Week 15 – Training Report

This week the weather was nice so I ran every day except for Friday. I also paid attention to my eating.

S: 6 mi slow w/Liz, Columbia, trail, Snowville
M: 1 mi w/Liz then 5 alone in EH
T: 1 mi w/Liz then 7 alone, Snowville to towpath to Boston, then back via Riverview and Snowfille
W: Had to go to Detroit with J. Waldsmith, so I did “hill repeats”, 3 times up and down our street.
T: 6.5 mi, Columbia to Riverview to Snowville and home
F: Rest

S: Had to go to J. Motley’s funeral so I woke up early and started running from Red Lock to Peninsula along. Met group there at 7 am. Did an interesting loop (see route here) from Peninsula to Boston, to Brandywine Falls, to Bike & Hike trail, and back to Boston via Boston Mills road, and then back to Red Lock for me. Total 15.9 miles in 2:15. Mile splits: 8:43 8:15 8:11 8:14 8:29 8:11 8:06 8:00 9:08 10:55 8:12 7:48 8:06 7:38 9:01 9:22. The slow miles were when we reached Brandywine Falls and went to enjoy the view.

Totals for the week: 47 miles, 169 lbs

Next week I have to start long runs. We are only 5 weeks away from the Cleveland Marathon. Here is the general plan: Run 50+ mi/week. Do 18-22 miles long runs every weekend:
4/19 = 20 mi run, 4/20 = Race, Hermes 10 miles, long run on Sunday, 5/4 = Long run (Stereoscopic Weekend), 5/10 (one week before marathon) 15 mi long run, then taper.

Spring Classic 2008 - Race Report

<--- The happy family after the race!

Well, another great race for our family! We got up at 7:30 am. The temperature was 35F and the prediction was that it would be up to 40F by race time, partial cloudy. I could not decide if I should wear sorts or long pans. Most runners had long pans on so I kept mine... In retrospect, I would have been better off without them.

For the past two days I had developed a cold, and I was a bit dehydrated. I started fast, maybe too fast: 6:54, 7:00. Then settled a bit: 7:16, 7:10, 7:13, 7:36. The course consists of two loops, and by the time I was completing the first, both wife and daughter had finished their 5K and they were lined up by the start line, very happy, showing me their awards, 2nd place for wife and 1st place for daughter!!!

In the meanwhile, I had 6.5 more miles to go. Without exaggeration, this felt like the hardest race I have ever done. The thought of stopping was going through my mind. My times had slowed: 7:36, 7:43, 7:41, 7:45.... I stopped 4 times for water (none last year). I was passed by two female runners in the last miles (always a bad sign :)) But I kept going: 7:37, 7:41, 7:42, and final 0.1m at 7:10.


<--- Finally, the ordeal is amost over! - The final stretch before the finish but without any strength to sprint to the finish line!

My final time: 1:37:47, 4/21 in my age group, 47/172 overall.

I met my goal, per previous posting, breaking 1:40. This is however the slowest of the past 3 Half marathons I have run since last May. I need a bit more work if I am going to improve last year’s times by the end of the year.

Wife finished 2nd in her age group (of 3) with 26:42, an improvement over her Fall time of 26:55.

Daughter's goal was not walk. She achieved this and also improved her previous 5K time by 5 1/2 minutes!! She finished first in her age group (out of 3) with 28:48 (previous time, less than a month ago, 34:19)

My friend Dan, had a terrific time of 1:33:30 but finished 5/10 in an exceptionally fast age group (50-54).

We all went home happy.

I am looking forward to the next race, for me: Hermes 10 miler in Cleveland Ohio, in 3 weeks.

Spring Classic 1/2 M history and goal for tomorrow

Tomorrow I am running the Spring Classic 1/2 Marathon in Strongsville (near Cleveland) Ohio. A local running club (Cleveland West Road Runners Club, CWRRC), is organizing both a Spring and a Fall Classic. I have been running both races for the past 3 years.

