Training for the Run

This weekend is the 7th Annual Second Empire 5K Classic. The start area is located at Second Empire Restaurant and Tavern, which is located at 330 Hillsborough Street in downtown Raleigh - three blocks west of the Capitol next to the round Clarion Inn. This race is also the first event in the five-race Second Empire Grand Prix Series. Caroline and I will both be running this race. Looks like the weather is going to be nice with highs in the 70’s.

Walk It Off — This was a tip that I should have read BEFORE I ran the half marathon. Elite Racing gave the runners a Medical Information and Fluid Replacement information the day before the race. Most of the information talks about the rules of fluids and how to prevent hyponatremia.

The one tip that would have helped most runners after the marathon was on the back of the brochure. In big bold letters:

YOU MUST CONTINUE TO WALK AFTER FINISHING YOUR RACE . . . MOVE FOR AT LEAST 20 MINUTES!

It goes on to say . . . if you don’t walk and stop or sit down, the blood flow to your internal organs will not rapidly be redirected to the pre-race state. You would then feel nauseous (not enough blood flow to the stomach) and throw up, as well as feel very dizzy and weak. Walking helps to redirect your blood and bring you back to your “everyday” physiology. Drink fluids slowly at the finish and certainly not until you have adequately “walked it off!”

Now the scenario at the race was that after you finished, everyone bunched up just past the finish line and stood idol waiting for all the freebies to be handed out (finishing medal, free sandals, food, beer, water etc). The first thing you get is a bottle of water and I’d say that 90% of the people downed it within a few minutes. I was one of them. Then you get a bottle of gatorade type fluid (amino-vital or something like that) and I sipped on that because I was already feeling a little nauseous from the water. At that point, I broke away from the pack of runners to sit in the grass for a second. That just made me feel worse, so I decided to walk a little bit and find Caroline in the family reunion section. Once I found Her, I decided to sit on the beach because I was feeling a little better.

Once again sitting made me feel nauseous, so I asked Caroline if she wanted to walk over towards the main stage where 3 Doors Down was going to play. I started feeling better again, so we decided to walk the 8 blocks or so back to the shuttle busses.

Now I never did throw up, but I was close and I guess that’s just one of those thing I’ve learned for the next race. WALK IT OFF!

I’ve been thinking about a second pair of running shoes, so I went to the Brooks Running Shoe Advisor to see what was reccommended for my type of feet.  I answered all of the questions and it came out with the Epiphany 2 running shoe.  The suggested price for this shoe is $130.

The one thing neutral runners never stay neutral on is cushioning. That’s why the Epiphany™ 2 is such a revelation. Featuring our exclusive e-Fusion™ technology–a tag team of three compounds that deliver superior slip-resistance, enhanced heel contact dampening and advanced forefoot resilience–this shoe offers a truly eye-opening ride.

The weather is perfect for a run.  The temps are in the 70’s and there is a nice stiff breeze.  I have to say this is a nice change from running in the humid 90 degree temps.

Caroline and I are running in races both Saturday and Sunday morning.  Saturday morning is the 12th Annual Run for Life 5K which starts at 9:00am.  The second run is the Friesen’s 5K Stanley Cup Fun Run that is going to take place Sunday morning at the RBC Center in Raleigh.  I have more on that in an earlier post.  This race will begin at 8am.  After running in two 5K races, I’m sure we will both be ready to relax Sunday afternoon and watch the Carolina Panthers play Atlanta.

I found out my official chip time for the half marathon and it was actually better than I thought it would be.  I had a time of 2:19:17.  The last 3 miles were the worst since it was towards the end and there was no break from the sun.  We ran back on the boardwalk (cementwalk) along the beach and you could see the finish line for at least the last two miles.  I thought I’d never get there.  The misting stations really helped keep me cool on that last streatch and there seemed to be more water stations in the last streatch of the race.

I’m up for two races this weekend, both being 5K runs.  Caroline is also going to attempt to run both races this weekend.

I saw a lot of people at the half marathon wearing the Garman Forerunner 101 or similar model.  I thought I’d take a look at it and see what makes it appealing since at first sight it seems pretty large.

The Forerunner 101 offers athletes and recreational walkers and runners an entry-level personal training device with GPS. It measures speed, distance, pace and calories burned, and runs on 2 AAA batteries.

The Forerunner 101 stores lap histories for up to two years to provide an archive of workout performance over time. Retrieve lap data for previous workouts by date, week, month, or over a specific time interval. For business travelers who want to train on the road, the Forerunner 101 also doubles as a navigator. Users can mark their hotel as a specific location, see their current position on the plotter display, and follow an electronic breadcrumb trail back to their starting point.

Working out with the Forerunner 101 means you’re never alone in your personal training, because the unit provides a “Virtual Partner™”. This unique feature allows you to set your training goal by configuring your Virtual Partner’s pace and workout distance. You’ll get a graphic perspective of your performance by viewing your pace in relation to your Virtual Partner’s pace, so you can always see at a glance if you’re keeping up or falling behind.

The price for one of these is a little over a $100.  Not too bad.

Well, I did it. After training for the past few months, I ran a half marathon. It was really not too bad at all, but I am really sore. The race was very comfortable at the beginning with the trees providing shade and the natural flat land of costal Virginia was easy to run on. The toughest part of the race was running the last 5 miles in the sun. It got pretty hot and slowed me down quite a bit. I was sure glad to see those water stations toward the end of the race. Caroline went with me and she also had a blast running from point to point trying to get a glimpse of me at differents points in the race. She ended up seeing me at three different points, including my crossing at the finish line.

This race was unique in the fact that around the 8 mile mark, there was a beer stand handing out small cups of beer to remind you of the party at the finish line. There were also a large number of racers taking a piss break. This is the first I’ve seen in a race where the woods are full of men pissing and the porta johns have racers waiting in line to go to the bathroom. That was new to me to think that you’ve run hard just to add a few minutes to your time because you had to wait in line to piss. I saw most people taking a piss stop within the first 15K of the race.

All in all, it was a good experience and I look forward to my next half marathon. I’ll have more to come when I find out my results of the race.