Running history--Part 1

Here's a history of my running "career".

In 1990-1991, while in Ann Arbor, MI for grad school, I began to run for the first time in my life--other than on basketball courts, football fields, and baseball diamonds. I actually ran quite a bit--though the numbers escape me because I didn't keep a log--and thought I'd run the Chicago marathon. But an ill-fated participation in an all-day basketball tournament injured my knee somehow, and I had to abandon training. Not just that, I just stopped running. Period.

I still have think some what-ifs about that year because I was probably in the best shape of my life: young, lean (under 130 pounds), and strong. I remember doing lots of long runs on the hills of Ann Arbor and one day I did a 10-mile run on a 1/10 of a mile indoor track in 59:30.

But the fact that I didn't start running again after my knee felt better meant that I really didn't think of running as an important part of my life, that I didn't know enough about the sport to care (or care enough about the sport to know).

More later on how my running career resumes in 1997.

Too much, too fast?

This is the last week before beginning a 3-week taper, so I thought I'd make this an extra hard week. So this was the long run for this week, done a day early because I'll have less time tomorrow morning for a long run

Total: 20 miles in 2:24:00; 7:12 pace overall
Details: 1st 5 miles in 38:10, 2nd 5 miles in 37:50, 3rd 5 miles in 35:23, 4th 5 miles in 32:37
The weather was perfect for a long run: cloudy and between 44-50 degrees the whole time. I'm glad that I had my running gloves to start the run, but felt a bit warm in my long-sleeve shirt the second half of the run.

I'm glad I did this workout because it tells me that I can go faster than MP for miles 16-20. So my confidence and ego are boosted, but am I taxing my legs too much by running my long runs too fast?

With today's 20 miles, I'm up to 86 miles for this week, which is 5 miles more than my previous weekly high. Not only that, in what can only be called a purely ego-stroking move, I plan to do a slow 14-mile recovery run tomorrow to make it an even 100 miles for the week. I think my body can handle it (it feels okay right now), especially since I'll start tapering. But if my body tells me that it should rest and just get some extra sleep, I'll scratch the run.

A promise kept (sort of)

Total: 10 miles in 1:17:23, or 7:44 pace
Details: 5 miles out in 38:34, 5 miles back in 38:49.
Not quite as slow as I was hoping for, but did feel like a recovery run. I should be okay for the 20-miler tomorrow.

Today, a short treatise on running shoes. I'm running these days in Brooks Radius 05. I've put 544 miles on them, but they still feel good. I'll run at least 600 miles before relegating them to the occasional short, bad-weather-day runs. I have another pair of Radius 05 that I'll train in during October, but my race-day shoes are resting comfortably in my closet: Asics Speedstar 2.

Asics is my favorite brand of running shoes. I immediately noticed their great out-of-the-box comfort when I bought my first pair of Asics--GT2020--back in 1997. Since then, I've run in Cumulus, 1000 series, and DS-Trainers. Even though they're all slightly different types of shoes, my feet/legs have enjoyed them all.

That doesn't mean that I won't try other shoes--especially when the price is right. I've also run in New Balances, Sauconys, and Brooks, and found them to be almost as good. I do think I have easily satisfied feet compared to most runners. I don't run in Nikes because 1) they tend to be a bit too narrow for me, and 2) I'd rather support smaller, more running-focused companies. And I would find it very difficult to pay more than $80 for any pair of running shoes. I enjoy running and realize the importance of good shoes, but there comes a point where running can become financially irresponsible. For me, $80 for running shoes is one such point.

Faster than I'd planned

A 14-miler mostly on the Illinois Prairie Path in the western suburbs of Chicago. My permanent address--okay, my parents' home--is in Niles, Illinois, but our home for the second half of 2006 is West Chicago, IL. And the best thing about the western suburbs of Chicago is the plethora of great running trails. I'd definitely consider the availability of good running paths if we ever buy a house of our own. It's amazing how much it can add to the quality of life.

Okay, here are the numbers.
Total: 14 miles in 1:41:13; 7:13 pace
Details: 7 miles out in 52:53, 7 miles back in 48:20

I meant to do an easy run, maybe around 8:00 pace since yesterday was a hard effort. But the weather was good and my legs felt good, so I just let my body do what it felt like doing. Tomorrow, though, I will do an easy recovery run. I promise.

My first time ever

With this post, I've become a blogger.  I'm starting this blog ostensibly to talk about my running--specifically, my training for the 2006 Chicago marathon.  I realize it's a bit late, with the marathon less than a month away, but you know what they say: better to have blogged and stopped than to never blogged at all.

So what will happen after Oct. 22?  I hope I will continue to run regularly, but I'll probably blog about other topics as well.  After all, rice can fuel me to do more than run and be more than a runner.

So how was my run today?  In a word, good.  First the stats:
Total: 12 miles in 84 minutes
Details: After a warmup jog, I did 12 intervals of 2:30 at a hard pace, each followed by 2:30 at an easy pace.  Then I did a cooldown jog.
As usual, the run was in the morning.  I love the coolness of mornings (actually bordering on cold when I started the run today) and starting my body to be a calory-burning machine for the rest of the day, but mostly, I love the sense of accomplishment that running 12 miles before 8am brings.  Running in the morning can cover a lot of guilt for not doing much else productive the rest of the day.