Project 26.2

Memory Lane

noreply@blogger.com (Jordan Bastian) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 20:05:00 +0000

Two weeks out from this year's Chicago Marathon and I'm back on the roads again.

Today, to get to 21 miles this week, I logged 6 around Thornton and South Holland here in Chicagoland. I decided to run into SoHo for a change. Normally, I stick to a nice route that goes around Kell's hometown of Thornton and takes me through some woods.

This time I was feeling a bit sentimental and wanted to run through the town I grew up in. From Kell's parent's house to the house where I spent most of my childhood is almost exactly 3 miles, making for an easy out-and-back.

The photo (thanks Google maps!) is of the park that sits next to the culdesac where my old house stands. I did one loop around the park, running by the baseball fields where I used to practice and the playgrounds I spent so many hours on. It was fun heading down my old street and seeing what had changed and what little things were still the same.

My old house still had the same rickety shed along the side that my dad put up -- broken door and everything! He also put up this small strip of pickett fence on the front corner of the house to "hide" the garbage cans. Yup, still there. I was cracking up. My friends' old treehouse, where no girls were allowed, still stands a few houses down, too.

I actually took a break at the 3-mile mark to walk around the end of the culdesac before heading on my way. I noticed a neighbor in the house next to my old home pulling back some curtains and peering out at me. Probably seemed weird to have some random dude running on his street. When you live on a street like that, it's rare to see anyone who doesn't have a reason to be there. We always could tell when a car made a wrong turn onto our block. Everyone knows everyone.

As I was walking by my old house, a woman came out with a couple of kids, looking at me funny. I smiled, said hello and said I was just taking a run down memory lane -- that I lived on this street a decade ago and happened to be back in the neighborhood. She smiled back and said OK, but still was looking at me like I was some whacko. As to avoid anyone calling the cops on the strange runner guy, I headed on my way.

As for the run itself, my left foot was a little sore throughout. I've had some minor pain on the underside of my foot at the base of the two toes next to my big toe. Pounding the pavement so soon after a marathon might be the cause, just overuse. I also switched back to a pair of shoes that have 400+ miles on them, which could have contributed.

My other pair of Saucony's are still drying after a fun run I did a few nights ago. It was pouring rain, but I didn't let that stop me from heading out for a quick 3 miles. I got drenched, and had a blast. At a certain point, I no longer cared about running through puddles -- that's how soaked I was. I'll take a day off here to let my foot rest and to let my the shoes with fewer miles on them dry some more. Might have to take a blowdryer to them.

That's all for right now. Just thought I'd add a quick update, as well as some photos to the blog. Kelly and Hayden and I are planning on heading back to Toronto in early November, so it'll be back to running north of the border, where it's a bit colder than here. I'm thinking of sticking to 3-6 miles each time for a while, so I might just stick to the track/treadmills back home.

Who am I kidding? I'll probably get out the winter gear and run through the snow like I did all last winter. Sometimes those are the most memorable runs. Today's certainly ranked up there.

3-peat: Running Chicago 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Jordan Bastian) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 13:25:00 +0000

I did it. I never doubted that I would cross the finish line at this year's Chicago Marathon, but I definitely did not expect to do as well as I did this past Sunday. Here on the couch, with my feet up and the race behind me, I am completely satisfied with the results.

First, the raw data: I finished my third career marathon in 4:04:04, representing a new personal best. Among 33,608 finishers, I placed 12,117. Among 18,983 men, I ranked 8,811. Among men between the ages of 25-29, I was No. 1,493 out of 3,117. Not too shabby in my book.

This marathon was the most satisfying of the three I have run.

I'd say last year's Chicago Marathon (4:22) was the most fun. Once I knew the extreme heat was not going to allow me to meet my time goals, I slowed down and soaked up the experience of my first 26.2. Running the Disney Marathon (4:09) showed me something about myself. I set a PR at the time, despite running the final 7 miles with increasing pain in my hip.

But this year's marathon was the most satisfying.

I went in without expectations. The birth of Hayden on Sept. 1 took away about two weeks of training during the most critical period. Leading up to his arrival, I had actually cut down my mileage, trying to convince myself that running a marathon under the circumstances was not a good idea. I was talking myself out of it.

Then, the more I thought about it, I told myself that I've never backed out of anything in my life. When I put my mind to something, I do it. Full training or not, I had the experience and determination to carry me through. So, in the two weeks leading up to the marathon, I banged out a 20-mile run and did some workouts to get myself as prepared as I could.

The last thing I wanted was to be sitting at home on marathon day, having not even tried. Giving up is something I have never done and -- with a new son to raise -- I am now an example. Sure, he's just a baby right now, but when he is older, and he's asking about my marathons, I don't have to say I sat one out because I wasn't sure I could do it.

That is why this run was the most satisfying.

I went in with a specific strategy. My only goal was to cross the finish line, but I came up with a plan to try to shoot for a new personal record. I hadn't logged the really long runs, and I was 15 pounds heavier than last October, but I knew I could do the first 13-16 miles at a good clip. So, I figured my best shot at coming close to 4 hours was to go out fast and slow up late.

I ran the first 13.1 miles in 1:51 -- not bad considering I ran the Las Vegas half in 1:41 in December. I knew I couldn't hold that pace, but that early split could make up for my slower pace in the second half. I did the second 13.1 in 2:13, falling four minutes shy of cracking 4 hours, but beating my previous best by five minutes.

How could I have made up those four minutes?

Well, there were two quick porto-potty stops and few brief walking breaks between miles 16-24. Then, during the last mile, I stopped to help a guy who was collapsed in the road after having his hamstring blow up on him. I ran by a guy crawling off the road last year and that always stuck with me. This year, I decided not to be one of the people who ran on and did nothing.

So, with all of that, there's your four minutes. But, who cares? I didn't know I'd even be able to set a new best time thisyear and I can look back knowing I helped someone. I have nothing to be upset about.

The weather conditions were almost perfect. I say "almost" because it was cold - in the low 30s at the start. I wore short sleeves and gloves to start off and was warm enough 3-4 miles in. I ran by my sister Melissa between miles 4-5 -- gave her a big hug, so there's another 5 seconds I can't get back! -- and gave her the gloves before moving on.

About a half hour after finishing, I started to get really cold again while waiting to pick up my stuff at gear check. Even though it was so cold, it still beat the 85-degree day we had in Chicago for the marathon last year. That wore me down so much in the second half of the run. If only I could've combined last year's training with this year's conditions.

After the race, I met up with Melissa and my wife Kelly drove downtown with Baby Hayden and Grandma to join us for a celebratory lunch at my favorite Chicago restaurant: Flat Top Grill. In the days since, I've had a Chicago pizza, Taco Bell and Kell's awesome lasagna. Living it up before getting back to running the roads.

Next year, I'm thinking about doing a November marathon. San Antonio? New York? We'll see.

For now, I'm satisfied with calling myself a three-time marathoner.

Here is Hayden modeling my medal.

Where there's a will...

noreply@blogger.com (Jordan Bastian) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 02:10:00 +0000

Can you see me in that crowd? I'm right there, on the left, about 300 yards in front of that big white tent back there. Can't see me among the 45,000 runners? This year -- on Sunday -- I'll be a little closer to the front, in one of the designated start corrals rather than in the open section.

A year ago, Chicago was my first marathon. Over more than a year of running up to that point, I had shed more than 40 pounds. Now, a year since that photo was taken, I am a two-time marathoner. Did Chicago in 4:22 in very hot conditions, did Disney in 4:09 with a bum hip for the last 7 miles. Ran the Las Vegas half in 1:42 in perfect conditions in between.

This Sunday, I will be able to say I'm a three-time marathoner. I haven't trained as hard leading up to this one -- funny how bringing a son into the world will throw off your priorities, and your training (Kelly and I welcomed Baby Hayden Bastian to our family on Sept. 1). I haven't been blogging, because I haven't been running as much. Only recently did I pick it up hard again, and I feel like I've been cramming for an exam.

This year will be all about experience and will power. I want to crack 4 hours, but if I don't I'm not going to get all worked up over it. My goal this year is to cross that finish line. Last week I successfully logged 20 miles after not having gone 10+ in a month. The 32 miles I ran last week were my most in one week since January. Sunday is going to hurt and I know it. And I'm ready.

