Buffalo Creek Half Marathon Recap

BUFFALO CREEK HALF MARATHON

When: Oct. 17th 2015

Where: Buffalo Township, Pa

Swag: T-Shirt and finishers medal

 

Course: This is probably the fastest course I have ever ran. The first mile is on the roads of Cabot, Pa. and then you turn onto the trail and you never leave it again.  It seems flat as you are running , but you are probably running on a 1% downhill slope.

 

Starting Area: You are shuttled up to the starting area and then dropped off at a fire hall. The station is closed but they did have port-o-johns in the parking lot. It was cold and windy the morning of the race so most runners were standing up against the outside walls of the fire hall trying to shield off the wind.  I don't think they had enough toilets for all the runners, but like any other race it seemed there was one huge line and then 5 small lines. Let's get it together people, how long have we been running? we should be making equal lines for every toilet.

 

Finishing Area: This year about a week out of the race we were informed the finish was changed. You used to leave the trail and end on the streets of Freeport, but due to lack of traffic control people the race had to end on the trail. The finish are was small and congested but still had all the usual post race treats, water, cookies, banana's, and hot apple cider. I heard they ran out of cider and some people were unable to get some. 

 

My Experience: I was one of the stupid people who was on the first shuttle to the start, so it was extra time out in the cold. I spent a lot of the time stretching and trying to stay warm. As we were about to line up I spotted KIM and her daughter. I went lined up behind them and asked Kim what time she was shooting for. I figured I could use her to pace me for the first mile, since I know she is fairly fast. As the gun sounded we were off and I tucked in behind a few people and tried to get in a comfortable pace. My goal was to run the first mile around 9 minutes and then build from that. I heard my Garmin beep for the first mile and I was at a 8:05 but felt really good. I decided to turn up my music and not look at the Garmin. Around mile 2 I felt my shins start to hurt and immediately thought "you have to be kidding me."  I ran through the pain and kept going and at mile 6 looked at my watch to see I was just under 50 minutes. I knew I needed to pick up the speed, but still didn't want to focus on the clock.  It was around mile 7 I realized there was no mile markers, the ones they had were for the old course. I just kept running and listening to my music. Before this race I decided I would not worry about the clock and just run. Well sometimes that can be bad I found out. I couldn't hear my watch beep and let me know what mile I was on. At one point I stopped to tie my shoe and heard a runner yell to me "you got this, only a mile and half to go." I looked at the Garmin and thought damn I didn't realize that I was almost done. I still ran a sub 2 hour race, but never was able to pick up the speed I wanted to at the end.  Overall I felt great and still ran a decent time, just never got my PR. 

 

Overall Race Experience: For a smaller race, this was a great course and one that I recommend for anyone looking for a course to go for a PR. The race kind of seemed to be confusing and unorganized at times, but they still did a good job. If you are looking for a cheap race that has great scenery then this one is for you. 

 



The week that was Buffalo Creek Half Marathon

Before I start with my weekly recap, I need to say congrats to everyone who raced this weekend. It seems like there was so many races, Hershey, Runners World, Crawling Crab, Buffalo Creek, Columbus, Baltimore, Detroit, and Toronto to just name a few. Oh and let me not forget about everyone who raced at the Obstacle Course Racing World Championships, 1600 athletes from 6 continents and over 20 countries were represented.

Now back to my race week. I caught a cold at the end of last week so training this final week was going to be very minimal. 

MONDAY: Rest from running and some light stretching at the house. I was really feeling the cold this day so I pumped my body with medicine and liquids. I wanted to go out for a 4 mile run but knew that it could do more damage than good.

TUESDAY: I was feeling a little bit better so I decided to go out for a 5 mile run. Well 5 miles turned into 8 after how good I felt. It was one of those runs were everything just comes together and you feel like you can just keep going. When I got home I iced down my shins and rolled my calf muscles. My shins were being so weird, some runs they would hurt and some runs they would feel great. I wasn't sure how to react.

WEDNESDAY: GYM DAY: CROSS TRAIN: I rode the bike for 6 miles and did a leg workout. One thing I have learned from doing marathons and half's is my hips can withstand about 9 miles and then they start to get fatigued. This training cycle I really tried to focus on making my hips stronger.

THURSDAY: Light Stretching and more icing down the shins

FRIDAY:REST DAY: Carb loaded with some pasta and iced down the shins.

SATURDAY: RACE DAY: I will recap the race on Thursday, but I am happy with how I did. I did not get a PR or get the time I wanted, but I ran a very smart race and struggled with shin pains for most of the race. However I never stopped and was able to push through the pain.

SUNDAY: TODAY is day 1 of a nice week or 2 off. I went to Primanti's to watch the Steelers and had a few beers with some friends.

How did your week go?
If you raced this weekend let's hear how you did.

It's Race Week!!!!!!

First I hope everyone that ran the Chicago Marathon today had a great race. Well this is the week, 6 more days and I will be running the Buffalo Creek Half Marathon. This past week was my last full week of training and I want to get in some really solid runs. I also wanted to do my second dress rehearsal since the first didn't go to my likings. 

