The Marathon That Wasn't & Was

I'm no stranger to missing races. It's sort of table stakes in my life, scheduling a marathon, doing most or all of the training, and then having to miss.

But this one bummed me out a little. Was registered to run The San Francisco Marathon on July 31st, and have been pretty much through all the training runs. But you know, life gets in the way. Travel plans changed, family health issues came up, work got crazy, and my best friend in SF will be out of town too. So, wait 'til next year.

That's the thing about goals. They give you that bar to try and clear. But what if you don't clear it? Is it really a failure? For me, and for me with running, I've come to the conclusion that it's the training that really matters. Maybe I'm not running SF, but I got 4 or 5 months of planned runs in, a few 20's in there too. 4 to 5 times a week, outdoors or at the gym. That means maybe I'm not at the starting line this time, but I still got what I really needed out of the race. I still hit my goal. Ish.

Plus, when you're out on runs, and get to enjoy the beach and the sites, it's all good anyway.

Yeah I'm disappointed, and yeah, I'd like to run. But, you know, take the training as a win and pick another race later in the year. Maybe one that's a little cooler, and a little flatter?

Running Away on Vacation!

“Whoever invented vacations should get a huge bonus.”

I believe this to be true. It’s February, 2016, and it’s been a year since I’ve taken time off. Not that it’s that long a time, many go much longer, but I’m burnt. So I got to take 10 days off.

And what do I do? I get to go for a run. Or a cruise. Or a running cruise. Yeah. That’s it, a running cruise. Organized by a couple form Toronto, “Run for Fun Cruises” are set on a 7 day tour of the Caribbean, with 5K runs setup for each of the island stops along the way. Took the tour last year, and did it again in 2016.

And since they leave out of Miami, I get to spend a few days with my dad in Lake Worth along the way.

Left Cali on Wednesday the 10^th of February, LAX to MIA, and bouced up to Dad’s in Lake Worth when we landed. Thursday went by quickly, and didn’t even get a chance to get out and run. That all started on Friday.

Friday February 12^th, got my ass back out there in the Florida heat and got moving again. I’ve been back at it sporadically since November, but coming back this time has been a totally different experience. In the past I could take a month off, or a few months off, or a year off, and within a week I’ve got my legs back. But this was my first big layoff past 50, and it wasn’t coming back so quickly. My splits were still slow, my distances were still appallingly short, and my stamina was conspicuous in it’s absence.

But I’m on vacation dammit, so I’m going to run. 4 miles. In the mid-day sun. In Florida. And I loved it. 4 miles in 45 minutes and change. Not quick, still only 11:20’s, but 4 miles, without walking. Run Streak day 1.

Saturday the 13^th I went out again. Still in Florida, still in the hot, albeit flat conditions. 6 miles. 11:14 splits. No walking. Runstreak day 2.

Sunday February the 14^th, or Valentines Day, it’s time to board the boat. The Norwegian Getaway our of the Port of Miami. Back on the treadmill to keep moving, running circles on the deck of a ship with 18 loops to the mile is not for me. 3 miles, 30 minutes flat. 10’s. That’s right, 10’s. The fun part is that the boat rocks side to side while it’s in motion. And the treadmill is perpendicular to the beam. SO it feels like you’re going up and then down hill throughout the run. Run Streak day 3. 

Monday is at sea, just hit the gym for another 5K on the treadmill. Maybe getting a little more comfortable, getting a little pace back. Day 4

Run Streak day 5 is the first real run of the cruise. Jamaica, and well, when they said challenging 5K, they we’re sorta trying not to scare us. It wasn’t challenging, it was completely insane. Just a 5K, starting from the port in Ocho Rios. And the first 2 miles were only slightly uphill. But then at between the 3 and 4 k mark, we turned left, and went straight up the mountain. Somewhere between 700 and 800 feet straight up in the next 1.5K. Like straight up, the cars could barely handle it. And I definitely could not. Walked it, in the heat, sweating my ass off, and bitching the entire time. Figured, why kill myself on my first real vacation day of the last year. Made it to the top, barely, and collapsed in a heap. Runkeeper was helpful to point out it was my slowest 5K ever. Thanks for that guys.

