8 on the 8th

Today was Nancy's virtual race of 8 on the 8th. The idea was for all of us blogger types to do our bit and report the results. My run was a bit tough on me. I have been fighting a cold but have still run as this seems to break up the congestion a bit. Then this morning I hyper extended my right calf about 500 meters (I slipped on some leaves) into the thing but I finished it and here are the results:

Mile 1: 12:02

Mile 2: 12:37

Mile 3: 12:39

Mile 4: 12:56

Mile 5: 12:53

Mile 6: 12:20

Mile 7: 12:59

Mile 8: 13:15

Total Time: 1:41:41 or a 12:42 pace.

It was not a good run for me. But we all have those. I ran an extra mile at the end at a 13:21 pace. Then I walked the last mile home, I could hardly walk but I made it home where I am now icing my calf. Owwww.

The end result was a 1532 calorie effort, not including the last mile walking. I hope I can stretch my calf out and get back on my feet. Congrats to Nancy on putting this together.

I hope everyone had fun out there.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

I hope everyone had a great turkey day. I know that I did. I did a lot of cooking. I made a good turkey, sweet potatoes, stuffing, green beans with a couple of pies. It was all very good, but I ate too much. That is ok as I did a little Turkey Trot in the morning. Here are the results.

Mile 1: 10:43

Mile 2: 11:59

Mile 3: 12:20

Mile 4: 12:15

Mile 5: 12:21

Total 59:38 = 11:55 pace.

It was a good time. I will do one again next year, it is nice to front load some calories so that I can feel free to eat a lot on Thanksgiving, it is a good plan. I ate a good bit but as I was down 3 pounds from the race it was fine. Have a good holiday everyone.

Schuylkill River Loop Run - Post Race

Today, I ran the Schuylkill River Loop Run. (skoo kill) I didn't come up with the spelling so don't blame me. This is an 8.4 mile race around some of the nicest parts of Philadelphia for running. The start is at the Art Museum then run up 4 miles to the Falls Bridge and back down Kelly Drive past Boathouse Row to the finish.

Art Museum

Falls Bridge

Rower Statute

Kelly Drive

It is a nice course. This was part of the Philadelphia Distance Run and I liked that part of the course so much that when I found out about this race, I wanted to do it. There is lots of tree cover and on the back half there are lots of statues and family oriented space set aside. Additionally, there are usually rowers on the river. It is just a nice place to run. On to the nitty gritty.

Mile 1: 10:43

Mile 2: 11:02

Mile 3: 11:32

Mile 4: 12:02

Mile 5: 12:19

Mile 6: 12:18

Mile 7: 13:10

Mile 8: 13:44

Last .4: 13:28 pace

Total Time: 1:42:52

I think you can see a trend. I started well but then I dropped off. I hit a groove from miles 3 through 6 but miles 7 to the end was just tough on my body. I did not train as well as I should have but I made it to the end with a 12:20 pace. Good for me and below my expectations by a little bit. The other good news, I placed 3rd in my age group so I got a performance based medal. Huzzah!!! I am tired, I will take a nap now.

Nancy, I received the Viagra based pens and stuff. Thanks. I will use them with pride at my office. I am sure people will notice. Nancy sent me a couple of Viagra pens a mini mouse and $5 as I won our little bet on the first to break the 11:00 mark on three consecutive miles. Happy running everyone.

Race Report, Lupus Loop 5k

Today, I ran the Lupus Loop 5k here is grand old Philadelphia. Last week the 5k I ran wan't the best organized event I had ever been to and I was starting to rethink the wisdom of the 5k in my training schedule. But I saw that the Lupus Loop 5k had over 800 finishers last year. I thought that a 5k that big has to be well organized and of course the cause is good. To be truthful I was a bit hearbroken at the race. There were more than one t-shirt from people in memory of deceased children, just sad.

The run organizers were great. This was nice. Lots of post race refreshments, efficient people helping out at registration, local radio station on hand to keep people pumped up and as I said before a good cause. I had a great time and was lucky not to park in the mud that others were stuck in post race.

As Nancy and I had a competition as to the 11:00 mile. The competition is to be the first to complete 3 miles where each mile is 11:00 or faster for each mile. The last 5k I ran I ran an exact 11:00 pace for the three miles. But I ran a very good mile 1 and a slightly less impressive mile 2 and 3. Today, I tried to really manage my pace.

