll do 24 miles at the lake, then my Father-in-Law and his wife are coming to our house for Father's Day dinner. Looks like a full weekend! Good running/walking, everyone!

Distance: 7.13 miles
Time: 1:20:44
Pace: 11:19

Want to boost your brain power? Try marathons and...

Sex! That's right, friends, Professor Perry Bartlett has studied the process of brain cell creation and has found, among other things, that sexual activity stimulates the creation of neurons, which he thinks might be essential for normal, healthy brain functions.

His team also found that, "if you put an animal on a wheel and let it run ad libitum and they run up to about 10 kilometres overnight, they make about twice as many neurones."

Seems like we might be on the right track with this running/walking obsession. Do any of you guys feel smarter?

Nothing special to report

Just another 7+ miles. I was a little slower today (11:15 per mile) but that's OK. You can't tear up the track every day! ;) I don't normally carry water for these shorter runs but I think I'm going to have to start wearing a water bottle pack. I sweat A LOT and I get very thirsty at the end of the walks. When I get home I drink LOTS of water, so I might feel better and perform better if I drink during the walk.

Distance: 7.30 miles
Time: 1:22:10
Pace: 11:15

Pushups: 3x8
Situps: 3x10

Just Another Day at the Track

I had another good walk at the track today. I got a little nauseous and fatigues at the end so my slowest mile was actually the last one, but I was faster than yesterday.

Distance: 7.10 miles
Time: 1:17:01
Pace: 10:50

Pushups: 2x8 and 1x6
Situps: 3x10

Normal daily walk

I walked 7.1 miles at the track today and felt great. I was also pretty fast, especially considering I walked 18+ miles on Sunday. This is good since soon my Tuesday walks will be long. I need to get my body adjusted to multiple long walks per week and back-to-back long walks.

Distance: 7.10 miles
Time: 1:18:02
Pace: 10:59

Pushups: 2x8 and 1x6
Situps: 3x10

Results of 2004 USA 15k Race Walk Championships

Congratulations to Curt Clausen and Teresa Vaill for winning the 2004 USA 15k Race Walk Championships! Curt's time was 1:04:40 (6:56 minutes per mile!) and Teresa's time was 1:10:43 (7:35 per mile). That's some seriously fast walking! I can only dream of times like that......

Update: Here is a nice photostory of the 15k from Racewalk.com.

Rosie's Running Around the World

Rosie Swalepope, a 57 year old British runner, is running around the world to raise money for several charities, particularly the Kitezh Community for Orphan Children and The Siberian Railway Cancer Hospital, both Russian children's charities. She started in Russia and is averaging 40k per day. She's currently 2,000 miles east of Moscow and is entering Siberia. You can read periodic updates on her website.

I'm always inspired when I read about ordinary people doing amazing things!

Sunday Roundup

Here's a summary of my training to date:

Miles this week: 47.6
Avg. Pace: 11:07

Miles this year: 814.9
Avg. Pace: 11:16
Cumulative Time: 6 days, 6 hours, 9 minutes, 50 seconds

For more details, visit my training log here.

18+ miles with a negative split

Today was a great day for a walk, not too hot or sunny. I got started a little before 6:00 am and did my usual route around the lake. I got several nice comments from runners and also ran into a couple of other racewalkers. We finished together and talked about upcoming races and possibly training together.

I also got a negative split today, which I always feel is a sign of a good, well executed training walk. The first nine miles took me 1:42; the second nine took 1:40. My splits were 11:58, 11:23, 10:59, 11:48, 11:31, 11:20, 11:18, 11:04, 11:07, 11:21, 10:41, 10:58, 11:01, 11:05, 11:10, 11:10, 11:34, 10:38, 10:09 (.666 miles). My pace was 11:11, below my marathon PR of 11:20.

I'm tired now but felt good through the walk. I was able to drink plenty of water and some gatorade and used Hammer Gel and electrolyte caplets. I didn't finish the gel and didn't feel the need to eat the Clif Bar I had in my pack; I think that's a sign that I'm more able to handle the longer distances than I was a few months ago. I used to crash around mile 18 but I never crashed today.

Distance: 18.67 miles
Time: 3:29:00
Pace: 11:11

More information on the death of Al Heppner

Here is a detailed article on the death of Al Heppner with some possible reasons why he chose to take his own life after not qualifying for the Olympics.

Teaching myself JavaScript

See the little quote on the left side of the page next to my picture? Well, if you refresh the page you might see a different one. I've added some JavaScript that will randomly change the quote (there are five in all). Click refresh and enjoy some running inspiration.

Can you tell I'm bored at work? ;)

Have a good weekend, everyone.

I don't know what happened today, but I hope it happens again!

Today was my best walk in a long time. I don't really understand why. Since this was going to be my fourth 7+ mile walk in a row, I expected it to be slow and steady. Instead I had great time and incredible splits. All of my splits were below 11:00; all but one were below 10:30! Excluding races, today's pace was probably my second fastest ever. Today's splits were: 10:56, 10:17, 10:20, 10:16, 10:16, 10:15, 10:19.

Today I also reached my lowest weight since I started training: 166.6. I first dropped below 168 on May 7th, so it took me over a month to drop below 167. Hopefully the longer miles I will be walking will help increase my weight loss (I think I need to be between 155 and 160).

This is a great start to my weekend. Tomorrow is my rest day so I'll sleep in and then we'll probably go to the Farmers' Market and Cosmic Cafe again. Then Sunday I'll be at the lake for about 19.5 miles (two loops).

Distance: 7.04 miles
Time: 1:13:05
Pace: 10:22

Rainy morning walk

It's been raining for days here but this is the first morning I actually walked in it (the other mornings I somehow walked in the few moments when the rain had stopped). I don't mind walking in the rain since it usually cools me off so I was happy to get up and get going. I did another 7+ miles on my neighborhood jogging/walking trail. I've been able to pick up the pace every day this week; today's pace was 10:52.

I've also been adding some strength training to my morning ritual. I don't have time or money to join a gym so I've just been doing some exercises at home. Right now I'm hopelessly weak but I suppose that, just like walking, I will improve over time. Today I did 2 repetitions of 8 pushups and 2 repetitions of 10 situps.

Distance: 7.25 miles
Time: 1:18:47
Pace: 10:52

Today's Walk

I walked 7.5 miles today. I couldn't go to the track because we had a lot of rain last night and the track was soggy and puddle-filled, so I walked around the neighborhood for a while and then walked on a jogging/walking trail near the house. Nothing special about today's walk, just put in the miles and enjoyed being outside and working my muscles.

While meandering around the neighborhood I used my Garmin Forerunner to calculate the distance from our house to my daughter's school. My wife is trying to find a way to get exercise but has limitations due to her health problems, so she was thinking of walking to school to meet Lela and then walk home together. The distance is .789 miles, so we'll have to see how long it will take her to walk that round trip.

