Race Report: Cincinnati Run Like Hell

  Not so much of  a race report as a run report.  I didn’t intend to “race” tonight, but just run it for fun.  In fact, I turned off my Garmin after the first half mile.  I had the HR alarm on, and forgot to turn it off.  Anyway, onto the run. 

  I saw some friends from Team for Life at the race.  Amye, and her mom Karen, Trish, Scott, and Jamie were all there.  Amye was going to walk with her mom, but she ended up walking with Jamie.  So, Amye and I ran it.  We ran it in like 34 minutes, but we didn’t care.  We talked about “old times”, Team for Life, Team in Training, Heart Rate Training, and a bunch of other stuff.  I was accused of being a weather shifter, because I would joke about it raining, and then it would for a second or two.  After we finished, we walked back to find Karen and Jamie.  They were about 3/4’ths of a mile from the finish when we found them.  We walked the rest of the way with them, but didn’t finish twice.

  The race starts at 7:30 PM, and we run through a cemetery.  It’s a pretty hilly course, and a lot of fun.  There is a party afterwards, with free food, and cheap beer.  It was good to see the team, and get some more inspiration for the marathon.  I know the team will be right there with me the entire way.  Amye is going to run some long runs with us this winter, if I can get an email to her in time.  Sounds like she has some mail delivery issues.  Like 10 delays, etc.

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Half Marathon Aftermath

  It’s Friday night, five days after the Dayton River Corridor Classic.  I haven’t run since the race due to soreness and a cold.  I felt pretty good after the race, I was sore in my calves and my hip on Monday and Tuesday.  All of the soreness had resolved by Wednesday.  I could have run on Thursday.  But, the plague started on Wednesday.

  I finally caught my daughters cold on Wednesday.  It’s basically a head cold, but it’s made me fairly miserable.  My head is a mess, and my throat is pretty sore.  It’s finally starting to resolve, and should be done by Sunday.  Michael is now coming down with it, so it’s going to be a long weekend.

  I have a friend running his first full marathon in Columbus this Sunday.  Go Juan, go.  Good luck, I’ll be watching.  I’m going to be running the Cincinnati Run Like Hell in a week.  It’s a fund raiser for the CF Foundation.  It’s a 5k through a local cemetery, and is a big party.  I will probably just run it for fun, not for time. 

  I’ll be starting Base Building this coming week.  I’m hoping to build to around 45-50 miles per week by January.  That will be a good start to the official Flying Pig Marathon training.  I’m excited and optimistic.

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Race Report: Dayton River Corridor Classic

  Well, today was the big day.  Victoria and I ran the Dayton River Corridor Classic in Dayton, OH.  It was a good race, well organized, and a nice flat course. 

  We arrived early, at 7:30.  The race didn’t start until 9:00.  We got our packets, exchanged our shirts (they ran REALLY big), and hung out in the car.  Wayne arrived around 8:00, and we took a few minutes to say Hi, etc.  Wayne went to warm up, while we just kind of hung out on the track. 

  The race started promptly at 9:00 and I crossed the start line 17 seconds later.  So, I started my Garmin at 9:00:17.  Our plan was to run the first mile slow, at around a 10:15 or so.  That quickly went out the window.  The first mile went by at a 9:26.  Our goal was a 2:05 for the Half Marathon. That would be about a 9:33 mile pace. 

  The first 5 miles went fairly easily.  We saw the winners coming back at mile 4.5, and saw Wayne at about 5.5 or so.  He looked good, and we kicked it up a little after we saw him.  I took two salt capsules after the mile 5 water station.  Big mistake!  It really made me nauseous.  I just concentrated on cheering on the returning runners, which helped my keep from loosing my lunch. 

