Across the pond...

While most of us in the US were sleeping this morning the London Flora Marathon took place. One of the most exciting distance runners to move up the ranks is Ryan Hall. He toed the line this morning with a deep field of elite marathon runners. Ryan made his debut at the marathon distance at the same race in 2007 with a 2:08. Today, in his third career marathon, the US Olympic Trials winner finished in a fast 2:06:17. That speedy time was good for 5th with 3 competitors finishing the 26.2 mile course in 2:05:xx and another finishing 1 second faster than Ryan's time. The field boasted the fastest finish of any marathon ever!

Ryan Hall

Redlegs Run for Home 5K

My brother, Stan Jr., mentioned in passing that he wanted to start training for a race for this summer. Anyone who knows me knows that is the kiss of death and that you will be bombarded with info about training until you curl up in a ball and cry for mercy. So I immediately sent him a packet of info from Runner's World with tips for getting started, the right gear, running plans, etc. And I scoured the internet for a Cincinnati race calendar. What I came up with is the Redlegs Run for Home 5K. I promptly told my brother, in my best drill sergeant voice, that that is the race we will be doing.

The race is as mentioned a 5K (3.1 miles) and will take place downtown Cincinnati with the finish line being on the field of Great American Ballpark. The date for the race is Saturday, June 7 and the start time is scheduled for 9:00 a.m.



When I talked to my dad the other day he said that Stan is keeping up with his training and put in a couple of miles on a walk early that day! I'm looking forward to doing this event with him. We used to play softball together a couple of nights a week up until I moved out of the Cincinnati area. This will give us a chance to compete together again.

There is also the option of a "team challenge." We can participate in the team challenge if we get two more runners. If you have ever thought about running or start thinking about it because of this post then check out a plan for beginners: walking or running. Let me know if you are interested in joining us for a morning of exercise. As a pot sweetener, each registered participant gets a ticket to the June 11 Reds home game.

Why do I run?

Below is a video from the Children’s Tumor Foundation that demonstrates how your support benefits nearly 2 million people worldwide that are affected by Neurofibromatosis. I hope you’ll please take a few minutes to watch the video and perhaps be as motivated as we are to support The Children’s Tumor Foundation. Adobe Flash Player is required to view video.

Today's run...

This week I have taken things a little easy as I felt like there might be some overuse issue building in my legs. I ran a 4.5 mile, easy pace run on Tuesday. The next day I ran a 7 miler at an easy pace. When I finished that run my knees felt a little off. Because of that feeling I took Thursday and Friday off from running.

Today, by far the best weather of the year so far, I was scheduled for 16 miles. I saw the girls off this morning on their spring break trip to Syracuse then rested a bit before heading out for my run. The temp was 57* and sunny when I left. I liked the way the sun felt. I've missed the sun! I wore shorts and a t-shirt. A far cry from the outfit that I had on last Saturday (see Sam Costa picture). The sun is my firend, and my enemy. I ran the first 11 miles very solid. About 12 miles in I stopped at Speedway to grab a Gatorade and some M&M's. I pounded the M&M's and half of the Gatorade then continued on. I finished the final loop of my 3 loop course and headed in for an ice bath. Believe it or not I was looking forward to soaking in ice. Now I am getting ready to go devour some mega calories (a perk of burning 2000).

The week of 32

On Tuesday I turned 32. Birthdays aren't a major thing to me but I do stop to reflect a little about my life to date. I feel pretty good about where things are at for me in my life. Since this blog is primarily dedicated to running I will stick to where I am physically for this entry.

An easy number to start with is 10. I go back 10 years to when I was 22. I was a senior in college with about 2 months left until graduation. My birthday always fell at midterms for spring quarter. I was probably in the best shape of my life at that time. It didn't hurt that I had 2 hours a day, every day to workout. I spent time in "The Pit" which was the no frills weight room in the basement of the old gym. There was a brand new nautilus center in the Shoemaker which we used sometimes but for serious workouts it was always the pit. My running at the time, which was mostly without planning, took place on the track in Varsity Village or inside the Armory. I went from a 140 pound freshman to a 175 pound senior and could bench press 225 by the time I graduated (2 years later maxed out at 255). I was in great shape then. To be honest I am catching up. I am actually a little lighter now but that is because I don't carry as much muscle.

