26.2 Quest

8 Miles Down.... 9 To Go - (and 1,000 miles)

2009-11-08T19:46:00.004-05:00

Today's "long run" (can you really call it that?) of 8 miles is in the books. It is the final long(er) run of my marathon taper. I have been trying to run all my runs lately at my target marathon pace. For the shorter distances this is an easy pace so it is hard to keep myself from going faster. I have been working on this so I know how it feels and so I can work on staying consistent.

Breaking News!!!!!!

I just flipped over to my RunningAhead Running Log and noticed that today's run took me over 1,000 miles for the year. I wasn't watching for that, but knew that I would hit it sometime this year. It is cool to hit it in the last week of my marathon taper.

I have just 9 miles left in my taper before I run the Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon this Saturday, November 14th. I will be running 3 miles on Tuesday, 4 on Wednesday, and then 2 on Friday. All to finish off the Hal Higdon Intermediate II Marathon Training Schedule which I followed loosely these past 4+ months.

With my daughter's State Cross Country Meet finished yesterday I am sure I will start focusing and obsessing with the race this Saturday.

I am so looking forward to this :)

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com - subscribe - follow - virtual4now

State Cross Country Meet Went Great!

2009-11-08T18:40:00.007-05:00

Yesterday's Cross Country State meet went great and Payton did a great job! If you would like to know more about my freshman daughter Payton and her road to State you can start by reading my recent posts - especially this one.

A couple things I haven't mentioned prior to this were weighing heavy on our minds as we approached this State Meet, and the opportunity for Payton to run in the State Meet as a Freshman.

Payton has been nursing a borderline injury for the past 4ish weeks. She has had some pain in her right arch that comes and goes and seems to be a bit of tendinitis. Her coach has been well aware of this and we have all been working together to keep this from turning into a problem or get worse. The past couple weeks he had her really start to cut back her mileage and this has helped quite a bit. We were concerned all along that it would get bad enough that she would have to quit running just short of this great opportunity to run at State.
This past Sunday Payton spent the day with her Sunday School class. This was a great time for all. Mid week we found out that most of the family at the house that she was at came down with the flu shortly after this get together. We know there is nobody at fault, and nothing that can be done in this circumstance, but we were on pins and needles the rest of the week hoping she wouldn't get sick right before state.

Both of these concerns turned out in our favor. Payton was able to run and didn't have any issue with the flu or her foot. We were quite relieved.

The weather was great... almost perfect. This was a big change from most of the rainy meets the XC team has had this season. It was in the mid 40's when we got there about 8:00 am and the sky was clear. The team had driven to Carrollton, GA the night before and they were there already when we arrived.

The boys 5A race was at 8:30, and the Girls 5A race was at 9:00. About 10 minutes prior to the race the team walked over to the starting line. They were all still dressed in their warmups, but nobody was suspicious, or at least they didn't say anything. Just a few moments before the race was to begin they finally removed their warmups to show that they were wearing a completely different uniform. This uniform was white top and black shorts, with a single "B" for Brookwood on the top. There were three main teams that were in contention for 1st place and our coach was trying a little strategy to throw the other teams off a bit. It made it difficult for us parents to follow them as we were used to their other uniforms :)

Payton ran an awesome race. She was upset at the end and said she didn't run as hard as she could have. She said she ate too much for breakfast and her stomach hurt the whole race. She ate at the hotel, which is not a problem, but she ate two small waffles, and a bagel. I just had to laugh, but also feel sorry for her..... these are all learning experiences I suppose. I am sure she was quite nervous and ate more because of the nerves.

You have to note that the State Course is in Carrollton, and they ran this course one time prior in the season. It is a hilly course and can be difficult. Payton held her previous PR of 20:59 at this course (yes... I said previous) This was probably because of all the wet and muddy meets they had to run this season.

Payton did great and set a huge PR! She crossed the finish line 56th out of 211 girls and set a new PR of 20:23! 56th out of 211 in the 5A State Championships..... as a Freshman! How Awesome!!!!

The Brookwood team did good as a team as well, they finished 3rd in State in the 5A State Championships. As the coach said - "This was the best season the Brookwood Girls program has had in several years."

Payton was a little down on the way home from Carrollton. She said with a down look on her face "so I won't be running cross country anymore?" She really loved to run and looked forward to her practice each day. She will be taking a couple weeks off and then we will start conditioning for Track.

Looking forward to the next few years!

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com - subscribe - follow - virtual4now

The Final 10 Days To 26.2

2009-11-04T19:24:00.004-05:00

This past weekend marked the end to my double digit long runs. It is funny to now refer to my 12 miler as a long run, but will be even funnier to refer to this Sunday's 8 miler as a long run.

I put in 6 miles this morning and will be putting in two more 4 milers before my 8 mile long run this Sunday. Next week, the final week of my taper, will top out at 4 miles with a 3 miler and 2 miler wrapped around it.

I am taking the taper serious even though it seems very strange to be running so few miles. I have been following Hal Higdon's Marathon Training Schedule: Intermediate II with a few slight modifications along the way to move my runs to make them easier to fit in my schedule, and also because I wanted to get a little past 20 miles for my longest run. The plan to get in runs past 20 miles didn't work out really good as I only got one 21 miler in, and the next time I was going to go 23 I was just not feeling it and couldn't push myself to the 23. I know I am fine since I did end up with 4 20+ mile runs, much more than most people run before a marathon.... especially their first.

I am very excited but right now it is not sinking in as I have a lot on my mind. Our oldest Daughter Ashlee who is in Color Guard has her last Football game this Friday night (which we are chaperoning for), and then our Daughter Payton will be running in the State XC Meet this Saturday. Once I get past this week I am sure it will start sinking in much more.

I am starting to think about some logistics like what to wear, what to take, what to eat...... should I get some throw away gloves and hat incase it is a little cool at gun time..... All kinds of things starting to go through my mind.

I received my 26.2 car magnet in the last couple weeks. I had to really search to find the white letters/black background as most of them are the other way around. I am so looking forward to putting that on my car. Even though It has been almost 2 years since my first 13.1 I never felt the need to put one of those magnets on my car..... not sure why.

Here's to the last 10 days/25 miles of my 26.2 Quest!

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com - subscribe - follow - virtual4now

Payton Is Going To State!

2009-11-04T17:18:00.002-05:00

The Cross Country season has officially come to a close. It seems like it had just begun.

This past Saturday my daughter Payton and her team ran Regionals, the official last meet of the season.

The team won Regionals and Payton ran one of her best/smartest races all season. The course was horrible as it had been raining quite a bit and there were 4 other races that morning before her race. This course was by far the worst conditions she had ran in causing her to have one of her worst times of the entire season, in fact..... her worst.

By the time her race was set to go the course was very muddy and much of the course was a mud pit. During the entire race the girls were slipping and sliding and some were even losing their shoes while others were falling. Payton ran a very smart race and finished 11th overall with a medal to show for it. She also finished 6th for her team, the first time she had finished in 6th place all season. The times were way off, the first place finisher finished in 21:10 and Payton finished in 22:43 - her worst time all season by almost a full minute.

Payton had been finishing 7th most of the last meets and is officially ranked #7 on her team of about 95. Early in the season she started ranked #9 and moved to #8, and the second part of the season moved to #7.

Being ranked in the top 7 of the team is a big deal - especially for a Freshman! There is one other Freshman in the top 7, running in the #5 slot. Payton has had a lot of opportunities over the season running in the top 10, one of the coolest being her trip to Richmond VA/Washington DC to run in the U.S. Army X-Country Festival at Maymont but the coolest is coming this Saturday.

This Saturday is State! Payton, and the rest of the top 7 on her team have earned a spot in the AAAAA State Championship to be run in Carrollton, GA. How cool is that as a Freshman??!! We are all really excited for her and very proud of her. One of the really cool things is Carrollton is where she holds her PR of 20:59. I am sure she will blow that away this Saturday!

Wish her and her team luck!

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com - subscribe - follow - virtual4now

It's Officially Taper Time!