Distance: 7.50 miles
Time: 1:23:48
Pace: 11:10

Today's workout and some "big" plans???

Today's workout was a recovery seven miles at the track. I didn't push the pace because I don't want to overdo it after my sixteen miles on Sunday. I felt good and it was not too hot today because it was overcast and misting a little bit. When I was 50 feet from my front door it started to pour down rain, so I avoided getting soaked!

Did I mention that work is hell?

OK, now for the big news. I've mentioned once or twice on this blog my desire to race in some ultra distance races. Well, the time may come sooner than I thought. In a recent post I told you about Ollie Nanyes, a fellow racewalker who walked 101 miles in 24 hours. Ollie's goal is to become a Centurion--this is the official designation for a walker/racewalker who has walked 100 miles in 24 hours. Ollie's 101 mile attempt didn't count because it wasn't an officially sanctioned Centurion event and did not have walk judges. A few weeks later Ollie tried to become an official Centurion at a race in Rotterdam but he was too drained from his previous race and only completed 81 miles.

Ollie recently announced that he was asking race directors of other 24 hour events to allow judges to monitor the walkers who are seeking Centurion status. One of the races he is targeting is the Ultracentric 24 & 48 Hour Run here in Dallas on November 26-28. Centurion races are rarely held in the U.S. (they are much more common in Europe and Australia), so I'm trying to decide if I want to train for this event. It would have a major impact on my training (and my life):

1. I would probably only do two races before Ultracentric: the July 4th Flagpole 8k (for old time's sake) and the Palo Duro Trail 50 (as a 50 mile training race).
2. I will probably have to build up to three long walks per week (4-5 hours). Each week will vary, of course, and I will scale back every third week to give my body a break, but a typical week might be:

Monday--off
Tuesday--2-5 hours
Wednesday--5-6 miles
Thursday--5-6 miles
Firday--off
Saturday--4-5 hours
Sunday--4-5 hours

I don't want to overdramatize and say that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It's not. It is, however, a good opportunity to reach one of my long term goals, and there is no guarantee that there will be another opportunity any time soon. It's also a good opportunity because I wouldn't have to travel to the event; this would reduce the stress and the cost of the event. It would also be great because my family could be there to crew for me and keep my spirits up.

So this is what is on my mind lately. I'm excited and a little scared, but I think that there is no harm in trying (as long as I train sensibly and take the mileage progression slowly).

Like the quote on my blog homepage says, "Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go." -- T.S. Eliot

Anyone out there have any thoughts?

Distance: 7.12 miles
Time: 1:24:18
Pace: 11:50

Great new headband

If you sweat heavily (like I do) and hate getting sweat in your eyes, check out the new Tunnel Vision headband. It is very small and made of plastic and has channel to capture the sweat and deliver to the side of your head rather than letting it drip down your face. Unlike regular sweatbands it doesn't absorb the sweat and eventually become waterlogged. I've been using it for about a week (I used it in the 20k and I used it today on my 16 mile long walk) and I think it works very well. I sweat a lot so I still get some sweat in my eyes but it has significantly reduced the problem. It's a little pricey (mine was $15 at a local running shop) but it should last indefinitely since it won't wear out like standard sweatbands. Also, it can be washed in the sink and dries quickly so you won't need more than one. I think it is worth checking it out if you have this problem.

Great day for a long walk

It was beautiful out today. It was warmer than I prefer (mid-70s) but it was overcast so it never got too hot. I did an eight mile out and back course at White Rock Lake. The lake is about 9.25 miles around (it can be stretched to longer distances with some additional loops) so I went almost all the way around and then turned around and went back. Best of all, I was pleased with my times. They weren't extremely fast but they were fairly even, and I didn't push myself to go fast. I didn't experience any major slowdown toward the end and was able to keep an even energy level (I even kicked it on the last mile for my fastest split, 10:51). My average pace was below my marathon PR pace, so that's pretty good!

I used my Ultimate Direction Gemini water pack on the walk and it worked out very well. It has two bottles (I use one for water and one for gatorade) and an awesome little pocket in front that is big enough for my gel flask and electrolyte tablets. It has a large storage area in the back which is a little too big for walks of this distance but should be great when I get into the ultra distances.

Splits:
11:55
11:28
11:18
11:15
11:24
11:16
11:20
10:57
11:11
11:01
11:38
11:24
11:09
10:50 (I think this was a mistake; I think the Garmin lost .05 miles so this is a little faster than it should be)
11:23
10:51

Distance: 16 miles
Time: 3:00:28
Pace: 11:17

Great Healthy Day with the Family

Today we enjoyed a lot of time together and focused on our renewed effort to be healthy. We started out by going to the Dallas Farmers Market, a great place to buy fresh fruits and vegetables right from farmers or dealers of local produce. We bought blackberries, peaches, corn on the cob, dime-sized tomatoes, apples, squash, asparagus and plantain bananas. I bought my wife a juicer for our anniversary and she couldn't wait to buy fruits and vegetables for juicing. We also bought two big hanging plants for the house.

After that we ate lunch at Cosmic Cafe, a great vegetarian restaurant specializing in Indian and eastern cuisines. My daughter and I shared a "Sacred Cow Pie" (pizza on nan with very fresh veggies) and a falafel sandwich.

After that we went to various other stores getting things for the house and groceries. We've been working on our backyard so we got some candles for the outdoor bistro table, some little pagoda-style hanging lanterns that are solar charged during the day, and so on. Now, after a nice dinner we're all relaxing before going to bed. Tomorrow I'll be up at 5:00 to head to the lake and do my 16 miles.

Check out Bug

Check out Bug, our newest blogger and probably our youngest. She is the daughter of Reba and has just started running and blogging. Congratulations, Bug, and keep up the good work.

Philly runners create a terror scare!

In today's climate nothing is innocent! Read here how Philly's Hash House Harriers created a terrorism scare by marking their running route with flour! I lived in Philly for 6 years; I really wish I could move back!

The Pressure of an Elite Athlete

Here is an interesting and sad article on Al Heppner, an elite racewalker who killed himself in February after failing to qualify for the Olympic racewalking team.

I take it back, I DID walk today

Today is just too beautiful a day to work from home. I should have gone to the office. After working all morning my burnout caught up with me and the beautiful weather outside coerced me into putting on my walking shoes. I headed to the track on my usual route and put in a little over 6 miles. It's 88 degrees outside so it was a challenging walk, but now after my shower I feel refreshed and relaxed. I'll do a little more work, then make Southern Barbecue Tempeh for the family dinner and sleep very well tonight.

Distance: 6.31 miles
Time: 1:08:12
Pace: 10:50

No walk today

Well, I got back from San Antonio last night just in time to visit with my family for a little while, tuck the little one into bed and then fall off to sleep. My wife just bought us a new mattress that arrived yesterday--it is soooooo comfortable. It's super soft with a very thick pillow top and feels very good. It's at least 4-6 inches taller than our old mattress, so our four year old has trouble climbing into the bed.

