1200 MILES!!

So in addition to loading ships, and observing the Filipino version of "safety in the workplace", I've also managed to do some running. In the past three weeks, I logged just over 90 miles. As mentioned earlier, while in Subic, the running shoes I had with me fell apart, which significantly reduced the running I did during the last part of Week 40, and all of Week 41 (I was in Subic for 10 days, and my shoes crapped out on me on the 3rd day). Undeterred, and determined to get my mileage back on track I really picked it up in Week 42. The end result: I met my goal for the year, 70 days ahead of my original schedule. Here's a break down of the past three weeks of running.

Knowing full well, that I would have a hard time running in Subic, in the days leading up to my departure, I made sure to get on the treadmill everyday, and log at least 6 miles. My totals for Week 40 (3-9 October) were:

Total Runs Logged: 4

Total Miles: 24.8

Total Time Spent Running: 3 hours, 2 minutes, 27 seconds

Average Pace: 7:21 (min/mile)

It was a little short of my weekly goal, but entering the next week I was determined to make it up and then some. This became extremely difficult to do in my Vibram's 5-Fingers. While I love wearing them, if I don't wear them with special 5-toed socks, then they tend to rub my feet. Well, I forgot to bring my socks with me to Subic, but decided to run in them anyway. Anticipating some blisters, I hit the road. By mile 5, I was hurting, and decided to wait until I returned to Zamboanga to continue running. I ended up with much less than I wanted, but better to protect my feet. My totals for Week 41 (10-16 October) were:

Total Runs Logged: 2

Total Miles: 13.6

Total Time Spent Running: 1 hour, 43 minutes, 32 seconds

Average Pace: 7:36 (min/mile)

Undeterred by two less than stellar weeks, but rather determined to get my mileage back on track, I went after it this past week. I actually switched up my running time too which I think helped some. Rather than run in the morning when I first wake up, I do my strength training in the AM. In the evenings, after dinner is when I run. This gives me a little more time to run, and although I'm usually tired by the time I go run, I'm still able to find the motivation. Knowing that my goal was to make up for my lost mileage this week, I decided to slow my pace down just a bit. The last thing I wanted to do was burn out by Tuesday or Wednesday, and not have the strength to finish the week. The slower pace (and determination to run every week) really paid off. I logged more miles this week, than any other week this year. My totals for Week 42 (17-23 October) were:

Total Runs Logged: 7

Total Miles: 52.2

Total Time Spent Running: 6 hours, 40 minutes, 2 seconds

Average Pace: 7:39 (min/mile)

My totals from 4 July to 23 October are:

Total Runs Logged: 81

Total Miles: 464.1

Total Time Spent Running: 58 hours, 45 minutes, 24 seconds

Average Pace: 7:35 (min/mile)

With that, on October 22nd, the 295th day of 2011, I competed what I set out to do on January 1st by the end of the year...I ran my 1,200th mile! My total mileage to date is now: 1,212.4!

Despite 1200 miles down, and the initial purpose of this blog complete, I'm not done yet. 10 weeks remain in the year, and I have nearly 300 more miles to go to reach my NEW goal of 1500. If I kept up the 50 miles weeks, I would be done before Christmas, but I know that is both unrealistic, and probably not great for my body. As long as I continue to strive for about 30 miles a week (just over 7 miles a day), I'll get to 1500 before 2012. The end is almost in sight; I just need to keep up the steady pace.

My Insane Weekend Part II (40th Guam Marathon)

Around 11:30AM on Saturday, 26 March I finished the XTERRA Triathlon. A mere 15 hours later I back up and getting ready for my next great challenge of the weekend...the 40th Annual Guam Marathon! Here I am somehow smiling at 3:30 in the morning even though I know what is about to happen, and how much it's going to hurt.

At 4AM 89 of us took off from the University of Guam. I'm somewhere up in the front (though I didn't stay up there for long).

Here I am around Mile 8. I was still going strong and feeling good. Actually, that's not entirely true. It was about this time that I started to feel "twitches" in my legs and I knew that cramps would be coming soon. I knew there wasn't a lot I could do but try to get as much water and Gatorade at the aide stations and take as many GU power gels as I could stomach (that number is about 7 by the way).

At Mile 19 my calves cramped up and I was done running. I tried several times to run again, but every time I would instantly cramp up. With 7 miles to go I had no choice, but to power walk my way to the finish line. Not a "glorious" way to finish, but I was determined to cross the finish line.

