Distance: 105.6 miles
Time: 14:05:59
Pace: 8:01
This was my shortest month of running (distance wise) since May of last year. I'm just glad I made it over the 100 mile mark. Its nice to keep that streak going. Speaking of streaks, I'm on a running streak. It didn't happen on purpose. It just happened. My little brother has started working out regularly and always starts with a 1-1.5 mile run. I've always wanted to be able to run with somebody in my family so I couldn't pass it up. As of now (that is, counting today) the streak is at 19 days.
The job search is going super slow. I'm hoping that something will pan out soon.
Wedding planning is great! In the last week we've picked out a dj and most likely the bakery for our cake. Those were the last two major things we had to do!
I'm really hoping that my mileage will be back around 170 this month. After I do some yard work this morning, I'll knock 5-6 of those miles out.
01 July 2011
15 June 2011
Done!
On Sunday, I finished my career as a student. I graduated from Portland State University with my MS in math. Well, let's rewind a little.
My last final was on June 7th. It was for my Modern Algebra class. I should have had this test on lock. However, I completely bombed it. Like, to the point where passing he course was not a sure thing. Not exactly going out the way I wanted to. I walked in the commencement ceremony this past Sunday. I didn't find out until today, when grades came out, that I actually did pass.
I was actually quite surprised to see a grade already. This was the 7th class I had taken from this professor. In the previous courses, the soonest I received a grade was a week late. So I was very excited to see that B- (wow, never thought I'd be happy about a B-).
Running is going ok. I took some time off after my last race so my ankle could heal properly. Its feeling much better and I'm slowly getting my mileage back up. And I still have some speed. Two of my runs this week have been sub-7 minute pace :)
I'm not training for any races right now. Once I know where I'll be living, I may look for a fall marathon. If not that, a spring marathon for sure. There is a local 5k on the Fourth that I may jump into. For now it's just getting the miles in, looking for a job and finishing wedding planning :)
My last final was on June 7th. It was for my Modern Algebra class. I should have had this test on lock. However, I completely bombed it. Like, to the point where passing he course was not a sure thing. Not exactly going out the way I wanted to. I walked in the commencement ceremony this past Sunday. I didn't find out until today, when grades came out, that I actually did pass.
I was actually quite surprised to see a grade already. This was the 7th class I had taken from this professor. In the previous courses, the soonest I received a grade was a week late. So I was very excited to see that B- (wow, never thought I'd be happy about a B-).
Running is going ok. I took some time off after my last race so my ankle could heal properly. Its feeling much better and I'm slowly getting my mileage back up. And I still have some speed. Two of my runs this week have been sub-7 minute pace :)
I'm not training for any races right now. Once I know where I'll be living, I may look for a fall marathon. If not that, a spring marathon for sure. There is a local 5k on the Fourth that I may jump into. For now it's just getting the miles in, looking for a job and finishing wedding planning :)
29 May 2011
Forest Park 20k
Distance: 20k
Time: 1:42:xx
Place: 11th OA, 4th AG
The weather for the race was perfect! Cloudy and 50* at the start. I felt pretty good going into the race. I've definitely fully recovered from Boston and have had some really great runs. Wednesday, my friend Aaron and I ran the course, so we wouldn't get lost today. We ran it in 1:40:55. That right, I ran slower today.
I actually lead the race for a few hundred meters when the gun went off. I knew that wouldn't last long so I enjoyed it while it did. I was still in the top 6 for the first few miles. Then the gnarly uphill section started. I knew it was coming from Wednesday but still wasn't ready for it. I even walked for a few seconds. I felt strong the first half of the race, minues twisting each ankle once.
Based on where we actually turned around (out & back course) and where my garmin turned us around earlier this week, I think the race was a bit long. I know the garmin isn't the most accurate, especially in the woods. But we ran a good third of a mile further down the trail. Its not that big a deal though.
I picked it up on the way back, since it was downhill. In a few spots this was a mistake. I twisted my right ankle two more times. I still managed to keep my position (was passed once and passed one runner myeslf). That third and final twist almost did me in. I had to stop and sit for a second. I only had about two miles to go and I've never DNF'd a race. I wasn't about to start today.
