Ugh.  What a day.  One thing after another.  I felt like it was two steps forward, one step back all day long.  Thankfully, I did my swim this morning because there was no way I could have squeezed it in along with everything else. Despite being as busy as I was, I was able to call it quits at 6:00 so I could go out for a run.  Because it was so late, it was already pitch black out.  I geared up with a reflective vest, head lamp, and blinking red light on the back of my head.  There was no missing me out there.

I was looking to do 8 miles to redeem myself after my horrible 8 mile “run” on Monday.  I think I succeeded.  Here is a quick comparison of how I felt on the two days:

What a difference a couple days will make.  Same course, same weather, and my run was 100 times better today.  I felt like I was running strong the entire time.  Parts of the course were a little slow due to it being dark and icy (not a good combination), but when I hit dry pavement, I felt like I was pushing the pace.

After I got my run in, I had a wonderful taco fiesta prepared by the lovely Jennifer.  Now it is time to squeeze in a bit more work before I crash.  It is going to be another early morning and busy day tomorrow.  Yay……

Day Before

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    

I swam two miles for the first time tonight.  Two, non stop (expect for a goggle malfunction halfway through) miles that is.  It is the furthest I have ever swam.  I finished in about 1:07.  I forgot my watch so I had to just watch the lap clock and I forgot to look at it right when I started, so I’m not sure on the exact time.  I did the 2 miles in sets of 10 lengths.  10 lengths regular, then 10 lengths with a pull buoy, lather, rinse, repeat.  For the first mile or so, I was fairly consistent at hitting each set at 4:30.  However, I began to slow down a bit after that and was doing probably 4:45/4:50 per 10 lengths.  Once I passed a 100 lengths though, it was all down hill from there.  I picked it up as much as I could on the last two sets and got those back down to the 4:30 range.

It sure does get kind of boring after a while.  I was the first one in the pool for lap swim and the last one out.  I actually had to ask the lifeguard to turn back on the locker room lights so I could see my lock and get dressed.

I also did a bike ride this afternoon.  28 miles in about an hour and a half for just over an 18 mph pace.  It was a fun ride on a route I haven’t done before.  In a couple of weeks, once the leaves start to change color, I’ll have to do it again because almost all of the roads were lined with trees.  It would be gorgeous. 

As you can probably tell, I am on the mend.  My stomach is still a little iffy, but not bad enough to keep me inside!  Gotta enjoy this warm weather while it lasts.

Today has not been a fun day.  I felt pretty good this morning except for the fact that I had no voice.  That, however, I still think is a  residual effect of cursing assisting the Big Ten morons officials at the Notre Dame game on Saturday.  My throat isn’t sore, I just can’t talk without sounding like a 2 pack a day smoker.  My throat is about the only thing that isn’t sore though.  I have had an off and on headache all day coupled with my reoccurring stomach trouble. 

I felt fairly fine this morning, just a bit of a headache.  I took a morning power nap that helped the head, but caused me to miss my noon swim.  Probably for the best though.  After some food, I was feeling pretty good.  I got some more work done before deciding that I was up for a run.  I wanted to do another mid distance run like yesterday to make up for not doing a long run last weekend.

About halfway through my run (5 miles or so), my stomach started to act up.  Great.  I was at least 3 miles from home at that point.  So, it was either 3 miles straight home or 5 miles to complete the run I wanted to do.  I decided to suck it up and continue on.  I stopped a couple times along the way to let my stomach settle and to grab water at a couple drinking fountains, but chugged along for the most part.

Compared to yesterday’s amazing run, I felt miserable today.  Nevertheless, I finished 11 miles in 1:31:19 for an 8:16 pace.  The pace is quite shocking to me.  I really thought I was going to be lucky to get under 9:00 pace, so despite the pain, I am happy with the results.

After I got home, the stomach ache still didn’t go away.  In fact it got worse.  It got to the point where just sitting on the couch was painful.  I have been taking it easy the rest of the evening just hoping that it goes away. 

Here’s to hoping a good night’s sleep fixed me up.

After a great Reeds Lake Triathlon yesterday, I spent the rest of the day relaxing.  After the race, we headed up to the Farmer’s Market and got a slew of fresh vegetables to go along with the fresh fruit Jennifer had picked up at a farm stand on Friday.  After that, I enjoyed a thrilling, yet disappointing, Notre Dame – Michigan game followed by more disappointment as the Detroit Tigers continued their 5 game skid.

 
The fresh fruits and veggies we got from the farm stand and Farmer’s Market

So, today, I decided to put success in my own hands, rather than relying on the Detroit Lions, and went out on a long run.  I had attempted a long run back on Thursday.  However, I had to cut it short because of lingering stomach issues.  Thankfully, my stomach has been better the past couple of days, so hopefully my problem was just due to something I ate earlier in the week.

I headed out on my run at about 11:00 with no firm idea on where or how long I would run.  I started by going around Reeds Lake before heading out to Calvin College.  I turned around at the end of the Calvin athletic fields.  I was at 8.25 miles at this point and was able to refill my water bottle at a drinking fountain.  I figured that I could essentially head back the same way I came and get in 15 miles (my goal on Thursday).  I actually did the second half on a more direct route that was a bit shorter.  By the time I made it back home, I was just hitting the 15 mile mark.  I finished in 2:08 for an 8:30-ish pace; not too shabby.

Boy, are my legs tired now.  It’s that good, sense-of-accomplishment tiredness, though, which is a great feeling.