Houston 4:01:23

My first race where I didn't set a personal best time! The whole marathon experience here has been lots of fun. I'm neither disappointed nor pleased with my run. All was going according to my plan until I seemed to bonk around the 38k point. More later.

Thoughts on Houston

My second marathon is this Sunday, 13 weeks after my first marathon in PEI. My prediction? Something close to the 3:56:01 of PEI, but I wouldn't be shocked if it was around 4:10-4:15. I would be shocked, and very happy, if I finish better than 3:50.

Why the lack of confidence? I've been lazy with my training the last couple of months. While I have kept the mileage at an acceptable level, I too often found excuses not to do speed work, or to cut the mid-week medium-long runs a little short. It's too easy to blame it on the short/dark days and low temperatures. I'm hoping that for my marathon training cycle next spring/summer, I'll stick closer to the original plan, as I did for the PEI marathon. On a positive slant, I stayed healthy this time, with my feet feeling a-ok, so I had no "lost weeks" of training.

I've never worn an ipod during a race, but for this race I plan on carrying it. However, I'm not taking it for the music or podcasts - though I might listen at times. My main reason for taking my new ipod nano is to capture video during the race. If it turns out to be better than shaking, blurry, useless images, I'll post some of the results.

Other than the marathon, we haven't made any specific plans for our time in Texas. We arrive midday Thursday, and leave Tuesday morning. Around fifteen years ago, I lived in Texas (San Antonio) for about a year and a half, and this will be the first time I have returned since then. Other than enjoying a Shiner Bock beer Thursday night, and probably eating Chicken Fried Steak, brisket and catfish (perhaps all after Sunday!), there are no definitive plans. Lots of rest Saturday, and lots of pain Sunday!

Bib #2752, Red Wave starting at 7 AM. The forecast currently calls for 42°F at the start, partly cloudy.

Snow Stories

My pretty face (excuse the runny nose!) after 10.5 miles of running in the snow today.


Today I finished my last “long run” before the Houston marathon – 10.5 miles in the storm, followed by 8 awful miles on the treadmill at home. I normally do my long runs on Sunday, but we have a major storm here this weekend, and I wanted to get in some miles outside before it got too bad. Mike and I exchanged e-mails this week, and he suggested that I try to get a run in that lasts 3 hours, 15 minutes or longer. My pace was soooo slow in the few inches of snow (around 10 mins/mile, slower than I've gone in months), that I thought the time goal wouldn't be an issue. However, after 8 miles on the treadmill, I had enough, and finished with a few minutes more than three hours of total running.

As for the Houston Marathon, my mileage has been reasonably close to the original plan, but I have been lazy with the speed work. Evidence of this came in the form of a 5k New Year's Day race yesterday in Fredericton. It was more of a "fun run" than a race, with no records kept of the finishing times or places, and no chip timing. See the picture below of the organizer looking at his watch as he calls out finishing times. Looks pretty warm, eh?

A picture of my chum Robert and I before the race. Don't I just exude “Don't Touch Me!” ?


The weather for the race was very reasonable for this time of year, with little wind, slightly overcast, and a temperature around -9 celcius. My final time was 24:23 – a bummer. The pace about 30 seconds/mile slower than my last 10k in the fall. I blame some of the slowness on the snow and ice that we ran on, and perhaps the temperature (although I read conflicting opinions on this) but the blame more likely rests with the lack of speed work I have been doing. Most of my runs for the last couple of months have been at a pace of 8:45 to 9:15 per mile, with just a few runs in there that included some faster intervals. The speedwork in the 5k race today probably was overdue.

What does all this mean for the marathon? Not a lot, I suppose. I expect a result similar to my first marathon in PEI. I'm going to try to keep a pace similar to what Mike and I *tried* to do in PEI – 5:40 mins/km for the first few kilometres, followed by a 5:30 mins/km pace.

A couple of Canadian notes on the Houston Marathon. The fifth place finisher from last year was a Canadian named Andrew Smith, with a time of 2:16:14, which was also the top marathon time by a Canadian last year. He will be racing there again this year. Also among the elites this year will be Eric Gillis. He is a first time marathoner, past national champion in the 10k, Olympian, and native of Antigonish, Nova Scotia. He is hoping for a 2:14 finish. My grandmother was also a Gillis from that area (Cape Breton, actually), so perhaps some of those speedy genes will find their way to me ... or not.

Now for the obligatory look back on 2009. I ran 1667 miles for the year. Considering that I averaged about 70 miles per month for January through March, that wasn't too bad. In my first full year of running (resulting in personal bests for all distances, of course!), I did three half marathons, one 5k, two 10k's, one 30k and the marathon. This link shows the times for my New Brunswick races as well as the PEI marathon.

