The Organic Climber – Blogging about climbing, RAW foods, vegetarianism, running and cycling.

Yesterday was the Big D Marathon. Weeks before the race I had a goal time of 1:50 since I didn’t meet that goal for The Cowtown half. I missed it by only 1:54 minutes. But, as it got closer to race day I wasn’t feeling confident I would make my goal pace My diet had been all out of whack, and I wasn’t training as much as I should have. I complained all week that I didn’t thinking I was going to meet my goal, but really this was just my way of having an excuse if I didn’t make my goal. It was really just a pride issue.

The night before the race I was eating dinner with several other people running the race as well as Twitter friend @agwade. Aaron wasn’t even planning on running the race, but he couldn’t resist the Tweer Pressure from fellow Twitterers. We convinced him to run the race banding, but he only agreed to on one condition… that I meet my PR. He would pace for me, and all I had to do was keep up. I agreed, but I honestly still didn’t think I would meet my goal.

The race itself was pretty much all a blur. Normally I could give a mile-by-mile update on how I was doing, but they all seemed to blend together. I do remember feeling like we were flying the entire time. We were moving past people for pretty much the entire race. It wasn’t until the last 5K that our consistent pacing of racers came to a halt. I still tried as hard as I could though, I was even determined not to get passed, but in the last .25 miles I felt several racers on my tail and about 6 of them passed me before crossing the finish line.

As I neared the finish line though I could see that the gun clock read 1:51:xx. I don’t recall the seconds, but I knew my goal was in the bag seeing as how we didn’t cross the starting mats until a couple minutes into the race. I was totally psyched, but crossed the line pretty gassed and quickly downed a small bottle of water. My finish time ended up being 1:49:37. I beat my goal time by 43 seconds.

Prior to finishing though about all I remember is feeling like we were going to fast. I had thought all I needed to meet my goal was an 8:30 minute pace, but little did I know I needed an 8:20 pace. Aaron knew this, but didn’t tell me. I’m thankful for that though because I have only run a hand full of shorter training runs at that pace. Even though I was constantly wanting to slow down my pacesetter helped me to keep it up, I was even able to pick up the pace on my own a few times.

I was pretty amazed when I looked at my stats in Run Keeper, miles three and four were really fast. I have yet to run ANY mile that fast. So, I was really surprised when I saw those stats. I do remember feeling like I was going especially fast during that part of the race. I was even amazed I managed to kick up the pace during my final mile. I felt the weakest at that point, but somehow still managed to speed up!

I am quite pleased with my finish time, but I know I couldn’t have done it without Aaron. Seeing as how I had another person running with me part of Cowtown that helped push me about I wonder if I could do this well on my own. Either way, I enjoy running with others more than I do by myself. So I will be content no matter how I race.

This was also a smaller race, so I was only competing against 217 racers in my age group and 2076 overall. In my age group I finished 20th, placing me in the top 10%. Overall I finished 213, also placing me in the top 10%. One year ago just before I started running I never would have thought in a million years I would run this fast, or even a half marathon for that matter. This is truly proof that ANYONE can become a runner. This is coming from the guy that used to eat only pizza, burgers and fries for most of his life and rarely exercised. It is possible people, so if you are thinking about it, just get out there and do it.

Health & Fitness, Running by OrganicClimber
Big D, half marathon, marathon, Running
2 comments

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I apologize for neglecting the blog lately. Life has been extremely busy lately, I have not even been to the climbing gym in over a week, and struggle to even get my runs in, although I have managed to work in the last two days, but at the expense of not going to the climbing gym. I will make up for that tomorrow evening though and next weekend when I head back up to Arkansas for some more crag development.

I’m sort of sad I have been neglecting things lately because I have several blog ideas spinning around in my head, one of them will require a lot of time to work on, but the post will be good once it’s complete. It will be one all you aspiring raw foodies will love.

I have also been preoccupied with Career Coaching. I recently hired a Career Coach to help me find my vocational calling. I have known for quite some time that the work I have been doing full time is not what I am truly cut out for. So far my coaching has affirmed that and I now know without a doubt I need a career change… my well being and livelihood depends on it. I am looking forward to the ongoing coaching at what it will reveal about my true calling in life. I look forward to sharing more about this with you as well.

