The 2012 screaming pumpkin and being a clydesdale runner

The 2012 screaming pumpkin race in springdale cemetery last night went very well. I finished almost the same mapped loop we did for the ivs half marathon with the same time of 1:05 with a nagging lower back flare and Wendy did it in 1:07 this time with a hip flare... i tied my record for this course but did not make my goal of <60 minutes. This is a very hilly and demanding course with a few very large (over 1/8 mile) hills and it never gets easier to attempt even in training mode/paces. To get ready for this one I actually had to scale back training due to alot of reoccurring back flares from my l-4/l-5 herniation and disk degeneration along with newer mid back bulges. Despite all of that my times are getting better compared to 2010 when I averaged a 1:08-9 for the same loops. My training for the rest of fall and winter is going to focus on tae-bo/insanity, more wieght and stationary bike workouts to gain some cardiac output results and cross train. Running as a clydesdale(200+) @ 215lbs is very challenging and I do supplement alot. This year to increase red blood cells so I could use oxygen more efficiently was a combo of: iron,b12,b6,folic acid,boron,milk thistle, and a better multi vitamin with many pro hormones and antioxidants. I used that along with: creatine monohydrate, ginko biloba and l-arganine. One other thing I added this year was a new balance 750 which is a lighter shoe with molded cushioning along with my aetrex lynco sports L405 insert for my own pressure points. This combo did very good in the hills for my larger frame. My knees, calves and hips did very well overall this year. I've concluded my back will allways be an issue until surgery repair or my retirement from running at my top speeds.... Its allways a pain or a tightness; but I've found on most days its very manageable with non narcotic sports medication but progressively getting worse. My next race will most likely be in late November and shorter in distance. I look forward to this fall/winter training plan....#Romneysteinsucks

Ivs half relay and beyond

Already I'm looking forward to the very same 6.5 mile loop we finished today during our half marathon relay in springdale cemetery. Our team; "Caught in traffic" (me and Wendy), finished it in 2 hours and 10 minutes. We each got 1:05 for our 6.5 mile commitment. This is a very hard 6.5 mile loop with 3 big steep sloped hills ranging from 1/8 mile to 1/4 mile with many smaller medium sloped hills throughout the course. It; for me, is always very demanding and I'm very happy for our times given the extremes.

I decided two weeks ago to start tae bo cardio workouts and more high rep light weight gym hits; along with a lot of pre hill training to prepare for this race. For a shoe choice I downgraded from my higher end wishes and went with a New Balance 750. The New Balance 750 offers lightweight yet supremely flexible experience, resulting in a lighter shoe and still having a lot of cushion (for us bodybuilder wannabes that gained to much muscle weight back in the day!) provided by the injection-molded foam mid sole. This shoe is less supportive and not as neutral; but it did just great. I adjusted very well to them and Ive spent time training my legs so the impact of such a non supportive shoe would be minimized.

Now we are looking forward to the Screaming Pumpkin!!! Hopefully I will get it done in just under an hour. The darkness combined with the cold weather; along with all the Halloween costumes on course tend to make one run just a bit quicker. Without injury I actually stand a chance to match my old goal as i did in 2010. We shall see....      

 

Straight up climbing

Hill training has officially started as the weather here in central Illinois has broke. It has been much cooler and I'm trying to take advantage of it and get Wendy a good dose of hills also. My herniation in my back at the infamous L-4/L-5 location flared in late July but has since fully released the muscle spasms and the inflamation is much more manageable at this point leading into our last two big hill races of the year.

I'm finding myself able to hold a 7:30-8:30 pace for longer periods of time now as I try to take full advantage of straightaways and downhill portions of my runs. I will have to retire my reeboks here mid-month as they have lost most of the cushion support and go back to a more stable shoe with new sport inserts as the training shifts into the larger climbs and longer runs inside of springdale cemetary and the detweiller/gandview drive areas.

I find that after a minor injury prone week that hills are great to shift more muscles to help take over and stabilize more injury prone areas. We shall see if history repeats as usual.....

Summer training 2012

It is now late July and we are in the full swing of summer training for the Ivs half/relay and still undecided; with my girlfriend, on whether to relay the race or go the full 13.1. I have been working on speed and some small hills and quarter to half mile interval runs have become regular with my long runs approaching 6+ miles once or twice a week.

Its hard to say how much I've improved my 5k rp by, but it should be around an 8:30 pace on a good day. The focus is soon shifting to bigger hill relays and longer runs as we approach the hilly race date at Springdale cemetery  in September and my herniated disks are the only thing hurting/slowing me down. I'm defiantly @ 85% or higher and am looking forward to the August training regime which will involve some group runs.

I have noticed since I quit smoking that my peak flow meter readings are better and my resting blood pressure at arms and legs is lower at 115-130/75-90. My resting heart rate is still around 45-50 bpm and my normal pace likes to hang around a 9 minute mile still; but I can push to a 6:30 and hold for almost a quarter mile. The shoes Ive been looking at are some higher end neutral cushioning/stability combination shoes. My higher possibility is the new balance 993 with the mizuno wave prophecy and the new balance 2002 in very close seconds due to the high cost of each pair.As I approach fall my wieght lifting will increase more with higher wieght and less reps as I do take 2-3 months of running off in the winter. My diet has been alot of water and salads along with vegtables and plenty of food sorced protien. I take in about 2200-2800 calories a day right now on a high day. Protien intake will also increase as fall aproaches to about 120 grams a day.

I hope to end the running season with a record race pace; but we shall see as it seems to be holding a strong tie to last years!@!

http://www.newbalance.com/New-Balance-993/883905367221,default,pd.html

http://www.mizunousa.com/running/feature/mizuno-wave-prophecy-running-shoes

http://www.newbalance.com/New-Balance-2002/MR2002,default,pd.html?dwvar_MR2002_color=Grey_with_Navy&start=53&cgid=101000

Firecracker 5000

We had a great time at the firecracker 5k in Peoria yesterday. Me and Wendy finished at 29 minutes. She met her goal of <30 min and I missed mine of <26 min. It was a very hot and humid race; but sunny and mostly clear. It was a fun flat course run for us and they had plenty of post race water, food, and beer.

Steamboat classic 2012

Me and Wendy ran the race over the weekend. We had the same time at just over 38 minutes which was over my goal of 30-35 minutes. We got caught up into traffic on the first mile and ran that in 11 minutes. We then finished with a 9 minute pace. Christina didn't do her race and her series is over after next Monday. Our focus now is to shift to ivs marathon training in July, get a 5k race done for the year and a couple 6.5 mile relays at the very least. My goal for the 5k is 26:30 and the 6.5 <58 minutes.

Kids series

Last month my daughter Christina's best time on the quarter mile was 3:15 and her friend Jayden's was 2:11. They will continue to race throughout June.

Country music half marathon

Apparently I lost my st jude country music half post. I got a time of 2:18. It was a fun hilly course through Nashville, tn. We ran an average of 15-20 miles a week to train for it.

Steamboat update

Its a week and a half until the steamboat classic and I guess we are prepared as can be. I have not been training hard but would still like to be under 35 minutes for the four mile race. I have been doing low mileage weeks along with more cross training at gym. In July marathon training will start and I will start training to beat my best half time of 2:08.