Early Wake Up. Whatever I did in training this time worked out very well today. I naturally woke up at 3:30 AM, 30 minutes before I set my alarm clocks for. I felt well rested. I got to bed at about 8:30, waking up a couple of times to pee. Close to 7 hours sleep isn't bad.I right away ate a banana and still felt hungry so ate a second small one. I read the night before that I really shouldn't eat less than 3 hours before the race, but I feel my metabolism burns calories faster. I drank about 20oz...
Company Softball TeamI've been playing on my company softball team this season. We've had 4 games so far out of about 7. Our first couple of games we lost, but after practicing during the week, we won our 3rd game. I played 3rd base each game and did ok not letting the 3 balls that came to me go past and threw out at least one force at second. Other than that and a couple of hits and runs in the game we did win, I didn't get much action.Today was different. After tentatively volunteering to try...
Wake Up Time2 AM. That's what time we woke up. I drank a full glass and a half of water with a shot of veggie juice and ate a couple chunks of grapefruit. I continued drinking water every 15 minutes while I got my business done, showered and dressed. By 3:15 we were out the door. It was about 50 degrees at 2 and I noticed it was still dropping. I dressed extra warm in the car.  Drive to EpcotIt took about 30 minutes to drive from our house to the Epcot exit and there was little traffic on the...
My training started immediately after the OUC Half. I was able to fit in the following training runs, including my longest run ever(!) at 15 miles.12/7/2010 2 12/11/2010 5.5 12/14/2010 4.5 12/18/2010 6.25 12/20/2010 3.5 12/23/2010 15 12/27/2010 5 12/29/2010 5.25 12/31/2010 6 1/3/2011 3 1/5/2011 2.6 Midway through training I was feeling stiff and achy on the anterior side of my lower left calf. My legs were also feeling heavier than usual and I felt I was hitting...
Based on my pre-training and what I did at Miracle Miles, plus my little/big injury, I thought I'd start conservatively with a 10 minute mile. This was my longest race, with Miracle Miles being second longest at 15k.The weather was perfect at about 45 degrees, much cooler than the hot training days I had. We arrived at Lake Eola about 45 minutes before the race started. I drove there bundled up, but left the car with my shorts and a long and short sleeve shirt on. After about 30 minutes of warming...
My pre-training for this race wasn't what I planned. After the Miracle Miles 15k I was sick for about a week (I blame it on lack of proper rest and some unhealthy food I ate post-race). It took me about 10 days to get back to a schedule. I started out ok with a couple of 6 miles runs. My next long run I planned at about 11 miles, but I ended up probably pushing myself too much into a 13 miler in the heat, which made my legs feel like they were going to drop off. On top of that I felt a twist in...
My first 15k raceToday was my first 15k race. My aim was to average about a 10 minute per mile run. I trained for it, but was a bit nervous. I had a couple of set backs over the year....over the past 5 years. This year I recovered from shin splints, a pulled hip flexor (bike related) and then a week before the bottoms of my feet were sore. I had gotten over the first 2 problems, but couldn't help thinking they would come back and I'd be force to walk to the finish line. And I wasn't sure what was...
I was doing so well into my half and possibly marathon training, until all of a sudden my hip started bothering me.I was able to isolate it to a group of muscles call the hip flexor and more specifically the psoas and abductors.I've always had issues with my abductors and had about 2 months in 2008 that I couldn't run at all. Since then Ihad to make sure to stretch them out regularly. The Psoas, which is the muscle in the front of the hip and on top ofeach thigh is what started bothering me and...
When I hear the term Shin Splints, I think of the bones in my shins cracking or splitting. So when I started feeling a burning sensation in my shins while running and did some research, most people talk about a small crack in their shins that halt their running. They seemed to corroborate what I thought.It wasn't until I stopped by the Florida Hospital Orthopedic tent after a 5k that I got a different answer. The doctor or physical therapist checked my shins out and explained that when my calf muscles...
During late spring of 2005, I decided to start running. Part of my motivation was the trip I was taking to Peru and all the hiking I was planning to do. I also found out about local runs that were held in the Orlando area, that were for both serious runners and people who just wanted to have fun. Running was to become a new hobby for me, in addition to the rollerblading and volleyball I played weekly. I have to admit, that I used to hate running, but I soon discovered that the reasons I hated running...
I was reading this great article in Discover Magazine this morning on how humans are more adapted to running than most other animals. I especially like the reason of our many many sweat glands helping to cool our bodies down, while other mammals usually pant. And the idea of the tail used by other animals to balance and humans using their huge rear ends :)Here's a link to the article:http://www.discover.com/issues/may-06/features/tramps-like-us/