Having run two marathons before, and with that 20-miler under my belt recently, I know what I'm in for and I know I can handle it. I might not be able to clock as fast of splits as in the past, but I will hold a steady pace with the goal of not slowing much as I get deeper in the run. I want to prove to myself that I can push beyond my limits, using my experience.

I look forward to putting that medal on after I finish my third career 26.2. I also look forward to updating this blog more often as I get back at it over the next year. I hope to run at least one marathon per year from here on out. I'm already thinking that one in October or November of 2010 will be next.

I'll post more after Sunday's adventure...

Intermission Over

noreply@blogger.com (Jordan Bastian) — Sat, 02 May 2009 14:07:00 +0000

That's the hope anyway. I've been on -- how shall I say it? -- an extended mental and physical "break" from running. You could probably gather as much from the time between posts here. Since my last update, I have logged 84 miles in roughly 11 weeks, which is a big drop-off for me.

Things are going to pick up, though. They have to. I've had a few moments recently that have started to nudge me back in the right direction. My lovely wife, Kelly, teasingly told me the other day that she liked that I was getting my belly back. I signed up for the 2009 Chicago Marathon the next day.

Beyond that little bit of motivation, I keep having people ask me how my running is going and I'm sick and tired of saying I'm on a break. Me and running haven't broken up, but we're on a break. A Blue Jays player asked me this week and then another person at work brought up the running again yesterday.

What this has showed me is how much running became a part of my identity and I have let it slip away over the past couple months. It's time to get back at it. I stepped on the scale last night before bed and I was up to nearly 175. That's 20 pounds heavier than I was last October! I don't look heavy by any means, don't get me wrong, but it's time to hit the path again.

I started this morning. Kelly got up at 6ish this morn to get ready for work and rather than stay in bed like I normally do, I got up as well. I loaded up my ipod with some fresh tunes while she got ready and after she left, I headed to the lakefront. Now, I planned on punishing myself with 10 miles, but I settled for 6 at a 7:57 pace with a brief break at the midway point.

My legs were singing as I wrapped up the run and I'm sitting in the pressbox at work right now fighting a cough. That tells me that it's been way too long since my last run -- 17 days in fact. Now that I have another 26.2 on my schedule, I can't afford to stray away from running again. Now is the time to step up the program again and get back to watching what I'm eating.

"Success does not cometo the most righteous and rigorously disciplined but to those who continue running." ~Amby Burfoot

Spring Training

noreply@blogger.com (Jordan Bastian) — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 00:29:00 +0000

Wow, it's been a while since my last post. So, I'll just toss a quick update on here. I'm back in Florida for another year of spring training and I'll be here through April 2. As for the running? It's been kind of sporatic of late.

I've gone running a handful of times since the marathon, but I've still been dealing with some leftover right hip soreness -- the problem that came up during the race. I took a week off after the marathon, logged 21 miles the next week, and then decided I was aching a little too much to keep going.

So, for much of the past month, I've stayed away from running, spending more time lifting again in the gym. Nothing wrong with pumping the ol' iron, which I didn't do much while in marathon training. I did 3 miles on the treadmill yesterday at a 7:20 pace and actually felt great, and after a day off today, I'm planning on logging 5-6 miles early in the morning.

I'm trying to be smart and just run to tolerance right now. It seems like the longer I run, the more the hip thing comes up. On 3-mile runs, it's not a problem, but once I get up to four or more, it begins to irritate me. So, hopefully doing some strengthing work in the gym will help me recover.

That's it for now. It's been awesome to be outside, running in shorts again down in this Florida weather. Goodbye, winter.

Disney World Marathon

noreply@blogger.com (Jordan Bastian) — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 22:01:00 +0000

I've had a couple days to think about Sunday's marathon, providing enough time for some of the frustration to wear off. That's a good thing, because looking back on it now, I can say I'm happy with how things went in my second marathon. When it was all said and done, I had shaved more than 13 minutes off my personal best and finished the 26.2 miles in a respectable 4:09:04.

The photo above (all pictures in this post courtesy of my wife, Kelly) is of me heading into the final turn at the finish. What you can't see is the source of my frustration. I was limping pretty bad at that point due to an issue with the right side of my hip. It started around mile 17 and was really bad for the final four miles -- to the point where it was hurting to lift my right leg.

Under the circumstances, though, my time was pretty good. My goal was to break four hours and -- injury aside -- had it not been for three unfortunate porta-john stops (thanks 6 am start!), I probably would've met that goal. Up until the hip issue flared up, I was on pace for about a 3:45-50 finish, which was what I was gunning for this time.

But, hey, I finished, and here's what I received for my work:

Quite the elaborate medal, huh. I knew Kelly -- a huge Disney fan, for those who aren't aware -- would love the hardware, not to mention the trip to Disney World. We toured the park on Friday and had a blast. Then, I got a backstage tour on Sunday. Running through large empty stretches of the parks was a neat experience.

Overall, I enjoyed Chicago more. I've said it before, I can't imagine many other marathons -- with the exception of New York and Boston -- matching the energy of the Chicago marathon. With 1.5 million spectators lining nearly the entire path, it's an awesome experience. For Disney, there were long periods of running with no spectators on the empty highway roads between the parks.

The four parks (you begin in Epcot, then run through Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios before returning to Epcot for the finish) did break up the run pretty well, though. Magic Kingdom was probably the highlight, though running at the bottom of Mount Everest in Animal Kingdom was pretty cool, too.

This is a picture of a crowd in Magic Kingdom watching runners head into Tomorrowland. After running down Main Street in MK, you head through this section of the park before making your way back to the castle. We ran through the tunnel under the castle from the back and then veered off to the right.

Here's a shot Kell took of runners making their way out of the castle. As you're coming down the ramp after coming out of the tunnel, there was a photographer in front of the castle. Some runners, me included, hopped off the course to get a picture snapped really quick. After doing that, I high-fived Mickey Mouse and went on my way.

Out of 14,940 finishers, my time was good enough to place me 2,586th. Out of 7,801 men, I finished in 1,926th place. I was 232nd out of 873 men in the 25-29 age bracket as well. My placings weren't as good as my half showing in Vegas, but I guess finishing in the top 20 percent isn't all that shabby, especially on a wonky leg.

I don't have any official splits for the marathon, but here are the estimated mile times, according to my watch, which tends to run a little slower than the actual pace:

Miles 1-16:
8:22/9:51/8:19/8:15/8:27/8:22/10:46/8:21/
8:16/8:24/8:30/8:44/8:23/8:41/11:15/8:30

Miles 17-26.2:
9:28/9:39/9:25/11:39/10:11/9:59/10:28/11:33/11:27/11:32/2:35

I broke them into two categories, because it's easy to see where my leg started bothering me. In miles 1-16, every mile is between 8:15-8:44 with the exception of the three bathroom stops. During mile 17, I started to feel some pain on the right side of my hip. By mile 20, it was really hurting, and by mile 22 I was limping along.

Given how I typically finish strong, I was well in line to finish around 3:45-50 through 16 miles. After that point, though, I averaged about 10:20 per mile down the stretch, and that pace climbed to 10:58 in the last seven miles and then up to 11:15 for the final four. I probably could've stopped at a medical tent for treatment, but I was so close to the end, I didn't want to quit. Plus, I was wasn't leaving without at least setting a new PR.

Here I am heading into the finish. Kelly said it was easy to see something was wrong with me, considering how I was running. What's funny is the marathon included our first names on our bib numbers, so I had a lot of people yelling my name at the end. I guess a noticeable limp will get people rooting for you! The race also added a nice touch by saying your whole name over the loud speakers as you crossed the finish line.

I wasn't the only MLB.comer in this race, either. Our Detroit Tigers writer, Jason Beck (pictured below with me after the race), also ran and finished in a cool 3:20 or so. I plan on getting to that type of time some day. For now, I'll have to be content with my time and just keep my eye on future races. I'm not sure what I'll do next year, but it looks like it'll be either the Chicago or Toronto marathon.

Until then, I'm going to rest up and back off on the long runs for a while. I've already enjoyed a post-race feast over the past few days, devouring some chinese food from PF Changs, some pizza, a burger with fries, doughnuts for breakfast today and even a beer at dinner on Sunday night! I know, I'm really letting go, huh.

