Passion For Life 5 Mile run, Walled Lake, MI; 3/24/12

Grey, misty, mild day, perfect for a run. Myself, Gordon & his friend Johnny were running the 5 mile & Iona, Liam & his friend Thomas were running the 5k. I didn't think it was going to be too busy, so they would be OK, on their own, as it turned out that wasn't a good decision, but Thomas' mum, Meaghan offered to run with the kids, so were going to be ok.

Packet pickup was a fiasco, but I should have guessed it may have been and waited for a couple of hours, to give it a chance to settle down. We drifted downtown, found a parking space easily and drifted down to the Bayside to wait for the start, in retrospect we were a little too early, but better to be safe than sorry, right? There were a couple of photographers milling around, taking pics, hence the shots. The place was mobbed, apparently this is the largest charity race in Michigan, and it felt like it, bloody people everywhere.

The time came to start heading to start and it was kinda disorganized, but that was nothing compared to how messy the start of the race would be. I really wish races would start telling walkers, people with dogs and strollers that they have to start at the back of the pack as the first 3/4 mile was bedlam, trying to zig zag through groups of people milling about. There was also a couple of groups of people running beside each other in one across the road, a real pain in the ar$e. Once it settled down, I started enjoying it, although I've run the lake many times (albeit mostly counter clock wise), every time I see something new. The day was kind of strange due to the mist hanging over the lake.

I downloaded a metronome app from the Android marketplace during the week for my cell phone so I could try and maintain the near mystical 180 steps per minute cadence. One of the hints the instructor gave was to use the metronome to monitor the cadence of my arm swing and to use that to control my step, I suspect this was to discourage slamming the feet down on the beep, but I'm not 100% sure. I was also, consciously running lower down, thus forcing me to keep my knees bent, & to try and stop myself from heel striking quite so much. It felt a little strange and I did feel a little tighness in my calfs while running, but it kept me going at a fairly respectable pace.

The field really thinned out after the 5k'ers looped back to the start, the course was uneventful, with a couple of aid stations and some people handing out bottles of water along the way. I still prefer to run it anti-clockwise, but, on the whole, a good day out.

On finishing I got a chance to watch everyone finish their races which was very cool, as I generally don't know anyone or it is too busy to enjoy it.

9/22 in my age group;  77/229 overall; PRed the lake

Gordon, Liam, Johnny & Thomas

Iona, myself, Thomas & Liam

Thomas finishing strong

Me looking beat

Iona after cadging a lift to the finish

Liam overtaking on the final turn

Me, on the home stretch

Johnny, flying

Gordon, heading to the finish

Shamrock 'n' Roll 10k, Plymouth MI; 3/18/12

It was a beautiful, unseasonably warm day for a run in south east Michigan. I didn't have too high hopes for this run, what with me doing very little running prior and a few beers the day before. We got there about 1/2 hour before the start and struggled to find parking, the place was absolutely mobbed. Bren decided to kick me out of the car so I could go and get my race packet and she could try and find a parking space, we met up about 15 minutes later. We were going to be starting and stopping at the same place as the Halloween run, but the route I think is a little different, but no big deal, Plymouth is very flat and picturesque, so it was still going to be a pleasant race.

I met a friend during packet pickup and again right at the start of the race. I was a little concerned how it was going to be at the start as the Halloween race was a nightmare, too busy and it took a while for the race to spread out and acquire some gaps to run into. The horned sounded and we were off, walking slowly, but by the time we got to the starting line, there was a little space and I could actually get to my 10k without a great deal of difficulty. The run went as well as I could have hoped for, what with being hungover and out of practice. I used the aid stations for drinks and didn't walk. I was a little disappointed to see my old friend 'pace creep', was back as each mile was slower than the previous on, I even didn't have it in me for a kick at the end.

On crossing the line, I got my medal and directed towards the a snacks, which were laid out well and a great relief especially with the whole, 'no waiting' thing.

Finished in 53:34.2, which is about 30 seconds off my PR, so not too shabby

Nice route, well marshalled, not too busy, cool medal, plenty snacks at the end. All in all quite a good day out

White tech shirt with green side panels,
one of my favorites.

How Endomondo saw it - http://www.endomondo.com/workouts/jCsStYkRhf0

How Garmin saw it - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/159077478

Results - http://www.everalracemgt.com/results/full.php?2012/shamrock-n-roll-10k.html# 9

41st out of 101 in my age group; 376 out of 1322 overall, not bad...

February 2012 - motivational nightmare

So if I had to pick a phrase that typified my exercise regimen for the month of February, it would be 'lack of motivation'.

The Willis Tower on a beautiful,
but damn cold day.

