A brief setback...

When my taper began I thought I had made it through my entire training with no injuries. I was excited to slow down and then run the race. By the end of the second taper run (out of a scheduled 12) I felt a pinch in my hip. I took it easy for a few days and ran a short easy run to see how the hip was doing. By the end of the run my "pinch" had grown to making me limp! This was not good with two and a half weeks to the race! So I quickly signed up for physical therapy, my taper just drop off to nothing.

After 3 PT appointments over two weeks my hip is doing much better, but now I'm looking at the marathon in 4 days, without running for over two weeks before. I hope this doesn't hurt my run. First goal is to finish, second goal, a time of 3:15:00. Let's see how this goes!

20 Miles!

Today I finally set a new distance record, I did the long 20 mile run. It seems that if training for a marathon were a college course, the 20 mile run would be the final exam. Today I passed the final exam with a time of 2:27:22 (7:22 mile). Passing the final exam means I'm ready for graduation - the marathon!

I have come far in this journey. It was March 8, 2011 when I decided to run on our treadmill, just a few minutes a day, to get in shape and have a healthy lifestyle. Twenty-one days later, on March 29th I completed my first 5K distance in 32:58, a 10:36 mile. My wife talked me into running a 5K race on May 28th. I completed the race in 20:23 or a 6:33 mile. I  was hooked on running from that day on.

I have, to date, over the past 19 months run (I think this is accurate, I may have missed a race or two):

• 8 5Ks with a PR of 19:46 (6:21 mile)
• 2 10Ks with a PR of 40:48 (6:36 mile)
• 1 Bloomsday Run with a time of 53:24 (7:09 mile)
• 1 Relay where my 3 legs totaled over 20 miles
• 2 Half Marathons with a PR of 1:33:40 (7:09 mile)

I have had two injuries that took me out of running for a few months (bursitis in the knee was the worst, the hairline fracture in my left foot wasn't to bad)

But the one event that has eluded me over the past 19 months has been the marathon. That ends now. I don't think I'm a long term marathon runner. But I would like to have one marathon under my belt and then I'll focus on my favorite event - the half marathon (need to get that time under 1:30:00). Today I sign up for the Tricities Marathon to be run on October 28. 

Wish me luck!

New 5K PR

Just finished the Big Bend Dollar Dash with a new PR! Ran the 5K in 19:46! Great fundraiser for scholarships! Now I hope I can do my long run of 18 miles tomorrow!

Back at it again!

August was to hot. The new plan - October 28th is the Tricities Marathon. The weather should be perfect, no excuses this time, I will run 26.2 miles!

The half marathon on August 6th went well overall. It was 74 degrees at the start line and who knows how hot at the finish. I was very glad I did not do the full marathon this time. Finished the race in 1:32:30 or a 7:04 mile (but I think the race was actually 12.93 miles, so that makes a 7:09 mile) The first six miles went grade, then mile 7 was a large hill and the heat caught up with me so the last half was MUCH slower than the first. But I did set a personal best race time for the half marathon. Still working towards my goal of 1:30:00. This will probably be my big goal after the marathon in October.

I decided to take a week off after the half to recover, then the day I was suppose to start running again I came down with the flu which set me back for three more days. Today I finally started running again - just 3 miles in 23:13 but it was suppose to be an easy run, tomorrow should be a faster run. I was a bit tight, but I loosened up by the end of the second mile. Very excited to be back at it!

Bronchitis, Heat, and New Marathon Plan

After running 18 miles I noticed I had a slight cough. After a week of having a fever every night and leaving work early twice I decided to go to the doctor - bronchitis. I was told to take it easy for a few days and put on some antibiotics. I quickly felt better, but missed a week of training, right at the end of my training when each mile is very important!

