Update 2: It looks like BlogPolls.Com has gone completely kaput, so I’m just going to remove it for now to speed up page load times

First off, I am introducing a new feature to my blog.  I am hoping to make this a weekly feature – tentatively called “Saturday Surveys” – where I’ll post a single question for readers to respond to.  I got this idea based on a recent post Frayed Laces that generated some interesting statistics about triathletes.  And while I may have missed Saturday this week, I figured better late than never.   If anyone has a suggestion for a future question, feel free to leave me a comment!

(Blog Poll Removed)

Ok.  Now onto some actual workout updates.

On Saturday, I headed out on a long run with Jennie on the bike.  It was a relatively chilly day – low 60’s and windy – compared to weather we had last week.  In fact, I had to break out a long-sleeved shirt Jennie had to break out the hat and gloves for this workout.  I took it pretty easy the entire way and felt like I could have kept going and and going.  I ended up with a little over 10 miles at an 8:20 pace.  The best part was that I negative split the workout.

After the run, I spent the rest of the day on the couch watching opening day of college football.  The Irish beat Purdue in their first season under new head coach Brian Kelly.  Let’s hope that is just one of many victories for Notre Dame this year.

I finished up painting our cornhole boards on Friday, but unfortunately, they weren’t quite ready to break out for gameday.  They should be ready for next weekend though!

Now, onto my latest endeavor; yet another attempt at strength training.  Over the past couple of years, I have tried various different ways of strength training (100 pushups – got bored after 2 weeks, weight lifting circuits from a book), but nothing stuck.  I know that strengthening my core will really help with my future training and races and is something that I have to do no matter how much I dislike doing it. 

So, for my latest attempt at strength training.  I’ve started the P90X workout program.  I know a few other bloggers (Jeff, Carol, Barb, and Matt) who have had success with the program, so I thought I would give it a try. In case you are not familiar with the P90X program, it is a 90 day training program incorporating strength training, yoga, cardio, plyometrics, and stretching.  I was lucky enough to get the P90X DVDs from the library rather than purchasing the series.  I also downloaded an Excel spreadsheet that makes scheduling and tracking my progress a breeze.

Today, the first day, included a Chest & Back workout coupled with the Ab Ripper X.  Unfortunately, I do not have a pull up bar yet, so I missed out on a couple of the workouts.  Nevertheless, I felt great during and after the workout.  I really felt the burn during the workout and didn’t have much lingering soreness afterwards.  I found Tony, the host of programs, horribly annoying and once I get the hang of the workouts, I’m sure that the TV will be on mute with the radio on.  I even figure that once I get into a rhythm, I may not need the DVDs and be able to just do the workouts based on the worksheets.

After the P90X workout, Jennie and I spent the afternoon doing some yard work.  It included moving plants/bushes, digging out a garden, and cleaning out rocks.  By the time we finished up, I didn’t have a lot of time to squeeze in a workout, but I was determined to get a bike ride in.  So, I strapped a couple of lights on my bike and headed out for a quick hour ride as the sun set. 

That’s all for now!  I’m hoping to get a longer ride in tomorrow, but hopefully most of the day will be spent relaxing.

To make matters worse, I had to miss tailgating in South Bend and the BC game today.  I had plans to go down early and hang out with friends, but I when I woke up, I knew that was going to be a bad idea.  Instead, I have essentially been sitting in the same spot on the couch all day.  Thankfully, it is a rainy, dreary day so at least I am not missing a beautiful day.

Back to sitting on my ass.  This is getting ridiculous.

On Saturday, we headed across the state for our stay with Jennifer’s family.  We hit up the expo on the way and then grabbed lunch at Red Knapp’s in Rochester Hills.  It is a fun old fashioned diner (think black and white checkerboard tiles, red vinyl stools) that has fabulous burgers, fries, and milkshakes.  It was a late lunch, so we were starving and the food disappeared rather quickly.

After lunch, it was time for some Saturday college football.  I was able to catch the tail end of the UofM – MSU game.  MSU somehow pulled out an upset in the final minutes which led to some colorful language.  After that, it was time for the big game of the day; Notre Dame of course.  I was able to watch the first half live before we headed out for B’s soccer game.  Thankfully, I was able to watch most of the 2nd half on my trusty iPhone.  As with their past 3 games, it came down to the wire with ND pulling ahead in the first OT.  YAY!

