Mike's Shape Up - Possibility and Triumph

White Rock 26.2 Race Report - When it's right, it's magic!

2011-12-13T13:05:00.000-06:00

I’ll apologize in advance for the long post, but I want to have something I can go back to and read in ten years to remember how wonderful this experience was and this post covers much more than just the White Rock 26.2 race report.

As you can tell by previous posts, or if you are a friend, you know I have been pretty focused on Boston Qualification (BQ) for some time now (almost 3 years). I started seriously training the spring of 2010 to run my first post-fatty marathon at White Rock last year. That was a great experience and in hindsight was a pretty good race considering my fitness level there (I ran a 3:23 and hit the wall hard around mile 22). That said, I failed to qualify there, at Big D, and at Chicago. To make matters worse, the BQ qualification times dropped 5 minutes last year making my new time 3:15. I was starting to believe it was just not in the cards. However, all my running friends and coach Chris kept encouraging me to keep training hard and keep trying and my race would eventually come to me.
After Chicago, I came back with a vengeance and really started focusing on a lot of tempo and LT training. Chris only had me doing a few Long runs going into WR. I think I only had one 20 miler and a couple 16-18s. What we agreed on is that my weakness was just hitting the wall and Chris changed the focus to LT training to push the wall out. I was nervous about this because conventional wisdom says that my aerobic capacity was weak and typically you attack that with big miles and long runs.

Chris really threw some doozy workouts my way. One day we did 2 wu, 1 @ 5k, 4 tempo, 1 @ 5k and 2 cd. Another was 2 wu, 3 tempo, rest, 3 tempo, rest, 3 tempo, 2 cd. Not only are these pretty long workouts, but it is a lot of quality and I really had to dig on some of them.

My friend Jayna had just run what I consider my perfect marathon. She went out with steady 7:25s and then hammered a big negative split with a bunch of sub 7s to get her first sub 3:10. When I asked her about it, she said that it was not even hard. The last miles were strong and she felt fresh to the finish. I just could not believe this was true or possible, but if it was, I WANTED IT REALLY BAD.

I ran the DRC ½ at a 1:29:37 in hot conditions about a month before White Rock as a fitness test. This gave me a VDOT score for the marathon that showed that a 3:15 was definitely doable and in good conditions a 3:10 was possible.

I also did a 19:07 5K PR 10 days before White Rock at the turkey trot in College Station and got a 1st AG further boosting my confidence.

Lining up with the "elites' in College Station.

Also, to set things up even better, Edgar Martinez (THE HONEY BADGER) asked me if I wanted a pacer for White Rock. I could not believe it. Edgar knows me well and knows I don’t have much pace control. At Chicago, I imploded at 22 because I had wild pacing all day. Mile 16 was a 6:21 and my first 3 miles were sub 7s. Edgar knew that I needed steady and conservative pacing the first 20 miles and then I would be set up to BQ. When my friend Carolyn found out Edgar was pacing me, she decided to join the fun and target a 3:15 as well. NOW THIS WAS GETTING SERIOUS!!! It was fun training hard with Carolyn the month before the race. I think we went form good acquaintances to brother/sister mode during this process. That’s what happens when you run hundreds of miles with someone and hold their hair back when they puke. (sorry Carolyn)

Anyhow, enough about training and backstory, let’s fast forward to White Rock Marathon 2011. The week of the race was good. I had no injuries and over the week progressively felt more and more fresh. On Saturday, we did a 4 mile shakeout and Nick and I did a ½ mile at mile 2 at 5K pace. He says this is the Aussi carb loading and it opens up receptors to accept carbs all day. We had pancakes after the run and then, taking Nick’s advice, I drank about 70% of my carbs that day. Endurox, Accelleraid, Gatoraid were the “table steaks” and I finished off the day with a bowl of rice and tomatoes and the roof of the gingerbread house.

I woke up on Sunday feeling great, ate a cup of oatmeal and brown sugar, took a really good poop and was ready to roll. My only concern was the weather. It was 41 and raining. The rain was shifting from drizzle to downpour and I was worried it would be a huge factor. I changed clothes about 5 times trying to decide what to wear. I settled on a short sleeve shirt with my windproof vest and put a throw away sweatshirt on top. Edgar, Carolyn and I left from my house and Carolyn’s dad took us to the start. Luckily, the rain stopped until after the start. The best thing about White Rock is that you can hang out inside before and after the race so you do not get too chilled.

Edgar, Me, Scott, and Carolyn at the start in our Little Black Dresses

We lined up in Coral A-2 pretty much right behind the elites. Scot Manis found us and ran the first 5 miles with us (he was doing a relay/full combo). I also saw a nervous Jen Smith who was about to embark on her successful sub 3 attempt. Most of the rest of my friends were in the elite start for the ½ including Shaheen, Chris, Steve H, and Natmer and all of them ran amazing races and were on TV!
The start was uneventful and off we went. We were actually slow the first mile at 7:45 and I got nervous. I did not want to run too fast, but did not like the idea of being 17 seconds in the hole after mile 1. Then mile 2 through downtown and downhill flew by at 7:08 and I got more nervous about us overpacing and repeating Chicago! Edgar’s calm demeanor reassured me and we then settled into a long series of 7:2X up the gentle grade to mile 9. The rain really started pouring on Beverly. Beverly is around mile 7 and is a big uphill. The only point in the race I got worried was here. Would it keep raining this hard? Would I get so soaked that I went hypothermic? Then the rain backed off and we were on the downhill stretch to the lake.

Feeling good around mile 5. You can tell it is starting to rain hard.

I was just in cruise control from here to mile 16. I took a couple GUs, but nowhere near as many as I planned and was just barely drinking at the water stations because I knew I was not losing hardly any water to sweat. In fact, around mile 13 my temperature really stabilized and I realized that the rainy cold weather was going to be a net benefit and I really had no excuse not to make BQ. At a couple points, I started pulling away from Edgar and Carolyn and then thought better of it as it was too early to start pressing so we rolled into mile 16 together where I saw Sheri, loaded up on GU and did a big checkpoint. I remember thinking – I feel great, no pain, no energy issues, and good friends by my side and looking ahead about 100 yards, I started to fixate on the 3:15 pace group.

Carolyn, Edgar and I on cruise control around mile 14

It was here that I decided I was going to start pressing and I almost imperceptibly picked up the pace. Within about 10 minutes, I caught the 3:15 group near Stone Tables. The leader was totally obnoxious, telling stories of his running glory (irony), and after a couple minutes of that I decided to press on. Around mile 18, I started to take the governor off a bit to see where my body was and 7:1Xs were still coming easy. I decided to just hang there and see how the Dolly Parton hills went, remembering last year how those hills just knocked me completely down. I went by the Hooter’s station at 20 confident and still a bit conservative and then tackled the hills. Those two miles going into Lakewood were 7:30s and my legs stayed fresh. I run Lakewood all the time and know exactly where the apex point is on Lakewood drive. From there it is all downhill to the finish and the second I got there, I completely took the reins off. The next mile was a 6:54. I could not believe it. I was doing what I did not believe possible and it was easy. I was not even pushing that hard. Mostly I was just not holding back. When I hit Swiss, I ran by a bunch of Sheri’s students yelling “Go Mr. Bordelon” that gave me even more drive and I was able to stay right at that sub 7 pace. It felt absolutely amazing. I know it sounds impossible, but mile 24 felt like I was at the end of a ½ marathon, not a full, and I was not even breathing hard.

Carolyn and Edgar around mile 19 on their way to a strong sub 3:15. Still really wet!

I turned onto Haskel and could now see the mile 25 marker and more importantly Fair Park. I looked at my watch, ran the math and realized I was going to crush my 3:15 goal. I was overcome with emotion. All of those 4 AM runs, the hard track workouts, the tempo till you puke, the 65+ mile weeks, the failed BQ attempts. It all hit me and I was literally crying like a baby as I was flying at a sub 7 pace down Haskel toward impending glory!

As I turned that final corner into the finish lane, all my running friends were there screaming my name. I have never felt so amazing in my life as I crossed the line at 3:12:19. Most of those guys saw me go down hard at the Big D finish and on this day saw me roll in at a sub 6 pace pumping my arm and yelling. Honestly, if I died right now, that is how I want to be remembered – It was pure joy!
I rolled through the finish still pumping my fist as you can see in the photo. This photo does a pretty good job capturing how I felt and so I did what I said I would never do and paid the outrageous fee for the pictures.

Ka-BOOOM!

I am writing this two weeks out from the race and have had time to reflect on what it means. Of course I am proud of finally BQing. I am also proud of running such a smart and strong race (with a little help from friends). But you know what? The best part of all of it has been the journey. I ran 2200 miles this year. Most of that was with great friends. We have all had successes and failures and we have done it together.

I loved training for El Scorcho with DRP on hot summer nights and my intro to trail runs with Nick at Grapevine, and hauling ass with Edgar at track and chasing Jen down Katy trail and running hills with Dalton and getting up at 3:45 to go easy with Shaheen and Mark and running all the way to oak cliff with Caty and Dave and taking off too fast on long runs with NatMer and watching in awe as Steve H sets PR after PR and getting amazing advice from Dan and seeing Steve P set the standard for pain threshold and running through the hood with Carolyn and going to Chicago with Craig and Tami and my first sub 8 loop of the lake with Scott S and running my first post-fatty ½ with Pedro and seeing Dawn go pro and getting awesome upgrades from Andrew and watching Elizabeth come back to finish her first full and watching Kevin, Scott, Ken and Cliff build to the ½ and seeing Blake win AG in the ½ and Bob and Carolyn’s marathon wedding and seeing Jayna finally run her perfect race and eating banana pancakes with Manis and slipping on ice in February and Joe’s perfect pacing and talking with Chris Strait on the front porch on Sundays about the plans for the week and race strategy.

I almost feel like this race was a bit poetic for me. We are turning the page now as we are moving to Houston and I am going to be jumping into the next chapter with family, work, friends, and fitness. I hope I can find a circle of running friends in Houston like my running family in Dallas. I am going to focus on shorter races in 2012 and see how fast I can get under the continued training from Chris Strait. Who knows, a 1:26 ½ Marathon may be possible. In September, I will be sitting nervously at my PC hoping beyond hope that my White Rock time is fast enough to make the Boston cutoff. Then the Boston training starts. With the right coaching, support, focus and weather, I am hoping Boston will be as magical as White Rock was this year.

Garmin Data:

Mile 20, Why you no love me? - Chicago Marathon 2011

2011-10-10T08:34:00.000-05:00

Although I knew it would be hot, I went out yesterday mentally ready to BQ. I needed a 3:14:59. My race strategy was to be on MP at mile 20 and then figure out what to do from there.

The start was warm at 64 degrees, but was pretty uneventful. I am amazed how well this thing is organized and getting 44,000 runners out there without a hitch is a miracle.

I was in B coral and everyone around me was doing my pace so I was not having to weave or pass. The Garmin went crazy for the first 3 miles due to the underpasses and buildings so I just checked pace off the official time and I was just slightly fast. After mile 3, I basically bounced around from 7:00 to 7:30. I don't have good pace control, and was largely just running off feel. Up until mile 20 I felt great. This was by far the fastest I have run the first 20 in a marathon and it was really cool to be able to keep the hammer down like that.

I did 5 GUs up to 20 and alternated water and Gatoraid. Every station I dumped a little water on my hat to cool off. I definitely think wearing the hat and shirt and keeping them wet helped with temperature control and sweat rates.

The think about Chicago is it very homogenous - Flat with tons of spectators the whole way. So, I don't really remember many landmarks and there were no tough spots - UNTIL 20.