There is also other potentially exciting news as well, but it’s really way to early to share it, but it is partly why I have been so busy and neglecting the blog. But once I am able to tell you the reason I suspect you will be psyched for me! Anyway, enough with the excuses. One bit of news I can share with you is that I will be Running the half in the Big D Marathon on Sunday, April 11. This will be my third half marathon. I am looking forward to it. I am also looking forward to my first run over 13.1 this weekend. I will be heading out to White Rock Lack with a couple of other running friends to run 14-15 miles. They were only wanting 14, but I casually suggested 15, so we shall see what happens. Hopefully we all don’t break down at 13.5.

Well, I better get to bed now, it’s nearly 10:30 and I actually wanted to be in bed a half hour ago. So please forgive any typos or misspellings. I didn’t proof anything.

Uncategorized by OrganicClimber
Big D, excuses, half marathon, lame, Running, sorry, update, White Rock Lake
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The Cowtown was my second every Half Marathon. The first being the Dallas White Rock. This race was marked by significant improvement. I knocked about six minutes off my previous time, and kept a very consistent pace throughout the entire course. My previous half had a very sporadic pace, but this one was pretty even across the board. This of course is assuming the data that RunKeeper gave me was accurate. Below is the elevation profile of the course (in green) along with my pace (in blue). And below that are my splits for the run.

Notice I briefly ran 44.5 mph, that felt great

RunKeeper Data

My goal going into this race was to finish with a time of 1:50. I was also fortunate enough to be able to start off my run with an awesome runner named Erika from New York who I had meet the night before at our DFW Runner’s Tweetup at Button’s in Fort Worth. She had come down to run the race, and visited friends and family. I actually don’t think I would have run so well if it hadn’t been for her. We started off running together, but she expected me to break away at any minute. Erika even asked me when I was going to speed up, I felt as though I needed to and planned on kicking up the pace up around mile two.

So, after crossing the mile-two marker I made my break, but not to long after that Erika was right there with me again. After talking to her later after the race she had felt I was going slow and wasn’t going to be able to make my pace, but little did she know we were at an 8:30 pace. But after running with my new friend a bit longer I speed off again but soon found myself gradually slowing down without realizing it, or Erika just kicked it into high gear, because soon after I found her in front of me sometime after mile four (it was probably Erika speeding up though as my pace in mile 4 was the fastest at 8:17. Determined to not let her fall out of sight, I kept up pace just a few strides behind and was back by her side again around mile five.

We probably stuck together again for about .75 miles until we hit a nice steady down hill and one of my favorite running songs came on through my headphones, so I kicked it back into high gear and began a passing frenzy. It was also around this time the raw energy bites and gel I had been consuming kicked in and gave me my second wind. It wasn’t until just after mile eight that I saw Erika again on the other side of a switchback waving and smiling as we passed each other.

Throughout this run, I was experiencing a lack of motivation from the spectators that I had enjoyed during the Dallas White Rock Marathon. Only on occasion would you see a small group of people standing and cheering you on. The highlight of the run was the Thriller Dancers (dressed as the dead from the famous Michael Jackson video) along mile 10 or 11.  I have realized one of the biggest parts of these runs is having fun. So, seeing characters like this brings a smile to my face, and I was grinning from ear to ear while giving them hand slaps as I ran by.

But just before seeing these friendly dead guys I was attempting to reference my GPS, which was in my back cycling jersey pocket, and in doing so I pulled out my fuel bites, dropping them on the course, but rather than pick them up I kept going. Around mile 10 I was wishing I still had the fuel bites, as I was nearly out of my raw energy drink. I had even taken water from a few aid stations this time, something I only did once during the White Rock.

Despite being a bit energy depleted I was determined to finish strong in the last three miles. So, I gave myself two goals; one, let as few runners pass me as possible, and two focus one one runner ahead of me at a time and then pass them. This proved to be pretty effective, as I continued to maintain a steady pace. It helped keep my mind of things like side cramps that would occasionally hit, dehydration, shoulder pain and fatigue.

The final 1.1 miles was perhaps the most brutal of the day. I opted to pass up water at the last aid station so I could keep up my pace. I had about two squirts of energy drink left at this point and finished them off pretty soon after passing the aid station up. I also thought I still had a chance of making my 1:50 goal as well.

With about .75 miles left to go I checked the GPS again, only to see that I was probably not going to quite meet my goal. I was still determined to try thought and did my best to kick up the pace a bit, but the effort to do so felt futile. No matter how hard I tried, it felt like I wasn’t going any faster. But as I rounded the last corner I had .20 miles left to go and began to pick up the pace even more.