2009-10-25T19:18:00.002-04:00

Today's 20 miler was the final 20 miler I will do before my first marathon in just 3 weeks. The run was not as good as my previous three 20/20+ milers. It was the slowest (but not by much) of the 4, but I think for good reasons.

A few of the reasons, I believe, that made this run a bit harder and slower are:

I have not been running on the Saturday before my long runs, but did yesterday. - about that
Last night was the homecoming dance for my two daughters meaning a very late night and only about 5 hours of sleep.
It was colder than it had been in all my previous 20/20+ mile runs. 42 when I left so long pants/sleeves/hat/gloves were in order.

Today's run was also a bit harder than the last couple 20/20+ milers. It took everything in me to keep going at mile 15, I just felt like quitting. I pushed through and it got better.... but not till mile 17! My last couple miles were good, but that always seems to be the way it is with me on my runs, I run conservatively enough that I kill it at the end..... not in races, just in training.... races I kill myself throughout :)

Today I also tried a new product that I was sent from SPIbelt. The SPIbelt is a small personal item belt. I was looking for options and different ways to carry items, especially Gu's or Sport Beans because they seem the hardest to get out of an arm band carrier. I have been carrying my cell phone and any other items in an arm band which has worked OK for items that I just need to carry while I am running, but if I needed to carry anything that I needed to access while running (Gu, Sport Beans) it was a major ordeal. I was pleasantly surprised and more than willing to take a look at the SPIbelt when the opportunity came up.

I was very pleased with the ease of use and simplicity of the SPIBelt. I only put my Sport Beans in the pouch but it is really cool how it is very small but will expand to fit almost anything you would want to carry while running. I put the belt on and quickly forgot it was even there. The way it is designed it fits snuggly and doesn't bounce at all. Now, I was not carrying anything too heavy, but the way it felt I don't think it would have done any bouncing or been any more noticeable if I had. When the time came for the beans I was able to open the pouch, get the beans, and close the pouch with one hand without any issues. This will be my belt of choice for the marathon no doubt.

I honestly can say this is a day I have been looking forward to for a few weeks. I think I hit a little bit of burnout a couple weeks back and was exhausted constantly. I was not getting much sleep due to early 4 am wake up times multiple times each week to get my mid week 8-10 mile runs in. I even missed a couple runs during this time when things got the worst.

As I mentioned, today marks the official beginning of my taper. I am really getting excited for November 14th and my First Marathon, the Chicamauga Battlefield Marathon. I feel like I am ready, but wish I could have gotten to the full 26.2 distance before the actual race. I know that the majority of the training plans do not take you past the 20 mile mark, and the Hal Higdon Intermediate II that I followed was one of those. I did modify the plan a bit to better fit my schedule, and also because I wanted to get a bit further than 20 miles. In the end I only got to 21 miles one time, instead of the 24 I had hoped, but did get to 20 miles 3 other times for a total of 4 times in the 20+ area.

I just found out this past week that the Chicamauga Battlefield Marathon will probably not have pacers. It is a smaller race (field of 600) so I was concerned enough to ask. I was told that they were trying to get some pacers but it didn't look good. Oh well, good thing I have my MyTach GPS Watch to help me keep on pace.

Thank you all for reading my blog and for the comments I love so much! This has been a long journey, and it is exciting to near the first 26.2 completion.... My 26.2 Quest is nearing it's goal, thanks for coming along for the ride!

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com - subscribe - follow - virtual4now

A Quick 4 Miles

2009-10-24T15:40:00.002-04:00

I Normally wouldn't run on Saturday with a 20+ mile long run on Sunday morning, but Payton, my daughter, needed to get 4 miles in today so I went running with her. I let her set the pace and she was pulling away from me a bit. I asked her if she always ran her 4 mile training runs this fast and she said.... no, that she was cold and wanted to get warmed up and get it over with.

She is getting really fast.... way too fast for me, but by the end she said we were going a bit fast (I already knew that.... I am old!)

Hope this doesn't mess up my long run in the morning!

Our pace was quicker than I thought we were going with an overall pace of 7:37.

Mile 1: 8:02

Mile 2: 7:31

Mile 3: 7:38

Mile 4: 7:16

RunningAhead Log of this run

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com - subscribe - follow - virtual4now

Better Than Fridays Run - My First 21 Miler!

2009-10-11T15:27:00.003-04:00

Today's run was much better than Friday's run. I knew that Friday's bad run was not signs of things to come, but rather just a bad day with bad planning, but it is always nice to have that confirmation run the next time you go out. Today's 21 miler was that run.

I had a very long day yesterday, leaving the house at 7:30 am for Birmingham, AL for my daughter Payton's XC meet and straight to Commerce, GA for my other daughter Ashlee's Band Competition with only a 5 minute pit stop in between. The day didn't end for me till almost midnight, after a total of 8 hours driving between the two trips!

Based on the schedule yesterday and the time we got home I knew 4:00 am was not going to happen for a 20+ miler before Sunday School and Church. I decided that a 5:00 am wake up would have to do and that I would just go to Church. 5:00 am came and every ounce of my body wanted to stay in bed instead of getting up to run. I talked myself into another hour of sleep (it wasn't hard) and went back to bed. I woke up again just before 6:00 and drug myself out of bed..... this time I knew I had to do it if I wanted to stay on track with my Marathon Training Schedule.

I got ready to go and ate a couple small whole wheat bagels, drank some Gatorade and water and headed out the door about 6:20. I was pretty sure that this was going to put me back home just before 10:00 am, but I figured I could sneak into church a little late this one time.

I carried a water bottle and a bottle of Gatorade. I also had a pack of sport beans in the armband with my cell phone. I started off nice and slow and decided this would not be the day to try to lower that pace at all, but to rather just get the run in. I sipped on the Gatorade every two miles until it was finished at mile 14. I pulled out the sport beans at mile 16 and continued the every two mile hydration with the water bottle.

The first 9 miles of the run were fairly slow, hovering at a pace between 10:00 min and 11:00 min. This was the slowest I had run in a long time.... even on my long runs! Following the 9th mile I sped up a bit and was running more of the pace that have in the past. The last couple miles were difficult mentally, but I kicked them up a bit because I just wanted to finish. I ended on a mile with an 8:06 pace, and a negative split on the entire run to boot! So far this run has been at the fastest pace of all my long runs since hitting the 14 mile mark - not by much, but still at a faster pace.

Runs like this are the ones that give you the confidence to keep going! (that and the community and comments received on this blog, on Facebook and Twitter)

Just a couple quick notes:

Payton ran a good race yesterday - she finished 7th for her team and 32 overall with a time of 21:46:52 - not her best time, but very respectable.... and faster than me :) She is running in the #7 spot on Varsity and if she keeps consistent over the next couple races she will be running in State!

Ashlee, my oldest daughter is in the Color Guard in the Marching Band - her team won a lot of trophy's last night at the Band Competition including the biggest trophy :) with an overall win!!

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com - subscribe - follow - virtual4now

Went out for a 10 miler...... then quit

2009-10-09T16:11:00.004-04:00

I had the day off today and really wanted/needed to sleep in because of what the weekend has planned for me. For this reason I decided to put my 10 mile run off till early afternoon.

This gave me the opportunity to get up when I was good and ready and have a nice breakfast with my wife and kids (they are off school today as well) Payton, my daughter that runs Cross Country, was leaving at 1:00 to head to an out of state meet tomorrow so I figured I would eat lunch and then take her to the school before my run. This would give my body a chance to digest the food and I would be ready to run when I got back home.

This is when things started to go wrong. I got back home and ready to run about 2:00. I had been hydrating all morning so I knew I would be well hydrated for my run, but I only had one bottle of Gatorade left and needed to save that for Sunday's 20+ miler.

The temperature wasn't too bad at 81 degrees, and the humidity wasn't too bad at 72%, but the part that concerned me was the sun. The sun was out in full force, and I don't do well running in the direct sun for too long. The last time I cut a longer run short was because of the sun. I train almost 100% of the time in the early morning with an occasional evening run, but almost never in the middle of the day when the sun is so hot.

