A Fast Three Miler

There's a lot to say about this morning's run. I'll try to update this post later. Suffice it to say, I ran an 8:57 mile to close this run. Yeah!

6 Miles in Humidity Feel like 8

Our neighbor David, a sprint triathlete, joined use for this run. For Kent, it was a Monday run...his least favorite. For David, it was a rare run after plantar fasciitis. So I ended up being the pacesetter. Fascinating.

By far the fastest 3-mile loop during training yet.

It's a Long, Long Run...

Short version: I've got a long way to go before December 8 in Huntsville.

Long version:

Twelve miles.
We're 11 weeks from the race.
And I ran a lousy long run.
It was warmer than expected. More humid than we had anticipated.
2:20:43 (11:44 pace)
If I had run a marathon on Saturday at that pace, I would not have broken five hours.
My iPod decided to lock up as we started. I tried to fix it on the go to no avail.
We ran on the Natchez Trace. A great place for cycling. A great place for training for a hilly course. Not the greatest place to run to build one's confidence.
I timed myself and my splits against the mile markers.

0 - 1.3 miles: 13:06.81 (Right at a 10-minute per mile pace. Yee Haw!)
1.3 - 2.3 miles: 10:03.34 (Wow. Not bad.)
2.3 - 3.3 miles: 10:29.03 (Still doing great.)
3.3 - 4.3 miles: 11:13.63 (We had a water break. I'm still thrilled)
4.3 - 5.3 miles: 11:37.94 (Uh oh. Trouble ahead.)
5.3 - 6.0 miles: 7:24.94

That means my split was 1:03:55.69 or so. That pace works out to 10:39.28. That's a 4:39:00 marathon pace. (Also, look at my September 25th run...1:03:28. Not bad. I'm happy with that.)

But when we turned around, legs, lungs, hills, and chaffing worked their perfect storm madness on me.

6:00 - 6.7 miles: 8:02.61
6.7 - 8.7 miles: 25:36.76 (I was so tired, I missed a mile marker)
8.7 - 9.7 miles: 12;18.88
9.7 - 10.7 miles: 14:18.31 (Yikes!)
10.7 - 12 miles: 16:31.31

So, I finish in 1:16:47.87. Average mile pace of 12:48.

There are hundreds of variables when running. It's fascinating. Here are some of the ones I faced last night as I prepared and this morning as I got ready.
How much sleep did I get the night before?
Which shorts am I wearing today?
Which shirt is clean?
Which socks?
How much water did I drink yesterday? This morning?
How much protein did I consume?
How tight (loose) are my shoes?
Temperature?
Humidity?
Traffic?
Wind?
Fog?
You didn't see that pothole!
Why is there a SLOW song in my head? Get it out!

I hope your day got off to a less confusing start.

According to Cluster Maps (See left column), I have a reader in Australia and a couple in Europe. Greetings to you. I hope any and all blog readers can take the time to say hi through the comments section below.

Godspeed.

I LOVE Cool Weather

I know my endurance is improving.
I know my weight is dropping.
I know my speed is increasing.

BUT OH how I love runs during cool weather. This run felt amazing. I should've pushed myself much harder earlier in the run. I could've run two or three more miles.

May tomorrow's 6-miler feel as beautiful as today's three.

An Early Seven Down Del Rio

This run would've gone much better with a strategically placed Port-a-Potty.

Progress is coming slowly. The average pace was 0:10:39, so the pace is improving.

When I Went Out Late to Avoid the Rain

My shins killed me last night. But I decided to run hard anyway. Twila Paris' "Seventy Years Ago" came on the iPod and I decided to go with it. The beats per minute of the song is perfect for my pace. So for four minutes, I ran. I ran. And it felt good. Until I stopped. And the shin pain came back.

Can I run seven miles tomorrow?

Five Miles with a Kick

Three things worked together for a great run this morning. My last two speed workouts have proven to me that I have more down below than I think I do. I've got more fuel and fortitude. Secondly, because of rain yesterday, I had an unexpected mid-week day of rest. And then, oh glorious, the weather was in the 50s when we headed out. Foggy, yes, but marvelous.

I took more than 8:30 off this same course! We were moving! We covered this distance at an average of 10:16 miles. In order to break 4:30:00 in the marathon, one needs to run 10:18 miles or faster. I couldn't have sustained this pace for 21 more miles, but it's only September.

