ChristianMilers.org

Timex Global Trainer Giveaway

The DC Rainmaker is at it again, this time he is giving away a brand new Timex Global Trainer for a selected winner. Pretty easy to enter this contest. Please visit www.dcrainmaker.com to find more details on how to submit your entry.

If you are not familiar with this incredible gps watch go here to read CD Rainmaker in depth review.

The contest will run until October 14th, 2010 at 11:59PM Eastern Time. So, act like you 're running a 5K and be quick ya!

2010 The Amigos for Christ “Strides for Strength” 5K Race Review

The Amigos for Christ “Strides for Strength” 5K is a small family oriented event with approximately 200 pre-registered runner and walkers.  The race is held at the Suwanee Town Center Park in Suwanee, GA about 30 miles northeast of Atlanta in Gwinnett County on the first Saturday of October in the morning of their “Celebrate Service Music Festival”.  A little background on Amigos for Christ, they are a international non-profit organization started and based in Buford, Georgia in 1999.   Amigos for Christ is an interdenominational service ministry which has provided several million dollars in aid to the poor and has created opportunities for families to flourish. They focus on strengthening families without resources through our community development, health, education, long-term missionary, water and sanitation, small business, and spirituality programs in rural communities.  Please visit their website, http://www.amigosforchrist.org, to learn more.

 

The Course:

 

The course is an out and back 5K which starts in the Suwanee Town Center Park on Boston Common St near the Olde Town Grill.  The course starts on a long fairly steep down hill (~.5 mi) and runs through a beautiful cluster home subdivision to the entrance of the Suwanee Greenway Trail, which makes for a good first mile split.  The trail starts with a well made and maintained wooden bridge that leads to an asphalt “soft” trail.  Once you are on the asphalt trail it is relative flat with one police protected road crossing.  They had two water stations (one with bananas) and the turn around was on a wide area of the trail which allowed for you to maintain a decent pace.  The middle section of the course which is all on the asphalt trail is mostly flat with one small hill for crossing Martin Farm Rd is also conducive to a fast pace.  The last half mile is all up hill.  The finish line was about 50’ beyond the start line with an elevation increase of an additional 12'.  Over all I would give the course difficulty a rating of a 5.2/10 (course difficulty rating of 5.2 is perfect for a family course) is a due to the finish. 

 

Things I liked about the race:

 

·   Cost, only $20 for the race which also included entrance fee for a 3 on 3 soccer tournament, corn hole tournament, a dessert contest, and a five mile family fun bike ride and music from 10am until 10pm.  I almost forgot to mention, a cotton Amigos for Christ t-shirt. 

·   There was plenty of parking and close to the start.

·   Race day registration and race packet pick up, always a nice option for smaller races.  The race day packet included discounts to the at park restaurants which could come in handy during the Celebrate Service Music Festival.

·   The logistics of the event, everything (race packet pick-up & race day registration) was within 125’ of the start line.

·   Plenty of real bathrooms since it took place at the Suwanee Center Park.  No waiting in line at a porta-potty half concern of a swamp monster jumping out and biting you if squatting is necessary.

 

Things I was indifferent about:

 

·   No wave starting, children, walkers and runners all started at the same time, which require faster runners to weave in and out with them. When children participate in races generally they are not ware of race etiquette.  Many of the children start out like it’s a 50 yard dash and when they run out of energy they just stop on the dime, which is very dangerous.  Or keeping to the right so faster runners can pass.

·   The course is on a very popular local running trail with many casual Saturday morning walkers, bikers, dog walkers, roller bladders, strollers, some are going with you and some are going against you. 

·   Nothing at the finish area; water, bananas, etc

 

Tips:

 

·   Bring your own water, energy drinks and gels for the finish area.

·   If you are fast or want to finish with a PR, go to the starting line early.

·   Be prepared for inexperience runners/walkers and casual Saturday morning obstructions.

 

Summery:

 

I love this race for what it is – a great family event.  You will love the scenery and it is for a great cause.  I plan on running this race again next year and I hope you will join us. 

Garmin Forerunner 310XT Giveaway

Garmin watch is my dream running gadget, but, I don't have the budget to own one.  So sad, I know.

Now, DC Rainmaker is giving away one Garmin 310XT for a selected winner. Pretty easy to enter this contest. Please visit www.dcrainmaker.com to find more details on how to submit your entry.