They follow the same route, seen here (from my Garmin GPS watch - click at the picture to enlarge): The start line is marked with blue. We go up (slight uphill) for a bit over a mile, then enter a parking lot and out, then continue up, pass under 71, until the turnaround point (at this point I am tired, anxiously looking for the red cones that mark the turnaround), then down (skip the parking lot in the downhill) and then do a little loop to go through the start line again (first loop) or finish. The 5K route turns around after the parking lot.

I have run the 1/2 M course a total of 6 times. Here are my times:

Year / Spring / Fall
------------ -----------
2005 / 1:41:22 / 1:41:28
2006 / 1:45:00 /1:43:51
2007 / 1:42:10 / 1:33:14 (PR!!)

Last Fall I shuttered the course record, going from 1:41:22 to 1:33:14! That was quite an improvement. My goals for tomorrow, in order of increasing difficulty:

1. Beat last year's time: 1:42:10
2. Beat the Spring Classic best time: 1:41:22
3. Beat the Course best time (also 1/2 M PR): 1:33:14

I suspect my time will be between #2 and #3. I am setting the conservative goal of breaking 1:40. Wife and daughter are running the 5K of the same race. My wife's time from last Fall: 26:55. Daughter's time from one and only 5K: 34:19.

Good luck to our family!

Week 14 – Training Report

I am writing this on Friday, before the week ends, but tomorrow we have the ½ M Spring Classic.

S: The week started with a 20 mile “aided run”, organized by Vertical Runner. Because I had a presentation at Church (for Greek Independence Day) I could not run the entire 20 miles, so I got up at 6:00 am, went to Boston and at 6:30 I started running toward “Happy Days” parking lot where the group would start at 7:00. I met the group at mile 5.2 on 303, and then turned around and continued with them. We turned left on Akron Peninsula, then right on Bolanz, left on Everett then right on Oak Hill, up the infamous Oak Hill (I had to walk there), then continuing to Major, to Stine Road, then left on Riverview and I ended in Boston with 17 miles (the rest continued back to the start point).

Somehow my watch was stopped for 2-3 miles so I had to guess the time and mileage. Time: 2:24, average pace 8:28, mile splits: 8:55, 8:27, 9:10, 8:41, 8:23, 7:57, 8:25, 8:37, 8:37, 8:28, 10:03, 8:42, 9:08, 8:07, 7:59 (down Stine Rd it is easy to go fast!) 8:54. Overall, it was a nice run!

M: rest
T: Run w/Liz 1 mi, then continuing to Columbia and back. I was a bit tired and had to walk for ¾ miles. Stereo Club meeting in the evening.

W: With Dan tempo run at the Bike & Hike trail. We started with an easy 2 mi. for warm up. Then fast 6 miles and then easy 1 mile. My mile splits: 8:52, 8:26 (warm up). 7:29, 7:31, 7:48 (At first I was following Dan, running the planned 7:30 but then I started slowing down. I turned around first so Dan can catch up for me, but I started running really fast so I finished ahead of Dan) 7:10, 7:01 (!!). 8:07 (Start of cool down) 12:34. I enjoyed it!

T: Easy run, 5.7 mi at EH alone (Liz is out of town)
F: Rest
S: Spring Classic 1/2M (tomorrow!)

Totals for the week: 50 miles, 169 lbs

Week 13 – Training Report

The highlight of this week was going to Washington DC for Spring break!


<-- Here is something you don't see very often: A map/running route of Washington DC!

S: 4 mi around EH
M: Rest
T: 6 mi before leaving for Washington DC. We drove with Tony and arrived at DC in the evening.
W: 7 mi along on DC, sunny. Found a nice path to the monument area. In the afternoon we walked with Tony for 3 hours and took picture. In the evening with walked (all of us) to Georgetown.
T: 7 mi along, cloudy. Liz was done in the afternoon so we went for a walk to enjoy the Cherry Blooming. In the evening we drove to Virginia and met with Margaret and her family and went out for dinner.
F: 6 mi w/Liz around the monuments, taking pictures. We left around noon.

Even though I was planning to eat carefully (I usually lose weight during trips) we were at the Club level and breakfast and snacks were free. I cannot resist free food! So I might have gained a pound this week!

