Freeze Your Thorns Off 5K

Freeze Your Thorns Off 5K recap

For January, this has been a really warm month. I think we have had 4-5 days where it was below 20 degrees for a high for the day. Other than that, it's been in the upper 30s, 40s, 50s and we even hit a 60 degree day this month. For today's 5k, temperature was in the mid 40's.... so there was no freezing my thorns off today.

Figure my number would show my age group

I had to drop my car off for an oil change today, so I figured I would start my run from there. I ran good warm up mile before starting my Garmin. I had no planned run set up. I figured I would just run a 5K somewhat in the direction of my house and stop the Garmin when I hit the 3.1 mile mark.

Running a 5K by myself is way harder than running one with a group or an actual 5K race. I tend to pace other runners or use the runner ahead of me as a goal to reach to keep me moving. In this 5K I kept looking at my Garmin to see how fast I was going and to see where I was in the race. I kept a good average 7min per mile pace. Official time was 21:59.

Not to shabby for my first virtual 5K. It will be interesting to see where I placed with the rest of the participants.

I ran the extra 2 miles to the house after the 5K. Didn't bother using the Garmin for that. Showered up and ate lunch. Was about to go out for a bit, but as soon as I stepped outside I realized my car was still at the shop..... DOH!!

11 Answers...

First of all, I want to thank everyone for your marathon training tips. I really appreciate the comments. I have a long 18 weeks of training ahead of me, but I'm really looking forward to it!!!
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I was recently tagged by Adena to post 11 random things of myself and answer a few questions. I guess I'll play along, but since I was previously tagged, I will just answer the 11 questions. :)


1. What is your favourite ‘weird’ food to eat? 
I haven't eaten it recently, but I love pigs feet stew... Sancocho de Patitas (its a Puerto Rican dish)...

don't knock it

2. If you could have any job/career at all, what would it be?

Paleontologist!!

.... that would be awesome!!!!

3. Do you know how I can get my safari address bar back permanently?
Nope... I know Windows & Internet Explorer inside and out....  learning how to fix MACs & Safari now... sorry


4. What is your best race memory?

Finishing my first half marathon!

5. What is your favourite song right now?

LMFAO - I'm Sexy And I Know It    .........wiggle,wiggle,wiggle,wiggle

6. What is your favourite training/racing gadget?
easy... My Garmin!

7. Do you prefer to train with a team, or alone?  Why?
I prefer to train with a team, because you have others to motivate you. Working right now to get a good group together for long runs on the weekends.

8. What is in your fridge right now?
Without getting up and checking because I'm lazy at the moment...... Milk, eggs, leftovers from yesterday and I'm sure things I'm not sure what they are... nothing really out of the ordinary.

9. Favourite TV show? (if you watch TV)
Right now I'm really digging The Layover .... I wish I could travel the world like this guy!!

10. Favourite book?
I can't remember the last time I read a book :( ... but I do listen to audio books in my car. Does that count?? It would be:

"The Innocent Man - Murder and Injustice in a Small Town by John Grisham"

11. Do you have any pets?  If so what, name, age.

Rocco (2) & Charlie (4) ...These are my bad boys!!!

Well that's it. A little more to know about me... not gonna bother tagging anyone one else. I think a lot of you have already been tagged by others...

Have a good one!!

Questions for you marathoners

Next week I officially start my marathon training. I'm going to follow this schedule that was given tome by a friend.

The run days and the rest days are for the most part the same days that I currently do now. So this plan works out perfect for me.

I have a couple questions for you marathoners,.... usually during the week, I run 4-5 miles Tues-Thurs.

- Even though it says to run 3-5-3 miles in the beginning, is is OK to run more like I was doing? Like a 4-5-4 Or should I stick to the schedule?

- Let's say I miss a run, let's say the Wednesday's run, should I make it up on Thursday then do Thursday's run on Friday? Even though it's close to my long run day? Or should I just skip it?

 - Is there a marathon training diet I should follow? Any foods I should look into? avoid?

 - What do you guys do for your Cross training day?

 - Anything else I should know? Tips? Advice?



Any comments are welcomed!!! Thanks!

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.... and for Adena,... Thanks for the tag. I did one not too long ago. Read it here:
http://andsoitburns.blogspot.com/2011/12/tagged.html

I can't come up with more random stuff about myself :(

Running for the love of it!!

5-6 inches of snow expected here to in southern Ma today. It was suppose to start about 8 this morning so I had planned on getting out early for a run before it started. But at 6:30 when I got up it was already coming down. So I drank a coffee and debated it..... but honestly there wasn't that much to debate. I already had my heart set on running today so I was going to do it anyways. By 7:30 I was dressed and ready to hit the road.

Today was one of those days that I knew I wasn't going to be a pretty run so I just went with the flow of it. There was about an inch already on the ground but it wasn't slippery. Temperatures are in the low 20's so it kept the snow light and fluffy. I ran mostly on sidewalks but it some places I had no choice but to run on the road. Luckily it was early enough that there wasn't too much traffic out there. At one point I ran almost 2 miles on Main st. when no cars where coming.

miles 5&6 were on the Main St.