MONDAY: 8 Miles: I have a really hard 8 mile course that is nothing but hills. You are going up a huge hill or coming down one. I decided to use this course as my dress rehearsal for a few reasons. First if my clothes don't bother me on the hills then I think I will be good on a flat or slight downhill course. Secondly I knew this course would really make me sweat and I needed to see how much weight gets added on the gear with extra water on it.  I am happy to report I have everything picked out for the most part. I checked the weather today and they are calling for 53 degrees and rain as of right now. I am hoping that changes before the race though, but then again I have ran some of my best races in the rain.

TUESDAY: 5 Miles: The goal for this run was to go at 75 percent of race pace. I ran the 5 miles in 40 minutes and felt really good. My legs are no longer sore and the shin splints are all but gone. I will still be icing down my legs all this week just to be safe though.

WEDNESDAY: 4 Miles: Normally I would head to the track for a speed workout but I wanted to stay on the road and work on my foot strike. Some of my previous runs I noticed I would start to change my strike for no reason and it would tire my legs out quicker than normal. I made sure on this tempo run to keep the same strike through out the entire run and it really helped.

THURSDAY: 6 Miles: This run was more of an easy run. I just wanted to get in the miles and not do anything stupid. I finished with a 8:32 pace.

FRIDAY: REST DAY

SATURDAY: LONG RUN- 15 easy miles. I had a little trouble getting loose and it felt like my left knee was tighter than normal but I finished the run.  I wasn't really worried about the way my knee felt. I think it may of had something to do with not being hydrated. The leg felt fine later in the day.

SUNDAY: 5 Miles: I headed to the track and just wanted to get in a run on some flat ground that isn't cement. I had no intention of running negative splits but ended up starting at a 9:30 pace and dropping to a 7:20 through out the run.

This up and coming week I plan on doing a run on Monday and Tuesday, something easy and no more than 5 miles each day. Wednesday and Thursday I plan on heading to gym and stretching my legs out.  Friday will be a rest day and then it's race day on Saturday!!!!

Sorry for the quick post. I seem to have caught a cold today, which I am fine with. I would rather be sick the week before than rather on race day. 

How did your week go?

2 Week Countdown: Buffalo Creek Half Marathon

It is actually less than 2 weeks until the Buffalo Creek Half Marathon, which means one more full week of practice and then one week of tapering.

This week brought colder temps. and some rain so a lot of my training was done on a treadmill. I kind of anticipated this at the beginning of the week and I was worried. I was dealing with shin splints and for some reason the treadmill seems to make the pain worst. I had been wearing my compression socks at night hoping to kill any pain and help recover, but I wouldn't actually know what was going to happen until I was actually on the treadmill.

MONDAY: Rest Day: I was just coming off a weekend of an obstacle race and a 10K. My body felt like it got hit by a Mac truck. Sitting down during the day actually hurt from all the squats and leg lunges I did. This was one rest day that I actually was happy with.

TUESDAY: 6 Miles: I jumped on the treadmill and decided that if I started out slow and built my speed up that maybe my shins would not hurt at all. WRONG!!!! 2 miles into the run and my shins were burning up. I kept trying to think of everything I could to keep my mind off the pain, but it didn't seem to work. I still was speeding the machine up every mile though and every mile was a fight. I managed to get through the whole run and as soon as I got home I threw my compression socks on.

WEDNESDAY: 5 miles: After the pain on the treadmill I decided to run outside no matter what the weather was. The colder air actually felt good and I was able to really let loose on a fast course. My shins felt great on the road and there was almost no pain at all.

THURSDAY: Rest Day: STEELER GAME: I wasn't planning on using this day as a rest day but I ended up getting tickets to the Steeler game and there was no way I was missing that. It was a shitty game and we ended up losing in overtime but I had a good time.

FRIDAY: HILLS: The wife and I were meeting some friends for dinner so I decided to stay close to home and run a hill that is close to the house. I would sprint up the hill and jog back to the bottom. The hill was about a quarter mile long and was a gradual hill rather than a straight up and down. My legs felt really good and once again the shins were feeling good.

SATURDAY: Woke up with the intentions of heading out for my long run. It was raining and I just was not in the mood to get soaking wet. I checked the weather for Sunday and decided to switch my long run till then, so it was back to the gym for the treadmill. I set the machine on a timer for 1 hour and decided I would start it off at 6.5 miles per hour. Every mile I would speed it up. Mile 1 felt great, mile 2 still no problems, mile 3 the shins started to slightly burn. I started to focus on my foot strike and it seemed to help keep the pain away. Anytime I would feel the pain I kept saying to myself "Whoever can fight through the most pain will come out on top", it really seemed to help with the mind games. I finished the run with 7 miles in the hour.

SUNDAY: LONG RUN: The weather was perfect, nice and cool with some overcast. I ended up running 15 miles on a course that is very challenging. I realized that the down hill is when my shins start to feel sore. Kind of sucks when the race I am doing is mainly down hill. I am thinking I will wear my compression socks this week during my runs too see if they help with my shins on the down hill. I kind of went away from wearing them on runs but I will do whatever it takes to reach my goal.

I know a lot of people are running a race in 2 weeks, so how is your training going?
I am thinking after the fall races that most of us are doing we should all get together for some beers on a weekend, obviously this is for the Pittsburgh people, would anyone be down for that?