I woke up at 5:00 this morning but just felt achy and tired so I decided to grab another hour of sleep before starting work. I'm working from home today which is nice and saves me from the 30 minute commute and all of the interruptions in the office. It is a very stressful and very unpleasant time right now--the project I'm working on (which I hate!) is moving into a critical stage. The next month and a half will be hell, but I'm starting a job search with the goal of taking a new position as soon as this project ends in early August. I've already talked to a couple of companies so the process is going well so far. I'll keep you posted.

So no walk today, tomorrow is my standard day off, and Sunday I'm going to do a long walk and start building myself back up to the 20-22 mile range for my long walks. As I've mentioned in previous posts I want to bring my marathon time down dramatically so I feel that I really need to spend a lot of time (over a long period of time) walking the longer distances. My very long range goals are ultra distance events (50k, 50 miles, maybe even 100 miles some day down the road) so I need to gradually increase my mileage and acclimate my body.

I hope everyone has good running/walking this weekend.

Not much to report

I'm traveling on business today. I ate mexican food last night with a colleague (I hate business travel! It's so bad for my eating and exercise habits) so I did an hour on the hotel treadmill. I kept it nice and slow (12:00 minute miles) just to give my body more time to recover from recent races.

I was supposed to stay through tomorrow but things wrapped up early so I'm on an 8:30 flight tonight. I'm looking forward to being home with my family in my own home. I'll probably do an easy 6 miles tomorrow morning, take Saturday off and then start long miles on Sunday. I'm not sure how far yet, may be 16 miles (nice and easy).

Memorial Day 20k--a race to forget

Today was not my best day. I was terribly slow, especially at the end. I turned in some miles that were close to and slower than my marathon pace. Oh well, we can't always PR (although this was my first 20k so technically it was a PR); my pace was 26 seconds slower per mile than the North Trail Half Marathon two weeks ago. A lot of other bloggers have done a good job analyzing their good and bad races, so I'll make an attempt to understand what went wrong today:

1. Too much racing--I raced three times in May, every other weekend since May 1st. This was probably too much racing, plus it affected my ability to do quality training. I was always in either taper or recovery mode. Even before today's race I had decided to race less and focus on good workouts, long distances and quality races.
2. Too tired--I didn't sleep well this week and especially last night (I probably got about three hours of sleep last night). This, combined with too much racing, made me generally rundown and sluggish.
3. Not a good taper--I didn't taper very well this week, and then to top it off I did yardwork on Saturday. My legs were very sore yesterday and still sore this morning.
4. Harder race--this race had a fair number of hills and it was hotter and sunnier than my last race.

I'm not really discouraged; I've had a lot of great races so it was inevitable that I would have a bad one. I think I know what to do to minimize the possibility of future bad races, so all I can do is learn from my mistakes.

Here are my splits for anyone that's interested:

10:37
10:38
10:20
10:28
10:09
10:36
10:43
10:45
10:45
11:06
11:47
11:54
4:50

Excellent Article in Time on Racewalk 50k World Record Holder

Read this excellent article on Robert Korzeniowski, the Polish world record holder for the racewalking 50k. His record for a 50k is 3:36:03! Incredible! Most runners would love to run a marathon this fast, but this guy walks five miles farther! I can't wait for the Olympics--I've never seen elite racewalkers in action!

Two more days until the Memorial Day 20k.

The Way We Eat Now

Read this disturbing article on the rapidly growing problem of obesity in the United States. Here is a really depressing quote:

"[Steven Gortmaker, professor of society, human development, and health at the School of Public Health,] notes that on any given day, 30 percent of American children aged four to 19 eat fast food, and older and wealthier ones eat even more. Overall, 7 percent of the U.S. population visits McDonald's each day, and 20 to 25 percent eat in some kind of fast-food restaurant."

We are killing ourselves and our children! The problem appears to be related primarily to development and national wealth, so as other countries grow and increase their GDP they are experiencing similar problems with health and nutrition.

Check out these obesity maps that show the increase in obesity in the United States over the last 20 years.

I honestly we are facing an epidemic and a national health crisis. This is one of the many reasons our medical insurance and health system is so insufficient--it is being stretched too thin by preventable health problems.

Let's all run, walk, bike, swim, whatever, and teach our family and friends how to live a long and healthy life!

Last walk before Memorial Day 20k

I did an easy walk today and everything felt good. There was no pain or discomfort in my knee. The weather for Memorial Day is still partly cloudy, but warmer (low 70/high 90). Yuck. I'll post results on Monday. Have a nice holiday weekend, everyone!

Distance: 6.15 miles
Time: 1:10:15
Pace: 11:25

Tapering off (and a Special Day!)

Today I tapered in preparation for the race on Memorial Day. I did my usual route (a little over six miles) but I took it easy and didn't push hard. I had a little discomfort in my left knee for a while but it went away. I don't think it's anything but I'll keep an eye on it.


Also, today is my Anniversary! Thanks for 13 great years, Angela! Here's a picture of my wife and daughter from our summer vacation last year in St. Lucia.

Distance: 6.11 miles
Time: 1:08:44
Pace: 11:14

Just another day at the track

I did a basic walk today, nothing special. I had some good times (my last mile was 10:32) and felt good the whole time. I'm not pushing too hard this week because I'm racing in the Memorial Day 20k next Monday. I'd like to improve my pace from the 10:24 at the North Trail Half Marathon on May 16th, but that will depend on the weather on Memorial Day. Right now the forecast says it will be mostly cloudy, low of 63/high of 84; however, it's supposed to rain the three days before the race and the day after so I wouldn't be surprised if that forecast changes.

Distance: 6.12 miles
Time: 1:06:33
Pace: 10:52

Sunday Roundup

Here's a summary of my training to date:

Miles this week: 34.9
Avg. Pace: 11:19

Miles this year: 709.2
Avg. Pace: 11:17
Cumulative Time: 5 days, 10 hours, 31 minutes, 53 seconds

For more details, visit my training log here.

Sunday long walk

I did the usual long walk today at the lake. I didn't go too far or push too hard because I'm racing in a 20k one week from tomorrow. After this race I'm going to race less frequently because frequent races equate to frequent tapering (which I dislike) and limits my ability to do really long distances (I want to get back up into the 20 mile range on Sundays).

Distance: 10.33 miles
Time: 1:57:23
Pace: 11:22

Unbelievable!

This isn't a political blog so I won't linger too long on this topic, but I've been very disturbed by many Bush administration policies related to the environment and health. Recently the Administration decided to include farm-raised salmon in salmon population counts, raising them out of the endangered species category and exposing them to greater commercial fishing.

Now they have re-defined the terms "Organic Food" and have made the organic guidelines so loose as to render to term "Organic" almost meaningless. If any US readers eat organic foods you should contact your senators and representatives and protest these recent guideline changes. Otherwise we may never know what we're eating and have little control over our diet and our health.

