Frustrated Geek - An ocomik.net 2.0 site

2:01:22 at the Lewis and Clark 1/2 Marathon in St. Charles, MO. - 1 minute and four hundreths of a second faster than my last 1/2 Marathon (St. Louis) in April.

Posted by ocomik at 08:46 AM | Permalink

When I got bit by the running bug back in March of last year, I became a voracious reader, consuming anything on the subject of running. One of the things that caught my attention, although I'm not sure where it came from, was the statement that no matter what your current running times are, you'll always strive to improve them.

Now I kind of viewed this advice with some skepticism. After all I was only interested in being able to run for a certain distance, no walking mind you, and keeping up my fitness level so the pounds wouldn't creep back on. Time was just an arbitrary number. Who cared if you ran a 5K in over or under thirty minutes.

Who cares? Well me, I guess.

Beating the clock, at least in my head, has become a measure of my level of fitness. And as such, I've now been sucked into the vortex of racing time.

One of the ways to run faster, and decrease your times, is to improve your running efficiency, i.e. accomplish more by expending less energy. The problem is that without a third party to analyze your running mechanics, it becomes very difficult to know where your problems lye. So when I heard that my Podiatrist was offering a running clinic, I made sure I was one of the first to register.

Yesterday was the day of truth and I felt excited that when all was said and done, I'd have some idea of how efficient my running mechanics were or as they say in Missouri, if there was a hitch in my giddy up.

They first video recorded me running on the treadmill. Getting shots from all angles. People glancing over and my mind assuming that they were probably wondering who this world class athlete was who was being video taped. I thought to myself this must have been how Lance felt when he was doing wind tunnel testing preparing for the Tour de France.

Second, they threw me out on the track to be video recorded so they could get an idea of my running mechanics on a static surface.

Afterwards, we headed back in to review the video and I was pretty surprised by what they found.

When they have you run on the treadmill, they put a soap line directly down the center of the belt. This allows them to easily see if there is any crossover in your running stride. My running stride had me pretty much running right on the line itself, i.e. where my front foot strikes, and sometimes my left foot would even crossover the line. This forces my trail leg to have to whip around as I bring it forward acting like a counter balance, which is repeated with each stride. Not very efficient.

The prognosis was that this was caused by not having enough strength in my glutes and hips. It was their impression that by strengthening this area of my body, the over compensation of my running stride would be eliminated.

They also pointed out that I use too much of my upper body when I run, i.e. my arm motion is too exaggerated and should be reduced to conserve energy.

Overall they said I looked pretty good and that I had one of the better forms of many of the runners they see. A nice compliment to say the least.

Now as the race season starts to get into gear, I have somethings to work on in an attempt to get my 5K down to a respectable time. It looks like I'm back to chasing the white rabbit, at least for this season.

Posted by ocomik at 08:52 AM | Permalink

You know in races when you are well trained and you come to a hill notorious for the demise of P.R.'s, and you see people walking, puking, or simply sitting on the curb? And then you just stay steady and git 'er done? It's awesome. It's the difference between ready and not ready. - Kristen Armstrong

Although, the Spirit of St. Louis Half Marathon isn't the hilliest road race out there, it was the most challenging I've run as it relates to elevation change. In reading Kristen's post today, the line "It's the difference between ready and not ready." really resonated.

There were many times during my training where I just wanted to pack it in for the day. Take a day off and resume running at a later time but the little voice in my head kept saying that training time missed was training time lost, reminding me that the suffering is worse for those who come to the starting line unprepared.

While ascending Market Street, and the subsequent hills after, that voice in my head returned pointing out those runners whom were falling by the wayside on the climbs and noting that I would not be joining them because I had paid my dues months before.

It was a good feeling, and although I don't want to come across as callous, the sight of those folks packing it in on the climbs was a great motivator to keep me rolling. ~namaste~

Posted by ocomik at 12:31 PM | Permalink

At the Spirit of St. Louis Marathon I set a personal record (PR), besting my old time, for 13. 1 miles, by five minutes and fourteen seconds. Next stop - sub-two hours.