But, it still got better. Tuesday night, after the run, my first ever yoga class. On deck 18, under the stars. Life is pretty good when you’re doing yoga under the stars in the Caribbean.

Wednesday we were in Georgetown, Grand Cayman. Flat flat flat. Thank you. 3 Mile run in 32 and change, back down to 10:50 splits. Finishing up with a  jump into the Caribbean Ocean doesn’t suck either. Started out at 10’s, and made it through the first 2 miles at that pace, but the heat was too much, again, not worth dying, so did a bit of walking down the last mile to the beach and made it in one piece. Felt much better, good enough to hit the gym in the afternoon to get some core work in and another 2 miles on the Mill. Run streak day 6.

Thursday was my favorite run, just over 2 miles in Cozumel. Felt like the entire town showed up, politicians, an athlete or two, they shut down the road, gave us escorts, we felt like real runners. Had an excursion I wanted to do after so I sprinted (for me) through it and had a great time. 8:50 splits, and enough energy left to go snorkeling later in the day. Runstreak day 7.

Friday in Costa Maya was also a blast, bit over a 5K, from the docks down to the center of Costa Maya, where we spent the rest of they day planted in lounge chairs eating fish tacos and dunking in the Caribbean. Life really doesn’t suck on a running cruise.  Runstreak day 8.

Satruday was at sea making the run back to Miami, still got a 5K in on the Mill, sub 10 minute splits finally! Day 9

Sunday, February 21^st, the long flight home, but even managed to drag the dog out for a quick 2 mile run with 9:30 splits. Runstreak day 10.

And that’s how the vacation and the runstreak ended. Back to the real world, and needed a rest day on Monday.

This wasn’t my first running cruise, was on one last year. Also good, but two things were much different this year. The cruise itself had 4 stops with 4 runs, all in great destinations. Last year it was 3 stops with only 2 running eligiable.

The second difference was the group that came along from #BlackGirlsRun. They were all amazing. High energy, great attitudes, and really committed to the trip. If they’re coming back next year, so am I.

So yeah, whoever invented vacations, thanks. You're my hero. Now back to running away from 50 in the real world. 

But if you love running, and you love eating, and you love beaches, and you love boats, take a running cruise, seriously. You’ll love it.

Check out:

https://twitter.com/runforfuncruise or @runforfuncruise 

https://twitter.com/blackgirlsrun   or +Black Girls RUN! 

Time to get moving again!

It's 2016, and yes, it's that time. Time to get my ass up and off the couch, back out there running again. The back end of 2015 was challenging. Family and health issues that we all have to deal with, but that can monopolize time and take you pretty far off course.

The result? I'm 30 pounds heavier then I was this time last year. A 3 mile run takes me 10 to 12 minutes more to complete then it did a year ago.  My diet has gone completely to shit, and apparently I'm cursing a lot more. None of these are great signs.

So it's a good time to get back in gear. Started on Saturday, and got a short run in. 3 miles, but you know, better then nothing.



And then it's on to diet. Went through and collected all the crap that I'd been hiding at the house, and at the office. Took away a few grocery bags full of cookies, chocolate, candy, etc. Started yesterday, and will actually try and keep track of my eating.

Meal Plan Yesterday:

Breakfast Eggs, one piece of toast

Lunch: Brown Rice & Tuna Poke

Dinner: Brown Rice, Vegetables and Tofu

Snack: Oranges and Apples

So I'm off to the races. Going to get my ass back in gear, get my weight under control, and look to make 2016 a healthier year then the one that just ended.

I'll keep you posted...

When 50 Fights Back

I had a plan for 2015. And you know how that tends to go.

When I finished the Fort Lauderdale A1A Marathon, I figured, I got this. New PR, feeling great, and I'm ready to tackle SLO Marathon. Took a few days off to recover and then started building up again.

And then March happened. aka, 50 Fights back.

Went into my doctor to get my allergy meds renewed, and instead ended up at the Cardiologists. Doctor didn't like my BP, which led to a EKG, which showed a potential event, which led to a Echo Cardiogram. Having had most of my health issues in my life be self inflicted, and therefore mostly avoidable, being told that I might have had a heart attack, and didn't know it,  was a complete shock.