The contest will run until 9 Sep 2010. So, Be quick ya!

Race Report: 2010 AJC Peachtree 10k Road Race

Late June my legs were over were fatigued from too much running during the month and during my last run, Thursday, July 1st my legs were absolutely shot. To make matters worse, my left ankle, which was rebuilt back in 1989, has been bothering me since June 26th. So, on Saturday the day before the race I decided to walk 4.5 miles with some the www.ChrstianMilers.org members instead of doing a light jog in hopes of stretching my legs and loosening my ankle.

When I woke up Sunday morning the soreness seemed too fade a bit, maybe because I was excited to run the race, the temperature and humidity was perfect, so I decided to go all out. Last year, I did this race in 1:03:32 minutes and set a goal to run this race in under 56 minutes or <9:00 per mile pace – my fastest Peachtree course training time was at a 9:09 pace back in mid May. The morning of the race I met Mike, my Peachtree Road Race training partner, at the gym at 6 AM (the gym is about 1 mile from the finish line) and we took MARTA to the Lenox station. We arrived early enough to get a good stretch in, and waited near the front of my wave group “F” for the start of the race. This year with over 58,000 runners (500,44 finishers with time chips), they staggered start each wave in 5 minute intervals, which worked perfectly.

Follow this link for a good video and course elevation, http://www.ajc.com/sports/peachtree-road-race/ajc-peachtree-road-race-562121.html  

The challenging part about the AJC Peachtree 10K Road Race are the hills and the large number of walkers. The first mile is pretty flat and fast, but there are three significant hills which will affect your pace, one long downhill and two uphill’s. My goal was to run the first mile at a low 9:00 pace, run strong on the long downhill, easy up on the 2 long uphill’s from mile 3 through mile 5, and then finish as strongly as I could on the final 1,000 yards of slight downhill with whatever I had left. As it turned out I started out too fast and did not have as strong as a finish as I would have liked.

First mile recap – 8:35. I took off faster then I should have and never eased into my comfortable 10K pace of about 9:15, when I hit the start of the downhill about ½ mile into the race I was already winded and was questioning myself for going out too fast. I told myself that I could just slow up as much as needed on the long uphill’s in mile 3 through mile 5, and save my legs for later in the race. Knowing the course well helped, I’ve trained on it for over two months, and I knew that once I topped the last hill around the 5.4 mark, the downhill and the excitement of the crowd would carry me to the finish line.

Second mile recap – 9:10. This should have been my fastest mile, planned ~8:00 pace, because it is mostly downhill, but my over aggressive start will taking its toll on me.

Third mile recap – 9:25. This should have been my second fastest mile, planned ~8:15 pace, mostly downhill. This is also probably the most exciting mile with bands playing all along the course and some bars/restraints throwing out t-shirts and other goodies.

Fourth mile recap – 10:35. This is the most difficult mile because of a 0.7 mile hill commonly known as Cardiac Hill. I actually ran this mile close to my planned pace of 10:00, but with way too much effort, With hindsight I should have slowed down to around a 11:00 pace. I took my first water and speed walk break of about 1 minute.

Fifth mile recap – 11:45. A difficult mile because of an 0.8 mile slight uphill. The first mile, Cardiac Hill, and this long gradual hill was taking its toll on me and I took my first real walk break of about two minutes. Throughout this mile I noticed more and more runners passing me, very depressing!

Sixth mile recap – 10:09. Once I passed the 5th mile marker my office building was only about 1,000 feet away. The company I work for has a band come in town to play and I knew a few coworkers would be in along the street to cheer people on so I was motivated and decided to let it go and see what happens. I was happy to find that my legs were feeling a little better, and more importantly NO pain in my ankle. I managed to drop my pace more and more as the mile went on the slight downhill started towards the finish line. After the turn at mile 5.4 is a blast for the runners, the crowd of people cheering along the street is huge and loud. I love this part of the race!

Last 2/10 of the race – 1:56. All downhill! Crowd is incredible, You MUST EXPERENCE THIS! I cannot explain how much fun this part of the race is with what I would guess is more than 5,000 people along the street cheering you on. During this part of the race I was passing much more runners than were passing me.