I decided to just skip a week rather than make it up, so this week was suppose to be the last week before taper. I got through the hard work out, but the long work out of 20 miles was in 70 degree weather! I made it 14 miles before I hit the wall, by mile 15 I was done. I had to quit, my body could not keep going in the heat. Frustrated with myself for not finishing this important run I was forced to come to a conclusion - I'm not going to be able to run my marathon on August 4 when it is going to be even warmer! Sadly I had to admit that I need to plan for a marathon in October instead, when I'll be running in 40 degree weather, rather than 75 to 80.

So the new plan is to run a half marathon in three weeks rather than the full and a full marathon on October 28 - the Tricites Marathon (https://3rrr.org/events/registration/?ee=29). The expected race weather is 40 degrees at start, about 50 at finish. I think I will feel much better about the run. Now to figure out how I'm going to do my training.....

10K First Place and new PR!

Saturday was the Moses Lake Police Department 10K Run For Your Life fun run. I had a goal to come in at 41 minutes (a 6:36 pace). It was a down and back with a turn around half-way for the 5K runners. From the start of the race I quickly fell into third place with first and second far ahead of me and fourth far behind me. My first mile was a bit to fast (6:23 mile) so I slowed down a bit so I could finish strong. At 1.55 miles (the 5K turnaround) I was surprised to see the two runners ahead of me turn around - they were 5K runners! From that point on I held a commanding lead of first place for the 10K, but more important to me was hitting the 41 minute goal.

Miles 2 and 3 were just about perfect on my pace (one just below and one right on the 6:36 pace). But mile four I began to feel the work I had put in for the first three miles. I slowed down a bit to hit a 6:46 pace. With only two miles to go, and no one near me, I started pushing harder to hit my goal. Mile 5 and 6 came in good with just under a quarter mile to go to the finish. I saw the clock on the finish line from about a tenth of a mile away ticking closer and closer to 41 minutes. With a sprint to the end I watched the clock tick: 58, 59, 00, and I crossed the finish line as I saw the number 01 show up. Even my GPS watch agreed: 41:01. I had missed my goal by 1 second! Excited about first place, but disappointed at how the one second mocked me at the finish line.

However, I had forgotten something very important about the race timing. It was chip timed. My time didn't officially start until I crossed the start line, which apparently took me three seconds to do! My official time from crossing the start to crossing the finish was 40:58!!!! I had beaten my goal time by three seconds and blown my old 10K record out of the water by two minutes forty seconds! Getting first overall was nice, but not nearly as exciting as improving my 5K by so much! I still need to cut 1:58 off my time to qualify for second seed on bloomsday next year, but I'm getting much closer!

(this race was probably much easier to win as there was also a triathlon and a duathon happening at the same time that pulled several of the competitive runners out of the race. Also many of the faster runners in town are training for a marathon together and race day was a rest day on the marathon schedule so they either ran the 5K - like the two who were ahead of me for the first 1.55 miles, or didn't run at all. Either way - first is first :-D)

15 miles!

New distance record today, 15 miles! I started out with a near perfect pace (7:25ish) for the front five miles, this helped as I got near the end I was still able to run faster than my goal pace! The first 14 miles went great without any trouble at all! The last mile was hard, but being so close to the end pushed me to keep going, I even finished with a 7:16 mile on my last mile by just pushing myself to finish! 15 mile time - 1:49:41, pace: 7:18 mile! I feel great!

Next week the long run is 16 miles! I have 5 more weeks of increasing distance before I taper for three weeks and run the marathon! Less than two months until the big race!

Marathon Quotes

Mike Fanelli, running club coach:

"I tell our runners to divide the race into thirds. Run the first part with your head, the middle part with your personality, and the last part with your heart."

Jacqueline Gareau, 1980 Boston Marathon champ:

"The body does not want you to do this. As you run, it tells you to stop but the mind must be strong. You always go too far for your body. You must handle the pain with strategy...It is not age; it is not diet. It is the will to succeed."

Unknown:

"At mile 20, I thought I was dead. At mile 22, I wished I was dead. At mile 24, I knew I was dead. At mile 26.2, I realized I had become too tough to kill."

