JACKASS MOTIVATION

Recently I've been in somewhat of a funk due to the weather. It seems to went straight from summer to winter. Really, the weather isn't too cold yet, still mostly in the high 50s, it has been the rain and darkness that has bothered me most.

Run group really helps keep me accountable. It's the runs by myself that I really dread. Like last week, when I chickened out and ran inside for no good reason (although, it did result in a good tempo run). I was struggling again this week with my Thursday run. At different times I put off the entire thing to Friday, would just do three Thursday and then three Friday, run during work Friday instead, not run at all, etc.

Eventually I decided that was all stupid and I would just run Thursday after work like I was supposed to. Friday was Halloween and I didn't watch to dodge children and get smart ass "are you dressed like a runner?" jokes I got last year after taking off for a run after I ran out of candy to pass out at my house. So I ended up getting out there like I should have. Don't know what it always has to be such a battle in my mind.

Anyways, long story short, I was just going to run easy the day after the rollercoaster, but right before I left work I talked to an client on the phone who was just a giant asshole. That rarely happens, I can't even remember the last time something at work left me fired up, I'm normally a mellow guy and my job just doesn't usually have that quality to it. But that motherfucker really pissed me off! Gah! What a jackass!

Ended up using that as fuel to pound out a tempo run on my hilly "home course." It was sprinkling rain and 58 and the run was actually really therapeutic. I basically swore at him for fifty minutes as I ran around the dark and wet. When I was done I felt really good and I got a quality run in. I was over the work thing and the tough run actually left me feeling energized and motivated.

Fuck that guy, but maybe he should call more often?

WELL, THAT HAPPENED FAST!

With this, I never have a legitimate excuse.

Seems like just yesterday it was sunny outside and I was worried about hydration and overheating. Honestly, the weather in Portland stays really warm through September, so all the way to the Portland Marathon I was enjoying, for the most part, the nice weather and it was even a little too hot on marathon day. I took about a week off after the marathon to recharge and all of a sudden it's like winter outside!

Really hard to be motivated to get back into it when you are now facing down cold, wet, and dark compared to sunny, warm, and bright when you last left off. I'm going to have to get used to it though... I suppose I almost made it to November, so now I'll only be suffering until Daylight Saving Time starts again on March 9th. Just a touch over four months away. I can do that!

Last Wednesday was a good example. I ended up having a work event that caused me to miss my group run. It was raining buckets all day and pretty windy to boot. By the time I was ready to run the rain had died down and I was facing a run by myself in the windy dark with a chance of sprinkles. I was being a baby about it, so I ended up paying $4.50 to go run laps at the indoor track for the first time this season. Apparently 42 laps around the gym was more appealing!

I got it done though. And that will be the important part. I always have the indoor track, so I honestly have no excuse. At some times it'll just be a cost/benefit analysis of running outside or shelling out $4.50 to run circles inside. I know I hate running at night, but are the darkened streets really less appetizing than the inside of the gym? I think I'll mostly just save the gym for nights with bad weather and no run group (mostly Thursdays).

Saturday I arranged a group run with Alejandro and Matt. After last weekend's 10 miler seemed to take forever, I didn't want to have to run alone again (man, I am turning into a total baby) so I wrangled those two to run with me. We did the Sellwood Bridge to Steel Bridge loop around the Portland waterfront and then added an out and back along the Springwater Trail to hit 14 miles total. Matt only wanted to run 10.5 so we set him free once we hit the cars before heading off for the final out and back.

Overall it was a great run at 9:12/mile. I want to start running my long runs around that pace (as opposed to 9:40) in an effort to get faster in marathons. Saturday's run felt pretty good at that speed, the last mile I was a little worn down, but that might have been mental more than physical. The last mile is always the toughest for me. Anyways, off to run group tonight in the dark... probably will do the rollercoaster, but as long as I have company, I actually kind of like it!

Splits from Saturday's 14 mile run. Slower first three miles and a faster final three miles. Steady 9:12ish pace in between.

RIDING THE ROLLERCOASTER

The so called rollercoaster.

After taking most of the week off after the marathon I'm back on the running bandwagon. Last Saturday was my first long run since the Portland Marathon and I originally planned to do twelve miles. Long story short, I ended up sleeping in until 1pm (solid 12 hours of sleep) and needed to abbreviate the run a little in order to get to the Portland State football game with my dad in time.

Originally I plotted a course on gmap-pedometer that was 12 miles and all on city streets since I was concerned that Fanno Creek may have flooded with recent rains. When I woke up my computer had restarted itself to install updates (just left the route open in a tab) so that coupled with the time crunch led me to my normal home to Fanno Creek route for ten miles. Luckily Fanno wasn't too bad and my feet were able to stay dry. Those ten miles seemed so long, but I managed to get them done at about 9:15/mile.

One reason why the long run seemed harder than it should have was my legs, hamstrings in particular, were still tired from running what we affectionately call the "rollercoaster" at my run group. Last week was the first week switching to the winter route, and thus, the rollercoaster (only if you go seven miles... the five mile route is hilly but nothing like the seven). Anyways, I don't want to slack off so I opted for the seven mile route both times and even gunned it a little bit on one of the runs.