  I started to feel tired at about mile 6, but got back into a rhythm by mile 6.5.  We hit half way at 1:01 and change.   We took in some sport beans around mile 9.5, which took me forever.  I couldn’t open the stupid bag.  Victoria was really feeling bad by about mile 10, and I pushed her through 10.75.  At that point, she hit the wall and told me to go ahead.  I found a lady having issues keeping motivated at about 11.85 (1.25 miles to go).  I told her we could finish strong and kept pace with her.  The last mile was tough, but we pushed through for a strong finish.  I lost her on the back straight away of the track, which is where we finished.  My time was 2:06.37 when I crossed the finish, minus the 17 seconds.  Official time: 2:06.20.  I was very happy and a PR by 5 minutes.

  My HR goal was between 160 and 165, but it was more like 170 – 175 most of the way.  Victoria finished about 3 minutes behind me, still a 7 minute PR.  Wayne ran a 1:41 and won his age group.  I was disappointed that I was third from the last in my age group, but there weren’t too many in it, maybe 25 or 30.  I’ve posted my splits below.

Mile Pace Avg HR Max HR 1 9:26 162 170 2 9:16 170 173 3 9:12 172 175 4 9:37 171 175 5 9:37 171 176 6 9:32 171 174 7 9:30 173 176 8 9:43 171 175 9 10:12 167 173 10 9:43 169 173 11 10:18 167 176 12 10:06 169 176 13 9:08 173 177 14 8:21 176 179

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Race Day: An Early Start

  My daughter is sick, and I was worried about catching the plague from her.  She was up at 4:00 A.M, and I decided to bring her downstairs at about 4:20.  Her nose is so stuffy that she just can’t breathe.  I was going to get up at 5 anyway, and I was tossing and turning waiting for the alarm to go off.

  The Dayton River Corridor Classic starts in a little over 4 hours. I’ll be leaving here in about 90 minutes to meet up with Victoria on our way to Dayton.  It’s only an hour drive, but we’d both rather be early.  We need to pick up pour packets, warm up a little, and of course make a pit stop or two.

  It’s time for me to do my meds, and get something to eat before I go.  I’ll post a race report after the run.  I hope to be home by about 1 PM today.  More then.

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A Tale of Two Todds

  I’ve recently received comments from two other CF Marathon Runners.  Both named Tod(d).  The first comment was from Tod in Ireland, a 22 year old with CF.  He’s going to be running the Dublin Marathon on 10/29.  Go Tod, good luck.  Let me know how you do. 

   The second comment was from Todd, a 43 year old with CF.  He just ran the Twin Cities Marathon in very bad conditions.  The temperature was in the 70’s at the start, which is crazy.  Similar to the conditions in Chicago this past weekend.  I did email Todd to let him know about Team for Life and the Pig next year.  Maybe he’ll come run it with us.

  It’s pretty impressive that a 43 year old CF Patient finished a marathon.  Especially considering that the average life span of a CF’er is 37.  There are varying degrees of illness, but there are still many challenges, even if your lungs are good.  There’s hyponatremia (electrolyte imbalance), diabetes, digestive issues, etc. 

  I can’t imagine running a full marathon in those conditions.  Honestly, I don’t think I would have made it.  It’s tough to explain how CF and heat/humidity effect any physical activity.  It’s like trying to breathe with a very wet blanket on your chest.  You can do it, but it’s work.  I ran 9 miles here in Cincinnati on Sunday, in the same conditions.  I was wiped out the entire day. 

  Honestly, I only how two concerns with either a half or a full marathon.  First, is getting sick from my two germ factories, aka kids.  Second is the temp/humidity.  I don’t mind rain or cold, I can deal with those.  But heat/humidity, I can’t do anything to make the situation better.  Well, I guess I could just not run, but that’s tough.  Luckily, the forecast for Sunday is a low in the 40’s and a high of 70.  That should be great.  Did I mention my daughter is getting a nasty cold.  I don’t mind getting sick, just not until Sunday afternoon.

  I’ll be glad to get through the half this weekend and start base building for the Pig.  I have a long way to go, just to get ready to train.  It’s going to be a fun ride.