4 hours, 11 minutes and 2 seconds after starting the marathon, and about 25 hours after my first race had started I crossed the finish line. The cloud cover (and early start) helped to keep it relatively cool during the race. Thank goodness for that because it was brutal enough, and the heat would have made the race just about unbearable.

Eventually I was able to cool down enough and dry off so that I could change out of my sweaty clothes and sport my new medal.

As for the race, I got it all on my GPS. It was pretty cool to see that I had run from one side of the other (even though it was narrowest point). For the most part, there was very little area that was covered twice with the exception of the "out and back" in the upper left corner. The total distance there was about 5 miles.

Here's a picture of it zoomed out to show you that Guam is small island, but it's not that small. I am a little curious to see how far down the island we would have gone if we hadn't done the "out and back"

Looking back on the race, now that my legs are mostly feeling better, it's pretty crazy to think I did it. If I were to do it again (who's to say what's happening in 2012), I would definitely do some longer runs. With 17 miles being my longest run in preparation for this marathon, I know I need to get my mileage up (a couple of 20 miles runs) if I want to make it the full 26.2. I think I did all I could for hydration and rest (considering Saturday's activities), and the only thing else I could have done was train smarter. Still, my goal was accomplished...I finished. Although there were a few people who did the marathon and a leg of the XTERRA Triathlon, and some people who did the XTERRA Triathlon and a leg of the marathon relay, I am the only person who did both in their entirety. That's pretty cool.

Weeks 10&11 (Getting Ahead and Tapering)

I swear I've been trying to write this blog for close to a week, but time has seemed to get away from really quickly recently. Still, I'm here now, and I've got some recapping to do. If Week 9 was for catching up, then Week 10 was all about getting ahead. I knew that in preparation for my marathon (it's tomorrow, 27 March, by the way), that I would need to get some serious miles in. I was hoping to do a 20-mile run or so over the weekend, but I had to settle for 17 miles. Still, it was the farthest distance I've run since I ran the AF Marathon in Sep of 2008, so I was glad I got the distance in. It gave me some confidence that I would be able to actually finish the marathon (though I won't be setting any records while doing it). I also ran with a Camelbak during the race which I won't do during the marathon, but it helped keep me hydrated, and was probably the only reason I was able to do that distance. Overall, I logged more miles in Week 10 than I have in any previous week. The 17-miler helped, but I had 4 other runs that week that were greater than 7 miles, which I felt was adequate leading up to the two-week countdown for the marathon.

The Totals for Week 10 are:
Total Runs Logged: 6
Total Miles: 53.3
Total Time Spent Running: 6 hours, 57 minutes, 3 seconds
Average Pace: 7:49 (min/mile)

I'll do the "as of total" shortly

As for Week 11, I classified it as a tapering week, which if you don't know is when you start cutting back on your running leading up to a race. It is to ensure you aren't over-trained and injury-prone. The reduced running gives your legs, joints, and back a little rest and recovery time which helps lead to improved race-day performance. Truth be told, it was still a decent week of running, and I would have likely hit my 25-mile goal, but Friday after my run, I started feeling really sick, and didn't feel better until the following Monday. I will take that as a sign that my body did not want me to run, and so I didn't. Most of my runs were fairly short this week with the exception of a 9-miler on Wednesday morning. I definitely noticed a slower pace. I'm not sure if that was a result of my bug coming on, the weather, or if my body was just tired from the previous week. The slower pace probably helped, since I won't be going super fast through the marathon, and the slower pace was closer to my goal marathon pace (though that will probably be even slower than I had hoped).

The overall totals for Week 11:
Total Runs Logged: 6
Total Miles: 22.9
Total Time Spent Running: 2:56:44
Average Pace: 7:43 (min/mile)

At the end of Week 11 my new "As Of" totals are:
Total Runs Logged: 55
Total Miles: 341.1
Total Time Spent Running: 43 hours, 5 minutes, 50 seconds
Average Pace: 7:35 (min/mile)

Coming up very soon, I'll be talking about what I did today (26 March). I'll give you a hint if you haven't checked Facebook, it definitely wasn't resting, and probably not the smartest thing to do before a major race. That being said, it was EXTREME!!

Tomorrow's the marathon...I'll be blogging about that (and Week 12's running) very soon.