It is one of those routes that seems hilly just for the sake of being hilly. And we call it the rollercoaster because, while it has definite "up" and "down" portions, it is going up and down all the time. Even after reaching the "top of the hill" halfway through you still have multiple uphills on the way back. Needless to say, I did it again last night and my hamstrings have been sore all day today. If I do it again tomorrow I'll have to take it really easy... I might just switch to the five mile route instead.

All told, I am happy to do the rollercoaster though. Running hills makes you a stronger and faster runner and it is great prep for the Zena Road Runs and Shamrock 15k I'll be doing in February/March.

UPCOMING RACE SCHEDULE, OCTOBER 2014 EDITION

So, literally hours after I posted about the Eugene Marathon they announced the date. It will take place on May 10th next year. Meaning it will be the week after the trip to Indianapolis for the Mini Marathon. I also signed up for the Rock'n'Roll Portland Half Marathon way back in the day that takes place on May 24th. Meaning in three weekends I'll have a half, a full, then a half again.

That means I'll need to run the two half marathons easier than normal. I'd love to pace one of my Solemates during the Mini Marathon, so that'll work out perfectly the weekend before Eugene. Then the weekend after Eugene I'll just have to take Rock'n'Roll easier. I'll just have to shoot for PRs at another time, as I originally thought I'd shoot for that at RnR, but obviously that won't be happening.

November 9th, 2014 - Rivalry Clash Portland 10k
I did this race last year as a 5k and will be doing it as a 10k this year. I had been waiting for it to hit the discount sites like last year, and sure enough, it was on Groupon for nearly half price. $29 for a 10k isn't that bad, so I signed up. Should be a flat course at the Portland International Raceway (different than last year) so maybe a PR chance.

November 27th, 2014 - ORRC Turkey Trot at the Zoo 4M
Was thinking about doing the Give N' Gobble again this year but I also like to try out new races and I already have a 10k a few weeks before with the Rivalry Clash. So, onto another popular Thanksgiving Day race in the area, the ORRC Turkey Trot at the Oregon Zoo. It's a 4 miler, which I haven't done yet, so that will be fun. It's a very hilly course so I'll just try to enjoy myself as much as possible and burn off a piece of pie for later.

December 7th, 2014 - HoHo 5k
Haven't officially signed up yet, but it looks like it will be year three of this event. There aren't a ton of events in December, the only other one I'd consider is the Holiday Half Marathon, but it is pricey and the weather can be absolutely miserable. For only $15, this race is a steal and it's local, fun, and low-key. Probably won't have Brandon again this year, although we had fun, I don't know if he'd be too keen on it again... but I'm going to run it by him before I sign up.

January 25th, 2015 - Miami Half Marathon
Year two of the Miami Marathon. Got in for $50 by signing up the week after the race last year and my friend seems a little more serious about his training this year. So I'm actually kind of excited about the possibility to pacing him this race... he won't be much faster than 2:45 or so, but I don't want to run this race "hard" again, so a leisurely stroll would be nice!

February 2nd, 2015 - Zena Road Runs 15k
This conflicted with Miami last year, but Miami seemingly bumped up a week so I think I'll do Zena again. I did it in 2012 and it was a great warmup for the Shamrock Run. A hilly course and a nicely done local event. I think I'll recruit some of my buddies from PRC to run this with me... burn off some calories before the Super Bowl parties later.

March 15th, 2015 - Shamrock Run 15k
Year four of the Shamrock Run. Can't wait to run this again. I'll hopefully be shooting to set a PR and possibly beat my Dad's time from back in the day (if not this year, then in 2016 for sure!). Katie from Runs for Cookies is coming into town for this one, so I'll be hosting her. If don't happen to have a good race it'll be because we stayed up drinking or something and will be totally worth it.

April 12th, 2015 - Corvallis Half Marathon
I think I may target this race as my spring half marathon where I shoot for a PR. Since Indy and RnR will be affected by my spring marathon, this seems to be the perfect weekend to hit a half marathon hard. I did this race back in 2013 and really liked it. If I don't end up doing this race, I'll likely do the Vernonia Half Marathon on the same day.

May 2nd, 2015 - Indianapolis 500 Festival Mini Marathon
Traveling to Indianapolis to meet my Ragnar SoCal teammates for a reunion and to run this half marathon. Initially I planned to run this race for a PR, but with the Eugene Marathon looming the next weekend I'll have to take it easy. Instead, I look to pace one of my teammates and just soak in all the largest half marathon in the United State has to offer!

May 10th, 2015 - Eugene Marathon
My target marathon for the spring training cycle. Will I be able to get the elusive sub 3:30 marathon? Looks like Alejandro will be running this marathon too so I should have company. While I have a ton of stuff to look forward to, this race will be motivating me all throughout those crappy, wet winter months.