4 Weeks Until Buffalo Creek Half Marathon

I can't believe that I am only 4 weeks out of my main fall race. This week I wanted to try and hit some goals that would help me out on race day. First, most run with negative splits. I looked back over some previous races and realized that some of my better races are when I start out slow and build up rather than go full steam ahead. Secondly, I wanted to do a great speed workout that I could walk away from and say "this workout was great." Third I wanted to make sure that on my long run I chose a course that would challenge me. Here is how the week played out and then we can decide if I hit the goals.

MONDAY: This was my last day off work for my vacation and since I missed my long run over the weekend I did my long run here. I headed to North Park for 12 miles. I didn't want to run the loop twice so I decided to run the 5 mile loop and then head into the trails for the last 7. The run went really good and my splits were dropping each mile on the road. Once I hit the trails I pulled back and focused more on where I was stepping.

TUESDAY: SPEED DAY: I hit the track for 800 meter repeats. I did 6 X 800's with a 200 meter rest in between each one and then went to 400 meter repeats. I did 4 X 400's with a 200 meter rest in between each one as well. I ran every rep at a 7 minute pace. I felt really good and was surprised that how each rep was so easy. I controlled my breathing and was able to get into a nice groove.

WEDNESDAY: CROSS TRAIN: I needed to work on my leg muscles so I went to the gym for a leg day. After an hour of using all the leg machines I headed onto the stair climber. I suck at this machine but still managed to get in 400 steps before calling it quits. I ended out the workout with a 3 mile run on the treadmill. I started at a 9:30 pace and dropped 30 seconds each mile.  My legs were killing me but I felt really good after the workout.

THURSDAY: 5 miles: This run I really wanted to focus on hitting the negative splits, and I wanted to go about 80 percent full speed. I finished with a 8:33 pace and a time of 42:50. I had a bit of shin pain on the last mile, but it was nothing to bad that I couldn't run through.

FRIDAY: TRAIL DAY: 4 miles on the trails of Frick Park. I still wanted to hit negative splits but I went slower than the previous day. I finished with a pace of 8:55. For the record I was trying to run it a bit slower than the day before. I wanted to just get in a good run on the trails and not go so fast that I am worrying about my footing on the trail.

SATURDAY: LONG RUN: I ran 15 miles on a course that has been notorious for giving me problems. I crushed it though and was still able to finish with a 8:45 pace. This was huge confidence booster with only 4 weeks until the race.

SUNDAY: Today was a much needed rest day.

Looking back on my week I would say I hit all my goals I set out to reach.
This week I have the Gladiator Rock N Run on Saturday and the Great Race on Sunday. Will I be seeing any of you at these races?

How did your week go? Are you better at holding a solid pace or do you like to gradually build up the speed?

Buffalo Creek Half Marathon Week 10: Vacation Week

I hope all of you had as good as a week as I did. Last week you may remember me telling you that I was going on vacation this past week, well it was great. I will recap the whole vacation on Thursday for you. Before we left for vacation my wife and I had a talk about my running over the vacation. I initially wanted to run everyday, but my wife reminded me that I had not had a day off work in over a year in a half and needed to use this week as a real vacation, I agreed. Even on weekends when I am not working I get up early to go for my runs, so getting to sleep in a few days was such a relaxing feeling and something I really needed. I decided I would only bring enough running gear for 2 long runs, I figured go for quality and not quantity.

MONDAY and TUESDAY were both non running days, however both days we were in the swimming pool or the ocean and I would take full advantage of using swimming as cross training. (We never discussed that, mwah ha ha) I would run in the water or swim some laps. Swimming is one of the best forms of cross training you can do since it uses so many different muscle groups. 

WEDNESDAY: 8 miles, 4 miles on the road and 4 miles on the beach. It was completely flat so I really wanted to push myself and try to run all 8 miles at race pace. This worked out great for the first 4 miles, as I was able to hold a 7:30 pace. The next 4 miles I dropped to an 8:15, who knew running on sand was a bit more difficult than the pavement. Overall though I was really happy at how this run went for how hot and humid it was.

THURSDAY and FRIDAY: non running days and more swimming. We did do a lot of walking on vacation though so even though I wasn't running I was still keeping the legs busy.

SATURDAY: Woke up to go running and wouldn't you know a damn storm comes through. Talk about throwing a wrench into your plans. This was our last day of vacation too, so it would of been rude of me to ask if we could miss doing something so I could get in a run later in the day. I am confident in my training and where I am at right now. I didn't mind losing another day. I still have 5 weeks before the race and from here on it is crunch time.

SUNDAY: Today I got to sit and drive for 10 long ass hours. When I got home all I wanted to do was lay down on my couch and watch some football. I am lucky because since last Monday was a holiday my vacation was from Tuesday to Tuesday, so tomorrow while most people are getting up to go to work I will be getting up for a long much needed run.

While shopping this week we were in a store and I spotted a shirt that described me perfectly, so I had to buy it.

How was your week?
How do you handle running and vacations?

Buffalo Creek Half Week 9 Training: Getting Mental

This week was all about not only putting in the miles but doing courses that would really test my mental toughness. One thing I have learned over 20 years of running is your mental toughness is just as important as your physical toughness. Your mind will want to quit on you before your body does, if you can fight through your mind saying quit you will do much better in a race. With that in mind every course I picked was for this week was going to make me want to give up and push my body to it's limit.