Posted by ocomik at 11:20 AM | Permalink

One of the biggest challenges I've faced with my running is being able to find run-friendly routes that are easily measured. A few weeks back I did a quick Google query for mapping/measuring running routes and it returned mapmyrun.com, a Google Maps mashup for anyone wanting to map and measure a route.

The site also provides the ability to save/edit your routes, review and comment on other users routes, export routes to a GPS, map elevation change, and a multitude of other features that I've yet to explore.

On Sunday, after mapping my route, I got down to business. Despite having to run the first and last couple of miles in the snow, I was able to get in my miles on a new route without having to run laps on my usual circuit.

Although, I often complain about the shortcomings of various technologies, this is actually one of those times when I feel that technology has fulfilled it's original promise of making our lives easier.

Grove/Reservation 9-Mile Run Route [Link]

Posted by ocomik at 07:37 PM | Permalink

With my inaugural season of running behind me, I thought it would be interesting to look back on my statistics for last year as well as reflect on a few highlights.

   Number of runs (including races): ~ 89
   Total miles: ~ 399.5
   Most miles run in one month: 69 (September)
   Number of 5K's run: 3
   Best 5K time: 25:15
   Number of 10K's run: 1
   Number of half marathons run: 1
   Half marathon time: 2:07:40

The biggest highlight for me of the season was discovering how much I enjoy running. What started out as a painful, kick in the ass, type experiment turned into an enjoyable, subtle obsession of playing beat the clock. There are still days that I'm scheduled to run and mentally I just don't want to get out the door but there has never been a day when I've completed my run and wished I would have spent the time doing something else.

I completed my first 5K, a local race here in Oswego, and finished in under the goal time I set for myself. I also discovered that a couple of my next door neighbors were also runners and I set about, unbeknownst to them, beating them in next years race.

Competing and completing the Chicago Half Marathon, a distance of 13.1 miles, the longest distance I've ever run in my whole life - And no I didn't walk any of it. Somewhere I started writing about the experience; however, it turned into a pretty lengthy post and I never finished it. At least for recollection sake, I'd like to get it posted.

Well that about does it for running year in review '06. I know I'll be running into the new year but haven't really picked out any races that I'll be running, except of course for the Oswego PrarieFest 5K.

Posted by ocomik at 08:21 PM | Permalink

" 44' 27" 18 " flashed back at me from my stopwatch. Could that be right?

I racked my brain trying to recall what was my normal five mile training time. Was it in the forty-seven minute or forty-six minute range? Forty-six sounded about right with a quarter of a minute thrown in for good measure.

I repeated to myself the time, "forty-four minutes and twenty-seven seconds..." That's damn near two minutes off of my five mile training run time. I was thrilled; however, it just didn't seem possible.

As I walked the quarter mile back to the house I couldn't really pinpoint the reason why I was able to turn such a fast training time, at least for me, while not experiencing any side effects from such an effort. It seemed almost effortless.

I performed my cool down and headed in the house just as Nancy was arriving home. I cycled through the "data" mode on my watch and sure enough my previous time had been right at 46' 13', a difference of 1' 46" seconds. Wow!

Nancy walked through the door and I thrust the watch in her face. "Sub forty-five today, baby!" I said.

"Is that good?" she asked.

"Well it's like almost two minutes off my normal time!" I blurted.

But then my mood humbled and I let her in on the fact that I found it difficult to believe that I knocked close to two minutes off my training run time. It just didn't add up but I could find no specific reason as to why the time wasn't right.

That was Tuesday and today is Thursday. The day of my last five mile training run before the Chicago Half-Marathon, approximately ten days from now.

I decided to run in the morning as to not split up my day. I also made a conscious choice to not try and duplicate the training time I recorded just two days earlier.

I would simply just run the normal course at my normal training pace (75 to 80 percent of race pace), with the only change being that I would not keep track of my split times. Instead I would start my stopwatch at the beginning of the run and stop it at the end.