Don Kardong:

"No doubt a brain and some shoes are essential for marathon success, although if it comes down to a choice, pick the shoes. More people finish marathons with no brains than with no shoes."

Scott Douglas:

"In the first half of the race, don't be an idiot. In the second half, don't be a wimp!"

Broke the 5k 20 min mark!

Today I ran my first 5k under 20 min, my official time was 19:47 or a 6:22 mile! The only training I have been doing was for a marathon, but this 5k provided the opportunity to skip a session at my conference for work to do something far more fun - run!

My time was good for third overall, second male and first in my age category, no medal, they gave out a blue water bottle for first in age category!

According to my distance time converter, it estimates that my marathon time should be around 3:09:27! Probably a bit lower than it would actually be, but much lower than my both my 3:30 goal and 3:15 hope! Keep running!

Bloomsday Results:

Official results are in for the Bloomsday 12K:

Tyler L Wallace
Finish Time: 0:53:24  Overall Place: 826 out of 47,841 (top 1.7%!) Ran with a pace of 7:09 per mile The average pace for 28-year-olds was 13:45
Placed 38th among 846 people the same age (top 4.5%) Placed 5th among 433 people from Moses Lake, WA (top 1.2%) Placed 551st among 37,819 people from Washington (top 1.5%) Placed 1st among 26 people with the same last name (top!!!) Placed 701st among 19,205 males (top 3.7%) Placed 29th out of 323 among 28-year-old males (top 8.9%) Placed 169th out of 2,152 people in your age group (top 7.8%)

It was a great run with great weather. The first mile was a bit slow weaving around the people, but it was lots of fun overall. I ran at a good pace and finished very strong! (and almost vomited twice after crossing the finish line!). Doomday hill was not as bad as people say it is, probably the worst part was seeing it coming! But once I was on it, not to bad. I was very happy with the run and it was only 24 seconds off my goal, which considering the slow first mile as I weaved around several thousand people, I can be happy with it!

My next race will be the spring fest 10K in Moses Lake! I hope to improve on my PR of 43:28! In the mean time, I'm taking a few days of recovery, then back on marathon training!

Ready for Bloomsday

Yesterday I ran 10 miles. It was the longest run since my half marathon when I hurt my foot (and still finished with a 7:12 mile!) It went great. My longer runs are now made up of 3 and 4 mile loops with a water station set up in my front yard that I pass each loop. The excitement right now though is not the 10 mile run that I did in 1:12:29 (a 7:14 mile), but my first bloomsday race is this weekend!

Bloomsday is an odd distance - 12K or 7.46 miles, but it is a race that (I'm told) every runner in the northwest must run. So I am signed up to run the race - along with 54,000 other runners! I am starting in the third wave (yellow) which I had to qualify for. I doubt this will be an annual race for me, but it is a race, like the marathon, that I will be excited to have in the "done it" list! My goal is to finish in under 53:00 or a 7:06 mile. Earlier this week I ran 5 miles at a 6:48 mile, so I'm optimistic. I found a race calculator that says I should finish right at 52:00 or a 6:57 mile, but that doesn't count doomsday hill which is a one mile hill towards the end of the run!

I will post once I have results from Sunday's run!

Start Week 4

Today marked the start of week 4 with just under 15 weeks until the Moses Lake Marathon! Monday is almost always an easy 8:00 mile for 3 mile run. So far I have been able to stay on track with the running schedule! Today's run was great, three miles (especially at the 8:00/mile pace) is starting to feel real easy and short - very encouraging when the goal is 26.2 miles at a 7:30/mile pace! I have also joined 2 running groups which should be fun - one on Saturday mornings and another on Wednesday nights (which I won't be able to start for about 4 more weeks). This put an extra 6 miles on last Saturday's run which gave me 11 miles on Saturday! With only two weeks until Bloomsday I've rearranged my training (two posts back) to allow rest days in preparation and recovery from the 12K race. Short list of unrelated ramblings in today's blog, but that's the update!

