Screaming Beagle

It hurts to run.

It hurts not to run.

Well, I was never very smart to begin with, so I’ll keep running and see what happens.  I am “starting over” and using some VFF bakilas to see if they help.  We’ll see what happens.

I should update this.

The other day I mentioned to someone about how running is an all-weather sport.  You can do it in any weather, hot or cold, as long as you have the right gear.  Fast-forward two weeks and it is butt-cold in the morning.  Waking up at 5:30 was never too much of a problem when it was warmer.  Throw in a dash of mist and 50F temperatures and you need a nuke and some zombies to get me out from under the covers!

I made the mistake of mentioning that to the same coworker.  ”All-weather my ass.  You’re such a wimp.”

:(

So, yesterday afternoon I hit the lake for my latest 10k training punishment.  50 °F Overcast Windchill: 45 °F Humidity: 100%.  It was 100% humidity because it was misting.  Damn it felt horrible.  But, by the end, I was cooking… these Freeway to 10k sessions are kinda brutal.  I didn’t think increasing the BPM of the music would get you going faster, but it sure does make me move faster.

I sure hope I’m going to be able to do the Causeway Run 10k in a month.  :\

Saturday, November 21, 2009 27th Annual Run for Your Heart Turkey Trot 5-K/1-Mile Gobble Run-Walk

It’s finally here!  My first 5k!  OMG.

Saturday was a beautiful day and near perfect for running.  It started out cold in the high 50’s (to me) and I was worried I’d have to leave my pants on and maybe even my pullover.  However, once the sun broke through the clouds, it turned into the perfect race day. I was antsy from the moment I got there and got kinda peeved that it took so long to get started.  The race for 5k didn’t start until about 9am.  All the little rug rats and speedys had their 1 miler at 8:30 and we had to wait for them to get done.

Going into the race, I figured I wouldn’t break any records or place, I just wanted to have fun and run a badass 5k.  And that’s exactly what happened.  Morning runs generally suck for me, but that’s because I don’t fuel up and run on a somewhat empty stomach.  Race day, I had a small cup of oatmeal with a small fruit cup drained of syrup and washed it down with a cup of golden monkey black tea.  This turned out to be the perfect fuel for my run.  I didn’t bog down on the third mile and I didn’t cramp up at all.  HOORJ!

I somehow convinced my buddy Lynn to participate in the race with me.  I have to give major props to him since he hasn’t been training as long but was gutsy enough to give it a shot.

The first mile was my slow warm up mile.  Based on some internet and runner’s world advice, I started in the middle of the pack on the outside.  I let all the speed demons and kids tear ass right up the middle.  Gah, those kids (around 10 years old or so) were annoying.  They took off fast and then stalled out in the race lane, a mile or so down the track.  L  In retrospect, I probably could have gone a bit faster but I really did not want to bonk out on my first 5k.  So, I took my first mile pretty slow and easy and tried finding a good and easy pace for myself.  The urge to run faster and faster was incredible.  I guess it’s the whole running with the pack thing.  Mile 2 was more of the same, except that my nose and sinuses decided that it should release all the phlegm it was holding onto.  I was coughing and spitting up for about a half-mile.  I bet the ladies around me were wondering if the fat brownie was going to drop from a blown lung.  Somewhere around the halfway point, everything was clear and I could breathe!  All systems go, I started increasing my speed a little bit.

I chuckled so much when I hit the aid-station at the halfway point.  I wasn’t expecting a water station during the race, but I took the water anyway.  It’s only a 30 min run!  You don’t NEED to hydrate, but it does look cool to grab water while running, throwing it on your face and then littering.  After we hit the turnaround, I totally hit my groove.  I stopped worrying about the race, my pace, my breathing, the other runners, and everything else.  I started having fun.  Yes, my legs hurt, my nose burned a little, but it was fun running with everyone.  Mile 3 hit and I didn’t even notice it.  Thanks to my morning fuel-up, I felt like I had the energy to keep going for another 3 miles!  (Yes, that 10k is coming up in January, I just might make it.)

(The guy on the right is the most awesome runner I’ve ever seen.)

Towards the very end, a dude pulled up to me and mentioned that “We’re almost there.”  Of course since I had my earphones in I couldn’t hear him, so I sputtered out a “WHAT?” and yanked my music out.  He pointed dramatically and spit out between pants, “The Academy… we’re almost there.”

OH.  Oh hey!  The Academy!  We’re almost there.  I decided I’d crank on the gas and finish strong.  However, like an idiot, I misjudged the racecourse.  It turns out that on a straight section of road, that you can see pretty far.  And I didn’t realize that we wouldn’t follow the same route as the 1 Mile runners, but would instead return exactly the way we started.  So, instead of hauling ass for a 1/10^th of a mile, I got to pour it on for 1/4^th of a mile.  Thankfully I had MUSE and The Prodigy to carry through that last part.  When I rounded the final corner, I nearly died from amazement.  The clock said 30’11”  !!!  I was *THIS* close to breaking 30mins on my first 5k.  Even though I was running at a faster than normal pace, I dialed it to 11 and hauled ass (relatively speaking of course.)  I must have looked like an idiot because I was sucking in air and pumping as fast as I could.  The guys at the gate actually took a step back to get out of the way of the charging hippo.  One guy was waving and telling to slow down since I was at the gate.  I kinda blanked out and didn’t see the exact time when I hit the gate.  After I recovered, I glanced back and it was at 30’42”.  I think I hit it about 30’30” or so and that’s my time.

Afterwards, I felt pretty damn good.  I was a bit nauseous but I think it’s because the oranges they had at the finish line were really sweet.  We wanted to stay for the results, but everything took sooo damn long.  My buddy Lynn came in about 38 minutes which was really good for him.  After the last guy finished around 58 minutes they had a little kid karate presentation and then started reading out results for the one mile race.  It was getting late and we were getting hungry, so we headed for some chow and then home.

I still can’t believe I did it.  I was a couch potato in July and now, I’m a 5k runner that’s about to start 10k training.  Unfreakinbelievable.

FORTITUDINE VINCIMUS

I have my first 5k tomorrow.  The Brownsville Turkey Trot!

Problem is I still have this head cold…  :(

Hopefully, a sudafed and coffee smoothie in the morning won’t kill me.

So, here we are on release day for Left 4 Dead 2.  And I have a cold.  On the plus side, it gives me an excuse to stay home.  On the downside, I’m kinda pissed that I’m getting sick.  I HAVE MY RUN THIS WEEKEND!!!  I can’t be sick now.  :(

What a crazy week.  Last week Lucas was sick with explosive diapers.  I swear, one day it looked like he killed a boomer in his crib.  :(  Then Jade started getting all cranky because I had to take care of Lucas so much.  :(  Then she started with a runny nose.  And now I have a leaky nose, a nostril that feels like it’s on fire and a head that feels like it’s going to keep expanding until it bursts.  :(

Oh yeah, running.  Running is good.  I like running.  My knees hate it.  So do my toenails.  Anyhow, that parts actually doing good.  My pace is increasing and I’m running about a 5k in roughly 33-34 mins.  We’ll see how I do on race day.  Juan wants me to start on 10k training so I can do the Causeway run in January.  F THAT.  I mean, I totally want to run that, but not yet.  I still want to keep losing weight and then get my 5k times under 30 mins.  I think that’s within reach.

Now, I just need to stay well and keep my legs from rebelling.  :(  I think I need more Glucosamine.