My daughter Natalie is going into her freshman year of high school. Shortly after we moved into our new home in Spokane Valley, WA, I tracked down the Central Valley HS girls cross-country coach via email and got the scoop on when and where the girls are meeting to train during the summer. Since then, I've been Natalie's chauffeur every weekday morning, as they run at 8:00am sharp. Witnessing these girls already getting serious about the upcoming season got me itching to get back out there myself. I haven't run since March due to a hamstring injury (with the exception of a 1.7 mile fun run at my youngest daughter's elementary school in early June.) So last Thursday, since Natalie had to miss the morning run with the girls, I decided to head out with her and Apollo.
I managed a slow (9:30/mile) three mile slog with Apollo—both of us out of shape—and felt the hamstring just a little. That would have been acceptable, except that the hamstring hurt much worse later in the day. In fact, it felt just like it did when it first sidelined me a few months ago.
*sigh*
I'll have to be content with being a cheerleader for Natalie for the time being.
Showing posts with label Natalie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Natalie. Show all posts
Monday, July 15, 2013
Monday, November 12, 2012
2012 Fowl Fun Run 5k
For the fourth consecutive year, we made the 45-minute journey to Mount Vernon, WA, to run the Fowl Fun Run. In 2009, I ran the 10k. In 2010 and last year, I was injured and paced my daughter in the 2-mile fun run. This year, the two mile option was dropped in favor of a certified 5k course (to go with the usual 10k.) With my training and injury rehab coming along nicely the last few months, I decided to race the 5k. This left my daughter Natalie without her usual pacer she had become accustomed to in the few road races we've done together. She's coming off her 8th grade cross-country season, but wasn't sure she'd have the stamina to race a 5k well.
The weather was perfect. Sunny, 35 degrees. A bit brisk, but no wind. My wife and youngest daughter were also entered in the 5k, so it was a family affair. After my mile warmup, I shed my tights and jacket (but kept the gloves,) and was ready to go. My goal going in was to break 22 minutes, for the first time since 2010. I was hopeful, but not terribly confident. My plan was to run the first mile in 7:15, then increase the pace from there. I hit the first mile in 7:07 (and that was after consciously slowing myself down most of that mile,) but I felt fine. I slightly increased my pace the second mile, clocking a 7:04. There was a guy in front of me the entire race that I had hoped would start coming back to me. He never did, so I picked up the pace during the 3rd mile (6:48), intent on catching him. As we rounded the corner to run down a short segment of road before turning into the parking lot of the school where the finish was, I started my kick. It was not a quiet, stealth move on my part. I was breathing like a freight train. He heard me and initiated his kick as well. We turned into the parking lot and shot toward the finish in a full-out sprint. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to overtake him. Fortunately, he was 50 and no longer in my age group (he won the 50-59 group.) I wasn't sure until after the race that he wasn't in my age division, which was one reason I wanted to beat him. Yes, I'm that competitive.
Officially:
Time - 21:53
Pace - 7:03
Splits - 7:07, 7:04, 6:48 (5:45 pace for last .1)
Overall - 13 of 139
Age Group - 2 of 6
Men - 9 of 45
Not long after I crossed the finish line and spoke briefly with the guy I couldn't quite out-sprint, I went back out on the course to look for Natalie. Much to my surprise, she was already flying down the final stretch, turning into the parking lot. She proved that she didn't need Dad to pace her (although she says that should could have gone even faster if I had.) She obliterated her 5k PR with a 26:00.7 (her previous PR was 26:58.) We were both excited, but she was a little frustrated that she got that close to sub-26 without going under. She also took 2nd in her age group (out of 5), 26th overall, and 15th out of 94 women. She'll be running a Jingle Bell 5k on December 9th with her friends from cross country.
Lindsey finished in 39:17 and my wife (she walked most of it) in 46:11.
For a relatively small race, the post-race food and beverage assortment is quite impressive. Pumpkin pie with whipped cream, various muffins, coffee, hot chocolate, bananas, cookies, etc. They also do random drawings to give away frozen turkeys, large pumpkin pies and packs of Costco muffins. The three previous years, we brought home a pumpkin pie. This year, with all four of us entered in the race, we knew we'd increase our odds of winning, but thought we might be due to go home sans goodies. Luck was with us, though. My number was drawn and we left with a 12 lb. frozen turkey (insert "turkey wins a turkey" joke here.)