The course was not closed. So there were still regular runners and the occasional hiking family. Passing them was my favorite part. Per my last post, I wore my cookie monster t-shirt. Seeing kids' face light up when they see cookie monster running down the trail was awesome!
While I didn't do as well as I would have hoped, I still had a great experience with my first trail race. Now I'm off to ice my ankle somemore. I should probably take a few days off of running too...
Time: 1:42:xx
Place: 11th OA, 4th AG
The weather for the race was perfect! Cloudy and 50* at the start. I felt pretty good going into the race. I've definitely fully recovered from Boston and have had some really great runs. Wednesday, my friend Aaron and I ran the course, so we wouldn't get lost today. We ran it in 1:40:55. That right, I ran slower today.
I actually lead the race for a few hundred meters when the gun went off. I knew that wouldn't last long so I enjoyed it while it did. I was still in the top 6 for the first few miles. Then the gnarly uphill section started. I knew it was coming from Wednesday but still wasn't ready for it. I even walked for a few seconds. I felt strong the first half of the race, minues twisting each ankle once.
Based on where we actually turned around (out & back course) and where my garmin turned us around earlier this week, I think the race was a bit long. I know the garmin isn't the most accurate, especially in the woods. But we ran a good third of a mile further down the trail. Its not that big a deal though.
I picked it up on the way back, since it was downhill. In a few spots this was a mistake. I twisted my right ankle two more times. I still managed to keep my position (was passed once and passed one runner myeslf). That third and final twist almost did me in. I had to stop and sit for a second. I only had about two miles to go and I've never DNF'd a race. I wasn't about to start today.
The course was not closed. So there were still regular runners and the occasional hiking family. Passing them was my favorite part. Per my last post, I wore my cookie monster t-shirt. Seeing kids' face light up when they see cookie monster running down the trail was awesome!
While I didn't do as well as I would have hoped, I still had a great experience with my first trail race. Now I'm off to ice my ankle somemore. I should probably take a few days off of running too...
27 May 2011
16 May 2011
Busy
You know school/life is keeping you busy when you haven't written a new post in a month!
The last month has been crazy busy and it won't stop for the foreseeable future. The Kid had some informational meetings at Nike. We got to see the whole campus AND got passes to the employee store from a friend who already works there (can you say new lime-green Lunaracers?). While she was in her meetings, I got to run around the campus. They have a 2-mile woodchip trail around campus. It was really nice to run on that surface, especially knowing that many elite runners have. A week after that, she graduated with her MS! We had a lot of fun eating out with her folks and going rafting to celebrate. This coming weekend, we'll be traveling to St Louis to visit her family. Two weeks after that I will graduate with my MS. Not to mention all the homework I still need to do.
Despite all that, I've still (and always will) found the time to run. Running has been going well. This past week I put in 38.5 miles including an 11 miler @ 7:15 pace. Definitely recovered from Boston! As I am getting ready for some major life changes (graduation, finding a job/possibly moving, getting married in October) I have no races on the calendar after May. Since I do not know where I'll be living, I don't want to sign up for races I may not be able to run. That's not to say I won't race. If I hear of a 5k or 10k, maybe even a half marathon with a fairly cheap entry fee, I'll probably run it.
My next race, the last one on my calendar, is a 20k trail race. Looking at past years results, if I'm feeling really good and get a little more speed back, I've got a shot at the podium! I'm not counting on anything yet, but if I'm feeling a little better I'll go for it.
As far as training volume goes, I think I'll hold between 40 and 45 mpw. That still gives me the time I need for homework and looking for a job.
On a sad note: The running world lost one of its most promising stars, Sammy Wanjiru. He tragically died at the young age of 24. He won 5 of 6 marathons he entered (Chicago(2x), London, Beijing Olympics, Fukuoka), including a course record at Chicago, a PB of 2:05:10 and a PW of 2:06:xx. On top of that, he is a former (2x) world record holder at the half marathon distance, setting his first wr at the age of 18. All that before turning 24. We can only imagine what he might have been able to accomplish.
