Nice Morning Run

I was out the door by 5:55 AM cruisin' down the road. It was dark out. It was nice and cool for a summer morning. I was doing the home 6.9 mile loop so I knew I could get my legs going prior to heading to the office.

I snapped a picture at 4 miles with my Treo 650. The road behind me is many miles since I first took the pictures at this point back on July 1. TWO months for 248 miles!

I completed the run in 57:17. About 5 minutes faster than the beginning of last month!

Oh yes, the last iRun Podcast of the month.

Sweet 16!

I've made it to Sweet Sixteen miles today. It's another PR!

NOTICE: For those of you that have been following by blog sitting on the edge of your seat diligently reading, listening and vicariously living my every step, this is harder than it looks! Ha! Ok, on with the story.

Sunday morning, set my alarm for 6:01 AM. The extra minute of sleep seemed appropriate since my schedule was really my own. Doing a long run alone today. Instead of just looping a couple of times around my neighborhood for a long run, I decided I would drive to the local bike trail to run an out and back for 16 miles total.

As I finished an EAS energy bar, I parked my Jeep strategically by the trail so that I could fill up on more Gatoraid later into my run. It was a nice cooler sunny morning. I hit the trail at 6:57 AM. Made some early comments with my iRun podcast Part a as I was just getting going.

The trail has nice long flat sections. I snapped a picture around 2 miles into my run. You can see the trail running for a long distance behind me. I had not seen a single soul at this time. Empty trail. Maybe they're all getting ready for church?

I finally passed a couple of ladies out for a stroll then no one again. The trail ran around 4 miles for about 3/4's of mile. I had to run along the road until it picked up again. A mountain biker passed me on this section and then again...no one. The trail ended. My GPS said I was just shy of 7 miles. I turned around, slurped down some Gatoraid and headed back where I came from.

My legs were doing fine. My pace was about 9:45/mi. This is 15 seconds slow per mile than last weekend. I didn't really mean to run slower. Just enjoying myself. As the miles continued the Gatoraid was gone. I stopped by a ballpark. Filled up my bottle with water from a bubbler. I goobled down some Accel Gel as I continued on.

I was getting close to my Jeep when I hit 13.1 miles at 2:07:57. Once again I beat my January '05 1/2 marathon time while just doing a nice long run. About 3 more miles to go.

I stopped at my Jeep to refill my bottle with Gatoraid and I nabbed a banana to munch. I guzzled the remaining Gatoraid that was in the big bottle. I smiled to myself about the cooler I had packed. Nice planning ahead! Off I went down the trail the other direction.

I watched my GPS as I hit 14.9 miles and then 15.0 miles and then 15.1 miles. Yes, another personal record for distance! For some reason this made me think back to when I was about 10 years old hitting apples with a stick to see how far I could get them to fly without smashing them with the stick. I set a marker in the yard for the "world record" distance. I like records. ...albums too.

I snapped a picture with my Treo coming back across a bridge on the trail as I headed for my final 1-mile sprint. Pace was about 9:45/mi during this mental sprint. I was messing with my phone. I couldn't get it to work. It kept dialing my voice mail over and over. I was trying to do another iRun podcast. My phone dialed another number when I put it back in my Fuel Belt. I heard talking coming from my belt. No, it wasn't 911. Oops, but at least not a big oops!

Finally, 16 MILE! 2 hours 37 minutes and 1 second. I walked the last little ways back to the Jeep.

iRun podcast Part b from my Jeep as I drove home after my first 16-miler!

After burning through about 1800 calories running, I ate some pancakes, scrambled eggs, a biscuit, OJ & coffee for breakfast. The refueling felt good. I only lost 1 lb today. Recovery time was much faster today. Went for a 1.5 mile walk with the dog around noon.

Looking forward to some sushi later this afternoon!

Saturday Morning (in the Park)

What a nice sunny Saturday morning!

Slept in a little bit later today and then did a new (to me) bike path/trail run. The path started off paved rolling along a cornfield and then into the trees. A very large bridge across the Fox River (see crazy picture) and then continued winding across some roads and through the trees with some rolling hills. Very nice.