The Miles

Mile 1: 11:00 exactly - I don't think I could have done this any better. I started fast and then backed off to conserve some energy for the remaining two miles. I did well kicking it up for the first .6 and then backing off for the next .25 before kicking up again.


Mile 2: 10:53 - This was a good mile we climbed the first .3 and then came down for most of the remaining mile. I was able to conserve some energy and rest while going faster than I usually do. I covered a stretch of about .35 where I was going about 9:40 pace.

Mile 3: 10:52 - This was the hardest part of the run. I usually run an 11:10 to 11:40 pace. So running at a pace that was 20 to 40 seconds faster was taking its toll on me. I started to slow and had to really concentrate on kicking it up to keep pace. This was hard as there was a hill near the half way mark that really was killing me. But I hung in there and finished at my goal. I then stopped to tie a shoe that came undone with .2 to go. I then walked the remaining .1.



What an adventure. I have to say thanks to Nancy, without out little deal I would not have taken the training as seriously. Thanks for pushing me over the top. Although it was fun to win, I really don't want anything, the satisfaction of breaking the 11:00 barrier was joy enough. One more goal achieved, running is great.

I finally ran a 5k

When I started this great running adventure, I really intended to do long distances and the 5k never really entered by thoughts. However, after I finished the half marathon in September, I don't really have the desire to go that far again this year but I still want to race. So I have been entering shorter races. Today, I entered the Run for Life 5k, it supports a pregnancy counseling center. The focus of the organization is to help people through faith based counseling. This is the right choice for some, so I don't mind helping them out with an entry fee. I will say that I also wouldn't mind helping out the other side as well, that is if someone chose to get an abortion. We all make choices in our life, even if I wouldn't make the same choices, we all have the right to choose (at least that is what the law provides).

So I ran my 5k, it was not bad really. I set out with a goal of 36 minutes. I can't be sure what the official time is but I think it was about 34:45. That is not too bad, it works out to about 11:11 pace. I think that is rough and I wouldn't bet my house on my math. But I will say that I was running hard for me. I am getting quicker. My first mile was about 10:20 and the remaining two about 11:20 or so. It worked pretty well. If I had been a little smarter on the last part of mile 2 I think I could have come in about 20 to 30 seconds sooner. But I didn't manage the hills as well as I could have. I am still learning this running stuff. It is a lot more complicated than just put on some shoes and run fast.

That is all I have for today. Have fun out there.

NorthEast Philadelphia 5 miler

I ran this little run today. It was a great day for a run being cool and dry. I ran much faster than I usually do.

5 miles = 57 minutes 10 seconds - That is really quite good for me. That is a pace of 11:26 over the course of the race. The first and last miles were under 11:00 and no mile was over 12:00. It was good. I like the small local runs, they really give off a family feeling. Everyone is so nice and happy. Plus the proceeds go to local charaties, which I like. Today was for local youth athletics, nice.

Philadelphia Distance Run

This is my post race report. I completed the 13.1 miles of the Philadelphia Distance Run. My pace was about 12:40, for a 2 hour 45 minute total time. When you consider that I finished the Broad Street Run in 2 hours and 26 minutes for 10 miles this is good, damn good. I have to say that I am quite happy with the result. Based on my performance in May in the Broad Street Run (I did about a 14:30 pace over the 10 miles) I had wanted to do about a 13:30 pace for the race. But I started out pretty well for myself. The first 7 miles were at a sub12:00 minute pace and then I just was fighting fatigue for the last 4 miles. It really was a good time. The bands were playing and I was able to run some real estate that you just don't get to on an average day. The course ran past the Liberty Bell, the Constitution Center, Independence Hall, the Art Museum (see Rocky) and up and around Kelly drive some of the prettiest running routes in the city.

My Garmin recorded things slightly differently than the course chip. Here is what my watch said.
Mile 1: 11:36
Mile 2: 11: 31
Mile 3: 11:26
Mile 4: 11:40
Mile 5: 11:53
Mile 6: 11:41
Mile 7: 12:22 (hills)
Mile 8: 12:43
Mile 9: 12:58
Mile 10: 12:16
Mile 11: 14:01 (fatigue + hills)
Mile 12: 13:51 (fatigue)
Mile 13: 13:20
Last tenth: 12:42 pace

My watch recorded a 12:25 pace. Who knows why this type of difference occurs. It probably has to do with the watch following just me and depending on how I take my turns can make the course different. It seemed that when I hit 13.1 I still had .2 to go. I will put a variance into the gps next time out.

I have a medal, yeah!