Many of my runs at this time of the year is done in a cemetary that is located only 3/10ths of a mile away from my house. It has several paved roads that I use to get in my mileage. Not only is it a nice tranquil setting but running there allows me to stay off the busy streets at this time of day when many people are heading home from work.
The cemetary has several large trees that produce some nice acorns and as a result they attract both the squirrels and the deer. I have been able to identify that there are at least 12 deer that are living in the woods around the cemetary. This includes at least one buck (possibly two), four doe and about seven fawn.
The size of these deer are considerably smaller than the ones that I have been used to seeing when living in the North. Even the largest of these would only be 100 pounds. The fawns are several months old but still only about 30 pounds. They easily can be hidden in the cemetary behind a small grave marker; they are that small.
Being regular in my running there each evening, combined with the attraction of this ample supply of nuts, the deer have become more and more familiar with me and are not as quick to run away. Within the last week, a mother and two fawn have started to stay close to my path and only look up as I pass by them with each loop of the course. Every night I run and every night this family is there. Probably because of the fact I do keep passing them several times during the same run, their confidence in feeling safe with me has increased. I have mixed emotions about this. While I personally am no threat to their safety, there definitely would be others in the community who would love to hunt these beautiful deer. Most likely several of them will be killed while straying away from the cemetary onto the busy roads that are close by.
Friday, October 24, 2008
October Miles
With the end of the year quickly approaching, the next month is important for making sure that I don't slack off with my running miles. The days are getting shorter and this increases the challenge. Last year I was preparing for my first Marathon race, and that forced me to run plenty of October miles (150.3 and my best month).
My miles for the first half of the month were as follows:
3rd - 3.56 miles
4th - 5.66 miles
6th - 3.84 miles
7th - 4.00 miles
8th - 3.68 miles
9th - 3.96 miles
13th - 4.61 miles
14th - 4.09 miles
This gave me 33.4 miles for the first half of the month and I know that I am going to have to make up some miles in order to get my 100 miles in for October. To do this I will need to increase the miles over the next 10 days to avoid running back to back long runs during the last week of the month.
My miles for the first half of the month were as follows:
3rd - 3.56 miles
4th - 5.66 miles
6th - 3.84 miles
7th - 4.00 miles
8th - 3.68 miles
9th - 3.96 miles
13th - 4.61 miles
14th - 4.09 miles
This gave me 33.4 miles for the first half of the month and I know that I am going to have to make up some miles in order to get my 100 miles in for October. To do this I will need to increase the miles over the next 10 days to avoid running back to back long runs during the last week of the month.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Virginia Ten Miler Race
I am only running one race this year. It is the race that first got me interested in running, the Virginia Ten Miler Race. This 35 year race is always held on a Saturday late in September.
At one time this was a well heralded race, drawing such top notch runners as Bill Rodgers, Frank Shorter, Jeff Galloway, and Catherine Ndereba. However, in recent years the number of participants has dropped off and it has become more of a fun race for local runners. Two years ago, new leadership took over the race organization, with the goal of returning the event to world class status.
One of the things that has been done is the hosting of a spaghetti dinner at packet pick up on Friday night. They have invited in a special guest speaker each of the last two years, to boost interest and try to increase the number of runners.
This year's guest was Joan Benoit Samuelson, the Marathon Gold Medal winner of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. She is of particular interest to me, since we both grew up in the state of Maine. I had a nice conversation with her about running in Maine and the challenges that a northern climate brings to runners. She ran in the race the next day and won the women's division, which was nice.
There also is a 4 mile race (started in 1999) that goes on at the same time. A lot of runners go for that distance rather than the longer number of miles. There also is a children's mile race that is run the same morning. With all of the participants totalled, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of people involved and the effort of the organizing committee is evident. This year there were 733 Ten Miler entrants, up from the 509 who ran 4 years ago.
The last two years my time has slowed down despite an increase in the number of miles that I run in preparation. My goal was to stay close to my time of a year ago, which was 1:50:46.
The race course starts with a steady mile and a half decline, which when combined with the adrenalin rush brought about by the atmosphere, can put the unaware runner in a bad position for finishing the race. Experience has pointed out my limits and I know that I will run easier later on in the race if I take the beginning slow.
The course is known for the hills that are friendly when running down them but that become your enemy when you are tired and face climbing back up. The race is run on an "out and back" route, meaning that you run out for 5 miles and then return on the same five miles. This means that you get to "enjoy" the challenge as well as the benefit of each hill. The unique challenge here is that you face the friendly decline at the beginning of the race, when you are fresh and can easily get worn out in going out too fast. The hill sucks you down at a pace far faster than what you are used to. Pay back comes at the end of the race when you are already worn out and you have to climb this same section to cross the finish line.
I run purely for fun and try to keep pace with my goals. It was probably due to this that I finished within 34 seconds (19 seconds in actual running time) of what I had run a year ago. This certainly was acceptable and made for a fun day.
At the end of the race I knew that I should have run faster than this pace. I felt that I had not managed my pace quite as well in the middle miles as I should have. A discouraged runner had appeared along the route and I stopped to encourage them. The timing of this was not the best for my race plan. With that in mind, I ran another 10 miles the day after the race. This post-race run was 5:14 faster than during the Ten Miler, despite my fatigue. However, this second run was very encouraging and I am glad that I did it.