Got in 6.5 miles in 1:14:36. Trying to run 90 seconds slower than my marathon pace. Since I don't really know what my marathon pace will be, I'm trying to do runs at all different speeds to see how they feel. Seems like it uses the muscles differently. This was about an 11:25 pace (because of some walk breaks). Last sunday's 15 miles was around a 9:30 pace. You can see I'm mixin' it up!

As I always try to do, the iRun Podcast was broadcasting live from my run.

Now it's the Long Run!

Holy cow, I set a PR for the longest I've ever run in my life! Yes, I completed 15 miles!

Here is my almost "out of gas" iRun PodCast.

iRun Podcast is Back!

YES! The iRun podcast is back on the air and wire!

Whatever issues audioblog had has now been corrected. I'm back to yackin' as I run. Ummm..well I hope not "yacking" as I'm running.

Today's podcast comes from around 5 miles into my 7 mile run. I completed the run in the 80F+ temps in 64:23. It was hot!

And afterwards I took a nice break.

Band of the Week

I see web traffic coming in from the UK's "Feet Up" site. I've been selected as "band of the week" on Aug 18, 2005! Wow, thx! My posting about Cool Creek was referenced too. Here's what was being said:

Band of the week: Arthur Vance

Can a solo artist be "band" of the week, sure, it's my category, what I say goes!

Just to muddy the water further, Arthur's actually more of a song writer than a full-on rock star, and he didn't even play on Cool Creek his most famous track to date, but with a tune this good that really doesn't bother me, and it's an admirable bit of ego-control by Arthur.

I'll have to get some more songs stuff posted. I've been so busy running that I almost forgot to write and record a bit!

Post work

Almost forgot to take a picture from my after work run with co-workers. Had to pull out my trusty Treo on the drive home!

We ran in some humid temps for 5.4 miles in 50:28. The slow run was a new direction down a bike trail, across a trail bridge and back along the road. It was a neat run. 5 miles didn't seem very long. It's amazing that I now consider this a short run...and my body agrees! I remember first running 5 miles a few years ago and wondering if I could just make! ...but I remember 2 miles and 1 mile and 1/2 miles all being like that too.

So far for the week, I'm at 26 miles. I've got some mileage coming up this weekend. Stay tuned!

Sunrise Running

Set two alarms to make sure I got up and out for an early morning run. The sun is coming up later so the early morning runs are going to move indoors within the next month. It's not safe with the traffic in a couple of areas to run here when it's dark outside.

Today it was gorgeous at 5:50 AM. Fog rolling across the fields with the sun breaking over the horizon. The air was cool. Felt like it was in the upper 50s when I started.

Since I had two days off since running 14 miles, my legs felt completely rested. With the air cool and a good night's sleep, I hit the road feelin' great. I was cruisin' from the start.

As I turned my run toward the west at about 6 AM, I took a picture. Check out that sun. The picture says a thousand words, but real life was fantastic. I hit every major point at PR time on my home 6.9 mile loop. Wow, I'm making progress.

I worked in an Accel gel at 4 miles. Drank only a bit of water since it was cool.

I was unable to get my iRun podcast to broadcast on the run. The number I dial on my Treo was busy. I'm wondering if the audiolog service went out of business. If that's the case, I'll find another way. First run without a podcast in a month. :(

I don't remember exactly, but I went past the 10k point around 51-something and finished the 6.9 miles at exactly 56:00!

That's 95 seconds off my fastest previous time (July 27th) but it was cooler today. I could have run this faster if I had been racing it. I'm having FUN!

Who is gonna make it?

In the long run, I plan on making it to 26.2 miles on January 8, 2006. I'm going to be one of the people that trains up and gets myself in shape for this marathon. I want it to be a great experience not one that is grueling and aweful.

I've NEVER been a "runner". Even less of a long distance runner. I remember almost dying trying to do that 600 yard run for the Presidential Physical Fitness awards when I was kid. Some how I always made the time, but I felt like puking. I wanted that award!