Varsity Village (then)


the Armory



Another number is 40. No, not looking ahead to 40 years old. 40 pounds that I have dropped since I started running at age 29. No more Dorritos for breakfast. I still eat a lot but now it is much better choices and I burn calories fast.

There are so many numbers that I can reflect on and have thought about. Memories of family and friends. Good times and bad. It always makes me feel like I don't do a very good job of keeping in touch because, well, I don't. But I do think about the people who are important to me a lot. Thanks to all of you for contributing to 32 great years!

Sam Costa and the week in review...

Looking back at last week I would classify my training level as about a 7 on a scale of 1-10. I went hard on Tuesday for about 5 miles, rested my legs on Wednesday, then put in another 4.5 miles on Thursday.

I could tell as the week progressed that my lower calorie diet was impacting my training performance. It leads me to question the amount of calories I should be taking in to maintain a higher training level. At the same time I still want to shed about 4.5 pounds in the next 5 weeks. As my mileage increases in the next 3 weeks the number of calories will increase too but I will still try to burn about 3500 extra calories a week.

Sam Costa Race Report

On Saturday, March 29 I lined up for the Sam Costa half-marathon which winds through Carmel, IN. This is my second straight year of running a Sam Costa event (quarter marathon finisher in 2007). The weather was sunny but the temps wer about 35* with a wind chill in the mid-20's. The race went off a few minutes late which made the cold a bit worse. About 325 people started the race and would come across the finish line.

I had made my race plan weeks in advance. Start out with the first two miles at 9 min/mile then speed up to about 8:30 for mile three and begin to shave 10 seconds off each mile until I peaked at 7:30 over the last 3-4 miles. That was the plan.

Plans are only useful if they can be executed properly. I started out mid pack as I normally would. Within the first quarter mile of the race I kept hearing a loud talker running not too far behind me. I sped up to pull away until she was out of range. As I approached the first mile marker I heard another runner mention that he was right on pace at 8:10. I looked at my watch and sure enough we crossed the first mile in 8:10. I knew that my original plan had to be revised. I passed the second mile marker at 16:10 for an 8 min/mile. At that point I decided to just have it out and see what was going to happen.

The results were a mixed bag. I passed the 5 mile marker at 40:34 which is 4 seconds faster than my fastest 5 mile race. Then I passed 15K (9.3 miles) in about 1:17 which is 3 minutes faster than my fastest 15K race. After that things sort of came unglued. I pushed my way through the final part of the race with some walking and some spurts of hard running. Around 12 miles in my calves tightened and my hamstrings were stiff. I walked a bit more to loosen them up as best I could. I turned the bend for the final 3/4 of a mile, straight up hill, and bore down with all I had left to finish strong. My final time was a 5 miute PR of 1:56:17.

The mini course is much flatter and faster. On a scale of 1-10 I would give Sam Costa a 7.5 because of the hills while I'd rate the mini at about a 3. I think I can put together a solid effort to knock my time down to 1:40-1:44 range. I have 5 weeks left. Three weeks to work hard with a 14 and 16 mile long run planned and two weeks of taper to let my legs rest and recover before the mini.

March Madness!

The tournament of 64 has begun. 64 college basketball teams will play there way towards the title of National Champion. In case you didn't know, you can catch all the games online at March Madness On Demand.

In order to maximize my lunch break time for basketball watching I ran this morning before work. I was hoping to do a 5 mile tempo run but woke up a little late and opted for 2 fast miles. I will attempt to get in a prework 5-7 miles tomorrow to catch up on the workout I missed yesterday.

Fatherly duty calls so that is all the time I have for this post.