TheRunningRev.Com

Running "Blahhhh!"

Some days just seem to go better than others, today was a bad running day! It was supposed to be an easy 13 miles, but it turned out to be anything but easy!

First up I made a last minute decision to run this morning, so my head wasn't in it. Secondly I only had a bowl of oatmeal for dinner last night and some toast for breakfast this morning, so my energy supply was low.

Added to that was the reality of a beautiful sunny morning with temperatures in the mid-60's, the humidity was a little high as it rained last night. Quite honestly it was a beautiful day but about 20 degrees warmer than I have been used to running in for the last few months. I carried 20 ounces of water with me in my hand held amphipod but that wasn't close to enough and I still lost 5 pounds over the 13 miles as I struggled to get one foot to move in front of the other.

I ran an 8:43 pace, my slowest run since the mid-summer heat!

I look forward to a better run tomorrow

Feeling Old

I've been feeling fairly good about my running recently but just the other day I had a conversation with a young adult in our church that left me feeling old and sluggish.

We were talking about running and he was asking me how I had been doing and about upcoming races that I was considering. It was all very pleasant conversation until he said that it was really great that someone my age was running as much as I do. MY AGE! MY AGE! MY AGE! What on earth did he mean? He meant that since I'm turning 40 this year I'm no longer considered a young adult. I know this, that's part of the reason that I stopped playing rugby, its a big part of the reason why I started running, but I don't need a 23 year old reminding me that I'm not getting any younger, even if its true.

When it comes to a midlife crisis some men buy a motorcycle, others a sports car, some end up in affairs and then there's me, I run. My midlife crisis has me wanting to run an ultra just to prove that I'm not that old and that my body can still do some great things!

As for the 23 year old, I think I could beat him over almost any distance!

Goals for 2008

At this point I'm still not certain what my 2008 goals are yet. I have that ultra-marathon hanging over my head just screaming at me to get on with it. On the other hand, I would love to run a 3:20 marathon and qualify for Boston. Could I do both? Maybe, but probably not.

At a minimum I want to run 2 marathons and at least one half or ten-miler this year. I'm sure there'll be a couple of 5k runs but most likely I'll run those with my daughter. Actually that's a great goal in itself. So here's to 2008.

Run To Finish Strong

It was cold and wet on Saturday morning as I headed out the door to run the Reindeer Run 5k. We had planned to run as a family but the foul weather persuaded everyone else to stay in bed as I headed out the door. I didn't win and I didn't lose, as usual I finished in about the top 20% of runners.

There weren't that many of us running the race and after the first 3k there was about a hundred yard gap between me and the person in front of me. There was one other person about ten yards behind me and then another gap of one hundred yards behind them.

With about half a mile to go I got a sense that there was going to be a race to the line between the two of us. I'd paced the race for this guy and felt like he was closing in on my shoulder just waiting to pounce. With about 300 yards to go I could hear his pace quicken and without turning round I kicked into another gear and kept my lead. With 75 yards to go it was an all out sprint for the finish, he never caught me.

As I crossed the finish line I turned round and we greeted one another. Neither of us had won the race but we both enjoyed the challenge of finishing strong and racing across the line.

The apostle Paul reminds us to strain, "toward what is ahead" and to "press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called [us] heavenward in Christ Jesus."

Run well and finish strong!

It was cold and wet on Saturday morning as I headed out the door to run the Reindeer Run 5k. We had planned to run as a family but the foul weather persuaded everyone else to stay in bed as I headed out the door. I didn't win and I didn't lose, as usual I finished in about the top 20% of runners.

There weren't that many of us running the race and after the first 3k there was about a hundred yard gap between me and the person in front of me. There was one other person about ten yards behind me and then another gap of one hundred yards behind them.

With about half a mile to go I got a sense that there was going to be a race to the line between the two of us. I'd paced the race for this guy and felt like he was closing in on my shoulder just waiting to pounce. With about 300 yards to go I could hear his pace quicken and without turning round I kicked into another gear and kept my lead. With 75 yards to go it was an all out sprint for the finish, he never caught me.

As I crossed the finish line I turned round and we greeted one another. Neither of us had won the race but we both enjoyed the challenge of finishing strong and racing across the line.

The apostle Paul reminds us to strain, "toward what is ahead" and to "press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called [us] heavenward in Christ Jesus."

Run well and finish strong!

A Tough Day to Run

Perhaps yesterday wasn't the best day to run a race. But run we did, the temperatures at the Army Ten Miler started in the low 70's before reaching 80+ degrees by the finish. On top of that we had oppressive humidity at around 95%. The sky was clear and the sun was hot, the last two miles being run along the freeway with absolutely no shelter from the beating sun. It was all a little crazy!

