Updates

I have officially registered for the Calvary 5k Dash and Splash on August 14th in Shreveport, Louisiana. As you know, this will be only my second race so I am very excited. After the Hot Pursuit, I took a few days off from training because towards the end of that race I re-injured my left calf and felt that it needed time to heal. As fate would have it, the day I get back into the swing of training for the next race, I hurt it again. So I haven't been training really hard on the treadmill opting instead for cycling and weight training. I guess what's important is that I rest my calf, but still try to do what I can to keep my heart rate up and keep conditioning.

I've been reading up on calf strains on one of my favorite running websites. There doesn't seem to be a clear-cut timetable for recovery time. Much of it depends on the severity of the strain. I don't think mine is too serious, so in the meantime I'll do as much as I can on it and try to keep it stretched out as best I can. Hopefully this will be the only injury bug I have to deal with before August 14!

Pics from the race

Here are some pictures from the Hot Pursuit 5k in Shreveport, LA:

Before the race

And we're off!

The Finish Line!

After the race. Notice the fake smile.

What a great race!

I can't say it enough: I had a blast at the Hot Pursuit 5k on Saturday! First off, my wife and I left our two year old with his grandmother and we headed to Shreveport on Friday night so it was nice to have a mini-vacation. We had dinner at Saltgrass after shopping at the Nike Factory Outlet Store. It was a wonderful, relaxing evening.

The next day, we woke up early and got to the race site. After getting checked-in, there was about an hour wait before the race started, but it seemed to go by quickly. As far as SWAG (stuff we all get), every pre-registered runner got a Hot Pursuit logo t-shirt, Nike gym bag and a Nike Factory Store water bottle. Not bad for the $15 entrance fee!

Finally, they told the runners/walkers to gather at the starting line. We prayed, played the National Anthem and then we were off. Everything went pretty smooth as far as the run was concerned. I made it a point to purposefully start out slow so I wouldn't run out of energy (no pun intended). During the second quarter of the race, I began determining specific people I wanted to beat.

There was a hydration station at the halfway point and I was unfortunately given a Propel Enhanced Water instead of regular water which I had intended on pouring over my head. Doing so with the Propel would have caused a sticky mess, but I was able to drink about half of it before discarding it.

The final half of the race was all uphill and I was able to beat three of the people I had targeted as people I wanted to beat, so I was happy with that. I finished with a time of 40:08 which is around a 13 minute mile. Not bad for a fat boy and a recovering couch potato! After the race, I hate half of a banana and drank some water and Gatorade. My wife and I stayed around for the awards ceremony before heading back to the hotel.

All in all it was a wonderful experience and I'm looking forward to planning my next 5k!

Tomorrow we race

The big day is upon us...almost. By this time tomorrow, I'll be on the second mile of my 5k. I am so pumped and excited! There's a tinge of nervousness too, but I think that's to be expected. I'm really trying to prepare myself mentally today. I'm trying not to overexert myself. I'm really watching my calories. I'm trying to stay overly hydrated. I'm sending my wife to the local sports shop for another McDavid Calf Sleeve. I already have one and it does a good job of relieving pain from calf strains and shin splints.

I just can't wait to get out there and prove to myself that I can do this. I also that running with others will be a good way to spur myself on. If I can continually look ahead and find a runner that I want to catch up to, I'll keep my competitive edge.

So send up a prayer as you think about it tomorrow!

3.1 in the heat

I decided to break from routine a little by substituting my Friday morning run at the gym for a Saturday morning run outside since I felt I needed a little practice in the elements. It was probably a wise decision since I now have a better idea of what I'll be up against for next Saturday's race.

As far as the run was concerned, I felt mentally out of it. I didn't have a plan for when I was going to start running, pace, etc. So all in all it wasn't a good run. I finished it, but I realized that I'm going to have to be mentally composed with a plan in place for Saturday.

Strategery

I have to use a little strategery in my running for the next week since my first 5k is a mere eight days away! I mapped out a course near my house that's 3.1 miles long and I plan on running it tomorrow morning. This will be only my third run outside in the heat, so I hope all goes well. It shouldn't be too hot in the morning, but it will be plenty warm. Then next week I'll run Monday, swim/lift weights on Tuesday, run Wednesday, swim/lift weights on Thursday and then take Friday off since race day is Saturday. I really didn't think rest would play such a significant role in running, but it does. Earlier this week, I ran two days in a row and noticed more fatigue than usual. So hopefully with this schedule, I'll still get plenty of training in but also be rested up for the race!

Good resource

I have learned quite a bit since I've started running and would like to pass along a valuable resource for new runners. I spend a lot of time at Runner's World reading up on everything from shoes to diet to book recommendations to...well...you get the point. I even signed up for a magazine subscription which you can do for like $15/year. So I guess that makes it official: I'm a runner! Plus, they don't really have a Couch Potato World magazine (since Couch Potatos are too lazy to create a magazine), so I there's that.

So go! Browse! Learn! Enjoy.