I started out by getting ready for the Super 5k on the morning of Superbowl Sunday and went from there. The Super 5k went as well as I hoped, my expectations were low and I came in at right around that. Unfortunately around mile ~2.5 my right calf started to hurt but I had already made a mess of the race before then, so no big deal.

We decided that it was time that myself and Bren treated ourselves to a short vacation, so due to extortionate flights, we decided to hop over to Chicago for a few days. I even brought my running stuff with me, and planned on using the gym at the hotel before venturing out in the morning or if Bren was in the pool later in the day. To quote that famous Scots poet, Rabbie Burns, the best-laid schemes o' mice an' men, gang aft agley,  which roughly translates as, even the best organised plans can often fall apart. Mornings did not involve going to the gym and we went back to the hotel to swim one afternoon, of which I spent about 18 minutes on the treadmill doing about 1.75 miles, which I hated, so there.

Post trip to Chicago, I struggled to get myself up early in the morning and back onto the exercise bike. I have also experienced a twinge in my upper right calf, which I don't want to aggrivate prior to the Sham Rock 'n' Roll Run in Plymouth in mid-March.

Time to get this bloody thing posted as it is almost halfway through March.

January 2012 - the year so far

I suspected that this time of year was going to me the make or break of my new found exercise & food regimen. The festive had not been kind to me, or a little too kind depending on how you look at it. Taking into account the weight that I manged to gain and the break in my regular exercise regimen, coupled with how crappy Michigan weather gets in January, I was in for a mental and physical battle over the first two or three months of the year. I'll start with some stats, from my old friend Endomondo and take it from there.

Distance & time so far

• Running - 29.5 miles (47.5km) in 4hrs 30mins
• Exercise bike - 124 miles (200km) in 5hrs 50mins
• Yoga/ core - 2hrsmins
• Walking - 69 miles (111km) in 17hrs 30mins

For some additional motivation I have already signed up for a couple of races, a 5km on Superbowl Sunday in Novi and the Sham Rock 'n' Roll Run around St Patrick's Day.

No doubt about it though, January 2012 has been the least amount of miles I've run, since July 2011, not terribly impressive.

How to fix it...

My old buddy, Endomondo, has a cool feature called Challenges which you sign up for. These challenges allow you to monitor your progress based on any number of different criteria compared to any number of other Endomondo user, for example number of miles for the year. most calories burned in January in cycling, etc. I have signed up or have been invited to sign up my Endomondo friends, for a few of these challenges, the big one for me being 'Run 500 miles in 2012'. In 2011, starting in May, I ran a total of 254 miles (409km), so this might be just doable, but not at my current rate. To do 500 miles in a year, means on average 1.4 miles (2.25km) per day, which in the cold, wet weather, isn't too inviting, but I will be doing more running in the better weather, so not too concerned, just a little disappointed.

Minimalist, how goes it?

So I started running in my VFF's on January 6th, just a wee short one to begin with, 0.6 miles (1km), while making a conscious effort to shorten my stride and land on my mid-foot. After run #1 I realised that while attempting to land mid-foot, I'm actually landing on the balls of my feet, so much so that it feels like I am tip-toeing along and my achilles tendon was really quite tender. The following day I was planning on going for my normal Walled Lake run of about 4.7 miles (7.5km), so I thought I take the VFF's as well and do a km beforehand, which seemed to go well and was on a better surface than the previous day. That same, evening, flushed with confidence, I took the kids our for the first run of the quest for the Martian Marathon, again in the VFF's, this time the achilles tendon, complained a little more.

Finally on 1/29, we decided to take the kids to the swimming pool at a local high school, that I also knew had a short indoor track (9 laps = 1 mile). After getting everyone changed and situated, I decided to go see what the small track was all about. 

Super 5k, Novi, Michigan - 5th February 2012

The prize, holding some fine
CJ's American Wheat 

First run of the year, a nice week 5k on the morning of Superbowl Sunday. I wasn't expecting too much from this one as getting an opportunity to train has been kinda tough, but what the hell. I also decided that I was going to run this one in the VFF's.

Got there, place was mobbed, the route was simple lollipop, out and back, with a couple of small hills, passing right past my office, coincidentally. It was a little icy underfoot, which along with the huge crowd, made for some interesting corners. All in all, an uneventful race, apart from a twinge in my left calf around 2.5 miles.

Post race the snacks were ok and I got a couple of questions about the VFF's. I went home, helped prepare for the Superbowl and sank a couple of well earned beers.

Got a cool long sleeved tech shirt and a beer glass.

Pace 8:43, time 27:01.5, 72/121 in my age group and 703/1963 overall, not great but not too shabby.

Here is how Endomondo saw it - http://www.endomondo.com/workouts/v36n4rmC0iU, and Garmin - http://connect.garmin.com/dashboard?cid=1113210

White tech shirt