Good walk today

I did my normal walk at the track today and had a good walk. Nothing fancy, just a little over 6 miles at a good pace.

Distance: 6.15 miles
Time: 1:07:01
Pace: 10:53

Acceleration Tempo Training

Today I did my favorite workout, an acceleration tempo walk, or A. Tempo. An A. Tempo consists of a short warm up, then a series of miles run at increasingly faster speeds, then a short cool down. The main reasons I like this type of workout are that it simulates race conditions (slower start, gradual increase in speed), it always results in a negative split, and the later, faster miles never feel very hard. Today was a great workout--after the half mile walk from my house to the track I did five miles on the track and then a half mile cool down back home. My mile splits were 11:18, 10:49, 10:26, 10:14, 10:14 (should have pushed harder on the last mile). I actually thought the first 10:14 mile would be slower than the previous mile because these fast miles don't feel hard. If you want to add some variety to your workout, give this a try.

Distance: 6.07 miles
Time: 1:06:27
Pace: 10:56

Sloooooooow recovery walk

Today was my first walk since the North Trail Half Marathon. My legs were tight and tired so I just took it easy--really easy! I was slow, but I didn't care; it just felt good to get out and move.

Distance: 6.32 miles
Time: 1:15:50
Pace: 11:59

Age Graded Performance Comparison

I mentioned in a previous post that I have an age-graded performance spreadsheet that compares performances across different races, ages and genders (and includes both walking and running events), giving you a relative performance result. I thought I would share with you my half marathon results since I have done more half marathon races than any other distance. Here are my age graded performances to date:

8/31/03--51.82%
11/1/03--53.74%
12/14/03--57.30%
1/31/04--60.01%
2/14/04--58.39% (snow, ice and slush)
2/29/04--60.46%
5/16/04--61.28%

As you can see, a nice steady increase from race to race (with the exception of the "slush" half on 2/14/04), and a ten percent increase since my first half less than one year ago. I hope I can keep the upward trend going. My next half is tentatively scheduled for June 19 in San Antonio, but it will almost certainly be a hot and difficult race, so it may not be the most suitable race for a PR. We'll see!!

North Trail Half Marathon - PR!

Well, I was aiming for 2:15 but didn't hit that. I slowed down quite a bit in the second half and realized after mile 8 that 2:15 wasn't possible. However, I still got a PR, shaving 1:39 off my previous PR and 7 seconds off my pace at that race. I ended up with 2:16:10 (10:24 pace) and I'm very happy with that.

The race was nice, a smaller field without a lot of hoopla. We ran on a running/biking trail that stretches to the Northwest from White Rock Lake, stopping just short of LBJ/IH 635 and returning on the same route. We had to deal with bicyclists (not the nicest bunch) but no automobiles, and the route was pretty and often shaded. It felt pretty hot after the first hour but never got terribly uncomfortable. There were lots of Team in Training folks out today and I saw a couple of my old teammates and some coaches I know.

The only problem with the race was the port-a-potties. They were late, then they were delivered to the wrong part of the park and were probably about a ten minute walk away. Before they delivered them I decided I needed to take some action so I hopped back in my car and headed down the street to McDonald's.

Here are my splits. You can see where I started to burn out, around mile 8. To make 2:15 I needed to do mostly 10:18 splits with some 10:12s mixed in for the slower early miles:
10:37
10:18
10:17
10:23
10:12
10:12
10:17
10:16
10:20
10:27
10:27
10:36
10:39
1:02

Easy walk and birthday update

Today I did an easy 6+ miles as part of my taper before this weekend's race (North Trail Half Marathon). It was an interesting walk because I felt like I was taking it easy, even slowing down, but in reality I held steady or sped up for most of the splits. That's a good sign--a faster speed isn't as hard as it used to be.

Also, yesterday was my birthday. I enjoyed a quiet evening with Angela and Lela. After some presents (and a rice krispie treat with a candle!) we went to Gloria's, Salvadoran food--chips, salsa, black bean dip, pupusas, tamals, fried plantain (my favorite!), rice, beans. Delicious!

The best part of all (other than being with my family) was that my wife gave me some shorts, 34 inch waist, and they were too BIG! That's right, too big. About a year ago I was having trouble getting into size 38 pants, and now it looks like I can wear 32. I haven't worn 32 since high school. She also gave me two large shirts and one medium shirt. The medium fits fine, as does one of the larges, but the other one is too big! I love it when clothes are too big rather than too small.

To top everything off I got the results from last week's physical and everything was great--my cholesterol was very low and every other reading was normal. The doctor said to stick with my exercise regimen and dietary changes. It's nice to see a pay off after all of the work!

I'm off to San Antonio for a quick business trip. I'll probably do an easy 30 minutes on the treadmill tomorrow and then no more walking until Sunday. I'll post my race goal later this week, but I'm definitely hoping for a PR.

Social walk today

Today while doing my long walk at the lake I ran into some members of DFW Racewalkers, the local racewalking club that I've been meaning to join. I slowed down my pace to chat with them (dropping from sub 11:00 miles to about 12:55 miles). Then I stopped my watch at a water stop and forgot to start it again. So I know I went about 10 miles today but I'm not really sure of the pace. It was a great day for a walk--it was overcast but didn't rain, the tempertature was in the 60s, lots of wildflowers and wildlife around the lake. Overall just a pleasure to be up and out and moving. I wish I could have walked longer but I don't want to push too hard the week before the North Trail Half Marathon next Sunday. Now it's time for some Mother's Day festivities. Happy Mother's Day to any mothers who happen to read this blog!

They're back!

Just a quick post to say that my family made it back in one piece, exhausted and happy to be home. Here's a picture of HRH Lela surveying her kingdom.

I took Friday off because I was at the airport late the night before picking up Angela and Lela. Today is my normal day off, and I'll be doing an abbreviated long walk tomorrow (10-11 miles) as I taper for the North Trail Half Marathon next Sunday. I hope everyone is getting some nice training this weekend.

Welcome new blogger!

Charlotte Dutch, who has a nice website, has started a blog! Welcome to blogging, Charlotte. Look forward to hearing what you are up to.

Today's workout

Today's workout was great. My intention was to do 6+ easy miles with no specific goal in mind. What was so great about this workout is that I went fast but it still felt easy. All my laps on the track were sub 11:00 (except one where I slowed down to talk to one of the track regulars that I saw at my last race); most were around 10:35. This is slower than most of my PR paces, of course, but for an easy daily workout it's a great pace for me. I'd love to do all of my easy walks in the sub-11:00 range. Hopefully my upcoming races will reinforce my training and boost my speed.