As I rolled through Chinatown, I did a pace check and saw that I still had a bout 1 minute in the bank at mile 20. I also realized I was starting to get hot and dizzy and my breathing was getting elevated. I deliberately backed off a bit and used a little of my bank to see if I could get things back under control and decided to wait another mile to commit or not. I rolled into 21 and was feeling worse. My legs felt strong and loose, but my head and heart were giving all the wrong signals. I've been here before. I know that this is dangerous and I definitely have the ability to outrun my hydration and aerobic capacity (hence the hospital visit at Big D).

I decided to walk through the water station somewhere along mile 21. This definitely helped and I jumped back in for a minute, just to realized that this is not going away. It was here that I realized today was not my day and I needed to back off to Plan B - PR. This was a huge mental relief to know I had 7 minutes to burn over the next 5 or so miles. I thought there was no way I would use it all up, BUT...

The sun kept beating down and the temperatures kept rising and I kept getting dizzier with spotty vision. All I could think about was how mad Sheri would be if I went to the hospital again and so I walked the remaining stations, dumped lots of water on my head and just went into cruise control. While I was running, I was still doing an 8:00 pace, but the walk breaks took me down to 9 min. At 26, I started to pick it back up until that stupid hill just before the end. Shaheen warned me about this thing. It is probably just a 40 ft climb over 50yds or so, but my legs cramped half way up it and I was forced to walk to the top. Then I was able to start running again and finished the last 200 yds at a brisk pace to a 23 second PR.

I would like to blame it all on the weather and I know that played a role in it yesterday. Everyone at the finish was talking about the 15 minute heat. I would probably call it 5 minute heat. If I am honest with myself, I went out a bit too fast. I should have been averaging 7:25s, not 7:20s. Would a slower first 20 and 20 degrees cooler gotten me a BQ yesterday? Who knows.

What I do know is I am a big sweater and loose a ton of water and salt in a hot marathon. I really need to do a cold one. I mean mid 30s cold, where I am not sweating at all. I need to start looking for a spring fast and cold race.

As for training, I probably need to push myself out on some longer runs. My longest this cycle was 22 and I usually still feel good at that point. I need to train past the marathon distance and get my body more comfortable with the final miles.

Here's the Garmin Data:

Getting Ready For Chicago

2011-09-25T19:07:00.001-05:00

I have not posted in a long time. Since Big D Marathon, I have not been racing, but I have been training like crazy. This summer I averaged over 50 miles per week and the last month I have been hitting mid 60s. The only "race" I did this summer was the all night El Scorcho 50K. That was more of showing myself I could do an ultra than racing.

I decided to get a coach to help me train for Chicago. Several of my friends use Chris Strait and I have looked up to him for his positive spirit and amazing running capabilities since I met him last year. Over the last 2 months, I have been following his training plan to a T. This plan was very different from what I had been doing in the past. The three biggest changes are:

Much more tempo at 1/2 marathon pace
Much much more track and interval work at a wide variety of paces
Much much much more rest before and after long runs

I just had a 15 miler today with 8 at marathon pace (MP) and felt great. Nothing hurt and the last 4 miles I was able to easily hold 17 seconds faster than MP hitting consistent 7:08s. This is following a new 20K PR race at TDF11 last weekend where I ran a 27:00.

I am starting my taper this week and feel great. No aches or pains. Lots of energy. Huge confidence. There are no hard or long runs left. As Chris says, I just gotta keep the engine running now.

So, I don't know what will happen as I sprint/run/walk/hobble into Grant Park in 2 weeks, but I feel like I could not have possibly trained smarter and feel like the only variable that could keep me from making my 3:15 BQ is weather or illness.

Letter from Grant (10) to Older Borther Blake (13)

2011-05-24T17:53:00.002-05:00

Grant Bordelon

Blake---My Brother, My Friend

Persistent. Leader. Honest. Loving. Loyal. These are just a few words to describe Blake Bordelon. Blake is a phenomenal human being. He is my brother. He has lived with me my entire life. When I think of Blake, I think of a hero because he has always been there for me, and he seems to always do the right thing. The first time I rode a roller coaster, I was with Blake. Even though I was not sure, he made me feel safe and gave me the “it’s all going to be okay” look. The first time I went on a camp out, Blake was with me. He showed me the ropes. He showed me how to pitch a tent and how to make a fire. As early as I can remember, Blake has always been there for me. He constantly shows his love and compassion for others. When I am down, Blake is always there to lift me up. He makes me feel so loved and makes me believe that I can do anything I choose. Blake takes such good care of my brother and me. We both look up to him and trust him so much.

Blake is one of the most generous, giving people I have ever known. He will share all of his things with anyone who wants to use them. He will put others in front of his own needs. He has shown me how important it is to respect others, serve others, and to be a leader. Blake is also a great role model for me. He lives his life with integrity and is one of the hardest working people I know. Blake never just sits back, but he always takes on a leadership role. He has been the Student Council president, the N.J.H.S. president, and a Boy Scout—almost an Eagle. He also spends many hours helping friends with projects and is always there for his friends.

The more time I have spent with Blake, the deeper and deeper our relationship has grown—for we are brothers, and brothers are forever. I know when most people think of brothers, they think of fighting and hatred, but that does not define my relationship with Blake. There is a special bond…. A special friendship. There is love, brotherly love. I know I can and will always be able to count on Blake. I thank God for my brother, my friend, Blake.

2011 Big D 26.2 Race Report

2011-04-11T12:40:00.011-05:00

Before I get too wrapped up, I would like to throw this out there. My running team - Dallas Running Project has a saying they use all the time before races. I used to hear them saying it and I would think - "nice title for a motivational poster." I can now say I not only understand it, I feel I have earned the right to use it...

ALL IN - FOR THE WIN!

Now to the report...
I am not sure where to start here. I guess I will start at the beginning.

I decided to run this one as a last ditch effort to BQ before the qualifying times drop 5 minutes. I figured it would still be cool enough as it was still early April. Big D is a bit notorious for being a slower, tough course. It is really hilly and wind on the lake can be challenging. The upside is it is a week before Boston and I was able to sync up training with all my Boston training buddies.

A month before the race, Nick Polito told me he would pace me. This is a big deal because there are no pace groups in this marathon.

For those that don't know Nick, this organism is not human. He consistently runs 80-90 miles a week and recently ran a 3 hour at a hot Houston Marathon. Nick has been a huge mentor and friend for me. Also, as race week approached, I was thrilled to find out that most of my running friends and family planned to cheer me on around the course. I estimate over 20 people were cheering for me. AMAZING!!!!

I feel like I had a great two week taper and was well fueled and completely injury free and fresh at the start.

PHASE I - Mile 1-10
The start was a nice change up from the big mega-marathons where you have waves and corrals. Basically we just lined up and started. I was across the start in 8 seconds.

The first few miles ticked off nicely. I had a new ipod thumpin and ran into a guy I know that was running the 1/2 so we chatted a bit. There were two big hills on the way to the lake and I was thinking I needed to slow down, but was just feeling really good. By the 3rd mile, my splits were 7:20 and I was starting to sweat.

I saw My dad and Grant and Jayce working the water stop at Garland Road at mile 4. That was cool to see Jayce passing out water. My ipod totally died from sweat shorting it out here so I had to go on "thump free."

Mile 4-6 was super easy at 7:20s with the wind at my back headed north up the east side of White Rock. I connected with Nick at mile 6 and was glad because I knew I was running too fast and had almost no pace control. Nick and I chatted a bit and we settled into a 7:30 pace.

At mile 8 I saw Sheri, Mom, my sister Rebecca, and most of my DRP friends. I think I took my third GU here. Edgar jumped in and ran a couple miles with us. Edgar has amazing form and he talked me through the 1/3 mile climb from the lake up to Peavy.

From when I saw Nick to Mile 10, Nick was reeling me in with "Take it easy cowboy" encouragement.

At the end of mile 10 we were still at a 7:20 avg pace and I had 3 minutes in the bank.

I mentally see this point as phase 1 complete.

PHASE 2 - Mile 10-16
Phase 2 is through the hilly neighborhoods to the east of White Rock.

We headed down Peavy which is downhill and really picked up the pace. I think this was a 7:10. The next five miles are a long series of gradual ups and downs. 1.5 mile climb up Creekmere. 1 mile down Sinclare. 1 mile up Lippit. 1 mile down Fernald. Then one last nasty climb up Country Club. These hills are taxing and we probably went too fast through them. Nick says we passed about 10 people in this second phase.

We were taking it easy on the uphills and picking it up downhill. We actually had a 7:00 mile somewhere in there.

It was cool seeing Steve P and Steve H all over the place back in these neighborhoods.

I was feeling great coming down Van Dyke and getting back to the lake at Peavy/Mockingbird. It seemed like everyone was there cheering. There is a steep downhill on Buckner and it is nice to clear the legs out a bit at mile 16.

At this point, It had all been fun and games. I was still feeling strong, but starting to get a little tired.

PHASE 3 - Mile 17-Finish
I knew the wind was going to be a factor when we headed south on the west side of White Rock. That was a huge understatement. It was blowing "stink" out there. My guess is 25+ mph. It felt harder than hill climbs. Nick was so cool trying to let me draft him, but I am twice his width and it was only marginally effective. This went on forever. Fortunately, we were able to hold 7:40s through here and I remember telling Nick " I have never been happy to get off White Rock before" as we turned onto Tokalon.

This part was easier than I expected. Going up Tokalon is much more gradual than Lakewood. It is still hilly but not bad. Cliff Welch was biking and taking pics. I got a chuckle because it seemed like he kept catching us at the end of an uphill when we were slowest.

As we crossed Abrams and headed over to Swiss I saw all the DRP guys again. It seemed like they were everywhere. Shaheen and Steve gave me bottles and I just dumped them on my head to cool off.

At this point, I was starting to get hot and really tired. My calves were threatening cramping a bit, so I slowed it down. Our pace dropped to 7:50s and 8s on Swiss and Haskell, but I still had 3ish minutes in the bank and felt confident that I had the BQ sewn up. As we approached Fair Park, I saw the gang again and was starting to get a little hazy, but this was mile 24 and you are supposed to be hurting at this point. I remember my breathing coming up a bit and I was grunting a little.

The finish is tough because you have to run all the way around to the back side of the park. I was really slipping from mile 25-26. According to Nick's splits, that mile was an 8:30. I was starting to get really light headed and just remember locking on to Nick and don't remember anything on the periphery.

Then we turned the last corner and I heard a woman's voice right on my side tell me I had a 1/4 mile to go. It sounded like Dalton and I thought it was her until she cracked and inside joke about me popping her on the tush and I realized it was Tami Darlington.

PHASE 4 - Last 200 Meters
Then all of a sudden everything stopped. I mean EVERYTHING. I don't remember anything from here to the finish. The anecdotes I have gathered go like this:
1. I collapsed at 200 out.
2. Nick and Tami help me up.
3. I start moving again with a wobbly shuffle and almost fall again.
4. Nick and Tami support me to the finish line at a walking pace.
5. I cross the finish and puke on my sister.

PHASE 5 - Recovery

Within a minute, I was rushed to the EMT tent and they went into serious action. I don't remember the details, but I know I threw up more and my calves totally cramped and they gave me salt (which is the last thing you want when you are that thirsty).

I think I got the first IV while still in the tent and next thing I know, I am in the Ambulance, in the Baylor ER and getting a lot of attention. Every Vital was out of whack. Temp was 102, BP was 70/33, HR was 150+ and I was still sweating like crazy.

After 14 bags of IV fluid, I felt normal again. The doctor decided to admit me for the night to make sure my kidneys restarted OK.

This whole incident really freaked Sheri out and she has been by my side the whole time. Poor thing had to sleep on one of those crappy hospital bed/chairs.

I am typing this on Monday after the race and I am feeling fine. Nothing is hurting and I am not really that sore. In fact I got up and stretched for 30 minutes this morning.

RESULTS
I was really surprised to learn that I got 13th overall and 3rd in my age group even after completely falling apart. Also, I got a PR at 3:23:30. The bad news is I missed BQ again.