Michael

I'm very proud of my son, Michael. He is involved in, committed to, and excelling at Taekwondo. He is under the instruction of Eric Melton, a former welterweight world kickboxing champion.

Michael recently tested for his blue/black belt. He's now only three belts away from black belt.



I hope Michael knows how proud I am of him. Not for his smarts in school. Not for the way he treats his sisters. Not because of his excellence in Taekwondo. I'm proud of him because he's Michael, a unique and growing young man of God.

P.S. You can find this "ninja text writer" here.

I, too, live in TV Land

Time Magazine released a list of the Top 100 TV Shows of All Time.

You can find the list here.

As I looked at the list, here were my first thoughts about what was missing.

Mad About You, as mentioned above was a beloved show for my wife and me as newlyweds. We were very different from Paul and Jamie, but the writing was amazing.

Sports Night, in my opinion, was the best comedy since M*A*S*H, but is not there.

West Wing... I didn't agree with the politics but the writing (Aaron Sorkin) and characterization made for compelling viewing. Plus, they mixed up the political bag enough to make it interesting. And hearing the President quote so much Scripture, ancient history, and poetry was a treat. (Note, I missed the title when I went through the list. I guess I'm not much of a fan. TIME has it listed as THE West Wing. All this time, I thought the show was just West Wing)

In the same way that Sesame Street redefined kid's television, so did Blue's Clues.

Picket Fences was an amazing program with real issues. And the theme still makes me tear up.

And, I must admit, that if Moonlighting and had NOT made the list, I would throw the entire list out the door.

How he could leave The Andy Griffith Show OFF shocks me.

I would remove the following shows from his list:
An American Family
Brideshead Revisited
See it Now
South Park (If we're discussing disgusting animation for teens and young adults, you've already got Beavis. Why add South Park?

Meileah made the front page!

Blogger's Note: Meileah's pre-K class is featured on the front page of today's Tennessean. Unfortunately, her face is out of focus in the group picture. Her teacher, Laura Anderson, is quoted in the last paragraph.



Monday, 09/10/07
Popularity of Pre-K can Force Juggling Act
Limited space challenges some schools in Midstate

By NATALIA MIELCZAREK
Staff Writer

Midstate schools are finding ways to house a mushrooming state pre-kindergarten program, even though it's not always easy.

One of the fastest-growing counties in the state, Rutherford, offers pre-K instruction only at schools that have enough room to house the classes, without using neighboring churches or community centers.

In Wilson County, some pre-K instructors team-teach, with two teachers and their classes meeting in one room. Watertown Elementary pre-K students learned at an adjacent church last year while a new school building was under construction.

The issue of space — enough room to set up learning centers and allow as many as 20 children to play — is a significant one because it affects the quality of pre-K programs. The National Institute for Early Education Research co-released a study last month that emphasized the importance of adequate pre-K space to allow teachers do their job without constraints.

Wilson County's pre-K coordinator, Denise McMillan, said sometimes finding the right space for the youngest students means switching teachers around.

"It's a challenge because it involves moving some people out of classrooms to accommodate the basic needs with a pre-K classroom, like bathroom and access to water," McMillan said. Wilson County runs nine pre-K classrooms through the state initiative.

The early education research institute tapped Tennessee as a national leader two years in a row in running a high-quality program funded by state dollars. The state Voluntary Pre-K Program operates in 94 of the 95 Tennessee counties and serves 17,000 4-year-olds.

The state has funneled close to $100 million in the past couple of years to launch pre-K classrooms. Just this school year, 31 new pre-K classrooms opened in the Nashville area.

Some find alternatives

Schools must meet several state requirements to designate a room for pre-K instruction, said Bobbi Lussier, executive director of early education programs with the state Department of Education.

For example, a room with 20 pre-K students must be at least 600 square feet — 30 square feet per child — and must have good ventilation and lighting.

"Some (schools) have to look at alternative classrooms which could be located in churches, community and housing development buildings," Lussier said.

Sumner County skipped Tennessee's Voluntary Pre-K Program altogether this year partly because of a lack of available room, district officials said. The district added 2,600 new students in the past four years and launched a building program to catch up with growth and make room for pre-K in the future.