Distance: 6.16 miles
Time: 1:07:52
Pace: 11:01

Racewalking World Cup

The Racewalking World Cup, an Olympic qualifier, was held last weekend in Naumburg, Germany. It wasn't a great series for the US; the highest US finisher was Kevin Eastler, who finished 26th in the Men's 20k (time of 1:22:51, a 6:40 pace!). Here is a photo of the Men's 20k field:



The eventual winner was Jefferson Perez of Ecuador, bib 140 (yellow singlet and white hat on the right). His time was 1:18:42, a 6:20 pace!!!


Here is a photo of the Women's 20k field:



The winner was Yelena Nikolayeva of Russia, bib 412, with a time of 1:27:24, an amazing pace of 7:02!

The Russians are very strong racewalkers, taking 5 of the fifteen medals awarded during the cup. Racewalking has a much bigger following oversees than in the US, and unfortunately for the US the results can be seen at world events like this.

Their speed and endurance is just amazing. I wish I could move like that!

Surprise from my wife and daughter

I got a mysterious e-mail from the Victoria and Albert Museum today:

Thank you for visiting the Victoria & Albert Museum on 05/05/2004. Attached is the coat of arms that you designed during your visit to the British Galleries.

I assume that Angela and Lela were there today and sent me the lovely coat of arms you see to the left. It's so nice to know they are thinking of me slaving away here while they have fun in London!

Speedwork Today

Today I did intervals at the track, although I probably should have just done some easy miles. I'm still feeling tired from my over exertion last weekend (race on Saturday, 18.5 miles on Sunday). In any case my times weren't too bad; one was below 9:00 min. per mile, which I think is a record for me.

6 x .50 mile intervals/.25 recovery
4:52
5:06 (this was slower than race pace in last Saturday's 5 mile race!!)
4:51
4:34
4:52
4:29

I used my Garmin Forerunner for my intervals for the first time today. The Forerunner has several different options for interval training--Speed Time/Rest Time, Speed Distance/Rest Distance, Speed Distance/Rest Time. I used Speed Distance (.50 miles) and Rest Distance (.25 miles). It worked really well, alerting me when to stop the speed interval and then counting down the distance of the recovery interval. It made my interval training much easier and more consistent. This little Forerunner is a wonder! I can't recommend it enough.

Watch what you eat

Over the last two to three weeks I have been concerned about Trans Fat. Trans Fats, also known as Partially Hydrogenated Oil (this is how it is listed in ingredient lists) have been linked to increased heart disease and increased risk of heart attack and stroke. The risk is even greater for women. Trans Fats not only clog the arteries, but they raise bad cholesterol and lower good cholesterol, again contributing to increased heart disease.

In 1999 the National Academy of Sciences did an analysis of Trans Fats and issued a report. They were attempting to determine an appropriate and safe level of Trans Fat in a normal diet (as has been done for other types of fats and sodium). Here is the statement they issued about the safe level of Trans Fat:
"The National Academy of Sciences’ report is the first attempt by a panel of experts to set a safe intake level for trans fat. The panel found that, like saturated fat, trans fat promotes heart disease. Furthermore, the panel concluded that the only safe intake of trans fat is 'zero.'"

What has amazed me about Trans Fats is how pervasive they are. I went through our pantry and threw away so much food it was unbelievable. Examples include:

>>Pancake Mix
>>Canned Soups
>>Microwave Popcorn
>>Hot Cocoa Mix
>>Crackers
>>Peanut Butter
>>Rice and Noodle dish mixes
>>Instant Oatmeal
>>Instant Grits
>>Cream of Wheat

Even the new Snicker's Marathon energy bars have Trans Fat! It's supposed to be formulated for athletes but they put in an ingredient like Trans Fat.

The list goes on and on. Even my favorite hard candies, Caramel Nips and Coffee nips, contain Trans Fat.

As I've become an athlete I've developed a greater awareness of my health and the food I eat. I also think about the food my daughter eats. If she develops bad food habits now, at the age of four, what chance does she have to lead a long and healthy life. So my wife and I have been reading labels and paying more attention to where we shop and where we eat. I do a lot of shopping at Whole Foods Market now, trying to avoid (where possible) pesticides, artificial ingredients, weird additives, etc. It's more expensive, which I don't like, but I think it's worth it.

While we're on the topic of nutrition, I'm also a vegetarian. I was a vegetarian for about 8 years, then off the wagon for about 4, but now I'm vegetarian again. My wife and daughter still eat meat, although they don't eat much (we don't cook any meat at home, so they only eat meat when we go out).

Anyway, I just thought I would share my thoughts with the blogging community. Maybe I'm being a little reactionary, but better safe than sorry. Below are two good links on Trans Fat:

Trans Fat 101

Ban Trans Fat

Happy Anniversary to Me

Today is my one year Racewalking anniversary! Since I started racewalking I've logged 1,542 miles. I hope to log many, many more.

In honor of the occasion I have posted an About Me page. If you're interested feel free to take a look.

Felow Racewalker walks 101 miles in 24 hours!

Ollie Nanyes, a fellow racewalker and founder of the Ultrawalking Yahoo! Group, competed in the Cornbelt 24 hour track race on May 1 and 2. He finished in 7th place out of 49 (he was the ONLY racewalker)! Interestingly he was in 18th place at the 50 mile split and 14th place at the 100 km split, and from 100 km to 100 miles he had the third fastest time. In this case I guess it's true that "slow and steady wins the race," or at least finishes ahead of many competitors.

Amazingly, this was a "warm up" race for Ollie. His real goal is a 24 hour race in Rotterdam on May 29th. In racewalking there is a designation of "Centurion" for any walker who completes 100 miles in 24 hours. Since this wasn't an official Centurion event Ollie is not yet an official Centurion, but the Rotterdam race is official. Good luck, Ollie!

Running Right Past His 90th Birthday

I hope I can have this kind of stamina and longevity! Max Springer is still running (and doing the long jump and triple jump!) at 90 years old. He didn't start running until after retirement and he's been running for 30 years.

Sunday Roundup

Here's a summary of my training to date:

Miles this week: 35.7
Avg. Pace: 11:12

Miles this year: 633.2
Avg. Pace: 11:19
Cumulative Time: 4 days, 23 hours, 23 minutes, 04 seconds

Total miles walked since I started racewalking (5/4/2003): 1542.1

For more details, visit my training log here.

Beautiful day for a long walk

Today is such a contrast to yesterday's terrible weather. Today it is sunny, breezy and 60's to 70's. A great day for a long walk.

Since my family is out of town I slept in and didn't get to White Rock Lake until 9:30. I'm not used to spending so much time in the sun! Normally I start walking at 6:00 and watch the sun come up, so today was a new experience.

Since I raced yesterday I didn't push hard, just went at a decent pace, two loops around the lake. A basic loop is about 9.25 miles so my total mileage for today was 18.5. I can feel it! I'm pretty sore, especially my legs. After a long walk I can't always straighten my knees for a few hours so I looked pretty silly at the grocery store. But that's the price we pay. The payoff is worth the pain.