The crazy thing is my GPS says I was at 3:18 at 26.2mi. It looks like the finish was at 26.47mi at 23:30. So it took me 5:30 to go .27 miles. CRAZY!

As it turns out, it was just a really hot day and everyone was slower. Over 1/2 the field of 700 ran in over
5 hours. I cannot imagine running in those conditions for 5 hours.

LESSONS LEARNED
I learned that on hot days you cannot set audacious goals. You have to have a plan B and be willing to back off and live to fight another day. Nick has been trying to tell me this, but I did not want to hear it. This race was not just hot (over 80 degrees at finish) but hilly, windy and humid.

I am definitely wiser now. It is hard to think about running another 26.2 right now, but that always wears off with time.

Cross Post to Martina's Post on The Race

SPECIAL THANKS
I want to thank so many people for cheering me on yesterday and especially Nick the "Pace Master".
-Sheri
-Blake
-Grant
-Jayce
-Mom
-Dad
-Rebecca
-Dalton
-Shaheen
-Steve P
-Steve H
-Elizabeth & Todd
-Tami
-Rick
-Edgar
-Reed
-Matt T
-Martina
-Jen
-Dan

Special thanks to Cliff Welch for the amazing pictures at the finish. I will look back at those before every future race to do a sanity check.

Plus all the well wishers at work and FB and email.

Rock n Roll 1/2 Race Report

2011-03-27T19:13:00.006-05:00

I went into this one with 2 goals:

PR - Accomplished
Sub 1:30 - Accomplished

I had an important third goal. I started the race injury free and needed to stay that way for the marathon BQ attempt in 2 weeks.

I can pretty much say that this was the best race of my life. Not only do I feel like I crushed it, I felt absolutely fantastic the whole way and was giddy after about mile 8 when I hit the downhill run to the finish because I knew then that I "had it in the bag."

Here is me at Mile 11 having a ball:

The weather was absolutely perfect. 50 degrees and overcast. Tech shirt was perfect. Very cold at finish though.

We did a 1.5 mile warm-up with strides before the race.

I started with Dalton and we sent out pretty strong. The first real hills start about mile 2.5 and I felt great and decided to keep the sub 7 pace until I got cardio constrained or some kind of muscle issue cropped up. Neither happened. I made it to Mockingbird at around a 6:55 avg pace and was not breathing hard.

Nick, Sunny, Josh and Shaheen's sister were cheering everyone on and I saw them 4 times. I also saw Jen, Dan Tracy, Sheri and Blake and Matt and Ken. All the cheering makes a huge difference in attitude.

The last 6 miles were a breeze in the 6:30s. I barely felt winded and my form stayed clean.

I really picked it up rolling into fair park and was seriously in the 5s for the last 800-900 meters.

Dalton and I ran 1.5 miles after the race to loosen back up. I felt loose and energetic all afternoon.

This was a nutrition test for the marathon - Oatmeal before and GU during. Perfect. I only did 1/2 cup oatmeal and one GU though. Also, I hauled ass through the water stops using the squeeze technique.

I was pumped to see Scott Rosa run a beautiful 2:07 first 1/2 and just be ecstatic about his future in running.

Although the splits look even, the energy expenditure was much higher in the first half due to the uphill. I really like this course, because when you hit that downhill, you know it is easy sailing to the finish...

I finished 12th in age group, 116 overall out of about 11,000 runners and 99th out of the men.

1	6:59
2	6:46
3	6:52
4	6:44
5	6:57
6	6:53
7	6:49
8	6:54
9	6:44
10	6:32
11	6:42
12	6:32
13	6:35
14	1:37

Close Call?

2011-03-13T22:20:00.000-05:00

I went out for our weekly Wednesday hill run last week. We have started doing a 12 mile double loop which adds more hills and basically eliminates the warm up and cood down. On the second loop, I really put the hammer down and was having a big time surging up the ascents with Steve Phiffner (one of the fastest guys I know). On the last surge up Flagpole Hill, I was really going for it and at the top of the hill, my calf tweaked. I stopped immediately and did not try to run any further.

I have not felt this calf pain since last year. I lived with it most of the year last year and I hate it because although I can run through it, it puts a governer on my speed and I generally cannot go faster than a 7 min pace.

This sucks because I have been healthy since the new year and I was trying hard to keep it that way. I took Thursday off and ran a really slow 9 mile loop on Friday. It did not hurt too bad on Friday, but I took Saturday off as well and did Chest and Back.

Today I took it out for a real test drive. I started at 5AM and went almost 22 miles. About 10 of those were sub 8s and 6 were sub 7:30s. My calf was sore (read dull pain), but not tweaky. I was listening really closely and never let it get close.

Chris Strait gave me a pair of compression socks and I have been wearing them all day and I can tell a huge difference in recovery.

When something like this happens, you have three choices:
1. Be stupid and keep running too hard and get really injured. I did that last year.
2. Stop running and let it rest, but risk loosing some fitness. This is a bad idea 4 weeks out from the Marathon.
3. Keep running, but stretch like crazy (yoga), eat lots of protien, and listen very closely and keep the speed well within the safety zone.

I am trying #3 and so far so good. We will see how things play out with hills, and a little more speed work this week.

Big D Marathon - Next BQ Attempt due to Qualifier Rule Changes

2011-02-28T10:56:00.000-06:00

The new Boston Qualification rules totally messed up my marathon plans this year. I signed up for Chicago for my next BQ attempt. But now, with the new rules, that race will fall into the 2013 qualification cycle and I will need to run a 3:15 to qualify there. If I run a marathon before september, I need a 3:20 to qualify.

SO.... I needed a new race. Anything past early April was probably going to be too late to to higher temperatures. Also, I am watching my fitness expenses and connot afford to fly to two marathons this year.

The decision came down to either Oklahoma city on May 1 or Dig D on April 10. If I did OKC, I would not be able to do Centennial 1/2 and it will probably be hot.

SO... Big D it is.

The Pros:

The race is close enough that I can really focus on it
RnR 1/2 will be a great sharpening race two weeks before
I know the area and the course well
I do not have to travel
It is a smaller race so I will not be fighting crowds too much

The Cons:

I have been working on middle distance and speed lately and have only a few weeks to dial in longer distance
The weather could still be hot
The course is hilly and I will still have to battle the "Dolly Partons" at the end

Regardless, I am now committed and here is my plan for the next 6 weeks:

NEXT 3 WEEKS:

Sundays run 20ish
Recovery loop on Tuesdays instead of track.
Slower on hills on Wed (8:15 pace).
Hard on Tempo on Thursday.
Target weekly mileage at 50 miles.

RnR

Three Day Taper (take off Tempo)
Race RnR 1/2 hard on the 27th.

Train med-hard week after RnR - Target 35 Miles

Taper week of 4th - Target 13 Miles (not including Marathon)

The only thing I need to overcome (other than staying injury free) is this light headedness I get at mile 19-20. It hit me hard yesterday. I know I underfueled yesterday. I want to do some experimenting next week. I am going to try oatmeal and raisins before the run and then alternate between GU and bananas every 3 miles.

Hardening

2011-02-13T14:35:00.000-06:00

A few of my running buddies talk about hardening every now and then. Usually it is in the context of trying to get folks to show up for sub 20degree or rainy runs. For a long time, I have to admit that I did not really understand this whole thing and chalked it up to machismo. Shoot, just going out and running in good conditions felt pretty tough to me.

Lately, deliberately developing mental hardness is starting to make sense.

This winter, we have had a long series of really cold runs. Until today, I don't think I have run in above freezing temps in several weeks and some of those runs have been in the teens. Also, on longer runs, I am not taking water breaks like I used to. In fact, the last two 13 + mile runs have been waterless. Not a drop. If you told me I would run a 1/2 marathon without water a year ago, I would have told you that was just stupid.

The last hardening factor is sustained speed on long runs. The last three or four DRP long runs have been some of the strongest of my life. On Sunday DRP long runs, I get that race feeling - 1/2 dread - 1/2 excitement. I know I am going to push myself and hurt a little, but will also grab another gear. Doing this repetitively for many weeks has made a huge physical difference, but more importantly, I feel like it is giving me a mental edge.

So, where is all this going? I hypothesize that this mental toughness will pay off in a big way in races. Last year, I think I would mentally sych myself out way too easily and back off if I was fatigued, thirsty, cold or discouraged.

Right now, I feel like I have a new mental fortitude that I really want to test in a race. At the Rock and Roll 1/2 marathon, I am going to really go for it and try to run a sub 1:30. That is just a number, but to get there is going to take some real mental focus and will require me to push through the "hurdles" that held me back last year. I am really looking forward to mile 11 and being on pace target and getting a chance to throw down two last 6:45s and just crush my goal.

If it happens, it will not be about the physical shape I am in, it will be all about mental hardness.

Chris M is as great a presenter as writer...

2011-02-04T20:55:00.001-06:00

I almost forgot about Insanity

2011-02-04T15:12:00.000-06:00

Sheri and I did Insanity Max Cardio Circuit today. It kicked both of our butts. I think it is good to sub this out for a run because it works some of the lateral muscles and stabilizers that pure running doesn't.

Chicago Marathon

2011-02-01T07:34:00.001-06:00

Just registered for the 2011 Chicago Marathon! October 9, 2011 is going to be a day to remember. 1500ish miles from now I hope to be prepared for a solid Boston Qualification.

Slow Carb Diet

2011-01-31T08:46:00.001-06:00

I hit 200 lbs about a year ago and have not been able to get any leaner. I would like to get in the 8% BF range and hold it for running efficiency and because it looks really good. They say every pound you take off is a minute off your marathon. I figure I have about 10 lbs I can drop and that should get me near 3:10. So. I am back on a lean, protien centric diet. I have been looking for something simple that I could experiment with and last week I tripped on the new "Four Hour Body" book. Tim has developed a very simple "slow carb" diet that is basically just protiens, veggies and beans six days a week and then a full on Bacchus level cheat day.

Sheri is doing it too. I will check in in two weeks and see if it has unlocked my frustrating plateau.

Day: 26, Calories: 1620, P90X Shoulders & Arms

2011-01-28T15:50:00.001-06:00

Log Entry

Daily Note:
Kinda taking a week off running. Seeing vessels in arms again. Must be back around 10%

Nutrition

Workout

P90X Shoulders & Arms
Status: Completed
Worked out with Skip. He puked. Oh yea!!!!

Workout

P90X Ab Ripper
Status: Completed

The Dare

2011-01-26T20:01:00.001-06:00

I want to throw down a little smack tonight. I am going to dare you to do some things. If you just take on two to three of these as a challenge your life will be better for it.

I Dare You To:
1. Go to bed without watching TV and try to be asleep by 10 pm.
2. Get up by 5 am and finish your workout by 6:30
3. Make breakfast the biggest meal of your day
4. Ruthlessly seek out protien and treat white carbs like poison
5. Try a new workout variant every week - yoga variant, focused resistance, running model (speed, distance, hills), core, skiing, p90X, Crossfit, whatever
6. Challenge a buddy - make a bet on weight loss or race time or some other common goal and hold them accountable.
7. Find a running group and make them your pre dawn family a couple times a week.
8. Enter a race and plan to run a PR at least two times this year.
9. Test conventional wisdom. Will running make you skinny? Is fat bad? is it all about calories?
10. Force yourself to take a rest day once a week.
11. Pig out once a week ( not on the rest day ).
12. Write down everything you eat ( except on pig out day ).
13. Start a fitness blog and tell everyone about it.
14. Don't let bad days derail you for more than 5 minutes - ever
15. Figure out the big thing that is driving your fitness plans and write it somewhere you will see every day.
16. Make it a habit to spend your first waking minute in bed convincing your self that this will likely be the best day of your life. Assume that nothing will get in your way to having a phenomenal day.
17. Stop hanging out with negative people. Find positive people and use and feed them.
18. Say something encouraging and nice to someone every day (even if you do not like them)
19. Make it your mission to learn something meaningful every day. Ask dumb questions. Read. Read more.
20. Figure out your SO's love language and talk to her in that language at least once a day. The 5 love languages are - touch, quality time, gifts, service and encouraging words
21. Stop watching TV. There's nothing but little people making chocolate and hoarding 19 kids at Sarah Palin's Alaska anyhow.
22. Cook something. Try to make it yummy.
23. Patiently Learn a new hard skill like guitar, programming, woodworking, sailing, public speaking, knitting, painting, etc...