S: Because tomorrow (Sunday) there is an aided 20 mile run planned, participation in this run was rather small. The parking lot was closed (for some unknown reason). The group decided to run in trails but Dan and I ran at the Towapth. It was below freezing and the towpath was not muddy. The running surface was good. We did 12.3 miles going south and back, rather fast (time: 1:40:29, average pace: 8:09). Mile splits: 8:58, 8:12, 7:57, 8:03, 8:10, 8:14, 8:07, 8:00, 8:08, 8:05, 7:50, 7:42, 8:35.

Totals for the week: 43 miles, 171 lbs

Week 12 – Training Report

I am a bit late with this report… two weeks to be exact, but no one complained :) Only Dan mentioned it.

On Sunday I watched a show “I will make you thin” on TV. I was very inspired. Rule #1: When you are hungry, eat! Rule #2: Only eat what you like. So far so good… but how am I going to lose weight? Rule #3: Eat consciously. Huh? Hmmm… I always eat very fast. Time to slow down. Rule #4: When you are full, stop. OK… So, I tried to follow these rules but it did not work out very well. I still enjoy watching this British guy… It is fun, but not very effective for me.

S: 6 mi along Columbia road w/Liz.
M: 7 mi. Columbia nad back
T: 5.8 mi. around Echo Hill. See picture here for how this "6 mile EH" run looks.
W: I did not run, it was raining. Tony and I went to a Cavs game! It was fun but were sitting too far back, Tony did not bring his glasses and I forgot the binoculars. Oh well…
T: I ran 7 mi around EH. In the way back home I met a guy who used to live in our house! I invited him home and we had an extended talk about how the house has changed. That was fun!
F: 1 mi up and down the street.

S: It snowed 4 inches during the night. I had to shovel my way out. We met at Bolanz road parking lot. Not too many people showed up because of the bad weather. We did a 9 mile loop, right to Bolanz, left into Akron-Peninsula, left to Rt 303, left on Riverview, right on Major Rd, right on Oak Hill to Everett, to Riverview and back to Bolanz. Considering the snowy/icy roads, that was a hard route. When we were done, one group decided to do the loop again. I went with them, but I did not have the strength to go up Major Rd again (big loop to the left side seen in the picture here), so I continued on Riverview and did a bit extra, to meet the mileage. Total miles = 18, average pace = 8:47. Mile splits: 8:59, 8:43, 8:31, 8:57, 8:57, 9:30, 8:15, 7:51, 8:25, 8:26, 8:33, 8:29, 9:01, 8:41, 9:15, 9:43, 9:07, 8:54. My slow part (9:43) was when running alone at Riverview.

Totals for the week: 45 miles, 171 lbs

Week 11 – Training Report

Finally, back to normal! After lots of snow, tapering for the first race of the season, over-eating and under-running, things are getting back to normal. Hopefully the weather will improve too soon, so we can all enjoy running outdoors a bit more.

S: The week started with the Shamrock 15K race, so 10 very fast miles.
M: 1 mi up and down the street, recovering.
T: 1 mi with Liz, then to Columbia road and back, 7 mi. Fitness in the evening.
W: Run with Dan, the old “around the Rec Center route” in reverse. Go through Brecksville, then 82, get into Metroparks, and back to Brecksville road (21) via Parkway. Total 6.4 miles.
T: Rest, rain, lousy day. I was tired, skipped fitness.
F: Rest, in anticipation of tomorrow’s “aided” training run.
S: Vertical runner organized 14 mi. “aided” run. The alarm went on at 6:00 am (unexpectedly) so I decided to show up and run with the 6:30am group. Surprisingly, there were about 15 runners at 6:30. It was very dark, thanks to the time change. The temperature was around freezing. Did 2.5 miles with this group and back to Peninsula for the 7:00am regular group.


