Happy Holidays

It has been a while since my last blog but things have been going well. My running is going well and I have been able to get my running to work schedule put together. It has really helped me to get in more miles as well as commute faster in some cases. I have found that on my run home in the evening I can actually get back home faster than I can drive. It is also nice to fly by people sitting in their cars stuck in traffic. I think every night run turns into a tempo run for this reason.

My running pack from my previous post is awesome. The Gregory Wasatch has just the right amount of space for a change of clothes (with a little practice at packing), is really light weight and does not move around while running at all. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good running pack. I was able to get mine from Adventures Edge here in Morgantown.

The NB 100’s ended up being a little to minimalist for my taste in a shoe. They will be great for trail races but for putting in the long mileage they will not work for me. On the other hand, if you are one of the people out there looking for a good minimalist shoe to run in, this is the shoe for you. It is very light, has nice traction on the trails, comes equipped with a light weight rock plate and is very flexible. It would even do very well as minimalist road shoe. We have decided to carry them at the shop so look for them to arrive in the near future.

I have recently enjoyed running in my other pair of trail shoes, the Brooks Cascadia. They are a little heavy but run great on the trails. They have great grip, shed mud well and feel great out of the box. My first run in them was on a 20 mile trail run in a down pour rain (check out Erin's blog for the other crazyness that happened on this run!). They worked great and I had no blisters or any other problems that come along with breaking in a new pair of shoes. We will also be bringing this shoe in this spring.

My spring/summer race schedule is still in the works but has been put together for the most part. I am currently registered for the Capon Valley 50K in May and the Highlands Sky 40M the day after my birthday in June. I then hope to cap it all off with the Pikes Peak Ascent in August. I am going to try to throw in a few other short trail races in there as well.

Everyone be safe out there on these snow and Ice covered roads. I took a hard fall on some black ice this morning. Have a great Christmas and a happy new year!

A Time for Change

Well, it has been nearly three week since the big half marathon that most of my previous blog posts were leading up too. The race went fairly uneventful so I didn’t feel a big need to sit down and write about it. From start to finish things went flawlessly; I started out at what I thought was a nice conservative pace (I didn’t see a mile marker until about mile 3) and tried to hold that pace for the rest of the race. I tried to push on the uphills, cruised on the down, and maintain on the flat and this is what I did throughout the race. I was by myself nearly the whole time except for the last two miles where I managed to pass two other guys. In the end, it was actually a boring race to write about but I did run a PB of 1:20.47 and was happy to see all of my hard work pay off. That was defiantly the best I had felt racing in a long time. It was also great to see Erin achieve her goal of 1:35 as well.

Since the race, I have spent most of my time just getting out and running. Not worrying about mileage, workouts, when I am going to run or what effort to run at. When I have time, I go out and run; that’s it. I have also spent a great deal of time trying to decide what I want to do next running wise. I know I have touched on this in previous posts but it has been hitting me really hard lately. My basic three options came down too: 1) train for something on the track in the spring, 2) Try my hand at a spring marathon, or 3) get ready for some ultra trail races. After about three weeks of debating with myself I have chosen option 3.

There is something about ultra trail running that really speaks to me. I like the idea of getting back to basics, just getting out and running. I love the thought of putting in lots of easy miles without pushing the pace. There is also nothing like getting lost on a backwoods trail; the scenery is beautiful and everything is so quite. No more rushing cars, people screaming ridicules things at you and people getting ticked off that their road to McDonald’s breakfast is blocked due to the stupid race you are running in. Don’t get me wrong, I will defiantly still jump in a few road races here and there 5K-Half Marathon but that is not going to be the focus of my training.

So, I am on my way to training for some ultra’s. I have a pair of brand new New Balance 100’s on the way as well as a nice running pack so that I can start running to and from work to add up the weekly mileage so as to get my legs use to going for long periods of time. I have also been reading anything I can get my hands on about the sport and would love to hear from anyone out there that has some good advice to offer. I am also interested to see how long it takes Erin to get that extreme competitiveness she has going and want to run some ultras as well. As of now, she still thinks they are crazy but I don’t see that lasting to long.

I think that pretty much sums it up. I will probably have a lot to blog about with my new endeavor in life and I am sure there will be plenty of interesting storys to tell. If I don’t get a chance to post before Thanksgiving, happy holidays to everyone and get out there and do a Turkey Trot!

