26.2 Quest

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

100 Push Ups and 200 Situps aka @100pushups

2009-06-26T06:00:00.002-04:00

Yes, I have officially joined the club and have started the 100 Push Ups plan. I am a glutton for punishment and have also started the 200 Situps just one week later.

It was just over a year ago when my online running buddy, Steve Speirs aka @britishbulldog and blogger extraordinaire over at www.runbulldogrun.com started the 100 Push ups craze. That was right around the time I broke my collar bone so I was not able to participate, but I knew one day, once my collar bone was completely healed I would join that craze.

That time has come and just last week I started the 100 Push Ups. This week as I started the second week I also started the 200 Situps plan and will be doing them on alternating days.

Steve has also written an accompanying book called 7 Weeks to 100 Push-Ups available where ever good books are sold.

I know of a couple others out on Twitter that are currently doing it, if you are one of those, make yourself known in the comments with your Twitter ID so we can check up on each other.

Wish me luck!

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

New On The Run @BlakeCraig

2009-06-25T19:47:00.004-04:00

I wanted to give a quick shout out to Blake Craig. He has just started running again and needs lots of encouragement. He is doing great, but I know how great it is to have accountability and others that care when times get tough.

His blog is blakesdailyrun.blogspot.com and you can follow him on Twitter at @BlakeCraig

Let's flood his blog with comments and followers and his Twitter account with followers.

Make sure you let him know I sent you!

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

My Fastest Mile

2009-06-25T06:19:00.005-04:00

I hit the road this morning and decided I would do a long interval and see how fast I could sustain for 1 mile. I did a warm up mile and then turned it on for the second mile. I wanted to see how fast I could go for an entire mile without giving up or giving in.

You must remember that the person in question here (me) is a former fatty and still carries around a little loose skin and extra weight here and there so running fast is not my fortitude.

My first mile was a nice easy first mile pace at 9:18 and as soon as I saw my MyTach click 1 mile I turned it on..... no looking back! I thought after about 1/4 mile that I wouldn't be able to make it to the next mile marker without giving up, but I pressed on. The houses went by much quicker than they usually do.... funny :) I must have sounded like I was going to die with the way I was breathing (maybe because I was going to) but I finally rounded the last corner and I could see the spot I knew as the 2 mile mark. I didn't let up, and kept pumping knowing now that I would make it. I hit the spot and my MyTach beeped, I looked down to see something I had never seen before....... a 6 as the first digit! It was a high 6, but it was a 6 none the less. It was officially my fastest mile I ever remember at 6:49!!!!

I stopped and walked for a few paces to regain my composure and then picked back up again running. I was going to finish off with a 1 mile cool down but had nothing left and stopped at the half mile mark (4:27) and finished it off walking.

Another milestone, and one I am very proud of. I won't be seeing this time in any races soon (if ever) but I was able to hit it which makes me very happy :)

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

Running 100,000 miles

2009-06-24T17:15:00.003-04:00

I was going through my reader when I came by a post on Scott Dunlap's A Trail Runner's Blog about Raven Craft - link to post

I had read about Raven a year or two ago and how he ran 8 miles every day and hadn't missed a day in over 30 years. I wasn't aware that he was coming up on a milestone this year of 100,000 miles. Pretty amazing stuff!

ESPN did a piece on him which can be seen below or a cleaner copy can be seen on his website.

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

Camping, the beach, and family running

2009-06-24T07:00:00.000-04:00

It has been a busy week this past week. I have been running a lot, but also been keeping busy with life in general.

This past week I missed my run on Friday morning and didn't get a long run in on Saturday. The reason being that we decided at the last minute to go camping at the beach for the weekend. I ran Thursday morning and then again Thursday night (which has been common now that my daughter is training for Cross Country and needs someone to run with on the days she is not running with the team)

Since I had run Thursday night and Friday morning I needed to pack the van for the camping trip I decided I would forgo my Friday morning run. As the morning progressed I was happy I had chosen to do so since I barely had enough time the way it was (and I didn't want to get up at 4:30 on my day off)

We headed to Jekyll Island, on the coast of GA for the weekend camping trip. We are (new) tent campers.... and yes.... it was HOT! It got up near 100 degrees each day we were there, and was probably still in the upper 80's and humid when we crawled into the tent each night.

My daughter Payton and I got up on Saturday morning and planned on running 5 miles. I wanted to do those 5 and then head back out for more after dropping her off.... but..... well..... We drove down near the beach and got ready to go about 8:00 am. I thought we would be able to miss the heat of the day that way, but I didn't think about how hot the sun could be that early in the morning along the beach. We ran the bike trail along the beach for the view, but of course since we were running that close to the beach there was no shade anywhere - mistake! We didn't get far before we were both feeling the wrath of the sun. My daughter just couldn't go any further following 3 miles so we called it quits. It is hard for me to give in to a run, but it was the right thing to do.

We spent the day at the beach, and even though it was hot, we really had a great weekend camping/beach trip.

Last night was also a new and exciting time for me as a dad. If you have been reading long you are aware that my second daughter (Payton) is training for Cross Country so we run together a lot. My 7 year old son, Brady also runs with me occasionally, but my oldest daughter Ashlee, and my wife have yet to lace up the running shoes.

Yesterday I got one step closer to true family running. Ashlee is in Color Guard and has been practicing lately. She realized that she needs to get in better shape so she decided she needed to run. I won't let her run alone so she had to wait till last night. Last night we went out for just a mile. Both her and Payton went out with me. This was the first time Ashlee has run with me, and I don't know that she has truly ever run a mile before.

