Huntsville Half Marathon Race Report

My first half marathon is officially in the books, and it went better than I hoped for.

I rode up to Huntsville with Kelly and Jessica, as Jen, Coop, her brother, Tim and his wife, Nikki, drove up later to wait for me at the finish line. It was very cold (reportedly 28 degrees) when we arrived at about 8 a.m. Fortunately, we had drop bags, so we all bundled up nicely and hung out on the bus until they kicked us off after shuttling us up to the starting point.

When the race started, Kelly hung back with Jessica and I for a few miles. Since he is a much faster runner than both of us -- much to our dismay -- he kind-of pushed us to go a little faster than we originally wanted to. Eventually, he took off and we knew he was going for his goal time of less than two hours. From that point, Jess and I had a pretty smooth run.

Seeing Coop in this goofy outfit at the finish line was a perfect way to cap the race. I ran all 13.1 miles in 2:12:16.

My knee pain arrived about six miles in, which scared the shit out me. Usually, when the pain comes, I'm forced to stop and walk and I knew I wasn't going to reach my goal time of 2:25:00 if I did that. I pushed through it for about a mile and the pain gradually wore off entirely. The course was as beautiful as everyone said it was, and having Jessica there as a running partner was such a blessing. I think we kept each other honest at a solid pace and neither of us wanted to be the one who stopped and walked. It felt like we both hit a wall around the 11-mile mark, but there was a lot of entertainment (bands, cheerleaders, and other various live music) that peppered the final few miles of the course and that kept our minds occupied for the remainder of the race.

I sprinted the final 250 yards or so, even though I told Jess I wasn't going to. ;) Sorry, Jess. My competitive side kicked in a bit at the end. I couldn't find Jen, Coop, Tim and Nikki when I finished, but I located them just after I received my medal and cut the timing chip off my shoe. Kelly was there waiting, too, and he said he finished in 2:01:00, which was just over his goal time. I'm sure he would've gone under it if he didn't hang back with Jess and I for the first two or three miles.

All smiles after the race. Kudos to Jessica, who has always been my favorite running partner.

We snapped a few photos, got our stuff, said goodbye to Kelly and Jess and ate some lunch at the Huntsville Barbecue Company. When I got home, I looked up my finish time online and I clocked 2:12:16, which was almost 13 minutes faster than my goal. That time isn't going to turn any heads in the running community, but I am proud of myself for doing it. Despite fears about cardio and knee pain, I performed much better than expected. I truly don't enjoy running, but now I can say I've completed a half marathon and ran the whole way. And no, I don't have plans to do a full.

Three days later, I still feel like I was hit by a truck. My calves have never been so sore in my life...

Total distance: 13.1 miles running

Re-examining my priorities

I'm alive and well. I promise.

Due to an incredibly busy schedule, I haven't been able to update my fitness blog for about a month. I'm back though, and here's an update. The half marathon is tomorrow and I'm incredibly nervous about it. I haven't been this anxious about an event since my Bear Lake Crossing more than a year ago. Training was going very well until a little over three weeks ago, when my knee started hurting again after a long run with Jessica. Her and Kelly will be running the race, too.

Time for a run? No thanks. I'll watch Star Trek with my son instead. Maybe, if I'm lucky, he'll fall asleep.

I backed off my running a bit and amped up my workouts during swim class. Although I didn't stop exercising entirely, my dryland training came to a screeching halt, and I'm not entirely sure I'm ready for tomorrow morning's race. I never ran more than nine miles at once during my training, and somehow, I'm going to have to muscle through 13. Knowing that I never quite reached my training goal for Bear Lake, and still somehow managed to pull off that event does give me some hope that tomorrow will be OK, though. Even if it's just false confidence.

Work has been incredibly busy and my free time isn't really "free" as I am trying my best to spend that time with my family. Every new father thinks they know what is coming, and no matter how much you read in advance, you are never fully prepared. Despite all the diaper changing, play time, crying and simply trying to give Jen a bit of a break from the duties of motherhood whenever possible, it really has been an enjoyable experience thus far. But it has forced me to re-examine my priorities.