This was the story across the country yesterday as the Army Ten, the Chicago Marathon and the Twin Cities Marathon all experienced record setting temperatures for their races. In Chicago the canceled the race after four hours and pulled anyone not more than half way finished off the course, urging those beyond the half way point to walk it in. Chicago still experienced one fatality from the run.

Back in DC I was thankful to have started near the front, every second counted in heat that would finally top out at 92 degrees. Even though our race was shorter it proved to be about 400 yards to long for one gentleman who collapsed and died just before the finish. I ran by at least three or four other people who were laying down on carts with ice towels and oxygen masks on.

After consuming some 40 ounces of Gatorade on the course I then drank another 20 ounces of Gatorade and 20 more of water within about 15 minutes of finishing. 32 more ounces of water and 12 of coffee disappeared within the hour and I was able to avoid serious dehydration. If you do the math on that you will get a sense for how much fluid I had lost, that's just 4 ounces short of a gallon.

I ran well and I ran harder than I'd anticipated finishing in 1:16:42 a pace of 7:40.

I had planned on running 8:00 pace as I was supposed to run another 10 in the afternoon as part of my marathon training for Richmond but the competitor inside me couldn't let go and I pushed on. I didn't run again in the afternoon, it was just way to hot. I guess its back to back 20's the next two Sundays.

I forgot to add that for those running a slower pace they ran out of water on the second half of the course!

I'd love to tell you how our team did but there's been all kinds of problems with the website and all I know is my time, I don't even know where I placed yet. We all finished, that's the good news.

A Good Day to Run

Finally a really nice day to run. It's been a long hot summer, and that's made running very draining, not today! Today was a crisp 66 degrees and a good thing too as I headed out for 17 miles. It felt great, 8:23 pace.

Team World Vision

I've set up a new blog to use as a running journal as I train for the National Marathon and beyond. If you've sponsored me and want to see how my running is progressing you can find it at www.neilcraigan.com/running

Army Ten Miler

Ran the race yesterday, great race, lots of people. The good news, I beat both my goals... a finish time better than 90 minutes (83:40) and I finished ahead of my dear wife. It should give you an idication of how poor a runner I am when my goal is to beat the girls! Perhaps some day I won't be such a sissy and will be able to beat some of the boys.

Run a Marathon... YES!!!

OK, I decided on Friday night that I would run a marathon. But I won't run it for myself and my own glory, the motivation to do this is to raise money to support something that I believe in. To that end I have signed up with Team World Vision to raise funds to help children orphaned and  made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS.

According to United Nations estimates, every 14 seconds a child is orphaned due to HIV/AIDS. This means that over 6,000 children everyday join the over 14 million children worldwide who have been orphaned by this disease. Often THESE CHILDREN do not have enough to eat, no clean water to drink, no access to proper medical care, they cannot attend school and grow up in an environment of fear and neglect.

The marathon that I'll be running? The 2007 National Marathon in DC. The date, March 24.

I would love for you support in this endeavor. I'd love to see my readers help support me as I seek to do my small part to raise awareness and make a difference in the lives of these kids. My goal is to raise $2620 for Team World Vision, that's $100 per mile. I think that would be adequate motivation for me to train hard.

If you would be willing to make a tax deductible (USA only) donation to support me as I run for Team World Vision click on the hyperlink or click on the banner to go to my personal site with the Team.

Let's make a difference together.

Run a Marathon? Maybe

OK, I said I would never do it, but now I'm thinking about it. I even said that people who did it were crazy, I still do! Perhaps I could join the ranks of the crazy! I'm actually entertaining thoughts about running a marathon... Yes 26.2 miles of running, it's madness.

I'm not sure where these thougths are coming from, perhaps I'm delirious, maybe I need an hour or two with Dr Jeff to clear this madness from my system. Or then again, perhaps I should embrace these crazy thoughts and run one for a charity.

The only question would be which charity?

What about the AIDS Marathon Training Program? 

Or the Marathon Charity Partners and then I could take my pick of the several they offer.

The one thing that is perfectly clear to me is that if I was to run a marathon it would have to have a greater purpose me finishing the race. It would have to be for a cause that I believed in.

I'd love to run for a third world charity like Compassion or World Vision or Keep A Child Alive but I don't believe they currently have a charity running program.

Here's where you can help... if you know of a charity that raises funds through marathons I'd love to know as I'm pretty clueless as to where to begin.

I see no sense in running for me, the time spent doing it just doesn't seem worth it, but if I can run and make a difference at the same time, then that would make it worth my while.