The Lehigh Valley Half Marathon is one of the more popular half marathons in my general area. It’s also a pretty elite field as far as half marathons go. It’s a fun race, with lots of bands on the course, a covered bridge to run through, a nice run through a park, and hot food at the finish line.

I was pretty excited for this race headed into the week. I knew that I trained really hard for this race, and I was feeling prepared and confident that I was going to hit my goal time. Then Thursday night came. After a tough week at work, and not quite enough sleep, Thursday I began coughing…and coughing…and coughing…and snotting. Unfortunately it didn’t really disappear before race time on Sunday, despite my best efforts to drink way too much Emergen-C and get the most sleep possible.

We made the drive to Allentown the night before, about two hours away. We went out to a nice pasta dinner with some old friends whom I haven’t seen in a while. After turning up the air conditioning full blast to drown out the people drinking in the parking lot of our hotel, I actually got a fairly restful night of sleep, albeit interrupted due to my own coughing.

We hit the start line with time to spare, which was a nice change from my usual race morning antics. Port-a-potty lines were actually reasonable, and there was even toilet paper left, which is basically a first for me at a big race like this! I lined up with my brother-in-law right behind the 2:10 pacer – although I didn’t mean to line up behind him, it was nice to know he was there since before the cold hit me, I was hoping to hit at least that time, if not better. My Garmin had freaked out when I tried to catch the satellites, because apparently Allentown has different satellites than the Harrisburg area, so the 2:10 pacer was some comfort.

The race started with a quick downhill, which was fun to start, and a little drizzle, which continued throughout the race. There were quite a few spectators cheering and having a great time. For the first mile or two, I was thinking “I can do this – I know I’m sick but I can keep up.” After about two miles, my lungs really started heating up, and quick glances at my heart rate showed it was really elevated for the paces I was running. The 2:10 pacer was still in my sights. Joe brought his bike, and was riding around taking pictures of the race – I got my first glimpse of him at about the 5k mark.

After about five miles, the reality of my cold started to set in. I reached for my first Clif Shot, grabbed a cup of water, looked up, and lost the pacer. That was the last time I would see him. As I continued to run, my lungs heated up more – it felt like there was a fire in my chest. I couldn’t maintain the pace I had started at, which just a few days before I knew I had more than a great shot to maintain for the full 13 miles. I kept running, and for the first time in the day, I actually thought I might not be able to finish the race.

The race continued on to the more scenic sections. We ran through a crushed gravel park with really gorgeous scenery. The highlight in scenery of this race is no doubt the covered bridge with a string quartet serenading the runners as they race through. The park section of the race was no doubt the most difficult. It was very hilly, and for the first time in my race history, I had to walk up a few of the hills. This in itself was pretty crushing for me – I’ve never had to walk in a race before, but I just couldn’t breathe.

The last few miles of the race are a bit of a blur. The rain was picking up to a point where it didn’t really feel good anymore. I remember a person who set up his own personal water station with beer instead of water in the cups – and a few runners who took him up on his offer! I passed, but told him to meet me at the finish line!

At about the last mile of the race I must have looked like I was struggling. A person whom I am really grateful for right now (and if you’re out there, thank you!) stopped and just said “let’s run this out, we’re almost there.” We talked for the last mile or so – he had run his first half marathon at 50 years old, and actually ran the Philly Distance Run with me last September – and he wouldn’t let me walk. He convinced me to finish strong – we entered the stadium together, and I managed to get some extra kick to the finish. This person is the reason I was able to finish strong, and I’m very grateful to my mystery friend.

I finished in 2:20:15, which is only a little more than two minutes better than my first half marathon. I’m glad I did better – but it’s hard to not be disappointed when I know what could have been, because I was definitely trained for a much better finish.   The next day I wasn’t even sore – a testament to not being able to use my legs, and how really limiting my breathing and heart rate were on Sunday.  The race itself was a really great one – and one I will look forward to trying again next year, hopefully with better circumstances. I’m racing again next month (and this time, hopefully actually RACE) in the Baltimore 10 Miler, and I’m hoping I get to redeem myself then. Official marathon training is right around the corner, and I’ve got race fever again, so I can’t wait. There are always more races, so I know this isn’t the worst thing ever, and hey, I still finished my second half marathon!