That's a good starting list. I will add more as I think of them.

Lactate Threshold Analysis from Craig Walker - A Lot To Digest

2011-01-20T13:46:00.002-06:00

Here is my run data from this morning:

Here is Craig's Analysis:

Mike,

To calculate LT, we use the pace from the entire 30 minutes and your average HR for the last 20 minutes. The reason for this is it sometimes takes a few minutes for your HR to climb up to the threshold, so we allow a 10 min buffer where your HR may be lower. We want the higher (generally) number that you get from the final 20 minutes. I say that's generally higher because there are times where the first 10 min will have a higher HR than the next 20. I'm a good example of that. When I did this test, my 10 min HR was 180, but the 20 min rate was 179. That's close, but still lower. Interestingly, my 20 min pace was 15 seconds faster than the 10 min pace, even though my HR was lower.

Anyway, for you, let's use an LT HR of 165 and pace of 6:42. Because you were so consistent today, we have pretty good number for pace. HR might really be 164, but we'll do 165 for now. It's close enough that it won't make too much of a difference.

When you look at the spreadsheet, sometimes you have to adjust the math a little where the zones overlap. I've done that for you here. You'll sometimes get the same number for the high of one zone and low of another. Or sometimes there are two beats between zones. I just round up the high and make the low of the next zone one more beat than the previous zone's high. Here's what we have for you.

Zones – LT HR 165

	LOW	HIGH
ZONE 1	100	140
ZONE 2	141	148
ZONE 3	149	156
ZONE 4	157	164
ZONE 5a	165	169
ZONE 5b	170	175
ZONE 5c	176

Paces — LT Pace 6:42

	SLOWEST	FASTEST
ZONE 1		08:38.6
ZONE 2	07:38.3	08:34.6
ZONE 3	07:06.1	07:34.3
ZONE 4	06:38.0	07:02.1
ZONE 5a	06:29.9	06:42.0
ZONE 5b	06:01.8	06:25.9
ZONE 5c	06:01.8

So what's this mean?

It means when you are doing zone training, you want to keep your HR average for each mile within the range for the targeted zone. At the start of a training season (like right now), you spend about 6-8 weeks doing base building. 90% of all your runs during this time should be done in zone 1. So for you, you'll want to keep your HR at 140 or below mile after mile. The "pace" chart is a little more nebulous. It's really a guideline, rather than a rule. What the pace chart mean is, in general, when you are in zone 1, you'll be running 8:38 or slower. Zone 2, you'll run between 7:38-8:34. As you know, there are A LOT of variables that determine your pace for a particular day. With perfect weather and being well rested, you may find you are running 8:15 or faster and still have your HR below 140. That's perfectly OK. HR is the driver; pace is just a predicted range. Always run your HR, regardless what pace that works out to be. Many times it will be faster than what the chart predicts. If you are tired, sick, hot, etc, you may find yourself struggling to hold a 9:00 pace while keeping your HR at 140. That's OK too. Just run HR; it NEVER lies.

So why do you care?

You've probably read and heard a lot about VO2max. This is maximum volume of oxygen the body can deliver to working muscles per minute. It's a great measure of how "efficient" your body is working. Many people mistake VO2max as the holy grail measure of how fit you are. But although VO2max IS a clear measure of fitness, it's a poor measure of performance. By itself, knowing your VO2max will do little to help you in your training. If you line up a bunch of elite athletes and only have their VO2max number as a data point, it would be impossible to predict the winner.

This is where the LT comes into the picture. Lactate threshold is defined as the intensity of exercise at which lactate begins to accumulate in the blood at a faster rate than it can be removed. This is problematic because as a result, unbuffered acid is added to the blood, a condition that makes you feel like you have to vomit and stop right away. With knowledge of your LT, you can fairly accurately predict your finish time for any given race because you know exactly what your body is capable of sustaining before your heart and brain shut you down. With the information you gave me today, I can predict if you were to run Too Cold this weekend, the perfect race for you would be to target 156 HR putting you at about a 7:05 pace. You'd finish in 1:06. Of course, there are factors that could skew that a little, but it would really close.

That's all well and good, but our goal is more than understanding where we are; we want to get faster. Well you know one key piece to that puzzle. MILES ARE KING! If you run more miles, you WILL get faster. But here's the thing… When you start running 50, 60… 80 miles a week, you are putting A LOT of stress on your body. And in order to get the most benefit from your next workout, you need to be fully recovered from the last. Your HR is your barometer. If you are not fully recovered, your HR will be elevated. Slow down and stay in your zones so you don't do more damage. Once you start training in an unrecovered state, a snowball effect takes over and you are essentially logging junk miles.

GAINS ARE MADE DURING RECOVERY NOT TRAINING!

That last sentence is something people rarely understand. People think if they kill it on a training run they'll get stronger. But the truth is training runs make you weaker by destroying muscle fibers. Your strength comes from these fibers rebuilding themselves shorter and stronger than they were before. If this process is not complete when you go out and do another hard run, you just wasted the benefit of the earlier session. Much like with children where growth occurs at night when they are asleep, runners get stronger and faster when resting and recovering.

Build a better engine.

So we know we want to run more miles, and we know we want to be recovered between sessions. What else can we do to get faster? Well, just like your internet connection will be faster if you increase your bandwidth pipe, you will run faster, if you can increase the blood flow to your muscles. There are three ways to do this. The first is obvious. Run faster. When you do, your HR increases and blood is pumped faster. The problem with this is we want our HR lower, not faster, because the faster your HR is, the quicker you are to tire. So how can we deliver more blood to our muscles without increasing our HR. The answer is we increase the size of our heart and increase the stroke volume of blood pumped through it. These two items combined are what give that elite athlete the ability to go on an "easy" 7:00 run with you and keep their HR down in zone 1 (for them), while you are struggling to keep up because you are in zone 4.

The irony here is the only way to increase the size of your heart so you can run faster is to run slower. Weird, huh? But it's true. When you run in zone 2 or above, your heart is working in a capacity to keep up with demand. When you run in zone 1, though, your heart has some extra time on its hands. If you could hear your heart thinking, it might sound like "Huh, this guy keeps running and asking me to deliver more blood. I'm really built for walking, and I think he might do this running thing again. I think I'll do some upgrades." So your heart starts expanding and increasing its capacity to deliver blood more efficiently. This is also one of the reasons your resting HR plummets as you get more fit. As stroke volume increases, you simply don't need as many pumps to get what you need. That's all really good stuff, but the only way to do it is to run in zone 1.

So… Use your zones. Every run should have a purpose. The bulk of your early season miles should be base building, heart expanding, stroke volume increasing zone 1 miles. Each week, you might sprinkle in one tempo zone 2 (or really low zone 3) workout, but everything else should be zone 1. Then when you are about eight weeks from your race, you start running a little more in zones 2 and 3. Marathon pace is in zone 3 for most people. If you look at the chart, you'll see the predicted paces for your zone 3. You goal marathon pace is at the slower end of zone 3. That's great! It means you are more likely to actually achieve your goal. When you start that tuning phase eight weeks out, you will add longer stretches of zone 2 and 3 to your long run. You still have that tempo each week, and everything else… Still zone 1. Finally, about four or five weeks out, you start sharpening (speed work). This is when you get serious on the track and push into zones 4 and 5. These workouts are short in duration because you are really tearing up your body and still have that requirement of being fully recovered before the next workout. Luckily, if you back off your zone 1 max 5-10 bpm, you can benefit from Active Recovery, meaning you are running and recovering at the same time. You get the best of both worlds if you are disciplined enough to slow down and do it.

I know all of this is a lot to digest. It's hard to slow down. And it's counter-intuitive to think you can get faster while running slower. Elite athletes will tell you, though, that 99% of people run their easy runs to fast and their fast runs to slow. There is a time for running fast; it's in the sharpening phase. But you CAN NOT build capacity/endurance and speed at the same time. Speed is easy to get. That's why the phase is so short and close to your goal race. The rest of your training should be focused on upgrading that engine so when the time comes to ask it to work at full capacity, you are have more to work with.

When people say they just don't get it, my challenge is to just try it for one season. You're only investing one marathon season, 16-20 weeks. I've never heard anyone who gave it an honest shot report they didn't have the best season of their career. For most, once you start training this way, you think it's ridiculous to train any other way. Especially as we get older, our heart is an ideal governor of effort. We're getting too old to simply muscle through. At some point, injury or worse (eg: heart attack) will happen. Your heart will not lie to you or steer you wrong. Listen to it, and I promise you'll be rewarded. Good Luck! I'm happy to answer any questions.

Craig

ps: I'm currently reading a pretty good book on all of this. As with most books, I don't subscribe to 100% of what the author says, but for the most part, it's inline with what I've learned elsewhere. The author is a well know triathlete coach who's been doing sport science for 40 years. It's an easy read and does a good job of explaining when, why and how to use each zone.

Total Heart Rate Training: Customize and Maximize Your Workout Using a Heart Rate Monitor

Joe Friel

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1569755620/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1F1P3TE1603Z73ZHFEM4&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846

Guys perform better with an audience...

2011-01-17T13:49:00.000-06:00

Heavy Legs on the wall at the airport...

2011-01-16T19:23:00.001-06:00

The agent thought I was nuts.

2011 BQ strategy

2011-01-14T20:30:00.004-06:00

The science of running has come a long way, but it has an even longer way to go before it replaces the art of running.

2011-01-13T08:42:00.000-06:00

Great Article on listening to your body before the Heart Rate monitor.

I have a lot to learn here.

Hill Work

2011-01-12T10:29:00.001-06:00

I did 10.6 miles of hills this morning. The start was a balmy 22deg F. The first hill is at mile 2.5 and then they keep coming every 1/2 mile or so. I really hammered the first one and felt great so I kept pushing thinking I would have to back off and didn't. I have not been able to do that since well before the marathon. About 5 miles in, I was toasty warm and breathing hard.

Here is the Garmin data:

Everything I am reading including "Advanced Marathoning", "Run Faster from the 5K to the Marathon", "Barefoot Running" all say run hills. There is a lot of debate about speed, tempo, LSD, weights, yoga, stretching, rolling, etc. What I have found no debate on is hills. Everyone says run hills. The benefits include:

- Building strength in legs and core
- Building cardio endurance and upping the lactate threshold
- Burning tons of calories
- Solidifies mental confidence in handling hills in races

The most important benefit of consistently running hills is injury prevention. Runners that only run on flat and do not do strength training or hill runs are much more susceptible to injury. Matt Fitzgerald ("Run Faster...") coaches many elite runners and says the key to helping most of these runners grab the next gear was hills.

I can't say that I understand all of the science, but I know it is helping and if it can prevent injury then I am a fan!

On Speed

2011-01-11T10:26:00.000-06:00

One of my goals this spring is to get faster. I was surprised at the Jingle Bell 5K that I was not faster than 20 min. I know I was still in marathon recovery, but I felt like I should have been 20-30 seconds faster.

Over the last four weeks, I have been doing track work on Tuesdays. 600, 800, and 1000 M repeats. At first this was tough, but it is become one of my favorite workouts. Today we did 800s and I felt strong. I think was under 6 min pace and although I was breathing hard, I felt more controlled than before. Also, I have been very careful not to pull anything by doing good warm ups and cool downs.

I have not had a chance to test myself in a race yet and really want to try out a 10K to see where I am now. I will target one in the next couple weeks.