Who do I tell? Who don't I tell? Who needs to know who do I not want to worry? What if this if for real, do I have to completely change how I live? Can I handle the stress and hours at work? Can I be active and alive? Am I looking at something even more dire? The days in between the first doctor visit and getting to Cedars for a full workup were mostly a blur of stress. Sleep issues, over thinking, creating scenarios, lots of "If... Then's". None of it productive. It would be a massive over statement to say I came face to face with mortality. Nothing that grand or dramatic. I was mostly just confused and my thinking was directionless.

Make a long story short, there was no cardiac event. Cardiologist thinks that as a runner (he actually called me an athlete and I tried to correct him), my resting heart rhythm has a very short alpha/upstroke, but a normal deep beta/downstroke. The EKG read this as potential damage resulting from an event. The subsequent tests and the Echo came back as normal, no damage. So as usual with me, all the over thinking and stress was completely unnecessary.

What was the real impact? The real impact was the addition of new meds to deal with my BP and cholesterol, etc. They have effected my energy levels, left me with some occasional dizziness, and changed how I feel when I run. Net, I can't run like I could just a few months ago.

Took some time off running though March and April, tried to get back out there in May. Didn't feel right, so I shut it down again, and here in July I'm getting back on my feet. Now 5K's feel like half marathons, and 10K's like ultras. My split times are two and three minutes slower, and my recovery time is longer. So it's going to be a long process getting back to where I want to be.

I missed SLO, and I'm not running SF Marathon this month. I'm only running two to three times a week right now, and I haven't tired a long slow run yet. I'm signed up for Chicago in the fall, but I'm not sure I'm going to get there yet.

What I've learned about this is that age is in fact not just a number. As I get a little older, there are going to be changes in my health that I need to adjust too. I need to stay active, but I need to pay attention to what I'm feeling. I need to not over react (big news there) and stress about every little thing. I need to be willing to change, but not give up. To adjust without surrendering. I need to take care of myself, in all of the different ways that means.

And hopefully through it all, I need to #Keeprunning.

Race Recap: A1A Marathon

Publix Fort Lauderdale A1A Marathon!

Round about 6 months back, someone reached out to me on Twitter about a “Running Cruise”. Big group, meeting in Fort Lauderdale, run the A1A Marathon, and then get on the Regal Princess, cruise the islands, with shorter 5 and 10k runs at the island stops.

What could be better then that? Already planning on the San Luis Obisbo Marathon in April, I figured, what the f*ck. I’ll be training, I’ll ramp up sooner, and this should be a total blast.

Left work a few days early and headed to Lauderdale.  Good chance to see my father and not be arriving last minute for the race. No way I’ll ever want to sleep on that single bed in my dad’s guest room again, but that’s another story.

Having lived in Broward near Lauderdale for 10 years, it was with no small sense of déjà vu that I headed over to the hotel. Broward Blvd and the Broward Center, Las Olas, A1A, the beach and hotels, all were places that I’d spent quite a bit of time, but hadn’t really been too in a decade.

The hotels haven’t changed. Still over priced and under serviced. Still poorly maintained and barely adequate. If you want a great vacation experience with healthy food and wonderful service, Fort Lauderdale Beach is not the place to look. But I just wanted a room near the finish line so I could collapse and shower after the run. Baia Mar checked that box. Found the room, found some food (a poor excuse for fish tacos) and got my gear laid out and got some sleep Saturday night.

Sunday morning came right away, and like all race days, you’re up an hour before the alarm goes off at 4am. As the finish line was being set out front of the hotel, we all waited in line for the shuttle bus to the start line over on the other side of the intracoastal. I got their early enough that I only had to wait for one batch of busses. Others who were just a little later on told of really really long lines, and arriving at the start right at the gun.

Got to the start line and searched out the 4:45 pace group. Figured that was my best bet, and it was lead by an amazing lady named Maria. The A1A Marathon was her 300^th, and between her stories and the bunny ears, I kinda thought it could be a great distraction for the later stages in the race. One note. Don’t count on getting to a porta potty at the A1A. There were all of like 20 of them for 5000 people at the start line.