An amazing high number of 35 runners showed up for the "aided run". “Aided run” means that there are planned water/food stops during the run. This was a very challenging route (see map): Riverview to Boston (not exactly easy, a big hill early on) and then a loop taking the left road up (Hines Hill Road, huge hills there), then Bike & Hike trail (icy, aid station #1 in the entry) and back to Boson through Boston Mills road (mostly downhill). Then Riverview to Stine Road. Aid station #2 was there. Until this point I was doing great. My pace was 8 min miles or faster, and I was leading the pack at some point, ahead of “Vertical Vince”. But at Stine Road, at mile 10, I collapsed, so to speak. Going up Stine was slow for me, icy, and I even walked a bit. Another loop and back through Major road, to Riverview road and Peninsula. At some point, Rose and her running partner passed me, so I started running fast again, behind them. I made it to Peninsula, tired but happy. My mile splits for the 14 mile part of the run were: 8:52, 7:35, 7:56, 8:21 (hills in this and next mile), 8:15, 7:57, 7:59, 7:45 (downhill!), 8:37, 9:13 (Stein road struggle starts here), 9:35, 9:29, 7:31 (fast downhill, trying to keep up with Rose etc), 8:05, 8:03. This kind of “training run” is almost a tempo run for me. It not comfortable, easy running. It is tough!

Total for the week: 42 miles, 171 lbs.


A note about my weight: I managed to do fine all winter, maintaining my weight around 166-168 lbs, but things broke loose 2 weeks ago. I have gained about 3 lbs, which are now well-settled in (see graph on the right). I weigh myself every morning, but these daily numbers do not mean much, so I average my weight for the week and I pay attention to this number, which I plot on a graph. Talking about being obsessed with weight!

Well, yes, I am. I was 225 lbs when I started running. I have been hovering around 175 lbs since 2002. Last year I followed a diet, supervised by my wife, and dropped to 165 lbs. My running and running times improved quite a bit. There is a clear relationship between running performance and weight. The less the weight, the better the performance. (Yes, there is a limit to this, but this statement applies to 90% of all recreational runners.) I would like to drop to 160 lbs and eventually to 150 lbs, to optimize my race times/ performance. This is my long term goal, and that’s why I am paying close attention to my weight.

Shamrock 15K 2008 - Race Report

After a terrible snowstorm in Cleveland, we woke up to a sunny but cold day. The Shamrock 15K race was at 12 noon, so there was time to clear the streets, and they did a great job in the race area. Dan called and needed a ride because he could not get his car out, so the 4 of us, Dan, my wife Liz, daughter Lea and myself, headed for the race start.


[<--- This is Cleveland March racing weather for you... My wife took this picture. She was late so I had to go back and pretend I am finishing. I have a slightly annoyed look (click at picture to enlarge) because it took her several tries to take this simple picture :)]

We (Dan and myself) went first for the 15K. This is a hard course with very few flat sections. It starts with rolling hills, then a downhill, then a bit flat, and, at mile 5, a very steep uphill, followed by more rolling hills but mostly uphill. Combined with the cold weather, winds, etc., this race is not exactly a "walk in the park"!

I was doing great for the first 4 miles: 6:37 6:52 6:48 6:53. And then started the uphill struggle: 8:09 7:30 7:28 7:19 7:12. Dan and company passed me around mile 6 but I kept within eye distance behind. I really gave everything I had in this race, and my final time was 1:07:34, a new PR for this course!!!

2004 - 1:12:56 (7:47 pace), 63/156, 10/16 age
2005 - 1:12:10 (7:42 pace), 69/192, 11/26 age
2006 - 1:11:17 (7:36 pace), 77/233, 13/32 age
2007 - 1:08:16 (7:17 pace), 35/155, 8/25 age
2008 - 1:07:34 (7:13 pace). 29/152, 4/22 age

Mile - 2006 - 2007 - 2008
1 – 6:54 - 6.32 - 6:37
2 – 7:18 - 6:53 - 6:52
3 – 7:19 - 6:46 - 6:48
4 – 7:33 - 7:01 - 6:53
5 – 8:33 - 8:10 - 8:09
6 – 8:04 - 7:42 - 7:30
7 – 7:55 - 7:39 - 7:28
8 – 7:49 - 7:26 - 7:19
9 - ?.?? - 7:28 - 7:12

Comparing 2008 with 2007, it looks like most of the improvement came from miles 6 to 9, i.e. from the harder part of the race. That's interesting...