Fitness is very important, and I need to make sure I don't stray from it. However, I don't think intense training -- often sucking up multiple hours per day -- is a great thing for me or for my family right now. Now that Cooper is here, I find it very selfish to spend too much of my free time training for monster fitness events. He and Jen need me far more than I need these selfish "accomplishments." There is always more to every story, and every person has different circumstances in their lives, but I just don't see how people with multiple children can train for and participate in all of these marathon events (for any sport) and still give their families the attention they need and deserve. Somehow, I need to find a balance between staying fit and healthy, but not getting caught up in too many races, which are more of a hobby. Needs vs. wants, if you will.

Anyway, enough of my personal anecdotes. In a perfect world, I will finish tomorrow's half marathon in under 2 hours and 25 minutes with little or no knee pain. That probably won't happen, but who knows. ... maybe I'll get lucky.

Half way to the Half

I'm officially half way through my half marathon training. I pulled off an 8-mile run on Saturday, which is tied for the longest I've ever done on foot. Jessica met me at the Weber River Parkway in Riverdale and we went for it.

The sweet bottle-opener medals
for the half. I'm excited to earn one.

The last time I ran eight miles was more than two years ago -- the first time I attempted to train for a half marathon -- and it ended badly. That day was when my knee pain first arrived, so naturally, I was nervous about Saturday's run. However, I managed the whole thing without too much discomfort. Some pain arrived in the final half-mile or so, but I'm feeling good in the immediate days after, which is a good sign. Running with Jessica was also nice, as we are very closely matched as far as pace and distance goes.

This week's "long" run is only five miles, so that will give me a nice recovery before jumping up to nine miles next week. Also, this semester's swim class begins tomorrow, so I'll be more vigilant about doing my cross training like I'm supposed to.

Anyway, there's not a ton of new stuff to report other than that. I did hit the 500-mile mark last week, which certainly is an accomplishment when stacked on top of the swimming and cycling mileage I've covered since starting this blog.

Weekly total distance: 13 miles running

Half Marathon Training: Week 2 Report

Last night, Jen gave me the biggest confidence boost I've heard in many years. I was changing after getting out of the shower, and while feeding Cooper on the other side of the room, she said, "Matt, I can see your abs right now." Although I certainly don't have defined abs or a six pack, her unsolicited compliment really lifted my spirits. I guess over time, you may eventually see a small measure of results if you stick to your training and diet.

Jen stroked my ego, complimenting my abs. This is probably what they really look like.

Anyway, I'm more than two weeks into my half marathon training plan, and all is going according to schedule, so far. I haven't missed a single workout and my times continue to improve. For example, in Week 1, I ran a 2-mile speed interval in 18:45. Today (Week 3), I ran it in 17:33. I pulled off my first 5-mile run in 53:54, and on Saturday, I clocked my second one in 50:30.

Swim class ended last week, so for the next two weeks -- until the next swim class begins -- I'm going to have to find an alternate cross training method. It shouldn't be an issue, as there are all sorts of things I can do.

I officially registered for the Huntsville Half Marathon today, so there is no backing out at this point. Even if the knee pain re-emerges, I'll have no choice but to at least walk the entire race. But so far, my knee his holding up OK, although I haven't logged any serious (6-to-11-mile) runs yet. Saturday will be the next test at six miles.

Weekly total distance: 10 miles running, 1,500 yards swimming

New kicks and new training plan

Last week, I officially started my half marathon training. Jen bought me a new pair of running shoes for my birthday, which I badly needed. We went to Striders in Layton and got my feet, positioning and running style checked out, as they fitted me with a pair of shoes that fit me best. Hopefully, that will limit the knee pain I've been plagued with during long runs this past year.

My new kicks. Probably the most money I've spent on a pair of shoes since I was in high school.

I mapped out a nine-week training plan, that involves five workouts per week leading up to race day. I will do two shorter runs (3-5 miler, 2-3 mile speed run) and a long run (starting at 5 miles, working up to 11) on Saturdays. Two days a week will be devoted to swimming and two days are for rest. I think stretching and using my foam roller regularly will be key to not injuring myself in training. That's what I did last time I attempted to train for a half, as I was running too much, too fast. This will be a gradual increase and not actually reaching the full 13-mile run until race day itself.