The run started off pretty good and I eased into it with a slower first mile like I always do. I had taken two bottles of water with me because I knew the sun would be taking it all out of me. I started to sip at the water about 1.5 miles and things were still going pretty good. At about 3 miles I was getting close to the end of my first bottle of water trying to fend off how badly I was starting to feel. I was starting to feel pretty lousy. I knew it wasn't a hydration issue but was really starting to wonder about the lack of electrolytes and the hot sun.

My legs were getting heavier with each step and I was nearing the longest/biggest hill of my run. I was also running on the busiest road I run on, and it doesn't have a sidewalk so I am running right on the white line. The sweat was pouring into my eyes and it was stinging and making me dizzy. I knew this wasn't a good combination with how close I was running to the traffic so I decided I needed to get over on the grass. The grass is very uneven and I was worried about twisting an ankle so I decided to walk for a little bit.

Walking for even that little bit did me in. I was not able to get myself going again. By the time I reached the top of the hill, try as I might, I couldn't get myself running for more than a couple hundred yards at a time. My legs felt weaker than they have in months of training.... including all my long runs up to 20 miles.

I decided to cut out a 2 mile loop and attack the 4 miles I had left to get home. I ended up run/walking the rest of the way home feeling completely defeated. It has been a long time since I have had to cut a run short or walk this much during a run.

Link to my running log to see the way my run went in numbers.

What do you do to keep for falling into the same trap I did?

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com - subscribe - follow - virtual4now

13.1 Marathon Atlanta Race Report - A New PR!

2009-10-06T23:05:00.005-04:00

The Inaugural 13.1 Marathon Atlanta is now officially in the record books.... including mine!

This past Sunday morning was a great day to run a half marathon, or any race as far as that goes. I was really looking forward to this race as I mentioned in my last post. There are many reasons for this, with the two top reasons being:

It was my second half marathon (following a long 18 month delay)
It is also a training run leading up to my full marathon next month

Race preparations started on Saturday with me trying to eat right and drinking lots of fluids. I tried all day but didn't really get the eating right till dinner time when my wife made me a grilled chicken/pasta dish from scratch. We really didn't plan all that well but she still came through with a winning combination... as always! I finished the evening out with a small whole wheat bagel with crunchy peanut butter, one of my favorite bedtime snacks.

As evening hastened I decided I would get everything laid out and ready so I wouldn't have to deal with it in the morning.... the morning would come too early the way it was. I decided what I would wear (sorry ladies.... wasn't too difficult for me) and attached my bib to the shirt. I laid out the rest of the cloths, socks, and shoes with the chip attached, as well as my fully charged MyTach GPS watch, cell phone with arm band, ID, sport beans, and a little bit of cash. I also went ahead and set the bagels out so I wouldn't forget to eat in the morning as I rushed around.

Even though I am used to getting up before 4:30 many days throughout the week the 4:30 wakeup still came very early, especially following a rough nights sleep. I never sleep well before a race, I toss and turn a lot from the excitement,

anticipation, and nervousness. I got dressed, applied some Aquaphor Healing Ointment that I was given some time ago to all the right places to try and keep the chafing away..... I didn't want to have the unpleasant color change to my shirt like I did in my first Half Marathon.

My neighbors met me shortly after 5:00 am for the trip to Atlanta. As you can imagine at 5:00 am on Sunday morning the trip was quick and easy. We arrived at a Marta station about 1 mile from the start/finish line and used the mile to warm up the legs a bit before the race. We arrived in plenty of time and had some time to wander around and get a warm-up run in. The weather was wonderful, it was a little humid and 53 degrees.

Official gun time was 7:13 so shortly after 7:00 they started calling for us to line up in the starting shoot. They had time slots marked for anticipated finish time to help everyone line up in some kind of order. We lined up directly under the 1:50 sign with high hopes and anticipation. I knew I needed to run 7.1 mph according to my watch to hit my goal of sub 1:50, around a 8:23 pace. Right before the race began they started bringing us forward and I was worried that I was now going to have to run a 1:20 half marathon as I was now under that sign :)

7:13...er 14...er 15! came and the race was off. It took me around 20 seconds to cross the starting line. We were on our way and it felt great! we made a turn out on to the main road (Peachtree) and looped back. This is when we saw just how many people were running the race (close to 3,000) We were running past the starting line, but just on the other side of the fence.

As we neared our first turn, just a short couple hundred yards we saw a runner go down in front of us. This brings back some bad memories for me. It wasn't too long after this that I left my neighbor and started running my own race. After a couple miles I looked down at my pace and I was running quite a bit faster than I had planned with a first mile just over 8 min and the second mile around 7:45. I felt good and was getting into my groove so I decided I would run based on how I felt and not worry about the pace unless I started to notice too much of a swing either way.

We ran a loop through a couple neighborhoods and past a golf course. There were some really nice homes and some young families out to cheer us on. We had some hills that were challenging in this part of the race, but nothing like we were going to see later.

It wasn't too long before we were back out onto Peachtree to head to the second loop a few miles up the road. We came past the starting line at about 5 1/2 miles with the best part still to come! This was the point we started seeing a few more of the promised bands playing along side of the road.

We were coming up on the 10k mark and I noted based on the clock at the 6 mile mark and what my watch said that I had run the first 10k at a sub 50 pace (a good Peachtree Qualifier for those familiar with the Peachtree Road Race) and I still had more than half way to go. The half way point came and to my surprise they had a mat to read the chips (my time 51:50). I have never seen this before. I looked at my pace and I was running about 7.5 mph. I was still feeling good so I kept running at the pace I had for the first half.

The second loop took us through a couple more neighborhoods with bigger and more hills. It was getting tougher to keep the pace I was running, but still not so much that I was breathing too heavily. I was waiting for the 9th mile because according to the elevation chart the biggest hill was in mile 9. I knew once we passed that the worst hills would be over. Once we passed through the neighborhoods they funneled us off into a park where we ran the sidewalk trail through a wooded area and around a couple soccer fields. It wasn't too long till we were leaving the park with the welcome sign that said "only a 5k left!"

Before too long we were back on Peachtree and in the home stretch. Just around 2 miles left and I was ready to die. I wanted so badly to give in and walk for a little bit, but based on my pace and the current time I knew I had a chance to break 1:45 and I would never forgive myself for coming so close and not making it. The final 1 mile was coming up and I was able to pull past one more lady that I had been following for the past mile. We came back to the starting point and to our delight we had to run down a long hill and then finish on an uphill.

I was coming up the hill approaching the finish and knew it would be really close to the sub 1:45 I was now hoping for. As I got nearer I could see the official clock time as it ticked over to 1:45.

I knew I had somewhere around 20 seconds to cross that finish line..... 10.... 11... 12.... 13..... 14....

and 15 as I crossed the finish line! I stopped my watch as I crossed the timing mat and looked down at my watch to see 1:44:53.... I HAD DID IT!!!!!

For a brief second I felt dizzy but quickly gained composure as I grabbed my medal, water, and a banana. They had a lot of food in the finish shoot, but I couldn't hold any more. I walked out and started to cool off and enjoy the moment as I refueled. I went back to get a bagel and a little later they had a BBQ sandwich for the finishers. I was a little irritated because they had no other water or Gatorade other than what was in the finish shoot.

We hung around a little bit and got our official chip time and rankings. According to the stats I officially finished in 1:44:53 - Officially Sub 1:45! An 8:01 pace!

264^th Overall (out of 2600)

53^rd Age group (35-39) (out of 251)

12^th 39 year old (out of 122)

208^th Gender Place (out of 1148)

Link to Official Results at Active

These splits are based on my MyTach GPS watch but it seemed to beep just before every mile marker and got a little further each time. It showed the course was 13.2. I am not 100% on the accuracy considering that. Not sure why, it always seems to be really consistent any other time.

Mile 1 8:14 8:14

Mile 2 7:43 15:57

Mile 3 7:50 23:47

Mile 4 7:36 31:23

Mile 5 8:01 39:24

Mile 6 8:11 47:35 (+ .2 would still be sub 50 10k)

Mile 7 8:02 55:37

Mile 8 7:50 1:03:27

Mile 9 8:02 1:11:29

Mile 10 7:54 1:19:23

Mile 11 8:07 1:27:30

Mile 12 7:50 1:35:20

Mile 13 7:37 1:42:57

.2 1:57 1:44:54 (GPS Registered as .2)

RunningAhead log can be viewed here

There are not yet any pictures available, but once there are I will update the post with a few pics.