At one time this was a well heralded race, drawing such top notch runners as Bill Rodgers, Frank Shorter, Jeff Galloway, and Catherine Ndereba. However, in recent years the number of participants has dropped off and it has become more of a fun race for local runners. Two years ago, new leadership took over the race organization, with the goal of returning the event to world class status.
One of the things that has been done is the hosting of a spaghetti dinner at packet pick up on Friday night. They have invited in a special guest speaker each of the last two years, to boost interest and try to increase the number of runners.
This year's guest was Joan Benoit Samuelson, the Marathon Gold Medal winner of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. She is of particular interest to me, since we both grew up in the state of Maine. I had a nice conversation with her about running in Maine and the challenges that a northern climate brings to runners. She ran in the race the next day and won the women's division, which was nice.
There also is a 4 mile race (started in 1999) that goes on at the same time. A lot of runners go for that distance rather than the longer number of miles. There also is a children's mile race that is run the same morning. With all of the participants totalled, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of people involved and the effort of the organizing committee is evident. This year there were 733 Ten Miler entrants, up from the 509 who ran 4 years ago.
The last two years my time has slowed down despite an increase in the number of miles that I run in preparation. My goal was to stay close to my time of a year ago, which was 1:50:46.
The race course starts with a steady mile and a half decline, which when combined with the adrenalin rush brought about by the atmosphere, can put the unaware runner in a bad position for finishing the race. Experience has pointed out my limits and I know that I will run easier later on in the race if I take the beginning slow.
The course is known for the hills that are friendly when running down them but that become your enemy when you are tired and face climbing back up. The race is run on an "out and back" route, meaning that you run out for 5 miles and then return on the same five miles. This means that you get to "enjoy" the challenge as well as the benefit of each hill. The unique challenge here is that you face the friendly decline at the beginning of the race, when you are fresh and can easily get worn out in going out too fast. The hill sucks you down at a pace far faster than what you are used to. Pay back comes at the end of the race when you are already worn out and you have to climb this same section to cross the finish line.
I run purely for fun and try to keep pace with my goals. It was probably due to this that I finished within 34 seconds (19 seconds in actual running time) of what I had run a year ago. This certainly was acceptable and made for a fun day.
At the end of the race I knew that I should have run faster than this pace. I felt that I had not managed my pace quite as well in the middle miles as I should have. A discouraged runner had appeared along the route and I stopped to encourage them. The timing of this was not the best for my race plan. With that in mind, I ran another 10 miles the day after the race. This post-race run was 5:14 faster than during the Ten Miler, despite my fatigue. However, this second run was very encouraging and I am glad that I did it.
September miles
The key to running goals of high numbers is consistency. This actually goes for most long range goals of life. No one run is going to "make" or "break" the overall goal but each and every run becomes important as you put them together.
September is an important month for me in my running. This is the month of the local Virginia Ten Miler race. I always plan to run this race, this year for the sixth consecutive time. This means solid long runs in preparation, but then tapering of miles later in the month. Hopefully I am able to get in my 100 miles for the month.
Here is the number of miles run for each day of the month of September:
2nd 4.12
4th 4.04
6th 5.29
7th 1.17
9th 5.77
10th 5.45
11th 4.00
13th 2.61
14th 10.00
18th 2.39
19th 5.25
20th 4.01
21st 4.27
22nd 4.53
23rd 4.00
24th 4.21
26th 1.00
27th .35 Warm up for race
27th 10.11 Virginia Ten Miler race with a separate report
28th 10.00
29th 4.28
20th 3.19
This totals exactly 100.0 miles for the month of September. I am trying to make that number my minimal amount to run each month and now have a streak of 6 consecutive months in which I have reached that goal.
September is an important month for me in my running. This is the month of the local Virginia Ten Miler race. I always plan to run this race, this year for the sixth consecutive time. This means solid long runs in preparation, but then tapering of miles later in the month. Hopefully I am able to get in my 100 miles for the month.
Here is the number of miles run for each day of the month of September:
2nd 4.12
4th 4.04
6th 5.29
7th 1.17
9th 5.77
10th 5.45
11th 4.00
13th 2.61
14th 10.00
18th 2.39
19th 5.25
20th 4.01
21st 4.27
22nd 4.53
23rd 4.00
24th 4.21
26th 1.00
27th .35 Warm up for race
27th 10.11 Virginia Ten Miler race with a separate report
28th 10.00
29th 4.28
20th 3.19
This totals exactly 100.0 miles for the month of September. I am trying to make that number my minimal amount to run each month and now have a streak of 6 consecutive months in which I have reached that goal.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Miles For the Last Half of August
I am making up in reporting some miles that I put in during the last few weeks to bring this blog up to date. For reading benefit I will do them in individual entries.
The last part of August went like this: 10.0 miles (17th), 1.05 miles (18th), 3.68 miles (19th), 4.0 miles (20th), 3.52 miles (21st), 10.0 miles (24th), 1.11 miles (25th), 11.36 miles (30th), and 5.73 miles (31st).
This gave me 111.1 miles for the month of August and totals 838.6 miles for the year.
The last part of August went like this: 10.0 miles (17th), 1.05 miles (18th), 3.68 miles (19th), 4.0 miles (20th), 3.52 miles (21st), 10.0 miles (24th), 1.11 miles (25th), 11.36 miles (30th), and 5.73 miles (31st).
This gave me 111.1 miles for the month of August and totals 838.6 miles for the year.
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