In high school, I wasn't good enough to make the basketball team. I got cut. I liked football, but would have gotten killed. I wasn't interested in cross country or track. I remember going to one track practice and they made everyone run the halls up and down stairs. I never went back. I finally lettered in tennis just because the whole team sucked. I was next to awful, but made varsity by playing the most bizarre game of doubles. I never practiced. I've never played another game of tennis since high school. Hmmm...I bet it's kind of fun. I had fun playing back then even if I was rotten. At least I knewn the rules.

I'm learning the rules of running now. I started for "good health" when I found myself over weight and out of shape in a photo, on the scale and at the doctor's office. I've stayed at it for health, but I've also found it rewarding mentally. The sense of accomplishment is gratifying. Either I do it or I don't do it. If I'm too lazy then my laziness is right there square in front of me STARING at me. There's no one else to point at. There aren't any short cuts.

Today I got in a 1.1 mile "fast" walk with the dogs. We were on the bike trail. After that, I rested for a bit by reading a bunch of newspapers at home. I then strapped on the fuel belt and headed out around noon for a run. Ate some Accel gel at 4 miles and another at 9.5 miles.

I took a picture at 4 miles while I was feeling good. "Hi"Pokey!

Another picture at 11 miles. I was almost out of water. I decided to do an iRun podcast since I needed to distract myself. As I rounded mile 12, I realized that not only was my pace faster than my Rock 'n' Roll 1/2 marathon (2:08:30) last January, I had a shot at under 2 hours! So with the sun beating down and out of water, I turned it up a gear. I'm sure I cut off at least another 5 seconds. Ha! I snapped a picture of my watch at 13.1 miles 2:00:18! I'm making progress because I wasn't racing this. I was just out doing a nice long run.

Now that a 1/2 marathon distance was passed, I was ready to be done. The last .9 miles were long. I took off my shirt. I took off my sun glasses. I took off my cap. Pushed onward. Finally I snagged the Accel drink off my NSX wing at 13.7 miles as I arrived home, but STILL not to 14 miles so back down the driveway.

2:09:26 for the 14 miles. That's 23.6 miles in the past 24 hours!

Make it 9.6 miles

After my fun 5 mile run with an "undisclosed" running partner, she dropped me off 4.6 miles from my home. I hooked right into my normal loop. I did this section of 4.62 miels in 39:17. Considering I had already run 5 miles earlier, this felt really good!

I decided that this was really a seperate run for the day so once again I did my iRun podcast for the world. I was a bit out of breath doing this one!

It's good to run these different paces...or so it seems like it should be good for me. My next race is on Oct 2nd. I want to run those 7 miles at an 8 minute mile pace. Got my work cut out for me!

Undisclosed running partner

Got out around noon for a 5 mile run up and back the bike trail with an "undisclosed" running partner. I did my iRun podcast while cruising back down the trail toward the Jeep. We had a real nice time. We ran for just under one hour. 5 miles in 58:09.

Undisclosed is not the same as unclothed! Woo!

Early Morning Run

Another early morning 7 mile run. I was out running before 6 AM. Nice 70 degree weather. Though I didn't "want" to get out of bed, I told myself (and this blog) that I would be out running. I knew I had no time in my schedule anytime after 7 AM so early was the only options.

After 2-days of rest since the 10-miler race, the blister on my toes is almost completely healed and I needed to get back at it. Instead of wearing my Asics I decided to wear my Nikes since they wear a bit differently. They look neat though I don't like them as much, but rotating the shoes seems logical. I did stick a finger bandage on my toe. That worked well.

I ran a pace that felt good. Not too fast, but with it cooler I can go faster without it being any more effort. Took my water, Accel Gel and Treo phone. Ate some Gel at 2 miles. Took some pictures and did my famous iRun podcast past the five mile mark.

5 runs in 10 days for 34.7 miles in August so far. I'm right on pace. For a rank amatuer I'm doin' good! I finished the 6.9 miles in 59:57 having to push that last 1/2 mile to keep it under 1 hour. Felt really good. No pain anywhere.

Schedule is full tomorrow so I'm going to try for a run on Friday.