The run started off good and Ashlee was running with a smile on her face just in front of Payton and I. She said she was feeling pretty good..... but we had only gone about 2 tenths of a mile. She quieted down shortly after that, and when we got close to the 3/4 mile mark she started saying it was really hard and started to slow down. I looked at her and she was not happy, the smile was gone. I wouldn't let her stop before the mile, and to her credit she finished it strong and didn't complain anymore..... until after we were done. She said it was too hard and she was never going to run again. :) I talked her off the ledge and I think she will run with me again, but not as fast as we did this time. I let her pace this run and we ran it too fast for her ability. She ran the mile in 8:54 - excellent for the first mile I know her to have ever run.

This week is going good so far, trying to put some miles in and hope to get a good long run in this Saturday. This past Monday Payton ran on the Cross Country trails for the first time. She said it was fun and she did great running just behind the varsity. This Friday is her time trials for Cross Country. They have to run a 2 mile race to see where they all are on the team and to see who gets to go on the summer training trip. She is one of the top Freshmen on the team, and is running with last years JV most of the time. I think she will do great this Friday if she can mentally keep going when it gets hard. (I think she can do 15 min if she really wants to but am not going to say anything to her)

Till next time.....

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

S.W.A.T. Trot 2009 - The Race Report

2009-06-14T17:49:00.012-04:00

It was a day that I won't soon forget. This race meant so much to me in so many ways. It was a mental battle of being able to come back and conquer the race that just last year conquered me with a broken collar bone, but also because it was my daughter Payton's first 5k race.

The race was a night time race with an 8:00 start time. I prefer morning running and I also prefer morning races so this kinda threw the whole day off for me. I have had a couple issues with my ankle lately but it was feeling pretty good for the race. This being the case I didn't want to get out and mow the lawn or do

anything that might change that

so I didn't accomplish much throughout the day. It also makes dinner interesting because we had to eat by a certain time and I didn't want to eat anything too heavy. We opted for Grilled Chicken Salad which turned out to be a good choice.

The 1k fun run kicked off at 7:30 which my 7 year old son Brady was running so we arrived just before 7:00 to get checked in and get our numbers. Everything went off without a hitch and we started to get ready to run. You can see us getting

ready in the picture to the right.

7:30 came and the race started. Brady has some trouble wanting to run fast and then give up and walk. I also know this is how many people run these 1k-1mile fun runs so I knew he would be very tempted. I told him to take off slow and not worry about what everybody else was doing. I told him that we would pass many of them soon enough. He did a great job of going out strong but reserved. We neared the turn-around cone and he was starting to feel it so he asked if he could stop at the cone. As any

loving father would say.... I said.... NO! You are half way, you are not going to give up now. We continued on, and the second half of the run was not nearly as "fun" as the first. Brady kept stopping and I kept coming back and grabbing his hand to keep him going. He wasn't breathing too

heavy so I knew he was OK, but just in need of some mental and physical prompting.

This continued, but he completed it and finished strong. He came in third overall and first in his age group.

You can see him coming in to the finish line in the picture to the right (with his pacer off to the right in the picture) The race coordinators didn't plan very well and they were not there when the first finishers came across the finish line, nor was the clock functioning correctly. My watch said 5:20 when we crossed the finish line. They did find him and give him the #3 finisher card, but somehow when the awards were given out a boy that finished after him got the 1st in age group and he got the second..... The only thing I can think is that they guessed on the time and put a

faster time and so the cards got swapped. Oh well..... we know!

While we were waiting for the 5k to start my daughter, Payton, and I walked over to the spot where I was tripped last year and we had a moment of silence..... OK, I did, she just thought I was weird.

It didn't take long before it was time for the featured event, the 5k we all came to run. We walked over to the start and waited for 8:00. We lined up just behind the starters because it didn't seem to be all that crowded near the front for some reason. 8:00 came and the race was off. We started off at a nice pace and it felt comfortable. I checked the watch and we were running just over 8 mph so I knew we were running a bit faster than I had anticipated.

We came up on the first mile and Payton did a soft but heart felt "yea!" I looked down at the watch and it said 7:22, that is the fastest mile she has ever run. I was a bit worried at that point that I had taken her out too fast and that we would be paying for it before too long. We got to the half way point and she started to fade. She asked if we could slow down a bit when we got to a "corner" and I said sure. I wasn't expecting her to slow down as much as she did though and had to talk her back into speeding back up at least a little bit.

The second mile marker came and the watch told us it was a 7:58. From this point in she was begging to stop and actually did stop one time. It hurt me as a dad to see her hurt, but I have watched her run, and have run with her enough to know she was OK, but just feeling the pain of racing. Being that she is currently training for Cross Country and running with her team I know she will be racing before too long and needs to know that she needs to keep going, and not give up, even when it is hard.

During the last entire mile I ran just in front of her, constantly turning around and cheering her on and telling her to keep it up. I was not her favorite person in the world at that time I am sure. We finally were emerging from the neighborhood which meant we only had about 1k left, I was telling her to turn it on, that we were almost done. She wasn't listening to me, or she just thought she didn't have anything left, when a face I have seen at many of the races around here started to catch up with us. This is an older gentleman and one of the premier runners in the Run and See Georgia Grand Prix Series. He started cheering her on as well and telling her to keep going and to stay strong. She then kicked it in and we started moving at a great pace.