I took Monday off, my legs were still hurting quite a bit, but Tuesday I went out for a 5 miler. I plan on getting up bright and early for a 10 miler tomorrow..... if I can drag myself out of bed after staying up too late to finish this race report.

Onward on my Quest to a Marathon.... the 26.2 Quest!

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com - subscribe - follow - virtual4now

The Coming 13.1 Marathon - Atlanta

2009-10-02T06:30:00.003-04:00

I still think it is a strange name for a half marathon, but I guess I understand the angle they are coming from as far as marketing goes. Their tag line is:

"It isn't half of anything"

This Sunday, October 4th, I will be running the Inaugural 13.1 Marathon in Atlanta. The half marathon is the premier event and that is where their name and tag line comes in.

13.1 Atlanta™ is one of the latest craze in themed half-marathons so come ready to experience some of the best Southern Rock and Southern cooking. This race is about the run, the fun, the sights and the experience. It will be truly one of a kind and the most fun running experience of your life! Don't miss out on this inaugural event, register now to insure you will be one of the first to start, finish, and rock 13.1 Atlanta™...Where the Party meets the Pavement!

I am excited as it will be my second half marathon, after my first one back in February of 2008, the Run The Reagan Half Marathon. I finished that half marathon in 1:55:46 and just a few short months later was tripped in a 5k race and broke my collar bone, taking me completely out of running and any hope of completing my first marathon later that year. It took 8 months to be able to start running again, and even longer to get anywhere near being able to run the half marathon distance again.

Running this half marathon is not the goal, in fact I have not been training for a half marathon at all, but rather I am training for my first Full Marathon, the Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon on November 14th. This half marathon just happened to fall in a great place on my schedule when I am completely ready and able to run a half marathon....... and also falls on a step back mileage week when I am supposed to run a 12 mile long run on Sunday as opposed to the 20 milers I have been doing..... What perfect timing!

I am really looking forward to this race, it looks like it will be packed with entertainment and a lot going on, much different from the low key Run The Reagan Half Marathon. I do have a time goal, but it is not really aggressive because I don't want to hurt myself so close to my marathon. First and foremost I want to beat my last half marathon time of 1:55:46, which I shouldn't have any trouble doing. The second, and more aggressive goal, is to run under 1:50:00. I am not sure I will be able to keep the 8:24 pace for that long, but we will see. Either way I will be happy since ultimately this is just another training run for the ultimate goal in November!

Wish me luck!

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com - subscribe - follow - virtual4now

The Last 20 Miles..... for these old shoes

2009-10-02T06:00:00.004-04:00

This past Sunday was the last 20 miles that my shoes will see. It was time to retire those old shoes as they had nearly 500 miles on them. It seemed like I went through this pair faster than any previous pair...... notice I didn't say I ran any faster in them..... just that I went through them faster. I guess that is what marathon training does to a pair of shoes.

My new shoes, which I purchased from Gerald AKA RaceSpeed over at www.telarun.com showed up at my doorstep on Saturday with the new pair that I ordered for my daughter who also was in need of a new pair. We both stayed with the same model that we currently ran in, the New Balance 769's. Mine are identical to my last pair, while my daughters are the next 1/2 size up. This is my forth pair of New Balance, all within this same model line. 767, 768, 769, 769...... will I ever try another brand or model..... Who knows!

We were both starting to feel that it was time to change them out. I was starting to get some ankle pain as well as other misc soreness like in my hips and muscles. This is the same trouble I have started to have each time my shoes were due to be replaced. My daughter was starting to feel pain in her right arch, which we were not sure was caused by the shoes, but it was time for replacement anyway.

I decided to hold off and run in my old shoes for my 20 miler on Sunday - not a good run to break in some new shoes. Monday I ran in the new shoes, but without putting my inserts in. I wanted to see the difference. My feet and legs hurt some the rest of the day so Tuesday I went ahead and put in the inserts which felt much better. This week has been a step back week for me in my marathon training schedule so it was a great week to introduce some new shoes.

My daughter spent this past weekend in Richmond. VA running the Freshman race at the U.S. Army X-Country Festival at Maymont, one of the premier running festivals in the country. This worked out pretty good as well because Monday she was ready to go with some new shoes. We also are trying her new shoes out without the inserts to see how they feel. She has run the entire week so far without the inserts and they are still feeling good. We will probably for-go the inserts unless at a later time we feel she needs them again. Her arch does seem to be feeling a bit better, but that could also be related to her coach intentionally lowering her miles this week.

A friend of mine mentioned that I was probably due for an oil change when he saw how many miles I had been running. To a runner new shoes = oil change.

Looking forward to my Half Marathon this Sunday - it is a race, but also just part of my Marathon Training..... I will be blogging about it soon!

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com - subscribe - follow - virtual4now

A Trip to Washington DC.... To Run

2009-09-27T21:12:00.001-04:00

My daughter Payton had an awesome opportunity this weekend to take a trip to Washington DC and Richmond Virginia to run in the U.S. Army X-Country Festival at Maymont, one of the premier running festivals in the country.

I have been suspiciously silent about this until now because of safety concerns for Payton, but it was difficult to keep quiet about something so exciting for her.

Her team had the opportunity to run in this meet and Payton was one of those eligible to run. Earlier on in the season I never would have thought she would have been eligible, but she ended up being eligible on two levels. They took the top 7 (she is #7) and they also took the top 3 Freshmen to run in a Freshmen race.

Luckily we were able to get some sponsorships to help pay for the trip and we got enough sponsorships to pay for all but $70 of the trip.... what a lifesaver!

Payton left Friday morning when I dropped her off at the Airport. It was funny, she was a bit nervous, but also very excited. She has not flown since she was 5 years old. Imagine my surprise when I received a text message from her about 20 minutes after she took off...... "Thank you, thank you, thank you for letting me go.... The takeoff was Amazing!" I just got a chuckle and texted her back mentioning that she should probably not be texting from the air since she wasn't supposed to have her phone on.

Friday afternoon they were able to run the course at Maymont and get a feel for what they were up against.

Saturday morning came and they went to run in the meet. Payton and one of her team-mates were running in the Freshman race which they had a very good chance of doing very well in. The Freshman race was the first race of the morning at 9:30. I woke up at about 7:00 and laid in bed nervous for her. I couldn't do anything to help her or even cheer her on, I felt so helpless. I just laid there till 9:00 and finally got up since I couldn't sleep. I then watched and waited for a call or text message..... the waiting seemed like it took forever, I guess that is part of being a parent! :)

Payton ran a 21:54 and finished 5th overall. This was not her best race or time, and I am certain she could have done better. I think the nerves of the whole trip and us not being there to cheer her on got to her. She was really upset that neither mom or I would be going to watch her run. I tried to prepare her for the race, because based on last years times I knew she would have a chance at running near the front of the pack and even possibly leading and winning it. This years winner won it with a time of 21:10 (Payton's last two meets she ran 20:59 and 21:13) This is a learning experience and next time she will know better what to expect and will do better no doubt. We are very proud of her!

They drove back to Washington DC Saturday afternoon and got a little sightseeing in, but not as much as they wanted to because of rain. They got up this morning and did their long run together as a team around Washington DC, stopping along the way to do some sightseeing - how cool is that - a sightseeing run!

She arrived back in Atlanta this afternoon and it was nice to welcome her home at the airport. We missed her, but was so glad she had the opportunity to go...... it is something she will never forget!

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com - subscribe - follow - virtual4now

My First 20 Mile Run

2009-09-23T20:02:00.000-04:00

This past Sunday was my first 20 mile run. It went very good, in fact better than I expected. It is not that I expected to Bonk or have too much difficulty, but I did expect to feel like walking more than I did.

It was an early morning for a Sunday morning when the alarm clock went off at 4:40. I needed to get out the door by 5:00 am if I was going to get the full 20 miles in before church. I started the morning with some water and a little bit of Gatorade and a piece of whole wheat bread. I prefer to eat a whole wheat bagel because it stays with me longer but there weren't any in the house.

