Weather time!!

Living in New England is always, at the very least, interesting.  I am guessing that there are very few places that have such pronounced season and rapid weather changes.  I have not done much traveling in my life so I do not know if that is a factual statement, but I rarely hear about the foliage in Montana.  Ok, Montana was a bit of a random reference but I think you get the idea.  Just having the World Series played in Boston (congrats to the Red Sox by the way) you hear national media refer to fall in New England quite often to start a broadcast, but rarely did you hear mention about the foliage in Detroit or St. Louis.  With the foliage and the sleeping of trees and other parts of nature, comes the beginning of the cold and dark mornings, which makes my training slightly harder, but it at least gives me something to blog about.

In recent weeks, since the running the half marathon, the weather has certainly changed in the area.  The temps in the morning have gone as low as 20 degrees.  I think people would notice that the human body reacts differently in colder temperatures than warmer.  It takes a little longer for the muscles to get lose, but obviously it helps in preventing over heating.  One of the things that I struggle with is the correct attire.  My real issue with it is I tend to have cold extremities while I sweat quite easily.  Knowing how your body reacts to temperature differences is certainly beneficial when you are looking to purchase all your articles of clothing.

Myself, I was lucky to receive a gift card (thanks to my in-laws) and was able to purchase a fantastic Asics wind breaker.  It is actually very warm and breaths pretty well.  I have found for me, multiple thin layers is the best way to go about running in sub freezing weather.  I have a compression shirt, long sleeve running shirt, and the jacket.  I also have two pairs of sock, gloves and shorts.  I don't like really running in long pants for some reason, they don't feel overly comfortable so I will go in shorts as long as I can.  I would like to at some point try out long tights for running, but as of right now I am not willing to invest the money into them.  Perhaps when the temps are sub zero I will consider it more.

So, I have actually come up with some structure here in this blog and I have started a list of things I would like to discuss.  So hopefully I can come up with more information and things to talk about like today.  I hoping I can mix in some of my other thoughts about running and such things with how my training is going and how my body is reacting to the idea of running a marathon in about 11 months.  Hopefully I can articulate the things I would like to say well and be informative to people.  So, until next time.......

CHaD Hero

Well, October 20th has come and gone. That day was the Children's Hospital at Dartmouth Heroes race day. I participated in the event for the first time. I believed going into this race that I would be able to really put up an good time. I thought I was extremely prepared and ready to go, and I think I did pretty well but not completely prepared. Well, first let's get to the result.

Place     Div/Tot      Name               Guntime Nettime    Pace
===== ======== ========== ====== ====== ======
87         21/88         Thomas Rup     1:41:58 1:41:49.51  7:47
          
 To explain this a little more, there was 659 runners in the race. That puts this finish in the top 20th percentile (rough calculation in my head). That is something to be pretty happy with. However I know I have run a better paces than a 7:47, including the race I did in the spring. However, no two races are the same, and this certainly exemplified that.  The race in the spring was more geared towards beginner runners.  The race started with a good uphill, but then was a gradual downhill and flat course from that point on.  The race this fall started pretty flat, with a good downhill and then a lot more gradual hills and flat for the first 8 miles.  Then, the last 4.5 miles of the race consisted of steep inclines and far more up and down terrain.  The last 1/3 of the race really kicked my tail because I did not do much hard hill training.  All in all I would say this was car more of a novice to intermediate race.  I think I could do much better at it now knowing how many hills there are at the end, I could train my muscles to be able to handle that much better.

In the days following the race I really struggled with some post race soreness.  It has probably taken me about 3-4 days just to have my thighs not be sore when getting out of a chair.  As I started to feel slightly better on Tuesday I was able to get out for a slow, 5 mile recovery run.  I followed that up with a 7 mile harder run on Thursday to try to loosen my legs more.  I went at a pretty good pace and it did seem hard to get my legs moving, but then after my typical 3 miles I was much more loose and ready to go.  Plus the temp being at or around 32 degrees really helped me keep cool while pushing a little harder.  I will probably be going up to 10 miles or so on Saturday as I hit some recovery and head towards the increase to try to get to 20 miles in the next 20 weeks.

I think I will also do something else while I am training for the full marathon distances.  I may look at the 100 push up challenge, taking it slower that the 6 weeks they say someone can do it in.  The plan can be found here: http://www.hundredpushups.com/#sthash.TRS5FqN5.dpbs, this would be something to just find a way to get other muscles moving and going to help in fitness and overall body endurance.

