Last Sunday, December 13th I ran the Half Marathon which started at the American Airlines center down town and finished on Katy Trail. The conditions were perfect. Cloud cover, around 50 F and a course that finishes with a downslope. The first couple hundred of meters I had the honor of running with the Kenyans, one of which being Edward Tabut who won the Marathon with a time of 2:16:53! Their pace was sickening. I kept with them stride for stride the initial 200 meters and then let them go so that I could conserve for the rest of the race.
Everything felt pretty good up until mile 7 when my hamstring failed to loosen up and caused a sharp pain in my foot. The pain slowly increased as I struggled to maintain my pace. I saw my wife, Kristi, at mile 11 and she exuberantly decided to run with me in her jeans and North Face fleece. She told me later that her shins started to hurt even though she only ran about 400 meters. She was inspired though to run a half marathon and I will keep you all posted on that.
Seeing Kristi was just the boost I needed as the pain grew to almost an unbearable level. I hobbled to a finishing time of 1:46:04 which is around 8 minutes per mile. Overall it was a great experience, very well run and a wonderful event for anyone looking to get into endurance sports. I’ll definitely use this run in the future as a chance to train with family and friends and to just have a good time.
This past Saturday marks a significant day in the beginnings of my endurance sports career as I ran 18 miles with two of my friends. The sad truth is that I had not been running for three weeks due to hunting trips, discouragement and a dose of laziness. My friends gently coerced me by including me on all emails pertaining to the weekend “long” run and with hasty zeal I replied with a promise that I would meet them to run on Saturday morning.
I was very apprehensive about the prospect of running 20 miles (which is the amount we were scheduled to run) but decided that I needed to give it a shot and make it as far as I could. We met at the dog park as usual and started off at a nice steady pace. Feeling good about 20 minutes into the run I ignorantly stated, “At this pace, I could run forever!” The other guys smiled, agreed and waited about an hour until they found out I was full of blue mud.
I felt great up until the end of the first lap and then my knees and joints started to remind me that I had been sitting down for three weeks and hadn’t used them. We stopped briefly a couple of times to grab a quick drink at the water fountains as we knew staying hydrated would be highly important in the later stages of the run. One of the guys, Casey (Triathlete Extraordinare) acts as a camel as he wears a hydration belt which carries to bottles of water as well as a pouch for Energy Gels. We freely grab from his waist whenever we feel like a drink, it’s cute.
Anyway, the pain set in around mile 11 and grew as we rounded the lake for a second time. I finally bowed out and left the two consistent warriors to finish the beast. I walked the rest of the way but felt really good about making as far as I did. It is certain that I would never have been able to do it without John and Casey encouraging me, waking up just to be there and pushing me to my limit. It’s a great picture in life and how we all need people around us to encourage us and to call us to do greater things. Without these kind of people we become lazy, selfish and independent and it becomes impossible to find joy and satisfaction in this state.
So thank you guys for pushing me and waking me from my slumber. You’re champions!
I am proud to announce that I have officially been bitten by the road biking bug! I took the “American beauty” out for two 15 mile rides this weekend and it felt amazing! I rode from my house, to White Rock lake, around the lake and back. Both times it took me approximately 54 minutes which I figured put me at about a 17 mph average for the 15 miles. I’m really looking forward to getting some more time in the saddle and hope to be averaging around 22-23 mph for 20-25 miles by March of next year. I have my sites set on the tri in Athens, TX next March and want to be in top form so I can improve my 21st overall finish from 2008.
I noticed, however, that the computer that came with the bike is no longer working and so I will need to get that fixed so I can track more accurately how fast and how far I am riding. I will post more training updates as they come.
Until then,
Peter
What I am about to share with you is a true story and is a working example of Psalm 37:4.
“Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart.”
Last week one of the guys I work for called me into his office. “Peter, sit down. I know you may think I just sit around and think of ways to bless you but…I have this friend who is older and who has quite a few road bikes that he might be interested in letting you ride for a while.” Wow, that’s just great. Sure thing!