I already have my fall marathon for next year booked, and I have a few other races in mind. I would like to sprinkle in a few short races through the summer, and concentrate more on speed work. More on that in a future post.

To end this one, here is another winter related link, showing Cam and I sledding down a hill at Mactaquac Provincial Park. One of the screams comes from Cam, the other one or two are from another family that was there at the time!

In for a penny ...

In for a penny, in for a pound. The December 10th deadline to drop down to the half marathon in Houston, rather than the full marathon, came and went and I'm still heading down there next month to run 26.2 miles. With the date getting closer - five weeks from today! - my motivation is improving. This despite the fact that the weather is getting colder, the days are getting shorter, and the roads are getting worse, with snow and ice.

Speaking of pounds, the Christmas season is upon us, and with all the sweets we have around here, I'm about 5 pounds heavier than I was in the late summer. I'll try to be a bit more disciplined about my diet until the marathon, but that will be a challenge. We have tonnes of cookies in the house, and it's hard for me to stay away from them.

For the first time since the PEI marathon, I completed a 20 mile run today. The weather was good, just a few degrees below freezing with a slight wind. I went on a different route for me, a few times up and down the New Maryland highway, while parking at the Home Depot. It was fortunate for me that I was parked by the Home Depot, as I had to pop into their bathroom after 7+ miles to avoid a "Code Brown" situation. I only had one other stop after that, at close to fifteen miles, for hydration/energy. Overall, the pace was a comfortable 8:52 per mile for the twenty miles. It was a good run.

I would rate the training the last few weeks as "ok". Each of the last three weeks I finished a handful of miles less than originally planned. I did 51 miles this week (plan called for 57), and 45 last week, with the plan calling for 51. I'll see if I can do the 53 I have planned for next week. I haven't had a lot of speed work to date, and that won't change for the remainder of the schedule. I'll have about one speed session per week, plus a 5k race on New Year's day.

Oh yeah, with some of the weather we have had lately, I've done a few treadmill runs. They're brutal, and I find the time goes by so slowly when doing them. However, the roads around my subdivision are not cleared very well in the winter - ask the young guy who put his car in the ditch just up the street yesterday. I've been watching episodes of the current and past seasons of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" to try to help pass the time when I'm on the mill. I get about 3.2-3.4
miles in during one episode. A big part of the last couple of episodes of this season involved a Seinfeld reunion show, which was entertaining.

My goal for Houston? I don't really have one, but I would like to finish in under four hours again. Given that my training hasn't been stellar, I'm not expecting anything spectacular. I'm debating whether I should follow the four hour pace team, the 3:50 pace team, or do my own thing. I'm leaning to "my own thing", keeping a pace similar to the one I did with Mike in PEI.

Some other stuff ... the marathon I believe I am running next year - Mount Desert Island in Bar Harbor, Maine - was voted as "Most Scenic" and second best overall in the most recent issue of Runner's World. Check out the articles from the marathon's website here.

Also, I now have orthotics. I just got them this past week, and am still breaking them in by walking on them a few hours a day. I can't really tell yet if they're going to help out with my foot, but I'll give them a shot. As for my foot, it's holding up ok. It's still sore, but not as bad as it was a couple of months ago. I soak it in ice water nightly, so maybe that's helping out.

To end this post, a couple of pictures. One of Cam and Faith Ann doing a 1k "Santa Shuffle" fundraising run for the Salvation Army ...


and another (mediocre) picture of the front of our house. I attempted to show the Christmas lights, but it's actually a better picture of the falling snow we're having tonight.

My Goofy Running

Since my last post, we spent a few days in Disney World in Orlando, Florida. Based on the picture below, who do you think enjoyed it more - Cam or me?


Actually, it was a fun few days. It's not a cheap place to visit, but Cameron enjoyed it very much. All of the people working there are so over-the-top friendly and perky. Even the guys directing people to the parking spots, cleaning up around the parks, or helping you in and out of rides were all so super-outgoing and cheery. I would never fit in with them!

Here's a pic of Cam with Goofy ...


and another one of him outside the Lego Imagination Center in Downtown Disney. Cam is a big fan of Lego, and we ended up purchasing a few things there.


I didn't do a lot of running while down there, getting in just one run of 5 miles on the hotel treadmill, and another 8 miles during a morning run outside. The days were just so long and filled with activities that I had trouble squeezing in the time or energy to do any more than that.

This past week was a different story. It was really the first week since the marathon that I have been happy with my running. I got in 43 miles, including 16 comfortable miles today. We have had a great month of weather this November, with temperatures milder than normal, allowing for nice runs. According to my schedule, next week marks my first of five weeks in a row of fifty miles or more. Based on the past week, I'm feeling good about it.