May 17th, 2015 - Rock'n'Roll Portland Half Marathon
I signed up for this race way back the week before the RnR in 2014. They were running some special to sign up for 2015 for $50, which for an RnR event is ridiculous, so I signed up. Since then the weekends surrounding this date have filled up, so it looks like I'll just have to take this one easier and it enjoy all the bands and atmosphere.

WHAT'S NEXT? 2014 EDITION

The state of the Eugene Marathon in one image.

Now that I've reflected back on the Portland Marathon it is time to look forward. I'd like to do another spring marathon and I think I may just have the race picked out. What race, you say? The Eugene Marathon down in Eugene, Oregon. Despite being the hometown of a very shitty college, they are also a big running town and have a reputation for putting on a good marathon. Plus, it is only two hours away, so my desire to stay somewhat local will hold.

I had always had Eugene as a target and was initially planning to do it in spring 2014 (this was back before I even ran my first marathon). Unfortunately, they changed the date in 2014 from the traditional last week of April to the last week of July. The dead heat of summer. They moved it to coincide with the U.S. Track and Field Nationals, making the weekend one big "celebration of running."

Needless to say, the move was not popular at all and participation dropped in half. For a race that had steadily built a great reputation and had 7,300 participants across all events in 2013 a drop in 2014 to 3,700 total was devastating. They really pissed off a lot of people and broke a lot of trust (despite continual rosy predictions, "it's gonna be great," "you'll love it even more this weekend," blah blah blah). Nobody wanted to run a late July marathon in Oregon!

Anyways, all that is background to the fact they have been "set to announce" the 2015 date for about two months now. Their Facebook page is almost laughable at this point, any post about any topic just results in dozens of "2015 date?" comments and things like "You should really stop posting until you announce the date." Rumor is pretty strong on a return to a spring date and a date close to the old "end of April" slot. So we'll see.

Assuming they move it back to spring that will be my marathon. The only potential conflict is with the Indianapolis Mini Marathon (half) that I'll be doing with my From Strangers to Solemates team from Ragnar SoCal. That is on May 2nd, which traditionally would be the week after Eugene. So the only way I wouldn't do Eugene is if they happen to settle on this weekend as a new date. My Solemates win in that case.

Should the marathon take place the week before/after Indianapolis I'll just take it easier and not go PR speed. Maybe run with one of my teammates. I originally planned to shoot for a PR in Indy, but they'll be plenty of other chances for a half marathon PR next year. I'll have a post soon with my upcoming races through that Mini Marathon. I don't think I have many, but whenever I start to list them I tend to be surprised.

2014 PORTLAND MARATHON REFLECTIONS

Another Portland Marathon is in the books. While I wish I would have ran it differently, mostly not following that "3:25" pace group, what's done is done, and what's done is something to be proud of! A 3:33 marathon is pretty dang good and in the top 10% of finishers. I finished in 821st place last year and 520th place this year. So up 300 places in overall finish! All that despite being only 3.5 minutes quicker, telling me it was a much rougher year for most everyone due to the warmer weather.

I was really nervous before this race and was almost kind of dreading it. I want to write to future Thomas so he can look back and calm himself before future marathons... it's not that bad and nothing to be afraid of. Yes, it is a long ways and takes a while, but you can totally do it and even if the shit hits the fan, you will persevere and finish and it will all be worth it. Honestly, marathons are nothing to fear. The pain yesterday during the race wasn't much worse, if any, than the tail end of most twenty mile runs.

Haha, oops.

Given some time to ponder the race, I didn't fall apart as much as I thought on race day. Aside from an extended stroll through a mile 21 aid station (right after my first cramp) I didn't walk at all until the bottom of the hill at mile 23. I walked twice during that mile, but by mile 24 I was running and didn't stop again. So all told I think I walked maybe 90 seconds. That's pretty fucking good. Now, toward the end I wasn't running very fast, but in marathon breakdown terms, that was very minor.

Most my time was given back on those final three miles. They were each almost two minutes slower than they needed to be, meaning I gave back six minutes at the end. Had I held it together at 8:10s like I was during the "early 20s" I would have finished around 3:28, 3:29. I think with the right race and my current fitness that is probably about the best I could achieve, maybe a minute or two less on the perfect course on the perfect day.

It's over! At last!

Overall, I am pretty proud of the race I ran. The only thing that sucks is that I trained pretty well this summer and all that got me was a 2 second PR. However, you have to take the long view... I became a much better runner in that period. I just set a new 5k PR and I am a faster runner than last year. Had I ran the Vancouver course with the same weather as in May last Sunday I think I would have achieved a sub 3:30. So just gotta keep on chugging along to the next one.

If there were another local marathon happening in the next few weeks I think I would sign up. I even checked today, but the only marathon is the Columbia Gorge Marathon and that has some sizable hills... not something I am going to PR on. Anything else would require a long car ride and hotel, and I'm not that eager to go run another one. While I wasn't sure during/right after Portland that I wanted to do another spring marathon, I think I will for sure now. It'll keep me motivated during the winter and I'll take another crack at that sub 3:30 sooner rather than later.