First Marathon Scheduled: August 4

I am now officially done training for half-marathons. I am now officially training for a marathon. The Moses Lake Marathon is on August 4 (see http://www.mlmarathon.com/). I put my marathon training schedule below. The short of it is I do an easy 8:00/mile run on Monday and Friday. On Wednesday I do a medium 7:00/mile run. On Saturday I do a long run at marathon pace of 7:30/mile. Then on Tuesday and Thursday I will cross train by riding my bike to work. Of course Sunday is a day of rest!

The distance starts small - 15 miles for week one. Each week the distance increases slightly until I'm consistently running 30-40 miles per week. Three weeks before the marathon is the famous 20 mile run. Then taper for three weeks to the big day!

Goals? First goal is to finish the marathon! As for time, I would like to finish it in under 3:30:00. That would be an 8:00 mile. I'm hoping I can hit a 7:30 mile, but we will see! Let the training begin!

Marathon Training Schedule

Marathon Training

Easy = 8:00 mile, Medium = 7:00 mile, Long = 7:30 mile, Race = Fast as possible!

Dates	Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Miles
4/1-4/7	Rest	Easy 3	Bike	Med 3	Bike	Easy 3	Long 6	15
4/8-4/14	Rest	Easy 3	Bike	Med 3	Bike	Easy 3	Long 7	16
4/15-4/21	Rest	Easy 3	Bike	Med 4	Bike	Easy 3	Long 5	15
4/22-4/28	Rest	Easy 3	Bike	Med 4	Bike	Easy 3	Long 9	19
4/29-5/5	Easy 3	Med 5	Easy 3	Long 10	Rest	Rest	Rest	21
5/6-5/12	Bloomsday	Rest	Rest	Easy 3	Med 5	Easy 3	Long 15K (9.3)	27.8
5/13-5/19	Rest	Easy 3	Bike	Med 6	Bike	Easy 3	Long 12	24
5/20-5/26	Rest	Easy 3	Bike	Long 13	Bike	Easy 4	10K SpringFest	26.2
5/27-6/2	Rest	Easy 3	Bike	Med 7	Bike	Easy 4	Long 10	24
6/3-6/9	Rest	Easy 3	Bike	Long 15	Bike	Easy 4	10K Run4Life	28.2
6/10-6/16	Rest	Easy 4	Bike	Long 16	Bike	Easy 4	15K EORiver	33.3
6/17-6/23	Rest	Easy 4	Bike	Med 8	Bike	Easy 5	Long 16	32.5
6/24-6/30	Rest	Easy 4	Bike	Med 9	Bike	Easy 5	Long 18	36
7/1-7/7	Rest	Easy 5	Bike	Med 9	Bike	Easy 5	Long 14	33
7/8-7/14	Rest	Easy 5	Bike	Med 10	Bike	Easy 5	Long 20	40
7/15-7/21	Rest	Easy 5	Bike	Med 8	Bike	Easy 5	Long 6	24.3
7/22-7/28	Rest	Easy 4	Bike	Med 6	Bike	Easy 4	Long 8	22
7/29-8/4	Rest	Easy 3	Bike	Easy 4	Bike	Easy 3	MARATHON!	10+26.2

Ephreta Canal Caper 10k

Ram the canal caper 10k today in 43:38 or a 7:02 mile. It was a full 55 seconds slower than my goal, but I have not run at all since my half marathon as my foot healed. The foot was fine for the race, but afterwords it started to hurt again, next stop - foot doctor!

As for the race, I was 4th in my age group and 19th overall. It was a smaller event, but it was also a blooms day qualifier so there were a lot more competitive runners, so I was happy with the result!

Soar foot again...

It seems two weeks off wasn't long enough, after my run yesterday I couldn't put weight I. My foot... Very discouraging...

Back at it...

A week before my half I got shin splints, so I didn't do any training. After my half I couldn't put weight on my left foot. A cortisone shot an two weeks later I'm finally ready to run again.