Shortly after 5:00 I was out the door, water bottle in one hand, Gatorade in the other. I had one package of Sport Beans and tunes for the road. Have I ever told you that I hate carrying my hydration in my hands? I really need to look at other options but I just don't have the extra cash flow at this time........ just bought two new pair of shoes from Gerald AKA RaceSpeed over at www.telarun.com who always gives me a good deal and great advice (and doesn't even ask that I say anything on my blog about him) One pair for myself to replace my 400+ mile shoes, and the other for my daughter Payton to replace her 400+ mile shoes. Payton really needed the new shoes badly.... you should see how fast she runs!

OK..... I will get back on track now!

I started the run off at the pace I wanted to hovering right above the 10:00/mile pace. I wanted to make sure I could complete the entire run without any issues. I started to sip at the Gatorade about 2 miles in and then again every 1.5-2.0 miles until it was gone. I switched to the water at about mile 13 and shortly after ate the Sport Beans. I later in my run ran around a park so I was able to refill my water bottle so I was well hydrated the entire run.

I didn't really have any idea where I would get the entire 20 miles in, I only planned up till about 13 miles and then did the rest as I came to it. This is one of the beauties of running with my MyTach GPS watch. I do not know what I would do without it! It is so freeing to be able to run without having to think about where you are going or how far you have been. I just kept running until it said 20 miles. :)

There also is the downside to not planning out your route. I ended up having quite a few large hills in the last 6 miles of my run. These hills are not horrible, but hitting them when I did in my run made them that much more difficult.

I managed to keep running the entire 20 miles even though it became a mental battle at least one time in the last few miles. I even was able to drop the pace a bit for most of the second half of the run, ending with a better overall pace than my 18 miler just a couple weeks earlier. I ended just a short walk from home and was happy both to be home, and also to have just accomplished such a hugh milestone!

Just a couple weeks ago after accomplishing my first 18 mile run I had a little scare. Monday morning following the 18 mile Sunday I ran a bit harder and faster than I should have in my 4 mile recovery run. Later that same week following my 9 miler I ran a 4 miler, again much harder than I should have and started to feel some pain in my left Thigh. I took the next 3 days off and rested until my 12 miler on Sunday. Luckily the pain has not returned, but I did get a little nervous.

All is going really good with my marathon training. I am looking forward to my Second Half Marathon, The Atlanta 13.1 Marathon (funny name) in just a couple weeks on October 4th, and then my First Full Marathon, The Chickamauga Marathon, on November 14th.

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com - subscribe - follow - virtual4now

Cross Country Meets X 2

2009-09-19T22:36:00.001-04:00

The past couple of weeks have been great for my daughter Payton. She has had two Cross Country Meets, both of them in which she did beyond excellent.

Last Saturday, September 12th was the Carrollton Invitational. This is a hilly course and the same course that is used for state. The team drove over to Carrollton Friday afternoon and ran the course for their Friday workout and so they would be more familure with the course.

I drove over in the morning to watch Payton and her team. It was an early morning, but was a nice day for running and watching a race.

Payton was running Varsity so had one of the early races. She got ready and did some warm ups and it was time to line up. The team lined up and before too long they were off. Like I mentioned the course is a really hilly course which made it a tough course to PR at.

Payton was running a great race and was looking strong. It was a hard course to get to the mile markers so I wasn't sure how well she was doing as I watched her on the course. Finally the last stretch came and I saw she was running her best race ever. I watched as she came across the finish line strong 32nd out of 164 girls in the Championship Girls Race with a time of 20:59..... breaking the 21 minute barrier for the first time for a new PR..... on a tough, hilly course!

Payton and I stayed the day and watched the rest of the races and stayed to cheer on the JV team. We watched the JV race and there was one girl a good distance in front of the rest of the runners. She was from a different team but was running a solid race. We watched her finish and I noted her time and told Payton she only beat her time by 4 seconds meaning that if Payton would have run the JV race she could have possibly won that race.

The Brookwood Girls did excellent, both the Varsity and JV winning their races.

The above race pushed Payton up a spot on her team. She is now running in the #7 slot on her team, out of 105 girls.

Today's race was also very exciting. Today was the Gwinnett County Championship races at River Green in Duluth. The complex was appropriately named with todays weather. It has been raining much of the last week and the ground is well saturated already. The weather called for rain all day again today as well.

We arrived at the course at 6:45 this morning while it was still dark. The race was to start at 8:00 and luckily we had not gotten much rain overnight and it was currently not raining. The course was still very soggy with some areas with standing water.

8:00 came and the time for the first race of the day was here. Payton lined up with the rest of the Varsity team and the gun went off. As soon as the gun went off the race and the rain started. It poured the entire race which made it a difficult race. This is a flat course but the rain and soggy conditions made it harder than it would normally be.

Payton ran a really good race with a first mile split of 6:39. She slowed a bit on the second mile for a 6:50 pace, and then finished off with a last 1.1 mile split of 7:44. Her official time was 21:13 which was excellent for the conditions. She finished 24th overall out of 119. Pretty impressive to finish 24th in the county championships as a freshman!

The Brookwood Varsity girls won County for the first time since 2002!

It kept raining and the conditions got a lot worse. The rest of the races today got continually worse and they were running through mini knee high rivers and mud everywhere. There was more than a few runners that lost their shoes going through the mud and water. I am just glad that Payton got to run the first race before it got that bad.

Looking forward to the upcoming races!

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com - subscribe - follow - virtual4now

A Week Of Firsts

2009-09-07T15:32:00.002-04:00

This past week has been a week of firsts for me. The week started with my first 16 mile run. As the week progressed the week turned out to be one of my best weeks ever.

The first of the week was the end of my longest mileage month, the month of August at over 140 miles. By the time the week ended I had put in over 40 miles, run my first 18 mile long run, as well as my first 3 hour+ run. You can see all my stats over at my running log at RunningAhead.

I am sure this is just the beginning of firsts as I train for my first marathon. It has been a fun week and I look forward to many more to come.

Now if I can just get my eating under control.....

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com - subscribe - follow - virtual4now

Hurts So Good!

2009-08-31T20:28:00.002-04:00

Yesterday's 16 mile long run was the first one that did it to me in a while, but my legs are sore today. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining, it is that "good sore" that we long to feel when we push ourselves past where we once felt comfortable.

Looking forward to the coming week of training!

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com - subscribe - follow - virtual4now

16 Mile Long Run..... Check!

2009-08-30T16:17:00.003-04:00

This morning was my first 16 mile run. The morning was not hot, but the humidity was still quite high. I forgot to check the weather before leaving so I don't know the exact figures.

I woke up at 5:20 with a planned departure of sometime before 5:40. I started running at 5:41 and started doing the math in my head to realize I once again didn't plan very well to get back in time to avoid a rush to get to church..... oh well, I will get the timing down by the time the marathon is here. :)

I had the first bit of uneasiness at about a half a mile into my run when I came up on a car sitting along a country road. I run around parked cars in neighborhoods all the time but it is just a bit unnerving when it is along a road like this. Things go through your mind wondering if it is just a car that died or if someone (dead or alive) is sitting in the car and what may be lurking in the dark somewhere close by.

Needless to say, I am sitting here writing this post so all went well with the car and no boogieman jumped out at me anywhere.

The next 13 miles were pretty uneventful other than a couple bunny rabbits and trying to carry and juggle my water, Gatorade, and getting my sport beans out of my arm band without losing my cell phone. I really want to get myself some kind of fuel belt to carry liquids and gel or sport beans. I get tired of carrying water and Gatorade bottles, I would much rather my arms be able to relax on these long runs.

At 13.5 miles I had another almost tragic trip and fall like I had a few weeks ago from tripping on my shoe-laces. I was running along and all of a sudden that strange but recognizable restriction of motion occurred with my feet. Remembering the last result of the same feeling I immediately stopped and looked down. To my surprise my right shoe-lace was loosened a bit and even though double knotted it was now much larger loops than how I tie them. I guess the 13 miles and extreme sweating had loosened them up just enough to cause them to (try to) trip me. I took the time to immediately retie the shoe-laces so I wouldn't soon experience the same fate as last time.