So this morning we meet this friend out at a public storage where he keeps his extra bikes. He pulls one out, sits me up on it, adjusts the seat and then in the most nonchalant way sends me on my way. I start looking at the various components and notice that quite a few of them are Dura Ace. Now I am no expert on bikes, but with the little research I’ve done, I’ve learned the Dura Ace is the top of the line. Well so now I have this bike but no shoes, no helmet and no gloves. So I took it down to the best local bike shop in Dallas, Dallas Bike Works (seriously, you won’t find better service, better deals and the guys REALLY know their stuff). I get the bike in there, tell them it was a “bike on loan” and asked them what they thought. The guy looks at me and says, “Bro, that’s the nicest bike i’ve seen in here in a LONG time! Don’t be nervous though.” I was blown away!
After buying a bunch of gear such as shoes, helmet, gloves, pump and jersey, I took it for a spin around White Rock lake. What a dream!! I flew around the lake, seemingly with no effort and road it all the way back to my apartment (about 15 miles) not having broken a sweat! It took me a little over 50 minutes of pure heaven! This truly is a testimony of the faithfulness and kindness of God. This bike I am riding is so far out of my price range that it could only be God. I’m really looking forward to getting out on the road and getting some more miles under my belts. This is such a boost and puts a new wind under my sails for training! Stay tuned as I hope to start posting a schedule for next year.
Happy biking and praise be to the Living God,
Peter
I’m approaching the last month and a half before the big day and I can honestly say that some of my “desire” has waned a bit. Training for a marathon as opposed to a triathlon takes much more discipline for me as there is little to no variety in the training. Sure you can do hill runs, long runs, short runs or whatever other kind of runs. But you can’t swim and you definitely can’t hop onto a beautiful road bike and fly around at 25 mph.
My weekly routine usually includes one long run (9-15 miles so far), a few shorter runs (3-7 miles) and a session in the weight room. I’m needing to saddle up again and really hit it hard for these last few weeks so that I am not hobbling over the finish line come December 13th.
This weekend I will be running 18 miles and I will definitely post how it goes soon after. I am hoping this one won’t be as painful as my first 15 miler, but that is unlikely as I am the eternal optimist.
“The wicked man flees though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.” – Proverbs 18:1
-Peter
Well I ran my first 15 miles this past Saturday with John and Casey. We met at White Rock Lake at 7:30 a.m. and started off on a very cool morning! I felt amazingly good as we came around the lake and completed our first 9 miles. I thought about increasing my pace but decided to heed the wisdom of my fellow runners and stay on course. Our plan was to run three miles past our starting point to Winfrey Point, then turn around and head back giving us a total of 15 miles.
I noticed my body beginning to show fatigue around mile 11 as I am sure all my energy sources were depleted. I rounded Winfrey point and had to gut it out after we climbed a brutal hill at mile 12. The last three miles were excruciating but I am proud to say that I finished the run in 2 hours, 12 minutes. Hopefully these runs will get easier and easier and give me confidence going into the big race.
I took Sunday off (Keep the Sabbath holy people!) and ran a 5K this morning just to test my legs. I finished in 20 minutes 54 seconds. Tomorrow i’ll be running with the guys and then this weekend we are just doing a little over 9 miles before we kick it up to 18 in two weeks!
Until then, stay classy Dallas.
I woke up early on race morning not really knowing what to expect but I felt good. Fortunately we got to park in the VIP section with some friends so we didn’t have to walk very far and we avoided cramming on the shuttle bus with the masses.
Once we arrived we relaxed a bit, I ate an energy bar and drank some water and just tried to stay relaxed. At the start time I decided to gather with the group who were set to run at a 7-8 minute pace not really having any idea what I would be capable of since this was my first run ever at this distance. I was really impressed with the turnout (around 1200 people) and found that running with a large mass of people made for an enjoyable morning.
The gun went off and I decided that I would try to keep a quicker pace at the beginning, then maintain that speed as my body would allow. The other option was to restrain myself and just run an 8 minute per mile pace which would have left me with more gas in my tank at the end. I decided to go with the former option and ended up running a 44:47 for my first 10k, that’s 7:13/M miles.
