running
- “Modern Man” - Arcade Fire
- “Beautiful Day” - U2
- “Brighter Day” - Gungor
- “City With No Children” - Arcade Fire
- Someone Else’s Arms - Mae
- “After The Garden” - Andrew Osenga
- “Month of May” - Arcade Fire
- “Hometown Glory” - Adele
- David Wells
- Don Carson
- Voddie Baucham
- Tim Keller
- Mark Driscoll
- I ran 2 miles this morning. And actually ran the whole thing, didn’t walk at all. My time was 19:14, which isn’t awesome, but is tolerable. I’ll shoot for the 5k distance again tomorrow.
- I witnessed something last night at our church softball game (the last one of the season :-() which I had never witnessed before: the two umpires getting into a shouting match with each other. In our league, each team volunteers a player to ump the game before (or after) their own game. It’s usually very low-key. But the field ump made a call last night and the plate ump over-ruled him, and they got into it. Then towards the end of the game the plate ump ended the game and walked off the field, when the rule clearly states that we could’ve started the 7th inning. Grrrr… but it was a good game, we played well and won.
- Evening shows like this one make me wish I lived close to Nashville. The closest any of the Square Pegs will be getting to Iowa this year is when Andy P plays in Omaha and Lincoln, NE. Not close enough.
My running record for this year...
…I think it’s gonna by Battle Born by The Killers.
Forget the violent sounding name. The album is chock full of easygoing rock that sometimes feels like Springsteen, other times like U2, and occasionally like old school Bon Jovi.
Here’s the track that’s been stuck in my head all week.
So I'm gonna do this...
Finally biting the bullet and sending in this registration. 7 more weeks to prepare!
Learning to run
Running isn’t exactly a new topic on this blog. I first decided to lace up my shoes back in August of 2006 and ran my first 5k in September of that year. After the initial 5k I never trained much for the races. I’ve run the local Hog Wild Days 5k every year since then, but even then never trained much or cranked up the pace much. My race times evidenced that fact: I ran that first 5k in 31 minutes and change, and 4 years later I was still running right about 30 minutes for a 5k.
At some point this spring, though, some switch flipped in my head, and running became enjoyable and something of a compulsion. I started tracking my runs using runkeeper.com and being more regular with my running. I got in more than 50 miles in April, 47 in May, slacked in June whilst on vacation, and now I’m back at it in July.
My times are showing the improvement. I felt pretty darn sluggish for the Hog Wild Days 5k this year and still completed it in 27 minutes. Then I ran the Alliant Energy 8k on July 4th and completed that in right at 45 minutes.
At the moment I haven’t made a real decision on whether to work for distance or speed next, but I’m leaning towards distance. I ran a 6-mile route this morning and really enjoyed it. I’ve been tossing around the idea of running the New Bo Half Marathon over Labor Day weekend, but haven’t been brave enough to send in the registration form yet. Either way, it’s time for a new pair of shoes between now and then.
I’m still working on understanding why I enjoy running as much as I do. Partly it’s the personal challenge, proving to myself that I can stretch my body beyond where it’s gone before. Partly it’s also so nice to have my body feeling perpetually tired and sore rather than slow and sluggish. It’s also nice when the running helps take off a few pounds.
I doubt I’ll keep with the running long-term as seriously as I have this year, but it’s something I want to keep as a regular part of my life. 30 years from now I’d love to be one of those old guys I saw in the race on Monday, still chugging along and running 5 miles faster than a lot of the young guys.
My 5K Playlist for Hog Wild Days
It’s been a while since I’ve reworked my 5K playlist. This latest incarnation may be a little heavy on Arcade Fire, but I’ve been listening to them a lot while I’ve been running this spring, and the tempos of the songs work really well. Anyway, here’s what I’ve got:
If I finish in the time I’m hoping for, I’ll be somewhere in the middle of “Month of May” when I cross the finish line. The Adele song is a fantastic cooldown song.
Here’s hoping for good weather in the morning and a good race time!
Running again
I started my dalliance with running nearly 4 years ago. I was looking for some motivation to get off the couch and lose some weight, and figured that if I signed myself up for a race that the potential embarrassment of walking the whole thing might motivate me into action. I didn’t train too hard, but I made it through my first 5k in around 32 minutes.
I never devoted too much time to running. I’d hit the gym maybe once or twice a week when the weather was bad and do a couple of miles on a treadmill; maybe run a couple of miles outside if the weather was good. And I didn’t notice huge improvements in my times or endurance, but I kept at it, albeit intermittently.
Then came April 1 of this year. I don’t know what possessed me, but I was on the treadmill at the gym and ran 5 miles in 49 minutes. And, as with a few other times in my life, it was as if some sort of mental switch flipped. Suddenly running is enjoyable, something I don’t have to do, but rather that I want to do. (I wish I could figure out what it is that causes that switch to flip. There are other places in my life it’d be useful…)
I started tracking my runs on Runkeeper, which was great. (Android app + GPS in phone = easy run tracking!) I ran 16 times in April, for a total of just over 52 miles. I’ve been a little bit of a slacker in May so far - have only run 3 times for 12+ miles, but that included a 6-mile run. I’m losing weight (slowly), definitely building endurance, and feeling great doing it.