< strong>Results - 1:01:40

2010 Peachtree time: Chip time 1:01:40, Clock time 1:27:14

Finial thoughts, although this was not the smartest race I have ever run, started too fast, the result was still thrilling to me, especially when you think what my body has gone through over the years with bilateral hip replacement, rebuilt ankle and a knee that should have been replaced in 2008. It shows that we all can overcome preconceived physical limitations if you put our faith into Christ! As Philippians 4:13 says, “I have the strength through him who empowers me.” Now I can relax a bit this week, then start training for the Space Coast Marathon in November!

By the way Mike told me this morning that I have an opportunity to run for the cycle this year by doing a 5K, 10K, half marathon and a full marathon. All I have left is the Space Coast Marathon.

I want to give credit to the Atlanta Track Club for putting on the most organized race I’ve ever participated in. They had plenty of water stations, port-o-potties, food and water at the end, and volunteers throughout the race it was incredible experience and event that everyone in the Atlanta area so try at least once.

A comparison picture of me from this year and from 10-years ago

Choosing a Running Shoe: How My Viewpoint Has Changed

My hunch is that many recreational runners are a lot like I was when it comes to choosing a running shoe. Most of the time, I chose a pair based on a combination of aesthetics and price - if they looked good and were priced low, I'd put them on my feet and wear them until they had a hole in them or died. I never reserved a pair solely for running (my shoes were always multi-purpose), I had no idea that there were such things as motion control, stability, and neutral shoes, and I wasn't aware that things like racing flats even existed.

After my bilateral hip replacement surgery in 1998 I decided it was time that I took care of my body better than what I was doing and to do that I needed to buy the right pair of shoes for my new stride, so I followed a friends advice and went to a local running store. The store employee had me take off my shoes and run back and forth across the store, and promptly "diagnosed" me as a mild over-pronator who should be wearing stability shoes. I left the store with a nice pair of properly fitted Nike stability lightweight training shoes.

I have bought lightweight training shoes ever since. Lighter shoes will help you shave run more efficiently (less weight at the end of the leg = less energy expended). Regardless of whether the shoes or my training and conditioning deserved credit, I was running much more frequently and with much less pain and haven't turned back to the “best sale on the best looking running shoes in the store” type shoes.

So here are 6 factors that are likely to play a part in my purchase decisions when buying running shoes:

1. Weight. First and foremost, I like a shoe to be as light as possible. I generally look for shoes that weigh less than 10 oz each, with 7 oz each shoes is best for me.
2. Comfort. A shoe needs to be comfortable form me to want to run in it, so fit is very important. As an example, I find that Nike shoes are generally lightweight and feel fast, but they are a bit on the narrow side. On the other end, New Balance is generally a heavier shoe, and has a higher offset than most. However, it may be more comfortable shoes particularly on longer runs.
3. Heel-Toe Drop/Offset. My preference is for a shoe that does not have a large, cushioned heel. Heel-Toe drop/offset/differential is essentially the difference in thickness between mid-sole + outsole of the heel vs. the forefoot - a drop of zero would mean that when seated in the shoe, the heel and forefoot would be at exactly the same height off of the ground. Most running shoes have an HT drop of around 12mm, meaning that the heel sits about 12mm higher off of the ground than the forefoot. The upshot of the HT drop value is that the lower it is, the easier it will be to land on your midfoot or forefoot while running (to see my personal experiment with heel height and footstrike. I prefer shoes with as low a drop as possible, but I do like some variability so that my calves get worked in different ways in different shoes.
4. Aesthetics. Yes, this still is important to me! I realize it's one of the worst things upon which to base a shoe choice, but sometimes you simply can't escape aesthetics. It may be mental, but I like a pair of shoes to look fast, and generally speaking, the flashier the better. If I find a shoe to be unappealing, I won't buy it.
5. Price. I hate to say it, but price is also still important. I can't justify spending over $100 on a pair of shoes.
6. Other Factors. There are other things that figure into whether I like a shoe or not, and these include breathability, flexibility, upper construction, etc. For example, I prefer a shoe that has a breathable, minimalist upper and a flexible sole, though none of these factors are deal-breakers for me.

So there you have it, my perspective on running shoes.