My pacing wasn't where I wanted it to be and I am not sure why I was not able to pace where I wanted to. I was aiming at a 10:00 minute pace, but was closer to a 10:30 pace for the first half of the run. The second half I was closer to where I wanted to be with most of the miles in the upper 9's. You can see my splits here.

Well, that is it for now - getting ready to head back out for 6 more miles.... but not by choice. My daughter needs to get in a long run today, but her running buddy called and is sick so she cannot run with her. We do not allow her to run by herself so off I go again for another run. It will be another easy paced run and I will probably once again, like last week, forgo my run tomorrow morning and just let this run count for it.

Till next time.....

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com - subscribe - follow - virtual4now

Payton's First XC Meet, and My Next 16 Miles

2009-08-29T16:54:00.007-04:00

Today was Payton's first cross country meet. Up until this point she has only run the school time trials and has done quite well if I do say so myself. (see here and here)

Today's meet was a Stage Race with many schools and many races. Payton was excited and really looking forward to it until we pulled up and she saw how many people were there. She immediately started to stress out about the vast number of kids running.

I talked her down a bit and explained that she didn't have to worry about anything except doing her best and that she would be just fine. She started to settle down a bit more when she saw some of her teammates.

She was running the 8:45 JV race. The coach gave her a choice last week to run either JV or Varsity and she chose JV...... because..... she said she wanted a medal :) What a choice to be able to make as a freshman huh? (proud father moment here)

She went and stood in the dreaded line (we all know what line I am talking about - they have them at every race.... and they always stink) As she stood there I walked over to check up on her.

She was starting to feel the stress a little bit again and actually started to tear up a bit. We once again worked through it and she made it through the line.

She then put her spikes on for her very first real run. She was commenting how she was going to get them dirty in the very first race she wore them in as the course had a few muddy spots.

The time came for her stage and she lined up with two boys from her school, and one other girl from her school. That plus quite a few from many other schools. This was only a two mile race so I explained that she didn't need to hold back as much as she would in a typical 5k Cross Country Race. Time went quickly and then came the gun and they were off.

Two of her coaches and I started walking towards the 1 mile marker so we could see how she and her teammate were doing. There were two very fast girls we missed in her stage race, but it didn't take long before we saw Payton running in the 4th (we thought 2nd) place position (girls), with a first mile split of 6:37. I was thrilled and she was looking really good.

The coaches and I jogged back over to see the girls finish and got there about the time the first boys were crossing the finish line. We were watching closely and we watched the time. There is the first girl, the second, the third...... and then there was Payton.... right where we expected her as far as time.

Payton crossed the finish line strong in 4th place overall (girls) and first place for her team in this stage race. Her time for the two miles was 13:12 with a second mile split of 6:35 - very consistent. The first 5 finishers of each stage race received a medal - she is very proud of hers :)

***Update: Just got the e-mail, her placing in her stage race helped her JV team get 2nd place out of the almost 40 teams that competed.

Now that we have talked about the exciting part I will catch you up a bit on my marathon training.

This past week has been good, putting in 10, 5, 8, 5, and 8 so far this week. Last Sunday I did my long run of 10 miles, and then later that evening put in another 5 miles with Payton so I skipped my 5 mile run on Monday morning. I put in an easy 8 miler on Tuesday, an easy 5 miler on Thursday, and then my 8 mile marathon race pace on Friday morning. I wanted to train for a race pace of 8:45, but my body is much more comfortable and more in the groove at an 8:20/8:30 pace so that is where I am letting it go.

Tomorrow morning I have my first 16 miler on the schedule. I know there will be a lot of new distances from this point out and I am both excited and apprehensive about these new distances. I am not, however, excited about getting up at 5:20 on a Sunday morning, but to finish in time for church I must do what I must do.

I have my mp3 player loaded (Sunday morning radio is useless) and will be heading out the door sometime around 5:30. I have not yet decided what route I will take, but am leaning towards the same route I ran for the 14 mile run two weeks ago and changing up the end enough to add a couple miles.

Wish me luck and I will check back in on the other side of 16!

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com - subscribe - follow - virtual4now

The Long Run - Marathon Training

2009-08-21T21:54:00.001-04:00

My Marathon Training for the Chickamauga has officially started. I started a couple weeks late due to being out of town on vacation. I wasn't really concerned about starting a little late because I was already at the level I needed to be at a couple weeks into the schedule.

My vacation saw me running a bit less than normal and also eating more and not as healthy as I had been. Once I made it home from vacation I started to hit the road again. I was not prepared for how poorly I would feel after just one week of bad eating and a not so hot running schedule.

The first Saturday long run on my schedule was supposed to be 13 miles. I had not yet run 13 miles since I was training for my half marathon 18 months prior, but I had done 10 miles a few times in the past couple months so I was confident. I didn't get out as early as I needed to and so was hitting the road almost 9:00 am and the sun was already out and it was hot. I ended up going out too fast, not eating before, and not hydrating properly and after just 6 miles was completely spent. The next 3 miles were spent walk/running to get home. I was not very happy with having to cut such a horrible run short, but really had no choice. You can read more about this run and see the splits here.

The runs since that time have been much better, and I feel like I have gotten back into running like I was before vacation and how I should be.

My latest and longest long run was this past Sunday. I have always run my long runs on Saturday because of church on Sunday, but this past week I was not going to be able to get my long run in on Saturday morning till late because of my daughter's Cross Country Time Trial. Because of my last experience of trying to run my long run too late in the morning (see above) I decided I wouldn't even try to do this and instead decided I would get up really early Sunday morning and get my 14 miles in before church.

I rolled out of bed at 6:00 giving myself 2 hours to run the 14 miles - not very good planning since 7 miles in 1 hour would be at a pace that I am not yet ready to do for an entire 14 miles. I hit the road about 6:10 following a quick whole wheat bagel -- the first time I have ever eaten right before hitting the road. Plenty of water and Gatorade in my system and one of each in my clutches, me and my packet of beans started the yet to be determined course.

The weather was at 70 degrees with 97% humidity when I started the longest run I had ever run. I had run 14 miles once before 18 months ago, but today ended at 14.2 miles so I can officially call it my longest run ever.

A lack of prior planning and I found myself listening to public service radio for the first hour of my run. I run with an MP3 player, but always just listen to the radio since I am too lazy to build a play list and load it with music. A quick scan of all the stations found that Sunday Morning at 6:00 am is not the best time to listen to music on the radio. I did finally find some music after 7:00 am which was a welcome addition to my run.

I went out intentionally really slow, the slowest I have run in a long time, at a pace of just over 10:00 minute miles. I didn't watch the time, but listened to my body and slowed down each time I felt myself getting winded in the least. I knew this was going to be key to finishing the full 14 miles. This is where the poor planning of time allotted comes in - 14 miles at 10:00 minute pace = 2 hours and 20 minutes which puts me home just 30 short minutes before needing to be at church. The full log of this run and my splits can be viewed on my running log here.

As I was nearing home I was right at 12 miles and it was approaching the time I needed to get home. I decided that based on the way I felt (good) I would never forgive myself if I didn't go the full 14 miles. I decided that I would finish off the full 14 miles and just rush a quick shower before church. I passed the 12 mile mark and put another 2.2 miles in to finish off my long run. I had 25 minutes to recover, shower, and drive to church.

I was very pleased with this run. Just completing it was a mental breakthrough that was needed right now in the early days of marathon training. It is going to be a tough, but rewarding, couple of months and I really need your presence and encouragement.

If you don't mind I would deeply appreciate your sharing of my blog throughout the running community.... I need all the support I can get in my Quest to 26.2!

Thanks for reading!

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com - subscribe - follow - virtual4now

Cross Country Time Trials - Payton did Awesome! (Take 2)

2009-08-21T19:29:00.005-04:00

If you are not already aware, my daughter Payton has just started her high school career and her Cross Country Career as well. You can read how her first races went by reading about her first 5k race (non-cross country) as well as her first 2 mile Time Trial as part of the Cross Country Team.This past Saturday was Brookwood High School Girls Cross Country's first 5k Time Trial of the official season. This race was run on one of their Cross Country Courses, the newest, at the new Alexander Park.