I’ve been tossing around ideas for a season-long motivator to keep me pushing this summer, and the one that’s tantalizing me is the New Bo Fest Half Marathon, held Labor Day weekend in Cedar Rapids. I don’t know how quickly I can add endurance and distance, but it seems like it’d be doable if I’m committed to putting in the time. I found a great little training app for my phone (Epic Runner) and I’m using it to push me along. I’ve not yet been brave enough to sign up for the race, but I think I will… soon.
Good Motivation
I just filled out the entry forms for two 5K races in upcoming months: the Marion Arts Festival 5K (May 19) and the Hog Wild Days Squeal’n’Run 5K (June 16). The latter, happily, starts and ends at Gutheridge Park, only 4 blocks or so from my house. While I don’t expect to be competitive in either of the races, they provide some good motivation for me to keep training. I’ve been getting lazy these last few weeks. Can’t let that continue!
Gotta run...
I got out for a run yesterday afternoon - probably the first time in 2 weeks that I’ve run. It feels good to be a little bit sore this morning. It’s going to be hard to get too motivated to run these next few days - it’s gonna be cold and windy. But we just got a membership to the MAC (a local gym) so I’ll be using it instead.
Within the next month they should have the satellite MAC complete and open; it’s going to be only about a mile from home. And my good friend and former associate pastor John Wilbur will be co-managing it. Excellent. They are also bragging about individual 19" LCD TVs on every treadmill and elliptical. Almost sounds like overkill… almost.
I guess my 5K race running is done for the fall; the only ones remaining around here are on Sunday mornings. Grrrr. I’ll have to keep busy on the treadmills over the winter and then I’ll be ready for some spring races. I could get into this running stuff.
Spartan Fund Run 5K
Last Saturday I ran in my first-ever 5K, the Solon High School Spartan Fund Run. They had a few hundred folks show up, many to do the half-mile and mile walks, another 83 for the 5K, and mabe a few dozen for a 10K. My sister Rebecca had agreed to run it with me, so we got up early and headed down on the 30-minute drive to Solon.
The race was done well; the organization was good, the t-shirt design was pretty decent, and they had procured a bunch of donated food which was good as a late breakfast after the run.
The one thing this 5K had that I hadn’t trained for was hills! I didn’t realize how flat my neighborhood course is until I got out there and had long uphill climbs at both the beginning and end of the race. And the last half-mile not only did you have to go uphill, but you were running directly into a 15 mph wind. But, we toughed it out. There were 83 competitors in the 5K, and I came in 53rd in a time of 31:12. Rebecca came in 69th in about 35:00. (Reba, leave your exact time in a comment and I’ll fix it here.) I didn’t get under 30, which had been my goal, but at least it was a good test.
I think I’ve got the bug; I’m looking for another race around here yet before the season is over. The one that’s reasonably close and on a day I could make it isn’t a 5K, though - it’s a 5-mile. I’m not sure if I’ll be ready for that by November 12 or not.
This 'n' that
This weekend wasn’t too busy, but I wasn’t on the computer, so no blog updates.
Rebecca and I ran in the Solon Fund Run 5K on Saturday and did OK. I didn’t hit my goal of sub-30-minutes; I finished in 31:12. I’ll blame it on a 10 mph headwind and a long uphill the last half mile. Still, it was a lot of fun, and I’m looking for another race to sign up for yet this fall. I’ll do a full post with pictures when I get the chance.
Watched a bunch of football over the weekend, the Hawkeyes won, setting up a bit showdown with Ohio State in a couple of weeks, but the Huskers couldn’t score the upset over USC. Not that I expected them too, but it would’ve been cool.
Now it’s Monday and back-to-work. I’m going to start working on some new stuff, though, so that should be interesting. Gotta brush up on my C++ coding skills - haven’t used them since school!
Oh, and I’m looking forward to next weekend - I’ll be heading up to Minneapolis along with Pastor Richard to the Desiring God 2006 National Conference. The list of speakers:
And of course John Piper. I can’t wait.
Last training run
Well, my last training run before the Solon 5K on Saturday. I woke up before my alarm this morning (no small feat when the alarm is set for 5:10 am!) and headed out on my usual 3.2 mile course. It was a beautiful early morning, chilly and brisk, the sky bright, clear, and full of stars.
For not having run much the past two weeks, my times were ok:
Mile 1: 7:38. A nice brisk pace. Mile 2: 9:59 (total: 17:37). Slowed a bit here, was starting to feel it by about the last 1/4 mile. Mile 3: 10:38 (total: 28:16). That long hill the last quarter mile gets me every time. Total time: 30:39. Didn’t quite get in under 30:00. :-(
My goal for the 5k on Saturday is to get in under 30:00. Should be a fun test.
