2013 City Of Oaks Marathon

This past Sunday was the 2013 City of Oaks marathon in Raleigh North Carolina and the culmination of 4 months of training for what was my first marathon.

With two half marathons under my belt with a fastest time of 1h 40m I had decided it was time to step up to the challenge of a marathon.

As mentioned in previous posts, I always approach a race with a list of goals with the objective to hit as many as possible. My initial goals were:

• Get to the starting line.
• Get to the finish line.
• Run in under 3hours 30minutes

My training was pretty intensive and I followed a training program provided by Garmin. Over the course of 4 months I ran for over 82 hours completing over 540 miles with my average speed increasing from 6.4 mph to 6.8 mph. Things were looking good for a 3h 30m time.

With 3 weeks to race day, just before I was due to start my taper, I started experiencing pain on the top of my left foot. At a visit to a podiatrist he indicated that it could be stress fractures and sent me for a bone density scan. Fortunately the results came back negative for stress fractures and I was allowed to run assuming that I could recover sufficiently. I stopped running, iced the foot whenever possible and scheduled ultrasound treatments.

At this point I had to revise my goals. With the disruption in training and nursing an injured foot I was unlikely to be able to attempt the 3h 30m pace I was hoping for and therefore changed my goals to the following:

• Get to the starting line.
• Get to the finish line.
• Complete the marathon barefoot.
• Run in under 4 hours.

Race day arrived with an added bonus of the clocks going back meaning that my 4:30am start was really 5:30am body clock time. Some orange juice, a large bowl of oatmeal followed by coffee and I left the house at 5:30am for a 7am race start time.

This was going to be a beautiful day, but the clear skies meant that the morning air was chilly, and wearing shorts and a running vest meant that keeping warm at the start was a challenge.

Now was the time to decide, did I line up with the 3h 30m pace group or the 4h pace group. The adrenaline had kicked in and I decided to go with the 3h 30m pace group. Fortunately, at 7am, right on time, the gun sounded and we were off and within 10 seconds I was across the line tracking the pace group, heading east towards downtown Raleigh. I managed to keep with the 3h 30m pace group for the first 12miles before having to stop for a quick bathroom break (annoying) then loosing sight of them. At the half way point I was at 1h 46m and feeling great. It was around  mile 15 when we hit some downhill portions of the run, which aggravated my injured foot forcing me to slow down, then by mile 18, it was back uphill to the finish. It was about this time that my thigh muscles started to fatigue and cramp. The remainder of the race was a struggle, but approaching the final half mile I was pleased that I hadn't seen the 4hour pace group, then .....

On my right shoulder the two 4 hour pace runners appeared and I explained that I really wanted to finish in under 4 hours. They verbally pushed and encouraged me and were the sole reason I crossed the line with the clock at 3h 59m 57s !!

Overall Place	Mens Place	Age Group	Chip Time	Gun Time
229/770	185/493	23/60	3:59:44	3:59:57

The City of Oaks Marathon is not an easy race and I suspect not a race where people will set a personal best, however, given that a few weeks prior I was unsure if I was going to even be able to start the race I was really pleased with my result.

Up next, training for the 2014 Raleigh Half Ironman.

NEHFD 5k

Today as part of National Employee Health and Fitness Day we had a chip timed 5k race with approximately 140 competitors.

I got to try out my new Timex Run Trainer 2.0 GPS watch in a competitive race for the first time. It was a very unusual weather day in NC today, we had low cover cloud and drizzle .... all day. Still with temperatures in the mid 60's it was better conditions that the blistering hot 90's we had last year.

Due to the rain and slippery conditions I decided not to run barefoot but instead wear my huarache sandals for better traction. The 5k course is challenging with the first mile being primarily down hill and the final two miles being uphill. My goal was to run in the 22 minute time frame. The following image shows the lap times for this run using a display of lap times from Endomondo.

 My GPS watch worked flawlessly with a distance of 3.11 miles being recorded, see summary below:

Overall, not a bad race, although it was definitely a tough race. Most of my training consists of longer distance and endurance making this shorter distance race much tougher.

