My first marathon goals.

My goals for my first marathon. First, the obvious one, finish. I'm confident I will. I pretty much completed my training plan with the exception of not doing the weekly speed work I had planned for the last 8-10 weeks. I didn't do it because of nagging injuries that I didn't want to aggravate. I figured it was better to get in the miles slow than to not be able to run at all. I am still plagued with an aggravated piriformis, I took a short run today and noted I can still feel some discomfort. I'm not worried, I will work on it this week.

Second, I would really like to run a negative split. (My second 13.1 miles faster that the first 13.1) I believe if I run a negative split I will have an overall finish time that will reflect my best effort. So in other words, I want to make sure I do not go out too fast. Shel has reminded me how easy it is to start out running too fast.

So the plan, (I think); I'm going to go out at a plodding 10 minute pace and try to go no faster than that for the first 15-16 miles. (I know this is going to be tough to run that slow at the beginning.) From there, I will speed up. (I hope.) I can't think of any downside to this goal since it's my first marathon. If you think this is a cop out, I argue it's not. After all, a negative split is a tough one for even a seasoned top runner to achieve in a marathon. Check out this article Slow down! from the Complete Running Blog network.

At this point, I am somewhat anxious to get this thing on the road. I'm looking forward to Sunday, and hoping to not forget anything important, like my running shoes! As much as I love having a goal at the end of a string of workouts--I'm also looking forward to my scheduled workouts, (which are e-mailed to me each night), to say something other than "rest".

Thanks for stopping by On The Way.

Book review.

I just finished reading Positively False: The real story of how I won the Tour De France by Floyd Landis with Loren Mooney. I was in no hurry, obviously, to rush out to get the book because it's been out for months, nevertheless, here's a little book review.

This was quite an intriguing read for me as I had pretty much resolved myself to believing just about all professional athletes are guilty of cheating in one form or another. I have been disgusted by the whole scene---especially with the baseball players. Anyway, with allegations flying faster than anyone can keep track, I figured assuming guilt was a fairly safe assumption, and it didn't bother me any to do so.

Landis maybe was an exception for me. When the charges were made against Landis, (Landis was accused of using banned performance-enhancing drugs in connection with his win in the 2006 Tour), I have to admit, I was really disappointed. I had been happy for an American to win, so when I heard about the charges my reaction was "You have got to be kidding me!" Now, the dust has settled somewhat, but there is no real closure. For the record, I think he's innocent.

No matter what you think about Landis, his book really exposes how pathetic the USADA (our county's anti-doping agency) is. It is messed up. Worse yet--it is funded by tax dollars. Things are not being cleaned up but the athletes are suffering. Did you know the people who test the urine and bring charges,and prosecute those charges---are the same people who are the 'judge and jury' of the matter! (They all work for the same agencies.) In other words, there are no checks and balances in the system. It's somewhat suspicious to me that the USADA has never ruled in the athletes favor. We're all getting duped on doping by these people. That is my main take away on this book.

In all, I can't say I came away from the book admiring Landis, Armstrong or even pro-cycling very much. But be sure, the sport of cycling, all sports for that matter, deserves more fairness than this.

The book is worth reading. It is an easy and quick read. You may enjoy the stories Landis shares early on in the book about growing up, about how he got into cycling, and about riding for the Postal team. I probably enjoyed that first half of the book the most. The rest of the book, it's the story of tragedy.

Thanks for stopping by On the Way.

In thirteen words or less....

This week's "Take It And Run Thursday" theme at the Runners Lounge is to share your best lesson you have learned about running. And do it in 13 words or less.
Here's mine.

"DO SOMETHING!!"

We can get caught up in the trap of thinking if we can't--or don't have time--for the workout we thought we were supposed to do, we might as well do nothing.

I've learned that even in the most desperate situations I have time to stretch or do some strengthening exercises. (Hey, some exercises can be done in a chair or lying down!!) Every runner can find something to do, everyday, to help their running. Maybe it is just eating right that day. DO SOMETHING!

Thanks for stopping by On The Way.

Discover your type

Discover your type-- your personality type, that is. I want to share with you a site that I love--it's called MyPersonality.info
Here you can take a short test based on the personality research of Myers-Briggs. (And Jung's theory of psychological types.)

I took this test recently and I was amazed to find out it came up with the same type I was given when I took the Myers-Briggs test in the 10th grade. I didn't understand the test results very well back then, but I surely know now--this test pegs my personality.
So I had my family members take it too and I think it did a fine job defining them also.

Here is my profile:



A short description of my type from the site: INTJs are introspective, analytical, determined persons with natural leadership ability. Being reserved, they prefer to stay in the background while leading. Strategic, knowledgable and adaptable, INTJs are talented in bringing ideas from conception to reality. They expect perfection from themselves as well as others and are comfortable with the leadership of another so long as they are competent. INTJs can also be described as decisive, open-minded, self-confident, attentive, theoretical and pragmatic.