All in all a good day.
Today will be day 59 of my running streak. Next up for me is the 30th anniversary Christmas Rush (5k, for me) in Kent, WA, where I'll be wearing my very thin race shirt from the inaugural 1983 race. That was both the first year of the race, and my first road race. The race director will be looking for me for a photo op, so I'll be a minor celebrity. I'll have to settle for that, since I'll never be a celebrity based on my running ability!
The weather was perfect. Sunny, 35 degrees. A bit brisk, but no wind. My wife and youngest daughter were also entered in the 5k, so it was a family affair. After my mile warmup, I shed my tights and jacket (but kept the gloves,) and was ready to go. My goal going in was to break 22 minutes, for the first time since 2010. I was hopeful, but not terribly confident. My plan was to run the first mile in 7:15, then increase the pace from there. I hit the first mile in 7:07 (and that was after consciously slowing myself down most of that mile,) but I felt fine. I slightly increased my pace the second mile, clocking a 7:04. There was a guy in front of me the entire race that I had hoped would start coming back to me. He never did, so I picked up the pace during the 3rd mile (6:48), intent on catching him. As we rounded the corner to run down a short segment of road before turning into the parking lot of the school where the finish was, I started my kick. It was not a quiet, stealth move on my part. I was breathing like a freight train. He heard me and initiated his kick as well. We turned into the parking lot and shot toward the finish in a full-out sprint. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to overtake him. Fortunately, he was 50 and no longer in my age group (he won the 50-59 group.) I wasn't sure until after the race that he wasn't in my age division, which was one reason I wanted to beat him. Yes, I'm that competitive.
Officially:
Time - 21:53
Pace - 7:03
Splits - 7:07, 7:04, 6:48 (5:45 pace for last .1)
Overall - 13 of 139
Age Group - 2 of 6
Men - 9 of 45
Not long after I crossed the finish line and spoke briefly with the guy I couldn't quite out-sprint, I went back out on the course to look for Natalie. Much to my surprise, she was already flying down the final stretch, turning into the parking lot. She proved that she didn't need Dad to pace her (although she says that should could have gone even faster if I had.) She obliterated her 5k PR with a 26:00.7 (her previous PR was 26:58.) We were both excited, but she was a little frustrated that she got that close to sub-26 without going under. She also took 2nd in her age group (out of 5), 26th overall, and 15th out of 94 women. She'll be running a Jingle Bell 5k on December 9th with her friends from cross country.
Lindsey finished in 39:17 and my wife (she walked most of it) in 46:11.
For a relatively small race, the post-race food and beverage assortment is quite impressive. Pumpkin pie with whipped cream, various muffins, coffee, hot chocolate, bananas, cookies, etc. They also do random drawings to give away frozen turkeys, large pumpkin pies and packs of Costco muffins. The three previous years, we brought home a pumpkin pie. This year, with all four of us entered in the race, we knew we'd increase our odds of winning, but thought we might be due to go home sans goodies. Luck was with us, though. My number was drawn and we left with a 12 lb. frozen turkey (insert "turkey wins a turkey" joke here.)
All in all a good day.
Today will be day 59 of my running streak. Next up for me is the 30th anniversary Christmas Rush (5k, for me) in Kent, WA, where I'll be wearing my very thin race shirt from the inaugural 1983 race. That was both the first year of the race, and my first road race. The race director will be looking for me for a photo op, so I'll be a minor celebrity. I'll have to settle for that, since I'll never be a celebrity based on my running ability!
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
My (Former?) Running Partners
This won't be my most cheerful of blog entries. I have two bits of news to share that make me disappointed and sad.
The disappointment comes in the form of my now 8th grade daughter. She goes back to school tomorrow (we start LATE around here) and begins her cross-country season next Monday (Sept. 10th.) Why would I be disappointed about that? Because she ran exactly 1 time (that's O-N-E) this summer. I obviously didn't force her to run (she still has a volatile love/hate relationship with running and I don't want her to resent it...or me), but I strongly encouraged her to even run just briefly and slowly to maintain some sort of base. Nope, not interested. The teen years are upon us, and so is the accompanying attitude and lack of motivation. I'm sure she'll still have a good XC season, but she'll be unnecessarily sore (and out of shape) for the first couple of weeks.