He told me afterwards that he figured she wouldn't listen to me but she might listen to him. :)

The three mile marker came and Will Chamberlin from Classic Race Services was reading off the time. According to my watch our third mile was 8:24. Once we passed that point she stopped. I said, "what are you doing?" She said "we are done" and I said, "no we have to finish at the finish line up around the corner." She then let out a groan but started to run again.

We came around the corner and I saw the clock. The clock was reading 24:40 and I had a secret (to her - but not my Twitter Friends) goal of sub 25:00. I once again cheered her on and said we have to beat 25:00 minutes!

We ran it in hard and crossed the finish line at 24:50 with 10 seconds to spare, an 8:00 mile pace exactly. They gave me the #32 finisher card and I promptly handed it to the one that finished in front of me :) and I took the #33 finisher card. We filled out our cards and turned them in. It looked promising that both of us placed in our age groups. You can see us coming in hard in the picture to the left. The full splits can be seen on my running log.

The award time came and Payton had placed first in her age group and I placed second in my age group. The net result of the evening was three runners and three awards - talk about a fun, exciting family evening.

The official race results are not yet posted, as well as Don McClellan's Photos (which I am told I will have a big part in this year), but I will be posting a link to them as soon as they are available. If you want to know when these are added just leave a comment and check the box to be notified when additional comments are posted.

**edit 6-16 to add the following

Don McClellan's Photoshow - check this out - I am now a star!

**edit 6-24 to add the following

Official Results - long time coming - but finally up!

The bigger images of the above embedded pictures as well as the rest of our personal pictures can be found on Flickr here >> Flickr Stream

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

A cool thing to note - my recent post about the S.W.A.T. Trot with links to last years injury is on the first page of Google when you google the race name. My wife was talking to someone when all the runners went by and she mentioned that I made it further than I did last year and told them about the injury last year. A girl standing there said "hey, I read about that today" It turns out she was trying to find out the start time and came across my blog - I am now almost a celebrity..... OK, maybe not :)

Ankle - please straighten up!

2009-06-12T06:39:00.002-04:00

This week started off to be a week that I was looking forward to. This Saturday was going to be the return of the race that last year put me out of running commission for 8 months. You can see my post just last week for more information and the history of this race for me.

Monday and Tuesday this week were some nice easy runs, and I decided to follow on Wednesday with an 8 miler. Since I will be running the 5k race on Saturday night it gives no time for a long run. If I was running the 5k race in the morning I would probably head back out later in the evening for a long run, but since it is in the evening I want to make sure I am fresh.

My 8 mile run was excellent, I really couldn't ask for a much better run. Each mile was progressively faster than the previous mile and I was just feeling the groove. You can see the details of this run on my training log.

It wasn't till the last 3 tenths of a mile that this run turned horribly wrong. I came down on my right foot and my ankle kinda gave way and started to hurt. The only thing I can think is that I put off replacing my old shoes for way too long and my ankles had started to bother me. I have my new shoes now, and my ankles have been feeling better, but I am afraid they are still a little weak and will take a little time to fully recover.

By the time I got to the office on Wednesday my right ankle was hurting pretty bad. I do have a desk job so I was able to rest it most of the day and by the time I got home it was feeling a lot better. I decided to go ahead and forego the runs I had in the plans for Thursday and Friday to let the ankle strenthen up before my race on Saturday. It is feeling pretty good now.

Do you ever have problems with your ankles? What do you do when you have this type of pain with your ankle? Looking forward to hearing from all my seasoned runners, and even those that are just starting out. Should I wrap it for the race tomorrow night, and if so, how should I do so?

Till next time....

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

Marathon Season Training Tips

2009-06-10T20:24:00.004-04:00

.....from Coach Chris Carmichael

Chris Carmichael is the founder, CEO and president of Carmichael Training Systems, a team of coaches for endurance athletes and personal coach to seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong.

Millions of Americans run daily, and whether it’s a few laps to get in shape or training for a marathon, each run starts with a single step. Having a basic routine to follow will help you reach your goals and stay healthy. Here are Chris Carmichael’s top 10 tips to help you go the distance:

Run with a sports drink: To get the most out of your training you need fluid, carbohydrate, and sodium during your workouts. Fortunately, you can get all of these from a sports drink; just make sure it’s one that’s rich in carbs, not just electrolytes.
Check your shoes: Running shoes take a beating and once they’re worn out they don’t provide the support needed by your feet, ankles and knees. To help prevent injuries, replace your shoes every four months or 400 miles, whichever comes first. It’s also important to take care of your feet. To prevent blisters and treat dry and cracked skin, apply an anti-chafing ointment like Aquaphor Healing Ointment to your feet before you run and after you get out of the shower.
Focus on flexibility: Runners benefit from flexible muscles in the legs, hips, and torso, but when you stretch is important. Some light stretching as part of your warm-up is a good way to loosen up for your workout, but stretching again after your workout is more effective for developing greater flexibility.
Food is fuel: When you’re exercising to gain fitness you absolutely have to eat. If you’re working out but not consuming enough calories to support your activity level, you’ll get tired but you won’t get faster or more fit. As a runner training for a marathon, shoot for 5 moderate-sized meals a day, with 50-60% of your calories coming from carbohydrates, 20-25% protein, and 15-30% fat.
Get the most out of your time: To improve performance and burn more calories, interval workouts are more effective than running at a constant pace. Start running at your normal pace, then pick up the pace and go faster for a one-, two-, or three-minute segment before returning to a slower pace to recover for a few minutes. Repeat this 3-5 times during your run and watch your fitness take off.
Get ready for hills: Great fitness goes a long way to carrying you up and over hills, but some hill-specific training is a good idea too. Once a week, find a short, steep hill and sprint straight up the hill for 15 seconds, driving with your arms and raising your knees to get up the steep grade. Walk or jog for one minute, and repeat four more times. Walk or jog for five minutes and repeat the set.
Enter local road races: Big city marathons put you on the road with a huge crowd of people, and that’s a very different environment than you’re used to if you mostly train alone or in a small group. Enter a local race, a 5K or a 10K early on in training, or a half-marathon about three months out from your goal event, in order to get comfortable running in a crowd.
Boost your sustainable pace: The stronger your aerobic system and greater fitness, the faster you can go for the same amount of effort. But to gain that fitness and make it easier to run at your current cruising pace, you need to get out of your comfortable cruising pace and bring it up to as fast as you can maintain during a workout called a Tempo. Beginners may run 10-minute Tempos, intermediate runners 20 minutes, and advanced runners 40 minutes or more.
Don’t get rubbed the wrong way: Anyone who says running is not a contact sport has never had their inner thighs rubbed raw during a marathon or long training run. My advice is to protect the skin with Aquaphor Healing Ointment. Use it before you run on your inner thighs, underarms, nipples, under sports bra straps and under the waistband of your shorts.
Practice for race-day eating and drinking: Race preparation is about more than just fitness. During a marathon you’ll be grabbing cups of water or sports drink from tables or volunteers. Set up a table with cups and practice grabbing one or two without stopping. To drink from a cup on the run without spilling most of it down your shirt, pinch the top to create a spout. Also, be sure to experiment with different foods on your training runs so you know ahead of time what works for you and what upsets your stomach.