You will be given a list of famous real and fictional people who have the same profile. (Mine included Jane Austin, C.S. Lewis, Lance Armstrong and (yikes!) Hannibal Lecter {Silence of the Lambs})

You will also see career matches (I might make a good judge), and articles about your type. In addition, the frequency of each personality type by total population and by gender.(I match only 0.5% of females and 2.5% males)

I think you can learn a lot about yourself that could help you in all your relationships. For instance, learn why you are "wired" differently and operate differently from your loved one,and how you can relate to them better. In fact, have them take the test and make sure to look at their profile.

I'm sure it would help others who know me to understand this about me: "Feeling has a modest inner room, two doors down from the Most Imminent iNtuition. It doesn't get out much, but lends its influence on behalf of causes which are Good and Worthy and Humane. We may catch a glimpse of it in the unspoken attitude of good will, or the gracious smile or nod. Some question the existence of Feeling in this type, yet its unseen balance to Thinking is a cardinal dimension in the full measure of the INTJ's soul." (quote from Marina Margaret Heiss)

Being aware where you are strong and weak and just "different" can be helpful in every area of life--so get on over there and take the test. It costs nothing.
Thanks for stopping by.

Marathon update...Time to taper

The Eugene Marathon is less than 3 weeks away. As much as I'd like to push my training at this point, it's time for tapering. Tapering is cutting back training so that our body can rebuild peak strength. (ha--whatever that may amount to)

Personally,I like reinforcement. I like to prove to myself on a regular basis "I can do it." I guess that would be one of the reasons, among many, I don't miss many training days. Maybe that means my ego is fragile. Whatever it means, for the runner, over two weeks of little exertion can be tough mentally. Your mind can argue that all your training is now "going down the tubes" because of the taper.

Nevertheless, it's time to taper. Whatever I could have done to improve my finish--it's been done--it is time to prepare for the best effort I can give on that day by resting. It won't mean inactivity, but a major cutting back on intensity and mileage.

My longest training run was last friday. I ran 21.4 miles in 3 hours and 26 minutes. A 9:37 per mile pace. I was just getting over that major piriformis flare-up so I was pretty happy with that run because I was worried I wasn't going to get it in at all. When I first started training for this back in October, my long runs were probably around a 10:30 pace--so I can't complain can I?

I know I'm going to be a bit restless,so I plan to tackle some household projects I've been putting off and I will enjoy every day looking forward to my first marathon.

Thanks for stopping by On The Way.

Piriformis syndrome

In my last post, I sort of bragged about how well my marathon training was going, how I was "injury free." Except...the truth be known, I had a slight nagging problem that I had noticed was actually growing worse. I really did not know what this was, as I had no pain after running. During runs longer than seven miles or so I would experience pain that was sort of generalized in the left leg or hip area, then after the run, it would be gone.I kept making note of it in my log as "hip pain", only it wasn't really.

I hated to admit it, but during my last couple long runs it had been worse. Then, about two or three days after my last post it was so bad that I had it around the clock, and it was obvious where the pain was coming from---my butt!! Wow, did it hurt! I was having trouble running at all. My left foot was numb much of the time. I knew exactly where the pain was, because once I started prodding muscles to find the problem, electric shocks felt like they were piercing down the back of my leg and into the foot. My butt flat-out hurt, bad! Piriformis syndrome! Aargh this is new for me--now what do I do?

I remembered reading about someone else having the same problem. Who was that? Oh yeah, it was Brett over at Zen and the Art of Triathlon. He's running ultras so certainly he's found some relief. So I asked..."HELP!!!!" (And he delivered.)
Here are the stretches. Thank you so much for the help Brett!!


He also told me to watch this one and it helped a lot too.


I can hardly believe how quick it's all gotten better. I think it will be wise to continue doing the stretches. I'm posting this all hoping it will help someone else. (Especially, because when I looked around for help I found a lot of "this will not stop until you quit running" type advice, and there was a much better remedy.

Thanks for stopping by On The Way!

It's about time Spring sprung!

We've had some crazy weather around here, especially over spring break. It's not unusual to have a bit of slush or hail in March, but we had days and days of it. We have finally seen some days of sunshine and I've savored every bit of it.

My marathon training seems to be blooming with spring. It's almost scary, I seem to be consistently running faster paces with little change in my perceived effort! Not only that, but I'm running with no significant injuries going on. I've tried to stick to my plan even when I've felt like little progress was being made, and now it's paying off. I'm pretty excited!

The plan is to get my longest pre marathon run in next weekend.(On the weekend of April 12.) I want to run 20 plus miles. I really feel like I need to do that for mental confidence going into it. That weekend is 3 weeks out from the marathon so that should give me plenty of recovery time.

My knees are doing great, along with strengthening exercises the key solution for me seems to be strapping. I use athletic tape right to the skin, just under the knee. I think the tape works best for me because straps slip around too much on my leg--when I get a strap on tight enough to stay, it is too tight. Tape gives me more control. Anyway, it works for me.

Thanks for stopping by On The Way.