[<--- Wife Liz receives her 1st place age award! By the time I got my award, they knew how to pronounce our last name!]


[<--- Wife and daughter with their awards]

We stayed around for the awards. First, my daughter got 3rd place in her age group (F, 15-19) and then my wife got first place in her age group (F, 45-49). But don't get too excited... There were only 3 and 2 runners in their perspective groups :). My daughter's 5K time: 34:19 (I had predicted 36 so she did better than expected). My wife's 5K time: 28:01, only 1 minute slower than her Fall 5K, in a harder course, not bad!

I got an award too! (They went 5 deep in the awards for this age group).

My friend Dan finished 2nd in his age group (50-54) with 1:06:35. It is interesting that the 4 in our car got 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place awards! So we all went home happy. My daughter headed back to college and she says she will be running 3 miles a couple of times a week, to get ready for more races.


[<--- The happy running family]

Overall, this day was great fun, except, as Dan noted, for the actual running part :) which was a torture. Anyway, I am pleased that I improved my time in this course. It was unexpected. Looks like our next race is the Spring Classic in Strongsville, 1/2M for me, 5K for wife (and maybe daughter?) I really hope that Spring will come soon because I am getting sick and tired of this weather!!!

Week 10 - Training Report

Another one of these “bad” weeks with little running and plenty of eating, but this time I had an excuse: The weather was bad (at least on Friday and Saturday) and I was tapering for the Shamrock 15K race on Sunday.

The week started (S) with 6 easy miles, 2.3 of which were with my daughter Lea. M, 2.5 miles, again part of them with Lea. I also went to fitness class this day. W: 6 miles to Columbia road and back. T: 3 miles, hit the wall at this point. F & S: No running. We had a terrible snow storm that lasted from Friday to Sunday morning. South Brecksvlle (that's us!) got 20 inches of show. I must have shoveled snow a dozen times. My back was/is hurting!!!

Total for the week = 23 miles, average weight = 171 lbs (+2 from last week!)

Shamrock 15K Personal History and Time Goal

I have run the Shamrock 15K 4 times now. Here is my history:

2004 – 1:12:56 (7:47 pace), 63/156, 10/16 age
2005 – 1:12:10 (7:42 pace), 69/192, 11/26 age
2006 – 1:11:17 (7:36 pace), 77/233, 13/32 age
2007 – 1:08:16 (7:17 pace), 35/155, 8/25 age

As you can see, I have been steadily improving my time every year, by about 1 minute from 04 to 05 and 06 and then a large jump, 3 minutes improvement last year!

My goal, as with any race, is to improve my best course time. I think it will be difficult this year because 1) I did great last year, 2)I feel that I am not in good shape (no running last week, gaining weight, etct) plus 3) the weather/course conditions might be a problem this year. I will do my best nevertheless.

My times per mile in the last two years (last year it was sunny and 40F)

Mile - 2006 - 2007
1 – 6:54 - 6.32 - First 3 miles mostly downhill
2 – 7:18 - 6:53
3 – 7:19 - 6:46
4 – 7:33 - 7:01 - Mostly flat
5 – 8:33 - 8:10 - HUGE hill here! – Most people walk this - I run it :)
6 – 8:04 - 7:42 - Rolling hills follow...
7 – 7:55 - 7:39
8 – 7:49 - 7:26
9 - ?.?? - 7:28
Pace at last 0.4 miles in 2007 - 6:51

It looks like I ran consistently 15 to 30 seconds faster per mile in 2007 vs. 2006. There is no deep strategy here, just stronger & faster running overall.

I have access to my race reports from the previous two years. It is interesting what I wrote in 2006: “My friend Dan did much better with 1:08:21 and he won 5th place in his age group. Maybe next year if I am 10 pounds lighter I might be able to run as fast as Dan.” Well, as it turns out, I did run as fast as Dan, even though I was the same weight. This year I am 5 lbs lighter. Dan is running too (he skipped last year) but he is much better than 2 years ago.