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What a way to finish training…

Today, Victoria and I did our last long run for the Dayton River Corridor Classic Half Marathon.  I can sum it up in one word.  MISERABLE!!!!  We started at 7:30, and the weather was 70 F.  Now, remember, it’s October and Cincinnati.  The high temp today was in the 90’s with high humidity.  We were scheduled to run 12 miles, but we couldn’t make it.  We decided to cut it short at the six mile mark, and I had to walk alot during the last three miles.  We ended up getting nine miles in, but they were tough.  It took us 1:50 and change to go that far. 

  I’m glad that it’s going to cool off for the half next week.  It’s scary to think that I could have run out of gatorade, or salt, etc.  I could have been in real trouble.  It’s making me think more about my plan to run the full next year.  I don’t think I’ll have a problem, but I need to be away of the possible issues.  Hyponatremia could be a real problem, especially with all the salt I lose. 

  I think we’ll do ok in the race next week, even with this “setback.”  But, I figure if they closed the Chicago Marathon today, I was probably ok with calling the run 3 miles short. 

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Random Thoughts …

  I have nine more days before the Dayton River Corridor Classic Half Marathon.  I’m happy with my training and feel confident going into the race.  I’m thinking we’ll end up with a 2:05+/-.  That’s a 9:33 pace, and should be possible with a little persistence.  I’d love to break 2:00:00, but I don’t think that’s in reach at this point. 

  I’ve lost a little weight over the past week and a half, which inspires me to keep it up.  Of course, I have had two 20 oz Mountain Dews today…not my best option.  It’s not like I’m obese or anything.  I’m 161 (5′ 6″) and would like to get down to about 150.  I basically have a spare tire that needs to go away.  It’s interesting, because there are studies that show the closer a CF patient gets to a BMI of 25, the better the Pulmonary Functions Test results.  Usually, that means that you need to gain weight to get closer to the number.  I’m at a BMI of about 26.0 right now, so I need to lose another 6 pounds to get to a 25.  150 is a 24.2, which would be ok.

  I was sitting on the couch last night with Kristen, looking at the small bruise on my right calf.  I don’t know how I got it, but it’s not a problem.  But, I was surprised how toned and strong my calves are.  Obviously from the running, but it just caught my eye.  It reminded me of an add that I saw in Running Times with a picture of a lower leg with “This calf is an encyclopedia of running information …” 

  I’ve been playing with low heart rate training over the past week and a half.  My heart rate should be at about 144 (Maffetone method).  I’ve been able to stay close to this, (about 147 or so).  The interesting thing is that I’ve been able to run more without feeling wiped out, and I’m only about a minute per mile slower.  I’ll probably continue to use this method after the half, to build my base.  I’d like to be up to around 50 miles per week by January.  Now, if I can just find time without Kristen killing me, I’ll be in good shape.

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Two Weeks to Go

  We ran 12 miles on Sunday, that is our second to last long run.  We had planned to be up to a 15 mile run by this time, but a few injuries made me cut some runs short.  We ran the 12 very easy, an ended up at 2:11.  I feel very comfortable that we can run a 2:05 in Dayton.  That’s a 9:33 pace, and I think that’s within reach.

   The weather has finally started to cool off.  Sunday’s temp was about 55 degrees.  I’d actually like it to be cooler, if possible.  The race doesn’t start until 9:00 AM, so if it is still this hot, it may be tough.  Either way, Victoria and I will finish within steps of each other.  It will also be nice to see Wayne.  I’ll probably send him an email and tell him to watch for us about 20 minutes after he finishes.

   I saw my friend Maggie running tonight.  Kristen, the Kids and I were walking to the store to get an Icee.  She ran right toward us.  She is getting back into running.  She is the former director of the CF Foundation here in Cincinnati.  She ran the team for the CFF in the first year I ran.  I told her to give me a call if she needs a running partner.  I said to Victoria this weekend that I miss running.  It’s just nice to be able to run with so many different people, and see them all come together to help other CF’ers like me. 

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