I found out I am not in the same shape as I was when I ran the half marathon two weeks ago! I ran a 10k in 46:36, which is a 7:30 mile. I almost quit part way through as I lost all my energy. I'm going to have to get it together if I'm going to do a 10k race in two weeks! My goal for the 10k is 42:21 or a 6:49 mile.

More injuries...

It seems whenever I run a big race I can't walk. This time the outside of my left foot is in pain any time I put weight on it. When walking became unbearable I went to to doctor who gave a cortisone shot. That was the most painful and longest shot I've ever received. Guess we will know in a couple of days if it worked!

I have 25 days until my next race, a 10k in Ephreta... Here's hoping I can run!

Taper week, 5k, and half marathon!

Last week a planned a great taper week leading into this weekend's races. It was a great plan, so last Sunday I began, and in the first 2 miles of my easy run i pulled something in my leg! Taper week quickly became a week of no running. I spent the week icing an stretching, hoping I could run the 5k an half marathon at the end of the following week.

Saturday morning was the 5k in Orlando (I was there for work). It was also the first day I woke up with no leg pain so I decided to run! (it was also the first race with my Garmin forerunner 205 to track my pace, in short, I love it!). I ha hoped to break the 20 min mark, I didn't quite make it, but I did take 2nd overall an first in my age group! My time was 20:20.7 at a pace of 6:41. I was very happy with it! And my leg did great!

The next challenge was flying cross country that afternoon, getting home late (very late when you consider he time zones), waking up early and driving 1.5 hours to the half marathon in tricities.

The temperature was 40 degrees with strong cold winds, much different than the Orlando weather! I lost feeling in my hands within the first few miles, but I thought it was a great race! My pace for each of the first 12 miles was between 6:50 and 7:14! Then the last mile (and tenth) about killed me as it had a pace over 8 min! But then just before the finish line I saw my family cheer me on (including my kids who I had not seen since Wednesday night). I used there energy to finish the race strong! My time was 1:34:10 (a PR for the distance) which comes out to be 7:11 mile!

At the awards ceremony I learned I finished 19th overall, but 2nd in my age category! Not bad for my first half!

My next race is the 10k Canal Caper in Ephreta, the season has begun!

300 miles!!

I hit 300 miles a few days ago, but I just got around to the blog today: total distance of 300 miles in 41:31:44, an average of 8:18 mile. Again the last 100 miles set a record with a time of 13:10:18 or a 7:54 mile. My distances are starting to regularly be above 10 miles, and the great part is 10 miles no longer feels like a long run. While the half marathon race is in two weeks, I'm starting to think about that first full marathon in July!

Under 1:35!

I ran a new record half marathon, this one was at 1:34:47 or a 7:14 mile! I'm significantly ahead of my goal! My first race is just under two weeks away, I have three more runs before I begin to taper for the race!

New Records!

Today I'm in Bellevue, Washington for a conference. So I had to run in the hotel gym. It was a bit weird running with so many strangers, this is why I like the comfort of our home and treadmill! But it wasn't to bad, we just had to all watch the same thing on the TV - basketball, not one of my preferred shows to watch while running, but the run was good either way:

I Ran another half marathon today and set some new records! My big record was I completed the half in 1:36:38! That comes out to a 7:23 mile! It felt great and I'm getting excited for my race in a couple of weeks!

The second record is a distance record, the workout was another 3:22 long (total of 1:40:00 workout) so my new record distance run is 13.75!!! Starting to look at increasing that number to the magic 26.2... but for now I need a break - and water...

(and i'm very glad tomorrow's workout is a short 25 min jog!)

My second half distance...

Ran another half today, 1:41:14, about three minutes slower than my first, but still ahead of my race goal by 3:46 so I'm happy with it - a 7:44 mile!

First half marathon distance!