Michele Jones, who has two small children, said she hoped for the public program in Sumner but ended up turning to a private school.

"If they offered pre-K, we wouldn't be paying for private school," Jones said.

'The space does matter'

At Watertown Elementary, last year's arrangement with a church next door was a good fit, McMillan said.

"There has to be a lot of collaboration among a lot of folks to make it work," she said. "It was a success because everyone, the church, the community, took ownership of that."

Pre-K classes in churches can work, but shouldn't be a permanent solu tion, research institute executive director Steve Barnett said.

"The space does matter," he said. "If the space is too small, the kids may be bumping into each other when they work in their areas. If it's too small, it's harder for teachers to do their job."

Laura Anderson at Franklin's Johnson Elementary said she's been lucky. She's had her own classroom at the school from the get-go.



"They have to be able to constantly move around without constantly bumping into one another," she said. "These are 4-year-old children, and they're just learning proper social skills. You want to make sure they have proper space for quality play."

Blogger's Note: One reader left a scathing comment on tennessean.com.

These responsibilities used to be the parents' jobs. Now they are shuffled off to be provided by the state. A sad, sad situation when the kids are read stories by a stranger instead of their mother.

Pretty soon, it will be state-funded interactive vitual reality teacher robots reading to our kids.

My response:
I am one of the parents of a student in Mrs. Anderson's class at Johnson Elementary. We have three older children who are home educated because we take our responsibility as parents very seriously. It it OUR responsibility to raise our children. We are the ones who will be held accountable for their education. My wife, who does the bulk of the instruction, would not exchange her interaction with our children for anything--not for more money, an easier schedule, or more 'personal time'. We, however, had to make a difficult decision this year. Our daughter was born with a cleft lip and palate. Both have been repaired through reconstructive surgery.

Our daughter was born in another country and adopted by us at age three. During the last 18 months, we have worked diligently with a private speech therapist to help her learn to speak. She is far behind peers and has a physiological hill to climb as well.

The work we did at home and the work she did with her private therapist are not enough. As we sought wisdom from others, we were told about the pre-K program offered by Williamson Co. Through Mrs. Anderson's class and the fine work of other professionals in the school district, our daughter is able to receive more intensive speech therapy. We hope that she can grow and improve her speech during this school year.

We are proud to partner with Mrs. Anderson and others in the education of our child.

And, FYI, we read stories to her and long to discover her papers and projects at the end of the day.

Monday's Three

We ran the Starwalt Trail again today. 30:50. First mile was 10:30, second mile was 10:05, but the closing mile was 10:15. We tried hard. I ran sans electronics today.

Some Interesting Thoughts about the Almighty Dollar

Check out these insightful observations about our standard of living.

Long Run Solo

Note to Self: Don't leave late on a long run when the last few miles are on roads with no shoulder. I almost got clipped several times by passing cars.



I enjoyed running with music again. I have a great training partner, but sometimes music is a great distraction to leg pain.

His strength is perfect (steven curtis chapman)

A Probing Quote

"Let us not go faster than God. It is our emptiness and our thirst that he needs, not our plentitude."

-Jacques Maritain

Speed Work

During one of my long runs training for the Country Music Marathon, I discovered a trail that connected Hillsboro Road, a green space, and the back door to Franklin High. This morning, I drove to the head of the trail, jogged through to the high school track, then did a speed workout on the track. (I got lost on my way to the track, however.)

Because I got lost, I didn't have as much time as I hoped for. My warm-up run was longer than intended.

I did four 400m runs today. My goal, according to the 4-second rule, was 2:12.

1: 1:54
2: 1:58
3: 1:58
4: 1:50

So what does this tell us? There's more down deep.

Next Workout: Day of Rest followed by swimming on Friday

The Day After

The marathon training schedule called for five miles today. A tall order after yesterday's "race."

I finished. 1:00:41. That's a 12:08 pace. I didn't take a walk break today.

At 1.5 miles, I felt a pain like an icepick driven vertically down into my right shoulder. This is a recurring pain that happens during most runs. Today's pain was sharper than average, as if the pick had a barb on the end.

At 3.5 miles, my legs stopped hurting. I never know if this is a good thing or a bad thing. Am I supposed to not run through pain? If the pain goes away, am I supposed to stop because I'm getting ready to do some serious damage? Is it my daily dose of endorphins showing up to cheer me on? While I finished strong, I really should be finishing five miles at just under 50 minutes.