Distance: 18.50 miles
Time: 3:31:44
Pace: 11:26

White Rock 'N' Roll--Mission Accomplished

Today was a very wet, windy and cold White Rock 'N' Roll. I couldn't believe it was May 1st in Dallas, Texas, and the temperature was high 40s/low 50s. It rained all night, let up a little before the race, then rained all through the race. Luckily I LOVE, I mean LOVE, training and racing in cold weather, and I've never minded the rain, so I felt great. Sometimes the grosser the weather the more motivated I am. It's like an additional challenge.

I waited in my car until right before the start, then went to the starting area and did some quick stretches. I met up with another racewalker that I know and we talked for a while. There were probably a little over 1,000 people at the race so it was a nice size (I always prefer smaller races). Then finally we were off and I started to warm up within seconds.

The course was fine, nothing too exciting or difficult. We skirted White Rock Lake for a while, then headed off into some of the neighborhoods around the lake, then back to the lake for the finish. There was only one "hill," and this being Dallas our hills are more like bumps for some of you.

I added a little kick for the finish and ended up finishing in 50:42, 18 seconds below my goal time of 51:00! My goal pace was 10:12 and I finished with a 10:08 pace, tying my PR pace for the 5k.

One reason I finished ahead of my target is my handy little Garmin Forerunner. This wonderful Training Watch/GPS is loaded with features, one of them being a Virtual Partner (see the screen shot to the left). With Virtual Partner you can enter your goal distance/time, distance/pace or time/pace, and the watch will tell you if you are ahead or behind your goal. You get a little running icon of yourself and your "virtual partner," so if you are ahead of goal you can envision yourself kicking the virtual partner's butt!

Unfortunately I am a knucklehead and I misread the Garmin screen. For most of the race I was ahead of pace but I thought I was behind (in the first half mile I was behind pace, naturally, and the feeling that I had to catch up was with me the whole race even though it is VERY easy to tell if you are ahead or behind). I kept trying harder and harder and kept seeing myself slipping behind, when actually I was pulling farther and farther ahead! I tend to speed up during races so I kept hoping I would speed up enough to catch that wily Virtual Partner. It was only until the last .75 miles that I realized I was ahead of pace! Then I felt AWESOME and kicked in to try and get a little faster.

According to the Garmin GPS I actually walked 5.17 miles, not 5, making my pace 9:48! I doubt the race was off by that much; it's probably a combination of the race course being a little long and how I ran the course. Dodging people, diverting to the side for water at aid stations, and how you take corners can all affect your distance. In any case, both paces were below my goal pace so I'm pleased. I hope everyone else racing today had similar good luck and a good time.

Do you like personality tests?

This is silly but kind of fun. Take this very brief personality test to see your "bloginality," your blogging style. My Bloginality is ISFJ.

Also, my wife and daughter left for London last night for a Mother-Daughter vacation. I miss them already, so I'm posting a picture of my wonderful daughter at her first race, last year's Jingle Bell run!

Have fun!

Last walk before the Race

Today I did do an easy 6 mile walk as part of my pre-race taper. For the next two days I'll sleep in and skip training.

Recently Running Chick posted her race goal for a May 15th race on Armed Forces day. I like the idea of making your goals public so I thought I would do the same.

I hope to complete the White Rock 'N' Roll 5 mile race in 51:00, a 10:12 pace. I would love to finish in 50:00 (10:00 pace), but I think 51:00 is more realistic. My PR for 5k is a 10:08, and I've been improving since then, so 10:12 for five miles seems like a good goal.

So there it is, it's out there. I'll be back Saturday to let you know how I did.

Distance: 6.12 miles
Time: 1:07:03
Pace: 10:57

Tempo Training Today

Today I inadvertantly did a Tempo workout. I intended to do 6 miles slow and easy (a small taper before the White Rock N Roll 5 mile race on Saturday), but things felt good and I was moving at a decent pace without much effort so I decided to step up the pace each mile. The result was 6.12 miles at 10:57 pace. My mile splits (not including the half mile walk to and from the track) were:

11:08
10:58
10:50
10:54
10:32

It's almost race day! I can't wait to race again.

Distance: 6.12 miles
Time: 1:07:03
Pace: 10:57

Sunday Roundup

Here's a summary of my training to date:

Miles this week: 40.3
Avg. Pace: 11:11

Miles this year: 597.5
Avg. Pace: 11:19
Cumulative Time: 4 days, 16 hours, 42 minutes, 44 seconds

Total miles walked since I started racewalking (5/4/2003): 1506.4

For more details, visit my training log here.

Rain for 2 hours, 44 minutes and 24 seconds

It was a soggy, sloggy long training walk today. It rained the entire time, heavily for the first hour and a half and then lightly after that. There were numerous puddles and muddy patches on the trail that were unavoidable, so I was soaked to the bone and my shoes and socks were wet the whole run. However, that didn't bother me too much. The rain is nice to train in because things are cool and the trails are empty.

My bigger frustration was that I couldn't keep my pace up. I ended up with a pace of 10:57 per mile, not too bad, but I was hoping for faster. I guess my legs are still a little tired from my recent hard training (long walks and speedwork). I only broke 10:30 twice (toward the end) and had many miles over 11:00. But all in all I guess it was a good walk considering the weather. Also, I only slept about 3 hours last night. My wife had some insomnia and I ended up staying up with her and watching movies all night (I highly recommend Kill Bill Volume 1).

Distance: 15 miles
Time: 2:44:24
Pace: 10:57

Yesterday was slow, but slow is OK (once in a while)

I did my usual 6+ miles at the track yesterday morning but I was both physically tired and sleep deprived, so I decided not to worry about speed and just put in the miles. I've had some nice speedwork lately and have seen my times creeping up, so an occasional slow recovery day is no big deal.

It's been raining all night and morning, so tomorrow may be a wet training walk, but I've never minded walking in the rain; I actually like it. I'll probably only do 10-14 miles tomorrow because I have a five mile race on May 1 and I want to taper a little bit so my legs are fresh and ready. I love racing! I can't wait to race again. I'm hoping for a 10:12 pace and a 51 minute finish time.

Distance: 6.22 miles
Time: 1:15:41
Pace: 12:10

Age Graded Performances

In the past I've analyzed my races using this Age Grading Calculator on the web. It was interesting because I could see how I performed compared to a statistical analysis of thousands of other racers. The only problem with the web-based calculator is that it didn't calculate for Marathons or Half Marathons.

Recently someone on one of the Yahoo! racewalking groups I belong to posted an Excel file that calculates age grading for more distances, including the Marathon and Half Marathon. I've been looking at all my races and comparing my performances. Here are some quick statistics:

My performance in my first race (Flagpole 8k on 7/4/03) was 50.57%. My best performance was 7 months later at the Mardi Gras Half Marathon (2/28/04) and was 60.46%.