The girls ran their race at 7:30 that Saturday morning. We arrived just before 7:00 to watch the boys cross country race and to give the girls a chance to warm up.

The time to race came and Payton and the rest of the almost 100 girls lined up. Payton lined up about 3/4 of the way back in the pack and before I realized that she had done this they were taking off. If you read about her first 2 mile Time Trial you will realize that this is a bit further back than where she needed to start -- quite a bit! I mentioned to one of the other parents that I hope she pushed her way through the pack and didn't pace herself with the ones she started off with.

The leaders appeared around the bend coming up to the 1 mile marker on this 3 circle course. I looked at my watch and saw they were pacing right around 6:30. I immediately started watching for Payton because in the 2 mile time trial she finished in a 7:04 pace. Right on time, at just before 7:00 minutes she crossed the 1 mile marker. I was happy to see that she had made her way through the pack and was right where she needed to be - now just to see if she could maintain it for the full 3.1 miles.

The next mile came and went and based on where I was standing it looked like she crossed the second mile marker at about 14:08, still pacing right where she needed to be pacing. When she passed me at the start finish line I saw she was getting tired and I was worried she was going to start fading in the last mile. I waited intently and nervously as the clock started to near 21 minutes. I checked the time as she passed the 3 mile marker and it looked like she was still pacing around the 7 min pace with just .1 left to go.

Payton neared the finish line and had two other freshmen running right with her, one just in

front of her and one just behind. Payton ran up to the finish line and then stopped right in front of her coach. Since this wasn't the finish line the third freshmen following right behind her passed her right at the finish line. This was a moment to learn from and I am sure she won't do that again :)

These three freshmen finished within just a few seconds of each other with Payton's time being an awesome 21:54, an incredible 7:02 pace! Payton finished in 10th place overall....... that is right, I said 10th place overall.

There were a few runners that couldn't run the time trial and made it up a few days later. Overall there were right at 105 girls that ran the time trial which put Payton in 10th place out of 105 runners!

I am very proud of her and am excited to watch her progress throughout the season.

It will be our little secret that her time of 21:54 beats my 5k PR...... at least for now :)

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com - subscribe - follow - virtual4now

Almost "Run" Over

2009-08-06T21:45:00.004-04:00

This morning I was out for a 5 mile run. I had left a little late so it was around 6 am when I was finishing up my last mile. It was still pretty dark as I was running down a hill back towards the neighborhood, but I could see another runner running towards me.

As this runner and I closed in on each other I noticed the running style from someone I have seen running around the area lately. This runner has a unique running style - he is always looking straight down at the ground.

I thought to myself, surely he will hear me coming and look up, but then we got a little close for comfort and he was running directly in the middle of the sidewalk. I finally spoke up and scared him. He jumped and we barely missed each other as we fumbled by each other. Interesting to say the least.

I am in the process of trying to get my groove back after a couple weeks of messed up schedules around vacation. Hopefully I will be back in the groove by the weekend.

My training has officially begun for the marathon - more to come soon!

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com - subscribe - follow - virtual4now

A trip, and a fall..... but my own shoe laces?

2009-07-31T09:17:00.003-04:00

After a week of driving a lot of miles and spending time with family I was able to get back out for a more normal run this morning. I did run a couple times while with the family but not nearly what I usually do or hoped to do. That is not good considering I needed to start marathon training this week. The running was only part of it, the other part was eating differently than I would normally eat at home, especially the quantities.

This mornings run was not a good 6 mile run. I started off good running from the high school after dropping off my daughter for her Cross Country practice, but then things changed quickly after just 1/2 mile when I tripped over my own shoe laces (yes, my own shoe laces..... and they were tied!) The first time I caught myself and looked down to see my shoe laces tied, but maybe a bit longer loops. I didn't think much about it and continued on when I tripped the second time. The second time I went down on my hands and one knee. My knee took the brunt of it and is now missing a bit of skin and caused a limp for a few seconds.

I continued on and did the 6 miles but had a couple times where I wasn't feeling good and walked a little bit (mile 3 & 5) I did choose a road I had never run before and I didn't realize how hilly it was. That coupled with the 13 hours of driving yesterday and the poor choices in eating over the last week I am not at all surprised.

A funny thing about the trip......

Just Wednesday night we were playing a game at my brothers house. I don't remember the name of the game but they chose me and then pulled a card. The statement read that if I would die a strange death how would I die. There were 6 choices, but one of them was that I would die tripping over my own shoe laces (it was the answer I chose, as well as at least a couple others). I thought of that immediatly when getting up off the ground. I have never tripped over my own shoe laces while running, much less while they were tied! I guess I better go clean this wound. I didn't die falling, but if I died from an infection it would still technically qualify.

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com - subscribe - follow - virtual4now

Peachtree Road Race 2009 - 48:32

2009-07-08T18:40:00.000-04:00

This past Saturday. July 4th was the 40th annual Peachtree Road Race. It didn't disappoint me like it did last year when I had to walk it. One of the things about running with a seeded time (not sub-seeded) is that the cheaters don't start jumping in as much till after we passed.

This was my third Peachtree, the first one just a short two years ago. The 2007 Peachtree was my first 10k after starting to run as an adult. I crossed the finish line in 2007 in 1:03:59. Last year I walked the Peachtree because I was tripped and broke my collar bone just a few short weeks earlier. Well, this year I was once again able to run it and I almost set a new PR.... almost! I came across the line in 48:32 (chip time)

The day started bright and early with the alarm clock at 4:30 AM. I consumed some oatmeal and a piece of toast, lots of water and a small gatoraide and was ready to hit the road by 5:00 AM. I still had a few items to finish getting ready in the morning because I neglected to make sure the clothes I wanted to wear were clean until about 10:00 PM. That being the case I had to wait for them to wash and dry before putting my number on my shirt and having everything laid out neatly. I did get the timing chip attached to my shoe the night before which I am glad I did since it was pretty complicated for a feable mind like mine :).

My neighbors and I left at 5:00 AM and as we were leaving the neighborhood saw another neighbor walking his dog. Funny thing is that I saw this neighbor two more times at the race..... of 55,000 people. What are the odds?

We arrived at the Marta Station at 5:30 and it was not nearly as busy as it was in previous years. I think the fact that they announced the times that each time group would be taking off this year meant that a lot of the higher time groups stayed in bed longer. This was nice because we were able to park right near the station and then walk right onto the train. We made it to the starting area by about 6:15 and had plenty of time to just relax and use the port-o-potties before any lines formed.

When standing around in a parking lot I just happened to glance over and saw my buddy Kevin. He and I have lined up together both years I have run the Peachtree. We didn't have any way of meeting up this year since we both didn't have phones with us, but wouldn't you know we both ended up hanging out within just about 10 feet of each other. While we were standing here talking guess who walked up? Yup, this was siting number 1 of my neighbor that was walking his dog this morning. Need I remind you that this race is 55,000 people?

The morning weather was perfect. Low 70's, with relatively low humidity. We actually made a comment that it was border line chilly. Not cold by any stretch, but nowhere near a July 4th in Atlanta.

We still had some time to waste so we watched the wheelchair races take off. These are true athletes. To be able to power those wheelchairs with just their arms for the 6.2 miles including some decent hills absolutely amazes me.

We decided following the wheelchairs that we should take another pit stop. We walked back down to where the 600,000 (slight exaggeration) port-o-potties were and lined up. We quickly realized with the lines, how fast they were moving, and the time, that we were not going to make it and decided to forgo that plan.

We lined up in our time group 1A about mid way back in the pack and waited for the start.

I was very fortunate to again be in time group 1A. You have to have a qualifying time from a qualifying race of less than 50 minutes to get in time group 1A. In March of 2008 I ran the Shamrock and Roll 10k in 48:03. This was my first and only sub-50 10k. It qualified me to be in 1A last year (when I had to walk) but was also still within the timeframe so I was able to use that time to qualify again this year. Since I had been off running for 8 of the last 15 months due to the broken collar bone I had no chance to re-qualify so this was a blessing.