Race Week

This week began my official taper week for the half marathon. It started out on Sunday by doing an easy 11 miles with Erin and Ellie on the trail in Star City heading north towards Point Marion. It was a nice day and the trees were beautiful. Unfortunately, I felt horrible the entire way and could not wait to finish. This is not the way I prefer to feel the week before the race that I have been training for the last four months. I decided to take the following two days off (Monday and Tuesday) and get rested up as well as try to take in some more calories to refuel. I came back on Wednesday for an easy 6 miles and felt awesome. It took everything I had to hold myself back and not push the pace too hard. I then ran 4 on Thursday and 2 miles today. It felt like I had just left for my run when I was already getting back home. I will be taking tomorrow off before the race. Hopefully all of this will work and I will feel refreshed and ready to go on Sunday.

My goal for the race is to finish around 1:22. I think that I can probably run around a 1:20 but after my horrible half marathon in the spring I have decided to take a more conservative approach. I am planning on going out somewhere between 6:15 and 6:20 pace. This will probably be the most difficult part for me because I am horrible at pacing myself in the first few miles of longer races. After that I have no real major race plans. If I feel good and think I can go, I will try to slowly pick up the pace throughout the rest of the race. If not I can hold steady and still finish around my goal time. I will see how I feel on race day.

Here is the list of my major concerns right now (in no particular order):

1. What racing flats to wear: Adidas Adios or Nike LunaRacer? I am going to take both with me and decided in the morning.
2. Weather: The weather report for Sunday has changed just about every day that I check. Right now it is saying partly cloudy with a high of 50 and a low of 37. Arm warmers or no arm warmers? Gloves or no gloves? What shorts to wear? Again, I will probably bring everything with me and decided in the morning.
3. Dinner the night before: What will sit well with me and leave me fueled for the morning? This can be difficult in a strange city.
4. Wait time: The location of the start line is difficult to get to once they have closed the streets. They are recommending being at the line and hour before the race. This is a long time for me. What am I going to do? What if it is cold?
5. Am I going to have another bad race? I hope not!

Yes, I know I am crazy. This is nothing out of the ordinary for me. I get like this before almost all of my races. I think that Erin is probably about ready to kill me right now because I go over this list with her just about every second of the day. I also try on both pairs of shoes every night in my attempt to decide what to wear, and I am still undecided. Anyway, good luck to everyone else out there that is running this weekend. I will try to have a full recap after the race.

10 Days and Counting

Well, we are down to the final 10 days until the big half marathon. It has been a tough week of training but these will be the last few hard workouts I put in until after my little time off after the race. Erin and I started out the weekend with 6:30 AM trip to Wheeling on Saturday to run the Auggie’s 5k. The race went well and I was able to finish 1st in a time of 17:09. I felt very strong throughout which gave me a huge boost in confidence for my half marathon goals (even though I really wanted to get under 17:00 minutes again). It was a fun time overall. Erin finished 2nd overall for the women (running another PR) and we got to get in some good advertising for the shop. I also got to see my old coach (finishing 5th overall in a time of 18:27 at an age of 51!) and catch up on running store stuff. If you are ever over near wheeling be sure to stop in his shop, The Runners Connection, in Bellaire, OH and check it out. After everything finished up there we headed back to Motown and finished up the day working at the shop.

The next day was my long run day. I headed out the door by myself (Ellie wanted to run with just Mommy) without a real course in mind. I thought I would just explore the Morgantown neighbor hoods. My legs were really stiff from the race the day before but I started to loosen up a bit after about mile 5. The run ended up being a little hillier than I would have liked but I was able to get in a good 16 miles the day after a hard effort race; so I was happy. After Erin and I grad some lunch we headed out to the pumpkin patch for some Ellie fun. She had a blast even though the place was an entire muddy mess from the previous week’s worth of rain. A good time was had by all!

I had my final workout yesterday, 6 Arboretum hill repeats followed by 15 minutes of 60/30’s. It is a good strength workout followed by speed to get the legs turning over again after the slow uphills. I am feeling it today to say the least. I am really looking forward to my taper week next week. My body is getting worn down and having trouble dragging myself out bed for runs in the morning.

I will try to give an update next week before the race and then hopefully a full recap after. Have a great week!

Kevin

Nervous

I have been a little worried here lately because I was just not getting excited about the upcoming half-marathon Erin and I are doing. Well, that has all changed in the last few days! I am getting really nervous about the race and it is all that I think about most of the time. I just keep running through the race in my head over and over again.

I was hoping to get an idea of what kind of shape I was in at the 10k I did last weekend. Erin had decided to do the 5k instead and left me to push Ellie in the 10k; not the most ideal racing conditions. Erin finished first in the women's 5k race and I finished 3rd in the 10k. I ended up running 39 min. and some change but that was after stopping to buckle Ellie back in the stroller at one point and stopping two other times to pick up her Dora the Explorer book off of the ground. There was also a nasty head wind on the way back and anyone who runs with a jogging stroller knows how hard it is to push those things into the wind. They essentially act like a big parachute. So in the end, I still really had know idea what kind of shape I was in.