2013 American Tobacco Trail Half Marathon

So this was going to be my second half marathon after running the Raleigh Rocks Half Marathon last April. I had intended running the American Tobacco Trail (ATT) last year but missed the sign up by one day.

Of course, this race was going to be a bit different as I would be running it minimalist style.

It was an early start for a Sunday with the alarm going off at 4:30am, a quick shower to wake myself up and then downstairs for breakfast. I do not follow any particular race diet, instead I stick to my normal routine. After a bowl of oatmeal and orange juice I brewed some fresh strong coffee for the 20 minute drive to the remote parking location.

The drive was uneventful but it was interesting to see all the other vehicles obviously heading to the same destination with their vehicles decorated with 13.1 and 26.2 stickers.

In the car I ate a couple of GU Chomps before a short walk to the line of waiting buses and we were quickly taken to the starting location.

Arriving at the baseball park I was surprised at how many people were there already and the length of the lines at the Porta-johns. Finding a quiet location near a light so that I could see, I took time to tie my huarache sandals making sure there were no twists in the laces that could cause discomfort during the run.

Next task was to get rid of my backpack. Although not a big issue I think it would be a good idea in the future to pre-label my bag (name and race number) and also tie something bright and distinguishing making identification after the race that much easier and quicker amongst the hundreds of other bags.

With 30 minutes to go, next was a necessary visit to one of the numerous Porta-johns after the mornings OJ, coffee and water.

With about 20 minutes until the start the pace runners for the 1hr 40min time walked past me on the way to lining up. My goal was to complete the race in under 1hr 45m, but the pace runners are separated by 10 minute intervals, so I choose the quicker pace with the view that I would stay as close to them for as long as possible.

After a very cool rendition of the American national anthem on the saxophone the race was started. At my first half marathon, I started way too far back from the starting line and spent much of the first two miles dodging my way around slower runners. This time was much better. There were still a number of runners who really should have lined up further back but not enough to cause any issues.

The first two miles were around the 7m 35s pace which was spot on and I was feeling good, in fact by mile three as we hit the Tobacco Trail I had left the pacers behind.

Drink stations are always a challenge as trying to take on fluids and run at the same time is always a problem. Typically, I tend not to slow down and try and get one or two mouthfuls of water at each station.

A great advantage for this race was that I had run this section of the Tobacco Trail many times and before I knew I was approaching the half way mark and was feeling great. After 45 minutes I consumed a GU Gel (vanilla bean) and shortly after arrived at the mid-point of the race where the organizers had a clock set up. The time was 50m 26s, which was about 2 minutes ahead of my goal time and I was still ahead of the 1h 40m pace group (who were about 1 minute behind).

About mile 8 the pace group finally caught me, forcing me to up my pace to try and stay with them. I managed to stay with them until about mile 9 when I just could not keep up any longer.

Normally by mile 9 things start to not feel comfortable, in particular, there may be some discomfort with my knees or more importantly my IT band on the outside of my left knee. However, for this race at least, I was having no problems.

For the remainder of the race, I kept the pace group in sight but was unable to close the gap until the last mile. At this point the competitors were spread out, and I was starting to increase my pace using a couple of runners in front of me as a target. Finally, I crossed the line not paying too much attention to the time but seeing that it was around 1h 40mins.

Immediately, you are supplied with a medal, a space blanket and a bottle of water. I thanked the pace guys and decided to pick up my bag. With my jacket on, I finally realized that I had to stop my Endomono gps app on my phone.

The organizers had ensured that there were plenty of supplies for runners at the end of the race. Chocolate milk, yogurt, bread from the Great Harvest Bread company, Papa Johns pizza, fruit (bananas and oranges) and beer.

The real time updates for the race on their web site meant I was able to confirm my times and positions in the race immediately.

After cheering on a few runners through the finish line it was time to head home. In no time I was on a bus back to my car for the short drive home.

So, my second half marathon was complete and not only was I able to meet all my goals, but they were actually exceeded.. What next ....

