Art or?

A good one! No, I didn't do the practice session I started out to do. I had plans for an 8 miler and ended up doing the usual 6.25. But I did it fast! Completing the circuit in 78 minutes and that is 12.48 minute/miles.

I started out slow and I immediately began my mental whining..."It's too hot. I'm too slow. My pace is off." Finally I tired of listening to myself and began to get serious about walking a fast pace. Mph went from 4.5 to 4.8 and I was closing in on 4.9 when I decided that was enough.

Maybe I can do a 14 miler on Saturday, early. There are just a little over 2 months left before the final two marathons of the year and I need to be in good shape for them.

And speaking of marathons...Jill and I are thinking about collecting some serious mementos of our marathons. Tattoos. Here's the image I came up with (on the left). It's from the Portland Marathon icon, though I have altered it a little bit. And these images (one for each marathon) would fit on the calf. I think I have room for at least a dozen! I only qualify for 4 right now but I should need 2 more after October 8th.

Feelings

I’m back from the park and feeling fine! Despite the early hour, the high temperatures and the lack of good caffeine stimulation, I was able to do 6.25 miles at a 4.8 mph average. And I could have gone further and faster…but I had other obligations back in Orland.

There are days when the miles just fly by and you know you can walk at that pace forever…and that was just how it was this morning, despite wearing a cotton singlet that must have weighed 20 pounds before I was through! I need to make sure I wear the synthetics; they are much more comfortable. I wonder if Sierra Racewalkers are still selling them?

And how fast could a race walker walk, if a race walker could walk fast…? Check out this link http://www.usatf.com/statistics/records/view.asp?division=american&location=road&age=open&sport=RW

Vital signs…Weight: 198 BP 115/59 Pulse 68

Odd

What a strange morning. The sky is overcast and ominous looking while the humidity grows stronger. We even had some rain here in Orland, yet the temperature is 84°.

It was even stranger in the park. There, all sounds seemed muted by the moist air; much as it is on a foggy night. I decided to go for one hour of practice and to keep it slow and steady. That was easy to do because I couldn’t seem to get enough air for a real effort. The pace was 4.4 mph, or close to 13.75 minute/miles.

As I was walking, I was thinking and wondering if anyone had ever formed a Monte Python Racewalking club? It seems so appropriate…perhaps I should. If not, I could always have a t-shirt made that would have that name on it, in bright and bold letters, and that would serve the same purpose.

Bikila!

More marathon quotes; “If you want to run, run a mile. If you want to experience another life, run a marathon.” Emil Zatopek.

And I remember Abebe Bikila, the runner from Ethiopia winning the 1960 Olympic marathon (barefooted). I watched it on a small black and white TV set and was awed by what I saw. This was what I believed the Olympics were supposed to be all about; individuals competing against themselves…at the time I was naïve, I didn’t know that the Olympics are really nationalistic programs to sell a lot of stuff!

Breathing

Want to lose 4 pounds in a hurry? Try doing a fast 6.25 mile walk around Bidwell Park on a summer morning. Those were my results this morning; weighing back in at 194 pounds after a pleasant walk.

It was fairly cool at 6 this morning; maybe 75°. There was no problem finding a parking place at that hour. Later, around 8, parking is at a premium; though I have no idea as to why anyone would want to start their exercise routine so late in the day.

I kept to a medium fast pace, not looking for trouble and pretty soon the miles were clicking by without effort. I had one irritating moment when I saw a huge dust cloud and found a park employee, gas-powered leaf blower in hand, standing by her truck. What are these people thinking? Air breathing animals (people) are using the park! Why would you contaminate that air? Of course the whole idea of using a gas-powered machine to redistribute dirt, dust and debris doesn’t make much sense anyway. And since I hadn’t brought any timing devices, I had to guess at the overall time. 6.25 miles in 82 minutes, more or less.

Tomorrow will be a 10 miler so I will have to start early once again. It’s really the perfect time; I can leave my glasses in the car because the sun isn’t in my eyes at that hour and it’s quiet in the park, no crowds.

The Plan

I did the fast and early training plan this morning; getting in 8 miles at an average speed of 4.9 mph. At that point I decided that there was no reason to set any records and slowed down for my return to the car. That turned out to be a total of 9.75 miles in exactly 2 hours; an average 12.31 minute/miles. (4.8 mph)

The humidity was more of the factor than the heat and I was soaked through and through. But the good news was that I felt fine and could have gone further. My feet were no longer an issue and energy levels seemed good. And my hands weren’t swollen at all, so salt intake was at normal levels.

Let’s see what the statistics show… Weight: 195.4! BP: 119/68 Pulse: 71. All good!

Plans Made

OK, a good training session, despite the early heat. I was a little late getting out of the house and that didn’t help. It was almost 7 when I began my circular route of the park. I was feeling good though and I was soon into my routine pace with no strain or pain. I made the 6.25 miles in 81 minutes, or just less than 13 minute miles. (12.96) I could have gone for more without a problem, but with a heavy duty heat forecast, I took the easy way out and said it would be “safer” if I were to stop now.