This past Saturday on an 8 mile run I decided to time some of my mile splits. I usually don't time my self and just go for mileage and base my effort on how I feel that day. It was a normal day so I felt my splits would accurately represent what my normal training pace was. I hit the split between mile 3 and 4 in 6:45 and then between mile 5 and 6 in 6:42. I defiantly tried not to pick up the pace because I knew I was timing myself so I felt those accurately represented my normal run days. I was happy with those times considering that I had just done 10 hill repeats up the Arboretum main trail just a couple days before. I was so happy in fact that I decided to tempo the last two miles home which I really regretted the next day when I had to do my long run of 16 miles!

I know this is a boring post to most people but it is just an update of my training for the Spirit of Pittsburgh Half Marathon. I think I am probably going to do the Auggie's 5k this weekend to see what I can run a 5k in right now. I will give an update as to how that goes.

Enjoy this beautiful fall season!

Kevin

Ellie's B-day and the Future

Today is Ellie’s birthday! I can’t believe it has been two years already. She is growing up so fast!!

Things have been going very well with my training for the half-marathon. I was able to get in a fartlek last Wednesday and a 6 mile tempo run on Saturday followed by a 14 mile run on Sunday. I took yesterday off and felt great on my 8 mile run this morning. I am defiantly starting to feel a lot stronger than I have in a long time. I am planning on doing some hill repeats tomorrow and probably some sort of interval work on Saturday followed by a 15 mile run on Sunday. I am also probably going to do the Alpha Phi Race for Your Heart 10K on October 4th to get a better idea of a goal pace for the half. If I can just stay healthy I think I will be able to run a good race on November 1st.

I have also been thinking about my running future a lot lately. I have started to become intrigued by the idea of ultra-trail races. I am really starting to feel like I need a break from road racing and I think this may be the direction I go next year. I feel like I need to challenge myself in a new way rather than just how fast I can go over the same road distances. It feels like I have been doing this forever. Unfortunately, I know nothing about ultra-trail running (gear, shoes, training, etc.)! I have done a lot of trail running, especially when we were out in Colorado but have never really taken it that seriously. Anyway, I am getting excited about the thought of doing some races and would love to hear some feedback from anyone who knows what they are doing and could guide me along the way.

Race Recap

Our weekend started out with a 6:30 AM drive up to Bellaire Ohio to run the Awesome Autism 5k. This was the first year for the race put on by my former high school coach and long time running friend Dennis. It had been a while since Erin and I had been back to Ohio due to the store taking up most of our time on the weekends now. Bellaire is where both of us went to High School (St. John Central) and where we were married. I also got to see Ben, another long time running friend and former college teammate that I have not seen in a long time.

The weather was perfect as we stood at the start line. The temperature was in the mid 50’s and the fog was just starting to lift. The course was flat as a pancake as it ran alongside the Ohio River. Ben gave me a good laugh right before the gun went off when he looked down and realized he had forgotten to put his number on. It’s a good thing he is also good friends with Dennis and well known in the Ohio Valley (and not to mention his huge margin of victory) or he could have been in some trouble for that mistake.

I felt good from the start and went through the first mile in about 5:30. Ben had already opened about a 20 second lead on me and the third place guy was starting to fade as well. I was pretty much on my own the rest of the race. I could see Ben in front on me most of the time until about the last half mile so that gave me at least something to run towards. Ben won the race in 16:07 I ended up finishing second in 17:35. I was hoping to finish a little closer to 17:00 but I was happy. I could defiantly tell that I was missing the turnover from lack of speed workouts lately but I felt very strong at the finish and could have probably kept going at that pace for a little while longer. That makes me feel a lot more confident in my Half Marathon training right now.

Erin did awesome in the race. She once again ran another PR of 20:35 winning the women’s race and finishing 9th overall. She just seems to keep getting better and better.

As a side note, we have finally settled on a fall Half Marathon and have decided to do the Spirit of Pittsburgh. We registered last night so we are defiantly set now.

A Great Sunday

The day started out with an early morning long run. Josh had invited me to come and run with his group which was awesome. He even picked a good location for Erin to come along and run with Ellie in the jogging stroller. It was the first time I had ran with a group of people other than Erin since college (about 4 years). It was a beautiful run on the rail trail along Cheat lake. The weather was a perfect 60-65° with an even cooler breeze blowing in off the lake. I started out the run with Josh, Travis and Kate and went for about 9 miles with them. The time seemed to fly by having others to talk to and run with. After a quick bathroom break I decided to finish up the last 4 miles of the run with Erin. Even though I was having a great time with the others, I still missed getting to run with Erin and Ellie. It is just a great way to spend family time even thought Ellie was sleeping most of the way. Thanks again to Josh, Travis and Kate for allowing me to tag along on the long run. It was a great change of pace (literally and figuratively) for me!