I'll probably take a week or two off from running to let my feet and legs heal up. My hip has still been bothering me some when walking -- nothing too painful, but there's definitely some strain there. When I do get back to running, I'll likely be sticking indoors until I get back to Florida for Spring Training.

I bought a new pair of running shoes at the marathon Expo -- another pair of Saucony Hurricane 10s -- and am looking forward to strapping them on and getting back at it. But, until I know I have another marathon to train for, I doubt I'll be doing anything more than 10 miles. For now, I'll probably stick to 5-10k distances just to keep in shape.

Stay tuned for more...

Land of a Million Miles

noreply@blogger.com (Jordan Bastian) — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 13:06:00 +0000

We're here at Disney World, and my next 26.2 is less than 24 hours away now. Kelly and I arrived late Thursday night and we hit up a few of the Disney parks on Friday. Above is a picture of the castle at Magic Kingdom. Actually, if you hadn't figured it out, it's a flipped photo of the reflection of the castle in a pond.

It was a gorgeous day for our trips through Hollywood Studios (we still call it MGM), Magic Kingdom and Epcot. Not a cloud in the sky and probably in the 60s and 70s temp-wise all day. It was cool at points, but we're not about to complain when we're far removed from the below-freezing conditions in Toronto!

I'm looking forward to this marathon, but I'm not sure how I'll do. I'm not super confident like I was for the Las Vegas half, but I'm more prepared than I was for my first 26.2 in Chicago. The last six weeks of training haven't gone as well as I would've hoped, but that's due more to circumstances than me slacking off.

I still got the really important long runs in and maintained a solid mileage base weekly. I didn't do as much speed/tempo work as I should have in this last stretch, but there's no turning back now. At least Vegas showed me I have the ability to exceed my own expectations sometimes. Hopefully, this is going to be a similar situation.

I'm gunning for under 4 hours, which is a realistic goal. Ideally, I'd finish under 3:45. What I'm not going to do is say I'm setting out to come under 3:30 like I thought I could for Chicago -- not knowing what I was getting into. I have the ability -- in perfect conditions -- to run a 3:30, but I know a lot will have to go right to achieve that goal. So I'll be happy with anything under 4.

So, wish me luck, and if you want to track me during the race, which starts at roughly 6 am on Sunday, you can head to the Walt Disney World Marathon Web site and sign up in the Spectator resources section. It'll be interesting to see what kind of crowd shows up to cheer us on tomorrow, especially after experiencing the 1.5 million spectators that lined the streets in Chicago.

At least it should be good weather tomorrow. It's supposed to be in the 50s around 6 am and probably in the mid 60s by the time I finish. In Chicago, temps reached 85+ while I was still on the course -- not good. Over the past few weeks, I've been running in below-freezing temps in Toronto.

So, at least I won't have to dress up like this for the Disney run:

Cold feet

noreply@blogger.com (Jordan Bastian) — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 04:19:00 +0000

It's been snowing like crazy up here in Toronto and it's really been making training difficult. I was having a hard enough time as it was before the blizzards starting hitting the city. A few days after my Vegas half, I caught a nasty cold and I'm still not 100 percent recovered about two weeks later.

I took a week off after the half -- you know I wasn't feeling good if I wasn't running at all. It was the first full week I took off in about a year. I wasn't happy about it, but I was not feeling good at all. This last week, I ramped it up and logged 40 miles in the week, three of the four runs coming indoors.

On my first three runs, I quit before I intended to, which is also an odd thing for me. I couldn't tell you the last time I quit a run for reasons other than injury. I felt really defeated. On a day I planned to run 12, I ran five outside. On a day I wanted to run 14, I did 11 indoors between the track and treadmill. On another day I planned on running 10, I did only four.

But, all was not lost. You can't just mail in a marathon and mine is less than three weeks away now. So, forced inside due to the bad weather, and still nursing a cold and a swollen left big toe, I completed 20 miles on our little indoor track on Sunday. That's 330 laps! You basically feel like you're turning left the whole time.

I took short breaks at miles 3, 11, 14, 17 and 19 to use the bathroom or to drink water or gatorade. When I was running, I averaged 8:09 per mile. And, sticking to what I try to do with every run -- no matter the distance -- my last mile was my fastest at 7:55. That was a good way to finish up what had been a disappointing week.

I took Monday off to recover and planned on running 10 miles today -- "planned" being the key word. I had some errands to run, and when I was going to head to the gym, some news happened in the baseball world and I was stuck working for a few hours. With chores to knock off before our early-morning drive to Chicago, I didn't have time to squeeze the run in.

That's not a good way to start off this week, especially when we're heading home to even colder conditions during the week of Christmas. I have to make sure I get a few runs in this week somehow, though. The marathon is right around the corner and I can't afford to slip up now.

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year. Stay tuned for more...

Las Vegas Half Marathon

noreply@blogger.com (Jordan Bastian) — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 00:21:00 +0000

Early this morning, and I mean early -- 6 am out here -- I ran the Las Vegas Half, which was a really fun race to take part in. Before I get into the day, I'll get to the results:

I finished the 13.1 miles in 1:41.41, or an average of 7:45.3 per mile. Out of 7,718 runners, I placed 288th. Out of 3,769 men, I finished 235th. I was 32nd overall in my age division (25-29).

This was a really satisfying finish for me. I was gunning for a 1:45 finish, or at least a 1:47 to best my cousin John's half PR. So, needless to say, I obliterated my goal, and by about 15 seconds per mile! This included a mid-run porta-potty stop, too. So I walked away very happy with the end results.

What's funny is my Garmin said I'd only run 12.75 miles when I crossed the finish line. It does the distance with a footpod, so it's prone to errors, but the discrepancy meant I didn't realize I was running as fast as I was. According to my watch, I was pretty much dead on an 8:00 pace. I guess I've been training harder than the ol' Garmin has been telling me. Nothing wrong with that.

The race itself was cool. It was still dark when we started, right by the Mandelay Bay hotel at the edge of the Strip. At the start, they shoot off fireworks and keep them going for a few minutes while everyone gets through the gates. Then you run for about 5-6 miles up the Strip with all the buildings lit up and everything. It was a very cool experience.

It was a slight downhill -- and I mean very slight -- for the first half. In the second half, it's a gradual incline that you start to notice around mile 9 or 10. Either way, it's still a pretty flat and fast course, as my time clearly shows. The second half you're running a few blocks over from the Strip, and it's not the most scenic route. It was probably in the mid-40s for the run, which felt warm after training in the cold in Toronto these past few weeks.

I flew into Vegas on Saturday and bunked with our Yankees writer at the Marriott Suites. He and our Tigers writer also ran the half. Jason -- the Detroit reporter -- finished in 1:35.26 and Bryan finished in 1:59.16. I'll gladly take the silver for us MLB.comers. Beck caught me at about mile 5, but I wasn't able to keep up with his crazy 7:00 pace.

Now, it's back to work here with baseball's winter meetings kicking off on Monday. I have some runs to try to squeeze in this week still, so I'll try to get up early and run the strip again. I still have a lot of work to do before being ready to run the Walt Disney World Marathon in January. This race at least showed I'm on the right track.

Decking the halls

noreply@blogger.com (Jordan Bastian) — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 03:41:00 +0000

There's Kelly and I, and an almost cooperative Barkley, sitting in front of our condo-friendly Christmas tree shortly after decking the ol' halls here on Sunday night. Every year we put on Christmas music while we decorate and imagine how our kids will be completely embarrassed by us years from now. Always a good time.

Every year, our ornament collections grows as we pick up souveniers from our vacations, family events or my travels. It's tough to see in the above photo, but I added a memento from my first marathon to the tree this year. At the marathon expo in Chicago, I found this ornament that will be a part of my tree from now on:

Anyway, I'm less than a week removed from the half marathon in Las Vegas. If I were only training for the half, I would've tapered this past week or two. Instead, I logged 41 miles this past week and ran a practice 13.1 miles on Sunday, when it was below freezing here with winds that got up to over 30 mph.

For that run, I bundled up and headed out to the Don Valley path. After a two-mile warm-up with splits of 9:02 and 8:21, I did by best to stay between a 7:50-8:20 pace for the next 11 miles. With the exception of a brief walking break that upped mile 7 to 8:31 and a long light at mile 12 that brought that one up to 8:37, I met that goal.