MONDAY: 5K at race pace.  The course I chose was an old race course that use to give me problems. It has 2 major hills and 2 smaller hills that are guaranteed to tire out your legs. In previous races on the course my best time was 23:14. Monday I ran it in 22:12. I had to tell myself a few times to keep going and not give up. I never looked at my time until I was finished and after I saw my time instead of getting happy for a PR on the course, I immediately said "I could of went faster". It's moments like these that are showing me my improvements.


TUESDAY: GYM DAY: All day I knew I was going to the gym and all day I kept getting depressed because I knew the treadmill would hurt my shins. I am not sure if this is a mental thing or if at times it just kills my shins. I decided I needed to pull something out that might make me not think and just run. Enter my Nike shoes I purchased months ago and have had them waiting in the wings to get back on my feet and get ready for some races. Armed with the Nike's on my feet I made the treadmill my bitch. 4 miles at a 8:00 pace, followed by a great leg workout. These shoes will be worn for the great race and for the Buffalo Creek Half Marathon.

WEDNESDAY: 5 miles on a very hard hilly course. This run went good as far as the running part but about 1 mile into the run I got hit the BG'S. What is the BG's you ask? That is the bubble guts. My stomach started to rumble and make all types of odd noises. I happened to be in a place with no bathrooms in sight, however there was a nice set of woods. I don't need to go into detail but lets just say I started this run with 2 sleeves on my shirt and when I got done I was wearing a sleeveless shirt.
Rather than that little mishap the run went pretty good.

THURSDAY: HILL WORKOUT:  I found a grass hill that is about 300 meters straight up. I would sprint up the hill and jog back down. There was no resting and by the end of it I thought I was going to collapse. I never gave up though, and I just kept telling myself the race I am training is all down hill so imagine how fast I will be able to go if I am training running up hills.

FRIDAY: REST DAY: Most weeks I don't need a rest day, but this day felt so nice since I really pushed my legs during most runs.  I still had to cut the grass so it's not like I was just sitting and resting them though.

SATURDAY: LONG RUN: 10 miles at about 75 percent speed.  My legs felt heavy for the first 2 miles but once they got loose I was really feeling good. The course I ran was not an easy one which made it even better. Anytime I felt the urge to stop I was able to push through and keep going. It was a huge confidence booster as the weeks start to get closer to race day.

SUNDAY: By the time you read this I will be either driving too or I will be in Charleston, South Carolina. Amanda and I are finally going on a much needed vacation this year. I will have to use this day as a rest day since we will be driving most of the day, but I am not mad at all. Don't expect another post from me until next Monday. I will still be reading all my favorite blogs and commenting through out the week, but I am not going to take time out of my vacation to write my own. Don't worry my running gear is packed and I am ready for some good beach running.

What I took away from this hard week was, I am ready!  There is still room for improvement up until the race, but I am already in the mind set that this race is going to be a special one for me. Every week I plan on throwing in courses that make me work hard until the end of the run. One thing I lost in previous races was my mental toughness, I trained for the physical part but not the mental part. This time around I am working on both, and I expect a better outcome that past races.

How was your week?
How you handle training with vacation?

Buffalo Creek Half Marathon: Training week 8

Well I have reached the half way point in my training for this race, so this is the point where I really start to amp up the training. Let's just get right into this and let me explain how the week went down.

MONDAY: When I woke up Monday morning I had very uncomfortable feeling on my right heal. The best way I could explain the feeling would be, it felt as though my heal had collapsed. I did some research and I believe what I was feeling was the early stages of planters fasciitis. They say this is very painful if it gets out of hand, but to be honest I was just feeling discomfort rather than pain. A lot of the website's I went on all had really good advice on how to control it from getting out of hand and techniques you could use while running to prevent further injury. I did not want to skip a run on Monday so I went with my scheduled 8 miles. I went slower than normal, but I made sure to strike with my mid-foot rather then my tippy toes. I also made sure to shorten my stride which really seemed to work. The run went great and I felt great until I got home and my foot started to hurt a bit. They say ice helps a lot so for most of the night I had my foot in a bucket of ice while I was watching television.

TUESDAY: GYM DAY: Normally on Tuesday I would be doing my speed workout, but with my foot I didn't want to do something that would make it worst. I headed to the gym to do some cross and strength training. First I did 6 miles on the bike, followed by some circuit training. My foot didn't bother me to much this day but I still wore my compression socks to bed just for added recovery.

WEDNESDAY: Even though my foot was feeling good I picked a course that was flat and easy. I did 5 miles and each mile I picked up the speed to see how my feet felt. I was really surprised to see that after the run I had very little pain.

THURSDAY: Being the half way point the one thing I did not want to do was have 2 days where I was not running, but I wanted to play it safe for the week so instead of running I used this day to stretch and foam roll my legs. As the week went on my foot seemed to feel better. It still feels uncomfortable at times but there hasn't been any pain.

FRIDAY: REST DAY: My wife and I headed to the Pirate game for the evening. We got lucky and were given luxury box tickets since there was a mix up with our previous sales rep for the team. We only have 2 season tickets but were given 4 box tickets, so the others who split the tickets were able to come in the box as well. The game was great and the seats were amazing.