I am thankful to have personally tried the Aquaphor Healing Ointment following a couple of my long runs.... you know the kind of long runs that leave you a little sore.... and not with muscle soreness? I tried some of this ointment a little apprehensively, but it soothed the pain, the same type of pain that lingered with me for days in some cases following other long runs. I have yet to try using it before a long run because I always seem to forget until the pain is already there, but will on one of my next long runs.

What are some of your recommendations? That is one thing I really like about fellow runners, they are always willing to share what has worked for them.

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

30+ Miles - First time ever

2009-06-09T06:22:00.000-04:00

This past week marks the first 30 mile week I have ever put in (30.2 to be exact). The closest I came before was a 28 mile week back in April of 2008, just following my first half marathon. It was shortly after that when I was injured and my mileage came to a screeching halt. Even during the month leading up to my first half marathon I didn't come close to a 30 mile week.

Being that this is the first week of the month, this also puts me easily on track to hit my first 100 mile month, the closest before being just this past month at 91.8 miles, and April 2008 with 96.1 miles.

I am on the verge of starting my training for my first marathon, and also my second half marathon. I know I could get out and do a half marathon now if I had to, or at least after a couple more weeks of building mileage, so I am not concerned with that. My current longest long run is 10 miles, which I will probably not increase until next week.

This week will probably not be a 30+ week as I will be forgoing my long run this Saturday to run the S.W.A.T. Trot 5k with my daughter. This is the race that I was tripped in last year and subsequently broke my collar bone.

My running log from Running Ahead can always be found on the right sidebar, but following are some links to weekly and monthly mileage since I began running. I began running in early 2007, but didn't start logging my mileage until my first race in July. The drop to zero in 2008 was due to the broken collar bone.

Current Running Log

2009 weekly distance

2009 monthly distance

2008 weekly distance

2008 monthly distance

2007 weekly distance

2007 monthly distance

Past 3 years (rolling)

Personal Records

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

Extremely good run with my daughter.... and new shoes!

2009-06-04T20:06:00.003-04:00

I just got back from an extremely good run.... with my daughter.

I am not sure where to start. My daughter has been running off and on for a while, but finally got serious just about a month ago as she was leading up to Cross Country training starting. She is going to be a Freshman and will be running Cross Country her first year. When she first got serious about running she almost cried when we went 2 miles because she had never been that far before.

When she ran with me before she was always right around the 9:30 mark for the mile, and that is about what she started with at the two mile distance as well. We have since built to 4 mile runs and she is doing those pretty easily with the team and her coaches now, although in my opinion she is not running them as fast as she should or could :)

Her fastest two mile run (without me trying to kill her) was a couple weeks ago when she ran one of the miles in 8:19. I was so very proud of her to say the least. Her best two mile run was at a 8:33 pace. Both of those runs she was completely spent at the end.

Well, today brings a new smile to my face. She did not run with her team today so when I got home we went for a two mile run. It was just starting to sprinkle a bit when we walked out the door, but we hit the road anyway. We took off at an easy but brisk pace. She was doing really good, but she did comment it was faster than she runs with the rest of the team. By the time we hit the first mile it was raining pretty good on us, but we still hit that first mile in 8:31. We made the turn and kept on moving. The rain kept up and we sped up. I tried to speed up a little, but keep it where I could see she was managing it well. Well, the punch line to this story is....... she finished that second mile in 7:45!!!!! That is right, 7:45!!! I told her we would stop at two miles no questions asked so that is what we did. She was acting as if she could keep going, it was easy to tell she had been putting the miles in. I then talked her in to running easy to get home since it was another .4 miles and it still was raining quite good. The last .4 slowed the pace for the overall run, but the overall pace still turned out to be 8:15! I am so very proud of her. Here is the log from this run >> link

Now..... on to the shoes

I just got my new shoes in today. A big thank you goes out to one of my new Twitter Buddies @RaceSpeed who runs the online store www.telarun.com and who helped me by answering many questions about shoes and suggested I buy the shoes I ultimatly bought from him.