My Running Family!

I “discovered” running in 2001. With typical enthusiasm, I jumped into running with both legs. But somehow I failed to transmit this enthusiasm to the rest of my family. The few times I brought up the possibility of running, they all declared with one voice that they “HATE running!”

I believe that you can lead by example, but you cannot push someone do something that YOU like. They have to discover things on their own. No one pushed me to play sports, get interested in science, take stereo pictures, or start running… I might have not taken up these interests if my parents insisted I did.

So, I was thrilled when my wife started running last year. She went from walking in the treadmill, to running for short times, then running a mile on the treadmill and then running outside up and down the street for a mile. At first she claimed that she was running for fitness only, and she did not really enjoy running. But, things changed soon and I talked her (with some difficulty I must admit) into signing up for her first 5K race (Buckeye, August 2007) And then her 2nd 5K, Fall Classic, where she won a 3rd place award!

Now we are starting the local racing season with the Shamrock 5K/15K and she agreed to signing up for the 5K. Of course I had to make promises and lie a bit, to get her to do this. I told her that the course is flat (it is not!) and I promised that the weather will be great, as it has been in past races (unfortunately, a blizzard is predicted, and bitter cold on running day!)

But the big surprise came from my daughter! She saw me completing the race application and was curious about it. When I explained what this was, she said "I want to run too!" That’s great! The problem is, she has never ran more than 1 mile! So I have been taking her out running this week... The longest she has made it so far is 2.3 miles. She is taking walking breaks but is determined to finish the race, even if she has to walk.

Her average time is 10 min/mile running and 12 min/mile including the walking breaks. I am predicting a 36 min 5K time for her Last year there were only two female runners in her age group (15 to 19). I am telling her, with a little luck, she can even win an award! My wife can do better of course with a 25:55 PR under her belt. But she insists that they will cancel the race because of the weather!

Right now, my daughter’s main problem is what to wear on race day :) She wants to look cute in a new outfit. So this race is going to cost us a bit more than the race entry. She is going shopping with her mom tomorrow… That’s OK. It is worth it!

Now, we need to get our son interested in running! This turn of events has been unexpected and very exciting for me… We are now a running family!

Week 9 - Training Report

By all means, this was a terrible week, running-wise! Not only did I run very little (no running from Monday to Friday) but also ate a lot and gained a couple of pounds!

The week started OK with a slow (9:30 min/mile) 7 mile slow run with my wife (Snowville to Columbia and back, with a little bit in Echo Hills) on Sunday. Monday, a busy day, only one mile up and down the street. And that was it until Saturday!

We had a lot of snow this week. It was snowing on Tuesday so not only I did not run, I also did not go for Fitness. On Wednesday I was busy finishing the (stereo club) newsletter. I did go to see two 3d movies (see my 3d blog: http://drt3d.blogspot.com/) I was going to run on Thursday but I took a nap and woke up late :). I was also going to run on Friday but I drove to Toledo to pick up Lea and when I came back it had snowed and the roads were bad.

So, here we are on Saturday, fresh, and out of shape! The early group met at 6:30 for just 2.5 miles around the snow-covered local streets. The regular group started at 7:00 (time moved ½ hour earlier). We went from Lock 29 to Akron Peninsula Rd, right on Bolanz, then to Ira, Oak Hill, Everett, River Road and back to Lock 29. Dan wanted to add a few more miles but the pace was fast for me and I was getting tired so I settled for 12 miles, or a total of 14.5 for the day at 2:04 (8:30 pace). My mile splits: 9:38, 9:28, 9:26, 8:39, 8:24, 8:09, 8:17, 8:24, 8:15, 8:16, 8:28, 7:59, 8:53, 8:13, 7:29

Total for the week = 23 miles, average weight = 169 lbs

My mileage has been going down and weight has been going up. I am getting a bit nervous regarding the Shamrock 15K race next week. Should I run lots of miles this week, or take it easy?