SATURDAY: Long Run: I was confident that my foot was good enough to do my long run, but as an added precaution I took it slower than normal. I ran 15 miles with a pace of 9:50. Normally I would I run it at a 9 minute pace but slowing down really helped and made the run go smooth. I felt great and was really happy to see how easy the 15 miles went.  Saturday night a good friend of mine was getting married so Amanda and I were at the reception. It was a great wedding and there was a lot of alcohol drank that night.

 

 

 

SUNDAY: Today I took another rest day. This will be the last week I take 2 rest days until the week before the race. Amanda, myself, and our friend Abby and Aaron are the season ticket holders for the Pirates. We got a 250 dollar gift card for Hyde Park Steak House so we planned to go to the game and use then out to dinner. The game sucked since we lost but the food at Hyde Park was amazing. I am a steak nut so it was the best place to get a gift card for.  I wish I would of taken a picture of the steak so I could show you how perfect it looked. 

 

 

This upcoming week I start a diet to cut some weight before the race and I will continue to amp up the training.

 

 

How did your week go?

 

 

Buffalo Creek Training Week 7

I am now 7 weeks into training and 8 weeks away from race day. This week I also had a race so the training was a bit jumbled in order to get proper rest. Instead of me talking and talking why don't I just let you see how the training went.

MONDAY:  4 mile recovery run: Sunday I went a bit further than the scheduled 11 miles since I felt really good. Monday my legs, mainly my hips were really sore so this easy run was just what I needed. I chose a flat course that made the run very easy to hold a 9 minute comfortable pace.

TUESDAY: My wife informed me that we would be attending dinner with some of her co-workers. I didn't want to be rushing around so I chose to do a home workout. Please don't think when I say home workout that I am slacking. The goal of these workouts is to take my body to exhaustion. I did burpees, crunches, sit-ups, push ups, squats, and lunges with 25 pounds in each hand.  It was a great workout that beat me down. After the workout my wife and I headed to Emilianos in the Southside. I will be honest I am not a huge fan of Mexican food but this place is pretty damn good. I plan on going back there again very soon. If you live or are ever in Pittsburgh and want to find a good place to eat check out my wife Amanda's food blog. She is always writing reviews on all the fun places we go.

WEDNESDAY: 4 mile starting at 8:30 pace and dropping 15 seconds off the pace every mile. It was a nice way to throw in a little speed workout without having to run on the track.

THURSDAY: GYM DAY- Just when I thought I was enjoying the treadmill this day made me realize why I hate it. I was only doing 3 miles, but the whole last mile I was in pain from shin splints.  After the treadmill I did a 45 minute leg workout in hopes that I would maybe do something to help kill the shin splints.

FRIDAY: I just did an easy 2 mile run to stay loose. I didn't feel any pain in my shins and felt pretty good going into the race on Saturday.

SATURDAY: Run Around The Square 5K- I will do a recap of the race on Thursday. I found something out about this race that really rubbed me the wrong way. You will have to check back on Thursday though to find out.  One thing I have learned over the years about this race is don't get to hung up on your time. The trails can get crowded at times and passing can be difficult. I ended up finishing in 24 minutes and some change. Let's be honest here though I run this race for the free beer and I get to see so many familiar faces.

SUNDAY: Today I normally do my long run, but my wife and I were celebrating our 2 year wedding anniversary which is tomorrow. I woke up and did some painting around the house then we went shopping before heading to dinner. We ate at the Springfield Grille which is located in Mars, and we both left satisfied. I highly recommend this place, they have a wide variety of foods and the price was very reasonable.

How did your week go?
What is your next race?

Buffalo Creek Training Week 6

Welcome to my week 6 training recap for the Buffalo Creek Half Marathon. If you read my post from earlier in the week you will see that I decided to change up my training a bit. After talking to a few people I made the decision to lay out a new plan that will not only help me with road races but will get me in better shape for obstacle races. I got a lot of mixed reviews on switching up my plan, some people thought I was being hard on myself for my progress, while others totally understood what I was trying to do. The easiest way for my to say this is, I am a competitor and love being able to compete with the best in races. I know what I am capable of and I know that I am not where I want to be, changing up the routine is going to get me a lot closer to hitting my goals.
One thing I really started to reflect on this week is how much heart a person can have. When I was watching Ryan Atkins, the winner of the Battle Frog and every Battle Frog event this season I kept thinking this guy has so much heart. He never quits, he always finds a way to conquer the obstacle that is in front of him. I started to think about running and that point where your body tells you to shut it down, the people who fight through that are the ones that usually win or run their best race. My goal for this week besides doing the new plan was to make sure that I keep telling myself "run with your heart". Here is how this week played out.

MONDAY: Recovery run- I did 4 miles at a nice and easy 9 minute pace. I ran around my neighborhood which tends to be a bit on the hilly side, but it made for a great run.

TUESDAY: Speed day- I headed to the track and did a mile warm up, followed by 8x200's with a 200 meter rest in between each set. I finished with a mile cool down. Normally I would do a longer distance but I was reading an article that said doing the shorter speed workouts can actually be a big benefit to distance runners. I am on the fence so far about how it will work, but I am open to trying. I was almost sprinting and I really never got out of breathe, I did however feel my legs turning over a lot faster as the workout went on.