RIP Sammy.
The last month has been crazy busy and it won't stop for the foreseeable future. The Kid had some informational meetings at Nike. We got to see the whole campus AND got passes to the employee store from a friend who already works there (can you say new lime-green Lunaracers?). While she was in her meetings, I got to run around the campus. They have a 2-mile woodchip trail around campus. It was really nice to run on that surface, especially knowing that many elite runners have. A week after that, she graduated with her MS! We had a lot of fun eating out with her folks and going rafting to celebrate. This coming weekend, we'll be traveling to St Louis to visit her family. Two weeks after that I will graduate with my MS. Not to mention all the homework I still need to do.
Despite all that, I've still (and always will) found the time to run. Running has been going well. This past week I put in 38.5 miles including an 11 miler @ 7:15 pace. Definitely recovered from Boston! As I am getting ready for some major life changes (graduation, finding a job/possibly moving, getting married in October) I have no races on the calendar after May. Since I do not know where I'll be living, I don't want to sign up for races I may not be able to run. That's not to say I won't race. If I hear of a 5k or 10k, maybe even a half marathon with a fairly cheap entry fee, I'll probably run it.
My next race, the last one on my calendar, is a 20k trail race. Looking at past years results, if I'm feeling really good and get a little more speed back, I've got a shot at the podium! I'm not counting on anything yet, but if I'm feeling a little better I'll go for it.
As far as training volume goes, I think I'll hold between 40 and 45 mpw. That still gives me the time I need for homework and looking for a job.
On a sad note: The running world lost one of its most promising stars, Sammy Wanjiru. He tragically died at the young age of 24. He won 5 of 6 marathons he entered (Chicago(2x), London, Beijing Olympics, Fukuoka), including a course record at Chicago, a PB of 2:05:10 and a PW of 2:06:xx. On top of that, he is a former (2x) world record holder at the half marathon distance, setting his first wr at the age of 18. All that before turning 24. We can only imagine what he might have been able to accomplish.
RIP Sammy.
20 April 2011
Boston
Rarely in this event we call life do we get to live our dreams. We often settle for something not so bad for fear of not reaching our aspirations. On Monday, I lived my dream: running the Boston Marathon. Afterall, the title of this blog is The Long Road to Boston.
Short Version:
I was not prepared for the hills. Still had a good race. 3:21:03.
Long Version:
Training went fairly well this cycle. I spent November, December and most of January building a base after the Portland Marathon. At the end of January, I began a 12 week training program of my own design. Sometime next week I'll do a post about the plan. What worked, what didn't, etc.
My paces were much faster than for Portland and my average mileage was higher. I got in three months of 200+ miles. I nailed my speed workouts and tempo runs. I only got in 3 of 5 planned 20 mile runs. The last two turned into 17 and 18 mile runs.
My one tune-up race went very well. I ran a 1:24:36 at the Mercer Island Half Marathon (a hilly course too) four weeks out from Boston. With that time in hand, I decided my goal would be 3:03:24 (7:00 pace).
Race weekend was great. My older sister and I flew to Boson Friday night. Late Friday night. Left the airport at 10:15pm, landed in NY at 6:30 am. After a 3 hour lay over, we hopped a short flight to Boston.
After checking in at the hotel we went to the expo. It was awesome! We walked around for a few hours, saw the legend Bill Rodgers and met Josh Cox. Then we wandered to the finish line, took some photos there and of the churches nearby. Then, it was off to dinner.
We ate at Paparazzi. It was a great dinner. I got to meet a lot of talented runners, including marathonmaiden, sarah, kmh and alison whom I know as members of the dailies crew on RWOL.
Later that night, I thought about going after sub-3. I know I have the speed to run that. Sunday, my sister convinced me that I've trained well and its Boston so "Go big or go home". New goal: sub-3.