I really enjoyed this run. The snow made it look real nice out there. I felt great during the run. iPod was playing the perfect music today. My leg didn't bother me at all and I actually run a lot faster than I thought I would. Nothing to complain about today. I love runs like this!!
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I have been taking it easy this week with runs. I ran only on Monday (4 miles and I forgot my Garmin!!!) and 5 on Thursday. Which is why I was itching to get out there today. I'm ready to hit my marathon training head on at the end of the month!!

My Garmin - Now I get it!

First of all, I want to thank everyone who pointed me to the Garmin Connect site. As I was creating a profile on this site, it told me that my username was already in use. I was like "wutt?".... Then I light went on in my head (not that bright of a light BTW)... When I first got the Garmin as was setting it up on my computer, the CD had directed me the Garmin Connect site and had me create an account. I faintly remember it asking me if I wanted to use Garmin Connect... and I faintly remember clicking NO :( .... after reading the manual I figured out how to set it so that it sees each mile as a lap. So all is good in my world :)

I finally saw my run stat the way I wanted to see it. Here is my 13 miler from yesterday.

As you can see, we were a tab bit slower in the beginning because this part of the run there was a lot of traffic. Plus I got stopped twice, by the same person, asking for directions. I really didn't want to stop, but at the same time I didn't want to be rude and just keep on running.

I'll be taking it back a notch in running these next 2 weeks. Mileage wise anyways. I start my official training the week of the 30th. I'm also going to find out from the running club who is also doing Worcester Marathon. It would be nice to get a group of people to train with.

No run today. Actually not much of anything today. Got home late last night from the Patriots game. I just vegged all day today. My body felt like it needed a good rest day. I gladly obliged. 

Have a great week everyone!!

Thursdays Thoughts

So with training officially starting at the end of the month, I think I'm going to take it a bit easy until then. Well, maybe after my 13 mile run with Jen this weekend. Honestly the training program that I'm going to follow is not that much different than what I normally run. Just that it builds in milage as the weeks go on. So the next two weeks I wont do any long (nothing above 8 mile) runs. The runs that I will do, will be a done at a much slower pace than normal. This is mostly to give my left leg some much needed rest. It hasn't been hurting my last couple of runs, but I can feel a bit of discomfort. So better safe than sorry.

The training program is the same one Jen is following for her marathon. It seems to be similar to others I have looked up online. I'm interested to see what others had followed in their training and welcome any suggestions.
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Got my Marathon countdown widget setup..... it seems soo far away!
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I'm still trying to figure out my Garmin. When I plug the Garmin in to my computer (I have not got a blue screen since the driver update BTW), it pulls the data in the Garmin Training Center program. It comes up and looks like this:

Which is fine. But I'm not sure if my Garmin or this program is capable of making the data look like this:

Stolen from The Unexpected Runner

Actually it's not fine. I'm kinda bummed if I can't see the data like this. It makes more sense to me this way. Can anyone tell me if I'm doing something wrong or is it just the way it is?

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Got 6 miles in yesterday. None today. It was raining like crazy out there. I should be able to get out tomorrow for a couple. Then Saturday doing the 13 with Jen. It's going to be a cold one Saturday. I'm looking forward to that run!!

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Saturday night I'm heading out to Gillette Stadium to go see my Patriots crush Tim Tebow and his Broncos! Can't wait!!! Go Pats!!!

It's official!!!

I just signed up for the Worcester Marathon on June 3rd. Been debating for weeks and today I finally pulled the trigger. I officially start my training on the last week of the month. I already know a few people from the running group that are running it, so there will be plenty of people to train with.

Hoping to stay healthy through training and with their support, finish strong. Hope you guys will enjoy reading about my training in the next couple of weeks. I welcome any tips from you seasoned marathoners!

A New day, a Better Run......

My whine-fest is over. I'm done feeling pitty for myself. Yesterday's post was just horrible. I reread it this morning and was going to delete it, but Char had already commented on it. So I just sucked it up. Thanks and sorry for those of you who read it..... Moving on now....

As I mentioned yesterday, today I had planned running 15 miles with Jen. She is training for the RnR DC marathon. I had mentioned to her the rough week of running that I had and that I wasn't sure if I would run even 5 miles with her. She was cool with it and said just do whatever. She was just happy to get some company for her run.
I ended up meeting her at her 1 mile mark which wasn't far from my house. I was out and about early so I had done a warm up run before I met up with her. She had mapped it out so that half way through her 15 mile run she would run by her house so she could refuel and take a bathroom break. I figured at that point if I was still with her, I could decide if I was going to bail on her or keep on going. Jen runs at a slower pace than I do. I tend to kill myself and run at a 7min mile pace every time I run, but she runs at a comfortable 9min mile pace. As I ran with her I felt real good. My left leg did not hurt once! It was a real easy pace for me. It was actually slow at times, but it was exactly what I needed. By the time we looped around and was back by her house, I felt really good and decided to keep on going. She picked up her dog Mya and we were on on our way.
The second half of our run went through streets I had not been through in years! It was a tough run, I'm not going to lie. It really pushed me (mentally) to places I've never been and I could never imagine being by myself. By mile 13 (of her 15) talking was at a minimum at it was a push towards the end. I was an awesome run.

