A Good Run Gone Gooder

We were expecting a lot of snow on Saturday. The local news was having a field day with the incoming "blizzard". Snow snow snow! I woke up on Saturday morning and there was maybe a light dusting. While north-west Oklahoma got pounded (some up to 2 feet--with 8 foot drifts), we got nothing. Nothing!

What we did get was 25 degree temperatures and killer winds. Churches closed down. Races were postponed or canceled. It was a nice day to stay in and do nothing. Well, I did go to the gym, but other than that, we did nothing.

Sunday was a different story all together. Although I had planned to continue my lazy streak and do nothing, I stepped outside around 11 and realized how nice it was. So I decided to head out to the park for a run--in shorts and a short sleeve shirt. It was about 60 degrees and the wind was manageable. It was a killer run. I really think I could have gone longer than my 6 miles, but I was meeting the wifey and Piper at the playground so Piper could play. They joined me at the park and while I ran, the wifey pushed Piper around the 3 mile loop. Both had a lot of fun. It did make us realize that we need to get one of those jogging strollers so Dyani can actually go outside for a run even though I am out of town. Weather is going to start improving and nobody wants to be stuck on a TM in spring!

Congrats to Jason on his first duathlon!

Another congrats to Alissa on a half-marathon PR this weekend!

And finally, congrats to filthy Lisa on a crazy 10K mud run this weekend. Check out her pic's of this insane event. if you are a germaphobe, stay away from those pics!

Last but not least!! Dyani and I signed up for the Rock N Roll San Antonio half marathon scheduled for November 15th! It is only a couple of weeks after my birthday so we are going to make a small vacation out of it. BTW, if you are doing this one, the price increases tomorrow--register today. Who can I expect to meet at this race?

My Blog Just Got a Little More Awesome

Everyday I wake up and tell myself it is time for a blog post. And every day I find something else to do. This is a running blog and lately my running seems to be a little flat. Whether it is my allergies, laziness, or the fact that I am always busy with the new job, my running as suffered.

This week, however, I have tried hard to get out there and run. I think I have done well. I have run 3 times this week, had 2 killer ab workouts, and 1 full body weight training workout. Yeah, it is a lot easier when I am not traveling. I am in Rochester, NY next week so I am interested to see if I can keep it up.

The wifey and I have found a new gym! It is called Results Fitness and it is owned and managed by a former Mr. Oklahoma. This guy was also the personal trainer for Miss America 2007 and a number of other pageant contestants. I signed my wife up for the pageant training! Not really...but now that I think about it... Anyway, we stopped by yesterday for a workout to see how we liked it. It was fun, they had a lot more equipment, and everyone was really nice. In 30 days, we will officially be done with Anytime Fitness. Good riddance.

Last but not least, you might have noticed my super cool new blog header. That little nugget of awesomeness was created by fellow runner and fellow blogger Alissa over at A Runner's Balancing Act. That girl gots some skills. So if you are reading this in a news reader, come on over and check it out. Thanks so much Alissa.

I've Been Everywhere Man

I don't have much to blog about this week. My running has been practically non-existent. I took the super early flight to Salt Lake City on Monday, and have been pretty exhausted since. I did manage a 3 mile treadmill run on Tuesday, but nothing since. I just got home a bit ago and plan to do some serious running this weekend. At least, that's the plan.

I thought, however, I would give an update on the new job. This week was my first product go-live. It went extremely well. It was exciting, for once, to have happy customers, customers that actually wanted our product. Not trying to bash the old job, but half the time the customers were pissed and there was nothing you could really do about it.

Of course, I am busier now than I was at the old place. Working for a start-up, I wear many different hats and there is always something that needs to get done. Stressful? Yes, but I wouldn't change it for the world.

Upcoming travel: back to SLC a couple more times for the current project and we are on the verge of signing another hospital system in SLC which will keep me coming back for a while. I got Rochester, NY coming up then Boston and possibly Manhattan. Really excited about those last 2 places. I love going to the big cities!

Sorry for the boring post. Just felt the urge to post something. There it is. Something.

Final word: Your mission for this weekend is to sign up at Plinky.

St. Paddy's Day Great Race of the Great Plains Race Report

Wow, that title was a mouth full.

This was my second running of OKC's annual St. Paddy's Day race. Last year, it was cold, cold and very windy. This time around, the conditions were a lot more pleasant. I still wore tights and got a little warm. Of course, I was happy to have the tights on once the race ended and we were standing around waiting for the trophy presentation. It got so cold just standing there...

Oh, and once again, the wifey kicked my butt. Beat me by a good 2 minutes. Not sure what is going on with me lately. I am hoping it is allergies that is causing my slow down. Just a month ago I kicked her butt on a hilly 5 mile race. Now, I can't even beat her in a 5 K! Maybe I am eating too many M&M's. It is easter you know. Or will be soon enough. I think I will take a break from racing for a while. Get back on my training schedule. Can't let her beat me again.

This race was also the third and final race of the Triple Crown of Spring Racing. Now you know why I ran three races 3 weeks in a row! Anyway, Dyani and I came very close to winning our respective age groups for the Triple Crown, both getting second place. I was a distance second but she was hot on her opponent's tail! The wifey kicked butt and I am very proud of her. Side benefit of all of this--she has started to get more serious about her running and even started a training program for herself.

The pros about this race:

• Great food! Bananas, oranges, pizza, beer (green and not), soda, water, blah blah blah...
  
• Well organized.
• Wonderful pancake breakfast
• Coming oh so close to actually winning something. What a great feeling!
  

The cons about this race:

• Me. I sucked.
• NO STARTING MAT for the timing chips. When are they going to realize that having an end mat only does not benefit us lowly runners at all!
  