After the soccer game, we headed to Buddy’s Pizza (one of the top 5 pizza places by the Food Network in 2003).  I probably shouldn’t have had the third helping of antipasto salad.  Or that 4 slice of pizza.  But I did.  And I was stuffed.  Possibly not the best pre-race food, but I never turn down pizza of any kind.

Pre Race

We woke up at 6:00 AM and we were out the door by 6:30 AM.  It is much less stressful to do a running race than a triathlon.  No transition area to setup and a lot less gear.  Despite less stress, my stomach was bothering me from the moment I got up.  Let’s just say that between waking up and the race start, I visited 4 different bathrooms.

Traffic was a little backed up when we arrived at Oakland University, but we got there at about 7:00 AM, so we weren’t in a big hurry.  They had plenty of parking on a grassy field, but this led to walking through the wet grass and getting soggy feet before the race even started.

Weather

The weather was a typical fall Michigan day.  Temperatures were in the mid 50’s and it was overcast.  We had a bit of rain on the car ride, but we didn’t get any rain during the race.  It remained fairly cool the entire race, but there really wasn’t any wind or anything so once I got moving, it was comfortable.

 Trying to stay warm before the race start.

Miles 1-5

I was really worried at the start of the race that I would have stomach issues and have to walk.  So, I decided to just go out fairly easy and play it by ear.  As soon as the race started, I immediately started to feel better.  My stomach still felt a little funny, but not to the point where I felt like I needed to find a bathroom.

About a half mile in and already starting to find a groove.

A “video” of the photos Jennifer took of my as I approached the half mile mark.

Within the first mile, I settled in to a decent pace.  I found a couple running together who were holding a consistent pace and I fell in behind them.  I had hoped to avoid looking at my splits during the race, but it seemed like every time I passed a mile mark, I would hear someone around me calling off their splits.  Thankfully, the times I was hearing were in the 7:30’s/7:40’s which is ahead of what I was shooting for.

I skipped the first aid station and then started grabbing water or Gatorade at every other station.  I probably didn’t get as much water as I should have because I had a headache after the finish, but I was worried about too much fluid upsetting my stomach.

Miles 6-10

Miles 6 to 10 were tough.  It was almost completely uphill.  Long, steady hills.  I was still feeling good, so I pushed forward and paced up the group I had been pacing off of.  These miles were obviously my slowest miles pace-wise, but I feel like I gained a lot of ground and passed quite a few runners during this time.  I ran with a couple of different groups over the 4 miles but didn’t want to settle in with anyone for too long.

Miles 11-Finish

I was feeling absolutely amazing at this point.  The majority of the hills were behind me.  There were a couple of small inclines, but it was mostly downhill.  I ran miles 11 and 12 with a guy from the area.  He helped me push a 7:12 pace for the two miles.  Once I hit mile 12, I took off for the last mile.  I gave it my all and knocked out a 6:48 13th mile; my fastest mile!  Overall time: 1:37:33 for a 13 minute PR!  I couldn’t be happier.

Despite how this picture looks, I really was sprinting (and not prancing) towards the finish.

Post Race Thoughts

I really feel like I ran a great race.  I managed a 2:47 negative split despite the 2nd half of the course being hillier than the first half.  I am almost wondering if I should have gone out a bit faster, but I am glad I took it easy in case I had stomach problems.

I realized that I forgot my race number belt on race morning.  I love the number belt and having the number pinned to my shirt just felt weird at first.  I’ll have to make sure it gets on the packing list for next time.

Course Review

Overall, this was a great course; even with the hills.  The hills definitely made it a challenge, but there was just as much downhill as there was uphill.  The course include both roads and dirt trails.  The dirt trails were firmly packed and well groomed.  I actually felt faster on the dirt than on the road which usually isn’t the case.  The course was well patrolled and closed to all traffic.  They had plenty of aid stations (roughly every mile or so) and some on-course entertainment.

Goodies & Expo

We hit the expo up on Saturday.  We didn’t spend much time there, all I really wanted to do was pick up my packet.  Unfortunately, the expo was set up like the line to a bank teller, and the only way to get to packet pickup was to weave our way through the crowded aisles.  I am sure this was on purpose so that the vendors got lots of traffic, but I just wanted to get in and out.