I guess it is time to get the book...

2011-01-06T11:40:00.002-06:00

Health Tips from PX90 Creator: MyFoxATLANTA.com

Eating Experiment Failed - Back to writing it down.

2011-01-04T08:32:00.001-06:00

For a month now, I have not been writing down what I eat and just trying to maintain eating discipline. Even while running 30-40 mile weeks and doing some cross training, I have gained weight. I am back up to 205ish. That is not a lot, but is enough to show that I cannot slip. If I continued at that rate, I would be back to 270 by end of 2011. No thanks.

So... I guess I will just have to keep writing down what I am eating. I am not going to blog it, but will just track it on my iPhone app. I should be back under 200 in 2-3 weeks and then I will just have to keep logging. I guess that is a small price to pay for staying fit.

On a brighter note, my three 2011 runs so far have been high quality and pain free. This has really upped my confidence in grabbing a new gear in the next couple months.

I like running in Dallas, but this looks amazing:

2010-12-27T13:32:00.000-06:00

Running the Wind: Winter Running

All I want...

2010-12-25T19:24:00.001-06:00

Day: 476, Calories: 0, P90X Back & Biceps

2010-12-25T15:26:00.001-06:00

Log Entry

Daily Note:
Merry Christmas. P90x was a total smoke out today. Upper body needs TLC after all the running.

Nutrition

0 Calories

Workout

P90X Back & Biceps
Status: Completed
Total butt whipping. Been over six weeks.

Workout

P90X Ab Ripper
Status: Completed

First 5K in 15 years

2010-12-23T11:49:00.001-06:00

I did the Jingle Bell 5K last night. It was super fun. I like the night run with the party after. I got 60th place (top 6%) overall and 7 in age group with a 20:00 min time. That was my goal and is a PR (I think). I may have run a 5K faster in high school cross country, but I cannot remember. I was never all that fast. It was definitely my fastest 5K time as an adult.

I did pull my hamstring a little, but not too bad (see below).

Congrats at Shaheen and Coach Nick on kick butt PRs!

Here's the data:

5Ks are so different from Marathons. In fact, other than the fact that you are running, there is nothing in common. Here are my initial thoughts about it:

Pace: In the Marathon, you have to use your mind to deliberately control your pace in an effort to maintain energy levels. In the 5K, it is basically as fast as you can sustain. I think form plays a big role in the 5K, because if you can run clean and efficient, you can go a bit faster for the same oxygen consumption. There were moments last night where I felt like things were aligned well for a few minutes and then it got sloppy again. I need to learn how to stay in the groove better.

Fuel & Hydration: In the marathon, you have to consume lots of carbs before and during the race to have enough fuel to finish. In the 5K, you don't even think about it. I did not even take water at the stop. In fact, it is bad to eat before the race because of cramps.

Warm Up: You do not need a warm up before the marathon because you can really just use the first mile as a warm up. In the 5K, you really need to do 2ish miles accelerating up to 5K pace before to get warmed up to avoid injury. I did this, but it was too early and I was cool by race time. My hamstring pulled a bit in the first 100 yards because of this. Next time I am gonna warm up right to the start.

Breathing: In the marathon, you are no where near your VO2 limits. In fact, you are at a very comfortable breathing level the whole way. In the 5K, at least for me, this is the limiting factor. I was at my VO2 redline most of the way. It did seem controlled during the 2nd and 3rd miles and I was feeling super strong toward the finish. For me to get faster in 5K, I need to do more speed work and push out my VO2 limits. Breathing is such a mental block for me. There is a point where I know my body has more, but I hold myself back due to heavy breathing. This happened last night.

Fast Twitch vs. Slow Twitch: I don't know a lot about this, but I know I have much more developed slow twitch muscles than fast twitch. My 100 yd max speed is just over my 5K speed and should be much faster. This is because I don't do much track work and have focused on the marathon. Int he marathon, fast twitch do almost nothing for you, but they can really help in the 5K.

TL;DR: 5Ks can be a really great way to balance out your running journey and are a stark contrast to the marathon.

Blake Running Form in Vibrams

2010-12-21T10:17:00.002-06:00

He sure looks great!

5K Speed Test Tomorrow

2010-12-21T10:13:00.002-06:00

I am running the jingle bell 5K tomorrow night and will use it as a first speed test to dial in my 5K pace. I am hoping to run a sub 20 min. That will be sub 6:25s.

Sounds fast to me. We will see.

I'm back - Finally

2010-12-20T15:16:00.000-06:00

I had my first strong run since the marathon today. Put down a stack of sub 7:30s on an 8 mile tempo run.

I guess it just takes two full weeks to fully recover assuming you don't get injured. The funny thing about marathons is that you have to do a two week taper before and then a light two weeks after. So aside form the marathon itself, you do not have any really hard runs for about a month. On top of that, you have the muscle fatigue and minor damage from the marathon that sets you back a bit. The accumulation of the above factors feels like a 6 week set back. That is a hard pill to swallow considering I accomplished something that is supposed to be an indicator of fitness.

The next six weeks are about rebuilding upper body strength and conditioning and preparing to PR in the 1/2 marathon.

Next year, I will mentally prepare for this set back for the marathon and not let it surprise (and upset) me.

Great Free eBook on Barefoot Running

2010-12-16T15:32:00.002-06:00

http://naturallyengineered.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/CouchToBarefoot.pdf

Am I guilty of this? :)

2010-12-16T07:26:00.002-06:00

http://video.l3.fbcdn.net/cfs-l3-snc6/78792/75/1498758429359_11499.mp4

Thoughts on Recovery

2010-12-12T15:58:00.001-06:00

I have had a pretty slow recovery this past week from the Marathon. Part of it is my hip has been "cranky". My legs have been lethargic and heavy too. I did a 4 mile run on Friday and things were really stiff. Today (Sunday) I ran 6.8 and during the run, I felt rough too.

After the run today, I started feeling much better. In fact, for some reason, my hip totally stopped hurting.

Did I run through it? Is it behind me? Should I have run more last week? Who knows.

I am going to hit the track and hills this week and test the legs a bit more. We will see if I am out of the woods.

Great Advice From Coach Nick Pre Marathon (Forgot to Post)

2010-12-10T18:12:00.000-06:00

Well, so far the weather looks perfect. Upper 30’s at the start and upper 40’s at the finish. Wind is pretty moderate and humidity is low. Now just prepare for the different phases of the race. The first 10 miles you will want to go too fast so you need to run this part with your “head”. Stay with the pace group. It is easy to feel good here and try and bank 2 min but don’t do it. It will cost you 6 minutes in the end. Miles 10-20 these miles are run with you “legs”. You should feel comfortable with the pace and you will worry about the last 6 miles. Don’t think about those miles and just concentrate on comfortable getting to mile 20. All those tough hill runs will make this possible. Now the last 10K. no way to say it but this is hard. Your legs will tired that is what you need to be ready for. You mind will be tired of working so hard to keep you motivated. You need to run this section with your “heart”. I always have to run this one mile at a time and sometimes I even break it down by ½ miles. Count them down. Good luck to both of you and I hope you have a great day. Pain is temporary but glory last forever.

First Cruise - Saiders Run

2010-12-10T09:44:00.003-06:00

We had Roger, Matt and Scott. Everyone is signing up for the RnR 1/2. We will keep meeting on Fridays.

This was a much needed recovery run for me. Hip is still a little tender, but manageable. I will run again on Sunday and try 9-10.

Stole this from Steve H's FB - be that person!

2010-12-08T10:43:00.001-06:00

Day: 459, Calories: 400, P90X Shoulders & Arms

2010-12-08T09:05:00.001-06:00

Log Entry

Daily Note:
First recovery workout today. Upper body strong, core medium, legs still timid. My left hip is still tender, but not bad.

Nutrition

400 Calories
1 X 6 egg whites | 100 cals
1 X 1/4 cup cantaloupe | 100 cals
½ X 2 english muffins | 100 cals
½ X 1 cup oatmeal | 100 cals

Workout

P90X Shoulders & Arms
Status: Completed

Workout

P90X Ab Ripper
Status: Completed

Workout

Other (Use Note Field)
Status: Completed
10 min elliptical.

2010 White Rock Marathon

2010-12-05T21:39:00.003-06:00

What a day. I think I ran the best race I could have at this point in my life. Unfortunately, that did not include a Boston Qualifier (BQ). I missed by 4 minutes. That is the only bad news though.

A little background about Boston Qualification for non runners reading this: For a 40 year old male (me) to run Boston Marathon, they have to run a sub 3:20:59 on a certified course within 18 months of the Boston marathon. For me to hit that time, I need to run an average 7:38 minute per mile.

The biggest thing I learned today is the Marathon is largely about energy management. You burn up too much up front, you wont have enough at the end. If you don't go fast enough though, you will not make your time. There is a lot to this. It is important to fuel well before and during the race to keep glycogen stores in the blood and muscles topped off. But even with the best fueling, only the most elite athletes can make it to the end of a Marathon with any reserves. The story of my race today is about this struggle with energy management. I learned a lot today. We probably went out too fast early on and that left the tanks empty at the end. It is hard to know if you go out slower if you will have the energy to make it up later though. It is going to take me several more of these to get this figured out.

Here is a really cool graphical overview of my race.

The day went like this...

Dalton picked Blake and I up at at a chilly 6:30AM and we got Fair Park with just enough time to pee, bag check and get to the line. We started strong (maybe too strong) with a stack of sub 7:30s and two sub 7:20s (except for the first mile). Running through downtown was mostly downhill and exhilarating and it was very hard to keep speed in check. Here are the first 5 mile splits

1    07:55:00
2    07:22:00
3    07:26:00
4    07:17:00
5    07:16:00

Coach Nick Polito warned us not to go out too fast and I think this may have hurt us later. All through Mckinney and Turtle Creek, I would tap Dalton on the shoulder and give her a thumbs down signal to slow down and then we would speed back up. It was just as much my fault. There was one downhill just before Turtle creek where I really opened it up and probably hit a sub 6 pace for 300-400 yards. We were just feeling great.

It was fun seeing Sheri, the boys and Mom and Dad at mile 6. We were really confident and strong at that point. Dalton and I ditched our sweatshirts here as we were definitely warmed up even thought he temperature was still under 40 and it was windy.

Around Mile 7 my hip started hurting and got progressively worse until about mile 12. Around Mile 9 Dalton told me her hip hurt too and we chalked it up to sympathy pains. I remember doing a body check at 13 and I could no longer feel it. I am not sure if the endorphins were covering it up, or if it just said "OK, OK - I guess we are doing this. I will just shut up now."

Miles 6-10 are pretty tough. Lots of up and just a little down. I felt strong, but was feeling my first signs of fatigue around 10. Miles 6-10 were basically on BQ pace mostly because we were headed uphill:

6    07:34:00
7    07:33:00
8    07:46:00
9    07:41:00
10 07:29:00

Miles 11-13 are mostly downhill to the lake. Mile 11 was a quick 7:22 and then we slowed it a bit coming into the lake. We turned on to Lawther and saw the familiar view of White Rock and the steep hill at Tee Pee Hill. This is the first time I remember breaking pace deliberately and we took the hill slowly to keep the legs fresh. At the top of the hill we both ducked into the porta potties for a 20 second "power pee". Dalton was going so fast, I could hear her from next door. Even with the stop, we had a 7:48 mile.

11    07:22:00
12    07:48:00
13    07:40:00

It was nice getting our only break from running and I took my third GU here and was down to one in reserve. I was pretty much taking a GU every 3 miles and alternating water and Gatoraid at the water stations. We did great cruising through the stations without slowing down.

Once we crested Tee Pee hill, the north wind hit us. Dalton was wishing she had kept her sweatshirt and I was cooling off quick too.

At the halfway point, I remember feeling pretty good and now that my hip was not hurting, my confidence level went up. At this point, we had about 50 seconds in the bank and although I knew we would burn that on the Dolly Partons, I also was starting to feel like we had a real chance at BQ.