Logan’s Run is a race that’s close to my heart.  It was the first race I ever participated in.  The first year for this race, there were maybe 50 people, and that’s being generous.  Four years later, this race has expanded into almost 300 participants (not including walkers), and this year there were so many that they actually ran out of numbers.  It was great to see such a large turnout this year, especially for such a great cause.

Saturday I woke up to my alarm, looked out the window and thought “Great!  What an awesome day for a race!”  I checked the weather, and it was even sort-of-warm!  Perfect!  I got myself dressed and drove to the race start, and it was when I got out of the car I first noticed that it might be slightly windy out.  Hmmmm.  I got my race packet, pinned on my number, and walked my t-shirt and goodies back to my car, and boy, did that wind feel like it was picking up.  I put on the windbreaker I had stashed in my car, and decided to  warm-up with a half mile or so jog across the bridge that marked the start and finish of the race.  It was at that point where I realized this race was not going to be so awesome.  It was so windy that the bridge was moving, and was not in the same place when you put your foot back down after taking a step.  This almost made for a woozy, drunk feeling, like you couldn’t take a proper step.

Good times.  I tried not to worry about it too much, as everyone gathered for the start.  No D-tags in a race like this – and not even a megaphone.  All of a sudden the pack just started to move, which signaled the start.  We started across the bridge (note to the course selectors – a bridge is not the best place to start a race – everyone was tripping over each other trying to get position in a limited width).  After the bridge, we ran down to the river walk area, which was where things really got interesting.  I swear people were running at a 45 degree angle, in an attempt to stay upright, and not completely end up in the river.  The wind was so brutal.  There were times when it felt like I was running on a treadmill – my feet were moving but it seemed like I was going nowhere.  I thought it would get better at the turnaround, but it really didn’t.  The winds were whipping across the river, and were basically perpendicular to the running path, so we had to deal with it the entire race.  Thank God this was only a 5k, that’s all I have to say.

I finished in 30:05, which is not great for me, but considering the conditions, I’m quite pleased.  After I got home, I saw on the news that the winds were blowing in excess of 50 miles an hour.  That has to be like hurricane or tornado force, right? .  I bailed on the awards ceremony, which I usually stick around for (even though none of those awards are for me) because it was just so miserable.  They did have coffee and donuts at the finish, so that cheered me up a bit.

I know a lot of people like spring, and while I do enjoy daylight savings time and the slightly warmer weather, Central Pennsylvania is so manic.  Contrast Saturday’s crappy winds (and I don’t even think I mentioned it was also cold), with my long run yesterday which was completed in shorts and a t-shirt.  Today it’s disgusting out again, and tomorrow, it’s only supposed to be 38 degrees!  Pick one, weather man!

It’s official.  I’m registered for the 34th Annual Marine Corps Marathon on Oct. 25.  I’m really excited to finally be taking this journey, and I feel ready for the serious training and more miles than I have ever done in my life that are waiting for me over the next months.  It’s also a little freaky to think that I just volunteered myself to run for what’s probably going to be at least 4.5 hours straight.  That’s a full two hours longer than I have ever run in my life.  TWO MORE HOURS.

The Laminator asked me if I had any special rituals I was going to do when I registered.  I thought about it a lot actually, and while I didn’t really have a ritual, I am trying my best to remember this moment.  It’s a moment that is most definitely the catylst that will change my current routine and lifestyle until the end of October.  Again, a little freaky.  I enjoy having time to watch Survivor right now, after all.  The only thing I feel like I can do in this moment is hit up REI.com for some recovery socks and a case of Clif Shots, and watch the rain from my window thinking about the hundreds of miles to come.

This week marks the half-way point of my training for the Lehigh Valley Half Marathon.  Things have been going really well since The Laminator stepped in as my virtual coach.  I had one of the best long runs of my life last weekend, nine miles holding at a pace 30 seconds per mile faster than my last half.  I was feeling awesome and confident I can actually hold that or better as a new race pace for long distances.   Considering I’m only half-way there, I still have 8 weeks to make sure that happens, or perhaps improve upon that a little more.

