Motivation:

Here is some more motivation for you.

When deciding whether to run that first 5K, 10K, Half Marathon, Marathon or beyond or even whether or not to get out of bed an run in the morning just ask yourself two questions.

1. How will you feel after you run?

2. How will you feel if you don't even try?

A Little Motivation

Here is a quick little article on motivation from Running Times magazine. Especially now that most of us are done racing for the year and the days start to getting shorter and colder it is often difficult to get out there and run.

Running Times Article on Motivation: Enjoy!

2011 Races: ??????

As I am completely done with the 2010 race season I have to start thinking about what races I want to try and run next year. Here are the ones I am thinking about, please fill out the poll on the right side so I can get your feedback.

-Jordan

Off Season:

Now that the 2010 racing season is officially done, I debated about running the Mankato Marathon or the Surf the Murph races but they filled up already, I can relax and take it easy. The only problem is that like every off season period it seems like I am now extremely motivated to build upon my last race.

I have been taking it easy and have only ran a few times since the Chicago marathon, but I have already started my off season strength training and I am looking into some yoga classes and cycle classes to help improve upon some of my weaknesses.

Here are my initial off season goals however, they often change as I figure out what races I want to do the following year.

1. Strength Training-I need to work on some muscular imbalances that I have as well as improve my overall strength. I feel that if you have a good strength base it can greatly help you to be able to handle all of the training miles as well as help to reduce injuries. One thing that you do have to be careful with in my case is not to add too much muscular bulk. Not that I generally do but adding an extra 3-5 pounds of muscle is not the goal, making them stronger is.

2. Maintain a good level of cardio, so that I am not completely starting from zero once I jump into another training program.

3. Increase my flexibility. I do not feel that it is a vital component to running especially distance running but i personally feel better and I think that it helps reduce injuries and minor aches.

4. Relax. Even I get sick of running and training, so definitely taking some time to simply not feel guilty about not running.

Chicago Marathon 2010: Race Report

A long over due post and race report, but it was the last race of the season and I was enjoying my off season. The 2010 season is in the books and it ended on a high note with a personal record (PR) at the 2010 Chicago Marathon. Just barely setting a new PR with a time of 2:45:02 I beat my previous PR by a mere 43 seconds.

The race was awesome there were 45,000 registered runners making it one of the biggest marathons in the USA and in the world. The volunteers and staff did a great job of organizing the race from start to finish. Getting over 45,000 people were the needed to go all at the same time must have taken quite an effort so thank you to all who were involved. I was fortunate to be able to start in Corral A which got me ahead of about 44.500 people which really helped. When the gun went off I did not have to maneuver too much around people, everyone around me seemed to be moving about about the same pace, which made the start quite exhilarating. You seem to always get that stamped effect when running in a big race but this was the biggest one yet.

We started in Grant Park and headed north winding through the city and popping out to the lake front from time to time. I think my favorite part of the race was running through the downtown areas, where you were surrounded by skyscrapers, it made you feel very small. Though I didn't really know where I was most of the race it was great to get to see so much of the city. Minneapolis truly does not compare with Chicago in its size especially its downtown areas. The crowd support along the way was fantastic, because we were in the city the whole time there was always people cheering along the way. My cousin and her husband, who I stayed with, got a great spot just after mile 8 and it was motivating to get to see them. Usually I don't have any fans cheering specifically for me so that was fun to see them out. I also go to see a few other friends from my run club as well which was very nice surprise around the half way point.

Overall I felt really good throughout the whole race, I went out a bit more conservative and tried to just maintain a solid pace throughout the race. I didn't feel like I did at the Minneapolis marathon where I felt like I was holding back the first half and I actually went out way too fast. I came across the half way point at 1:21:40 which is about perfect, I felt pretty strong through the second half and only slowed a bit the last few miles. Because the course is very flat it was very easy to keep a consistent pace throughout. It was also nice to have plenty of other runners to run with from start to end. Some of the smaller races get too thinned out and you end of having to run a lot of the second half without anyone around you which makes it tough for me to maintain my pace.

I will say that my cardio did not feel as strong as it did for the Minneapolis marathon but my legs felt great throughout the race and even after the race they were not really that sore. It did help to get a massage right after the finish though. All in all another great race and another good season. I improved on my PR and had a great time running the Chicago marathon for the first time. I will definitely be back to run it again at some point, but it may have to wait a year to so.