So the gun went off right on time at 6, and our little 4:45 group crossed the start about 5 minutes after the gun. Heading east, we crossed back over the intracoastal just as the sun was rising and turned north up A1A along the beach. Maria and the group were everything I’d hoped, and the first few miles flew by almost unnoticed.

The only real challenge with the A1A marathon is the combo start for the full and half. The first 6 or 8 miles are pretty congested, and even at my slow pace I had to dodge traffic quite a bit in the beginning. As a result, maybe 6 miles in I saw a crease in the traffic and pulled a little ahead of my 4:45 pace group to get into clean air. The quicker pace felt pretty good, and I planned on keeping it up a mile or two and then drifting back to the group.

Well, that didn’t happen. Maybe the extra training I had done, maybe the flat course, maybe just the cool temps and the familiar landscape, I just kept on moving. By mile 8 I’d lost site of the 4:45 group behind me and was ticking off miles more in the 10:20 to 10:30 range. The Half Marathoners split off right around there and those of us in the full had the road to ourselves.

Splitting away from the beach, we tracked our way up through the familiar streets and neigborhoods. Past Oakalnd Park Blvd and Commercial, past the bars and restaurants, the retirees and vacationers. By the 13.1 point, I was pacing closer to 10:00/mile. Having only half way to go, I experimented with the pace a bit and picked it up towards 9:45 splits. This took me most of the way to the tour of the neighborhoods of North Lauderdale as we looped around and headed back south down the beach, less then 10 miles to go.

One of the really nice things about the A1A are the volunteers. Every hydration station and aid station was well staffed. Everyone was smiling, every one had a choice of water or Gatorade, quite a few had Cliff shots or a treat. For me the Gatorade went in and the water went over my head. It was not so cool anymore by 8:30 or 9AM.

The next 4 or 5 miles went really quickly, the wide flat track we were on didn’t give much resistance and as I passed 3 hours, I had a really good feeling I could kill my best time. My splits were drifting down into the 9:30 range, pretty much unheard of in my world!

The last 10K along the beach was hot.  Out of the shade, with the Atlantic Ocean on our left, and the hotels rising again on our right. It’s a great feeling when you’re that late in the race, still feeling pretty strong, keeping your splits consistent and knowing you’ve got a great shot at a PR.

The last mile or two the crowd grew, and the other finishers were gathering to rest, re count and cheer on the remaining runners. I got to the finish in one piece, looked at the clock, and was almost shocked. Pretty close to negative splits through the race, at least until mile 20, and then I gave a little back. Still 4:25 is 19 minutes of my previous best, and not something I would have expected to run!

Boring Details:

Official Time: 4:25:23

Official Pace: 10:08

Official Place: 409

Age Group: 32/52

Keep Streaking?

Run Streak Day 35!

Now I need to make some decisions. Is this helping? Is it healthy? Can I keep it up? Should I streak through the taper? What bout after my next race? So many questions.

The Run Streak thing has been a really great experience so far, feel like I'm getting a lot out of it. The routine, the discipline, the dependability, and the miles. It's quickly become part of my day, something I look forward too whether I'm doing 20 outside or 2 on the treadmill. It has become that cliche "Me Time". My times are coming down, I've avoided the normal rash of training woes, turned ankles, tweaked hamstrings, so overall it has seemed to be a positive.

But when is it too much of a good thing? All the books talk about the importance of rest days, especially for the over 50 crowd. Am I streaking towards the cliff?

This is what the last 35 days looks like:

December 4th: 5.2 Miles 48:00  9:14/Mile
December 5th: 3.1 Miles 26:53  8:40/Mile
December 6th: 4.0 Miles 36:30  9:08/Mile
December 7th: 15.01 Miles 2:45:24 11:01/Mile
December 8th:  3.1 Miles 26:50  8:39/Mile
December 9th: 5.0 Miles  45:11  9:02/Mile
December 10th: 3.1 Miles  26:46  8:38/Mile
December 11th: 6.3 Miles  58:00  9:12/Mile
December 12th: 3.1 Miles  27:48  8:58/Mile
December 13th: 4.0 Miles  35:20  8:50/Mile
December 14th: 16.07 Miles 2:50:21 10:36/Mile
December 15th: 3.1 Miles  27:34  8:54/Mile
December 16th: 5.0 Miles  46:15  9:15/Mile
December 17th: 3.1 Miles  27:26  8:51/Mile
December 18th: 6.2 Miles  55:10  8:54/Mile