I have recently purchased some new technology for running, I will probably post something soon about how those are working out and how life is running in some pretty cold temps.
 

6 days and counting

It is Monday and there is a Half Marathon race on Sunday that I will be participating in. It is going to be really interesting to see how well I have trained for this race. The last time I competed in a Half Marathon race in May, I have only run 13 miles or over probably 1 or 2 times. This time I have had a fair amount of times I have run the distance or over. I feel like I am stronger and I have a better technique this time around. I really think I have a chance of beating my first time and putting forth a really good effort. I have had some really fast and strong shorter runs later in the day that make me feel good about how this will all work out. The race is at noon on Sunday so I have plenty of time to be fueled and ready to go. Of course I do have some aches and pains that will probably worry me some heading up to Sunday, but once I get moving and the competitive juices start flowing there really should be no reason to worry. Lately when mapping my runs through a GPS program on a phone (I have been using MapMyRun) I have wondered about the accuracy of these products. I have been thinking a lot about it and I think I am going to purchase a GPS watch or something of the sort to really see how well I am doing on runs with a little more faith that the pace and distance is true. I guess we will see how it all turns out in the coming months as I work up to Marathon distance. Also, the Marathon here in Keene NH prohibits the use of an music player for runners safety and I have never run with out music, so that will certainly change a lot of things. I am really interested in seeing how I can keep pace with out music. So it will be Noon EST on Sunday the 20th when I start. I will certainly tweet out my results so please follow @RupBoysDad if you would like to know shortly after how it went. I believe after I will post something about how I feel and then a little about the technology I am looking at for better run tracking. Until then, if you have any questions or anything you would like to know about, please tweet me at @rupboysdad or send me an email!!

Training is.........fun??

I certainly understand that if you want to get results, you have to work on it. For some people things do not come easy, that is a fact. I would not say that getting to a good point in running has been hard for me, I haven't had to train everyday to get to an 8 minute mile. I have been lucky enough to get to a good, competitive speed while only running every other day. However it is my inner drive, my self competitiveness that has put me to a point that when I do plateau it gets frustrating for me. To be honest, I will never be winning any big races. I haven't been running long enough and started way to late to be able to come in a top 5 for any of the events I run. I try to set a goal and then get to that goal. The first goal for the first Half Marathon was pretty simple, finish with out stopping. I was hoping to get under 1:45 for the race, but that wasn't really anything I cared to much about. Finishing the race in 1:38 was something of a shock for me that I didn't not expect. The problem with that is that now I want to beat it, which brings me to this point in my training. My next event is October 20th which is less than two weeks away. I have/had a plan to get to a point where I was running 13 miles with two weeks to go, and then throttle down to have my body rested and ready for the race. It is in Hanover NH and I do not know the course at all, but I know there are plenty of hills in that area. I expect this to be a tougher and more interesting course and race. I guess I will just have to hit it with my best effort and see what happens. I did get my 13 in on last Sunday, which was a good one. I tried to do it near race speed and ended up finishing in 1:39.10, which is a pace of just about 7:36/mile. I would be extremely happy if I can finish this half with a pace of 7:35 and getting just under 1:39 for the race. At this point I think I am ready, I ended up with 4 runs last week for a total of just over 36 miles. I plan on getting two 8 mile runs in this week at a slower pace. I got my first one in today (Tuesday), finishing just under an 8 minute mile. It was a very hard run, as my legs were still fairly tired after the 13 miles on Sunday. It took me nearly 5 miles to just get things loose enough to get a good stride going....which goes back to original premise of am I having fun or just working hard. I guess, at the end of the day, a little hard work helps for a fun day when the race comes!

The Return

Quite some time ago I had decided to take a hiatus on posting to this blog.  I didn't have any races to run and I felt like my reasoning for stating this blog had been satisfied, that was when I completed the Mother's Day Half Marathon in Whately Ma.  I still ran, knowing that I would still be running more races in the fall.  But over the summer my mileage was way down as I tried to just work on getting my muscles to be more in tuned with the distances that I was looking to complete.  Well, in just over two weeks I will be running another half marathon, this time to benefit CH@D in Hanover NH.  The event page is here for anyone interested:  http://www.chadhalf.org/.