The training run went off without any major issues and upon completion I quickly glanced down at my watch. A time of 46' 10" stared back at me and I knew I was back down to Earth.

Why I was able to knock off close to two minutes on a run that seemed no different than any other I may never know. Perhaps it was the nap I took just before my afternoon run. Or the fact that I was running in some new Brooks apparel that I will wear for the marathon. Maybe I was abducted by space aliens or it may be one of countless many reasons.

What I do know is that the time only made me hungrier to keep on running and improving my times. Then just maybe when the neighborhood 5K comes around next June, I'll be in good enough condition to compete in my age group.

~namaste~

Posted by ocomik at 11:46 AM | Permalink

The cool weather doesn't feel so cool anymore as I head back out onto the trail for the last leg of my run.

The morning traffic buzzes by on my left and the sun begins to beat down just as I hit the three and half mile marker. Only a half-mile left I say to myself and raise the pace as I begin to ascend the hill, a slight 5 percent gradient which provides a nice change of pace from the flats.

I pass another late morning runner and we exchange the usual runner pleasantries. My finish line is just ahead, mile marker four, and I give it an extra kick to put me over the line in just under 40 minutes.

As I finish, a group of cyclists are making their way down Grove Road. One of the riders is wearing full Team Phonak regalia. I yell out "Go Floyd!", in reference to the winner of this years Tour de France and leader of Team Phonak, and chuckle to myself at my clever sense of humor. Then it dawns on me that perhaps the rider might not find it to be so funny.

I turn around but the paceline (and faux Floyd) are well down the road. There will be no runner/cyclist confrontation today.

I begin heading back down the asphalt path walking against the direction of traffic. My shirt is now off as I feel the warmth of the sun on my exposed, sweat laden skin. I take a swig from my water bottle, the cool liquid hitting the back of my throat, quenching my thirst.

I wonder to myself if the sense of accomplishment that I experience after each run will always be there. It's a good feeling and one that I hope not to lose.

During my cooldown, a million different thoughts go through my brain from what I'm going to do after my run, to more reflective and insightful thoughts around life and family. It's during this time that I come to realize just how really beautiful this morning is.

The sky is a deep, rich blue with puffy, white clouds on the periphery and the sun shining brightly. The air temparture is perfect. I cross over a wooden pedestrian bridge and hear the rushing water below and look out upon the pond that feeds it.

Well manicured, landscaped yards lie just off the path to my left and a grove of tall pine trees line the far side of the road creating a shade bank. A couple are out on their patio having breakfast, sharing conversation. Our eyes meet, they smile and we both wave.

I've never seen my neighborhood this way and then it dawns on me that I'm looking at it through the eyes of a visitor, as if I'm taking it all in for the first time. It's refreshing and a smile creeps across my face. For the first time I'm thrilled to call this place my home.

I walk through the door and head upstairs into the bedroom.

Nancy's just getting out the shower. "How was your run?", she asks.

"Excellent!" I reply.

"Excellent?" as if questioning that such an activity could ever be.

"Yes, in one word, excellent!"

Posted by ocomik at 04:47 PM | Permalink

Back in March, I began road running as a way to add another activity to my fitness repertoire. Needless to say, I always found distance running to be a bit of a chore and about as fun as shoving bamboo splints under my fingernails. So instead of fixating on the activity of running itself, I decided instead to focus more on the challenge of doing something that I never much cared about.

Well it's been close to four months and although I'm not in love with running, as I am with cycling, I am getting to a point were I'm starting to feel comfortable as a runner (and calling myself a runner). Gone are the days where my body would question the onorthodox set of movements I had just embarked it on and attempt to send messages to my brain to shutdown the insane activity. Where once each step felt more like a trod, it now feels more like I'm gliding and I'm starting to get comfortable with my stride.

Today, while running my usual 5K, I had that feeling like I could run forever. Like no matter what distance I had elected to go, my body and mind were up for the challenge and they would only acquiesce at my doing. In a word, it was exhilarating!

Posted by ocomik at 08:48 PM | Permalink