December 19th: 3.1 Miles 26:53  8:4/0Mile

December 20th: 4.0 Miles 34:44  8:41/Mile

December 21st: 20 Miles 3:44:14 11:12/Mile

December 22nd: 3.1 Miles 27:00  8:43/Mile

December 23rd: 4.0 Miles 43:21  8:35/Mile

December 24th: 2.4 Miles 20:20  8:28/Mile

December25th: 8.0 Miles 1:13:14 9:09/Mile

December 26th: 1.66 Miles 14:30 8:32/Mile

December 27th: 3.0 Miles 26:00  8:39/Mile

December 28th: 16.2 Miles 2:43:31 10:05/Mile

December 29th: 3.1 Miles 25:50 8:20/Mile

December 30th: 4 Miles 35:04 8:46/Mile

December 31st: 2.92 Miles 27:08 9:17/Mile (+12 mile bike)

January 1st: 8.0 Miles 1:12:11 9:00/Mile

January 2nd: 3.1 Miles 26:30  8:31/Mile

January 3rd: 6.22 Miles 58:39  9:26/Mile

January 4th: 18.22 Miles 3:14:54 10:42/Mile

January 5th: 2.0 Miles 16:44  8:22/Mile

January 6th: 5.0 Miles 43:30  8:42/Mile

January 7th: 3.1 Miles 26:54  8:41/Mile

My next race is 5 weeks out, I've got 2 more long runs and then I'm supposed to taper. So I have these questions running around in my head. 

To Recap:

1) How long to keep the streak going?

2) Can I streak through taper?

3) Can I continue the streak post A1A Marathon?

4) Why am I doing this anyway?

HELP!

Streaking Away From 50!

No, not that kind of streaking.

Run streak! For the first time, I'm trying out the whole run streak thing. Taking my normal 4 day a week training runs, and adding 5k's on the off days. It's been much different then I expected. I went in thinking that it would be too much for my old legs, and that I'd wear out quickly. So far it's been quite the opposite. My legs feel stronger, and my training times have held up, if not even improved.

Who'd have thought.

December 4th: 5.2 Miles 48:00  9:14/Mile
December 5th: 3.1 Miles 26:53  8:40/Mile
December 6th: 4.0 Miles 36:30  9:08/Mile
December 7th: 15.01 Miles 2:45:24 11:01/Mile
December 8th:  3.1 Miles 26:50  8:39/Mile
December 9th: 5.0 Miles  45:11  9:02/Mile
December 10th: 3.1 Miles  26:46  8:38/Mile
December 11th: 6.3 Miles  58:00  9:12/Mile
December 12th: 3.1 Miles  27:48  8:58/Mile
December 13th: 4.0 Miles  35:20  8:50/Mile
December 14th: 16.07 Miles 2:50:21 10:36/Mile
December 15th: 3.1 Miles  27:34  8:54/Mile
December 16th: 5.0 Miles  46:15  9:15/Mile
December 17th: 3.1 Miles  27:26  8:51/Mile
December 18th: 6.2 Miles  55:10  8:54/Mile

15 Days so far, with a 15 mile and 16 mile long run included. I'm pretty happy with the 10:36 splits for 16, better then the11:01 splits a week earlier for 15. I'm really happy with the 10K yesterday. 6.2 miles with sub 9 splits. My best time at that distance since I tore up my ankle last year.

Overall it feels like the daily running regimen is helping me with stamina, it's helping with consistency, and so far there's been no negative side effects that I can see. No soreness, not too tired, and my knees and ankles are holding up.

But wait there's more! I've finally added a little strength training into the mix. 2 to 3 days, before the 5K's I'll do upper body and core. So I feel stinger, it's helping with my weight, and I get to feel like a total fool picking up 35lb dumbbells next to the guys at the gym pressing 90 each. Whatever.

Not sure yet how long I want this experiment to last, want to go for 20 in my next long run Sunday, and that may require a rest day or two.

TGIF!

Marc