10-Miler Race

About 300 people showed up for the Cudahy 10 miler or 5-miler along the western shores of Lake Michigan. Temps were low 70s with the sun shining brightly. Not much of a breeze off the lake. Since I've been running in some hot weather, this really seemed great. I did hear a few people commenting about it being hot this morning.

The race was very well organized. I got there 20 minutes prior to race time. They were still prepared for me to signup, get my number and a nifty clothes bag. I met a few friends from work that are better faster runners than me. They asked me if I had a race (time) goal for the run. I decided 90 minutes for 10 miles would make me very satisfied. Since I've never run specifically a 10-mile race. Anything that gets me across the finish line is a PR (personal record).

The race started right on time. I set out for a 9 minute mile pace for 10 miles. The course was a 5 mile loop along the lake. For the 10-miler they routed us around the finishing area for another lap. Plenty of water stations. I only skipped a few of them because it got hotter as the sun rose higher. I jokingly always asked for a "free" one. I might run faster if I stopped being so friendly and focused, but life is short.

Now the bad news, I forgot my Garmin 201 watch in my Jeep. I was concerned about my feet because I've got a blister on my right index toe. Right on the tip, ouch! I put a bandage on it and powered up. Left the watch in my bag. Ok, it didn't matter. The course was marked with big signs for each mile. The guys from work ran with me for the first 6 miles. They kept telling me the time. We were right on my pace. At 6 miles I ate some Accel Gel for breakfast. At a water station between 6-7 miles, fortunately and amazingly, I lost my "pacers" behind me! :) So I did an iRun Podcast DURING that section of the race!

As the 10 miles grew closer, the last 880 yards were marked with a sign. I picked up the pace slightly (or at least in my mind). The final 440 yards were marked with a sign. I picked up the pace for real...I think. I crossed the finish at 1:28:30 exactly. I felt like I could have kept the pace for another mile or two. Easy to say since I didn't have to run another mile or two.

I'm thrilled to have run a pace faster than 9 minute miles for ten complete miles. Holy cow! All those train runs are paying off.

Next to the finish line, the run club had a feast of fruit, breads, cookies, water, gatorade, brownies. I saw a keg of beer near by too. I stuck to gatorade (about 6 cups).

I'm not sure what race I'll run next. I plan to take a few days off and then get back to running. Disney Marathon here I come!

Gonna Hitch A Ride

It was hot out again for today's run. I started a bit before 2 PM with the sun in the sky, no clouds, lower 80s and a little breeze. Gorgeous weather if you're not running.

I worked in the iRun podcast at around 5 miles. I'd like to note that all the iRun podcast are now listed on the right hand column on my blog so that you can find them. I'd also like to mention that you can use my http://feeds.feedburner.com/ArthurVance RSS feed in iTunes to get my iRun podcast loaded right into your iPod. If you have questions about how to do this, just leave me a comment.

I didn't hitch a ride, but kept running in the heat. I completed the 7 mile loop in 64:32.

The "hitch a ride" comment comes from the one of my favorite rock bands, Boston. I recently found the www.gonnahitcharide.com website. It's a fan site.

At this moment my favorite CDs are Boston "Don't Look Back" and Gretchen Wilson's "Here for the Party". Interestingly both CDs have a song about parties.

Trail Runnin' PodCast

I didn't have too much time this evening to get in a run, but I had taken my running bag with me to work. I had a business dinner at 6:30 PM so dressed for my run in my office and then drove to the local bike trail for a quick run. I only had time for 4 miles since I'm not super fast. I was in the lower 80's. I ran 2 miles north and 2 miles back. Completed in 34:49. I also worked in an iRun podcast by carrying my Treo phone in my hand for the 4 miles.

Early Morning

An early morning 7 mile run today since I knew that business would keep me booked until late tonight. I got up and out early for the run.

I looked out the window and it was pretty dark outside. I saw some early morning fog and for a moment told myself to get back into bed. I didn't. Outward and onward! I snapped a sunrise pix!

At just prior to 5 miles I did a iRun podcast. Can't stop podcast!

From the picture you can see the sun was coming up in my face by that time.

I finished the early morning loop in 63:45 which is a nice pace. I then went into work and talked to a couple hundred people.