Practice half-marathon splits:

9:02/8:21/7:59/8:02/8:04/8:14/8:31
8:03/8:01/8:02/8:02/8:37/7:51/0:47

total: 1:47:42

So, for the entire run, I averaged 8:13. After the two-mile warm-up, I averaged 8:06. Considering I did this out in the bitter cold weather that I did, I should be able to hit my target of 1 hour, 45 minutes at the Vegas half. Fingers crossed. Doing this 13.1 trial run in 1:47 was pretty encouraging at least.

Prior to that run, I did 10-mile runs on Tuesday (8:17 pace) and Thursday (8:13 pace) and an 8-miler on Friday at an easier pace. The Tuesday run was good simply because I was pain-free during the run after that nasty fall on Sunday. I still have a bruised left knee, some scrapes in a handful of places and a really sore right arm, which I may have landed on.

But, beyond the bumps and bruises, I had no issues when actually running. That's all I'm concerned with right now. This week, I plan on straying some from the program I mapped out in order to rest up and recover some leading up to the Vegas run on Sunday. I'll probably stick to the indoor track to make sure I do shorter distances.

More later...

Road tripping

noreply@blogger.com (Jordan Bastian) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 19:35:00 +0000

Take a good look at the above photo. That is the enemy. I think the theory behind making construction fencing like that a bright orange color is so that it's easily visible. Well, when the sun has set and you're running on a lakefront path with no lighting besides the moon, it turns out this type of fence is invisible.

I had just gone over 17 miles and was moving at a decent pace on my way to 20 last night. I had to start the long run when the sun was already setting due to a rare weekend day shift I drew for work. So, by the time I was 17 miles in, it was dark and I was finishing up my run near our condo along the lake.

Apparently, the city is doing some sort of construction on the path I frequent, though you couldn't really see as much in the dark. Running full speed -- probably at about an 8:30 per mile clip at that point -- I met up with a waist-high orange construction fence that came out of nowhere. My legs went right into the fence and my upper body was thrown toward the pavement.

Fortunately, I have pretty good reflexes. I was able to get my arms up just before my face hit the concrete. I was rolling around on the ground -- I think one foot still tangled in the fence -- in agonizing pain, trying to figure out what just happened. It wasn't one of the situations where I saw the fence at the last second and braced myself.

I was on the ground, and I didn't know how I got there. It wasn't until the pain let up some that I got it together and saw I was laying on the other side of this fence. I could've easily knocked my teeth out or hit my head. Instead, I wound up with some cuts on both arms, a swollen left knee, a cut on my left ankle and a really sore back the morning after.

I stayed on the ground for a few minutes, moaning in pain with the wind knocked out of me. Not what you want to happen at any point in a run -- let alone a 20-mile long run. Once I got up and walked a little, realizing I hadn't seriously injured myself (thank you God!), I decided I had come too far to quit because of a stupid fall.

So I turned around and walked/jogged/ran until I finally completed the 20 miles. At a little over 18 miles, I was right by my condo and I nearly quit and went home due to the pain I was in. I actually stopped and started walking home, but after a few steps, I snapped out of that mindset and continued the run.

All in all, while running in below freezing temps, with double layers on my upper and lower body, running on top of snow and ice for much of the path, and after enduring that nasty spill and the really slow 3 miles that followed, I finished the 20 miles in 3 hours, 8 minutes. Considering all the circumstances, I was thrilled to have simply finished.

For the first 10 miles, I ran at an 8:38 pace, and that's including two walking breaks to drink some gatorade. I didn't stop and rest at all during the run -- minus the laying on the ground in pain moment. I kept moving forward and used four walking breaks to refuel. After the fall, though, my times of 10:59/13:28/9:46 to finish the 20 really killed my overall time.

It's good that this week is a lighter week running wise. I need some time to regroup from the general soreness from that run, along with time to heal up some from the fall. If I feel as sore tomorrow as I do today, I may not do the nine mile easy run I'm scheduled to do. Then again, I didn't let a scary spill stop me from finishing on Sunday.

Stay tuned for more...

Of medals and music

noreply@blogger.com (Jordan Bastian) — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 19:45:00 +0000

This is a picture of my new first marathon "trophy" case, hanging in our den here at our Toronto condo. Kelly needed to go to Michael's craft store yesterday, so I made the trip worthwhile by finding this frame.

It's a diorama-type frame, so it's deeper than a normal one, allowing you to put bulkier stuff inside it. So, as you can see, I've got my Chicago Marathon finisher's medal, a photo my sister Melissa took and my bib from the race on display. Pretty cool huh.

A quick update on my running week so far: Ran nine miles along the lakefront on Tuesday at an easy 8:31 pace, did an eight-mile speed workout on Thursday with eight Yasso 800s (four miles) and four other regular miles at roughly 7:45 per mile, and three easy miles on Friday at about 8:20 per mile.

I was originally down to run nine miles on Friday, but my legs were really sore -- likely from the two hours of volleyball I played with Kelly and some friends on Thursday night (AFTER my speed workout). So after three miles on Friday, I cut things short to rest up for my 20-miler today (haven't gone yet). I'll still hit 40 miles for the week.

I also go to thinking this week about what I would consider my Top 10 songs to run to. Not my favorite songs of all-time, or what I consider the best songs of all-time (yes, those two lists would differ), but my favorites to run to, whether it be due to the beat or the lyrcis or whatever. After going through my iPod, I came up with this list.

In no particular order (with links to youtube):

Da Funk by Daft Punk -- This techno song makes the cut because it reminds me of my Cross Country days at Thornwood High School. It was a favorite for us runners to have pumping through our discman's during warmups before a meet, OR pumping through the cd player we'd tote with us to races. It has a steady beat that is easy to use to set a nice pace.

Confusion by New Order -- This is another techno song that I like to use during longer runs. Like Da Funk, it has a good beat to help establish a strong pace. And the song is lengthy, which is good because it can last for more than a mile of running for me. That helps my mind avoid trying to count songs (usually it's about two normal songs per mile on average).

Cochise by Audioslave -- This rock ditty, the first big single by Audioslave (the band formed by former members of Rage Against the Machine and former Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell), has heavy guitars and a strong beat that is awesome for faster workouts. Key lyrics: I've been drinking life, while you've been nausous." This one always pumps me up.

Going the Distance by Cake -- The title says it all doesn't it? The song has lyrics more in line with a horse or car race, but it can easily be applied to us runners. I'm not big on listening to lyrics, but these are hard to ignore and easy to get into when you're running: The sun has gone down and the moon has come up, and long ago somebody left with the cup. But he's striving and driving and hugging the turns, and thinking of someone for whom he still burns. He's going the distance! He's going for speed!"

More Human than Human by White Zombie -- Again, not really reflective of my favorite type of songs. But this heavy rock tune is awesome for workouts. The chorus of "More human than human" being basically shouted over and over is great for getting the ol' blood flowing. Besides, when you're pushing yourself to the limit, you do feel more human than human. At least I think so.

Hail, Hail by Pearl Jam -- PJ is my all-time favorite band and there are a number of songs I could include here. But Hail, Hail is a short, fast song off the album No Code that I really get into when working out, especially during speed work. Key lyrics: "I find I'm on the run in a race that can't be won, yeah." So what? It's about crossing that finish line, not always about coming in first.

Hard Sun by Eddie Vedder -- While I'm on still on the subject of PJ, this single off the Into the Wild (great film, by the way) soundtrack by PJ singer Eddie Vedder is another favorite of mine on the run, especially for longer distances. It's not as hard or fast as other songs, but it works for me. Key lyrics: "There's a big, a big hard sun. Beating down on the big people, in the big, hard world." That's sure what the Chicago Marathon felt like.

Thunderstruck by AC/DC -- It'd be easy to list a number of AC/DC tunes, but after going through them this one stands out as my favorite to run to. It starts off slow and slowly builds as the song goes on -- great for the start of a long run. Key lyrics: "I looked 'round, and I knoew there was no turning back." Ain't that the truth.

Heinrich Maneuver by Interpol -- One of my favorite of the newer class of rock bands. Of course, I liked Interpol when hardly anyone had heard of them and before they signed with a major label. But I digress... This song really worked for me when I was out running in Anaheim this past year, when I was starting to set new personal records for long runs. Key lyrics: "How are things on the West Coast? I hear you're moving real fine. You wear those shoes like a dove. Now strut those shoes, we'll go roaming in the night."