Around mile 14, the 3:20 pace group finally caught up to us. I was a little bummed about this. I was taking comfort up to here that as long as they were behind us we were safe. We locked into their pace through 14-18:

14   07:39:00
15   07:43:00
16   07:24:00
17   07:28:00
18   07:32:00

The pace group was not all that steady considering we were on flat White Rock at this point. The 7:24 at 16 was tough and this is where I started to get a little light headed. I saw Sheri again at 16 at the Bathhouse. She loaded me up with GU and a banana. The banana was a nice break from the GU.

When I go long distance, I get a mix of endorphin relief and light headedness. The combo makes me feel pretty drunk. From 16-20, it was like a 3 beer buzz, but later it got more intense.

The whole way down the east side of the lake the wind was to our backs and the sun was shining. I remember feeling great and the temperature being perfect. I am not sure if I ever even broke a sweat.

The dam was at mile 20 and I started to get mentally fuzzier. I stopped checking out the crowd and basically was focused on what was ahead. At the Winstead/Gaston turn, I saw Wes Roemer and he asked how I was doing. I told him I was a little light headed. I was actually at about a 5 beer buzz at this point.

As we approached the Hooters water station just before 21, I remember looking for the 3:20 pace group and saw them up ahead about 150 yards. I asked Dalton what she thought and she said she thought we were still just ahead of schedule. I remember thinking, "Oh Crap, we are right on schedule about to hit the final hills. Time to dig."

There is no nice way to put this. The Dolly Parton hills are hell. It is just relentless for over a mile between 21 and 22. Look what it did to my pace up to 22:

19    07:34:00
20    07:49:00
21    07:53:00
22    08:07:00

For the first time, we were over 8 minutes. I knew this would happen and our race plan called for making it up in the final four miles.

Dalton and I pride ourselves on our hill running skills and I think keeping it to an 8:07 today was respectable.

But...

With the hills behind us, I took my last GU, got my breathing stabilized said something encouraging to Dalton and then mentally told myself, "Dude, this is it. Put the hammer down and lets get this." So I literally gave it everything I had and felt like I was hauling butt only to look down at the GPS to see my pace still in the 8s. So I played some more mind games.

- "This will be over in 30 minute"
- "Don't be a wuss"
- "Dalton is gonna beat you"
- "Why are you holding back"

So I really pushed on. I was back in the 7s for a bit and looked around to discover I left Dalton. I was a little worried about leaving her and then I heard her say, "Mike, Just Go For It."

I kept pushing for another couple minutes and then my 5 beer buzz went to about 10 and I started to get a little tunnel vision - Mostly just wavy lines on the periphery.

I felt like I was really moving along just to see 8:30s on the watch. "Come on Mike. Almost there. Push." It is a weird feeling when your brain is telling your legs to do something and they just say NO.

The amazing thing is I was not in any pain and there were no cramps. I was just plain old out of gas.

Mile 23-25 were a real battle and the fade here is where I lost the BQ:

23   08:08:00
24   08:06:00
25   08:35:00

Dalton caught me at the beginning of Mile 26. I already knew I missed the BQ. I think she thought there was some way to still get it and she was kicking. She was really encouraging me and I love her for it. It killed me to say "This is all I got D. Go On!" I was glad to see her pick up the pace and get about 50-60 yards ahead at the finish. She got me by 18 seconds.

The last mile was a total blur. I know there were thousands of cheering fans and it was fun passing the hordes of 1/2 marathoners. I cannot imagine running a 1/2 marathon for 3+ hours.

As I came into fair park, I really tried to pick it up, but again, I was at max throttle around 8:50 at this point. And that is how I finished:

26    08:40:00
27    08:50:00

My final time was right at 3:25. Dalton's and my GPS said we went 26.46 Miles. I am wondering if the course was a bit long. It did not matter though. I was four minutes off pace. That would have gotten me to about 1 minute off pace, but not quite there.

I was a bit emotional at the finish for many reasons:
- I finished a marthon at 40 years old, after a heart attack and loosing 100 pounds last year.
- I beat my previous record I set in 1995 in Austin at a much faster course when I was 25 yrs old by 8 minutes.
- I feel like I ran the best race I could today and left nothing on the course.
- I know now that I can and will qualify for Boston. It just may take one or two more tries.
- Last year, I ran the 1/2 marathon in 2 hours and it kicked my butt. Our 1/2 marathon time in the marathon today was 1:39!

I am so proud of Dalton for crushing her previous best of 3:32 with an 7 minute PR. She ran a wonderful race and was a god send to have at my side. Thanks D!

I wanted to keep this post specifically about the race, but I will add one little side note. If you have never run and wonder why we do it, I can't speak for everyone, but for me it is very simple:

I marathon because it shows me that there is still possibility and triumph in life.

Three Days Out!

2010-12-02T08:45:00.000-06:00

Let's see. I feel rested, but I am a bit restless from not working out although I am sleeping pretty well.

My hip seems mostly cleared up but I have not run on it yet.

I think I will do a short 2 mile run tomorrow morning.

I am starting loading tomorrow AM.

Dalton picks me and Blake up at 6:45 and we will drive down together.

It is nice having the blog to voice thoughts about this thing that is a really big deal to me, but not really to anyone else. ;)

6 Days Out - Marathon Checklist

2010-11-29T08:55:00.001-06:00

- Weather looks good - 40->60 partly cloudy
- Need to buy GUs and Bananas. I think I will take one GU/banana every 3 miles - That's6 GUs and 2 bananas
- Need to tell Sheri where to meet me with GU
- Need to coordinate logistics with Dalton - should pre-buy train tickets
- Shoes are ready
- Write Socks are ready
- Shorts are ready
- Will wear ball cap and sun glasses
- Bought technical shirt at Lukes
- GPS is set and charging
- Not going to bring iPhone

Darn Hip

2010-11-28T09:29:00.000-06:00

I am worried about my left hip. It has been hurting a little during runs for the last two weeks. I ran the Turkey Trot (8 miles) on Thursday and it flamed up a bit. I did three miles this morning and it was still there. The pain is not unbearable and is not affecting my form, but I am worried that late in the marathon it is going to become a problem.

I have decided to take it easy until the race and not run at all this week. I would rather do some short runs to stay sharp, but I think it is more important to get this hip thing cleared up.

*fingers crossed*

Why Marathon

2010-11-21T18:34:00.000-06:00

To remember that there is triumph and possibility in your life.

That may be it.

2 Weeks Out

2010-11-21T12:03:00.000-06:00

I am getting psyched for the Marathon. This time, two weeks from now, we will know if all the preparation was worth it. I feel really great. Muscles are loose and I did a nice 10 miles with 4 at < MP today. I have almost no sense of pain or tightness. I will continue to taper for the next two weeks. Over the next two weeks, I will make sure I am eating and sleeping well and keeping stress down.

It feels like the only variable right now is weather. It was mid 70s this morning, but 30s on Friday. You never know in Dallas. I figure that as long as it is not rainy or too windy I can deal with any temp between 35 and 65 without a material difference in pace. I will just need to drink alot more if it is hotter.

I will do another Taper post next Sunday.

Sailing Before + After...

2010-11-18T09:33:00.001-06:00

Dad sent me this pic of me sailing before I lost weight...

I REALLY Don't want to go back there.

Good or Bad?

2010-11-17T13:29:00.001-06:00

Day: 437, P90X Chest and Back

2010-11-16T08:21:00.002-06:00

Workout

P90X Chest and Back
Status: Completed
Smoke out

OMG - this was a total smoke out today. I have not been doing upper body because I have been focusing on running. The push ups and pulls ups totally ate my lunch. After the marathon I am doing a new P90X round to bring my upper body back into alignment.

Warning Signs @ 6:30 Pace

2010-11-12T09:53:00.000-06:00

Last weekend at The Half and this morning, my left calf started "tweaking" when I got down in the mid 6 min pace. Dalton and I were pushing 6:30s for a while this morning and then I started to "tweak" in my right calf. I stopped for a minute and stretched and we were able to keep going at a strong 7:15 pace.

What I am finding is that my body (and calf) are happy above 7 min, but when I get into the 6 min range, I risk pulling/tearing. Dalton thinks that is my body saying "hey dude, you are not a 6:30 pacer yet, time to slow down." She also says that over time, these micro injuries are just the body's way of building to that next level.

That is music to my ears, because I want to be running mid 6 pace comfortably and injury free next year. For the next three weeks going into the Marathon, I am gonna keep it over 7 min pace and not test it. After the Marathon, I am going to start doing much more speed work and see if I can build out those mid 6 min muscles over the following 4 months leading up to Austin. I have a feeling that the SMU track and I will become close frenimies.

This will be an interesting next saga in my running journey and should teach me a ton about "grabbing that next gear."

Proposed Map for new WW Marathon Course

2010-11-10T10:25:00.002-06:00

I think I am going to like this course. I love the final down swiss and first. That is very flat. The Dolly Partons are late in the run, Not sure if that is good or not. I like that we will be with the 1/2 runners longer. I am hoping to pace the first 9 with Blake.

Great post from Blake's "competition" this weekend...

2010-11-09T11:00:00.000-06:00

http://motivationmamadrama.blogspot.com/2010/11/131-at-13.html

Blake's this I believe paper...

2010-11-08T21:09:00.001-06:00

“You have to wonder at times what you're doing out there. Over the years, I've given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement. “- Steve Prefontaine, College and Olympic runner.

I believe in running. I believe in going the extra mile, literally.

Earlier this summer, I spent most of my days with a pull-up bar and a dumbbell. One early August morning, fifteen pounds lighter, I decided I was ready for a change in routine. I heard that my dad was training for the Boston Marathon. Boston Marathon!? This caught my attention and somewhat puzzled me, because before he hit the P90X workout regimen, exercise was the last priority in his life.

That morning, footsteps crept through my room. I see the rugged beard lean over my face. My dad whispered, “Blake, get up. Let’s go ten miles. I know you haven’t been doing a lot to train for cross country, but this will be good for you.” Ten miles? At my age? This guy is nuts. I took a few seconds to think more about it. What if I could do it? I envisioned myself crossing the ten mile marker. “Sure.”

Within five minutes, the rubber on my shoes was striking the black, cold concrete. Mile 1. This is easy-peasy. Only ten of these, no problem. My dad tells me that we are going all the way downtown. I look at the buildings and sky scrapers. Uh oh. Maybe I am not up for this after all.

The first mile ended with ease. I am slowly getting used to this pattern….Left, right, left, right, left. I was feeling strong, and now I had 2 miles under my belt. My dad and I chat back and forth for a long while. After a minute of the pace slowly accelerating, I ask my dad why we are speeding up. Apparently, marathon pace hurts.

Mile 3. This was the hardest mile yet. After warming up and getting used to the pace, my dad sped up. My chest slowly inflated and deflated, and I could see the condensation appear with every breath I took. My dad assured me that if I was starting to get scared about breathing too hard, it was just my brain telling me to stop, even though my body can do more than my synapses tell my body.

Mile 4. We finally reached a pace where we both could keep a constant rhythm. If my synapses ever told my body to stop, it was then. Why did I keep moving? At that point in the run, I had no idea. We were coming up on Lakewood, and our rhythm ended momentarily for the triumphant swig of water. Almost half way there.

Mile 5. This pace was comforting. My body finally convinced my brain that I could do it. Pain egressed from my core and my legs. My dad explained this phenomenon as a “runner’s high”, or an endorphin rush. The “physician” explained to me that my body released a hormone known as an endorphin throughout my bloodstream. It released pain and is considered a natural anti-depressant. I feel confident as Central Expressway comes into view.