Race day I was nervous/excited! I caught a shuttle from my hotel to the buses and then made it onto the third wave of buses to the athlete's village. There, I got a bagel and banana. Drank some Gatorade. Took a pic of The Sign ("It all starts here"). Hung out with kmh and marathonmaiden. Kmh left for his coral first. Five minues later, marathonmaiden and I headed out to our coral. I had arm warmers on and she was in a tank top, so I gave her my throw away sweatshirt to wear to the start. We talked strategy for a few minutes and then we were off.
I ran the first mile slower than goal pace, 7:09. It felt great to just cruise and get into a rhythm. About a half a mile later I hear "Nick?" There's lots of Nick's. Couldn't be me. "Nick *insert my last name*?" Holy crap, who out here knows me? I turn to see Geoff, an old high school friend who I haven't seen in 6 years! We ran the next 4 or so miles together. It made those opening miles go by quickly.
I sped off later to make some headway into my race. I passed the halfway point right where I wanted to be, 1:29:44. I noticed my quads getting a little tight/sore. Then I slowed a little. Then the hills came and I slowed A LOT. I basically walk/ran from mile 16 to the finish. I just plain did not do the hill work I needed to, particularly downhill work, to prepare for the course. Or, so I think. More on this later.
Around mile 18, another member of the dailies crew ran by me. Asked if I was ok. I told him I just didn't have it for the hills and thanked him for asking. He continued on to run a 12 minute PR in 3:03:xx.
As I turned onto Boylston, I saw kmh. I drew upon some well of energy, still don't know where it came from, to move my legs a little bit faster. I crossed the finish line with him. What a feeling it was to cross the finish at Boston with a friend!
I then got all the usual post race goodies (water, Gatorade, food, medal, blanket...) and my gear check bag. Then I got my phone out and called my Mom to tell her about the race. Then I called my sister so we could meet up (she was at the finish line watching me). The I called my wonderful, amazing fiancee who has supported me and my running more than I could ever thank her for.
My sister bought me pink rose (to match my pink shorts). She took some pics of me, a guy offered to take a pic of both of us. On our walk back to the hotel, countless numbers of complete strangers congratulated me. My favorite conversation:
Man: "Congrats on the race"
Me: "Thanks"
We pass each other.
Man's son: "Who was that?"
Man: "I don't know but he just ran 26 miles"
Man's son: "Wow"
Post race thoughts:
Oddly enough, I'm not too sore today. Sure, I can feel my quads and calves a bit but I have no problems with inclines or stairs. I was even able to use my foam roller today. That all has me wondering if my quads really were done, or if it was more mental than physical.
I knew that I might crash by going after sub-3. But I didn't want to settle. Often in my high school running career I would start really slow for fear of not having the energy to hold pace or finish the race. I always had a huge kick since I didn't spend all my energy on the course. I settled. As my running has continued through college and into my graduate studies, I've learned that you have to take chances. We can not reach our goals and live our dreams by sitting on the sidelines and holding back. If we don't fall, we can not learn how to pick ourselves back up. While I did not run the sub-3 I wanted, I'm happy with the way this race turned out. I met some great friends, literally ran into old ones and accomplished one of my dreams. The road to Boston may have been long, but it is not a dead end. Its just a stop sign. Now I'm making a right hand turn and hoping that I come across that stop sign again in the future.
Short Version:
I was not prepared for the hills. Still had a good race. 3:21:03.
Long Version:
Training went fairly well this cycle. I spent November, December and most of January building a base after the Portland Marathon. At the end of January, I began a 12 week training program of my own design. Sometime next week I'll do a post about the plan. What worked, what didn't, etc.
My paces were much faster than for Portland and my average mileage was higher. I got in three months of 200+ miles. I nailed my speed workouts and tempo runs. I only got in 3 of 5 planned 20 mile runs. The last two turned into 17 and 18 mile runs.
My one tune-up race went very well. I ran a 1:24:36 at the Mercer Island Half Marathon (a hilly course too) four weeks out from Boston. With that time in hand, I decided my goal would be 3:03:24 (7:00 pace).