I’ve also forayed into running two days in a row, and I’m seeing improvement there too.  I had been avoiding running on two consecutive days since my bout of issues with my IT band.  I’ve now been religiously using a foam roller, and I haven’t felt a single twinge (knock on wood), and have successfully done some mileage on back to back days.  I know this is something I’m going to have to get into in order to have a successful marathon training program – so I’m glad to get used to it now before the mileage ramps up even more.

Gels have also become a big issue for me an training, one in which I’m positive I spend way too much time thinking about.  Before this training cycle, I had only ever had one gel…a PowerBar Vanilla, and it was not a good experience.  All I can think about when I mention gels is old, warm, yogurt.  I had been using Clif Shot Bloks, which I like for taste, but they take way too long to get down, and require more water, so it always felt like stuff was sloshing around in my stomach.  I decided I didn’t really want to go down the Shot Blok route on a permanent basis, so stocked up on a bunch of different brands and flavors of gels to test out.  I’ve now taken a PowerBar tangerine (totally nasty), a GU Lemon Lime (ok), and a Clif Shot Raspberry (best so far).  I think my PowerBar issue is with the brand in general, not just the vanilla flavor – they are just way too runny for my liking.  Clif Shots it is.

I’m happy Daylight Savings time is here.  Since I’m an evening runner (for now), I get an extra hour after work before it gets dark, which means no more treadmill for me an extra day of the week!  Because of my MBA class schedule, I’ll still be hitting the treadmill for tempo/intervals, but the other day the treadmill and Prison Break re-runs will be unplugged!  I am THRILLED about that.  While I’m really thankful I have a treadmill, and I don’t mind running on it as much as most people, it’s still a lot more enjoyable to get some fresh air and run outside.

On a side note, I’m now officially registered for the Baltimore 10 Miler.  It looks like a fun race – and one of the few 10 mile races around.  There is free beer at the finish of this one, which at first I was excited about, but then I realized it will be around 9:30 A.M. when I reach the finish line.  Considering that’s earlier than I get up period most Saturday mornings (which will change once it gets hot and I need to get in a run), I’m not sure how interested I will be in beer at that point, but I suppose it’s still a nice race amenity .

Happy running

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Meet Bizkit the Sleepwalking Dog!  My dog sleep-runs too, but certainly not to this extent (at least I have never caught her like this).

So now Dane’s admitted to cheating.  He’s refusing to give his medal back.

Running is Funny said it best (these are highlights from the LA Time article):

“The medal was given. I would not give that back. I’m proud of it.”

Also:

“In my mind I ran the full 26 miles.”

Cool. In my mind, I’m running Boston next month.

Also Dane’s pretty stoked to run “many more” marathons with his wife!  Or maybe his first!

Dude you cheated.  Give it back and say you cheated.  Obviously people are ticked at you – especially runners who understand what it means to receive that medal and finish the race.  I would certainly give anything to have one, but not until I have EARNED it by running exactly the 26.2 miles it is to the finish.  I was also pretty upset with NBC’s “apology” over the matter.  They basically said they had no idea Dane cheated – but according to Dane, an NBC van is how he got his ride…so I’m guessing they knew.

The end.  I’m not watching The Biggest Loser tomorrow night, and I hope you aren’t either.

Maybe tomorrow after I cool off, I’ll actually write about the running I’ve been doing lately, and none of the distances will be fabricated!

I am (ahem…was) a big fan of the Biggest Loser.  Last night on the show, Dane from the black team got voted off the show.  They always do this big inspirational segment at the end discussing where the contestant is now.  Last, night, they showed footage of Dane finishing a marathon in 3:57 minutes with his wife.  Here’s the clip:

Update: NBC has removed Dane’s clip showing him talking about the marathon.  I WONDER WHY.