As I suspected, I'm better at long distances than at middle distances. My best 5k performance is 59.24%. My two best half marathons were 60.01% and 60.46%. My recent marathon was 59.68%, better than I expected.

These spreadsheets work for both runners and walkers, so if you'd like a copy please e-mail me and I'll send it to you.

More treadmill training

I'm flying back to Dallas this afternoon so this will be my last walk on the treadmill for a while. My long walk last night (9 miles) took it's toll today and I got tired quickly, so I stopped after 4 miles. Oh well. I'm still glad I got up and walked. As another blogger recently wrote (sorry, I can't find the post) I've never regretted walking after a walk. Before the walk I might be tired, cold, unmotivated, etc., but after I walk I'm always glad I did.

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 44:28
Pace: 11:07

Long Treadmill Walk

I'm traveling for business in San Antonio today and tomorrow. I got in last night and stayed up late working and reading, and as a result I overslept and missed my morning walk! I was more upset about this than usual because last night for dinner I went to a mexican restaurant with a colleague and ate too many chips and tortillas! Luckily we finished up work early today so I worked in the hotel room for a while and then went down for a long walk. Unfortunately it was on the treadmill, but a treadmill walk is better than no walk at all. At least I was able to catch up on the day's news and see some interesting interviews about the war in Iraq and the recent car bombings there and in Saudi Arabia.

Distance: 9 miles
Time: 1:36:38
Pace: 10:44

Excellent NPR Story on Curt Clausen

Wow, national radio attention for racewalking on National Public Radio. Click here to read an introduction to NPR's story on Curt Clausen, so far the only American male to qualify for the 50K Olympic Racewalk. To hear the story, click "Morning Edition Audio." It's a really good overview of racewalking, including the rules, the technique and the athletics required to compete.

Great Interval Training Today!

I had a great speed workout today, probably the best I've ever had. I walked to the track at an easy pace (a little over 1/2 mile) and then did two lap intervals with one lap in between. Two laps is a little over 1/2 mile. Here are my paces on the fast intervals:
9:29
9:38
9:43
9:06!!
10:05
9:41

I've never walked anywhere close to 9:06 before, and I've never so consistently stayed below 9:45. Everything felt great today. I can't wait for the upcoming five mile race (White Rock N Roll on May 1) and I especially can't wait for my next half marathon (North Trail Half Marathon on 5/16).

Does LSD make you lazy?

Long Slow Distance, not the drug! I've always disliked LSD, and I've avoided it during all of my training. As most of you know, LSD is the concept of doing long slow training walks (or runs) that are about 2 minutes below your goal race pace (depending on the race you are training for). I've always felt that doing too much training at a slow pace trains your legs to adjust to slower paces, making it harder for them to pick up the pace during races. I'm not saying I always train at race pace, but I do try to stay close to race pace when possible. Usually I use the pace in my most recent race to set the training pace for the next race (this worked very well for me in my half marathon training). I think the main reason this has worked well for me is that racewalking is not as physically demanding on your joints and muscles (less impact) so I can recover more quickly from "close to race pace" training. Also, until recently I was training for distances shorter than the marathon, so again there was less recovery time needed.

Now that I'm training for marathon distances, the faster training does take it's toll and makes me more tired. However, what's bothering me is that all of my training paces have slowed down, and I think that is because my legs are used to "holding back" at slower speeds (like you would do at the beginning of a marathon). Today my first miles were 12:13, 12:00, 11:24, 11:39, 11:22, 11:25. I finally told myself I was going too slow and kicked it up to faster paces (10:57, 11:17 [a little refueling here], 11:00, 10:42, 10:37, 10:51, 10:49, 10:53, 9:23 [half mile], 10:30, 10:47). It took a conscious effort on my part to make myself go fast. I feel like I was getting lazy, letting the longer distance dictate that I should "hold back" and keep something in reserve. This is a necessary strategy for a marathon, but I think one can rely on it and make it an excuse for not training harder.

I'd be interested in anyone else's comments on LSD and long training. How do you establish pace goals?

Sunday Roundup

Here's a summary of my training to date:

Miles this week: 38.2
Avg. Pace: 11:19

Miles this year: 557.2
Avg. Pace: 11:20
Cumulative Time: 4 days, 9 hours, 12 minutes, 21 seconds

Total miles walked since I started racewalking (5/4/2003): 1466.1

For more details, visit my training log here.

Good Sunday Long Walk

It was a great day for a long walk. The temperature was in the 60s but it was breezy and overcast so it never felt hot. I walked 21 miles at White Rock Lake in 3:55:49, for a pace of 11:14! That's pretty fast for me for that mileage, so I was pleased. Actually, that's the fastest long walk I've done in months. The last time I walked that fast was late January, and that was only a ten mile walk. I would really like to get my marathon pace below 11:00, so this was definitely a step in the right direction.

I was really slow at the beginning (more about that in another post) but once I kicked it in I did quite a few miles below 11:00 and one half mile at 9:23! I got tired (as usual) but felt better than I have ever felt on a long walk, so I guess the long training walks are starting to pay off.

Distance: 21 miles
Time: 3:55:49
Pace: 11:14

Great Personal Running Site

Check out this nice running site in the UK, Charlotte Dutch. She is a runner who is considering powerwalking for a while. It's a very nice site.

Catching up on posts

I've been on the road for a couple of days and unable to post. I'll give you a brief update of my training.

Wednesday I did 6.11 miles at the track, total time was 1:09:08 or 11:18/mile.
Thursday I did 5.36 miles on the hotel treadmill in San Antonio. I would have gone longer but the treadmill automatically stops after 60 minutes and there were other people who I sensed wanted to use the treadmill. I didn't want to be a hog so I got off after the 60 minute cutoff. 5.36 in 60 minutes equals 11:11/mile, so not bad (but not lightnin' fast either).

Today I intended to walk but I was just SO tired. I think I've been pushing too hard, not because I'm training too much but because I'm not sleeping enough. I've got a fever blister and sore throat, classic signs that I'm not sleeping enough. So today when my alarm went off I reset it and went back to sleep. That helped a lot. Tomorrow is my normal rest day so I'll get to sleep in again. Hopefully by my Sunday long walk I'll be feeling good and will have a good long walk (I haven't decided on distance yet, maybe 22 miles).

Good walking/running everyone!

The Looniness of the Long Distance Runner

I just finished reading a good book on running, The Looniness of the Long Distance Runner by Russell Taylor. It's an hilarious account of the author's decision to run the New York City Marathon. He had never run before, so the book takes you from his first training in the gym through several half marathons and trail races and finally to the big day. Some of the early sections are a little slow and a little too funny, but most of the book is laugh out loud hilarioius.

He also captures many of the emotions and fears and the excitement of new runners. If you are relatively new to running or are pushing yourself to greater distances you will recognize yourself in this book.