Trail Running during the Summer Heat

With the recent change from running at Prince of Peace Catholic Church to Running at Little Mulberry Park in Gwinnett County Georgia we now have the option of running on soft paved path or trails –vs- road running. Recently while running with a group, which decided to add a 1 mile trail run to our path run, I had a decision to make; to run by myself or to stay with the group and try running on the trail. I very hesitantly decided to give the trail a try and stayed with the group. I have not run on a trail since, I guess High School, cross county or at the very least since I had my ankle rebuilt back in 1988, over 22 years ago. To explain a little more on my hesitation, between my rebuilt ankle, my bad knee, and bilateral hip replacement I have very weak legs, plus I have poor balance. My goal on this run was to make it through the trail without turning my ankle or taking a fall – the heck with my pace, I was not going to embarrass myself. I actually, to a small degree, enjoyed my run and my body did not suffer from it as I was anticipating or feared. I just have to pay attention to the rocks, roots and horse patties; yes I learn we were running on horse trails.

I plan on adding the trails to my run, only with a little more pace and lets see how it goes. What brings me back to the trail? I could really feel the cooler change in temperature from the heavy wooded trail run; actually it was much darker in the woods as well which would help protect you from the harmful rays of the sun.

If you are looking for a change in your road running routine, check out some of the parks that we have in the Atlanta area. Here’s a great resource of many trail running locations around Atlanta with descriptions of each. Go to www.GeorgiaTrails.com to find a new trail that may help you get into trail running or just offer an alternative to pavement from time to time.

Distance Running after Bilateral Hip Replacement

15 years ago, Sunday, October 13th 1995 to be exact, I ran the Marine Corps Marathon with my personal record (PR) time of 3:41 (8:26 pace) and felt great, although I had terrible flexibility of my hips. The following Tuesday afternoon, two days after the marathon, I felt good enough to stick with my training program and ran 13 miles only now my left knee was bothering to the point that I needed to visit my family doctor.

I will never forget this moment, after the x-rays were taken of my knees and hips I was waiting in the examining room for the doctor to return when he came in with a cane and said that my knee was fine but I needed bilateral hip replacement and he wanted me to walk with a cane until the procedure was done. Of course I told him that he was wrong because my problem was my knee and not my hips. I knew that I had bad hip flexibility but that was because I did not stretch. And in pleading my disbelief I told him that I’ve run 39 miles in the last 3 days without pain in the hips and that I would get additional opinions. Which I did, and each orthopedic surgeon I visited echoed the same, with one telling me that if I was 50 he would have replaced my hips 10 years ago -- at the time I was only 32-years-old. After visiting 3 orthopedic surgeons, who are known for being the “best” in the Atlanta area for hip replacement, I decided to wait it out as long as I could before going thru this life changing event, after all I was not in pain -- I just didn’t any flexibility in my hips what so ever. In fact my hip flexibility was so poor that many mornings after a long run or playing basketball the night before, I was unable to put on my socks without the help of my wonderful and loving wife Lisa. So, I continued playing basketball and ran for another three years until my hips started to bother me to the point that they effected my sleeping.

I waited until late July of 1998 after running what I believe to be my last 10K, the Peachtree Road race on July 4th in Atlanta, GA; I had a total right hip replacement and three months later a total left hip replacement by Dr Jove, I was 35-years-old. I selected Dr Jove because he was the only orthopedic that said that since I had what he called “off-the-chart” threshold for pain and that if I would listen to my body and pay attention to the signs that I could be a little more active than most people. Although none of the orthopedics I visited knows how long the replacements would last they would never recommend patients to run after hip replacement much less bilateral hip replacement. Dr Jove said that running may cause loss of bone around the hip replacement, so I promised to get yearly checkups if I were able to run.

