Tag Archives: health

Derailed…

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…but hopefully back on track.

Days 9, 10, 11, & 12 were a bust.  Short days at work did not allow me to get out to run at lunch and with Jen gone for a few days with David the weekend proved difficult as well.  While I stayed active (taking the stairs at work rather than the elevator, etc.), I don’t think I can honestly count these days as fulfilling the quest I set out for.  Kind of a bummer.

Day 13 – Monday – This was a day off of work for me and I had high hopes for a traditional workout while the kids were at school and day care.  However, a broken car derailed those  plans and I instead spent the entire day replacing the front right shock/strut on my 2000 Toyota Camry.  This proved to be quite a challenge and a ton of hard work so I think this day long exercise does count – I ended up with a sore back and sore legs. Plus I was able to fix my car!! Bonus – saved about $200 by doing it myself!

Day 14 – Tuesday – Back on track! Sunny and warmer today and I was able to get outside and run.  Only 3.18 miles on snow-packed, slushy, wet, and icy trails but it felt good.  Based on my heart rate, I’d say my fitness is improving a bit – while my pace is still slow my heart rate is no longer maxed out the entire time.  So, some improvement – I’ll take anything I can get.

LINK TO RUN

4-16-2013 5-26-29 PM

Day 6, 7, 8…

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…of 21.

Day 6 brought a non-running day and super busy day at work.  Instead of being able to a normal YMCA workout of some kind, time forced me to take a different route.  Being that I work in a 50+ story building, I have no shortage of stairs to climb and I took advantage of that by putting in 20 minutes going up.  Good workout and a nice change of pace.

Day 7 was another non-traditional workout.  I was planning on running at the fire station after our evening training, but a evening fire in Oakdale changed those plans and I spent most of the evening moving hose and working on a ladder company.  This proved to be a solid workout for the night… Here’s some video:

Oakdale Town Home Fire Video

Day 8 allowed me to make it back to the gym and treadmill.  In an effort to find some more speed in my running I changed up my standard treadmill run for something a little different.  Here is what I did – rather than a run focused on distance I instead focused on time and effort. I started at 6 mph on the treadmill (10:00 min miles) and each minute for 10 minutes went up .1 mph finishing at 6.9 mph – after the 10:00 minutes, I reset back down to 6.0 and started working back up again.  Doing this allowed me to average a 9:19 pace for the 30:00 minutes and finish 3.22 miles – this is a big improvement over past efforts.  This was hard but doable.

LINK TO RUN DETAILS

Day 5…

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…of 21.

I had planned on getting up early and running first thing this morning.  That didn’t happen so it forced me to get a bit creative with fitting in my workout for the day.  David (my 8 year old son) had hockey in Hudson from 5:30 to 7:45 pm so I helped him get ready to skate, watched him for a bit, and then headed over to the Hudson YMCA for a short run on the treadmill. I watched an episode of the Walking Dead while I ran and I felt pretty good.  Pace is getting better. LINK TO WORKOUT

4-7-2013 10-17-42 PM

 

See you on the road!

Day 4…

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…of 21.

Ran in the rain today.  This actually proved to be a nice change from the sleet, snow, and cold that has been the normal so far this spring.  It was about 50 degrees and, while I still wore my coat and long sleeved shirt, I was quite comfortable even with the steady rain.

I also ran an entirely new route today.  I’m sure at some point I’ve run something similar to this route, I don’t think I’ve every run this EXACT route, so that made it kind of fun and interesting.  You can see it the route I took in the screen shot I included from Endomondo.com below.  LINK TO WORKOUT

4-6-2013 6-03-11 PM

Another thing I did differently today was that rather than listening to music like I normally do, I instead listened to a fitness focused podcast.  The podcast I listened to today was from Rich Roll, endurance athlete and author of Finding Ultra, and included an interview with Brian Mackenzie of CrossFit Endurance fame.  While I haven’t finished the whole thing yet, it proved to be a good listen while I ran – both interesting and informative covering two topics that I enjoy – CrossFit and running.  I highly recommend the Rich Roll podcast and if you are inclined to listen, you can find it here.

I clearly need to adjust my training plan a bit moving forward.  I am not as far along with my fitness as my training plan thinks I am – I’m getting better, but I have a ways to go.