Mile 6. We entered the Katy trail. The endorphins still overpowered any pain that I might have been experiencing. Bridges passed under my feet with ease. How was it that I was not tired? I was probably more tired at the beginning of the run as my dad dragged me out of bed on an early Saturday morning. My feet started to ache, but I kept going, because, well, it was all I could do.

Mile 7. Glimpses of green and silver buildings passed over the trees I ran. I was close, and I knew it. I was also exhausted. Every step came with the thought…How much farther until water? My endorphin rush had left me, and I was running on pure will power. Muscles constricted, muscles contracted. I thought I saw the end of the trail, but soon revealed a long bend in the trail. When is it over?

Mile 8. As I squinted, I finally saw the end of the trail. I can do this! Almost home! When I finally came past the last loop, I kept my eyes forward. I guess this is the key to being successful at anything... Looking forward. Because if you are only looking backwards, you’ll never see how far you could have gone. Possibilities lie in the future and not the past.

Mile 9. The pain rushing in my muscles and lungs was a small pittance compared to the awesome sense of achievement of finally seeing downtown Dallas. My dad told me I had to run into Victory Plaza. (I know why they call it Victory Plaza now.)

Mile ten. When I saw the AT&T sign, I let myself accelerate, until I was running a full on sprint. Stone beneath my feet and pain within my lungs, but I reached it, and I threw my hands in the air celebrating myself.

Why was I so proud of myself? I understood that many people run this distance or farther every day. Why was I proud? In the time I could have spent sleeping, I accomplished something that I never in my dreams believed I could do. I learned that I, Blake, could do anything that I truly work at, be it running or math or basketball or science. You can only achieve while looking forward. I believe in running. I believe that running allows one to test your body to the fullest capacity. I believe that running shows me that determination, hard work, and devotion can all lead toward the highest level of success and achievement. Possibilities… This I believe…

- Blake Bordelon

That's what I have been saying...

2010-11-08T14:23:00.001-06:00

At the end of the day, it is calories in vs. calories out. If you eat 2000 and burn 2500 you will loose weight. It doesn't matter what he calories are.

All this fat free, gluten free, high carb, low carb, high fiber, paleo stuff is BS if your goal is to loose weight.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/index.html?hpt=T2

Big Weekend for Bordelon's!

2010-11-08T08:13:00.004-06:00

I am reflecting on a pretty amazing athletic weekend for my family.

SHERI:
Let's start with Sheri. She walked 60 miles over three days to raise money for Breast Cancer research. That is a really long way to go and she did it without any training. She sure has some serious blisters to show for her effort, but otherwise, she is upbeat and already signed up for next year. Sheri is not the sappy type and does not really show her emotions much, but I could tell that she had a really deep feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction for raising $5000 and completing the walk.

Sheri at 3-Day:

Closing Ceremonies:

GRANT:
Then there is Grant. He is an amazing Right Guard in football. Every game he leaves nothing on the field and completely annihilates anyone with the ball. He got 6 sacks on Saturday and does an amazing job on heads up tackling. I love watching him Pull on the option. He leaves a path of destruction for the ball carrier to run through.

JAYCE:
Jayce has become a football star too. He is on offense and caught several hard throws and has started running the ball. He is a bit bigger than the other kids and is kind of intimidating coming down the field. He has improved a ton this year and I think he will follow in Grants footsteps in coming years.

Now to the 1/2 Marathon. Blake and I ran the DRC Half this weekend.

MIKE:
This was a tune up race for me as I am finishing up my training for the White Rock Marathon. I planned to run the race in 1:37. That would have been a 7:24 pace (about ten seconds per mile faster than my Marathon Pace). I ran a 7:12 pace and finished in 1:34. I looked back at my 2005 finish time for the same race and I ran a 2:07. So I am five years older and ran 33 minutes faster. That means in 5 more years, I will run a... ;)

Anyhow, the race was a real confidence booster for me and I am feeling confident that if I am injury free, well fueled and the weather is good, I should be able to Boston Qualify on Dec 6. Here are my stats from the run:

Cruising Along:

BLAKE:
Blake was an absolute animal at the race. He has turned into such a spiritual runner. He tells me running is how he is fining out what he is capable of. I printed out a 7:45 pace band for him to track his splits each mile. He said up until mile 9 he was within 10 seconds of the goal pace. That alone shows maturity and poise to be able to nail your goal pace like that. Then he decided he felt good enough to open it up a bit and dropped the hammer. The last four miles were a work of art as he pushed into the 7:40s to finish with an overall of 1:44 (a minute faster than goal pace). The amazing thing is the kid is 13 years old. The end result was a first place and a huge feeling of accomplishment.

Blake with Running Buddies Zack and Paint:

Blake near Finish (serious determination):

Blake getting his 1st place medal (The Stars Dancers were icing on the cake):

Go Bordelon Family! Go!!!

Notes on Long Run - Cramping Lesson

2010-10-25T09:44:00.001-05:00

I went 23 miles on Saturday and felt great. It was a bit hot and humid and I really sweated. The last two miles were very hilly and I started to cramping a bit. I did some reading and it looks like that is easily fixed with bananas and Gatoraid (potassium and salt). I had neither on the run on Saturday. I will make sure I eat at least 3 bananas on race day and drink Gatoraid at each water stop.

Other than that, I felt strong and had some nice 7:30-7:40 miles pretty late in the run.

Give Me A Break So I Can Rock!

2010-10-14T09:48:00.002-05:00

I got sick this week and have decided to take it easy and not jump back into working out. This got me thinking about breaks. I have been obsessive about not missing workouts or runs over the last 400 days. At some point, this takes a physical and mental toll. I bet my performance over the last month has been sub-optimal due to forcing myself through workouts even though I was tired or in some cases borderline injured.

These last 4 days of chilling out have let my muscles all get nice and recovered and for the first time in a long time, nothing is sore at all. It feels kind of weird to be honest.

I have two fitness goals that are sort of at odds. One is to merely maintain my weight and general shape/fitness level. I think I could achieve that by just doing 2 runs, 1 resistance and 1 yoga workout per week and take three days off. Because of my stupid metabolism, I will have to really watch my caloric intake on off days.

The other goal is this Boston qualifier goal. I have 7 week until White Rock Marathon. My goals is to run a sub 3:20. That comes to a 7:38 pace. That sounds very doable to me, but realistically, I need to shoot for a 7:30 moving pace to account for water, pee and other slow downs.

So, I think this week was good for me to get mentally and physically reset. The timing was good because I can now focus on running for the next 6 weeks and focus on staying healthy and fast.

I am going to limit my weeks to 4 runs per week and at least one yoga and resistance workout. The key is to maintain the base I have earned, up my speed a little and NOT GET INJURED. In fact, I want to make sure that there are no more tweaks or major aches.

Here is my 3-4 run per week plan to hit the BQ (Boston Qualification):

Week 1

10 Mile Hill
8 Mile Loop
2 Mile Cross Country Race (Speed Work)
Yoga

Week 2

24 Mile @ MP (Need a Buddy)
8 Mile Recovery
2 Mile Cross Country Race
Yoga
Core Resistance

Week 3

10 Mile Hill
12 Mile Big Loop or Downtown Run
Track with Nick's group (Speed)
Yoga
Chest and Back and Abs

Week 4

22 Mile LSD (Need a Buddy)
6 Mile Recovery Run
Bike Ride
Yoga

Week 5

10 Mile Hill
Ft. Worth 13.1
5 mile recovery
Yoga
Core Resistance

Week 6

12 Mile LSD
5 Mile 70-80% MP
Turkey Trot
20-30 mile Bike Ride
Yoga

Week 7 (Taper)

Need to figure this one out

Day: 404, Calories: 750

2010-10-14T08:11:00.001-05:00

Log Entry

Daily Note:
Back to 80%. Will take today off and try a run tomorrow.

Nutrition

750 Calories
Eggs and toast 150
Yogurt 80
Pork TL 300
Popcorn 100
Pine apple 100

Day: 403, Calories: 1630

2010-10-13T22:11:00.001-05:00

Nutrition

Geez!

2010-10-13T11:30:00.000-05:00

The last few days has been rough. Last Friday we bought the house next store as an investment property and have been working through closing and renovations. Between Friday, Sat and Sunday, I did about 25 hours of heavy manual labor taking out the bath and kitchen and laying tile, sanding floors and getting fencing and such ordered.

On Sunday morning, I ran 20 miles with Pete. Then on Monday I got hit with a stomach virus and was laid out for two days. I am finally back with the living. I think I will take it easy today and tomorrow and then try out a run on Friday with Scott.

Day: 400, Calories: 0, Distance Running

2010-10-10T22:02:00.001-05:00

Nutrition

0 Calories
Pigged out to dig out of 3500 cal workout.

Workout

Distance Running
Status: Completed
20 miles with pete

Workout

Other (Use Note Field)
Status: Completed
Home improvement 8 hours.

Blake's new PR at CC Meet last night!

2010-10-08T10:10:00.002-05:00

Blake tied me last night at the cross country meet. We both ran 13:30. That is a PR for us. I was at red line so I know he was really pushing it. I am very proud of his progress from running 20s last year.

That course forces up your VO2 in the first 2 minutes and and you never come down.

Day: 396, Calories: 2310, P90X+ Interval X Plus

2010-10-06T17:18:00.001-05:00

Nutrition

Workout

P90X+ Interval X Plus
Status: Completed
With Angie

A little Wednesday Perspective

2010-10-06T12:42:00.000-05:00

you already have the life you want

How many people you know are satisfied with their life? Anyone? Bueller?

I think most Americans are trained from birth to be fundamentally unfulfilled. I am not sure if this is the natural order of things. There is no material thing that will make you fundamentally happier or healthier.

Anyhow, I don't have all the answers, but I know this article rings true for me.

Happy Wednesday!

Day: 394, Calories: 2130, P90X Back & Biceps

2010-10-04T19:17:00.001-05:00

Log Entry

Daily Note:
Traveling to IN today. I need to take it easy on the legs for a couple days. Left calf still tweaky.

Nutrition

Workout

P90X Back & Biceps
Status: Completed

Workout

P90X Ab Ripper
Status: Completed

Day: 395, Calories: 1620, P90X Rest

2010-10-03T17:17:00.001-05:00

Log Entry

Daily Note:
I am up a few lbs today. Not sure why. Need to lean up over the next week.

Nutrition

1620 Calories
1 X 1 cup whole grain cereal | 200 cals
Veggie subway 500
1 X 8 oz. non fat plain yogurt | 120 cals
Chili and cornbread 500
Cheese and cracker 100
1 X 3 cups light popcorn | 100 cals

Workout

P90X Rest
Status: Completed

15K PR - 2nd in Clydesdale

2010-10-02T16:39:00.001-05:00

Had a good 15K DRC loop race today. Broke my PR by 3 minutes. I felt really strong until the last mile and my left calf got a little tweaky. I had to slow down a bit.

Blake, Paint, and Zac got 1-3 and all ran sub 80 minutes.

Finally some cooler weather.

Overall... Great Race Day!

Day: 391, Calories: 1500, P90X Rest

2010-10-01T18:33:00.001-05:00

Nutrition

1500 Calories
1 X 6 egg whites | 100 cals
Soup150
Cheese crackers 300
2apples 200
Steak sweet potato cressant 500
Pine apple 100
Yogurt 100
Popcorn 100

Workout

P90X Rest
Status: Completed
Rest up for 15 k race tomorrow.

Day: 390, Calories: 2000, Distance Running

2010-09-30T22:38:00.001-05:00

Nutrition

2000 Calories
Eggs 100
Go lean 100
Chili 300
Pear 100
Apple 100
Nuts 200
Sweet potato 200
Subway 700
Nuts 200

Workout

Distance Running
Status: Completed
6 miles.

Day: 388, Calories: 1800, P90X+ Upper Plus

2010-09-28T20:29:00.001-05:00

Nutrition

Workout

P90X+ Upper Plus
Status: Completed

Workout

Interval Run-Sprints
Status: Completed
4 mile with cc team.