Anyway, I started training while on a work trip in Boston and tested out the new shoes on the treadmill in the hotel gym. I wanted to go out and about and run around the city, but I was instructed not to run outside in the shoes until I tested them out, or else I wouldn't be able to return/swap them out for different ones. Everywhere I went, people were constantly running up and down the sidewalk streets and through the parks. Running seems to be a big "thing" in Boston, which I suppose makes sense, considering the most popular marathon in the world is held there every year.

I knocked out the first "long" run on Saturday with five miles at Planet Fitness, and the shoes passed with flying colors. My knee was a little bit uncomfortable toward the end, but not painful.

Total distance (for the week): 10 miles running, 1,100 yards swimming

What's next? Half marathon?

It's been a full week since Bear Lake, which is the longest I've gone without working out since I started exercising again over a year and a half ago. I saw the specialist on Tuesday and, to my disappointment, he really didn't give me any new information about my shoulder. The only thing I learned is that I haven't seriously damaged anything, so surgery or anything like won't be required. He offered me another cortisone injection, but I turned it down, because it only seemed to piss my shoulder off even more last time.

It's torture to use, but it is very highly reviewed for helping with IT band injuries.

I think I'm going to take one more full week off from swimming while trying to strengthen my tendons a bit with exercises the doc gave me. In the meantime, I bought a foam roller to help toughen up and stretch out my IT band in my knee. I say this because Wes is trying to talk me into running the Huntsville Half Marathon with him in a little over a month. That isn't a ton of time to train, but cardio-wise, I think I'm already in moderate shape. A half marathon and perhaps even a full marathon are both on my bucket list, but the knee kind of stopped me the last time I trained for one, although I was making very good progress, reaching eight miles at one point.

I'll start tomorrow with a 3-4 mile run with Wes and see how it feels.

New personal best at Ogden River Parkway

Today, Kelly and I planned on doing a long run at the Ogden River Parkway. He's still training hard for the Ogden Marathon, while I've been slacking off with no running events in the near future. The Salt Lake Marathon likely isn't happening and I haven't been lucky enough to win an entry to the Ogden Half during the weekly 'Love for Locals' drawings.

I kind of felt like this after my run, until I discovered someone mistaked my water bottle for garbage and threw it away.

Anyway, I decided running with him would help me get my ass in gear and boy did it work. He went for a new personal-best 10 miles and I just wanted to see how far I could go. Kelly ran a half before, but an injury kept him from running the entire thing, so this was his new non-stop running best. The parkway is nice because it has markers every half-mile, although sometimes its hard to enjoy the scenery, because if you aren't watching your feet you are liable to step in dog shit. That stuff was everywhere on the trail.

Once I hit mile-marker two, I decided to turn around, just in case I got too far out and couldn't pull off the long run back. Once I got back to the start, I took a swig of my water bottle and went back out again. I was pretty tired, but once I hit the fifth mile I kind of got over the hump. I decided I had it in me to run back to mile-marker two and go for an 8-mile run (my previous high was 6.25 miles). Kelly and I crossed paths on his way back to the start, because he went all the way out to mile three before his first turnaround. We met again about a half-mile after I hit mile-marker two and I gutted it out to the finish.

However, once I returned, my bottle of water was gone. At first I thought it was stolen, but then I had a suspicion someone saw it and thought it was left there as 'litter' and threw it awy. Sure enough, when I looked in the trash can a few hundred yards up the trail, there it was. Blast! Kelly came trotting in with his dog Luigi about 15 minutes after, pulling off his 10-mile run. Man that guy is a strong runner. He makes it look pretty easy although he admitted he was pretty gassed, too. We refueled with some Quizno's after some light stretching and celebrated our milestones.