I wanted to replace my shoes with the same New Balance MR768ST shoes since I really liked them and they were exactly what I needed. I ended up finding out that they were discontinued and no matter where I looked I could not find my size in the shoe I currently ran in. The shoes were replaced by the New Balance MR769SB, but I was nervous that they would be enough different and would cause me problems.

The shoes I bought were in fact the New Balance MR769SB, and they came in the mail today. This same run became my trial run with my new shoes. If all is based on the first run, I am sold! I forgot what it was like to have the feet and legs feel so good. I guess that is because I had way too many miles on my old shoes (don't ask how many)

Bottom line, the day started out horrible, but it ended on running cloud 9!

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

It's National Running Day

2009-06-03T04:30:00.000-04:00

I am running, are you?

www.runningday.org

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

It's Official - I have registered for my FIRST MARATHON!

2009-05-31T16:24:00.003-04:00

It has been a long time coming with multiple injuries to sideline me, but it is now finally official - I have chosen, and registered for my first marathon!

The Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon on November 14^th2009, will be my first official marathon. I am very excited as this has been a very long time coming. I ran my first Half Marathon back in February of 2008 and was planning my first Marathon later that year. That was before my trip-up and broken collarbone that took me out of the running scene for 8 months.

I also registered for my next half marathon in the process. The ING Marathon is starting a new Half Marathon series called 13.1 Marathon and the first time it will be in Atlanta is October 4^th2009.

I will be looking into training schedules soon, but I know I am well on my way to being ready. I just need to make sure I stay focused and injury free.

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

S.W.A.T. Trot - Take 2

2009-05-28T21:45:00.004-04:00

It is coming up on the one year anniversary of the S.W.A.T. Trot. This was the race last year that I was tripped in and fell and broke my collar bone. You can read the whole story here, and throughout the month of June last year or I can tell you the quick story here.

Start Quick Story

I was tripped coming out of the gate, landed on my head and shoulder, broke my collar bone in two places, had a pin put in to help it heal, was kept from running for 8 months. I just started running again at the first of the year.

It was a very long 8 months of not being able to run, not to mention all the other things that I had to put off, or not do at all in normal life during that time.

End Quick Story

Well, I have just filled out the paperwork and am signing up for it again this year. This year my daughter, Payton, will be running the 5k with me instead of just the 1k like she did last year, and my son, Brady, will be running the 1k with me.

I am excited but also kinda apprehensive about this race. I am not worried about being tripped again, but I am sure I will run this race differently than I was trying to run it last year. Last year I was trying to set a PR so I was running up with all the faster people at the start. That is probably what put me in the wrong place at the wrong time, causing the accident.

The race will be run on Saturday, June 13th at 8:00 PM. It is one of very few evening races that I have been a part of. This will be my daughters first 5k race. She has just started to practice with her Cross Country team this week and we have put the 5k distance in a couple times together.

Wish us a fun and injury free race!!

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

Side Note:

The race is put on by Greater Gwinnett Road Runners - www.ggrr.org I have wanted to run with them, but have never been able to get in touch with anybody affiliated with their group. They never update their website, and the e-mail address bounces. I really wish I could get in touch with someone to see if the group is actually active. I may even be willing to offer my services to keep their website up to date!

A New Personal Best

2009-05-25T10:52:00.004-04:00

Today sets a new personal best for me. It is not a PR, but it is really close. It was not a race, but I ran it almost like a race. Today's run was one of the best I have ever had and came very close to being a PR, even though it wasn't a race.

Since today is a holiday and I am at home I decided to not get up at 4:40 to go running, but rather sleep in a little bit..... OK, a lot. I rolled out of bed just before 9:00 and decided to head out for a run. My running partner is out of town so I could run whatever I wanted to.

I actually set out for a 4 miler, but about 1/2 mile into it I decided I would change that up and see if I could finally break into the 7's. I have been flirting with the 7's for about a month now and have gotten as close as 8:02, but have not been able to break through........ until today!

The first mile didn't get me there (8:08), but it put me at the pace that I needed to be at that would get me there in the second mile.... all I needed to do was keep it up. The second mile felt great, but I really could feel that I was pushing the limit a bit. As I rounded the corner coming up on the last 2 tenths of the second mile I looked down at my watch and knew that I would accomplish what I set out to do. The second mile did in fact turn out to be my first 7:xx mile in over a year.

Just over a year ago I was running most of my races in the 7's, including my 10k's, but then as many of you know that all came to an abrupt end when I was tripped in a race and fell and broke my collar bone. After 8 months of not running, I was nowhere near the 7's. I have now officially made it back to the 7's and I am happy :)

My second mile turned out to be a 7:36, so I didn't just get into the 7's I blew past the top of the 7's and settled just above the mid 7's. As if the second mile was not good enough, I was in a good groove and continued to run what felt good. My third mile was even better than number 2, clocking in at a 7:19!

I finished off the run with a .1 so I could call it a 5k, plus I wanted to see how close I could come to my Racing PR of 23:23 for a 5k. I came much closer than I would have guessed. This is the fastest 5k training run I have ever run, with a 23:49 and a 7:40 pace..... and I came in just 26 seconds above my 5k race PR, a race PR set over a year ago before my injury.

If you cannot tell from the way this is written - I am very very happy! :)

Today's Run Logged

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Need..... New..... Shoes.....

2009-05-23T10:14:00.004-04:00

I am way beyond needing new shoes. I am going to save myself the ridicule by not telling you all how many miles I have on my current shoes but let's suffice it to say that I am way beyond the suggested mileage..... way beyond! There are ways for you to find out online but I refuse to point it out.