It’s now being reported that Dane really didn’t run all 26.2 miles of the marathon, and instead ran part of it, then had an NBC van drive him to the finish line in order to shoot him crossing the line with his wife.  Dane took a medal, and then told the cameras all about the “tear in his eye” when he crossed the line.  Neither Dane nor his wife are listed as finishers for the Arizona Desert Classic Marathon, and apparently someone turned him to the race director and he was disqualified.

This is wrong to me on so many levels.  First, Dane lied.  I don’t really care if it was NBC’s idea for an inspirational story or not (which I’m sure it probably was), Dane can still say no.  No one forced Dane (and his wife) to lie to a camera saying they did something that they really did not.  Second, Dane took a finishers medal that didn’t rightfully belong to him.  Third, at least in the clip, there is no way Dane is running 8:57 miles.  It was reported on the show in a caption that Dane finished in 3:57.  It sort of looks like the clock in the clip says 5:57.  I don’t know which is true if he really did finish the marathon, but the Biggest Loser certainly touted the 3:57.  Dane made people think it’s easy to run a 3:57 marathon.

There are some comments floating around from the blogosphere from runners who were at the race saying they did see Dane run at least 13 miles.  I really can’t understand why NBC couldn’t have told the truth and said that Dane completed a half-marathon?  It’s still such an inspirational and awesome accomplishment, and they would have avoided backlash from the running community and fans of the show.  I think that it’s great to have the inspriational after-stories on the show, but only if its truthful.

After seeing this story, reading about the water loading techniques used by contestants on the show, and stories of unhealthy weight-loss by the contestants, I think I’m done watching this show.  I simply can’t support something that encourages unhealthy weight-loss, lying, and cheating anymore.

I’m holding out hope that maybe Dane really did finish all 26.2 miles, did not get in a van to drive to the finish line, and that this is just a rumor.

1. I got a solid 12-miler in this weekend.  It was a great run – one of those days where it’s just nice to be out and to be active.  The weather was in the mid-40’s, so it wasn’t too hot or too cold, the sun was out, and there was a nice breeze to keep cool.  It was still cool enough though that most people stayed inside .

2. I think I have pretty good taste in music.  My normal iTunes mix consists of Modest Mouse, Pearl Jam, Silversun Pickups, The Shackeltons, Cold War Kids, Phish, Derek Trucks Band, etc.  I’ve actually made entire theme playlists for long runs, like 90’s grunge rock, only bands that start with the letter “s”, etc.  However, there is something about a pair of running shoes that makes all of my musical knowledge leak from my ears.  Case in point:  This weekend, I loaded up my iPod with several hours of excellent music.  With Icky Thump coming into my ears, all my brain could register is “ALL THE SINGLE LADIES!  PUT YOUR HANDS UP!”  I’m not even going to admit where I heard this Beyonce song I can no longer get out of my brain when I have running shoes on.  Dude…I’m not even single, plus I already have a ring, and I like it that way, thankyouverymuch.  While other runners are getting free YakTrax and Pearl Izumi’s, I’d really just be content with a .99 download from iTunes.  Because I CAN’T drop my own credit card on a Beyonce song.  My indie street cred would be totally ruined.

3. Bart Yasso is speaking at the Lehigh Valley Half Marathon pasta dinner.  I wasn’t planning on spending the night at the race, just driving up on Saturday to do packet pickup, then sleeping in my own bed, and heading back to race Sunday morning.  Bart Yasso is going to be there though!  I can’t decide if it’s worth it to tack on the $25 for dinner plus another $100 for a hotel just to eat pasta and hear him speak.  It will definitely be too late to get a good night sleep if I drive the almost 2-hours back home after the pasta dinner.  But it’s Bart Yasso!  I have to think this through.

4. The Running Laminator has agreed to be my Virtual Coach!  Weee!  I’m so excited!  New plan coming soon!  Throwing my FIRST book in the toliet (ok not really, but I’m excited for a new-and-improved plan)!  I’m positive this will be great, and I’m really excited.

