HAPPY MONDAY!
Ok, so I know that Mondays usually aren’t’ the most fun but it means the start of week 2 for Project 1:59 and I had a great weekend.
So lets start with Saturday. Saint Patrick’s Day. I’ve always found this to be kind of an interesting day. I am of Irish decent, relatively recent even. So on one hand I love this holiday. Its actually one of my favorites in many ways. I love Celtic\Gaelic music. Corned beef and cabbage is one of my favorite meals and its always been the ushering in of spring, at least until I moved to Arizona which never gets to winter.
But on the other side is everyone thinking that the holiday is just about drinking really bad dyed green beer. Don’t get me wrong I enjoy a good beer and there is nothing wrong with whiskey. It is a day of feasting celebrating the life of Saint Patrick but sometimes I feel like the focus becomes the Irish are all drunks. While many of us drink and some do quite abit I feel like this misses the point of celebrating the life of the man who brought Christianity to the Irish people.
OK….enough of that. My celebration of St Patrick started with a 4k run Saturday morning. The Kiss Me I’m Irish 4K in Glendale. 4K is kind of a strange distance but I thought it would be fun as a speed run to see how fast I could go over a relatively short distance.
Despite an equipment problem that caused me to stop twice I did really well. I have been using a little pouch strapped to my ankle to carry my inhaler during races. I’ve had it for almost 15 years and Saturday the elastic finally died. it came undone once and I reattached it. Then again about a quarter mile later it did it again. So I took it off and held it in my had for the rest of the race.
Why don’t I just keep my inhaler in the little pocket that my running shorts have? Well there is a simple answer for that. I run races in a kilt! No, that’s not just a St Patrick’s day thing. I run all my races whether its a 5k, Tough Mudder, Spartan, or marathon starting this year I run in a kilt.
Why do I run in a kilt? Because I can. I also have decided that I really like it. it’s different, except last Saturday, and I have found that I have fewer chaffing issues in it than running shorts. Probably has something to do with airflow.
Anyhizzzle……
I ended up running a 19:40 which works out to 7:55 min/mile and that was good enough for 2nd in the Male 35-39 age group. The idea of placing in my age group is still a new one to me. And before you ask there were more than 2 people in the division. There were 19 of us. So I feel like second is a pretty good accomplishment.
I also developed a theory about the Scottish military and its use of bagpipes. Bagpipes where originally used to convey military orders during battle. and I think I know why the ancient Scottish armies where so formidable. often they went up against an enemy with superior numbers and better weapons. But they were still victorious. The movie Braveheart wants us to believe that they were a fiercer and had more to fight for than those who opposed them. I think they where trying to get away from the bagpipes.
“You want me to fight my way though that larger force with just this sword? Are ye Mad?” Enter the bagpipes. “Right, if I do it will you stop the infernal racket?”
And for some reason over time we have decided that we like it. Its great to run to also.
And with that segue here was the playlist for the run
Oh Yeah; Great Big Sea
Within a Mile of Home: Flogging Molly
Finnegan’s Wake; Songs for Ceilidh (This is a friend of mines band)
Ever Time I Write a Song; Songs for Ceilidh
Screaming at the Wailing Wall; Flogging Molly
Sunday……
I had intended to get up and go on a long run with Vicky on the bike again. Instead I watched basketball. I am a boilermaker. I spent 6 years at Purdue as a student and then lived in the Lafayette Indiana area for another 8. So I watched the Purdue-Butler game. And nearly died. That was a hard fought, hard played game on both sides. it was Indiana basketball the way it should be. Fortunately if your a Purdue fan Mathis hit that 3 near the end. But Butler has nothing to be ashamed of there, it was a great game by 2 fantastic Indiana teams.
I then watched Michigan State fall to Syracuse and Texas A&M make UNC look like a junior college team.
Finally at 5:30 we headed out for the 8 mile pace run as the training schedule calls for. As usual I started too fast although I got it under control pretty fast. I’m teaching Vicky how to analyze running form and she even took a video of me running.
As I understand it a runner should be close to symmetrical. the arms should swing the same amount and be held in a similar position. there shouldn’t be excessive head movement and it shouldn’t be head perfectly still either. Feet should hit in the same spot on the foot and for the same duration.
I’ve got a couple of little issues.
I hold my left shoulder higher than my right. My left arm stays tucked in while my right swings out and the movement in general is more exaggerated. I know that My left shoulder has some issues and I’m actually in therapy for it. Hopefully that helps even that out some.
I’m actually a little more concerned about my legs and feet. I hit fairly flat on my left and up on my toe on my right. I think this is causing my right calf to be tight and actually have some veins that bulge when I run. I’ll probably get this looked into more after my shoulder.
But it was a good run that finished with a trip to a pizza place so I can’t complain. I ran 8.22 miles in 1:21:57 which is a 9:59 pace. the training plan’s goal was a 10 min/mile so I stayed pretty close.
Up this week is a Tuesday 4-8 mile run, Thursday 6-10 and Sunday 7 miles at a 9:55 pace. Sunday may not happen since I’m running a Tough Mudder that day which is around 11 miles with obstacles. We’ll see. I also plan on going on a couple of bike rides and some weight training. Until then C-ya!
Running with Neal 