WEDNESDAY: Gym and Strength- I did 4 miles on the treadmill in 33:13. I felt really good and what was once a nightmare to be on the treadmill has actually became one of my favorite workouts. I get to just zone out to my music and I just run. Wednesday's also call for strength training so I did a hour long leg workout. 

THURSDAY: Trail day- I headed to Frick Park to hit the trails and ended up running 4.5 miles. I actually ran most of the course that I will be running this week during a race. I will be honest the trail running did not come easy to me. I first realized I need to actually invest in a good pair of trail shoes if I want to get the most out of the trail. Second I realized that I need to actually get a map of the trails, I found it extremely difficult to know what the elevation would be for the up and coming part of the trail. If I know what to expect then I will be able to adjust my speed and how hard I push, but the pro of the unknown is just what I could expect in an obstacle race.

 

FRIDAY: Rest Day- Normally I would of made this my strength day and make Saturday my rest day, but as I was checking my fellow bloggers post I came across something very interesting. Jennifer  has been using the Hanson's method for her training and has been posting some really good weekly training tips for the method. This week she posted about the long run and how you shouldn't rest the day before a long run. Crazy idea is the first thing I thought when I read that but then it hit me, if you can do a long run with tired legs then you will be able to mimic what its like on race day when you get fatigued. Sounds pretty damn smart to me.

SATURDAY: Gym day- Saturdays will be my cross training and lifting day. Wednesday will be on legs at the gym and Saturday will be used for a total body workout. I did some circuit training and then hit the synergy machine and did some workouts designed to help with grip strength.

SUNDAY: Long Run- Today I am heading out for an 11 mile run. My whole body is sore from yesterday so this should be a challenge. I will have to run with my heart and it will be hard, but I am up for the challenge.

Overall I feel like this was a great week and I am really happy with the adjustments I made in the plan. Onward and upward is the only place to go.

How was your week?
Are you planning on running the Run Around the Square on Saturday?

Buffalo Creek Training: Week 4

For a short week, and I call this a short week because I had a race Friday night so I had to rest more days than normal it actually turned out to be a good week.

Monday: Rest day - I moved my rest day to Monday's because now that I am starting to add the mileage on my Sunday long runs my legs will need a bit of break to recover.

Tuesday: Speed Work: I headed to the local track to run 3 X 1600's.  My first mile was ran in 6:25 and when I finished I was gasping for air. I decided for my next 2 miles that I would use my phone and record myself running. What I found out was pretty useful. When I am alone on a track I will run with my head down as if I am looking at the track. When I am running with someone or in a race I will tuck behind a person and look forward at them.  This would explain why I have trouble running my speed workouts by myself.  Let me explain, put your chin on your chest and breathe in through your nose and out your mouth, now take your head and lift it up and look straight ahead and breathe. You will see that when your head is straight you allow for more oxygen to reach your lungs. This is something I really need to make sure I pay attention too.

Wednesday: Since it was brutally hot out I decided to head to the gym and run my 5 miles on the treadmill. I made sure to be aware of where my head was and where I was looking, and I ended up running one of best 5 miles in a while. I ran at a 8:05 pace but I felt so good and it was such an easy run. After I did a few arm workouts.

Thursday: Rest Day: Even though the race on Friday is a 1 miler I wanted to make sure my legs were fresh.

Friday: THE LIBERTY MILE: during recent runs and having already ran a mile race at 6:10 this year I set a goal for myself of 5:40-6:00 minutes. I was a little thrown off at the start when I realized the team challenge runners were in our heat. In the years past they had their own race. The race director asked them to all come to the front, and I was pushed back to the 4th line. As the gun fired I had to hold my friend Kevin back who was ready to shoot out of the start since we kids ahead of us. Kevin and I both made our way to the bike lane, but it was difficult to get into a steady pace with people cutting everyone off.  We went through our first quarter mile at 1:45, which is slow for me. I don't think we really picked up the speed that much but at the half way point we were at a 3:03. As Kevin and I got to the end I was able to see the clock and tell I missed my goal time. Kevin sped up a bit and finished in what I thought was 6:00, but results say 6:06. When I crossed I looked up and saw 6:08, but results say 6:15.  Overall I don't care too much about missing my goal for this race. I enjoy the race and getting to run in the city at night, and It was awesome to hear all of my friends cheering me on from the sides.

Saturday: I ended up taking a 3rd rest day for the week, not by choice but due to the amount of alcohol I drank Friday after the race. I could tell that I was a bit dehydrated and spent most of the day drinking water getting ready for my long run on Sunday.

Sunday: TODAY: I headed out to North Park for a 90 minute long run. I ended up getting just over 11 miles in, and for the most part I felt really good. I got to see a lot of familiar on my faces including Steph twice as we passed each other on our loops around the lake. After my run I came home and did a few push ups and crunches. I am doing another 30 day challenge and it calls for crunches, push ups and squats. I skipped the squats since I just ran.

Next week I have the Battle Frog race, so this week I am going to really try and get in some mileage. I am doing the extreme race, 6 hours to do as many laps as I can. I still have to find a person to be my crew member and hold my drinks and clothes and help me when I need it the layover part of the course. 

How did you do if you ran the Liberty Mile?
How was your week?