Shipping Up to Boston by Dropkick Murphys -- This song is short, fast and it simply flat-out rocks. It's been made famous as the warm-up music of Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon. In the marathon world, Boston is the promised land for elite runners. Someday, I'd love to be able to qualify to run there. This song is fantastic for short bursts, like the 800s I do during some speed workouts.

Honorable mentions: Beautiful People, Marilyn Manson; Lust for Life, Iggy Pop; No Way Out, Stone Temple Pilots; Pug, Smashing Pumpkins; Burden in My Hand, Soundgarden; Aenima, Tool; Mr. Brightside, The Killers; Super Bon Bon, Soul Coughing; I Might Be Wrong, Radiohead; Shut 'Em Down, LL Cool J; Neighborhood #2, Arcade Fire; Bombs Over Baghdad, Outkast; Stage, Live; I'm So Sick, Flyleaf; Personal Jesus, Depeche Mode; Paper Planes, M.I.A; Disco Science, Mirwais; Falling Away from me, Korn; Getting Smaller, Nine Inch Nails; Not for You, Pearl Jam; Comatose, Pearl Jam; Do the Evolution, Pearl Jam; Rearviewmirror, Pearl Jam; Tahitian Moon, Porno for Pyros; Let Down, Radiohead; There, there, Radiohead; Bulls on Prade, Rage Against the Machine, People of the Sun, Rage Against the Machine; Killing in the Name, Rage Against the Machine; Around the World, Red Hot Chili Peppers; Untreatable Disease, Sparta; Punk Rocker, Teddy Bears; Ball and Biscuit, The White Stripes; Seven Nation Army, The White Stripes; Song 2, Blur; Rabbit in Your Headlights, U.N.K.L.E.

Gee, think I could've fit any more songs in there?

Stay tuned for more...

Mail run

noreply@blogger.com (Jordan Bastian) — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 23:28:00 +0000

So we've all heard the unofficial motto, or similar versions of it anyway, of the United States Postal Service, which begins: "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night..."

Well, it was hard not to think about that old saying while slogging through an 18-mile run this morning with my running buddy, Kev. When we started, it was sunny and gorgeous out, considering it's mid November. As we got deeper into the run, we fought strong winds, cold rain and the first snow flurries of the season.

Making matters worse, this was one of those runs where I wished every single step I took would've been my last. I was just not feeling it today. I wasn't sore or battling an injury -- I just did not feel like being out there running. But, despite all these factors, we pushed through and completed the 18 grueling miles.

We did the run in 2:32:12, or roughly 8:27 per mile. That's including a two-mile warmup (8:46/8:57 splits) and a 5K cooldown (8:51/8:56/8:49). In between those two periods, we averaged 8:18 per mile for the 13 in the middle. Considering the elements we were dealing with, I can live with that pace.

It's the second time this week I had a run where I really just didn't want to be doing it. The other was a tempo run on Thursday. For that 8-mile run, I did a one-mile warmup and cooldown with six-mile splits in the middle of 7:56/7:55/7:55/7:48/7:48/7:28. I was really happy with the time on that run, which are closer to what I hope my half-marathon on Dec. 7 resembles.

Today, it was a good thing I had Kevin with me, and I made sure to tell him so. Had I been by myself, I probably would've worked in a few more breaks or walked some. With him running a few strides ahead of me the whole way, I did my best to suck it up and push through. He was probably getting sick of my whining though!

Overall, it was a strong week for me. I had the 16-miler last Sunday during which I suffered the right hamstring issue. This never came up this time around and was no longer an issue by Thursday night, when I did my tempo run. This week I logged 45 miles, establishing yet another personal high. Seems to be a weekly trend these days.

On Tuesday, I did a nine-mile run along the Don Valley path, which I blogged about in the last post. On Friday, I was down for another nine-mile easy run and this time I did it along the Toronto lakefront. I was taking it nice and easy (8:32 pace), and I felt good, so I actually stretched it into a 10-mile run, last mile clocking in at 7:41.

My mileage this week brings me to 1,161 miles over the past 389 days. That's an average of 2.92 miles a day -- this includes all my days off, mind you -- over that period. So I'm almost back up to a 5K a day for more than the last year. The distance? Well that's almost exactly how far it is between Denver, Colorado, and Grand Rapids, Michigan. Yeah, I looked it up.

This coming week, barring some kind of setback, I'll log 46 miles with a 20-mile long run lined up for Sunday. That will move me over 1,200 miles and will mark the quickest I've run 100 miles since I've started keeping track. I will have breezed through the century mark in nine runs, or more than 11 miles per run.

Stay tuned for more...

Back on the trail

noreply@blogger.com (Jordan Bastian) — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 21:06:00 +0000

The picture on the left is another from the Chicago Marathon in October. That was one of the more enjoyable sections of the run, I want to say around mile 9 or 10 or so. The trees provided some welcome shade on that 85-degree day.

What I'd give for some warm temperatures now! To think I was complaining that it was too hot! Kidding, of course. Luckily, it hasn't been brutally cold. It's been chilly up here in Toronto, but the real bitter cold hasn't arrived yet.

Yesterday, it was about 35 degress out when I convinced myself that I'd be fine testing out my sore right hamstring with a nine-mile run. If it hurt too bad, I could always turn around and shorten the distance, so what's the big deal?

And it turns out it wasn't a big deal at all. Sure, I still have a small bump that's tender to the touch on the back of my thigh -- what I believe to be inflammation. But it doesn't hurt when I walk, didn't hurt when I ran and it felt much improved after icing and elevating and all that jazz.

I completed the nine miles in 1:15:06, or roughly 8:21 per mile. Last week I did the same run in 7:57 per mile, but this time I worked in a two-mile warmup to test my leg and a one-mile cool down on mile No. 8. Following the cool down, I pushed hard through the end and ran my fastest mile with the last one.

Here were my splits:

8:39/8:42/8:22/8:10/8:11/8:12/8:19/8:31/7:54

I'm resting today -- no gym even -- and I'll be back at it tomorrow. I did a core workout on Monday and tomorrow, Thursday, I'm down to run 8 miles with a tempo workout. So one-mile warmup and cooldown with 6 miles at marathon pace or a little faster, depending on how my leg feels. I'm skipping the speed workout this week.

On Friday, I'm scheduled to do a nine-mile easy run and I'm down for 18 miles for my long run on Sunday. Next week, that jumps to 20, which will be my first 20-miler since the marathon. I've been fortunate so far this winter to have all the Sundays providing good weather for the long runs, minus some light rain here and there.

Of course, I probably just jinxed it...

Temporary setback

noreply@blogger.com (Jordan Bastian) — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 20:36:00 +0000

Courtesy of a google image search, above is a photo of a section of the Don Valley bike/running path here in Toronto -- introduced to me by my new running buddy. It's a very picturesque path that runs northeast of the downtown, taking you through some nice wooded areas and away from the windy conditions along the lakefront.

It's been a pleasant run every time for me, until this past Sunday. In a week during which I logged a personal-best 41 miles, my right leg finally began to complain. During our 16 mile run on Sunday, about 9.5 miles into the run, I was greeted with a stabbing, grabbing, biting -- however you want to describe it -- pain behind my right knee.

The pain was so sharp, I had to stop, which is something that hasn't happened before. With past injuries, I've had to slow down and could usually push through it, or I'd stop after trying to jog on it with poor results. This was the first time I've had something so sharp that it forced me to stop right then and there.

We had been going at a nice 8:18 per mile pace for the first nine miles or so before the pain hit. For the rest of the run, I was forced to slow to a 9:10 pace -- a clip that I could keep up without any jarring. The pain popped up a few more times, when we'd try to pick up the pace again, but I was able to at least complete the 16 miles.

So, all in all, even with the pain, we finished the 16 miles in roughly 2 hours, 19 minutes, or 8:42 per mile. I guess that's not too bad for running with a really sore leg. I iced it for a while when I got home and today, a day later, I can feel what seems like swelling on the back of my right leg, above the knee. I'm pretty sure it's a hamstring issue.

It was a disappointing conclusion to what had been a very good week of running. On Tuesday, I did a nine-mile run at 7:57 per mile, which is what I hope to be around for the Vegas half marathon on Dec. 7. On Wednesday, I did some weight training legwork, which could've contributed to the injury. Who knows?