I have known that I have needed to replace these shoes for some time, but was putting it off while I took care of some other things financially. I was given a gift card for Fleet Feet, where I bought my first two pair, that would have purchased my next pair but I chose instead to use that gift card to take my daughter to buy her first pair of real running shoes.

I had found a place online that I could buy the shoes I currently run in for just $70, but was still putting it off till I could come up with the extra money. (yes, I am aware, putting it off could cost me more in the long run) I really like the shoes I am currently running in. They are the New Balance MR768ST's.

It has finally started to become critical. I am starting to have strange issues very similar to the last time I needed to replace my shoes. I am having issues with my ankles, my hips, and other very strange aches and pains.

I finally decided it was time and I was going to make the purchase. I went back to the site that had my shoes and would you guess..... they no longer had my size and it looked like they were being phased out. I did all kinds of searches and came up empty everywhere I looked. Many websites had the shoes but nobody had my specific size and width. I was getting discouraged.... I really didn't want to switch shoes.... yet.

This morning I was happy, but somewhat cautiously optimistic when I went back to all the sites I went to Thursday and checked again..... only to find one website said "hurry, only 1 left" when I entered my size and width. I was also pleased to see that it was the store that had it cheaper than most other stores..... and they were having free shipping this weekend. I checked, and double checked to make sure I entered everything correctly and made the purchase. The final price being only $63 with tax. I will be happy when they arrive.

The store that came through for me? Joes New Balance Outlet

What did I learn? Don't put off buying shoes this long next time.

I did a little more research and found that New Balance has replaced my shoes with a new shoe so next time I will probably have to change shoes.... but I am happy that now is not the time.

***UPDATE 5-26-09****

I just received an update - they just cancelled my order saying the shoes were not available. I was worried about this - now I guess my worries came true. Now I don't know what shoes I will buy. I am not comfortable just buying a different pair because I don't know what other pair will actually give me the same support I need. It seems the only option I have will be to go to the store and get fitted again. I just didn't want to do that because I didn't want to pay $100 for my next pair of shoes..... really can't afford that right now!

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

Probably shouldn't have done that

2009-05-21T06:14:00.003-04:00

Tuesday my running buddy and I set out to run 3 miles. We decided that we would run the first easy and then kick it in for the next two miles. We wanted to try to stay between 8:00 - 8:30 for the second two miles. We ended up doing what we wanted with a little bit of trouble. The second mile was 8:05 and the third was almost 8:30, not really what we had in mind, but accomplishing what we set out to do.

This is where the interesting, and maybe not so bright part of my day starts to take fold.

I didn't get to run with my daughter on Monday night since I had to work late. Since she is training for Cross Country I felt it was really important for her to get her mileage in so we planned she would do her 2 miler on Tuesday instead.

I was reminded during the day that Tuesday night my wife and all the kids would be gone till almost 8:30. Now, this meant two different things...... I had the night to myself, and my daughter and I wouldn't be able to do that 2 miler till 8:30.

I decided I would seize the opportunity, you see Fleet Feet in Lawrenceville started a Tuesday night Group run back in March and I have wanted to join them ever since they started. I have never been able to because of other commitments, however tonight was different.

I struggled back and forth with whether or not I should run since I had already run that morning, and because I was going to need to run that night, but the thought of running with the group got the best of me and I made my way to Lawrenceville.

Since it was my first time I really didn't know what to expect, but I knew it would be somewhere between 3-5 miles..... just not sure what pace. We set out with 4 miles as the goal. I was very clear with my neighbor who I was running with that if they decided to do 7:30 miles I would see them at the end. The run felt really good at first, but as it continued the 8:20 pace was starting to get to me. I was, however, able to keep it up and finish strong. We finished the 4.3 miles with a steady pace of 8:20ish. It was a lot of fun to run with the group, and I will do it again..... hopefully soon.

I made it home and decided I better eat some dinner quick since it wouldn't be long till my daughter was home. I ate a quick Turkey sandwich and some cottage cheese, and then waited till 8:30. We headed out the door for our 2 mile run which went really good. She is getting better each and every time we go out. It was a tough run for me..... but I am still trying to figure out why :)

All being said I ran three times, for a total of 9.4 miles at an average of just under an 8:40 pace. I felt really good, but don't think I will be doing that again anytime soon. Probably shouldn't have done that!

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

Two Runs Today

2009-05-16T16:51:00.002-04:00

Being that it is Saturday, all I really wanted to do was sleep in a little bit, but I knew that it was supposed to rain most of the day and I really needed to get a long run in.

I woke up early (for a Saturday) and hit the road running. I wanted to hit the road by 8:00, but still managed to hit the road by 8:30 and was happy because according to the weather it looked like I was still going to beat the rain.

I went out easy and tried to keep an easy pace. I didn't want the same thing to happen to me as did the last time I went out for a long run. I know the conditions were all quite different, but once you cut a long run short you have a little doubt running in the back of your head.

The run went really good, I ended up putting in 9 miles, and felt good throughout. I even added a little side-track by running into a neighborhood that I had never been into before. I had always wondered what was down this road so I gave it a shot. As soon as I entered this neighborhood the road went straight down. I questioned my sanity, but continued down the hill knowing I would have to run back up it to get out.

I didn't run fast, but I was pleased with my pace for a long run at an average of 9:16 a mile.

After getting home I looked at the lawn and decided I needed to get it mowed before the weekend of rain hit the door. So, with very little rest I headed out the door to mow the lawn. I was happy to get it done, but was completely beat.