About 1-year post op I was back to playing in a competitive league basketball, only now with much more flexibility and pain free. And 2-years post op I ran the 2000 Peachtree 10K Road Race with a time of 51:01 about 8 1/2 minutes slower than my PR. Between 1999 and 2006 I remained active with basketball, tennis and running about 100 miles a year in training for my annual running of the Peachtree. During the fall of 2006, while playing ALTA tennis, I tore the meniscus in my left knee which required surgery to remove ~ 60% of it. So, back to Dr Jove, only this time when he went in he discovered that my left kneecap was dead so he drilled 4 small holes in the bone in hopes that it would stimulate bone growth, which it did not. He informed me that I needed total knee replacement and said I was ready for it NOW, which I elected to try physical therapy for a while first. 6-weeks later I had a blood clot from my ankle to my groining. During my 9-day stay in the hospital my Hematologist informed me that I have a Factor V (Leiden Thrombophilia) blood mutation (http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/factor-v-leiden-thrombophilia) I was told that Factor V was the cause of the wearing-a-way of bone in my hips and not arthritis. To play basketball and tennis I had to wear a Breg Post-Op knee brace, but I lost considerable lateral movement and eventually lost interest, but I did run the Peachtree in 2008 in 1:10:00. For my need of competition, I picked up the sport of table tennis which I played a lot of back in college and joined the Gwinnett Table Tennis Association. In December of 2008, after my annual physical I weighed 220, up from 183 at the time of my knee surgery – that’s 37 pounds gained in a little less than 2 years, and 60 pounds more than what I weighed back in 1995 when I ran my last marathon.

My 2009 resolution was to drop the weight, get back into shape, and reclaim my youthful body. In January of 2009, I started riding a stationary bike at the gym and went on a diet. By July 4th I was down to 172 pounds and ran the Peachtree Road Race, with very little training, in 1:03:30. [The before (Later Summer 2008) and after (March 2009) picture shows my weight loss.  It’s amazing how my hair regained it’s youthful color as well ;o)]  After the race, I continued to ride the stationary bike and completed the year riding over 4,000 miles. Now, I noticed that I felt great and my legs were as strong as I could recall, so in December of 2009 I decided to try distance running again so I signed up for the March 21, 2010 Atlanta ING ½ marathon.

The picture below is of me after running the 2000 and 2009 Peachtree Road Race.  My 2009 resolution was successful. 

2010, on January 2nd, I started training for the ½ marathon with a 4 mile run on the treadmill. For the month of January, I ran 21 times on a treadmill for 80 miles and biked another 242 miles.  February, I ran 12 times on a treadmill for 69 miles and biked another 190 miles.  March, I decided to take my runs outside and ran 17 times for 85 miles and biked another 273 miles.  Note outside running did take some time to get use to – I still ran pain free but I was much slower.  On March 21 2010, I ran the Atlanta ING ½ marathon in 2:26:18, which comes out to an 11:10 pace. 

Picture from the Atlanta ING ½ marathon

 

During April after taking a few weeks off from running, I was talking with some friends from church and we starting a running club to further God’s gift of walking/running through fellowship, community, and service with people that we share in the same faith journey. As well as research shows that people who train with a club are more likely to stay motivated. Our running club is called www.ChristianMilers.org.

April, I ran 12 times for 52 miles and biked another 57 miles. For May, I’m on pace to run 100 miles and bike another 100 miles for the month of May.  See running chart below

I’m going to run the Space Coast marathon on November 28th with some of the members of our running club, which is 15 years, two total hip replacements, and one knee surgery after my last marathon. One other major surgery I have not mentioned was I had my left ankle rebuilt back in the fall of 1998 due to an injury while playing on a tournament softball team. Although I do not expect to beat my PR of 3:41 but I do plan on completing it in less than 5 hours and PAIN FREE.

It’s now 12 years since my bilateral hip replacement surgery and I have not suffered any bone loss, yet gained my quality of life back that I’m determined to keep as long as possible. My guess is that at some time I WILL have to have my left knee replaced but until that time arrives I WILL run!

If you are interested in following my progress I will update this blog regularly.

Bruce Downs
5/20/2010

I believe that running teaches us to overcome preconceived physical personal limitations which transfer over to our walk with Jesus and what we can and cannot do for him. Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” 

Updated:  Added May totals

2010 Training Chart

2010		Running					Biking
Month		Count	Time	Distance	Avg Pace		Count	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Yr to Date		75	63:26:48	363.84	0:10:31		65	49:48:55	823.30	0:03:35
January		21	13:29:05	80.00	0:10:07		19	14:26:50	242.30	0:03:35
February		12	11:58:00	69.25	0:10:22		14	11:09:05	190.00	0:03:31
March		17	15:42:20	85.25	0:11:03		20	16:31:00	273.00	0:03:38
April		12	9:16:11	52.70	0:10:33		5	3:36:45	57.00	0:03:48
May		20	21:07:40	123.68	0:10:15		7	4:05:15	61.00	0:04:01