On Thursday, I did a speed workout (8 miles) with six Yasso 800s (half miles) mixed in on the indoor track at our gym. I did a 7:23 mile warmup, followed by 3 miles in the Yasso format: 3:28 800 run (3:32 walk), 3:26 (3:32), 3:30 (3:30), 3:26 (3:33), 3:27 (3:35), 3:20 (3:36). Then, I did 4 miles alternating running/jogging: 7:50, 9:19, 7:28, 9:29.

On Friday, I was down for an eight-mile easy run. This was when the hammy issue first came up. I ran all eight miles at 8:24 per mile, but I had to stop after 7 miles to massage out what felt like a knot in the muscle on the back of my thigh, above the knee. It felt fine for the last mile, but it was similar, not as painful, as what flared up on Sunday.

I'm down to run 44 miles this week, which would set a new personal best, and am scheduled to run 18 miles on Sunday. I plan on sticking to the program, as long as my leg shows improvement by tomorrow. I'll ice it again today and hold off my Tuesday run (nine easy effort miles) until evening, to give it more time to rest and recover.

I don't think this will keep me sidelined long, but I have to be smart about it, too. More later...

What happens in Vegas...

noreply@blogger.com (Jordan Bastian) — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 17:34:00 +0000

Ignore the part of my last post that says I'm not going to Las Vegas for this December's Winter Meetings. Found out today that I will indeed be going and that means I can run the half marathon there on December 7th.

That will be a good way for me to test out my marathon "race pace". I'll aim for 8 minutes per mile and will push harder if I feel up to it. So, hopefully I can finish the half in 1:45 or faster. Our Yankees writer will also be running the half that day.

Stay tuned for more...

Getting stronger

noreply@blogger.com (Jordan Bastian) — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 15:05:00 +0000

As I get a little further removed from running the Chicago marathon, I can definitely tell that I'm starting to get stronger during my runs. The 12-miler I did last Sunday wasn't bad, but I didn't feel that great throughout. This past Sunday, I felt much better during a 14-mile jaunt with my new running mate, Kevin.

I think it helps that he's a bit faster than I am. Although, we'll be having a conversation and at times he'll be talking normal and I feel like I'm fighting to get words out because I feel like I'm about to die! But, on this last long run, I averaged 8:20 per mile (8:26 per for the first seven and 8:15 per for the last seven).

So we finished the 14 miles in 1:56:52, which would put me on pace for a 3:38:42 marathon finish, if I was able to keep that pace. That would be a time I'd be THRILLED with. I think I'm going to set my sights on finishing under 4 hours at the Walt Disney marathon, and anything I do beyond that will be icing on the cake.

I learned that I probably set too lofty a goal for my first marathon -- not really knowing what to expect and all. This time, I would still love to finish around 3:30, but I'm setting my goal as four hours, because I believe that's attainable and, if I finish faster, then that's just a bonus. I think that's a better way to set my goal this time around.

I'm kind of bummed, though. I signed up to run a half marathon in Las Vegas in early December, thinking that I'd be there for this offseason's baseball Winter Meetings. It turns out that our company if cutting back on travel costs where it can (thanks economy!), so not every reporter (I unfortunately landed in this group) is making the journey this winter.

Ah, well. I'll just keep training in Toronto and this now means I get to stay home with the Wife more this offseason. Being away from home for six weeks for Spring Training can be tough, so I'll take any extra days with the family that I can get! Maybe I'll look into the Las Vegas marathon next winter, who knows?

I'm glued to the ol' TV today watching the election coverage, but at some point I have to break away and run an easy nine miles. The cold weather has eased some over the past few days, so I think I'll be able to run in a t-shirt and shorts today! We'll see how long this keeps up. It'll be nice to leave the long sleeves at the condo, though.

Congrats to my fellow MLBdotcomers who completed this year's New York City marathon this past Sunday. I had fun tracking you guys online and rooting you on. Once you've run a marathon, you can see those times and understand just how hard it is and just how satisfying it is to cross that finish line. I can't wait to do it again in January.

I ran a personal-high 39 miles this past week and am down to set a new personal best with 41 this week. I've been dealing with some very minor discomfort in my left knee for the past few days, but have been able to run without any pain. I've been icing it and resting when it's bothering me, so I'm not overdoing it. I'm not going to take any risks if it really starts hurting.

So, hopefully that starts to feel better so I can continue with my training without any hiccups. So far, so good. Catch you all a few miles down the road...

Technical Difficulties

noreply@blogger.com (Jordan Bastian) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 15:19:00 +0000

Not with my running. No, there have been some issues with blogger up here in Ontario for the past few days. They must have sorted things out, because I'm back on my blog and posting again. For almost a week, I couldn't access any blogger-based blogs, which forced me away from my laptop to find things to do! Imagine!

The new training program has been going well. My legs haven't felt as fresh as they have before, but I think that's understandable, considering I jumped right back into training a week after running Chicago. I'm crazy huh. I logged 36 miles last week and have logged 17 so far this week in what will be a 39-mile period.

That will be the most miles I've ever run in a week, topping the 38 I logged a few weeks before the last marathon. But I'm gradually building up to being able to do 36-56 miles per week now. In the previous training plan, I was logging between 18-38 -- mostly staying around 25-30 per week. I've done that long enough where I can safely add more miles and not kill myself.

Yesterday, I did an 8-mile speed workout, mixing in four Yasso 800s. It's a training program created by Bart Yasso. Basically, you run 800s (half mile) at a pace you want to run the marathon in. So, if I want to aim for 3 hours, 30 minutes, I would run 3 minute, 30 second 800s, with a 3 minute, 30 second rest period between each 800.

I felt really good after doing 4 of those -- that's how many you're supposed to start with the week you begin doing them -- so I ran 5 more speed interval miles. So my speed workout looked like this:

1 miles warmup: 7:44
Yasso 800s: 3:21 (3:38 rest)/3:24 (3:40 rest)/3:26 (3:31 rest)/3:24 (3:30 rest)
5 mile intervals: 9:41/6:47/11:20/6:39/10:28

I'm down to do an 8-mile "easy" run today and then a 14-mile long run on Sunday. I'll be teaming up with the guy I met at the Toronto marathon, Kevin, for the long run. We ran 12 together this past Sunday and he showed me a nice running path that I didn't know about before. He's a tad faster than I, so it helped me push through the whole distance without slacking.

It's been really cold and windy up here of late. I headed out and bought some winter gear -- tights for my legs that I can wear under windbreaker-like jogging pants that I bought, and also a pair of running gloves. I have a long sleeve technical nike shirt and a pullover from the Chicago marathon.

So, s far, I've been able to keep running outside. We'll see how long I can keep it up. I don't want to have to do long runs indoors. Ugh. The cold I can deal with, but it gets reeeaaallly windy here right by the lake. At least this new path Kev showed me runs north and south, so you don't have to deal with as much wind as you do when running along the lake.

That's all for now. Good luck to everyone running the NYC Marathon this week! I hope to be in that crowd next November.

So, what now?

noreply@blogger.com (Jordan Bastian) — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 17:36:00 +0000

I've completed my first marathon, so "what now?" is the question I'm getting from friends and family, but most of all, from myself. Well, here's what now: I'm signed up to run the Walt Disney Marathon on Jan. 11, 2009.

After experiencing Chicago, I couldn't shake the thrill of completing 26.2. I wasn't sure about doing another marathon this offseason, but I ran twice less than a week removed from Chicago and I was able to hold a strong pace and I felt great.

So, I looked into it and I have plenty of air miles and Marriott points to foot most of the bill for a trip to Florida. Kelly is coming with me, my sister might make the journey and my dad will probably be in the Orlando area that weekend. So I'll have more support for my second marathon.

Let's be honest, though. One of the main reasons I'm doing this is because of what happened in Chicago. I want to get closer to my goal time of 3:30-45. The heat in Chi killed me, but I learned a lot from that run. I want to put what I've learned to good use, and I don't want to wait until next fall to do so. So I've already started a new abbreviated, but intense, training program.

I'm gradually building my miles back up and my weekly mileage will be higher than the previous plan. I also think I tapered too much last time, so I'm not going to back off as much this time. I obviously can bounce back well, considering nine days after the marathon I had already logged 20 miles, including one nine-miler at under 8 minutes per.

