by Dwayne Kilbourne on September 2, 2010
Well, there are only three more training days left (after today) until I run my first 10k. Of course, I will be slowing the training down more and more between now and then, but they are still training days! As you may have noticed prior to this post, I have had a struggle on my runs this week. I know some of the mistakes that I made (i.e. running during the heat of the day, using sub-par training equipment, not stretching enough prior, and not eating enough prior), but I still remained confident in my quest for a sub-55 minute 10k. This morning, I was able to get out on the trail a little earlier, and I was lucky enough to enlist my retired mother to come along for the fun. While she cannot run well for various reasons, she was wanting to support my efforts, so, since the trail is a 1 mile loop course with various small hills and heat exposure, she sat near the start/finish line in order to hand me my water bottle at the conclusion of each lap. Since the race will have water at each mile marker and Gatorade at miles two and four, this was a great help as it enabled me to simulate the race day setup! While I feel that I can still perform better on Monday, I was able to run 6.2 miles (10k) in under 56 minutes. The only downfall was that I ended up resetting my stop watch app on my Palm Pre while drinking water from my water bottle and as I started the final lap, but I remember looking down at the clock just a few yards earlier and tried to do my best to truly understand my completion time (which was somewhere between 54 and 56 minutes).
Looking Forward
While I was running, probably during the mediocre second lap, I actually started to wonder what I was going to write on this blog and about the run as a whole. As I ran and listened to my iPod Touch, I ended up wondering what strategy I need to run for the race. Of course, I do not want to overdo it on the first mile and hence burn out before the heart of the race gets started! On the other hand, I do not want to run like a turtle just to finish. I am confident that I have a chance to run 55 minutes or below that, by looking at recent year’s results, would put me in the top 1,000 –potentially earning me a medal! When I was in the Marine Corps and at boot camp in San Diego, people would try to take it easy on the first half of the three mile runs in an effort to have more kick at the end, but the drill instructors would motivate you to run hard on the front end of the course in an effort to have a good halfway (turn-around point) time. This actually helped me run my fastest three miles that I ever recorded because I was able to then see just how far I was to the halfway point and then figured out how close I was getting to finishing. But, then again, this race does not feature a loop or out-and-back course, so I have to think this through a bit more than I probably should. And being one who can be found to over think and over analyze things more than recommended, I begin to wonder what is the best strategy for me; plus, I must say that I am a knowledge seeker and a perfectionist, so I am willing to absorb whatever knowledge others are willing to share! But, I have been known to be a risk-taker, and that means that I would sometimes rather lose big and potentially not finish than to underperform. Yet, being that this is new territory for me by being the first race I have ever entered into, I truly want to finish.
Goals with Rewards
So, I have set some goals for myself and rewards for when I achieve them!
- Finish the race – go to the water park after the race and take the afternoon off of weight training (for those who know me, this is a rarity for me)
- Finish the race in under 1 hour – buy some new (cheaper) weight lifting gloves
- Finish the race in under 55 minutes (and be within the top 1000) – buy some better weight lifting gloves
- Finish the race within the top 900 – buy some new running/workout shoes
- Finish the race within the top 800 – buy a new iPod Touch armband
Well, I am excited to race, even though there is a lot of unknown here! But, it will be a great experience for me and my fitness goals!
by Dwayne Kilbourne on August 30, 2010
Time flies when you are training hard. With just one week to go until I run my first road race, I continue to push forward in my endeavor to achieve a sub-55 minute 10k and finish within the top 1000. To do this, I have been running outdoors off and on in preparation for this race, and I found a nice semi-hilly park trail just around the corner.
What’s Went Wrong Today:
Well, I had a terrible morning run today, and that caught me a bit off guard. Instead of running for six or seven miles, I figured that it was best to stop after the second mile due to body fatigue, a slowed pace, and unnecessary lower back tightness. However, I think that I know why it did not fare so well this morning. First, I know that I did not eat enough for breakfast, and, without adequate fuel in the body, running becomes more and more difficult. Second, I decided to run with my Camelbak on instead of holding a water bottle for an hour. I guess that I was my lazy way of trying to eliminate the annoyance of having to hold onto something for the planned six or seven miles. That might have added some pressure on the lower back since the front clip is not working (one side is missing from my tour in Iraq). Third, I might not have stretched enough. Stretching is important, and I feel that I stretched enough before starting the run, but that may not have been the case.