I decided to slow my pace down a bit as I knew we were coming into the neighborhoods that would have more hills. Little did I know, the second half of the race seemed like it was ALL uphill (though it wasn’t) and I struggled to maintain a solid pace. I found new strength as ran with various people and found myself counting down until the finish line. I made up in my mind to maintain my pace until the 11 mile mark and then try and kick it up for the last 1.4 miles. Unfortunately I hit the 11 mile mark and hit the wall as we came around the spillway and encountered a nasty hill.
I rounded the corner and as some guys were passing me I asked them how much further until the finish line…”a couple hundred meters at the most.” That was all I needed. I strapped on the turbo boosters, kicked it into finish mode and got into a foot race with a guy with about 50 meters to go. I finished in a total of 1:33:47 seconds with an overall average of 7:34/M mile pace.
I finished 80th overall and 10th in my age group! I was very pleased with this result and am very encouraged about the prospects of running a sub 3:10 marathon this December. Overall it was an awesome race, well run and beautiful! Oh, and the post-race free massage wasn’t bad either!
Training will continue as usual, though this week has been light in order to let my body recover, and I believe the next race will be the DRC Half Marathon in November! Until then, happy training…
Peter
I would like to congratulate Ricardo Walker for guessing the closest to my actual chip time this Saturday! Ricardo guessed 97 minutes and my finishing time was 93 minutes and 47 seconds. I finished 80th overall and 10th in my age group! I will post a race-day breakdown within a couple of days for more details.
Well somehow I’m signed up to run the Tour De Fleur 20K race this Saturday. I learned about it three days ago and got signed up yesterday. The run starts at the Dallas Arboretum and goes around the lake and from what I have heard it is an amazing race.
I consider this a B-class race for me (meaning it’s not a high priority) this season as I am not yet in “race” form and am really using this as a tuneup and training exercise for the White Rock Marathon in December. Much of the White Rock Marathon covers the same territory as this one so it will be good to familiarize myself with the various elevation and distances.
I went for a short and quick 5K run this morning just to keep the legs moving but I found my energy level was very low. I think it had to do with the fact that I am slightly adjusting my running technique by increasing my cadence or rpm. This supposedly will increase efficiency and allow me to run faster while conserving energy. The problem is that I am still in the middle of tweaking and training my muscles to respond to a shorter and much faster rotation which ends up increasing my heart rate and bringing me to the point of fatigue much faster.
My plan for tomorrow is really just to have fun and enjoy the run. My goal time is under 2 hours but on a perfect day I’d like to run 1 hour 40 minutes or less. I am holding a competition amongst friends (and whoever else would like to join) where if you guess my finishing time within 3 minutes (or are the closest if there is no one within 3 minutes) I will send you a $25 gift card. I’ll accept your latest guess (so if you change your mind after reading this post, that’s fine) but will cut the guesses off at MIDNIGHT (12:00 am) tonight. I’ll announce the winner on Sunday!
Thanks for your support and i’ll be sure and get a post-race report up as soon as possible!
Onward,
Peter
I went for a nice 10K run this morning with John and Joshua. It was a beautiful morning and so we decided to shoot off like we were a bunch of Kenyans set to run a 2 hr. 5 minutes marathon. We settled into the run and enjoyed a nice pace eventhough there were portions of the run where we couldn’t see the pavement because it was so dark. The route we take frequently has areas that are covered by a large canopy, and at 5:30 in the morning there is not much light to illuminate our path save a few bikes or cars that go by.
With 1.5 miles to go I decided to pick it up and try and finish at a 6:00/mile pace and came close, 48 seconds shy. I finished the run in 45 minutes and 36 seconds and really felt good after being out for over a week and a half with that blasted respiratory infection. I’ve got the day off tomorrow and then speedwork on Thursday, nice easy run on Friday and then we’re doing a 13.1 mile run on Saturday.
“People forget how fast you did a job-but they remember how well you did it.”
-Howard Newton
Well Howard, that may in fact be true in everything in life except racing.