The goodies themselves were well worth it.  This race actually paid for itself with the coupons in the packet.  There was a coupon to the Hansons Running store for $25 off a new pair of Brooks shoes plus free Brooks HVAC gloves ($36 MSRP).  I was in need of a new pair of my Brooks DYADs anyway.  Goodies also include a great Brooks tech shirt and a cool  finisher’s medal.

As for post race refreshments, they could have better managed the food to ensure that enough was left for the half marathoners.  There was a 5k run prior to the half marathon, and Jennifer saw lots of runners walking off with boxes of donuts, bunches of bananas, and handfuls of vitamin water bottles.  By the time the half marathoners started to finish, they had been cleaned out – very unfortunately.

Other Notables

The men’s winner was former Olympian Brian Sell with a time of 1:06:27.  Brian is part of the Hansons Brooks Distance Project which is located in Rochester Hills, MI and aims to train runners to get the US competitive in the Olympics and International races.

There was also this guy (below) who dribbled 3 basketballs the entire course.  He ended up finishing in about 2:15.  Not sure what possesses someone to do this, but more power to him I guess.  Not everyone can say they have run a half marathon and even fewer can say they did it while dribbling 3 basketballs.

Final Results    

Ride to Grand Haven

On Thursday, I did a long bike ride out to Grand Haven where Jennifer works.  I have done this in the past and will leave the house around 2:00 so that I get to her work just as she is getting out and then ride home with her.  I left a little earlier than normal this time because I knew that the most direct route was under construction and I would be detoured.  The detour ended up taking me further out of the way than I had planned, but it was fun to find a new route.  The new route also added a few miles on to the trip which I can’t really complain about because it was great day for a bike ride.  I averaged just over 19 mph on the 41 mile ride.  Someday, I will set aside the time to actually do both legs of this ride (out and back) rather than just the one way trip.  I’ll just have to make sure it is a day with little to no wind because 40 miles into the wind in one direction would be a little much.

Light Friday

On Friday, I did my normal run and swim routine.  I tried running in the morning to get it out of the way, but my legs still felt a bit tired from the previous bike ride.  I managed to get in 5 miles and a very casual pace.  My swim was a bit more uplifting.  I did some sets of 100yd and 150yd intervals for 2600yds total.  I did the 7 100yd intervals at a hard pace with little rest between them and averaged about 1:42 / 100yd which is pretty good for me especially since I still had about 1300 yards to go after them.

Happy 26.2 to Me!

Friday/Saturday was my 26.2 year birthday.  Earlier this year, I had thought that it would be fun to run a marathon on my 26.2.  It was a good thought, but not meant to be.  There were a few options available, however, my run training hasn’t quite ramped up to marathon levels yet.  My longest run has been 15 miles and I would like to get a little bit more under my belt before I do my next one.  At this point, I am hoping that I’ll be ready for the Grand Rapids Marathon in October.

Nevertheless, we celebrated my 26.2 in style.  On Friday, we had dinner out at Olive’s in Gaslight Village. After that, the always wonderful Jennifer made me delicious marble chocolate cake decorated with M&Ms.

Mmmmmmmm……. Cake…..

Go Irish!

On Saturday, I took the day off from running and biking, but it was by no means an easy day.  I headed off to South Bend in the morning to tailgate before the big Notre Dame – MSU game.  I was thankfully able to score a ticket at the last minute from MM.  After hanging out with the guys; drinking beer, tossing the pigskin around, and catching up, we headed off to the stadium.  It was a great day for a game and we couldn’t have asked for a better game.  It got a little hairy a couple times, but in the end, ND pulled out a 33-30 win.

A very happy scoreboard

Sunday

After missing out on my Saturday run, I went out on a long run today.  I did 10 miles and felt awesome.  It is the best I have felt on a run in a while.  I finished the 10 miles with an 8:03 pace.  I started off fairly slow and really picked it up at the end.  My last three miles were 7:39, 7:48, and 7:10.  With these last few miles, I ended up negatively splitting with 43:08 and 40:24 halves.  I would have liked to have done a bit of a longer run this week, but it just wasn’t in the cards.  If tomorrow ends up being a light work day, I may try to do another 10 or 12 and have back to back mid distance runs to make up for the lack of a long run.

As for now, Jennifer and I are headed up to the park for a picnic and to relax for the rest of the day.  She has been busy decorating and interior designing all weekend (it is fun for her for some reason), so I am sure she needs a break as well.