Even though today's run was a really good run for me, I'm going to take it easy the next couple of days. I totally understand that my body needs the rest. I'm not running tomorrow. I'm going to make a rest day.... and maybe do the same on Monday. All I know is that I needed today's run. It was a real moral booster for me.
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In other news, I ended up updating the drivers for my Garmin (thanks Jamoosh) from 2.0 to 2.4. We'll see if that helps my computer from blue screening.
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Hope you all have a great weekend!!!

Friday whinings

This has been a real crappy running week for me. Monday planned a 5 mile run, ended up doing 3. Wednesday, headed out for another 5, ended up doing less than 3. Today headed out for another 5 and I did accomplish it, but not without a struggling effort. My left leg is starting to bother me again. All three run, about a mile into it, I get this wicked shin split pains that force me to stop running. I get these pains every so often, but it  is not as bad and usually goes away about at the 2nd mile. Wednesday's was the worst. I had to stop and walk 3 times in that less than 3 mile run. Today's run, I walked for a bit after the first mile. I did some stretches and continued on. The pain was there, but it was bearable.
It's been a frustrating week. I get myself to the point where I was starting to doubt myself. I start wondering "Maybe running ain't for me..." "I shouldn't sign up for that marathon,... I'm never going to make.." I'm my worst enemy when I'm left to my own doubts and thoughts.
Anyways... I ended up finishing 5 miles today, so that counts for something.

Tomorrow I had a 15 mile run planned with Jen (a club member), but being that I had a sucky week, I'm not going to push it. I already told her that I going to cut it short. I might even do the second half of her run figuring that she will me much slower by that point.
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On another note, My Garmin causes my computer to blue screen every other time I plug it in. Has this happen to anyone?? I need to call helpdesk... oh wait, that's right. I'm the helpdesk guy. Who would I call? It's like that age old question: "Who cuts the barbers hair?"..... I'll have to look into it when I get a chance. I got bigger issues right now.

Thats my whining for today. Hope you guys had a better week than me!

My first volunteer assignment....

In my goal to get a time waved entry to the Boston Marathon, I started off the year doing my first volunteering at the Freezer Five. I was nervous and didn't know what to expect. I felt like a kid at a new school or like someone that just started their first job ever. I was a volunteer virgin :) .... but luckily for me, the first person I met was Joe, one of the race directors and honestly one of the nicest people I have ever met in my life. He was just so down to earth and kept thanking me for helping out. I nerves were immediately calmed after talking with him. He walked me around and introduced me to the rest of the crew then game me my first job:

He gave this role of tickets and a Sharpie and told me to start numbering them from 1 through 300. This is a small low key race so no timing chips were used. So you guessed it, my second job was to stand at the finish line and give every runner a ticket as they came across. It wasn't a bad gig. It was kinda fun actually. I got to congratulate EVERY runner as they came up to me. I dont think I ever said "Good Job" or "Great Run" so much in my whole life! The funny part was seeing just about every one struggle to grab this 1"x2" piece of paper from me after running five miles.... I joked with some of them saying that this was the hardest part of the race! LOL

I think I gained 5 points towards my goal. I'm not exactly sure how many points I need to earn the time waived entry. I think they take top 15 or so people at the end of the year. The link in their site is down at this very moment so I can't confirm.

It was an awesome experience and I can't wait for the next one!!

Let's get this year started right!!

I meant to post this yesterday, but I forgot. It was sitting in my drafts folder.

I ended the year with an awesome 12 mile run. Planned for 10, but was feeling soo good that pulled another 2 out of me. Actually by the time I reach my street I was at 11.76 miles according to my Garmin. I wanted to make an even 12 so I ran past my street for another 1/8 of a mile then looped back.
It was an awesome run, except for one thing.... at about mile 5 I felt a sharp pain on my big toe of my left foot. The kind of pain you would get with a splinter. It literally made me yell "oww" out loud. There were some people entering a restaurant that turn around to look at me. So I kinda played it off and kept on limping  running. After a few steps the pain went away so I didn't bother stopping to check it out, but I could still feel "something" on my toe. I was in that "high" and didn't really want to stop anyways.

So when I got home and started doing my stretches, that's when I really felt the pain. Here is what I found:

Please don't make fun of my ugly toes... That sucker was in there!!!!

At first I thought it was glass, but nope.... when I painfully pulled it out:

 (and believe me, it took me a couple of minutes to build up the nerve to actually pull the sucker out!!!)

It was the end piece of one of those plastic tags you find on new clothes.

It doesn't even have a sharp end!!! It just shoved itself in my toe!! OUCH!!

But typical of splinters, as soon as it's pulled out, the pain is automatically gone.

So on that note I ended my year.

Hope everyone had a great time last night!!!!