After the run, we were both starving so we grabbed some quick showers and stuffed ourselves for lunch. Then one of the rarest occurrences happened. Ellie was actually tired for once and allowed Erin and I to take a nap with her. It was one of the best naps ever! Almost 2 hours!!
The rest of the afternoon was filled with relaxing/playing with Ellie, grocery shopping and playing at the park with Ellie. It was funny to watch as Ellie got braver and braver as she would go higher on the swing as well as going down the biggest slide all by herself. She is growing up so fast!

It was such a great Sunday and just what Erin and I both needed. Things have been so crazy lately with starting up the business that we really just needed a day to relax and spend quality time with Ellie.

We have also made a small change in our fall racing schedule as we have decided to run the Marshall University Half Marathon instead of the Spirit of Pittsburgh Half Marathon. It is on the same weekend, just a different location. We will both also be racing this weekend in Ohio and will have a complete recap after the race.

Long Time No See

Yes, I know, I have really slacked off when it comes to keeping up with my blog. It’s only been what…6 weeks…that’s not too long…right? Anyway, I will try to keep up with my “once a week posting” that I originally promised. Erin keeps getting on me about posting something but my life just does not seem as exciting as hers. She always has good stories to tell (and she has all of the good pictures that she never sends to me) over there at mommyrunning101.

Things are going great at the store. It is doing even better than I could have ever imagined. I just wish that I had the chance to work there full time. Then it would be a real dream come true; working at my own running store with my wife and daughter. That would be awesome. But for now, we have to have health insurance so I will continue on.

Running has been going well. When things started to pick up with finalizing the shop my running began to fall to the side. I finished my 5k training plan but never made it to a race. I decided to just skip right to training for the Spirit of Pittsburg Half Marathon on November 1st. I have been feeling well and it is a lot easier to get in the mileage now that we live in Morgantown and I don’t have to drive 50 min. to get into work. I was able to get in 55 miles last week and hope to be right around the same this week.

All and all, things have been going well. I really can’t complain. I will try to keep up with my posts this time…I promise…maybe.

Feeling Good

Things have been going well lately and I finally feel like my running is back on track. All of my training runs and speed workouts have been going great. I'm feeling really strong and have been able to push myself to a new level. I don't think I have felt this good since my junior year in college so I am looking forward to getting out and testing my self at a 5K sometime soon.

Here is my tentative fall race schedule (permitting that the store allows me to do so)
-A couple local 5K's in August/September
-City of Pittsburgh Great Race September 27th
-Spirit of Pittsburgh 1/2 Marathon November 1st

Erin and I made it up to Morgantown on Sunday for an easy 10 miles on the Deckers Creek Trail. It was nice to see some familiar faces out on the run. We are really looking forward to moving to Morgantown soon!

4th of July

I haven't had a new post lately...nothing too exciting going on.  My running has been going well lately after my awesome wife Erin let me sleep in a few days since my last post.  My week consisted of the following:

Monday: Off

Tuesday: 6 miles

Wednesday: 2 x1200, 2x800, 2x400

Thursday: 5 miles

Friday: Off

Saturday: 2x800, 4x400, 4x200

Sunday: 8 miles

We took Ellie to see her first fireworks tonight.  She seemed to like the first few but then wanted to leave after they started to get a little louder.  I think she would have enjoyed them more if it wasn't so far past her bed time.

The Tour de France started today which I am excited about.  I started watching the Tour back in 2001 when I came across it by chance on Outdoor Live Network. I have been hooked ever since.  It always helps to motivate me with my running.  I started riding a lot when we were in Colorado but have not been on my bike since we moved back to WV.  I would really like to get back to it some day.

I know this post is about a whole lot of nothing but it is just a quick overview of this week.  Congratulations to my sister Marrie and her husband Jason on their new daughter and my first niece Layah!  She was born today and everyone is doing well. Her birthday should be very easy to remember!