A couple quick notes on the medical front. I visited an orthotist this week, and it was very interesting speaking to him about my feet for 45 minutes - seriously! We spoke about my condition, which does appear to be posterior tibial tendonitis (or post-tib, as those in the know like to say!), and we spoke about a couple of other things. I discovered that my right foot is about half a size larger than my left foot, which I also found out is quite common. He gave me recommendations for some running shoes (neutral still work for me ... especially those with more room in the forefoot), and yes, he took casts for some orthotics, which I'll try out in a couple of weeks.

The other medical appointment I had this week was for my hernia. I'm going to have surgery for it in January, and I won't be running for a few weeks afterward. The timing will work out well; it will be just after the Houston marathon (which I would be recovering from anyway), and in the depths of winter. I've heard conflicting reports on the expected recovery for this - for some it wasn't too bad, while others suffered for weeks. I'm hoping I'll be back on the roads before the end of February.

Going to see Mickey

Tomorrow we head out for a short visit to a spot that's a little warmer than here. I'll get my runs in while there, hopefully in a decent neighborhood. Pictures will be posted on my return.

My running is starting to return to normal. I logged 35 easy miles last week. Unfortunately, my heart rate reflected runs that didn't seem so "easy". Perhaps it takes longer than I anticipated to get back to my previous state.

I must say that my attitude for training for the January marathon in Houston does not match the level of enthusiasm I had for the fall marathon in PEI. Perhaps it's because the weather is getting cooler, or maybe it's just a bit of a letdown from finally completing my first marathon. I often find myself looking forward to the training next summer, and my fall marathon (likely Mount Desert Island). Regardless, I'll stick to the current schedule as long as it holds my interest sufficiently, and as long as my foot holds up.

Speaking of the foot, it feels no worse than it did one or two weeks ago, so I'm continuing to run on it. I visit the orthotist the day we get back, which should be interesting.

A little humour to end this post. Check out this link with pictures of the old Adidas ads entitled "Runners, Yeah, We're Different". I expect several runners can see themselves in some of these photos.

Scary Stuff

Look who I live with - Darth Vader! Also, Faith Ann with her latest hair and makeup. I spent yet another year without dressing for Halloween ... perfect!


Last bit from the PEI marathon ... a few pictures!

The chilly beginning ...

The lighthouse pic ...


Look at this one ... after reading Mike's blog, and looking at this picture, I think he was making a real effort to have our feet cross the finishing mat at the exact same times.


It has now been two weeks since the marathon, and last week marked my return to running. I did a couple of five mile runs while in St. Andrews, and another five mile run and a nine-miler after returning to Fredericton. In all the runs, my legs felt heavier than normal, and my heartrate was higher than expected at the slow paces that I was running. I plan to stick with my predefined schedule, and am hopeful that the legs will return to normal before long.

The feet are another story. I had an appointment with my general practitioner today. He pressed my foot in a few areas, and noticed when I winced. He then proceeded to give me a pamphlet on plantar fasciitis, saying "You probably already know everything that's in there". I think he was right. He also referred me to an orthotist. I have an appointment scheduled on November 16th. I wouldn't be surprised if that leads to some overpriced orthotics.

The doctor also confirmed my hernia, and I'll be seeing a general surgeon sometime for that. The hernia bothers me when I'm standing around or walking, but it does not bother me when I'm sitting or running. I had the hernia prior to the PEI marathon, and I was able to run that without it bothering me, so I'm not worried about it for Houston.

So there is surgery in my near future. I'm hoping it can be scheduled very close to my return from Houston in January, so that I can recover from the marathon and the hernia surgery at the same time.

I have my own suspicion as to how I developed the hernia, and it is related to my bad foot, as odd as that sounds. In late September, when my foot bothered me most, instead of running I did lots of biking and some core work to maintain my fitness level. One night after the core work (or maybe the next day?) I mentioned to Faith Ann that I felt I had a hernia. I am quite certain the core work led to it.

So the bad economy leads to a higher jobless rate. What things are associated with a higher jobless rate? Some things that come to mind include an increase in personal bankruptcies, failed relationships and higher post-secondary education attendance rates (can't find a job ... go to school). Something not so obvious is running. Apparently there is an inversely proportional relationship between the economy and general running levels. Perhaps that's a bit of a reach, but that's the conclusion this article in the Wall Street Journal seems to draw. It says the higher jobless rate allows more time for exercise/running, resulting in a 39% increase in Boston Qualifiers over the past year. Unfortunately for me, it doesn't seem like I'll be losing my job anytime soon.

Faith Ann just passed this interesting link on to me too. Rather, it's as interesting as a story can be when the subject centers around reaching drink stations in a marathon .