I’ve decided that FIRST is stressing me out way too much.  After a few weeks of running and not feeling recovered between runs, I took a few days off to rest.  A solid four days of sitting on my butt.  Best. Decision. Ever.  I went for an easy six miles on Sunday, and did another six last night, and both were excellent.  I finished both feeling great, and actually smiling.  I think too much fast running has sucked the fun out of it for me lately.  I’ve decided to modify the FIRST program to include a maintenance run, one fast run (either tempo or intervals), and a long run.  I think this will give me some extra time to recover between runs, and give me legs a little stress relief.  After a couple of rough weeks, I finally feel like my head and legs are back in the game.

I also got a foam roller – and a good IT band stretch for once!  This thing really does feel amazing.  I can’t put 100% of my weight on my IT band yet (like the cartoon to the left), but I’ve been modifying by putting one leg on the ground to brace myself while I roll on the other IT band.  Eventually I’m anticipating being able to lift my other leg off the ground for added pressure.  It sort of works like a rolling pin, and by the time I’m done, it feels like I just got a massage.  I was a little skeptical at first, but I think it will really help heal and prevent further issues.

All in all, I think I’ve learned something valuable the last few weeks while not having much fun running.  I learned that I really need to take a step back sometimes and just enjoy running.  I need to enjoy running without pressure that I add to myself for really no reason.  Let’s be honest, I’m not attempting to qualify for Boston here (Maybe someday? Bueller? No?).  Yes I want to be faster.  Yes I want to set a PR in the half distance.  Yes I want to run a marathon.  None of these will happen if I really injure myself, or if I get overly stressed and just decide I hate running.  I don’t want either of those to happen, and really it’s more important to finish with a smile than it is to be glad its over.

I’ve had an interesting few weeks.  I’m currently in the process of getting my MBA, and I’ll be finished in December.  It’s been a long few years trying to get this done while I have a full time job, and a running obsession.  This semester is the first time I’ve had class two nights in a row, which means that I go to my (non-negotiable) Rasa Vinyasa yoga class Mondays, class Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and Thursday is really the only weeknight I get to spend at home.  Thursday turns into not really getting to spend it at home, because I’m usually out doing my tempo runs as soon as I walk in the door.  Because my classes are two nights in a row, and I can’t run on Mondays because of yoga, I’ve taken to doing speedwork after I get home from class on Tuesday nights at about 9:30 P.M., tempo runs on Thursdays, and then my choice of long run days on Saturdsay or Sunday.  I fit in my two mandatory cross training days on Mondays and Fridays.  Also, I’m still working off of the FIRST training plan, which means much harder workouts than I’m used to.  All of this has culminated in me feeling exhausted.

I still haven’t missed any FIRST workouts.  I did 11 miles this past Saturday, and I felt really good (it was an AWESOME day for February) until about mile 8ish, and I could feel my IT band starting to act up again.  Eleven miles was the longest run I’ve done since my last half marathon, when I totally killed my IT band for the first time.

Here is where I am looking for some advice.  I’m starting to think because I’m so tired, and my muscles are not really feeling like they are recovering, I’m doing a little too much a little too quickly.  When I first decided to train on FIRST, they recommended that in order to start the half marathon program, you needed to be able to run six miles.  When I read that, I thought, “well dude, I can run 13.  I’m totally ready for this.”  Maybe I’m not?  Maybe I need to back it off?  I’m actually contemplating taking today and Thursday off running just to give my body a chance for a break, because I really haven’t had one in a while.  I’m thinking about reevaluating whether this is a good idea or not to continue on this program, or whether I should find something else that doesn’t require so much speed/tempo work?  I’m the type of person who needs to do whatever the plan says I should do – I have a hard time backing off if it’s WRITTEN DOWN.  Maybe my little IT band flare-up on Saturday is a good indication I’m overworking again?

I still have about 10 weeks left before my next half marathon, so this is totally salvagable.  More than anything, I want to make sure I run safe.  I need some advice on whether I should push out FIRST (because honestly I am impressed with my increase in speed) and these are just normal running pains, or if it’s time to reevaluate and really I’m not ready for this program.  I want to stay healthy through this training cycle, so I’m healthy and ready to start training for my ultimate goal – the marathon.

Please advise, dear Interwebs.