Day: 387, Calories: 1750, Rest Day

2010-09-27T15:55:00.001-05:00

Nutrition

1750 Calories
Oatmeal 100
Grapefruit 50
Raisin 100
Pb 200
Nuts 250
Pork and rice 300
Cheese 50
Apple 100
Pear 100
More pork and rice 400
Veggies 100

Workout

Rest Day
Status: Completed

First 20 miler in 15 years

2010-09-27T08:44:00.000-05:00

Ran this one with Pete. Felt really great and we really covered some ground. It was like a mini marathon course. I plan to do another 20 in two weeks and then step up to 24.

Now for some speed and hill work.

Day: 385, Calories: 2000, P90X Chest and Back

2010-09-25T19:50:00.001-05:00

Nutrition

2000 Calories
Shake 300
Thai 600
Breakfast for dinner 700
Nuts and apples 400

Workout

P90X Chest and Back
Status: Completed

Day: 384, Calories: 1920, Yoga - Hot/Bikram

2010-09-24T17:11:00.001-05:00

Log Entry

Daily Note:
Starting to feel better. Looking forward to run with pete on Sunday.

Nutrition

Workout

Yoga - Hot/Bikram
Status: Not Complete
Sunstone with AK.

Day: 383, Calories: 1600, P90X Rest

2010-09-23T19:56:00.001-05:00

Nutrition

1600 Calories
½ X 1 cup oatmeal | 100 cals
½ X 1 oz. nuts | 100 cals
1 X 1 medium grapefruit | 100 cals
Sushi 600
Salad and sweet potato 300
Nuts 400

Workout

P90X Rest
Status: Completed
Achey ankles. Need to rest up for 20 mile run this weekend.

FAT FREE JEW

2010-09-22T18:43:00.000-05:00

I found this guy using the Bring IT app for his blog. He is on day 18 and looks pretty strong. Best of all his Blog posts are from the app!!!

Go Fat Free Jew!

Bob Parsons on Work

2010-09-22T15:35:00.003-05:00

I host with GoDaddy. I know, I know. I caved into their "sex sells" marketing and their $5/month hosting fees. Anyhow, Bob Parsons (CEO) does these fun VBlogs and I especially liked this one. Enjoy...

Day: 382, Calories: 1810, P90X Plyometrics

2010-09-22T13:31:00.001-05:00

Nutrition

Workout

P90X Plyometrics
Status: Completed
With Angie at office.

Eat Your Bananas People!!!

2010-09-22T09:42:00.004-05:00

Day: 381, Calories: 1070, Distance Running

2010-09-21T17:50:00.001-05:00

Nutrition

Workout

Distance Running
Status: Completed
5 mile cross country practice.

Day: 380, Calories: 1950, Distance Running

2010-09-20T18:22:00.001-05:00

Nutrition

Workout

Distance Running
Status: Completed
11 mile hill with Dalton.

Lovin' my new Green Silence

2010-09-20T11:30:00.000-05:00

I got a pair of Green Silence form Brooks last week. I was looking for a semi-minimalist street shoe that I can run the marathons in. I have definitely found it. In the last 4 days I have run 42 miles in them and I feel like a million bucks. The are low drop, but have nice cushioning and very little structure up top. After 40 miles of hills, LSD, and intervals, I do not have one blister or hot spot.

I plan to still train in the Vibrams on short runs and in the grass, but this is definitely my new street shoe.

First Lake Highlands Hill Run

2010-09-20T07:52:00.002-05:00

I have been putting off doing the Lake Highlands Hill Run until now. I went out with Dalton Smith this morning. It was really great. We did 11 total (I did not start the GPS until mile 3).

Dalton really screams down hill. I asked her about it, and she said it is a good way to get you body comfortable with moving faster and cycling the legs faster. I tried letting it fly on the last drop down Flagpole hill. It was like I was flying. I felt a little out of control, but nothing dangerous.

Anyhow, it was a great run and I think it gave me confidence to go run with Nick and the gang.

Day: 379, Calories: 1820, Distance Running

2010-09-19T19:07:00.002-05:00

Nutrition

Workout

Distance Running
Status: Completed
7 mile recovery run.

This choked me up... hit pretty close to home.

2010-09-19T17:09:00.002-05:00

Day: 378, Calories: 2000, Distance Running

2010-09-18T19:03:00.002-05:00

Nutrition

2000 Calories
Omelet 300
Oatmeal 100
Toast 200
Potatoes 150
French dip and soup 600
Cheese 100
Nuts 400
Apple 100

Workout

Distance Running
Status: Completed
18 miles.

Day: 377, Calories: 2010, P90X Yoga X

2010-09-17T19:03:00.001-05:00

Nutrition

2010 Calories
1 X 1 cup whole grain cereal | 200 cals
½ X 8 oz. skim milk | 60 cals
Soup 1/2 sandwich 300
Chips 200
Cheese 100

1 X 1 medium apple | 100 cals
Fish tacos 600
Beer 200
Pb and cracker 200

Workout

P90X Yoga X
Status: Completed
First 45 min to stretch for tomorrow.

Day: 377, Calories: 1010, P90X Yoga X

2010-09-17T17:01:00.001-05:00

Nutrition

1010 Calories
1 X 1 cup whole grain cereal | 200 cals
½ X 8 oz. skim milk | 60 cals
Soup 1/2 sandwich 300
Chips 200
Cheese 100

1 X 1 medium apple | 100 cals

Workout

P90X Yoga X
Status: Completed
First 45 min to stretch for tomorrow.

Day: 376, Calories: 1300, Interval Run-Sprints

2010-09-16T10:05:00.001-05:00

Nutrition

Workout

Interval Run-Sprints
Status: Completed
Blake and I did sub 5 min/mile 300 yd repeats after 5 miles.

Day: 374, Calories: 1620, P90X Shoulders & Arms

2010-09-14T21:12:00.001-05:00

Nutrition

Workout

P90X Shoulders & Arms
Status: Completed

Workout

P90X Ab Ripper
Status: Completed

Day: 373, Calories: 1910, P90X Rest

2010-09-13T19:44:00.001-05:00

Nutrition

Workout

P90X Rest
Status: Completed
I started chest and back and just wasn't feeling it. I'll get up early tomorrow and bring it.

Blake Rocked 10 Miles Today

2010-09-12T21:43:00.001-05:00

We kept the pace slow and focused on form. Blake ran the 3 miles on Katy Trail completely barefoot. He is tired but not hurt in any way. It is cool watching him learn to run barefoot. His form is beautiful and he is not having any of the typical injuries as he is ramping up miles.

He thinks he is going to run the White Rock 1/2. I think that is realistic based on today as long as he fuels well and paces himself.

Day: 372, Calories: 1750, Distance Running

2010-09-12T20:41:00.001-05:00

Nutrition

1750 Calories
Barbecs 700
Wine 300
Cheese and veggies 250
1 X 3 oz. fish or shellfish | 100 cals
1 X 3 oz. red meat lean | 100 cals
1 X 1 cup brown or wild rice | 200 cals
1 X 1 cup cooked veggies | 50 cals

Workout

Distance Running
Status: Completed
10.5 miles with Blake. His longest base run yet.

Day: 371, Calories: 1900, Insanity Max Interval Circuit

2010-09-11T23:22:00.001-05:00

Log Entry

Daily Note:
Test

Nutrition

Workout

Insanity Max Interval Circuit
Status: Completed
Woozy at the end.

Day: 370, Calories: 2170, Interval Run-Sprints

2010-09-10T20:12:00.001-05:00

Nutrition

Workout

Interval Run-Sprints
Status: Completed
5 miles

Well... That put a couple bricks on the house

2010-09-10T18:30:00.001-05:00

Day: 369, Calories: 2300, Distance Running

2010-09-09T17:57:00.001-05:00

Nutrition

Workout

Distance Running
Status: Completed
4 mile cross country practice.

Day: 368, Calories: 2145, P90X Shoulders & Arms

2010-09-08T15:11:00.001-05:00

Nutrition

Workout

P90X Shoulders & Arms
Status: Completed

Workout

P90X Ab Ripper
Status: Completed

Day: 367, Calories: 1750, Rest Day

2010-09-07T18:03:00.001-05:00

Log Entry

Daily Note:
Off to Seattle for a couple days. Back is still hurting. I plan to not from for the next four days.

Nutrition

Workout

Rest Day
Status: Completed

My New Birthday

2010-09-07T12:30:00.000-05:00

This week is the one year anniversary of me starting to get in shape. On the evening of September 6, 2009 I did my first P90X workout. I remmeber putting in Chest and Back and trying the workout with the boys. I had to do all the push ups on my knees and I could not do one pull up without a chair assist. It was so foreign to me to be doing all this resistance for over an hour and then to take on Ab Ripper - I bet I only did 25% of that monster.

Anyhow, the last year has been a heck of a journey for me and I feel like I have accomplished a lot:
- I am generally much happier and never depressed
- My stress levels are much lower
- I feel like I have much better balance of life. I am now spending much more quality time with the family, coaching cross country, writing software again, and working efficiently in my job.
- I lost about 100 lbs of fat and gained about 30 lbs of muscle.
- My family in much healthier.
- I learned how to cook.
- I am in the best running shape of my life and I think I have a plan to find my potential.
- I have been blessed to help over 30 people find their personal paths to fitness and health.
- I have made new and re-ignitied old friendships through fitness.
- I built a pretty cool iPhone app that is helping many (3000+) people achieve their goals with P90X.

Sheri is so cool! She understands that 9/6 is now a more important day to me than my real birthday, so she bought me a new iPhone and threw a little party for me. I am so blessed to have her and I feel like our relationship is stronger than ever.

Looking forward, I only really see possibilities. I plan to:
- Continue my fitness journey including attempting to qualify for Boston without injury
- Find the best job fit for my career
- Enagage more in my community and find meaningful ways to help people
- Raise the best young men I possibly can

One of my only remaining fears is that I allow myself to slip back in to an physicially and mentally unhealthy state. I think it would be easy to start sliding and not watching nutrition and not working out. I have to make sure I do not stop. Continuing to blog and write down everything I eat is a key tool for me to hold myself accountable. Some days I wonder if I have to keep doing blogging or if I can stop. For now, I know it works for me and it is nice to be able to go back and see the journey. So, I guess I will keep on going and see where this goes. Who knows, five years from now I could still be blogging every nut and apple I eat. It would be fun to see Day 1825 on the blog!

I appreciate all the folks out there that come by the site to check in. I have a little site counter and usually 50+ people swing by each day. I hope in some small way my journey has helped you and you are able to find peace, strength, happiness, clarity, and hope for the future.

Keep On Livin!

Blake gets first place in 5 mile DRC run

2010-09-04T10:45:00.001-05:00

I ran the 5 mile DRC run with Blake this morning. The idea is that this is a good training practice to get up speed and distance. I was thinking we would do an 8min overall pace and come in around 40 minutes. Blake had other ideas. He ran an absolutely perfect race. We started at a nice comfortable 7:48 and then worked down from there. His fifth mile was a 7:10.

WOW!!!

The kid blows me away. He is great at everything he does. He gets straight A's, is the president of NJHS now and the student counsel last year, and now is demonstrating amazing running skills.

You should hear him. He totally has the running bug. He wants to do an easy 10 tomorrow. I told him to take it easy. We need to do strength training too.

Anyhow, if you can't tell, I am really proud of him and it is fun seeing him get to a point where he is actually pushing me a bit.

Here is the GPS data:

Day: 363, Calories: 370

2010-09-03T08:28:00.001-05:00

Log Entry

Daily Note:
Taking a rest day to get ready for race tomorrow.

Nutrition

370 Calories
½ X 1 cup oatmeal | 100 cals
½ X 1 oz. dried fruit | 50 cals
1 X 1.5 oz. low fat cheese | 120 cals
½ X 1 cup baked beans | 100 cals