The sad news is, to me and my family, hard to cope with. Our 1-year old lab, Apollo, is enduring some sort of pain that affects his back, neck and legs. He's barely able to walk and has very low energy. We rushed him to the animal hospital yesterday. They drew blood (we'll get results back tonight or tomorrow), but the doc said she wasn't quite sure what was wrong with him. It's nothing orthopedic, but it could be muscular and/or neurological in nature. He possibly could have damaged his neck/spine while playing roughly at the kennel while we were on vacation, or he could have some sort of virus that's affecting his mobility or, (worse yet) a disease. Our girls are pretty upset (Natalie in particular). He's on pain meds, which seem to be helping some, but he still moves like an arthritic old dog. Obviously, he won't be my running partner again for a while. We haven't even walked him for over a week, since this all started with a slight limp before it got really bad yesterday, when he could hardly walk.
I'll post the test results and/or updates here as we get them.
I hate to end on a down note, but work is beckoning, so I better get busy.
Happy running!
The disappointment comes in the form of my now 8th grade daughter. She goes back to school tomorrow (we start LATE around here) and begins her cross-country season next Monday (Sept. 10th.) Why would I be disappointed about that? Because she ran exactly 1 time (that's O-N-E) this summer. I obviously didn't force her to run (she still has a volatile love/hate relationship with running and I don't want her to resent it...or me), but I strongly encouraged her to even run just briefly and slowly to maintain some sort of base. Nope, not interested. The teen years are upon us, and so is the accompanying attitude and lack of motivation. I'm sure she'll still have a good XC season, but she'll be unnecessarily sore (and out of shape) for the first couple of weeks.
The sad news is, to me and my family, hard to cope with. Our 1-year old lab, Apollo, is enduring some sort of pain that affects his back, neck and legs. He's barely able to walk and has very low energy. We rushed him to the animal hospital yesterday. They drew blood (we'll get results back tonight or tomorrow), but the doc said she wasn't quite sure what was wrong with him. It's nothing orthopedic, but it could be muscular and/or neurological in nature. He possibly could have damaged his neck/spine while playing roughly at the kennel while we were on vacation, or he could have some sort of virus that's affecting his mobility or, (worse yet) a disease. Our girls are pretty upset (Natalie in particular). He's on pain meds, which seem to be helping some, but he still moves like an arthritic old dog. Obviously, he won't be my running partner again for a while. We haven't even walked him for over a week, since this all started with a slight limp before it got really bad yesterday, when he could hardly walk.
I'll post the test results and/or updates here as we get them.
I hate to end on a down note, but work is beckoning, so I better get busy.
Happy running!
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Running Threesome, plus...Orthotics Conumdrum
Since Natalie's track season is behind her, she's ready (sometimes, anyway) to start running at home with me. I love watching her compete in track and cross-country, but I always look forward to the off-seasons when we can run together again. Her goal (actually, my goal for her...and myself...) is to build a nice aerobic base this summer. She's got some good speed, and a pretty impressive kick, but—even though she had a great track season—she doesn't yet have the aerobic fitness she needs in order to really make some gains.
As fate would have it, I'm currently in the middle of a cycle of slow, easy zone 2 heart rate runs. Today, she and our lovable lab Apollo joined me on a 4-miler. For her, that's a long run (for me, too, actually). By the end of the summer...if all goes well...it won't be. She'll probably run in a few local All-Comer's track meets this summer, along with a few road races, but that will probably be the extent of any real "speed" work for her. No need to try staying sharp all summer. With a nice aerobic base, she'll be ready to step up for cross-country season and, hopefully, be ahead of most of her teammates.
Here's a pic of us before our run this morning:
Here's my theory. I'm not sure if this is valid, based on 1 run (and knowing how quirky and on-and-off my heel pain can be), but I'm wondering if the orthotics are raising my feet high enough in the shoes that the pain zone in my heels is rubbing the top of the backs of my shoes. Maybe the thin factory inserts let my heels sit low enough that the rubbing is less. I dunno. I developed the problem without any orthotics in the first place, so my theory may not hold much water.
As an experiment, I'm going to do all my runs next week sans orthotics. I'll report the results next weekend.
