Post Race Recovery

Post race recovery is a tricky kitty. I try to follow the one easy day for every mile ran rule. I took Sunday and Monday completely off, but decided to run an easy 4 yesterday. I can walk around all day at work and feel just fine, but this is where the tricky part comes into play. As soon as I left my home, I could feel every ounce of effort I had put into my race come back to my instantly fatigued legs. It hurt. The easy four miles quickly deteriorated into a painful shuffle. As I type these very words, I have a heating pad plastered to my back. Oh race recovery, how I loathe you.

Praise the Lord and run on!

Nutri-Run Recap

I awoke this past Saturday morning prepared to run the second race of my 2011 running season, the Nutri-Run 5 miler. It was a gorgeous day out, sunny, slightly chilly, and a slight breeze. Great running weather in my book! I ate my pre-race meal, grabbed my Brooks gym bag, and headed out the door.

Everything leading up to the race went incredibly smooth. I sat in my car right before the race and took a couple of pics, slid on my new Brooks T7 Racers, slid off the running pants revealing my shorty shorts, and headed to the starting line.

The race began, and as I normally go out too fast, I tried intentionally to slide into my goal pace. I clocked in at  mile 1 about 20 seconds faster then planed (even with the plethora of hills). I thought, dang, but decided to hold onto that pace for as long as I possibly could. Miles 2,3,4...right on in regards to my new faster pace. Hitting mile 5 was where it got tough. The hills had really worn on my legs and I was now running into a strong headwind.

Just as I started to lose focus, a fellow runner passed me. The thought of slowing down passed through my mind, but quickly dissipated. I latched on, and followed her through to the finish. My goal time for this race? 40 minutes. My actual time? 38:44!!!  Compared to my time last year this is very sad, but for where I am in my training right now, it made me very happy!

Not thinking I was anywhere near an award, I ended up 2nd out of 3 in my age group receiving a pineapple (see picture below). I also placed 20th out of 112.

The Nutri-run has always been a great early season race, and I plan on running it again in 2012. Maybe next year I'll be in shape enough to complete the 20K!

Praise the Lord and run on!

The Fast Track

Ran my first speed workout of the year last night! What a beautiful night for it too! Headed to the track and ran 3 x 800 at 3:44 pace. Even though speed work is by far the hardest run of the week, it always makes me feel so much more accomplished. One more week until race #2 of 2011, the Nutri-Run 5 miler!!!

Praise the Lord and run on!

Brooks Racer T7 Review

Todays workout:  3 miles @ 8:49

Happy early birthday to me! My incredible wife let me purchase my birthday present a few weeks early! This post is my initial review of the new 2011 Brooks T7 Racer.

I must preface this review by informing my followers that I have not yet run a race in these shoes. I have only worn them during a 4 mile run. The first thing you will notice as you take these racers out of the box, is they are CRAZY lite! The Racer T7 is by far the lightest racing shoe I have worn post high school, weighing in at an incredible 6.4 ounces.

Other than the fact that they are a work of art, the second thing you will notice is they run very small. I normally wear an 11.5, but I could have probably used a 12 in these. I became so attached though, I couldn't stand to ship them back, so I just sucked it up.

The Racer T7 is a very narrow shoe, and at first they hurt my feet somewhat. As I entered my first mile the pain increased. Uh oh! No worries though, after a couple miles on the road they broke in just fine and ended up feeling awesome! When I finished the run, my mile splits were much faster than normal. Was it the shoes? Who knows, but I'm sure they helped.

Finally, the wear factor on these shoes is not so hot. But really, what do you expect? They are insanely lite weight racers made of almost pure foam. After my one 4 mile run in these shoes, the bottoms showed some wear. I wouldn't expect them to last longer than one racing season.

Overall review (so far): I love these shoes! Yes, they have a few flaws, some of which can't be avoided when a shoe weighs so little, but they are amazing! If you have good foot mechanics, and are looking for light weight racers, buy these shoes!

31st Annual FWTC Nutri-Run

Today's workout: 3 miles @ 8:04

I'm officially registered for the 31st annual Nutri-Run 5 miler!

This will be my second race of the 2011 season. I'm still not up to racing speed yet though, so I don't plan on a great performance. I'm just out to push myself and have fun on this one. I ran this race last year and it was a blast! The Nutri-Run is a great race due to the challenging course (probably one of the hilliest in Fort Wayne), the two options of distance (5mile & 20K), the commemorative pint glass you receive, and of course the complementary smoothies at the finish! I can't wait!

If you're in the Fort Wayne area, I highly recommend signing up for this race! I guarantee a good time!

Praise the Lord and run on!