See you on the road!

 

Day 2…

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…of 21.

Ran 4.54 miles in Woodbury today. Nice run but slow. Overall feeling better, but my speed is not really picking up. I’m hoping that the interval stuff I have planned starting next week helps with my pace on the longer runs. LINK TO RUN

4-4-2013 Summary

Also, after yesterday’s run I found this post on Runners World Facebook page very interesting. How Can I Avoid Midrun Bathroom Breaks?

Been running more and other updates…

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Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been really focused on running more, getting consistent, and finding time in my busy schedule to once again make fitness a top priority.

What I’ve found is that It’s not easy. I’m not sure that it ever was.   I am also not  saying that things are more challenging now than they were 5 or 6 years ago when I was running a lot, but man – it’s HARD.  Given this, I thought it would be a good idea to re-read some of my more popular posts I wrote for CompleteRunning.com during the time I was successful and a couple of them stood out as relevant. Here they are:

  • Get Out the Door! This one includes a bunch of tips that may help get you out the door and running even on days you feel like sitting on the couch – good stuff!
  • Making it All Work: Integrating a Fitness Plan into Life -  This one made me realize that I’ve always been busy and my schedule has always been a challenge.  I’ve made it work before, I can make it work now.  It’s all about priorities.

Reading these really made me realize how much I used to enjoy running and also how much I’ve missed it over the past two or three years.  While I’ve always kept running at some level, really focusing on it has helped top bring me some focus.  The other thing that has really helped is that I’ve signed up for a few runs this spring/summer/fall and there are a few other events I am planning on doing as well.

So far here is my plan:

  • Challenge Obesity 5K – April 21 – This is one of the first organized runs I ever did after I lost nearly 200 pounds and I’m super excited to be heading back to do it again.   It has a small town feel in the middle of St. Paul. (Registered)
  • TC 1 Mile – May 9 – This is another one that I have done before (2007 & 2008) and is a very fun race.  I love pushing myself and I hope that I can do my fastest 1 mile ever at age 40 – well technically 40 minus 9 days. This also gets me in a lottery for the Twin Cities 10 mile run in October. (Registered)
  • Be The Match Walk/Run 5K – May 18 – This is my 40th Birthday and I’m hoping to do this one with my family.  (Not registered yet)
  • Something?? – June sometime – I’d like to find a fun even to run in June.  I have nothing planned right now, although I think I am going backpacking on the Superior Hiking Trail with Troop 559 in June also…
  • Afton Trail Run – 25K - July 6 – I’ve never done a trail run this long before and I’m looking forward to it, should be fun. (Registered)
  • Ragnar Relay Great River – August 16-17 – This one sounds really fun – 200 miles from Winona, MN to Minneapolis, MN done as a team of 12.  I am working on pulling together a team from the fire station, right now I have 5 team members committed. (Not registered yet)
  • Woodbury Country Mile Half-Marathon – August 25 – This is another one that I have done in the past a few times and always proves to be great.  The course runs on many of the same trails I train on throughout Woodbury, so it’s vary familiar. (Not registered yet)
  • Twin Cities 10 Mile - October 6 – This is dependant on getting a spot in the lottery from runnign the TC 1 mile in May.  Would be fun and a good warm up for the next run…
  • Mankato Marathon - October 20 – The full monty, the whole thing, all 26.2.  This will be a great end to a fun season of running.
  • Go Ruck Challenge – November 30 – This is not so much a run as it is a life changing, attitude altering, ass kicking.  Should be an interesting 8 to 10 hours of wet, cold, miserable fun.  I posted about this one here, we’ve had to adjust the date (twice) – but I think its a go for November.

So that’s it – my spring/summer/fall in a nutshell.  I’m going to work hard to keep this blog updated with my progress and mileage.

See you on the road!

Where’s the water from?

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Leaving the water stationI’ve run quite a few races, but never really stopped to think, “Where does the water at the water stations come from?”

After reading this article, Las Vegas marathon runners say they were sickened, from the Las Vegas Review-Journal, I will most likely give it more thought next time.  It doesn’t sound pleasant.  Give the article a read for more of the gory details, there seemed to be lots of issues with bodily fluids after consuming water at the water stations.