Beyond Disney, I want to run the New York City Marathon in 2009, so that will probably take Chicago out of the picture next year. I have a few friends who might be running NYC and my cousin John -- a veteran of the Pikes Peak marathon! -- is considering doing it, too. Earlier this week, I also met a guy who might be a good running partner for me.

The Toronto marathon was going on this past Sunday and Kelly and I headed down to the lakefront to root on the runners (I wanted to reciprocate after feeling the love in Chicago). While down there, I met a guy named Kevin who has done five marathons -- he was also cheering them on after completing his latest 26.2 recently. He's a bit faster than me, but we're planning on heading out on a 12-mile run this Sunday.

The only issue right now is it's starting to get cooooold in Toronto. So training over the next 10-12 weeks might actually be more difficult that balancing training and travel during the baseball season. At least it was summer time for that. I'm going to hit up a store here later today and check out some winter running gear to get ready.

Stay tuned for more...

One Memorable Day

noreply@blogger.com (Jordan Bastian) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 03:25:00 +0000

It's over. I ran 26.2 miles with more than 30,000 people in Chicago on Sunday morning, braving the heat but making it all the way to the finish line. It was a day that could've been extremely disappointing for me, but one that I made sure to enjoy despite some unwanted circumstances.

So, I'll get what I consider to be "the bad" out of the way. I finished in four hours, 22 minutes and 22 seconds, or exactly 10 minutes per mile. Even so, I finished in 10,816th -- so in the top third. I guess that's not too shabby when you think about it.

But, for those of you who have been following my posts over the past few months, my goal going in was to finish under four hours and, in a perfect world, in 3:30. For the first 12 miles, I was on pace to finish in three and a half hours. By the halfway point, I was still on pace for 3:45. Then, the sun won.

Temperatures climbed to the mid-80s (ideal marathon weather is in the mid-40s) and the marathon alert system was elevated to Red/Severe. It wasn't as hot as last year -- thank God -- and there was plenty of water/gatorade to stay hydrated, but it was hotter than any day I trained on. I saw a few people collapsed and my family saw a man blow something out in his leg and nearly get trampled.

Around 13-14 miles in, I had to mix in some walking breaks and was fighting some cramping and shortness of breath -- the latter was only briefly. Once I realized I was falling way behind my goal, I decided not to get too discouraged. This was my first marathon after all.

Instead, I focused on some advice my wife Kelly gave me the night before the race. It was simple enough, she just said, "Just make sure you have fun. Enjoy it. Take time to soak it all in." When things got really hard during the run, I kept that in mind and that's exactly what I tried to do.

I made sure to high five little kids who were holding their hands out and I yelled "Go Green!" to the many Michigan State supporters I saw. MSU was in town this weekend to play Northwestern, so there were lots of Spartans in the crowd, and probably in the race as well.

My favorite poster I saw -- besides the ones my family made for me, of course -- was one being held by a young girl maybe 5-6 six years old. She was standing there, no smile at all, probably tired of being out so early for so long, holding a poster that said, "Go People!" I might've laughed out loud.

I might've been able to finish around 4 hours had it not been for a four-mile friendship I started. About 21.5 miles in, I was walking next to a guy about my age and I made a passing comment about the heat. We started chatting and decided to try and work together for the final few miles.

When I needed to stop for a breather, he did the same. When he needed a break, I stopped to encourage him. He was also aiming for a 3:40 finish, so he was in the same boat I was. It was fun to be a motivational partner with someone through one of the hardest stretches of the marathon.

Once I reached mile 25, though, I said that meeting him was a great experience, but I wanted to see how much I had in me for the final 1.2 miles. So I pushed through some nasty leg cramps -- I had muscles twitching that I didn't know existed -- and ran hard the rest of the way, passing a lot of people down the stretch.

The way I was able to finish made me feel better about the run, and topping it off, my brother Karl was waiting for me right across the finish line. So, instead of having a complete stranger hand me a medal, my big bro yelled "Yo Bro!" and put my finishers medal around my neck.

That was one of the special moments of the day for me. I also ran by our old church -- Moody -- where I high fived my nephew Parker and my sister Melissa. In Chinatown, I saw my wife's side of the family and then around the corner spotted Melissa and crew again, and this time she ran onto the course with me for a few steps.

My bro was also volunteering at the first water station, so I grabbed my first water of the day from him. After the run, both sides of the family headed out to Flat Top Grill -- one of my favorite joints in the city -- and had a good time. Having so many people there for the big day meant a lot to me.

So, as you can tell, there was a lot of good to come out of this day. I saw some Chicago neighborhoods I'd never seen before, experienced something only a small portion of the population on the planet experience, and fought through what was one of the hardest ordeals of my life.

And, now, since I didn't meet my goal, setting a new personal record next time should be a piece of cake! Yeah, that's right, I'm not done with this marathon thing yet. Sure, I checked a life goal off the list, but I'm not satisfied. I plan on doing more -- maybe making this a hobby. We'll see.

I also have more pictures to post, but I'll add those in a separate post later. It's getting late and I wanted to at least get an update online for those of you who have been wondering how I did. Thanks to everyone for the encouragement along the way and the many notes I received leading up to marathon day.

That was a day I'll not soon forget.

Next Up: 26.2 miles

noreply@blogger.com (Jordan Bastian) — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 04:33:00 +0000

"If you are going to win any battle, you have to do one thing.

You have to make the mind run the body.

Never let the body tell the mind what to do."

--General George Patton

I'm revisiting this quote that I originally posted at Christmas time, because it's been by far my favorite little motivational tidbit I've come across in all these weeks and months of training. The physical part is done: the marathon training. Now comes the mental aspect: the marathon itself.

The miles have been logged. The shoes have been worn down and replaced. The injuries have been rehabbed and recovered. The carbs have been loaded. And the countdown is about to be over. The next time I post, I will have accomplished the goal I've been writing about on this blog: running my first marathon.

Tomorrow, I head downtown to attend the Running Expo to pick up my packet and timing chip, and I'm spending the day in Chicago and the night in a hotel in the city. Come Sunday morning, I'll bein Grant Park with 40,000 or so fellow runners, ready to embark on this 26.2 mile journey. I wouldn't say I'm nervous. I'm just anxious to get started.

I've done the long runs, the tempo runs, the interval workouts, cross-trained, cut out pop and alcohol, learned to love veggies, refused to give up cookies (my Achilles' heel), got hooked on Gatorade, tapered, and become educated in the ways of Garmin, Saucony, Brooks, Nike, while frequenting Runners World's magazines and Web site.

This week it's been a grind not running as much. I did a two-mile "jog" today way below race pace. I will allow myself to say I went "jogging" -- even though as a runner I don't like to use that term -- because the slow pace drove me bonkers. The tapering is finally over now -- I can start looking ahead to Sunday.

I've received a lot of notes this week from well-wishers and I'm grateful for them all, and appreciated of everyone who has been supportive along the way, tolerating my drinking only water while everyone's having brews, or asking me how my runs are going, even if they really might not be all that interested.

I have a great support system, which is awesome -- it helps keep you in check and helps you maintain your focus. Part of the reason it's been easy to stay so dedicated to this is because I don't want to have someone ask how the training going and me not to have an answer, or a good one at that.

Obviously, I haven't crossed the finish line yet. But, if I do, a big thanks is owed to my lovely wife, who has put up with all this craziness. Kell has stayed at home waiting for me to return from long runs, had carb-friendly dinners waiting for me, tagged along to running stores, joined me on a few jaunts, and even went driving around looking for me once to make sure I was OK during a rain storm. Talk about dedicated.

Kelly will be with me tomorrow and on Sunday, along with some family, rooting me on and waiting for me to finish so we can all go feast at one of my favorite restaurants in the city -- Flat Top Grill. I can only imagine how great it's going to feel to cross that finish line, and have family there to congratulate me -- after this past year of training.

I'm not an elite runner by any means, and to balance my work schedule with this training program has been trying at times. It's been a delicate juggling act, and I've managed to stay on course for most of these months of running. Hopefully come Sunday, it'll be a beautiful day -- not too hot -- and everything will go as I've pictured.

To be continued...

Closing In

noreply@blogger.com (Jordan Bastian) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 13:15:00 +0000

"Only those who will risk going too far

can possibly find out how far they can go."