It's Wednesday, but Saturday's coming
I told myself that I should run a good three times this week in preparation for the Solon 5K on Saturday. After all, I didn’t get much running in last week while we were on vacation. I was good on Monday, ran 2 miles, felt decent. I intended to run again this morning, but after not getting to sleep until around midnight, 5 AM for running was just too early. Maybe this afternoon or tonight. I’m thinking today, maybe tomorrow, and then take Friday off to rest. We’ll see how it goes.
Otherwise, it’s been a fairly uneventful week thus far. Monday night we were home - first Monday night home since softball started back in May! Last night Becky did supper with some friends from church, so I had a night at home with the girls. Then last night I screwed up the Master Boot Record on my basement PC, so I spent the remainder of the night trying to get it wiped and re-loaded. I think it’s pretty well wiped now, so hopefully the Sony Recovery disks can do the rest of the work for me.
All sorts of wacky stuff
Or at least what counts for wacky in my world. I realize my life is pretty calm compared to some of the rest of you.
Well, I guess most of that wasn’t wacky. But it was stuff, though, you can’t deny it was stuff. One outta two isn’t bad.
Odds and Ends August 2006
Odd: 13, the number of runs we had last night in our softball game. Also the number of runs our opponents had. After 7 innings it was just too dark to continue to play (8:30 pm or so), so we called it a draw. It was a beautiful night, and a fun game.
End: The end of the run yesterday was about 2 miles from where I started it. Enough, at least, to get my blood pumping. I did the first mile without walking at all. Woohoo!
Odd: 15, the day of the month today. Which means that it’s my brother Ryan’s birthday today!
End: This is the end of the post.
More running
It hasn’t been a real productive week for me as far as running goes; three mornings this week we we had rain come through between 5 and 7 am, which is my usual running time. I did get 2.5 miles in on Tuesday, but that was it.
So today, after cleaning out the gutters and mowing the lawn, it was time to go run again. The Solon 5K is only a month away… My times for this run:
Mile 1: 8:02
Mile 2: 18:50
Mile 3: 29:57
End : 32:43
I came in a couple of minutes quicker than last week’s run; my first mile was actually a couple of minutes slower this week, but I had a more consistent time for miles 2 and 3 this week.
Only a month to go before the big race. Hopefully I can find time to run more than once a week before then. :-)
My first training run
I have a 5K course mapped out through our neighborhood, so I gave it my first try at that distance on Friday. It was early afternoon, probably 85 degrees out. Here were my split times:
Mile 1: 7:43
Mile 2: 18:56
Mile 3: 31:38
End: 34:20
I was cranking it out the first mile, didn’t have to walk much at all. Actually, through the whole thing, it wasn’t the cardio part that was slowing me down - it was my legs. My calves were cramping up pretty bad. The second mile I walked more; obviously, I went from an 8-minute mile to an 11-minute second mile. The third mile was then about 12 minutes. There is a nice long uphill grade to finish the third mile, it’s a good test.
All in all, 34 minutes isn’t too awful for my first try. I need to keep at this, though, so I can be better prepared for the 5K on September 16th.
Taking the Plunge
This weekend I signed up for a 5K run. I’ve never done something like this before. I’ve not been a big runner in past years, but with 30 approaching and too many pounds around my waistline, it is time to get more serious about it. I have increased motivation to run; finding time is still the difficulty.
Inspired in a good part by Jeff and Adriene’s efforts, I sent in my registration Saturday to run in a 5K in Solon on September 16th. In a fit of insanity, my sister Rebecca agreed to run it with me. She’ll probably beat me, too. So now I have seven weeks to try to get ready for it.
I’m not really scared of the distance; when I get out and run now I do 2.5 - 3 miles in about 30 minutes. I still end up having to interspurse some walking amidst the jogging. I just need to push my endurance up so I can walk less and jog more.
An aside here: I found a really cool website that has been helpful: mapmyrun.com. It uses the Google Maps API to allow you to chart a run (even going cross-country if you want to!). It’ll then show you the mileage of that run, and, given the time it took you to run it and your age, height, and weight, will even calculate a calorie burn. Maps can be saved and shared. Pretty cool. You can see my little 5K training map if you want to.
It’ll be tough to train any this week, seeing as I have a full day today and then I’m headed to Seattle tomorrow morning early. Maybe once I get back and it’s a bit cooler I can start cranking out the miles. I’ve gotta try…
What A Difference the Shoes Make
I bought a new pair of Asics running shoes over the weekend and wow, what a difference they make! Beside the fact that they don’t tear up my heel like the old ones did, they also have a much greater amount of padding and bounce when I run. What a nice change! Here’s to hoping I stay disciplined with the running so that I wear this pair out sooner than the last pair. :-)