Now I have to visit the Portland Marathon website and enter this year’s event. Doing that makes it easier to stay motivated as I will have a very valid reason to train; I don’t want to waste my money! This year it’s $85 and if you divide that by 26.2 miles, it’s still pretty cheap entertainment. And at the end of the day, I will have accomplished what less than 1% of the population has ever done; I will have completed another marathon race. No, I didn’t win the big prize, but I will have accomplished what I set out to do and nothing is better than that!

(Later) All set. I have my registration and we have a hotel room. And there are 75 days left to train. Plenty of time, even for a first timer. And you don’t have to be really fast to complete a marathon in a less than embarrassing time. Last year I had 13:35 minute/mile pace and there were close to a thousand people that were slower than that. 15 minute miles are considered a brisk walk; some finishers were up into the 23 minute mile pace. I have set my personal goal to be 10 minutes faster than last year…which means a 13:10 average.

Ah! That's better...

I’m back at home, and rested, after a fairly good practice walk. I got in 8 miles in 102 minutes and according to the calculator that is…12.75 minute/miles. I had to work for them though. And although my left heel was taped and padded, I really didn’t have the energy I thought I should. I have to do something about that. Vitamins?

Now if I could only do that for 26 miles, I would have a marathon time of approximately, 5.5 hours. That’s 23 minutes faster than last years Portland time. Can I do it at this year’s Portland Marathon? Well, that is the goal.

And from the book, 26.2 Marathon Stories; “It’s like tacking PhD at the end of your name, getting married, having a baby. Your life will never again be quite the same, and regardless of what the future brings, you can look back and say, ‘I finished a marathon’”. (Hal Higdon – Marathon)

Slowly

The training begins once again. And once again my shoes are bothering me. What’s up with that? It’s the same shoes that I wore in Anchorage for the marathon and I had no problem with them.

It‘s my left foot and I did get a few rocks in my shoes last Friday, during our trail walk. I remember that I found a large hole in the heel of that left foot sock afterwards, and I had to throw that pair away. Apparently I must have damaged my heel slightly and so I need to get some padding for it before it gets worse. This morning, even with a bandage, I had blood on my sock afterwards.

OK, it was just a 6.25 mile walk and at a 12.8 minute/mile pace. But I felt like it was slow motion. I had no “oomph!” at all. I had no breathing problems and I wasn’t even sweating that much. And the shoe problems weren’t the reason for the slow time. Whatever it was, I need to work it out and get on with the training. The Portland and Susanville marathons are up next!

Have you ever thought about walking a marathon? Just a vague and fleeting thought? If so, then you need to read 26.2: Marathon Stories. I get charged up every time I pick up the book and read a little bit of it. This is a book that I will read and read…over and again. True, it’s about running and the author neglects the racewalkers altogether, while including wheelchair participants. But that’s OK; the book is more about the experience than it is on technique.

Only 39 years ago...

I need to mention the book that Jill gave me; 26.2: Marathon Stories, by Kathrine Switzer and Roger Robinson. It’s a great book, filled with facts and photos, plus many inspiring reasons to do a marathon. One of the facts that I found interesting…though disturbing, was that Kathrine Switzer (the author) had entered the Boston Marathon and then had been attacked (physically) by a fan of the race. The reason for the attack? She was a woman. (…and she had applied to race under her usual signature, K.V. Switzer.) A fellow runner charged the fan and sent him flying. The result of all of this commotion was the expulsion of Kathrine from the Amateur Athletic Union. Her crime was “running with men” and “running without a chaperone”. The disturbing fact was that this happened in 1967. By the way, she continued the race that day and finished with a very respectable 2:51.

Foolish Move

What was I thinking? With a little over 2 weeks of inactivity following the marathon, I decide to go for a very fast 3 miler. And I decide to do it in Susanville,at 4,500 feet and in the afternoon when the heat is up around 90. Ego, of course.

With Jill and her 3 marathon trainees, we started up the Bizz Johnson trail and I was determined to stay in front. And at the halfway point I had a solid 12 minute mile average. In the only wise move of the afternoon, I decided to slow down on the return trip.

OK, next week I have to get back into serious training and not this spur of the moment stuff, it can kill you!

insignificant thoughts

Cancelling AOL, a true story...

Time has blurred the details, but I think I had to withdraw my credit card to get them to stop!

Vacation

OK, it's been long enough...I need to plan some training. I took two weeks off after the Anchorage Marathon and I can already feel the effects of that. Oh sure, I deserved it. Everyone needs a break once in awhile, but now it's time to get serious about the Portland Marathon (1st of October) and the Bizz Johnson Trail Marathon, a week later.

Heard a funny description of Anchorage...and a well deserved one. "One of the nice things about Anchorage is the fact that it's close to Alaska."