Half Marathon - Setting Goals

As my second half marathon is only 6 weeks away I realized I have goals that I have already set in my mind that are probably worth sharing. Whilst training for my first half marathon this time last year, I remember reading online about goal setting and when it comes to running one of those goes should be getting to the start line.

During my 12 week training schedule last year, I ended up pulling a ham string with about 6 weeks to go. I was out of action for 2 weeks and then slowly built up my distances and speed until race day. What I learnt from that experience is that one goal you have should always be just getting to the start line.

So here are my goals for this years race:

• To get to the starting line.
• To finish the race.
• To beat my personal best (and only) time of 1hr 50mins.
• To finish the race in under 1hr 45minutes.

Obviously, I hope that I achieve all these goals, however I think it is important to realize that even just reaching the start line is an great achievement. Training for any significant running event requires training, and often several hundred miles of training; how can that be anything but a success.

I'm Sexy and I know It .....Not

After a three week break due to work and a vacation I finally got back to running the other day with an early morning 5 mile run. Felt pretty good although I was taking it easy with 9.5 min/mile. Until recently all my barefoot running has been done in warm, hot or blazingly hot weather. This last early morning run temperatures were down in the 40's (Fahrenheit) and the only part of me that was cold were my toes.

This is going to be a problem when the really cold weather kicks in so I finally broke down and purchased some minimalist running shoes to be used in cold weather.

After some research I ended up purchasing a pair of Vibram FiveFingers Bikala.

First 10 Miler

Last Sunday I decided to hit the American Tabacco Trail. Now we had a big rain storm pass through the previous evening and so I decided to wear my huarache sandals. When the ground is damp or wet and you are running barefoot the sharp stones tend to stick to the soles of your feet. So to avoid that discomfort I decided on some minimalist footwear.

The goal of this run was distance, not necessarily speed and concentrating on good form.
10.4 miles later I had got back to the car. My longest run so far in the minimalist style. Now, I have followed this run with two additional runs so far this week for a total of 20 miles this week. I am tempted to try another 10 tomorrow to hit 30 miles for the week. Of course, that depends on my "honey do list".

Luna Sandals DIY Kit

How long would it take to convert the 9x11 Vibram neoprene sole plate and two 72" leather laces into a pair of huaraches.

It was Sunday evening and I figured I had a couple of hours to spare, and I had already viewed the instructions on the Luna Sandals website and had watched the videos on how to tie them.

Right foot template.

Getting started I traced my right foot and then my left on two separate pieces of letter sized paper. Comparing the two, my right foot is slightly bigger than the left and I decide to use the right foot template for both feet.

My next challenge was getting the template positioned on the sole plate so that I could get two sandals out of the one piece of Vibram neoprene. The Luna sandal website states that if both feet fit on a piece of letter size paper then the 9x11 piece of neoprene should be sufficient. Apparently my 11.5 US size feet must be wider than most because I had a great deal of trouble fitting my template on the neoprene. As it turns out using a white crayon to mark around the template worked pretty well and as you can see the markings were fairly clear and easy to follow.

The next step was to cut out the soles. Using a new blade on a cutting board, it was fairly easy to make a clean cut on the inside of the white line, through the 6mm Vibram neoprene.

White crayon lines outline the soles on the neoprene.

The result of my first cut can be seen below. As can be seen it was rather a tight fit and I only just managed to get the two soles.

After 10 minutes or so, I had my two soles cut out. I don't have a lot of free time so I did not clean up the edges with sand paper but my goal was to get these ready so that I could try them out. Using a drill bit I created the toe hole and the holes either side of the heel for the laces that I elongated using the knife.

Finally, I was able to lace up my pair of custom made huaraches.

One of my sons said that they are a "crime against fashion" and sure enough they are not the prettiest of things, however, runners aren't generally renown for their fashion sense.

So this whole process probably took about 1 to 1.5 hours. If I had to do it again, I suspect it would only take about 30 to 40 minutes.

Hmmm they don't look like sandals

Ordering the Luna sandals on Wednesday I had resigned myself to the fact that it would probably be Monday or Tuesday of next week before they arrived. I was surprised when the package arrived mid-afternoon today (Saturday).