However, the real reason to start putting my thoughts and feelings back on the net is not about another half marathon, or the two if I do decide to run one in Nashua on the 24th of November.  This past weekend was the Clarence DeMar Marathon run in Keene.  It has been run since 1978, just a year younger than it.  In seeing the people push themselves to complete the 26.2 mile course, I realized that I would like to be one of those people.  So I have decided to mark my progress and my status over the next year as I try to make the jump from running 13.1 miles to the 26.2 (and more) that it takes to be a marathoner.

The site is going to go through a slight change...I am going to pretty much just have my posts, some courses as well as a little bit about me and the distances I have been able to cover.  My goals are simply for me and me a lone.  I write and post this because I want to and because some members of my family have liked tracking my progress.  However, feel free to share my blog and information to others.  I would be delighted to serve as a source of inspiration for others, although it is not something that I strive for.

I cannot promise that I will post once a week, or with any frequency at all.  But I will keep up with this as much as I can find time to as I move closer and closer to my goals.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Fathers Day to all my fellow Dad's out there.  It's especially great to have your children remember it is Father's Day with out their mother reminding them.  Great way to start the day, being jumped on by your 7 year old to wake you up!

A little bit of news and "paperwork" to get through this morning.  First, please help support the Children's Hospital at Dartmouth Hitchcock by helping donate through me here:

http://chadhalf.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=1060825&lis=1&kntae1060825=DD68E4499DDF4E4B9596E5F9B098C089&supId=386041225

It is a great cause and if you read my last post you will see how much it means to me personally.  $1, $2, $5, $10....anything possible to help contribute to this organization would be fantastic.  I only have a goal of $15 more to hit, but I am going to keep bugging people.  This is a charitable contribution so it is a tax write off as well....so please, please, please help!

Second part, we have a new event to look forward to, on July 20th of this year a bunch of family and friends are going to be taking part in the 3rd Annual Howie's Field of Dreams 5K in Rochester NH.  This event is to help build a new baseball field in Rochster NH, which both our nephew's play on.  As it stands right now, my sister-in-law and a family friend will be participating in it.  There are other's that are thinking about racing as well, and of course I will be involved which is why I am posting about it.  Information on the race can be found here: http://howies5k.org/.

Beyond that, training for the half marathon in Hanover NH has started.  I have been getting in regular runs of 8 miles and one long run on the weekend.  Last weekend it was a 10 mile run, and I will be getting another ten mile in today.  My plan is to get extend the mileage one week, while then getting a shorted on in the following week.  My hope is to get back to the 13 miles by the end of the July when my wife goes to a conference in Florida.  I will be taking that week off from running so it would be a good time to rest and recharge.  I will then be able to start doing more speed work with the long runs to hopefully kick some butt in October.

Well, hopefully the weather starts getting nicer and I can get out and run more.  Enjoy your weekend, week and your Father's Day to any father!

Another Half Scheduled

I know, I am a little late on that post this week.  I spent the weekend with my wife in Philly and now I am getting back into training.  Plus work has been really busy.  But I do have some news....I am signed up for another Half Marathon this fall!  Yay!  Remember how I have said I like to do running events that support a cause, well this one certainly more than qualifies for that, and I need your help.

First, the event.  This event is called that CHaD Hero Half Marathon.  CHaD stands for the Children's Hospital at Dartmouth - Hitchcock, which is part of the Dartmouth - Hitchcock medical system.  For those that don't know, not too long after he was born our youngest son Riley ended up with a pretty serious case of RSV (Respiratory syncytial virus) which put him in the hospital.  He was in the NICU at Dartmouth for a few days and then spent a few more at CHaD.  We ended up spending a week at the hospital with him before he was released.  So when I saw the opportunity to not only run, but run for a cause that is special to me I jumped at the chance.

Now, here is where I put my best salesman hat on.  The whole point is to be able to raise money specifically for CHaD, so I am asking anyone that reads this to please donate for this event.  The goal is $60 per participant, and I started with the first $20.  That means I only really need to raise an additional $40 for this event.  I know there are those that are aware of Riley's stay (and helicopter ride) to CHaD some three years ago.  So please help me reach this small goal.

Donations for my fund raising can be made here:
http://chadhalf.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=1060825&supid=386041225

Thank you and please pass the word!!