28April2008
Posted by Terrence York under: Terrence York (Coach).
Saturday morning when I took my dogs for a walk the first time before I drove to Cascade aqautic center for my long run I was going to wear shorts and a long sleeve shirt due to it was kinda of warm and there was just a little wind. Twenty minutes later when I took my dogs outside for the second time the wind had picked up and it was chilly. So I went back inside and put on some running pants and a running jacket over my long sleeve shirt. I also brought my hat and gloves.
When I greeted Coach Woj in the parking lot I am so glad I had my winter running clothes on and brought my gloves and hat because as I got out of my car there was a huge gust 0f wind and it was very cold.
Coach Mike D and myself ran and chatted for about 3 miles and then fellow road warrior Matt and a new member Catherine (I hope I spelled your name correctly) joined us for the rest of the cold and windy run. Catherine was telling us about her first marathon in Bankok. How there really wasn’t any traffic control for the marathon and no gatorade at the water stops. What a way to experince your first marathon. She had also mention one of her goals was to race in one marathon a year in a differnt country. I thought that would be so cool. For myself I am going to try to stick to two marathons a year and closer to home.
After we got about the twelve mile mark Mike D and Catherine picked up their pace. Matt I finished the sixteen miler at about 2:06. I felt really good afterwards. Thanks for the great conversation Catherine and the pacing Mike and Matt.
Terry
28April2008
Posted by Steve Kelly under: Steve Kelly.
For someone that struggles with pace this bad boy is a must! They sure don’t give the things away, but I think for me it was worth the investment. I did most of my long run Sunday by myself, for the first time in a long time. I was able to keep four fields of view open; distance, pace, time and heart rate. You can customize them for your preference. I was able to dial in my pace consistently for like the first time ever for me. That gives me confidence for the 10th and I can’t put a price on that.
I haven’t installed the software or quite figured out all it’s abilities, but I’m impressed. If you have a runner in your life and gift time is nearing…get online! They’ll surely show their appreciation. Hope that helped all of you in negotiations to get one!
I hooked up with some Road Warriors for our usual Sunday run afterwards and finished up strong. Thanks coach Mike and Terri for staying with my pace and for all the advice and words of encouragement. It means so much. When I think of where we were back in December at our first meeting and now, wow, we’ve all come a long way. All that snow, week after week. The bonks. The frozen peas and Motrin. The breakthroughs. The new friends.
I hear you Matt about fearing injury with less than two weeks to go. My hip is sore today, like it needs to crack. I’m taking it easy today and don’t think it’s much, but man it gets in your head after all this training.
Let your friends know they’re working on a way to have me broadcast part of the race from the course. I’m sure I’ll contribute little more than panting! We start just after 7 on Saturday the 10th on NewsRadio WOOD 1300. Yes, they’ll cover the real race primarily! I’m just there as a staff member to add some lighthearted (and lightheaded) observations. Tune in!
Blessings to all of you training for the big day. Road Warriors the time is almost here.
26April2008
Posted by Bob Estes under: Bob Estes.
What used to be hard is now relatively common place. Not long ago I believed 10 miles of running would have been too much and too far for me too endure. It’s amazing what those training runs can overcome. This morning I spent some quality time with many of my fellow Run Gazelle runners and Road Warriors running through the Cascade area. It was cold and windy. A challenge sure, but nothing we hadn’t experienced during winter training. When we were done, 10 miles was behind us and while it was a bit more strenuous than a run around the block, It wasn’t overwhelming.
As we grow closer to the big day we grow confident with our training and take encouragement from each other. I ran with fellow Warriors Shelly, Shirl and Julie. It was fun visiting with these ladies as we ran. I’m excited to see our progress towards the final goal.
I should apologize to Joyce. I talked to my friend and one of my original running partners from the Downtown Y before running and said that I would run with her. When I started the run, I felt so great that I just ran faster than I thought I would and I kept rolling.
25April2008
Posted by Deborah Pieri under: Deborah Pieri.
Yesterday was one of “those” days at school. I was exhausted when I left school at 5 to go pick my son, Joe up from track practice. All the way home I kept thinking about how great it would be to just relax, and do nothing but correct papers and maybe have a glass of wine. Instead I forced myself to change into my running gear and head over to the track in East Grand Rapids for some speed work. All the way there I kept thinking that I was just too tired for speed work, and that it probably wasn’t a good idea to go. Even when I got out of the car at the track, my brain was still negotiating with my body, saying “Well at least do the warm-up!” It seems that some of the other runners were also dragging a bit, judging by the conversation as we ran the 2 mile warm-up and then headed out on the track. Speedy Chaz of leap frog fame was there. Only he wasn’t leap frogging last night. . . just burning up the track with speed! Way to go Chaz!