I guess I’ve been lucky, I’ve never had any issues with water quality in the races I’ve run.  Still, it begs the question – who supervises the conditions the beverages (water or other) are portioned out?  Is there any kind of sanitation monitor to ensure that hands are washed, containers cleaned, and utensils sanitized?  Do runners need to start bringing their own water to organized races?

20 days and 20 miles…

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Wow, it’s been over two weeks since my last update.  Things have been a little crazy at work lately, but it looks like they might slow down a little bit now moving into the last three weeks of marathon training – a really good thing.  My mileage has been really inconsistent, but I’ve been feeling pretty good. No ailments or nagging pains.

Here is an update on a few of my longer runs in past couple of weeks:

On Monday September 3rd (Labor Day) I met a group of runners from Capella in St. Paul and ran the last 7 miles of the Twin Cities Marathon course out and back for a total run of 14 mile.  I averaged around a 9:20 pace – not great, but not bad – but I was struck with a bout of stomach problems at about mile 12.  Lucky for me there was a grocery store with a bathroom close by…

Here is the course we ran:

Summit 14 Mile Out & Back
Find more Runs in St Paul, Minnesota

Last Sunday (September 9th) I ran about 13.5 miles and felt pretty  good.  It wasn’t the distance I was really looking for (I should have been running about 16 – 20 miles), but I felt pretty good despite the cold windy day. No stomach problems in this run, but I didn’t drink ANYTHING either. Is that good or bad? I’m not sure yet.

Here is my route:

Aaron’s Markgrafs & Powers Lake Loop
Find more Runs in Woodbury, Minnesota

Bear Water Run – 2007 – 20 Mile

date: Sep 15th, 2007

location: White Bear Lake, MN

Finally, Saturday I ran a 20 mile run in White Bear Lake.  You can see a course map and stuff here.  Here are my splits, keep in mind that this is a two lap run so mile 1 is the same as mile 11, mile 5 is the same as 15:

Lap 1 Lap 2
Mile Split Mile Split
1 9:33.61 11 8:44.47
2 8:56.51 12 8:42.94
3 8:57.10 13 8:49.95
4 8:45.41 14 8:45.57
5 8:36.06 15 8:45.52
6 8:48.97 16 8:58.76
7 8:43.98 17 9:30.52
8 8:45.27 18 9:33.00
9 8:56.70 19 10:37.08
10 9:00.20 20 9:40.42

 

Here are the details from www.onlineraceresults.com:

——————————————————————–

Summary

number of finishers: 650

number of females: 330

number of males: 319

average time: 03:05:06

Aaron Engelsrud

bib number: 227

age: 34

gender: M

location: Woodbury, MN

overall place: 346 out of 650

division place: 62 out of 96

gender place: 212 out of 321

time: 3:04:03

pace: 9:13

10 mile: 1:29:05

gun time : 3:04:55

—————————————————————

As you can see, overall I had a really good run.  I feel like I executed my race plan perfectly, I wanted to keep my overall pace between 8:30 and 9:00 and stay comfortable.  I was able, for the most part, to do that.   My goal was to finish in under 3 hours.  That would have put me on pace for a sub 4 hour marathon – which is my goal for this years Twin Cities Marathon.  Everything went well with the exception of one little problem…

If you look at my splits, I was doing great – very consistent – even a little faster the second lap around.  Then the s*%t hit the proverbial fan.  Gastro-intestinal difficulties. I needed a bathroom. I spent miles 17, 18, and part of 19 in a desperate search for suitable facilities.  I even contemplated using the woods or taking a dip in the lake – I was uncomfortable. Needless to say, it slowed me down quite a bit.  If you look at the last 4 miles of the run (mile 16 is where I started to feel some twinges of discomfort) and set those last four mile back to the pace I’d been maintaining,I have been in about a full 5 minutes sooner. 

I’ve done a little research and I think I can find a way to avoid this problem going forward, in the next few weeks I’m going to try a few things and see if they help.