As for next year, I have my sights set on continuing to improve on my marathon time, but might concentrate more effort on some ultras next year. I trying to find a good 100 mile race to jump into, I have a few in mind so we'll see what 2011 holds.


Results

Ryan Hall NOT running the Chicago Marathon 2010:

As the count down to the 2010 Chicago marathon closes in I have already moved up one place in the results before the race has even started. Ryan Hall, the top American marathon has announced that he is no longer running the Chicago marathon. I have included a link to Ryan Hall's blog post explaining, Hall goes on to say that he has made the decision based on his recent 1/2 marathon race at the Rock N' Roll Half Marathon in Philly where he placed a disappointing 13 place overall, but ran a pace only a few seconds faster in the 1/2 that he will need to run for twice the distance.

I think that he is just scared to race me again. Hall ended up on top in our first meeting, 2009 Boston marathon, Hall placing 3rd and me finishing on his heals placing 532nd. However, since that 2009 Boston marathon I have improved on my personal best by 6 minutes, Hall on the other hand has yet to even reach his personal best since 2008 London marathon. Not to worry we will meet again and the rivalry will continue.

As for me I am preparing for my first Chicago marathon. I have heard that it is a flat and fast course so I am hoping for a new personal best. I love the city of Chicago and Sunday I will get a great 26.2 mile tour of the city it should be great and I am really looking forward to the race and the weekend.

Ryan's Blog Post about his decision not to Run

Time to Slow Down?

Like many runners, or athletes in general, we have the mentality that more is better. I have used this approach to my training this past year when getting ready for the Minneapolis marathon and the Chicago marathon in 2 weeks. I do feel that in order for me to further improve I will need to train harder and add more mileage.

I have learned to try and maintain a balance of rest and training. I have found that my recovery days really need to be just that. There is no advantage of pushing yourself on days that are meant to recover, it is completely counter productive. This is a difficult thing for me because again I like most athletes or competitive people liken ourselves to Sharks. If you not moving your dead.

One of the biggest mistakes that most runners make is going to hard on easy days and not hard enough on the hard days. I am planning on eventually doing another ultra marathon and that will be based a lot on big mileage weeks, but still you need to balance rest and recovery to avoid injury.

Here is a link to an interesting article from the Wall Street Journal about endurance athletes pushing them too hard.

Enjoy!
Wall Street Journal Article:

The Benefits of Ice Baths from Runner's World:

This recent year I have realized the benefits of icing after some of my hard workouts. In general icing helps to reduce the swelling in the your muscles and helps to promote blood flow, both of which will help in recovery by aiding in muscle recovery.

Here is an article from Runner's World that shows some of the benefits of ice baths.


Enjoy!
Benefits of Ice Baths from Runner's World.com

Quote of the Day:

"The gun goes off and everything changes... the world changes... and nothing else really matters."
- Patti Sue Plummer

Product Review: Nike Free 3.0v2

I know that I did an product review for these when I first got them, but I figure now that I have put a few miles on them I am in a better position to give them a thorough review. The Nike Free 3.0 v2 are Nike's latest version of minimalist shoes meant to simulate barefoot running, at least as much as a athletic shoe company will allow. The Nike Frees come in several different versions the 3.0's being the most minimal and most closely simulate barefoot running.

This is an extremely light weight shoe and the sole is extremely flexible to again simulate running barefoot. The top is almost completely made of a light mesh that wraps the foot well and seems to keep everything in place, as long as you are not doing too much lateral movement.

When I asked how many miles I can expect out o the shoes I was given the usual response of 200-300 miles for this type of minimal shoes. However, because I got this from the Nike sales rep, I wasn't too certain of how much that information was influenced by the desire to sell me more shoes. Anyways, now that I have put over 500 miles on my Nike Free's I am now starting to feel some of the wear and tear. The Frees really do not have much to them, very little cushioning, support and padding, so my thought was what is there to really wear out, but alas like all shoes they have yield to the miles.

I did notice that they would definitely help promote a more natural stride and discourage me form over striding and landing on my heals. They also simple felt great to run in, very similar to running in racing flats, you just feel light and fast in them. It did take a while to get used to running in them and I would not recommend most runners to use them as your primary trainer. I took me several months of slowly incorporating them into my workouts before I could use them on a regular basis.

All in all a very good shoe which is very functional for my purposes and feels great to run in. I'll definitely be getting another pair soon.




Check out other reviews of the 3.0's