Operation WTH

Well I must say,  I survive the USMC Mud run and I think this was the most fun that I’ve had in awhile.  It was nice to run a race and not even worry about your time at all.  This took all the pressure off and made it enjoyable.  It went surprisingly fast.  The 6.2 miles were easy, probably because of the 36 obstacles.  I would defiantly do it again.  I have plans to do the same one next year.  I would do the one in October but there’s another race  that I am planning to do.  I would highly recommend this race if you are looking to challenge yourself.

My next race is the Run Ballantyne 10k.  I have mixed emotions about it right now but knowing some of my friends will be there will help me to look forward to it, at least to see how they do.  I don’t know if I will go for a PR.  I will probably decide that on race day. 

My goals for now are to get some quality long distance runs in.  I would like to train up to somewhere around 16 mile or 4 loops around the Landsford canal 4+ mile loop. This will be a challenge for me and should get me in decent shape for my 12K run in Columbia and my beach half marathon the week after.

That’s it for now!

The Literacy 5k last week was a great success!  We had a good turn-out and there were a lot of great times turned in.  The C25Kers also did well that we been working with.  It was very pleasing to see all of them come across the finish line!

That being said, my time was OK.  I ran a 23:35.  I think I had some more in the tank but my hamstring stayed tight the whole race and the last thing I wanted to do is pull it.  I’m not complaining, my goal was to run a sub 24 this year and I’ve ran 3 races with all being around the 23:30 mark.  I guess I’ve been pretty consistent with a 23:29, 23:29 and a 23:35 for my 3 5k’s this year.  I still would like to run a sub 23 this year and I will have a couple of chances down the road.

Saturday I’m participated in the USMC mud run.  I’m a little nervous but it should be a lot of fun.  My goal is to just finish and not get hurt.  I’ve already taken Monday off from work because I know I’m going to be sore in places that I didn’t know could get sore!

That’s all for now!

I really can’t complain.  I ran the exact same time as my previous 5K. This one was a little tougher but that’s no excuse that I shouldn’t have been faster.  My time was 23:29 again.  If you try to do this , it would be impossible to get the same time.  Someone said” well at least you are consistent .”  I guess that’s one way to look at it.

Friday night races aren’t my forte but they’re also fun to do and they always produce a different atmosphere.  All in all, the race was fun and well organized.  I feel like I could have to do better but rarely I am satisfied with my results after a race.  I guess that what’s keep me coming back for more.

Our hometown race is next Saturday.  I am really looking forward to it,  not for myself but for our town and our CT5ker’s we have been working with for the last 8 weeks.  I hope we ave a good turnout.  The Lancaster Runs! club helps out a lot with this race and it would be nice to see all of that hard work pay off.  The Ct5Kers have been doing really well.  I have seen vast improvement in almost everyone of them.  This is very exciting for me and I can’t wait for them to cross the finish line and see the looks and smiles on their faces.  This will push me to be fast I hope.  I want to get to the finish line as quick as possible and be re-cooperated from the run so I can absorb it all in.  

That’s all for now!

First things first,  I did pretty good on my first 5K of the year.  I smoked my previous PR of 24:18 with a 23:29.  This was my first time ever with a sub 24 and that was a big goal for me this year.  The Run The Inlet course is as flat as it gets so I knew I would have a good time but wasn’t exactly sure of what I could do.  I will defiantly take it!!!

I have two more 5K in the next couple of weeks.  First is the The 8th Annual Waxhaw Town & Country Run.  This is another 5K and it will be interesting on what I can do on a normal course.  It’s a Friday night race and these races seem to be a little harder for me.  I was familiar with the old course but it has changed this year so, I really don’t know what to expect.  I will hope for a sub 24 again! 

Next race is the 5K Race for Literacy.  This is my hometown race and I hope to do well in this one also.  This is a tough course and it will be tough to PR in this one but I will give it my best.   I will have a better idea of what I can do for this race after the Waxhaw race.

I have been working out pretty hard as of lately.  I finished my 5th set of 10x400’s today and every week they have gotten a little better. My mileage is up from last year and so are my times, so it will be interesting on what I can do in the early races.  One thing I can almost guarantee is that I should beat all my times from last year in these races.  That is, if no injuries  or illness comes. ( Knock on Wood)

That’s all for now!!!

There were a couple of positive things and a couple of things I need to work on.