As fate would have it, I'm currently in the middle of a cycle of slow, easy zone 2 heart rate runs. Today, she and our lovable lab Apollo joined me on a 4-miler. For her, that's a long run (for me, too, actually). By the end of the summer...if all goes well...it won't be. She'll probably run in a few local All-Comer's track meets this summer, along with a few road races, but that will probably be the extent of any real "speed" work for her. No need to try staying sharp all summer. With a nice aerobic base, she'll be ready to step up for cross-country season and, hopefully, be ahead of most of her teammates.
Here's a pic of us before our run this morning:
 |
| Well, it's the angle, and the shirt...but, yes, I have a few LB's to drop... |
Orthotics Conundrum
I've been wearing my custom orthotics in my shoes—running and otherwise—for over a year now (not every run, but 90% of them). As recent as yesterday, both of my heels & achilles tendons were achy. Today, on a whim, I went with the factory inserts in my Brooks Ghost shoes instead of the orthotics. After our 4-mile run, my heels feel fine. Why?Here's my theory. I'm not sure if this is valid, based on 1 run (and knowing how quirky and on-and-off my heel pain can be), but I'm wondering if the orthotics are raising my feet high enough in the shoes that the pain zone in my heels is rubbing the top of the backs of my shoes. Maybe the thin factory inserts let my heels sit low enough that the rubbing is less. I dunno. I developed the problem without any orthotics in the first place, so my theory may not hold much water.
As an experiment, I'm going to do all my runs next week sans orthotics. I'll report the results next weekend.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
District Track Meet
Natalie wrapped up her 7th grade track season this evening with a successful District meet. As she's done all season, she ran the 1600m and the 800m. In the 1600, she ran a 6:31 (tying her PR), finishing 4th among 7th grade girls, and in the 800, she ran a 3:01 (a 5-second PR), finishing 5th. In both races, she out-kicked other girls to finish where she did. In the 1600, she was in 7th place going into the final 100 meters. She engaged her now patented kick and pulled ahead of 3 other girls before crossing the line. Her finish in the 800 was similar. There were two girls well ahead of her with about 200m to go. One of them took off, but Natalie managed to reel in the other one and barely beat her at the line.
She was pleased with how her season went (as were her Mom and I!) She learned how to pace herself, running her own race and not getting sucked out too fast early on. She ran negative splits in the mile the last 3 meets and in the 800 the last two.
After a little break, she'll run a 5k with me (Run of the Mill, July 7th). She also expressed interest in running in some of the summer All-Comer's track meets (Shoreline Stadium, north of Seattle). She's already looking forward to 8th grade cross-country season, which will be here before we know it.
It's nice to at least have one successful runner in the family!
She was pleased with how her season went (as were her Mom and I!) She learned how to pace herself, running her own race and not getting sucked out too fast early on. She ran negative splits in the mile the last 3 meets and in the 800 the last two.
After a little break, she'll run a 5k with me (Run of the Mill, July 7th). She also expressed interest in running in some of the summer All-Comer's track meets (Shoreline Stadium, north of Seattle). She's already looking forward to 8th grade cross-country season, which will be here before we know it.
It's nice to at least have one successful runner in the family!
Commitment
I'm currently in my second week of heart rate based aerobic training, and I've got to say...I'm digging it so far. It's actually difficult to run much slower than I'm accustomed to, but I think I'm adapting to it. I'm able to stay within my Zone 2 heart rate (115-125 bpm), and I don't feel beat up after a run. I will concede that my heel has been protesting just a bit. That's nothing new, unfortunately.
I'm making the commitment to follow through with this approach and see if I can gradually build back my aerobic base. Aside from a few 5k races, I'm going to eschew any speed or tempo work for the next few months. I've been reading several articles by Phil Maffetone, and a lot of what he says about aerobic heart rate training makes sense to me — especially as I'm trying to get beyond a stubborn injury.
Despite my "heart-on-my-sleeve" blog posts in the past, confessing my complete frustration with my body, and not-so-subtle hints that my days as a runner may be behind me, I'm going to forge ahead. I can't say that I'll be running marathons again, but running means too much to me to hang it up and call it a day, even after two-plus years of struggle.
So...slow, steady and gradual will be my keywords for the foreseeable future.
Along these lines, I'm in the process of writing another article for NW Runner Magazine. It'll focus on dealing with injuries, both physically and mentally. I'll be illustrating the article as well. Humor will be involved ;-) It will run in a fall issue.
