Training, when will I get to end?

Image by Pabo76 via Flickr

By: Brent

The Glass City Marathon is this week. I have prepped as well as I can. I run, I run, I run.

The Runner's World program gives you options for training for how long you want to work at it. They also give you options as far as how many miles you want to average. I chose the 16 week option with 3 days of running. In that time I have logged 256.92 miles prior to my marathon. Along side my training I have also put in 50+ miles on the bike.

16 weeks is a long time to train. I am thrilled to be at the end of it. As week 14 was starting I was beginning to get severe pain in my left foot and what seemed to be a strong head cold. Week 14 I really laid off the foot. I talked to other runner friends and read up trying to figure out if I had messed something up severely but I think it was just strained from a long run and a lot of yard work and labor that the foot wasn't used to over a long weekend. I tackled the head cold with more Tylenol Cold medicine and Vitamin C than any cold I have ever been through. Mentally I was shaken. I called my good friend Jon and talked out a lot of my concerns. He reminded me how much I have done and that he still is in such shock that I can honestly call myself a "runner". We are both of similar build. I call him Dr. Phil and he calls me Oprah. I don't know if in my entire time of knowing Jon we haven't picked at each others weight. Both of us at 6' plus and in the 190+ weight class. We got started running around the same time so we have been through a lot of the same feelings on running. I also reread a book that really gets my mind on the best part of running. "My Life on the Run" by Bart Yasso. Great book. And that is from a guy who does not read. Bart Yasso is a Runner's World top dog. He has one of those jobs that runner's would kill for. He is C.R.O. Chief Running Officer. He travels around to different races and meets and greet and helps race directors and give speeches but from my standpoint, the most important thing he does is motivates. Talking to him or listening to him, you just want to jump up and GO RUN. He is one of my "Face Book friends" and I have posted a couple things on his page and he has always responded and even his wife has chimed in. He may rub elbows with the Ryan Hall's of the world but he is just a friend of people. He himself is amazing. So at this point I feel very good about where I am at, what I have done and how well I have prepared.

So again, The Glass City Marathon is this weekend. the Half Marathon is sold out at 1,500 runners. The marathon is 94% sold out at about 650 runners right now. There is a 5k that I think has about 700 people entered into it also. I am very excited. There is really only one concern and it is one that I can't focus on. I have no control. Weather. Weather.com is calling for NASTY storms. 80% chance. I have stopped watching the weather. Living in the Midwest, I have learned that there is no predicting what the weather will really do. I have no idea what happens when a race gets rained out. I assume it will just get REscheduled, but that remains to be seen. Toledo is about a 2.5 hour drive. The plan right now is my family of 4 along with my mother and father will go Saturday and make a weekend of the happenings of Toledo. I guess worst case scenario if it gets rained out, I grab a buddy and sucker them to go along with me so I have a driver on the way back because I'm sure my legs won't work when I am done.. Again, I can't worry about that until it gets here.

In marathon training, and really any training, I think the part that gets the least amount of acknowledgement is the support you get. I need to thank mostly my wife for the time. Jeff, Rael, Andrea, Jon, Roger, my parents, Bart Yasso and anyone who has inquired about this marathon which gets me excited just talking about it

4/25/10. 26.2 Miles. Bring it on.

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Running with Yak's

By: Brent

Northern Indiana has the ability to snow. Snow hard. Snow often. Snow in May. It also has the ability to rain, AFTER it snows. We Hoosiers joke that you always get 4 seasons, just no tellin' when these seasons will hit and in what order. For that reason, my lovely wife made a purchase for me. Yaktrax Pro's arrived on my step, right as it turned 50 degrees out. So they sat...for a while. Luckily (I guess, for them) Father Winter decided to have another go of it and we have dipped back into the 20's and the snow has begun to float from the heaven's again.

Prior to Elizabeth's surprise purchase I too had been doing some research as I stumbled upon a Runner's World article about Ice Cleats. You can find that article here. I liked the description and the website of Yaktrax best, so when I told her about my future purchase, she informed me to hold off a couple days before I do it so I don't have two pairs.

When I got the Yak's I quickly put them on. You get your toe into the tip and pull the back on like a slightly small torn goulash, and then fasten the Velcro strap across the top. Easy and simple to get on. The bottom is like a crossing series of coils that dig into the surface. The overall comfort of them is pretty good. They can take a bit of fidgeting to get in a good spot. Myself having a huge size 15 foot, the XL size really gave me no issues. I am aware of the outer strap that rides by the little toe, but it's not in issue and I get no rubbing, just aware of it.