I ran my few 400’s with Emily who is training to run her first 25k on May 10th. She is the daughter of an old friend. She was feeling like me. . . tired and sore. We both ran it under our goals. As I ran the 2nd 400 I thought OK that’s good now I can go home, but something inside of me pushed me to do a 3rd. . . even faster! I can’t stop now. . . I need an even number. . .bring on number 4. Good enough I thought. . . time to go home. I even started to walk off the track. Well, maybe one more, says my brain. . . the body is not so sure, but my feet are moving around the track. The first 200 is easy and I feel great, then the wind slams me on the back side of the track. One more and one more, toughing it out against that wind. And then, oh wow, am I already on number 8? I run number 8 with Rick. . . . one of the nicest and friendliest runners I have ever met. We tear it up and I finish 15 seconds faster than my goal pace! Thanks a bunch Rick! After a mile cool down and some stretching, I am feeling awesome. As a matter of fact, I can’t wipe the grin off my face. When I arrive home and tell my runner son of the struggle to force myself through the speed work, he laughs and says, “Nice work Mom.” I know my speed work is not at the same grueling level his is at track practice, but he is very encouraging to me.
One of the best things about being a road warrior is having the opportunity to train with rungazelle and the other road warriors. I’ve never trained with a big group before. I love the energy, the camaraderie, the encouragement, the laughs, the coffee after the long runs, and yes, even the speed work! I am so impressed with this group that I am seriously considering signing up for a membership after the race. I would highly encourage those who are training alone to consider the benefits of training with a group. We push each other when we don’t feel like running. Even on the most brutal days this past winter, lots of runners would show up! That was amazing!
I know that I am stronger and faster than when I first began training in December. I am excited because I see myself growing as a runner, even after 10 years of running and being 51 years old! I can still set goals and knock them down! I love it!
Two weeks to go!
Deb
24April2008
Posted by Shelly under: Shelly Batterbee.
14 seconds: That’s how many seconds fellow Road Warrior Chaz beat me by in the Schmohz 5K. That means I either I was running super-Gazelle-like to be able to keep up with him in sight the whole time, or he was not quite on the top of his game. Well, seeing that it was a pretty darned slow 5K even for ME, we’ll probably have to presume Chaz was, um, taking the relaxed way around the parking lot loops. If he’d not blocked the finish line with his leap frog antics, however, I’m SURE I could have taken him. I think I should demand a new race! HA!
We all seem to agree that the 15K Training Run this past Saturday was pretty fantastic. It was a great course to run—not quite the same route as the 25K will be, but parts of it were the same. The weather was amazing, the aid stations were great to have, and the volunteers were all friendly and encouraging. I always try to thank the people who cheer us on as I go by—I don’t know if you realize how much of a difference that can make to us runners to have you there! I wish I could have some of you around on every long training run!
I was able to finish the training run with a 10:38 minute/mile average. That is pretty good for me! My 5K was done with a 10:32 min/mile average later in the day, so that was nice to keep all 12 miles averaging pretty consistently for the day. It was not a great 5K average, even for me, but considering I’d already done 9.8 miles earlier in the day, I’m ok with it!
I’d like to shout out a few hellos and thanks as I end these thoughts today:
Hi to Clint—whom I met along the Training Run around mile 4.5. It was nice to meet you—thanks for keeping me going—and hope you and your wife have a great Riverbank Run on May 10!
Hi to Stacy, CJ, and Deb—all RunGazellers—it was nice to meet you in person! I hope to see you more even after the Riverbank when I will finally attempt to work on speed. Wait, CJ and Stacy are headin’ to FL–have a great new start to life down there. Think of us next January when we’re training in a blizzard and you’re complaining that it’s only 55 degrees.
Thanks, too, to Mark from RunGazelle—for checking up on me after this weekend. Hope your foot is doing better, too.
And in case anyone is wondering from my last post, eating more is working. It’s just a lot of work to eat so much now! Thanks to my friend Jeanine for also mentioning the site I now use to track my food, I’d forgotten to mention she brought it up a few months back. ; )
See you all at the starting line…whether you are running or cheering us on…in 15 more days!
24April2008
Posted by Matt Stargardt under: Matt Stargardt.
Two things that I can be assured of in the 15 days before the race. I will get new aches and pains in weird places and I will start to watch the long range forecast on an hourly basis.
Its always strange to me that I will feel pains as my legs heal from the weeks of heavier work. Common sense says I should be feeling better. I also get very conscious about the freak accidents that you have to worry about………For instance…..If I throw out my back now will I have time to heal before the race? A Dopke style fall right now could take me out at any time…..now matter how well trained I am. Should I avoid sharp objects for the next 15 days????
The weather is a gamble. I hate hot muggy weather. My ideal riverbank temperature is 50……maybe 55……rain I’m ok with……but not hot tumid air. So I will watch the forecast hoping for it to be on my side. I will watch it for the next 15 days. I will watch it on my computer. I will watch it on my cell phone. I’ll check weather on the 8’s on TV. I might even check the framers almanac. If I can find a wooly bear caterpillar…I’ll measure its black stripe. All this even though I know we live in Michigan and the thing will change at least 27 times between now and then.
Storm Team 8 be good to me.
Matt