Less than 3 weeks to go…

Aaron

40 days to go and a race update…

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Authors note: This is my second attempt to write this post – thanks to Windows Live Writer.  Tip for anyone using this editor, don’t use the “View/Web Layout” view without first saving your post.  One second it was there… the next it was gone.  Also, turn on the “Auto Save as Draft” feature in user options – this is not set by default. DOH!

40 days to go to the Twin Cities Marathon and, at this point, I’m not to sure how I feel about it.  I’m, of course, looking forward to it – but I’m a little apprehensive.  Maybe having done one already and knowing what to expect, I’m a little more nervous than last year.  I think I just have more respect for the distance – I know what I’m up against, I understand the challenge that awaits me…

I also know I can do it.

On to my race report…

Last Sunday  I ran the Woodbury Country Mile 1/2 Marathon.  Overall, the run was good, I felt great, finished strong, and I think I even gained a little confidence.  It was a great way to spend a Sunday morning.

The day started perfectly, I was up at around 6:00 am for a 7:00 am race start.  I had my gear ready to go (race number pre-pinned neatly to my shirt thanks to my lovely wife), so I was able to get dressed quickly, relax for a few minutes, and then head out to the race start. 

The weather was ideal, cool – but not cold.  Mid 50′s with a nice breeze and plenty of nice warm sun.  It was a perfect morning for a nice, long run.  I got to the race start at about 6:30 am, spent a little time in my car with some “motivational” music on the stereo, and then headed out to make my way to the race start.  The start is a third of a mile or so from the parking area, so it proved to be a nice little warm up trek.

I bumped in to some friends from the fire department on the way to the starting line (they were there to provide medical support if necessary), so I stopped and chatted for a minute.  They offered lots of positive encouragement and good vibes, so I headed to the starting line in a great frame of mind – ready for whatever got in my way.

The race started 10 minutes later and I was on my way – every step one step closer to the finish.  This is my second year running this race and I really like the course.  It winds its way around three lakes in the heart of Woodbury, sticking mainly to bike paths.  This helps keep traffic control issues to a minimum and safety to a maximum.  There are plenty of water/Gatorade stations along the way (7 I think), and the volunteers were friendly and helpful.

The only real points of interest or things to note on the course is the construction work zone and trail running section in the first mile of the course.  This slowed the first mile down a little bit, but it was well managed and I think the best it could have been under the circumstances.

Here are my splits:

  1. 8:38.89  (slowest mile, construction and trail section)
  2. 8:10.49
  3. 8:05.51
  4. 8:14.35
  5. 8:22.35
  6. 8:30.80
  7. 8:32.98
  8. 8:14.19
  9. 8:15.21
  10. 8:24.34
  11. 8:00.50 (fastest mile)
  12. 8:26.45 (Very hilly section)
  13. 8:15.94 (Uphill most of the last mile and through road construction)

Finish: 1:48:59 (Chip time)

So, as you can see, no PR this year.  Last year I ran a 1:48:35 – 24 seconds faster than this year.  However, I feel better about this year’s run than the run last year, I finished stronger, I was less fatigued, and I was the one doing the passing in the last 3 miles.  Am I disappointed that I didn’t do better? Sure. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t, but I can feel good about the ease at which I was able to complete this run. 

Lessons learned: For the Twin Cities Marathon, I really need to make sure I find and stick with a pace group running my desired pace (between 8:30 and 8:40 minute miles).  I clearly am not very good at maintaining a consistent pace throughout a run.  Also, some good advice I read somewhere – a marathon is just a 20 mile warm up with a 10K run at the end.

Once my run was complete, the real fun began!

First, Peter, my 1 year old, worked super hard to complete his first ‘race’ – the Woodbury Country Mile Diaper Dash.  He did a great job and finished with a smile on his face!  I’m so proud of him.  Super job Pete!

Next, David, my three year old, took off in the Toddler Trot and earned himself a finishers medal.  He was a little apprehensive at first, but once he got going there was no stopping him! Way to go Dave!

Finally, Alex, my six year old, ran his first race – The Woodbury Country Mile.  This is a long run for a six year old but he stuck with it and finished strong.  He also earned himself a finishers medal! He ran through a little pain and kept fighting till the finish – he did a great job! Nice work Alex!

I’ll have pictures of all the festivities soon!

40 days until the Twin Cities Marathon…

Aaron