Race weekend was great. My older sister and I flew to Boson Friday night. Late Friday night. Left the airport at 10:15pm, landed in NY at 6:30 am. After a 3 hour lay over, we hopped a short flight to Boston.
After checking in at the hotel we went to the expo. It was awesome! We walked around for a few hours, saw the legend Bill Rodgers and met Josh Cox. Then we wandered to the finish line, took some photos there and of the churches nearby. Then, it was off to dinner.
We ate at Paparazzi. It was a great dinner. I got to meet a lot of talented runners, including marathonmaiden, sarah, kmh and alison whom I know as members of the dailies crew on RWOL.
Later that night, I thought about going after sub-3. I know I have the speed to run that. Sunday, my sister convinced me that I've trained well and its Boston so "Go big or go home". New goal: sub-3.
Race day I was nervous/excited! I caught a shuttle from my hotel to the buses and then made it onto the third wave of buses to the athlete's village. There, I got a bagel and banana. Drank some Gatorade. Took a pic of The Sign ("It all starts here"). Hung out with kmh and marathonmaiden. Kmh left for his coral first. Five minues later, marathonmaiden and I headed out to our coral. I had arm warmers on and she was in a tank top, so I gave her my throw away sweatshirt to wear to the start. We talked strategy for a few minutes and then we were off.
I ran the first mile slower than goal pace, 7:09. It felt great to just cruise and get into a rhythm. About a half a mile later I hear "Nick?" There's lots of Nick's. Couldn't be me. "Nick *insert my last name*?" Holy crap, who out here knows me? I turn to see Geoff, an old high school friend who I haven't seen in 6 years! We ran the next 4 or so miles together. It made those opening miles go by quickly.
I sped off later to make some headway into my race. I passed the halfway point right where I wanted to be, 1:29:44. I noticed my quads getting a little tight/sore. Then I slowed a little. Then the hills came and I slowed A LOT. I basically walk/ran from mile 16 to the finish. I just plain did not do the hill work I needed to, particularly downhill work, to prepare for the course. Or, so I think. More on this later.
Around mile 18, another member of the dailies crew ran by me. Asked if I was ok. I told him I just didn't have it for the hills and thanked him for asking. He continued on to run a 12 minute PR in 3:03:xx.
As I turned onto Boylston, I saw kmh. I drew upon some well of energy, still don't know where it came from, to move my legs a little bit faster. I crossed the finish line with him. What a feeling it was to cross the finish at Boston with a friend!
I then got all the usual post race goodies (water, Gatorade, food, medal, blanket...) and my gear check bag. Then I got my phone out and called my Mom to tell her about the race. Then I called my sister so we could meet up (she was at the finish line watching me). The I called my wonderful, amazing fiancee who has supported me and my running more than I could ever thank her for.
My sister bought me pink rose (to match my pink shorts). She took some pics of me, a guy offered to take a pic of both of us. On our walk back to the hotel, countless numbers of complete strangers congratulated me. My favorite conversation:
Man: "Congrats on the race"
Me: "Thanks"
We pass each other.
Man's son: "Who was that?"
Man: "I don't know but he just ran 26 miles"
Man's son: "Wow"
Post race thoughts:
Oddly enough, I'm not too sore today. Sure, I can feel my quads and calves a bit but I have no problems with inclines or stairs. I was even able to use my foam roller today. That all has me wondering if my quads really were done, or if it was more mental than physical.
I knew that I might crash by going after sub-3. But I didn't want to settle. Often in my high school running career I would start really slow for fear of not having the energy to hold pace or finish the race. I always had a huge kick since I didn't spend all my energy on the course. I settled. As my running has continued through college and into my graduate studies, I've learned that you have to take chances. We can not reach our goals and live our dreams by sitting on the sidelines and holding back. If we don't fall, we can not learn how to pick ourselves back up. While I did not run the sub-3 I wanted, I'm happy with the way this race turned out. I met some great friends, literally ran into old ones and accomplished one of my dreams. The road to Boston may have been long, but it is not a dead end. Its just a stop sign. Now I'm making a right hand turn and hoping that I come across that stop sign again in the future.
12 April 2011
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