Oh — tangent! My daughter Natalie will be running in her District meet this afternoon, wrapping up her 7th grade track season. As she has been all season, she'll be competing in the 1600m and the 800m. No matter how she does today, I'm extremely proud of how she's done this year. She made some big improvements. Now, if I can just get her to train over the summer...
I'm making the commitment to follow through with this approach and see if I can gradually build back my aerobic base. Aside from a few 5k races, I'm going to eschew any speed or tempo work for the next few months. I've been reading several articles by Phil Maffetone, and a lot of what he says about aerobic heart rate training makes sense to me — especially as I'm trying to get beyond a stubborn injury.
Despite my "heart-on-my-sleeve" blog posts in the past, confessing my complete frustration with my body, and not-so-subtle hints that my days as a runner may be behind me, I'm going to forge ahead. I can't say that I'll be running marathons again, but running means too much to me to hang it up and call it a day, even after two-plus years of struggle.
So...slow, steady and gradual will be my keywords for the foreseeable future.
Along these lines, I'm in the process of writing another article for NW Runner Magazine. It'll focus on dealing with injuries, both physically and mentally. I'll be illustrating the article as well. Humor will be involved ;-) It will run in a fall issue.
Oh — tangent! My daughter Natalie will be running in her District meet this afternoon, wrapping up her 7th grade track season. As she has been all season, she'll be competing in the 1600m and the 800m. No matter how she does today, I'm extremely proud of how she's done this year. She made some big improvements. Now, if I can just get her to train over the summer...
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
PR's Dropping Like Flies
Natalie just wrapped up her last track meet before next Thursday's District meet. It was a HUGE success for her. She not only set two new PR's; she crushed them. She ran her best mile by 12 seconds, and her best 800m by 7 seconds.
Here's how her season has looked so far:
Consequently, that deconditioned 6:42 mile I ran at the track a couple of weeks ago has been soundly crushed by my 7th grade daughter. I hope I can give her something else to shoot for when I'm able. If she keeps going through high school, my old 5:01 mile may be in jeopardy. I sincerely hope it is!
- Date 1600m 800m
- Apr 25 6:45 3:15
- May 2 6:57 3:14
- May 9 6:43 3:13
- May 16 6:31 3:06
Consequently, that deconditioned 6:42 mile I ran at the track a couple of weeks ago has been soundly crushed by my 7th grade daughter. I hope I can give her something else to shoot for when I'm able. If she keeps going through high school, my old 5:01 mile may be in jeopardy. I sincerely hope it is!
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Bragging, cont'd.
Natalie's third track meet of the season yesterday was a success! Two more PR's for her. She shaved two seconds off her 1600m time, running a smart (i.e. negative splits) 6:43. She continued a steady pattern of running exactly one second faster per week in the 800 (3:13 yesterday, 3:14 last week, 3:15 the first meet). This was on a dirt track, as opposed to her first meet (and previous mile PR) on a rubberized asphalt track. Middle school track season up here is short (only 5 meets), so there's one more regular season meet next week, followed by the District meet. It looks like she'll make it to Districts.
I think I managed to light a bit of a fire under her. I went to the track myself last week to run a mile time-trial. Being unconditioned myself (not a slight to Natalie's times...I just used to be quite a bit faster), I knew I'd run somewhere in the neighborhood of what she's currently running. I managed a 6:42. Yesterday, she came within one second of that time. She hasn't admitted it, but I KNOW she wants to beat her old man. If she does, I'll have to see if I can give her more incentive. Maybe I'll run an 800 to give her something else to shoot for (assuming my old injuries don't take me down first). Unless I can make a full comeback to running, I'll be seeing nothing but the bottoms of her shoes before too long.
I think I managed to light a bit of a fire under her. I went to the track myself last week to run a mile time-trial. Being unconditioned myself (not a slight to Natalie's times...I just used to be quite a bit faster), I knew I'd run somewhere in the neighborhood of what she's currently running. I managed a 6:42. Yesterday, she came within one second of that time. She hasn't admitted it, but I KNOW she wants to beat her old man. If she does, I'll have to see if I can give her more incentive. Maybe I'll run an 800 to give her something else to shoot for (assuming my old injuries don't take me down first). Unless I can make a full comeback to running, I'll be seeing nothing but the bottoms of her shoes before too long.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)