Buffalo Creek Half Training Week 3

With the race being 11 weeks out I am trying to make sure that each week I progress more than the last week. Last week I felt like I had a really good week and it would be a good week to build off of. This week also was my last full week before the Liberty Avenue Mile so I wanted to make sure to get in some good speed workouts.  Here is how the week went down.

MONDAY- I noticed on Sunday that my legs weren't as strong as they were a few months ago when I was in top training form so I needed to hit up the gym. I started out by running 3.1 miles on the treadmill in 25:12. After my run I did a hour leg workout. I can tell that I am going to have to throw in more leg workouts over this cycle because my hips were hurting pretty good.

TUESDAY- Steel City Road Runners had time trials for the Liberty Ave. Mile. I went down and was planning on running in them but after 2 laps my leg got tight so I decided to pull back and go do my own time trial. The problem was I didn't stretch or warm up before the time trial which was very stupid on my part and very dangerous. When I went to the track by myself and warmed up and stretched properly my leg was fine and I ended up running a 5:57. I am getting closer and closer to where I want to be.

WEDNESDAY-  I had all plans of just running a half decent 5 miles, nothing to fast but not too slow. I ended up running the 5 miles while managing to do negative splits. My first mile was a 9:13 and felt really slow and by the time I finished my last mile was a 7:02. I felt really good and it was a huge confidence booster.

THURSDAY- The wife and I were going to the Pirate game and luckily I got out of work a bit early and was able to do some workouts at home. I did some burpees, push ups and sit-ups. For a home workout I still managed to break a sweat and do a pretty good workout.

FRIDAY- Rest Day- Went to the Pirate game with my friend Russ and got to see 2 home runs hit out of the park, then found out that the stadium has a bar after the game where all cans of beer are only 2.50, it was a win for everyone that night.

SATURDAY- I have yet to run any course by my new house so I decided to go explore on a run. I didn't want to really time the run but I needed my GPS watch to track the distance. I was able to make a 4 mile course only problem was it was so humid out and it is all hills. I know I was going to be running slow but I had no idea that it was going to be such a hard run. I ended up running 10 minute miles. I haven't ran that slow in a while, and it actually didn't even feel like I was going slow.

SUNDAY- Today I woke up and headed to North Park to run 8 miles. Once again it was so damn humid and to make it worst there was a race going on. I ran opposite of the race and tried to stay as far as I could from the runners and walkers, but it was very difficult to get into a rhythm. My pace was jumping from 8:50 up to 9:40 depending on how much people dodging I did. Around mile 4 is when I felt a horrible stomach pain. I ran through it but the pain got worst and at mile 5 the urge to use the bathroom hit me like a ton of bricks. I have never had an accident on a run, but today came damn close, thank god there are so many port-o-potty's at the park. The pain never went away though and with the humidity I was only able to go 6 miles.  I was pissed but I would rather this happen early in the training rather than later.  The humidity this past week was really rough to run in and it just made breathing so hard, but I will take this over the winter months any day.

How did your week go? How do you battle the humid days on your runs?

Training week 2- Buffalo Creek

This past week was week 2 of training for the Buffalo Creek Half Marathon. Last week I started out slow and made it my goal to use every day so that it benefits me in some way. I like to think I succeeded, but I will let you take a look at the training and be the judge.  Maybe that is what I need this training cycle, maybe I need you the readers to look at me progress and be brutally honest. If you think I am slacking tell me, if you think I am doing good then let me know. They always say other people can see things that you can't, so I want another set of eyes to look over my progress.

MONDAY- Let's just say Monday had a little hiccup. Right before I set out on my run I did my normal ritual and went to put on SportShield so I don't chafe. I reached in my closet for the roll stick and never actually looked at the bottle. After rolling what I thought was the SportShield on my inner legs I started to notice a cool tingling feeling on the family jewels. I then looked in my hand and noticed I had just rubbed Bio-Freeze on my crotch. I tried to rinse it off but it was too late, I had to just run the 4 miles with a cool feeling, besides the tingling I had a really good run. I ran the 4 miles in a 34:12, a nice comfortable pace. Below is a picture of how it looks in my closet and you can see how I grabbed the wrong stick.

 

TUESDAY- I was planning on going to CMU to do the time trials for the Liberty Ave. Mile, but the weather did not cooperate and the trials were cancelled. I took a gamble and headed to the track by my house and did 400 meter repeats. I was able to get in 8 before the rain hit. I didn't time myself but I was running each lap at 75 percent and would rest for about 1 minute. The 8 laps beat me down but I figured out that the middle of my workout is where I felt the best. So this will help me when it comes to the Liberty Mile. I need to warm up and get the legs very loose.

 

WEDNESDAY- 4 mile run. This time I made sure to grab the right stick before I headed out on my run. I did another comfortable 4 miles at an 8:05 pace then came home and did some burpees and push ups.

 

THURSDAY- SPEED DAY- I want to make sure I do 2 speed days during this training cycle, and actually hold true to what I am supposed to do on the track. I had the option of doing a tempo run or doing a ladder workout, I chose the ladder.  I use to hate doing a ladder workout in high school but have come to realize the benefit and it has become one of my most loved workout, even though it kicks my ass. After my workout I made up a little one mile obstacle course at track and ran it. It took my just over 12 minutes, and I plan on trying to beat the time every week. This little 1 mile course may sound stupid but it will benefit me for the obstacle races and it will benefit me with strength training.