Next workout: Speed work, 6x400 at 2:12 or faster
Current weight: 229.8

P.S. After several tests, I can only assume that the battery in my shoe sensor is dead. There is no way to replace these batteries. One must purchase a new Nike+ system.

Franklin Classic 5K

On Labor Day, 2005, I sneaked out of the house before anybody woke up and drove downtown to run the Franklin Classic 5K. I was tired of being overweight and needed to do something. I decided that I would set a benchmark by which to compare my progress. I hadn't trained at all. I didn't care. I needed to do something. I struggled to finish in around 45 minutes.

My intentions didn't bear fruit. I didn't really work out that much for the rest of the fall or winter. We did have a few distractions. I mean, we went to China and adopted a little girl.

Somewhere around my birthday in 2006, I found my goals from 1997. The first goal listed? "Lose from 242 pounds to 179 pounds." I sighed deeply and realized that I had weighed sixty pounds over my target weight for 9+ years.

I joined my company's Weight Watcher's program and began playing basketball with a friend. I began to lose. My friend moved to California and I decided to return to my first love - running.

By December, I had lost enough and was running well enough that I set a goal: to finish the Country Music Marathon in April 2007. I injured my back and missed two weeks of running. I misread my training schedule and missed my longest training run. But I finished.

And now, I've set a goal to run the marathon in Huntsville, Alabama. (See the countdown timer at the top of my blog.) I'm several weeks in to training and ran the Franklin Classic again to test my progress.

I improved, but am disappointed in my time. I didn't warm up enough and went out too fast (9:19 first mile).



I guess I shouldn't be discouraged. I did make progress. I am a year older.

As I ran up a long hill during the third mile, I thought of a conversation I had with my son's Taekwondo sensei. He had worked with a young boy, age 4 or 5, who had tremendous form and power. He watched as the boy broke three boards with a kick. He told me, "This kid just knows no no." Think about that. He believes he can do anything.

I've learned the hard way that the difference between failure and wild success is a hairline. And yet, now after several failures, it's hard to see improvement like this especially when expectations are so high.

I hope that over the coming months I will be able to push myself more and believe more in my limits and training.

I wanted to break 30 minutes today. At a point on that hill, I looked at my watch and saw that I had been running for 25 minutes. I looked ahead at the course and didn't see any way that I could finish in five minutes. That was the death knell for my courage. I made it over the hill and was trying to lengthen my stride on the down hill. I crossed over 7th avenue and could see the finish banner ahead. I told myself not to give up. So, I tried to "kick." There wasn't much in the gas tank.

My running partner, Kent (who ran a 25:50), cheered me on for the last block and a half. I pumped my arms and crossed the line at 30:08.

What I told myself at 25 minutes was a lie. Do I have another gear? Do I have a reserve of guts that I'm not tapping? Maybe so.

The Joy of a Non-Straight Path

Saturdays are reserved for long runs. The theory actually makes sense. If you're training for a marathon that's run on Saturday, you should run your long runs on the same day of the week. That way your mind and your body get used to the distance. Your psyche gets in a rhythm I guess. (So, if I actually qualify for Boston, I'll have to run my long runs on Mondays?)

The training schedule called for nine miles today. Kent let me in on his thinking a little. He hates courses that are out and back OR long and straight. So, he had scouted a nine-mile course with almost as many turns and twists than a David Baldacci novel.

(See the route by going here.)

At 6.49 miles, the iPod ended the run. I can only imagine that the moisture on my arm overwhelmed it OR the battery in the transmitter died. I'm going to have to figure it out.

When it shut down, I got really discouraged. I slowed down. I started worrying about whether or not I'd finish. I had to do something.

So I decided to take off the belly pack I had been wearing (full of energy gels and Accelerade), I put my iPod inside, and then hid it behind a wall.

The verse Hebrews 12:1 came to mind: Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

I got rid of my entanglements and finished.

I crossed the 9-mile mark at 1:42:28 making my average mile 11:23.



Next Workout: Day of Rest (with the Franklin Classic 5K on Monday)
Current Weight 228.6 (To put it in perspective, that's 13.4 DOWN from my highest weight but 22 UP from my lowest point after the marathon in April.