My stats:

• Garmin watch time and distance = 46:34, average pace per mile = 9:18 for 5 miles
• Official time = 46:46, average pace per mile = 9:25 for 5 miles

Rocky Mountain Virtual Half Marathon

I decided not to run today. I figured it was warranted since I have been having such crappy runs lately. Instead, I had a good hour of weight training. my arms are already hurting!

What do you guys think about this?

The Rocky Mountain Half-Marathon is being held on June 14th. It is a pretty big event from what I understand. The race is now under the care of the Rock N Roll folks, having been acquired along with the deal to get the Denver Marathon.

Along with the Half-Marathon, they are offering a Virtual Half-Marathon. What does that mean? Well, you register just like you would if you were running the real race. Pay the money. You get a goody bag, bib number and shirt mailed to you beforehand. You run the race from wherever you want. You then upload your times using a Garmin, Nike+, or similar device and get your times counted along with the live runners. You then get a medal mailed to you.

The money supports the Ronald McDonald House.

Check out the website here.

Get it in Gear

Ugh. That is the only way to describe my allergies. Admittedly, I am feeling somewhat better. My eyes aren't constantly running. I am not sneezing all day long. But it comes at a price. I am taking 3 different allergy medications and I feel tired. Not pass-out-at-any-moment tired, but certainly sluggish. And I get winded really quick on my runs. As an example, I planned 6 for yesterday's run. I quit at 3. I had that same feeling as when you have taken a few weeks off from running. Know what I mean? It sucks.

Enough complaining. For today. I came across some cool sites and interesting articles this weekend as I was laying around doing nothing.

Runner's World: What Should I Wear

Neat little web page that will tell you what you should wear while out on a run in various conditions. I don't know about you, but as the weather changes, I kinda forgot how I should be dressing. Check it out here.

Denver Marthon = Another RNR

Denver Marathon is becoming a Rock N Roll marathon. These days, what race isn't. I think my local 5K next week is becoming a RNR. Enough already. Here is the article.

I Hate Tree Pollen

My allergies have really been kicking my butt lately. I found this article. If you are dealing with the same, the info might help you.

Asics Wants More Than Runner's High

The article is a year old, but still some interesting information.

Creek Classic 5K Race Report

The Creek Classic represents my 1 year anniversary of racing. It was exciting to come back and run this course again.

It was warmer yesterday, but still really windy. Unfortunately, my allergies were kicking my butt. I almost bailed on the race all together because I woke up feeling miserable.

I had a terrible, terrible run. Not sure if it was the fact that I was having problems breathing or if I just wasn't prepared for the hills and elements, but i sucked. Sucked bad.

My wife beat me by 2 minutes. No excuses. She did great and I am so proud of her.

I pretty much laid around the rest of the day feeling like crap. I bought some OTC stuff to go along with my prescribed allergy stuff. Finally, I am feeling a little better. I can't wait to go to SLC next week where my allergies don't bother me one bit.

The pros about this race:

• 1 year of racing anniversary.
• Well organized.
• Wonderful pancake breakfast
• The wifey and I got to meet Jason. We have been trying to hook up for a while and it finally happened yesterday. I was hoping, however, he would bring me one of his cigar's! ;-)
  

The cons about this race:

• Mother Nature was mad at me. She threw the wind at me. She tossed as much tree pollen my way as she could.

My stats:

• Garmin watch time and distance = 29:19, average pace per mile = 9:23 for 3.12 miles
• Official time = 29:28, average pace per mile = 9:29 for 3.1 miles

Next weekends 8K will mark the conclusion of the Triple Crown of Spring Training.

The Only Negative Thing About Me Are My Splits

A few months ago I stated that I was going to concentrate on building up my speed, try to get faster at the 5K. And I have done nothing towards that goal. Sure I have been running. Some weeks more than others, but just running. What I haven't done is really work on getting faster. No real interval training. Nothing in the way of tempo runs.

I decided it was time to change that. I started searching online, looking for a plan that would help me build up my speed. I found this and I am really excited about it. Even though it's an 8 week plan, I am not really training for a certain event; I just want to use it as a guide. I will probably do longer runs on the weekend, mainly because I enjoy them (by long I mean 8-10 miles). Running is the only me time I really have--can't skip my long run!

Can't sign off without mentioning Running Warehouse's winter sale going on right now. Fantastic prices, especially on Brooks and Mizuno stuff. And, if you click on my link on the right, you will save an additional 15%. Can't beat it. I have spent so much money the past couple of days stocking up on stuff. Wifey is going to kill me.

Panera Jack Rector Beacon 5K Race Report

Using the wonderful "Terri Race Report Template", I figure it is time to write up something about yesterday's race.

I only really need to say 1 word: super windy! Ugh. I think it was something like 26 degrees, but the 30 MPH winds brought it down in to single digits. The first .5 miles or so was with the wind to our backs which wasn't so bad. It helped since I couldn't feel my feet. The next mile was directly in to the wind. My face hurt. I wanted to quit. The wind hurt so much.

It was an out and back so it alternated a couple more times between running with the wind and into it. Seriously, this race really sucked. We crossed the line and immediately headed to the car. Didn't grab water or food.

The pros about this race:

• It was only 5K.
  

The cons about this race:

• Think I covered it.
• Most painful race I have ever participated in.
  

My stats:

• Garmin watch time and distance = 28:18, average pace per mile = 9:04 for 3.12 miles
  

I am doing a 5K next weekend (since I signed up for the Triple Crown of Spring Racing, I get to decide which length I want to do when I get there) and an 8K the weekend after that. Next week's race is the Deer Creek Classic. Last years Creek Classic was my very first race. Ever. My official time for that 5K was 31:48.