 

FRIDAY- REST DAY and BEERFEST- Pittsburgh had its yearly beerfest and there was no way I was missing this. I even bought the 50 dollar ticket to get early admission. There were some really good beers there and my friends and I had a blast. What was nice is I ran into Chelsea( @PghCityGirl) and Lauren ( @pghlauren) early in the event. Later we met back up with them and they just so happened to be with Kristy ( @Pghrunner) and her husband.  It is always nice to see people outside of the normal races and running courses, and have a few beers with them. I think when we all left we were all feeling good from all the different beers. The only downfall to the event was I was really looking forward to having "This is not your fathers root beer " from small town brewery and they didn't show Friday night. I did however come home and drink one since I stocked up on a few six packs before every place sold out.  If you haven't tried one of these I suggest you find one and try it. It is dangerously delicious, it takes like A&W root beer and is 5.9% alcohol.

SATURDAY- I was helping my friend with his landscaping business and had all intentions to come home and do a 4 mile run. However we ended up working till about 2:30 then played a game of basketball for an hour. I haven't played in years and that one hour beat the shit out of me. I was so tired that I couldn't even think about running, but I figured with all the mowing and basketball that day I actually had a nice leg workout.

 

SUNDAY- TODAY- First off anyone that ran the Presque Isle race today I take my hat off too you for running in this humidity. I decided to put my run on hold until later in the evening and it was still brutal. I had all intention of doing 8 miles and ended up only doing 6. The way this weather has been it really hasn't let my lungs get used to the humidity. I did notice this run that what used to be leg cramps that held me back is now gone, now any battle is a mental battle for the run. I found myself talking to myself for some reason on this run and kept saying over and over "The only difference between can and can't is a letter, I will not let a letter define me. Those who can't are the ones that don't try. This time around someone is going to have to really try to out work me." Not sure why this all popped in my mind but it did and it made my run go from hot and humid to not thinking about the heat and I was able to push through the hard course I chose. I didn't time it because I am still using my theory of just run and don't worry about the time for certain runs.  

 

Like I said I feel I had a good week but I want some brutal and honest feedback, how did I do?

how is your training going?



Training Week 1 For Drum Roll Please........

     Well friendly people after weeks and weeks of searching for the perfect fall race, I have finally made my final decision. Drum Roll Please........ and the race I will be running this fall in hopes of getting my half marathon PR and vengeance from the Pittsburgh Half will be the Buffalo Creek Half Marathon. The decision came down to this race and the Crawlin Crab in Virginia Beach. I heard great things about both of them, but the final decision came down to a race that I think I can really zone out and just run. Buffalo Creek is on a trail with little spectators and it is a point to point race. I always do better at these type of races and with no crowd I will be able to put my headphones in and just run.

With the race now being on October 17th, we are just 13 weeks out. I already have a hand full of races that I am registered for, and they will be great for this training cycle. This past week marked my first week of training. Even before the race decision was made I went into this week with the mindset that it would be week 1 of training. I always take the first week a bit slow and build up from it, and this cycle was no different.

MONDAY: The weather this summer has been nothing but wet and shitty. As much as I hate running on the treadmill I went to the gym and decided to do 4 miles. I paced the 4 miles at a 8:18. I felt really good and if this was day 1 of training then I am really excited to see how this ends up.  Hopefully this time around I stay injury free.

TUESDAY: Normally Tuesday is my track day, unfortunately the weather once again was wreaking havoc and forced me to use the treadmill again. Since I was scheduled for a speed workout I decided to do a tempo run. My first mile was ran at a 8:30 pace, then I ran my next 2 miles at a 7:00 pace, followed by a 8:30 pace to end the workout. 

WEDNESDAY: I saw a break in the weather and thought I could head over to a local field and try to get in some more speed work. The field was a little less than a quarter mile, I used it like a normal track and ran 75 percent speed laps. I got about 4 in when the rains came pouring down and I had to call it quits.

THURSDAY: REST DAY- my legs were a little sore from doing 2 days of speed, normally I would never do or recommend doing that, but I have a mile race coming up and want to increase my speed. It was a one time thing and will not be done ever again in training. Tuesdays and Thursdays will be dedicated for speed workouts.

FRIDAY: Stretching. It was late when I got home from work so I decided to do some stretching and get caught up on some much needed burpee's. With BattleFrog coming up in 4 weeks I am going to need to start doing more of those so I am ready come race day.

SATURDAY: I headed out on a 6 mile run and right before I started I said something to myself. "Run like you use to, run like you know how." I don't know what happened over the past few years, but from some reason I got so involved with holding a pace that I threw everything I learned out the window. This run I when I went down a hill I let my body carry me and I relaxed. When I would go up a hill I would shorten my stride and lean forward. Even though I wore my Garmin I never looked at it until I was done. My final time for the 6 miles was 45 minutes exactly.  This training session I am not going to worry about time as much and I am going to focus on just running like I use to 15 years ago when I was running at my highest level.

SUNDAY: Today is another rest day before I get back into the training full time and with little resting. Even days I don't run I plan on using to stretch and do some lifting. 

Anyone else running Buffalo Creek?
How are you training for it?