Hitting the Hills of Jersey...

Today was the day for my long run and since I have made plans to prepare for the IVS Half-Marathon I decided to throw in some hill work for fun. It was the first time I have done the route in quite some time, so, there were a few things I noticed/thought about.

• That guy still parks his Mitsubishi Montero at the bottom on the first hill.
• That house by the intersection still has the life size version the NASCAR driver in the upstairs window so I know where to turn on the way back.
• Saw some thoroughly flattened road kill that was unidentifiable (luckily no smell)
• Saw a condom on the side of the road.
• That house near the turn-around point still has the garage boarded up.
• Wow, I can tell I haven't done this in a while.
• Random thought: I don't need the whole thing, do you want to share a GU?*
• I have some friends with the last name of Cheek and I think it would be funny to get a picture with me between them. And then, tell people "I AM NOT AN A-HOLE BETWEEN TWO CHEEK'S."

Overall it was: good run, good hills, good hurt. Can't wait for more.

*Didn't really ask someone this. Just a thought...

Saying Hello...

Yesterday morning I had a chance to say hello, not ello govna, but a nice warm welcome to my big hill route while down in Arkansas. Damn. It said hello, chewed me up, spit me out, and kicked my @$$ to the curb. The combination of running in the heat, humidity, lack of water fountains, and one big hill really shot me down. So much so that on the way back from the turn-around point I had to stop and walk periodically so that I would not be literally kicked to the curb somewhere. Today, however, we went to Little Rock and I took the time to visit Easy Runner (they have moved to: 11525 Cantrell Rd) to get a hand-held water bottle, and some Gu and Hammer Gel. So later in the week when I run the same route I will politely hand that hill a hand-full of smack-down (or so I think...we'll see).

In other news B-Town seems to be faring well away from home and is getting so much attention I am guessing he will soon go in to overload, especially, after tonight and the baby shower.

I went to bed early last night to try to catch up on sleep, and at this point I feel I should have taken a nap this afternoon. My goal is to not have a crapitude tonight or at later this week. I definitely did not realize how much our family would want to see B-Town after he was born. I think it is my tiredness talking, but I could really use some down/me time. I think tomorrow will be one of those days because nothing is planned, but without and plan anything is possible. My mother-inlaw has scheduled a massage for me on Wednesday afternoon/evening, which, I am so looking forward to and I am sure it will help hinder my crapitude as well.

Okay, I'm done...

Busy Day/Week...

This week will be kind of busy, but especially today. We have laundry intermixed with fixing meals and getting things ready for our trip. We are planning a trip to the Ozark Mountains so that I can get some mountain training in. The "hills" here in central Illinois just aren't cutting it. Okay, so me getting hill training isn't the main reason we are going to the Ozark Mountains, but I am looking forward to the side benefits of getting to tackle hills to the like you would never see here.

We are actually going to see family and introduce B-Town to his Great-Grandparents, as well as, have a shower and enjoy some "real" Mexican food. The Mexican food is one thing G has missed immensely since leaving the area. I am convinced it is her form of comfort food.

This will be our first big trip with B-Town. This makes me nervous about how he will do in the car for an extended period of time. Personally, I compare it to the short 10 to 15 minute car rides around town and think "oh he'll do fine." Like our trips in town are comparable to 6 hours on the road. Some how I don't think they will be comparable at all, but I remain hesitantly optimistic.

As is usually the case whenever I travel, I try to pick out routes that I can run at my destination and, if need be, utilize Map My Run to make my own routes. I usually end up doing the same route once or twice while there and probably need to branch out a little and switch my route. My main route has an ascent/descent of 476 feet, which, will be good for one or two runs, but would kill me if I tried more than that.

Another thing I do when I travel is look for races that will be in the area around the time we will be there. The only races I found would be in Spgfld on a Saturday morning when we will probably be wanting to finish the trip down to her parents. This makes it a plausible idea for me, but realistically, it probably isn't meant to be. Since we will be near her parents during the week, I just confirmed there were no races during the week, which, there hardly ever are (in case you were wondering) and called it good.

It will be a nice week off of work visiting family and running hills

Run the Bird! Part two...

The next morning we got up and walked down to the race start line right before the race. I needed to use the restroom from the very beginning, but being so close to the start of the race I would have to wait. The race started at exactly 7 a.m., which, is something they purport being known for. The very start of the race was down hill slightly and them some flat terrain on a highway. The worst was yet to come. The website claimed two particularly challenging hills on the course. Throughout, I noticed many rolling hills I would consider significant. One hill of particular notation was "Heart Beat Hill." As soon as I got to the start of this hill, at about mile 17, I decided it best to walk the worst of it. From there the rolling hills continually pounded on my legs and toward the end with about 4 or 5 miles left my right quad started to cramp and every so often I had to walk until it went back to normal. Unlike my training runs I also notice my upper back getting tight and I am guessing this is from leaning on the hills. One of the nicest things I have seen at a race was the GU they had here. Not just GU, but the presentation of cutting the tops off before handing to the runners was a great idea and whoever thought of this deserves many thanks.

One of my best memories in the race was at a water stop. Usually as runners pass through a water stop they yell out whether they want water or sports drink. In one particular instance I yelled out "Cold Beer," to which one of the laughing volunteers responded "Jello Shots."

By the end of the race, I felt like I was dead and glad to be finished. In the end I had a new marathon PR by over an hour and finished in 4:19:34. Of course, I have to be fair and explain that my last PR and first marathon was Chicago in 2007 when they canceled it because of the heat.

After the race, we walked back to the hotel to take showers. After the showers we drove over toward Second Sole to pick up our free shoes. En route, we stopped at a national burrito chain for lunch. As stated, we picked up our shoes. I was impressed that they had size 13 shoes quite ready and the store also marked all merchandise down quite a bit. After getting our shoes we went back to the hotel and crashed until dinner. For dinner we went to the Ohio Brewing Company and tried some of their brews. The beer wasn't overly exciting, but I will admit I can be a beer snob sometimes. After this we went back to the hotel for the night and the next day drove back.

Overall, it was a blast. I would recommend this race to anyone and Runner's World got it correct including it in the top 10 marathons.

A hill...

Last Saturday the New York Times ran an article about a trail on a hill. This trail is lined with railroad ties and the hill is actually Pikes Peak. With a gain of 2000 feet in about a mile one begins to understand why it is called the "Incline" among those who use it, and apparently, we are about to see a lot of people who use it in training starting on Friday. Yes, Olympians use it to better themselves no matter their sport.

Am I jealous? Oh yes. The closest thing we have around here is Jersey Hill, a 1/5th mile stretch with a gain of about 50 feet according to mapmyrun.com. The only other thing close to this is a parking garage, which, we do have a few, but always taking right or left turns gets old real quick. In the opposing view we have wonderful surroundings for easy runs. If a person needs an easy run the least they need do is head to the Constitution Trail, an old railroad track turned trail, and they will be in heaven.

The biggest reason I am jealous is that when I go to races with real hills I am like a fish out of water. The Akron Marathon is one such race. They don't proclaim to be "flat and fast," which I interpret as be prepared for hills and this September I will truly find out to what they are referring.