--T.S. ELIOT

I'm currently sitting around in the airport in Cleveland, killing time during a lenghty morning layover in my quest to reach Baltimore. And, I'm a little peeved, because the unfortunate travel/work schedule I have today might erase any window for me to squeeze in my planned three-mile easy run.

If I miss out on running today, though, it won't be the end of the world. After all, I'm tapering now, gradually decreasing my workout pace in the days before the Oct. 12 marathon. There is just a little more than two weeks left until the big day, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my playoff work schedule can help me out.

See, I'm down to follow the Mighty Tampa Bay Rays in the first round, and they could potentially meet up with the Chicago White Sox in Division Series. The South Siders blew it this week by being swept by the Twins, who now reside in first place in the Central. I'm hoping the Sox can take the division, so I can travel between St. Pete and Chi in the week before the race.

We'll see if the teams play along with my hopes. In a perfect world, it's be Rays-Sox in round one, with the series ending in Chicago, so I can hang out until the marathon. At least it looks like I won't be needing to fly between Tampa and L.A. this coming week. The last thing I need is jetlag disrupting my sleep as I prep for 26.2.

Anyway, things have been going well on the running front of late. This past Sunday, I woke at 5 a.m. and did 22 miles before heading to work. Besides a nasty blister, and some cramping, I did all right, averaging 8:20 per mile -- not including the few stops I took. It didn't go as well as my previous 18-miler, but it was the longest run of my life and it wasn't too far off my goal pace.

This week, during an 8-mile speed workout, I ran one mile in 5:56 -- topping my previous best mile of the last year by 1 second. That made me laugh some when I was scrolling through my splits on my handy-dandy Garmin. My other two fast miles during that run were 6:01 and 6:10. It's getting to the point where running a 7:30-45 mile seems easy.

With that in mind, I'm hoping that the adrenaline that comes with being in a race with 45,000 people in a big city with large crowds cheering us all on will help me hold the 8 minute pace I'd like to achieve in Chicago. I guess with this being my first marathon and all, I should just be happy when I cross the finish line -- no matter my time.

But, I know myself, and I've always had an ultra competitive side. It's rare that I walk away from something thinking I couldn't have done better. I remember back in my baseball days, I'd come home and my mom or dad would be proud of the two or three hits I got, and I'd be stewing over the one out I made.

That's how I've always been, but I'm trying to coach myself mentally to, not necessarily be satisfied by how I do, but to take pride in the achievement I'm about to complete. It's taken a lot of work to get to this point, there have been a few injuries, I've had to exercise will power more than any other time in my life, and it's all about to pay off.

I have the feeling, though, that when I cross the finish line, my family and friends will all be excited, and I'll see my time and immediately want to best it. I guess there are worse hobbies than running marathons. And, I know after finishing my first, I'll probably want to take on another soon with the newfound knowledge I have in hand.

Only a few more miles to go...

A Great Week

noreply@blogger.com (Jordan Bastian) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 19:32:00 +0000

This was probably my best week of running since I decided I was going to run the marathon. And that's saying something, considering I'm just coming off a really frustrating left foot injury. The foot issue is gone and this week I put up some of the best splits since my high-school cross country days.

During a 7-mile speed workout on Thursday, I ran one of the miles in 5:57. That's my first sub-six-minute mile since high school, and I weighed 30 pounds less back then. For the entire speed workout, I averaged 8:11 per mile. Then, funny enough, I ran five miles normal the next day and also averaged exactly 8:11 per mile.

To top it off, I nearly duplicated that pace during an 18-mile run on Sunday night. I was only down to run 16, but I felt so good for the first eight miles that I decided tacking on another two wouldn't hurt. Besides a nasty cramp in my side around mile 15, my legs and body felt fantastic for the entire run.

Here were my splits for the 18 miles:

7:55/8:16/8:16/8:16/8:12/8:05/8:11/8:05/8:06 (short water break)
8:15/8:16/8:21/8:20/8:24/8:15 (cramped up)
8:54 (ran through cramp)
8:06/7:39

My goal of every run is to make my last mile my fastest. That way, I learn to push hard, but still leave enough in the tank to push even harder through the finish. Once the cramp died down, I was able to post two of my best splits in the last two miles. That was especially satisfying.

The whole run was in 2 hours, 28 minutes, 2 seconds, or 8:13 per mile. If I maintain that type of pace on marathon day, I'll finish in around 3 hours, 35 minutes. In a perfect world, my goal is to run the 26.2 in 3:30, so I'm on the right track. When I ran 20 miles a few weekends ago, I did so around 9:00/mile, so this run went much better.

My weekly mileage was 36, which is the most I've ever run in one week during this training. I'm off today, and this will be an easier week for me. I'm down to run 27 miles with no run more than 7 miles, but I might up my Sunday run to 10 to make up some for the two weeks I didn't run at all. Then, two Sundays from now, I'm scheduled to run 20 on my birthday.

Stay tuned for more...

Trial run

noreply@blogger.com (Jordan Bastian) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 13:59:00 +0000

Got me some new kicks. That's what the new shoes look like there to the right, though I'm rolling in the silver and black (the awesome Green and White Michigan State edition wasn't in stock).

As per the advice of the doctor who examined my ailing left foot, I purchased the Saucony Hurricane 10 for my next two months of training. I took them out for a trial run today and I can immediate tell a difference, as I should -- my Brooks had over 400 miles on them.

I ran three miles on Monday in my Brooks at a 7:30/miles pace and had some minor discomfort afterward. Today was a speedwork day and I decided it was an opportune time to try out the Hurricanes. I tried to get up at 5 am, but that wasn't happening. After hitting the snooze a bunch of times, I was out the door at roughly 7:30.

I planned on running 8 miles outside this morning, but even at that hour it was too stinkin' hot and humid to stay out there long. For what it's worth, I did log six along the St. Petersburg waterfront and then finished up with two on a treadmill indoors. Outside, my splits were 9:10/6:34/11:07/7:13/11:12/7:07. Inside, I did half-mile splits of about 4:15/3:15 for two miles.

Immediately after the run, I felt a tiny bit of discomfort in my left foot, but not enough to say running today was a bad idea. During the run, I felt fantastic -- minus the heat -- and sitting here after being done for a while, my foot is presenting no issues. The big test will be to see how it feels later tonight and when I wake up tomorrow.

Stay tuned...

My Left Foot

noreply@blogger.com (Jordan Bastian) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:32:00 +0000

Things have unfortunately slowed down for the past two weeks, thanks to a stinkin' foot injury. I've been having some discomfort in my left ped ever since I ran my first-ever 20 miler two Sundays ago.

The run went well, though. While in Traverse City, Michigan, visiting some old college friends for the weekend, I got up early and logged a cool 20. Did so in almost nine minutes per mile on the nose, including a few stops along the way. So running-wise I managed probably around 8:40ish pace, which is strong.

But, my feet were killing me the next day and, two days later, I could barely put any weight on the left one. It died down over the first week, but I tried running in Boston and had to stop after one mile. That was more than a week ago. I ran three miles this past Friday and it felt fine during the run.

Some pain kicked up about an hour after that, though, so I decided it would probably be advisable to see a foot specialist. The good news was I didn't have a stress fracture. But, he did say I had peroneal tendinitis. I can still run short distances and keep up the cardio on the bike.

That's what I've been doing. The week after the run, I ran that one terrible mile, and did an hour (20 miles each time) on the bike a few days. This past week, I did an hour on the bike (22 miles) on Tuesday, 45 minutes (17 miles) Wednesday, ran three (6:55/8:15/6:38 splits) on Friday and then on Sunday I tried to mimick a long run, going for two hours on the bike, logging 41 miles in that time.

Today, I'm catching a flight to Florida for the Jays' series against the Rays. I'm going to buy some new running shoes -- the ones I bought in March have 400+ miles on them now -- for training and maybe a raceday pair as well. Not sure what I'll attempt running wise. I was supposed to log 20 this Sunday, but I can't dive right back into that distance after two weeks off.

So, things could be worse. I could have a broken foot and not be able to run the marathon. I just need to nip this in the bud now and get back on target here. I have to try hard not to overdo it. My lovely wife stopped me from going to the gym to try running earlier in the week and good for her. Someone's got to keep me in check.

That's it for now. Let's hope this foot heals quick...