Today I decided to see how long I could run at 8 mph (7:30 mile). So I started running on the treadmill. And to steal from the great philosopher, Forest Gump, I just kept on running - though not as far as he did.

I completed a half marathon, 13.1 miles, in 1:38:14!!!! This is 6:46 under my goal time! Looks like I need a new goal... Maybe not, running without the treadmill in my first half marathon race on February 26 will be a big enough challenge!

For now I will enjoy accomplishing my first of two running goals for this year, next the full marathon 26.2 miles! But I have until July for that...

Updated 2012 Season

I have made some changes to my racing calendar, currently it looks like i'm going to run in about 13 events this year (plus any fun runs I pick up during the year). Below is the list with links to events - sign up and run with me!

February

• 2/26: Tricities Half Marathon - http://www.tricitieshalf.com/

March

• 3/24: Ephrata Canal Caper 10K - http://www.active.com/running/ephrata-wa/ephrata-canal-caper-2012

April

• 4/21: Wenatchee Half Marathon - http://www.wenatcheemarathon.com/

May

• 5/6: Bloomsday 12K - http://www.bloomsdayrun.org/
• 5/12: Grand Coulee Over the Dam Run Half Marathon - http://trifreaks.com/OverTheDamRun.aspx
• 5/20: Rock and Roll Portland Half Marathon - http://runrocknroll.competitor.com/portland
• 5/26: Moses Lake Spring Fest 10K - http://www.buduracing.com/events_detail.php?e=749

June

• 6/9: Moses Lake Run For Your Life 10K - http://www.buduracing.com/events_detail.php?e=813
• 6/16: Pendleton Eastern Oregon River Run 15K - http://www.eosportstraining.com/eoriverrun.html

July

• 7/4: Foot Traffic Flat Marathon in Portland at Suave Island - http://www.foottraffic.us/flat/

August

• 8/25: Pendleton Highway to Well Half Marathon - http://www.eosportstraining.com/highwaytowell.html

September

• 9/21-22: Hells Canyon Relay from Baker City to LaGrande - http://www.hellscanyonrelay.com/

October

• A marathon to end the season, one of...
• 10/6 Leavenworth October Fest Marathon - http://www.leavenworthmarathon.com/ or
• 10/27 Columbia River Marathon in Umatilla - http://www.columbiarivermarathon.com/ or
• 10/28 Tricities Marathon - http://tricitiesmarathon.com/

That will make a relay, three 10K, a 12K, a 15K, five half marathons and two marathons. And possibly any 5K fun runs that come up along the way! Run with me!

So I cheated...

Today's workout was 95 minutes of hard sprints followed by jogs... I started yesterday and about 32 minutes in felt sick, stopped for a break and broke out in hives... I don't think I had enough water. So today I tried again, but instead of starting at the beginning, I just picked up where I left off and did the last 63 minutes... That's probably cheating... But I felt much better on today's run and I finished :-D

200 miles!!!!

Today I hit 200 miles (exactly!) of marathon training! I have run a total time of 28:21:26 or an 8:30 average mile.

However, the second hundred miles was in 13:17:40 over just 2 weeks! That gives the second hundred an average mile of 7:59, one second ahead of my half marathon goal!

I also have signed up for my first run I the year - the Tricities Half Marathon on February 24. I'm ready for the season to begin!

10 miles down, 3.1 to go!

Today's long run was 10 miles. I'm getting closer each week to my first half marathon distance of 13.1. My time was 1:20:00, which is an 8:00 mile, also my half marathon goal pace. If I can run the last 3.1 miles in 24:48 I'll hit my goal!

Finally!

The workout was simple - 3 mile sprint followed by 4 mile jog, all in 50 min (average of 7:08 mile). After taking five days off for Christmas, this was the hardest workout by far I've done yet! It took me three tries to successfully complete it, but I finally did it! Now I'm beat, but I did it!

I heard a runner once say "it hurts so much and feels so good, only a runner can understand" it is so true!

Glad tomorrow is a short 4 mile jog!