On The Bright Side:
I probably could have hobbled along at a continued slowing pace and got in a few more miles, but I shut it down in an effort to get refuel the body (ensuring that the muscles stayed strong), and I will get it going in the morning. It is all about time and training management at this point, and I have to ensure that everything continues forward as planned, and I stay on track to peak for the race! Also, I have tried the PowerBar Energy Gel Blasts and found them to work pretty well. I might try something different for the morning run just for comparison purposes, but we shall see.
by Dwayne Kilbourne on August 6, 2010
Well, after constantly finding myself at the mercy of my old earbuds which always seemed to either randomly fast-forward through some of my songs (chipmunk style) or randomly paused the music, I had to acknowledge that my earbuds were shorting out on me – that they had some type of wiring issue. Basically, I needed to invest in a new set. Since I find it important to have uninterrupted music playability while working out and since it was a relative urgent matter on my birthday, I just swung by the nearby Wal-Mart and sought to pick up a new set. As I was looking around, a customer came up and was looking for specific types of earbuds; he took a moment to recommend the JVC HA-FX35 Marshmallow earbuds to me because of the noise-cancelling features and the quality that you get at such a bargain, he grabbed himself two sets, and he headed off on his way. As a result, I decided to give them a try.
Here is what I think:
I must acknowledge that I have not tried out a whole bunch of sets or types of earbuds (I think this is now the third set that I have ever needed to use), so I cannot consider myself to be a true expert. However, I do put between 14 and 21 hours into the gym each week, and the iPod Touch is never left at home! Overall, they are a solid and inexpensive choice. The quality is not too bad, but I will say that my biggest hurdle thus far is getting use to the feel and comfort in the ear. It does not seem as loud as previous earbuds that I use, but that might be a good thing, preventing me from damaging my ears any more than necessary. Yet, I do sometimes struggle to find a loud enough volume to get me in the workout zone! Currently, I am doing a little trial-and-error on the feel of them within my ear; I will say that it is possible that I am not putting them in deep enough or angling them just right.
So, the jury is still out on these, but, I believe that, at $20 (USD), there would be few if any other better options from competing brands and product lines within the price range! But, maybe I missed something, so what do you think?
by Dwayne Kilbourne on July 16, 2010
As with anything in life, a few things get on my nerves while trying to workout at the gym. I go to LA Fitness near my house, and I really enjoy my time there, typically spending over two hour each day tackling various cardio and weight training routines! Since I attend a large gym like LA Fitness, I seem to come across a few more things that jump on my nerves than I might endure at a small facility.
Here are some of the pet peeves that I have endured in the past month:
Urinals not flushed – Okay, so this is a guy thing that is quite mind-boggling at times. Are we just trying to conserve some water here or what? Typically, the gym is never out of hand soap, so it is not like the guys can’t wash their hands after flushing, something that they probably should be doing anyways!
People who don’t put weights back after using benches and plate machines – This is simply a courtesy thing, and the gyms ask that you do this when you are done with the weights and prior to moving on to your next exercise or machine. As the gym teacher back in high school would say, “If you can lift the weights up to use them, you can lift them to put them back where they belong.”
Weights on wrong stack – Well, some people put the weights back, but they do not put them back where they truly belong, so I guess they get half credit, right? This is particularly true over at the dumbbell racks. Since it is sometimes easier (depending on which bench someone uses and which benches are available) to simply put the dumbbells back on the nearest racks instead of where they belong, you have to really be watchful when going to grab the dumbbells that you want for your workout. I recommend that you double check because people can make mistakes from time to time, but some actions are purely blatant. I recall one recent workout where I grabbed one 50lb dumbbell with my right hand and a 55lb dumbbell with my left hand to go use on the flat bench. Surprisingly, I did not notice the difference during the chest press routine, but I noticed it after the first set. Luckily, it did not cause me an injury or something of a similar nature. Certainly, it does not stop there either; people put the 25lb weight plates on the 45lb rack, so I find myself having to fix it – must just be my perfectionist or slight OCD self showing himself!
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