Total distance: 8 miles running

Workout with some company

Today was a nice workout because Kelly joined me. I haven't been able to work out with him in a while, so it was nice to have a companion at the gym. Just like me, Kelly is training for a marathon, except he is a much braver soul than I and he is going to do the whole thing. He's already done a half before and he's taking a class up at Weber State that is helping train for the full one.

Initially I wanted to do a 3.5-mile run followed by 35 minutes on the bike. Kelly did a long run yesterday, so he took it easy and paced me for the first mile. However, after 1.5 miles my shins were throbbing. I used to get shin splints often back when I was heavier, but they have become much less of an issue over the past nine months or so. I don't know why they flared up so bad today, especially since I didn't work out yesterday. Perhaps I just didn't stretch right or enough. But I had to call the quits and hop on the bike for the rest of the way.

Because I cut my run short, I went for 45 minutes on the bike instead of 35 minutes. I pushed it a little harder than normal, though and I was working up a nice sweat. I followed it with some light bicep/tricep work and some crunches. Then Kelly and I chatted it up in the sauna for a little while before hitting my place for some grilled-cheese sandwiches and watched an episode of "How I Met Your Mother."

On Sunday, I'm joining Kelly for a 7-mile run up by Dinosaur Park in Ogden. Hopefully I can make it. I've never gone that far before.

Total distance: 1.5 miles running, 12.7 miles cycling

Doctors suck!

I'm starting to lose faith in doctors. Not only have I been told separate things by different doctors regarding what's wrong with my shoulder, the more they continue to try and figure it out, the longer I'm stuck out of the pool. My January 3 trip revealed I still have tendinitis and with a cortisone shot I should be good to go in 4-6 weeks. Well, it's been over three weeks and I haven't noticed even a bit of improvement in the shoulder pain. I've done everything the doctor asked, including regular icing, stretching, an ibuprofen regimen and I've steered clear of any exercise that involves lifting my arms laterally... to no avail.


My doctor feels strangly similar to Leo Spaceman (from 30 Rock)

Perhaps I'm just being impatient. Maybe the pain will magically disappear in the next three weeks, but I highly doubt it. It seems like I'm running out of options and I don't know what to do. There must be something seriously wrong, considering how much it continues to hurt and how much I've been pampering it.
Anyway, in the meantime I've still been training for a half marathon. It sounds like there is a strong possibility the Salt Lake City marathon isn't happening this year, due to recent turmoil with finances, so I'm trying to find a race I can still train for. The Ogden Marathon has been sold out for some time, but they hold regular drawings for people who donate to their various charities. I went and donated to one of the Goal Foundation's parter organizations this week's, so perhaps, with a little luck, I can win a spot and register in the Ogden half. Here's hoping.

Today I did a nice easy 45 minutes on the bike, followed by some light weight lifting and did some serious stretching on my shoulder in the sauna. I did my 6-mile run on Monday, although I initially wanted to do it last Saturday. I'm still on for my first 7-mile run this weekend, though.

Total distance: 12.4 miles cycling

First long training run tomorrow

I'm trying a training regimen that I read online in preparation for April's half marathon. Here's how it kind of goes.

Monday: 3-mile run, 30 minutes cross training (cycling, swimming, etc.)
Tuesday: 60 minutes cross training, weights
Wednesday: 3-mile run, 30 minutes cross training
Thursday: 30-60 minutes cross training, weights
Friday: Off/rest
Saturday: 6-mile run
Sunday: Off/rest

You can mix up the days as you feel, but every two weeks the distances increase. So, next week, the short runs will be 3.5 miles, the cross trainings will be 5-10 minutes longer and the weekend long run will be 7 miles. I've budgeted out the weeks before the half marathon so I'm up to 12 miles the week before the race. Hopefully that will be enough and I'm not doing too much too fast.

Anyway, I did my second 3-mile run yesterday along with 30 minutes on the bike. Obviously, behind schedule, instead of taking today off I did 40 minutes of cycling along with some weight lifting. Tomorrow I will run six miles on the indoor track, which I have found to be much less strenuous and painful on my knees and feet than the treadmill. Jen will be with me, so perhaps that will give me extra motivation to push it hard.

Total distance: 9.6 miles cycling