I especially liked his race reports. One report was about a particularly challenging trail race called "Race the Train" where runners try to beat a vintage steam train on an out and back course. After failling "despairing and dead" over the finish line, he realizes it was fun and he'd like to do it again:

"Just two minutes, a couple of stretches and a cup of water later I am strolling round the finishing enclosure thinking, 'That was all rather fun.' What is wrong with the human brain? Why is it seemly incapable of retaining the experience of excruciating pain? I know that just five minutes previously I wanted to die and now I could cheerfully sign up to do the whole thing over again."

If you enjoy reading about running and don't take mind laughing at yourself then you will enjoy this book.

Interval Training

Today I did Interval Training at the track. I haven't done speedwork in a long time; I'm excited about working on speed over the summer.

I'm not sure how long the track is; it's just a middle school track near my house. My intervals (two laps) were all a little over 0.5 miles. Here are my splits (pace, not actual split times):
9:53
10:13
10:11
9:46
10:12
10:23

Altogether I put in 5.76 miles and my overall pace was 11:42/mile.

What's interesting is that all of these intervals were slower than my fastest mile ever, a 9:39 first mile in a recent 5k. But I'm not feeling great this week (very tired) and I did 22 miles on Saturday, so I think that's why I'm a little slow. I'm hoping that once I get back to normal, and once I'm doing speedwork more consistenly, my speed will increase.

Funny article about hydration/urination problems at the Boston Marathon

It's hard to know what to do with 20,000 people who have to pee!

Boston residents deal with unpleasant aspects of the Boston Marathon.

Sunday Roundup

Here's a summary of my training to date:

Miles this week: 36.3
Avg. Pace: 11:26

Miles this year: 518.9
Avg. Pace: 11:20
Cumulative Time: 4 days, 2 hours, 0 minutes, 0 seconds

Total miles walked since I started racewalking (5/4/2003): 1427.9

For more details, visit my training log here.

Saturday Long Training Walk

I did my long training on Saturday instead of Sunday this week due to Easter. I was beat at the end but it went well: 22 miles around White Rock Lake. My clocked pace was 11:44, but I know I was faster because I took a brief break at the halfway point to change out my wristband/headband (I sweat a lot and they were soaked). I also started pausing during the second half to drink water at the fountains (I had my CamelBak with gatorade, but I felt like a little water to supplement). I've had a lot of luck with the Hammer Gel and e-Caps. I definitely get tired, but I don't seem to crash the way I used to when I went over 18 miles. Of course, it could also be that my body is adapting to the long mileage (I hope!).

I took today off since we had a lot to do this morning. Tomorrow I'll probably hit the track for 6-10 miles, depending on how I feel. It's raining right now so it looks like it might be soggy training. I don't mind; the rain never really bothers me. It's kind of a nice change.

Distance: 22 miles
Time: 4:18:19
Pace: 11:44

Another good training day

I walked 6+ miles at the track today and maintained the same pace I walked yesterday (10:57). This is a pretty fast training pace for me and it feels good to be pushing myself again. For a while I did a lot of racing, which made me too tired to push my training walks. Then I was training for the Texas Marathon, so the long miles wore me out. I'm still trying to do long weekend miles but I feel like I've gotten stronger as a result of the racing and long distances.

Normally I would take tomorrow off and train long on Sunday, but since I have family plans Sunday morning I'm going to do 20-22 miles at White Rock Lake tomorrow. I probably should have taken today off to rest before my long miles but since I missed so much training this week I really didn't want to miss today. I hope I don't regret it tomorrow.

Distance: 6.12 miles
Time: 1:07:05
Pace: 10:57

Great Photo documentary of Men's 50k Olympic Trials

Check out this exciting event here. These guys are incredible athletes and are faster than many runners out there. Look at the pictures and the results and then tell me that Racewalking is not a sport!

Sadly, after the trials Al Heppner, one of leaders for most of the race and a driven competitor (number 3), committed suicide, apparently despondent over not qualifying for the Olympic team.

Took a little break

I took an unintentional three day break. Monday and Tuesday I was just beat, I think from the time change, from the marathon and then 20 mile walk the following week, and from not getting enough sleep. Both days I set my alarm to get up and train but when the alarm went off I got back in bed and went back to sleep.

On Wednesday I had every intention of training, but I had to fly to San Antonio for work so I was going to get up at 4:00 am. Unfortunately I overslept and had to rush to make my flight, so I missed that training day as well.

Today I finally got back out there and had a great walk. I walked a little over 8 miles and my pace was below 11:00. I need to work on speed over the next few months (and my race schedule should help that) so I can bring down my half marathon and marathon times.

Distance: 8.19 miles
Time: 1:29:42
Pace: 10:57

Photos from The Texas Marathon

For once the race photographers got several good pictures of me. See them here.

Love those long miles

I did 20 miles today at White Rock Lake. They weren't the best miles I've ever done and I felt pretty tired, but I maintained a decent pace (11:41) and don't feel like I ever "bonked." Considering I just finished a marathon one week ago, I think 20 miles at that pace is pretty acceptable. It was also a great day to walk. It's starting to get warm, which I don't like much, but the sun was out, the birds and bugs were making their music, there were lots of birds on the lake. Just a beautiful day to get out and exercise.

Now I'm going to get a big ole' Spud Lite from Jason's Deli! Mmmmmmmmmmm......

Funny walking quote

Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time.
--Steven Wright

Marathon Splits

I got my splits for the Texas Marathon last weekend. As I wrote, I slowed down in the second half, but not as much as I thought. My first half was 2:25:12 (which would have been my fifth fastest half marathon, out of seven); the second half was 2:31:45, so about a six minute decrease in speed over the second half, averaging about 27 seconds per mile.

I think this shows I can go much faster if I continue to work on my endurance. I think I'm going to do speed work one day a week and then do long miles all other days, with a really long walk on Sunday.

Ultrawalker blog -- Now with Comments!

Now the one person who reads this blog (besides me) can leave insightful comments about my insightful postings!

Did another six mile walk today on the track near my house. I'm feeling pretty good, still get a little tired after the marathon, but I know this is normal. I got in some good times today--the whole walk was below marathon pace, and some of my track miles were close to half marathon pace.

I've been working on my race schedule and am excited about some upcoming races. I wish I could find longer races but that is hard to do in Texas in summer. Instead, I'll settle for some 15k, 20k, 25k and half marathons in the summer and early fall leading up to 1-2 marathons in the late fall/early winter. I'm also going to do the Flagpole 8k on July 4th. This will be special because it was my first race ever last year, so it will be a reunion of sorts. Last year my pace was 12:09; this year I think I might be able to break a 10:00 minute pace! A pretty big improvement!

Distance: 6.16 miles
Time: 1:09:27
Pace: 11:16

Back on track

Today was my first walk since the marathon. Everything felt good; I just took it slow and put in the miles. I'm looking forward to a long walk this weekend--long walks are the best part of marathon training!

Distance: 6.09 miles
Time: 1:12:32
Pace: 11:54