First the positive - I beat my PR by over a minute.  I Felt pretty good during the  race and an had a 8:03 average for the 4 miles.    The weather was perfect and the race was well organized with crowd friendly activities.   Another positive is, I’m way ahead of where I was at Last year.  That being said, I still have a lot of work to do!

Now the bad - I was really wanting to run sub 8 for all my shorter races.  I know I was close but I would really like to be in the 7:40ish range  so I can have a little cushion in case something happens during the race.  I Will definitely work on some speed drills!

My workouts have been getting better.  I did my second week of  10 x 400’s and I seem to be making some progress on them.  I decease my average by about 10 - 15 seconds overall.  I’ll keep working hard and we will see what happens.

I’m going to run the murrels inlet 5K for sure and the rest I will let you know as soon as I do!!!!

That’s all for now!!!

I feel like a wuss.  Everyone seems to be back in the saddle and I’m still trying to recover.  I feel better but my ankle seems to be giving me a fit with a weird swelling on the outside of my foot.  My legs are better but not quite there yet.

On a positive note, the first week of C25K has been nothing short of a success.  We had 38 the first class, 40 the second and 22 on a wet cold nasty 3rd class.  This has helped me get back some of my motivation.  Seeing these people want to get in shape helps me realize why we started this program.  Can’t wait till race day to see these people cross the finish line!!!   I will be thinking “Hurry up and get through so I can see everyone finish.” This will be my motivation to be fast!

My upcoming races will probably be NC Speedway, Shamrock 4 miler, Run the Inlet and Literacy 5k. 

That’s all for now!!!

Well what can I say - Everyone kicked butt!!! 

I set a new PR with a 1:53:50.  This was hard to believe because I didn’t really start out with this even in my mind.  It just kind of happened,  partly because I paced myself with someone who was out to destroy his PR.  So my first three or 4 miles was a lot faster than I anticipated.  The rest of the race I kind of put it in cruise control and tried to soak up everything about the race I could and just enjoy it.  I think I accomplished everything I set out to accomplish!!!

The rest of the guys killed it too!!!

Cole destroyed his PR with a 4:18:29 in the Full. We trained a lot together and seeing your training partner do well makes me very proud!!!

Justin killed his Full too!!!  Not sure of the time because his official time isn’t showing yet but his Garmin showed something around 4:04:00!!!

Josh blew his PR away with a 1:44:43 in the half!!!  He was on a mission!

Katherine also set a new PR in the Half!!!  She beat her pevious best by almost 20 minutes!

I’m really proud of everyone.  Seeing everyone accomplish their goals makes it all worth while and makes me glad I decided to do this race!!!

I think I’m ready as I’m going to get for this Half.  I’ve banged out some good quality miles.  In today’s 12 mile run I felt as strong as I’ve felt in a while and I ran a PR distance of 15.5 miles last week.  

I don’t have any real goals in this half.  I just want to enjoy this one with no added pressure.  I may pace myself with one of my friends who is doing the full and if I have anything left at the end, I may try to turn it up for the last 1.1 mile.

In the future, I will be fine tuning my race schedule and trying to do some different runs this year.  I may even do some runs that I said I would never do (Mud Run).  I also have Cooper River Bridge run in the back of my mind too. I know I also want to do fewer 5k’s this year but I would like to best my PR of 24:18 with maybe a sub 24.

That’s all for now!!!

My last couple of weeks have been just what i needed.  I cut back to three days a week with two shorter runs anywhere between 3-5 miles and one long run on the weekends.  I was very surprised that I could still do 11-12 miles with a decent pace.  I’m also doing a spin class at least once a week and keeping my weights up too.  This has been a very good balance for me.  Doing just the running gets old to me sometimes and this is a nice change.

I’ve come up with some new plans, some I will talk about now and some will be a revealed later.  My theme for this year is to shake things up and do some different activities in some different places.  My biggest race that I’m looking forward to the University City Duathlon!!!  This will be my first and I am looking forward to the combination of running and biking!  Another is the possibility of the Georgetown Bridge to Bridge half-marathon.  I know I’m not big on half’s, but come on, it’s the beach.  The only problem this year is  some of the races I want to do are falling on the same date as some others.  I guess this can be a good thing because that cuts down on the races I will do.  I did way too many last year.

Since out hometown Literacy 5K is April 20th, this will be another goal for me.  I would like to try and set my PR there.  On a good note, I am way ahead of where I was last year.  I hope this translates into some good, early races.  Last year, I had to fight to get back in shape. 

That’s it for now, more to come later!