My new Luna Sandals (hopefully)

Anyway, here is a picture of the contents of the package. I went with the base option which was just the sole with leather laces. The only additional items are an accompanying letter and something that resembles a sticker ...

I have a really busy day tomorrow, but I would love to find time to make these and perhaps give them a try ... well see ....

Luna Sandals

Just ordered a Luna Sandal kit. I decided that whilst I am building up my foot strength I need something that will allow me to continue putting in the miles.

Letting go of the Security Blanket

So today at work we had a 5k race for National Employee Health and Fitness day. My big decision was whether to run barefoot or with my running shoes.
This would have been a no-brainer, but I had run a 5k barefoot just 5 days ago and was still nursing a small blood blister on my left foot. So, the question I was wrestling with was whether my foot (blister) would hold up for another 5k.
I decided to run barefoot and carry my running shoes just in case I should need them. Within the first minute I caught up with another barefoot runner who immediately noted my "security blanket".
As it turns out, I completed the race with no problem other than a small blister on one toe on my right foot.
The race results showed that I finished 33rd out of 110 runners with a time of 24:57. Not my fastest 5k, but this course was hilly and it was hot and humid too so I was quite satisfied.
With my second 5k complete barefoot, there will be no more "security blankets" for me.

Blisters and Personal Bests

Yesterday I really felt like running and managed to find a spare 50 minutes in my day when I could get out to a local trail.

This was going to be my first 3 mile run completely barefoot. One thing to note is that the trail I was running is flat, and it's surface is ash/gravel.

I won't lie, and this run was hard on my feet but I was able to find some grass and sandy areas to give my feet some relief.

My lap times for the first two miles were just over 8 minutes each which meant I could beat my 5k personal best of over 24 minutes. Feeling good I tried to pick up the pace for the last mile and felt really good.

The result ? Well I ran 5k in 23 minutes 38 seconds .... barefoot. What was more impressive, for me at least was that I ran the last mile in 7 minutes 11 seconds. Not only was I happy that I had completed the 3.5 miles barefoot, but I had set some personal bests, so going barefoot did not necessarily mean me running slower.

Legs (hamstrings, IT band, knees etc.) felt really good, although I don't normally have any tightness until about mile 5, and my feet felt fine. On getting home I was able to take a closer look at my feet and everything looked fine except for dirt and a single blood blister about the size of a dime on my left foot.

Overall, I am happy with my first "distance" barefoot run ... I have a 5k in 3 days, do I dare do it barefoot ?

Barefoot Running - The beginning

So with my half marathon out of the way, I took a break from running for a couple of weeks. Last Sunday I ran 5.5 miles just to get back into the swing of running. Still having the burning sensation on the right side of my right knee, which I hope I can self treat with some stretching.

So today, I decided to start my introduction in barefoot running. My goal here is to be able to run about 5 miles barefoot (without destroying any body parts). Fortunately at work, I have a 1/4 mile tarmac loop available which is great for increasing my distance slowly. I did four laps today for a total of one mile and felt great afterwards, I didn't even have any issues with the IT band on the right knee.

I will continue to increase the distance over the next week and hope that by the end of next week I may be up to 2 miles. As I mentioned, I am taking this very slowly for now.

First Half Marathon

So a few weeks back I completed my first half marathon. In spite of the hamstring injury during training I made it to the starting line and achieved my goal of running the race in under 2 hours, actually 1 hour 52 minutes 9 seconds.

I was quite surprised how good I felt at the end which kind of makes me wonder how much I could have pushed it during the race.

The hamstrings held up, but instead I ended up with a burning on the right side of my right knee. From what I can determine it is probably an aggravate IT band.

Now, I need to decide what to do next .... onto barefoot running.

Naked Feet

I want to run bare foot !! There, I said it !! I don't know if it is good or bad for you and from the research I can find on the internet there is no definitive, or should I say reliable, information out there about the benefits or risks.

This blog is going to record my venture into bare foot running, so it may be short. Even if the information is not useful to anyone else it will be a useful method my progress or perhaps my lack of progress.

Here goes ...