So my first run in them was a 3 mile run. The conditions were cold with old packed snow but the roads were only 40% covered. I had to run some shorter lengths on the pavement, which in the YakTrax's was not horrible, but I wouldn't encourage it for long periods of time. When I got to the snowy areas I was very impressed. They dug into the snow and felt very secure. The thing that I felt from them is now rather than "leaping" UP you pushed off and didn't think so much about your landing. I have been a pretty balanced, sure footed runner. No falls. The occasional odd ankle twist hasn't stopped me or made me tender, but in the snow I never feel "fast" because I feel like I bounce more than run. With the YakTrax, you can RUN. I did have on the occasional step, a bit of slip at toe off, but after a quick adjustment I didn't notice it happen as much. From slush to packed snow I always felt very solid in my stride.

My next outing with the Yak's was right after a full snow. As a big runner (200 lbs) I wasn't as happy with the feel because I cut through so much, I kept feeling the coils digging the concrete at toe off. Maybe in a lighter runner, this wouldn't have been so noticeable, but it was kind of annoying. With that aside, I still felt safe in the Yak's.

I would recommend these to just about anyone. It's a worth while $30 investment (or gift) that can't hurt. I would imagine there is a market for these in a trial running application, but I can't say if they would get all packed with dirt or not. I am hoping to run the Steve's Run 10k again, but would not recommend it with that much distance on the road.

I suppose the cheaper option that can be tried prior to dropping $30 into believing me is this. Has anyone tried this before? Just curious.......

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16 Weeks of Training

Image by thomasbrandt via Flickr

By: Jeff

It is official.  I am registered for my first 5K.  Yep this guy will be running 3.107 miles in June. OK, OK I know seems small compared to uber-marathon running Brent.  Well with that being said we all have to start somewhere. So, how you ask am I going to accomplish this?

• First:  Tell everyone I know.  Sure they'll laugh and say, "ya right".  But It will hold me accountable.  And I would feel embarrassed if I did not accomplish it.
• Second:  Well I'm telling the world by posting it here on this blog.  How's that for commitment?
• Third: Finally I am doing a 16 week training, following a guide by Runner's World's smart coach.

There you go. It is out there.  And now I need to go and begin this journey. I'll keep you posted on how the training is going.

Marathon training day #1...with new toys!!!

By: Brent

And hello faithful followers. This Xmas season the family decided to go a new route and instead of buying for everyone, we chose to draw names. my name was chosen by my mother-in-law. I liked my chances to score good stuff because she has always been very good to me and also loves me being a "runner". I say "runner" because I still feel like a rookie. I still get nervous at the starting line. I still feel like I look like a dork in my race gear. being 6'-3" I will always worry that my shorts are to short. with that said I have run in 10 official timed races. 5k's, 10k's and 3 half marathon's. most of this has happened in the last 2 years with all 3 half marathons happening in the last 6 months of 2009. so, when my name was drawn I put together a Xmas list for her. drum parts and a handful of running gear. Just before I emailed it to her I thought, I should put down a race entry. I had done some research and had already found a race in Toledo that I liked the sound of. The Glass Bowl Marathon. 26.2 miles of pain and suffering, so I made it the last item on the list. A couple weeks later I got a call from the old woman saying check your e-mail. There it was..... Race Confirmation. Oh crap! That brings me to yesterday. Race day is April 25th. I have used the Runners World Smart Coach for most of my races. It's a good FREE program that is FREE. you can customize it by weeks training, using other race times and you can really customize it to work for your schedule. Well with the input that I gave it this week starts the training. 16 weeks of runs. shorty's, speed runs, runs that I will be gone long enough for my children to forget what I look like. It includes cross training days and what type of run you should be doing, like speed, tempo or what not.

Last night was day one and it was quite cold. I REALLY didn't want to go out but a big part of me did because I had new toys to try out. i have always liked running in the dark, only problem is....the dark. I never had a good lighting system. I have had Nathan vests with glow sticks in the them so people could see me, but nothing to help me see. For Xmas, my wife bought me a Energizer head lamp. Not the $90 Petzl, but the one you get at Target. $20.79. I expected nothing. First off, once you install the provided Energizer batteries and click the button, you get an aircraft landing beam of sunshine. not like the old plastic flashlight your dad gave you 14 years ago. a serious "this thing is going to blind you in 3.7 seconds" ray of light. then you click it again, and 2 red LED's shine for a dull reading light like in a small Cessna for a night flight. a third click provides you with the beam I used. 2 smaller LED's than the first one, but a better life length to the batteries and plenty of light to find your way. It had a solid fit, even for my misshapen head and I never felt like I had to change my stride to keep it on. Another nice feature was the tilt option. you can set it to shine lower than straight out from your eyes. I tilted it down to display the majority of the beam about 5 feet in front of me. I must say for a economy headlight, I was very impressed. To any runners that are looking for a unit that won't break the bank and let them go out into the night, I would have no concerns recommending this one.



All in all the run went well. Snow was packed good and slippage was minimal but in a review coming soon....Yaktrak's Pro ice slip on. Very Exciting!




Miles logged...3.9.