To add insult to injury, you will remember from my last post that my daughter Payton is training to run Cross Country her Freshman year in High School. Today she was scheduled for 3 or 4 miles, and it is supposed to rain all day once the rain hits. That being the case I knew I didn't have time to rest and we needed to get out and put her miles in. This was not going to go over really well after what I did to her yesterday with her 2 mile run. Yesterday my MyTach was not working right so I didn't realize we were running faster than we had been. She had a long day at school, it was hot, and I pushed her at a pace 30 sec/mile faster than we had been going in previous runs.

So, we headed out for 3 miles. She had never gone further than 2 miles so this was another new distance for her. I am very proud, she did a great job, and finished strong. She is now starting to notice that it is starting to get easier as she puts the miles in.

And then the rain came.......

The day has worked out really nice, I got my lawn mowed, and I got a total of 12 miles in. Sure it took me two runs to get the 12 miles in, but I will take them even so.

Looking forward to another week of training with my daughter.

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

Training for Cross Country

2009-05-13T20:08:00.003-04:00

I am not the one training for Cross Country, but someone I care a lot about is..... and it really makes me happy and proud. Payton, my soon to be high-schooler, daughter has decided she wants to run Cross Country in high school.

Payton will be a freshman this coming school year at Brookwood High School, and they are already starting to train for Cross Country.... before school is even out this year. I don't remember when we started training when I ran Cross Country back in "the day" but it seems like it is earlier now. I am not opposed to it, I am actually very happy that they do since it will make sure they are well prepared when it comes race time.

They officially don't start summer conditioning till school is out, but they have been given a schedule to start running till that time comes. I wanted to start running with her last week but then I started having trouble with my ankle and had to put it off for a couple days to get back on my (running) feet.

Monday morning was the first time I got out and tried out my ankle. It was a normal running day but I was not ready to head out for very far, and wasn't even sure I wanted to run at all with the way my ankle was feeling. I went to the gym and did some lifting. Once I finished I looked over at the treadmill and decided to give it a go. My ankle was a bit stiff still but the run felt good. I knew at that time that I would be able to start training with Payton.

I am going to try to keep my normal running schedule since I need the extra miles and speed, but also because I have a running partner in the morning to run with. That being the case it looks like I will be running every day this week and next, some in the morning, some in the evening, and some both in the morning and evening. I plan on doing her three miles on Saturday at the end of my long run so I will probably be much more forgiving that day.

Monday evening when I got home from work we set out for two miles. We took it easy because the only time previous that we had gotten close to two miles before she gave up on me at about 1.8 miles. I knew I needed to keep her at it till two miles, and if that meant slow, that would be fine. There would be plenty of time to speed up later.

The run started out good and we were nearing the one mile mark. She started to complain that she was hurting. We had run the first mile in just over 9 minutes so I knew we weren't going too fast. I asked her what was hurting and she told me it was her side. Me being the kind and compassionate type that I am told her she was going to have to run through it and in a week or two they would be a distant memory :)

The run went on, every couple minutes a complaint.... I can't go on, I hurt too bad, I can't do it, how much further, etc, etc. But like I mentioned above, I am kind and compassionate and I said..... yes you can do it, and no you won't die, and.... I will tell you when we get to 2 miles, not before.

We got to the two mile mark, and you guessed it... she didn't die, and yes she ran the whole way. I am very proud of her, and I know she will do great. I told her today that she will be running down in the 7 minute miles before the season is over. Time: 18:50

We went out again today for another two miler. She did better, and she did say it was easier. She only tried to quit on me one time. I took her a different way so she wouldn't know where the end was again today. I will not be able to do that too many more times before I run out of routes. :) Time: 18:47

Friday we are scheduled for two miles and then Saturday 3-4 miles. I am thinking it will just be 3 this Saturday..... because I am kind and compassionate. :)

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

A bum ankle

2009-05-11T06:10:00.003-04:00

Friday I went out for a run and my ankle gave out on me just 1/2 mile in. I have not run since and my ankle has been hurting. Not sure what caused this, but it has happened before about 18 months ago. Usually I just have to wait until it snaps/cracks and then it is on the mend. That happened about 3:00 this morning on one of my trips out of bed - yes, I am getting older :)

I wasn't going to run this morning so I went to the gym to do some lifting instead. I decided to give my ankle a shot on the treadmill. I was just going to walk but it felt good so I kicked it up to a run. It felt good and didn't have any pain.

I will continue to watch it and be careful though, I am not sure I am quite out of the woods yet.... it was just one mile :)

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

Saratoga 5k Fun Run - The Race

2009-05-02T12:23:00.003-04:00

The third annual Saratoga 5k Fun Run is now a memory.... a good one.

I didn't think for a moment that it would be anything but a good memory, but as I have proven in the past, you never can tell.

The race, as the two years previous was low key and a small field. I really like this part of the race, but I can see how it can be a bit discouraging for the race coordinator. I think today's race was about 25 runners which is very close to what the first year was, but not as good as last years turnout of over 50. Fifty is still a good number for a small race, I would have liked to see close to 50 again today.

I encouraged a friend of mine to run it as well and I was happy to hear just a few days ago that he was going to run it. The cool part was he really had a shot at winning the race, but the unfortunate part was so did the guy that beat him. :( He will be coming back last year to finish what he started today.