Worn Out

Things have been crazy lately and I think I am starting to feel the effects. Here is an example of what my days have looked like as of late:

6:30 AM: Wake up and go run.
7:45 AM: Get home, cool down and play with Ellie a little.
7:55 AM: Shower.
8:15 AM: Drive to work.
9:00 AM: Arrive at work.
9:00-5:00: Work in the lab and work on running shop things in my free time.
5:00 PM: Get off work.
5:45 PM: Arrive at home.
6:00 PM: Eat Dinner.
6:30 PM: Walk around the neighbor hood with Erin, Ellie and Gabbie(dog).
7:30 PM: Help with Ellie's bath.
8:00 PM: Put Ellie to sleep (this takes about 20-30min!)
8:30-10:30PM: Hang out with Erin/Work on running shop things.
10:45/11:00 PM: SLEEP!!

Even the sleep part has been tiring lately since Ellie refuses to sleep in her own bed or even sleep at all anymore. I usually receive a few screams in the ear or a few drop kicks to the face throughout the night.

My brain is dead from trying to figure out all of the orders for the new store. It is like trying to tell the future. You have to pick what you think other people will like or want. It just sends your head spinning.

My legs have been drained from the training plan that I am on right now. I find it hard to motivate myself to get out and run a lot of the time. I really miss having someone to train with like back in college and in high school. I have only run with someone else twice (other than Erin) since I graduated from college back in 2006. It is hard to get out by yourself and get a good workout in when you are already tired and you have to do one of the same 3 runs everyday (we live in Grafton right now and there is not much to chose from...I can't wait to move to Morgantown!)

Anyway...enough of my complaining!! Things are going well with the shop. We have placed all of the orders and are logo is in the final stages of being completed. Next on the list will be getting the shop set up once the crew is done with their work. So in the end, yes, I am very worn out right now but hopefully in the future it will all be worth it when I have a new PR and my very own running store!

Rainy Wednesday

I finally got back on track (figuratively and literally) with my training schedule this week. I was able to get speed workouts in on both Saturday and today. My 5k training plan consists of two track workouts a week, one long run and two training runs with 6-10 strides after.

On Saturday both Erin and I went to the track in the morning. While Erin was finishing her workout, I warmed up pushing Ellie in the baby jogger and then Erin cooled down pushing Ellie while I started my workout. I like having the whole family involved. You always have someone cheering you on!

Today I headed to the track at 6:30 A.M. before work. It was poring down rain outside so it took everything I had to get out the door. Besides the torrential down poor of rain, it was quiet and cool out. The fog rolling across the track and the sounds of train whistles moving down the valley made for a very ominous setting but at the same time it was a nice, relaxing start to the day. I had Erin snap this shot of me when I got home. It doesn't do any justice to how completely soaked I was.

Tomorrow is my birthday and I turn the big 25!!! I am getting so old!!!

Update: Race, Training and Store

This past weekend my wife and I were in St. Clairsville Ohio visiting with Erin's parents and decided to run the Barton VFD 16th annual 5k classic in Barton, Ohio. I had done this race in the past, when I use to live in Ohio as well, but it had been at least 7 years since then. For some reason I remembered it being a lot farther drive from St. Clairsville so unfortunately we arrived about and hour early and had nothing to do (especially since this is a very small town in the hills of Ohio).

The race started at 9:00 and the weather was good for a June morning. The fog in the valley was still blocking the sun during the race and the temperature was probably around 65. I was in 3rd place for most of the race but was past by two people at the two mile mark and finished 5th overall with a time of 17:47. I was satisfied with that time considering I haven't done any true speed work since last fall and had mostly just been training for the Pittsburgh Half Marathon which was in May. Erin finished in 2nd overall in the woman's race with a time of 20:52. She has still run a PR every race she has competed in so far. I like to think it is her great husband/coach to thank for that.

I was planning on starting my 5k training program this week but did not get around to it. Between Ellie not sleeping at night, my legs still being sore from the race and everything being crazy with the running store I just couldn't get myself out of bed on Wednesday to hit the track. I did get in 6 strides after each of my runs and will get a track workout in this Saturday.

Things are still moving right along with the store. We met with Andrew Smith (The person we are leasing from and cannot thank enough for all of his help in getting us started up. He is a CPA here in Morgantown and also owns several residental rental properties. I would highly recommend doing business with him to anyone.) on Wednesday and they are going to start fixing up the space ASAP so that we can get in and set up. Erin has meet with both the New Balance and Asics shoe representatives so far and have been in contact with all of the others. We may have to push the opening date back from August 1st to the 8th to make sure we have all of the shoes in, but we will have a better idea the closer we get.

-Kevin

Welcome

Welcome everyone. This blog will be dedicated to the trials an tribulations related to my running, Erin and I's new running store "Morgantown Running", being a Dad, family and everything else in between. I will try to post at least once a week so be sure to check back often. Please feel free to post comments and leave suggestions as I would love to hear what others have to say. Thanks for reading my blog!

-Kevin