The horn blew at 7:30 right on time. The elites took off and the sub-seeded were right behind them. It took us a little bit to cross the starting line, but I later compared my watch time with the clock time and we only took 30 seconds to cross the starting line after the horn. This made it nice the rest of the way because I didn't need to keep looking at my watch, and I could just add 30 seconds to whatever time they were yelling out at the mile markers.

The first couple miles felt good, but felt slower than they actually were (as is always the way it goes) My buddy Kevin was not too far in front of me, and I think I subconsciously tried to keep up with him even though I know he is faster than me.

My first mile was 7:45 which I was happy with, but then I started to speed up too much. My second mile was 7:19 and the third mile was 7:01 according to my watch. I am not so sure about this third mile. At some point in the race I think my MyTach GPS watch measured one of the miles a little short, and this may have been that mile. That coupled with the fact that my MyTach GPS watch ended up measuring the entire race as 6.3 miles tells me that something went wrong in one of these early miles.

It was sometime in the second couple miles that sighting number 2 of my neighbor occured. He ran past me and I quickly yelled at him for passing me. He turned around and smiled and took off through the crowd. Just a few minutes later I saw Mike Beaudreau fly past me weaving in and out of people trying to make up some ground.

Somewhere during the middle of the race I heard a bump and scrape.... and then a "runner down" and then "are you ok?" I turned around to the left and I saw someone picking themselves up off of the ground and walking to the side. My heart dropped, I felt so sorry for this person. I know too well what that feels like, and I just hope that they didn't break anything like I did when that happened to me.

I was able to continue at a good pace and did cardiac hill without too much problem and my 4th mile clocked in at 7:50. It was after the 4th mile that I started to feel it. I have two reasons that I can think of that I started to feel it at this point. 1. I had run the past 9 days straight without a day off, including the day before the race & 2. I ran the 2nd, and 3rd miles a bit too fast.

During the 5th mile I did the dreaded, I gave in a walked a bit. I had trouble slowing down because everyone around me was running a steady pace and so if I ran, I tended to run with them at their pace. I didn't walk long, but ended up walking about 3 times for a total of about 1 minute. This can be seen in my time for that mile of 8:42, a good minute + slower than all my other miles.

I finally got myself going again for the last mile. Mile 6 clocked in at 7:16 and then the last .2 (.3) clocked in at 2:40........ Here is where the whole splits thing kinda messes up again, because my MyTach watch showed .3 (and a total distance of 6.3) so the last .2 at 2:40 was probably more actually .3 at 2:40. I would guess that the watch marked one of the earlier miles too early and it threw the rest of it off. I could transfer 1/3 of the final .2/.3 (about 53 sec) to mile 3 and this could all kinda make sense.... would it? (OK - sorry I got a bit geeky)

The end result was 48:33 according to my watch, and 48:32 according to the official chip results which can be found at the AJC's results. According to those results I finished 2,725 out of just over 50,000 timing chips that crossed both the start and finish lines. 55,000 registered runners, some probably didn't show up, but some also cheated and didn't start at the starting line.

My actual splits can be found on my Running Ahead Log and are:

Mile 1 - 7:45

Mile 2 - 7:19

Mile 3 - 7:01*

Mile 4 - 7:50

Mile 5 - 8:42*

Mile 6 - 7:16

.2 (.3) - 2:40*

* see above for explainations

***A fun additional bit of information. Each registered runner gets the Peachtree Road Race Magazine a few weeks before the race. Mine sat for a couple weeks and then my neigbors mentioned that I was on the cover. I didn't believe them, but went and looked. Everything I recall from what I wore to where I would have been (because I was walking) points to that actually being me. Here is a link to a scanned image.

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com - subscribe - follow - virtual4now

Peachtree Road Race - Tomorrow

2009-07-03T18:37:00.003-04:00

I don't know a lot of the history, but I do know that 40 years ago it was run for the first time by 110 runners, one of them being the one man that has run every race for the past 40 years - Bill Thorn. I know that the field is limited to 55,000 runners, and it is not the easiest race to get into (although I have been able to get in the last three years without any issue)

Two sayings that Bill Thorn shares with his runners at Landmark Christian: “When it’s hard to run, run hard.” “In running, you’ve got to deal with three things — sweat, discomfort and heavy breathing. If you can’t deal with those three things, then running isn’t for you.

The other things I know about the Peachtree Road Race pertain specifically to me. This will be my third year running (more appropriatly - doing) it. The first year, 2007, it was my first 10k race and I ran it in 1:03:59 after just 6 months of losing weight in which I would eventually lose 90 lbs.

The second year I participated in the Peachtree Road Race was just last year. I had a qualifying time from the Shamrock & Roll of 48:03 and was looking forward to running in Time Group 1A. I ended up not being able to run it because of being tripped in the S.W.A.T. Trot 5k just a few weeks before the race and breaking my collar bone in two places. I did end up planning for and then just walking the Peachtree last year.

I am really looking forward to the Peachtree Road Race again this year. I am excited because I am able to run it again and also because my qualifying time of 48:03 at the Shamrock & Roll was still within the timeframe and I was able to use it to get my Time Group 1A again this year. I have a time goal of sub-50 which I know I can do, it just depends on a lot of things one of them being the big crowds and getting around them.

This will be my first 10k back since returning from the broken collar bone injury, but I have done a couple 5k's and have trained well for it with plenty of 10k + distance training runs.

Well, that will be it until I put up the race report. I am off to get Pizza for the family for dinner. I am going to be eating some left over chicken and pasta from last nights dinner. I don't need the pizza on my stomach for the race tomorrow.

Till tommorrow!

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com - subscribe - follow - virtual4now

Cross Country Time Trials - Payton did Awesome!

2009-07-03T08:50:00.004-04:00

As you are already aware if you have been reading here lately, my 13 year old daughter, Payton who is going to be a freshman this upcoming year is going to be running Cross Country. As you can imagine that makes me very happy and very proud. Both because I am a runner, and because that was my favorite sport when I was in high school.

This past week was the first time trials for her team. She has been training with them ever since school was out three days a week. I am not 100% certain what the time trials are completely for, but I am sure it is to help see where everyone currently is. The other thing the time trial is for is to determine who will be going on their summer running trip to Myrtle Beach. This trip is only open for the "Top 20" and the top 4 freshman.

Going into this time trial I told her she had a pretty good chance at getting in the top 4 freshman and encouraged her that way. She was not sure she wanted to go on the trip since she didn't know anybody and is quite shy. I told her not to throw the race just so she didn't have to go, that we wouldn't make her go.

The time trial was for 2 miles. I told her I had in mind what I knew she could accomplish, but I didn't tell her incase she didn't hit it she wouldn't be upset. I knew she could come in under 15 minutes which would mean a 7:30 pace. I knew this was doable considering the times we had run together and the 5k race she had just run with me a couple weeks earlier.

She was nervous the night before, she was worried she was going to let me down. I told her that as long as she ran her hardest and didn't stop to walk I would be happy and very proud of her. Now, if she "had" to walk I would be OK, but I told her she needed to keep running and not give up.

Well, the morning came and she went to run it. We were not aware that parents could be there so we missed the race. She was very excited and called me when she was headed home. She said that she came in 7th and her time was 14 something. As you can imagine, I couldn't believe she didn't know the "something" and it about drove me crazy.

I had to wait till the official results came out which stressed me out having to wait, but the results finally came out later that day. There were some of the girls that ran the time trial the week before because they would not be able to be there on the time trial day. This messed up her original finishing place, but only by a couple places.

The final results were in and she finished 9th out of 89 girls!!!!!!! That was all grades freshman through senior. Her official time was 14:06 - yes OH-6! She ran a 7:03 pace and finished well into the "Top 20" She immediately told the coach that she was going on the trip.... I guess finishing as well as she did changed her mind about the trip. :) She was the second freshman, she had one other freshman beat her by 15 seconds.

I am so proud of her, she exceeded my expectations by almost a whole minute - for two miles!

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com - subscribe - follow - virtual4now