The starting was just like in years previous, kinda informal, and again with the Chick-fil-a cow. It didn't take long and we were off. I started off fast, but not too fast. I was running a good pace to start a 5k race... especially knowing what hills I had ahead of me. The first 1/2 mile was everyone falling into place and setting up their race. I watched ahead as the two leaders ran side by side (one being my friend) and then the two more in front of me just a little bit. The one guy that started pulling away a little bit is one of the better runners that has come out to this race before. Last year I beat him, but I was sure that this year that was not going to happen. The other guy was running just a little bit in front of me and I intentionally used him to pace myself and keep myself from starting the race too fast. As we started up the first hill he started to slow down a bit so I went ahead and passed him making the statement..... if only we knew this was the only hill. :) From this point in the race I ran alone.

The hills in this race are an absolute killer, anybody that disputes that needs to get their head examined. This being the third year I have run it I have yet to hear anybody say "that wasn't too bad"

I continued to run feeling each hill worse than the one before. My legs were feeling good but my breathing was an entirely different thing. As I neared the circle before the turn-around I saw my friend..... but not till after I saw the other guy. I felt bad for my friend as I knew that it wasn't looking good and the other guy was pulling away.

The second mile of this race is the absolute worst. It has the worst hills, but it also sets you up for a nice third mile. The third mile has it's share of hills, but the last 3/4 mile is a nice reprieve following the lung and leg blasting of the first couple miles.

I was heading down that last 3/4 mile and I was moving pretty good, and I was very happy. I knew I was going to be close to my goal time of 25:00, but was also quite suspicious that I would not quite make it. As I rounded the corner to finish off the race I still had all kinds of energy that is only a result of the miles that I put in. I finished really strong with an official time of 25:22. Not at my goal, but close enough that I have a smile on my face.

I stood around for a few minutes talking and when I finally started to head for a banana I felt what the hills had done to my calves. Nothing a little walking wouldn't help.

My mile splits:

8:07 - 8:37 - 8:04 - see more at my running log

Now - a little history

This race was my first race 2 years ago, and that was the first running of this race. I came in last that first year in 36:37, being beat out by a guy running with a hernia. My weight on that day was 219 (down from 258 at the beginning of the year)

Last year I had a few races under my belt and had just recently ran my first half marathon. I came in second overall with a time of 23:23. My weight on that day was 166.

Just one short month after that race I was running the SWAT Trot and trying for a PR when I was tripped and fell to break my collar bone. I have been off for 8 of the last 11 months.

Today was only my second race back following my return from the injury. My first race back was a much flatter course and I finished in 26:26. Today, I finished in 25:22 and 4th overall. My weight today is 178...... and dropping!

You can read more about my history with this race at these links:

First mention

Last Years Race Report

Links to the official results and pictures:

Results

Pictures

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

My first 5k race take three

2009-04-26T15:47:00.003-04:00

It is that time of year again, time for the third annual Saratoga 5k Fun Run. If you are a somewhat recent newcomer to my blog you are not aware of what this race means to me.

The Saratoga 5k Fun Run made it's inaugural run two years ago in May of 2007, just one short month after I started running. You can catch up a bit more with my post about it last year, but the short of it is that I ran the 5k with a time of 36:37, coming in dead last in the race.

Last year was a different story all together. To get the full understanding you MUST READ my race report from last year. All I can say is that you have not read a come-back story like this.....

Well, the third annual Saratoga 5k Fun Run is this Saturday May 2nd, and I am pumped and ready to go. I know I won't do as well as last year, because that is what taking 8 months off will do to you. Injuries are no fun, especially of the broken bone type! I have a goal to finish in under 25 minutes, but we will see how that goes since this is such a tough hilly course.

Wish me luck!

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

A long run.... cut short

2009-04-25T13:41:00.003-04:00

I am not sure what went wrong with today's long run. I ended up bailing for the most part on my run after about 4.5 miles. I had no energy left and I felt like I might overheat. Since I was running alone I couldn't risk collapsing.

Like I said, I am not sure what went wrong. I ate a good breakfast a couple hours before running and drank lots and lots of water all morning leading up to my run since I knew it was hot and the sun was really hot. I drank a small glass of gatorade before walking out the door to run as well. I carried a small gatorade and a water bottle with me.

I had a good bit of hills in my first 4 miles, but most of which I do when I run my long run. I didn't drink anything till I was about 4 miles in but was drenched in sweat. I usually don't carry a drink in the morning when running up to 5 miles so I really didn't think I needed it. Once I started feeling bad I started to drink a bit of water and then drank the whole gatorade (small sport size) but I think it must have been too little too late.

I walked a good bit in the next three miles, but tried to get in a little bit of running as well. I did decide I would run the last mile home if I could and was able to and it didn't feel too bad. I was absolutely exhausted when I finished though.

The only thing I can think is that because of the heat and the hot sun I should have continued to hydrate early on in the run, instead I waited too long and I couldn't recover fast enough.

Mile 1 - 9:25

Mile 2 - 9:25

Mile 3 - 9:16

Mile 4 - 9:31

Mile 5 - 10:17

Mile 6 - 11:44

Mile 7 - 12:40

Mile 8 - 9:06

As logged on my running log over at RunningAhead

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

Runner's World and Running Times Subscription Deals

2009-04-22T07:28:00.004-04:00

Expires May 4th!!

Barnes and Noble has one year magazine subscriptions to Runner's World and Running Times for for $7 and $5 respectively. They also have other one year magazine subscriptions from $1. Plus use code X8N4C7E or T9J9B3Y to get 10% off (once per account)

Runner's World - $7

Running Times - $5

Other magazines from $1

Thanks goes to www.dealsea.com

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