Ch Ch Ch Ch Chaffing......

.............time to feel the burn, ch ch chaffing.
Yesterday I went for a 15 miler and nailed it. About 12 miles into it, my breathing was more relaxed and I was actually speeding up. Everything felt natural. I found I had more energy in the bag towards the end. I am working on racing strategy. I suppose that you want to have some sticks of dynamite left in the chamber to ignite at the end so you don't feel spent half way into it. I had a major negative split by more than 5 minutes. Great run, but not so great afterward. I misplaced my body glide and decided to use good old Vaseline, though not so good. I love the prep that goes into long runs, be it hydration, fueling, unloading, etc.. I used a good amount of Vaseline, but what I experienced was that after a while, it just melts and runs off I guess. Needless to say or go into any details, but post run was not fun. I was at work walking around looking like a beat up penguin. And, it is a good thing I was not wearing a white top. So, that was my experience on my last long run before the race 12 days from today. I did discover that Vaseline is great for post run chaffing, but not good for preventing it. Today, I remember that I put the Body Glide in my camel bak for a trail run I did last week on the AT. Ha...and there it was. Do you remember any chaffing moments? David Bowie looks rather Chaffed here. I think he is having one of those moments right ....now.

Registration for Harrisburg Half Marathon

So.........today I actually, finally registered for the 14th Annual Capital Blue Cross Half Marathon in Harrisburg, PA on September 12th @ 8am. This will be my first "official" race. I have 15 days until this event. I am pretty nervous. The one thing that I am most anxious about is if the timing chip falls off of my shoe, because there is a $25 fee for lost chips. I am also nervous about putting a bib on my racing kit. I have never done that before. What if it blows away or something? I am not nervous about what time I get. The reason being is that I will PB no matter what. I, though, aim to get near 2:15. A sub 2 hour would be nice, and I think that might be manageable looking back at my training times and what not. I am confident and I have trained hard for this. I am kind of excited for it to be over with so I can just run for fun, but someone told me that after this, I will most likely want to do another one ............."soon". This will be a big marker in my life as a year and a half ago, I could barely run one mile. The one person that will be there that means the most to me is my very supportive wife, Loredel. She is awesome. She sees what running has done to me, and motivates me to go one. I can not wait to get a crack at this. I have also firmly decided NOT to wear any timing devices. I will run by feel. This will be an assessment for me to determine where I stand in my running. I will then move on from there. If I do poorly, or just have a bad day, so be it. But I will know, no matter what time I get, that I will have achieved something by just crossing the finish line. Thanks for all of the motivation and support from you dear readers as well. Now, I am going for a nice easy Saturday run as the weather is perfect for it.

Just a Short Video that might make you Laugh........

Quick Thank You, and a Brief Future Summary

Just wanted to thank every one who has dropped by here and put there comments in. For every one that has a blog site, it is very appreciative to hear from the readers. In the past I have had readers come and go, but I have also had those that have stayed around. Thank you. In turn, there are plenty of other sites that I have not been visiting of late. I have been focused on this whole training bit. I would say that time has gotten the better of me. At the same time I am excited for this race, and also excited for it to be over with so I can just concentrate on my base mileage, core training, strength training, better diet, and all around health of being the best runner I can be and getting better and better. That is what I will be about this winter. I heard once that, .."The Winter makes Champions". I guess I will see. This race will tell me, after a year and a half of running, and training specifically for it, what I am capable of. I will then go from there. I actually am debating on Not wearing a watch or any other sort of gadget whilst I run this race. I want to see what I can achieve, and what my training has done for me. After all, don't you tend to run faster at race day?

Half Marathon "Coming right up"

Well, my half marathon in Harrisburg, PA is coming up in exactly one month on Sept 12th. My training has been rather well. I have gained speed and endurance. I have had no major pains or issues and all is well and on track. I have learned a lot of things. Tweeking the "training plan" is sometimes a must. Other than following the prescribed mileage, I have fun at trying out new sessions, and testing my body's capabilities. New routes offer a new perception on my running. I can say with out question, that I am ready for this. I have 3 more long runs during the next 3 weeks, and a taper week. I am ready, and have trained hard.

Running with a Kidney Stone...Episode 2

Last year I had a bad 2 weeks or so of running with a kidney stone. It lasted for about 2 weeks or so. I would run, then after wards, I would find blood in my urine. Well, yesterday, I ran into the same situation. Only this year was quite different. I had a phenomenal treadmill session. (Some one commented the fact that I would be doing sub 10 minute miles by the end of the summer in a post earlier this year) I did a 12.5 mile run with the middle 10 miles under 10 minutes progressively getting faster, with the last mile before cool down being 9:11. I imagined that this speed had shaken things up a bit down there. During my run, I had the same feeling I had last year (The feeling that I had to urinate). After my run, my urine was a dark brown and red color, and I knew I was hydrating well. I immediately started to drink tons of water, approximately 2 liters or so. I went to work feeling fine. I went to the bathroom, and ......ploop, out it comes. Now, when my older brother gets kidney stones, he is shipped off to the ER for morphine and the likes. This is my second go at it, it lasted for 6 hours. I guess running is a good thing in terms of shaking things loose. I wonder if any of you have had this happen? I wonder if I would have been going to the ER and what not if I was still really over weight and eating bad and not running? I thank God that I was able to pass these with no Pain or visits to the ER. I called the Doctor and they said to send it in for lab work. I have a deductible on my insurance plan. No thanks! It does not take a lab work to tell me that it's a kidney stone, and for them guess what MIGHT be causing them. My older brother gets them, and every one in my family gets them. I know what happened and that's all there is to it. I will continue to run and thank God every day for the ability to run and try and stay injury free.

13.1 Longest Long Run / July Miles

Today marks a special day in my running world. My long run today was scheduled for 13 miles, but I went ahead and added a .1! For this was my longest run ever to date since I began running 1.5 years ago. I stopped once to fix my left shoe that was bothering me. After wards, everything went smoothly. I did something a little different today. I did not take any GU gels with me, just my camelbak, and this GU brew in lime flavor that I am trying out. I completed the distance with no problem. No major aches or pains, just minor in my ankles. It was a tough course as there are a lot of hills. Makes for the better since the course is flat. This run has given me confidence now that I know that I am capable of running the entire distance.

Total Time: 2.29.27
Half way Time: 1.16.12
Average Pace: 11.24

My pacing was good as I was keeping the miles pretty consistent. I managed to break an 11 minute mile on the last one as the surface had a bit of a decline, and I had the energy to do so. I Had a great run.

July Miles 2010 - Most ever at 146.69
July Miles 2009 - 66

Last post titled THREE had THREE comments. ......Just thought I would share that.

Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross. Heb 12:1-2