Once I hit the 13 mile mark I put forth my best effort of a sprint. Crossing over the finish line I nearly tripped over a kid that decided it would be a great idea to just stop as soon as he crossed the line. Thankfully I had already crossed the chip check point so I wasn’t slowed down any, but I did stumble over him. After my near fall I checked my GPS to find I ran exactly 13.1 miles! You laugh, but you may remember I ended up running 13.27 in the White Rock Half Marathon. My finish time was 1:51:55, official chip time was 1:51:54 making this a personal record. Feels kind of weird saying that, considering I have only run two half marathons so far.

Even thought I didn’t meet my goal, I was still very happy with my time. I shave more than six minutes off my previous half marathon time. I guess the bright side of this is that I can keep my goal time at 1:50 for my next half marathon, but if I happen to beat that then all the better. After grabbing my finishers metal and a cup of water I waited for Erika to cross the line because I knew she wouldn’t be far behind.

And sure enough, she crossed soon after and we congratulated each other on a great run. We also had another friends near by that had run in the 10K race, so after talking to them a bit we grabbed our race shirts , goodie bags and food and checked into the expo tent where more race friend were hanging out. This was definitely a better race in terms of having support from other fellow runners. The last race I only really had one other friend running, but now because of Twitter, I have a whole slew of friends running races and providing encouragement. As stupid as it sounds, social networking really is amazing. It has allowed me to meet so many new people.

After we were done hanging out in the Expo tent Kris, Melissa and I (also friends from Twitter) headed down to the original Fuzzy’s Tacos on the campus of TCU for a great post race meal. I had a couple of black bean tacos along with tortilla chips, guacamole, salsa and queso.

I capped off my day with an afternoon of slacklining with some climbing friends at a park in Richardson. The weather was gorgeous, it was so nice to be outdoors barefoot in shorts and a t-shirt. I think I really wore myself out that day, but it was worth it.

p.s. next race I will try to remember to take some iPhone camera photos. I intended to do that at the start of the race and at the finish, but totally forgot.

Uncategorized by OrganicClimber
Cowtown, dallas white rock, Fort Worth, half marathon, marathon, personal record, PR, slacklining
3 comments

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I have had a goal to blog more this year, but so far I have not been successful at that. In fact, I may be blogging less. I really do hope that starts to change. I have several ideas rattling around in my head, one of which is currently in progress; it’s going to be about where Texans climb. There are a lot more locations than people might think.

Anyway, I have already mentioned I am registered to run the Cowtown at the end of the month, and this time I have a pretty lofty time goal. I want to run the race in 1:45 – 1:50, but after calculating the pace I would need to meet that goal I am skeptical I can meet the 1:45 goal, but 1:50 will definitely be attainable. For the 1:45 I would need to run 8 minute miles, but for a time of 1:50, I only need to run 8:23 minute miles. Seeing how my race pace is faster than my training pace I think this will be attainable.

Lately my training runs have been in the 8:19 – 8:50 minute mile range. Granted these runs are way shorter than 13.1 miles. When I ran the 8 mile Turkey Trot I was averaging over 9 minute miles and ran an 8:45 minute mile. The same was true for the White Rock Half Marathon; during training I was running no faster than 9:15 (except for a hand full of shorter runs) and finished with a 9 minute mile.

Once the adrenaline kicks on during the race you are able to perform at a much higher level. My raw food intake is also a lot higher on the days leading up to the race. I think this plays a huge factor in the better performance. So, it should be interesting to see how well I do this time around.

This weekend I will be climbing in Enchanted Rock, but still plan on getting a long run in. Last year when training for the White Rock I ran 9 miles one morning before heading out to teach a beginners climbing clinic and do a bit of climbing myself. So, I will either get my run in this evening when I arrive at the Park or tomorrow morning before heading out to the rock. I think I will most likely run this evening so I don’t have to wake up super early. Just hoping I have some daylight left when I arrive and clear skies so I can enjoy the scenic landscape.

Climbing, Cross Training, Health & Fitness, Running by OrganicClimber
Cowtown, Enchanted Rock, half marathon, rock climbing, Running
1 comment

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No smoothie Tuesday today, sorry peeps. Instead I bring you an update on my training for the Dallas White Rock Marathon – Half. First of all, I have to be honest. I have not been training as frequently as I should. A busy work schedule and climbing weekends have been getting in the way; not to mention injury recovery. I have been able to pick things back up again lately.

Last week my long run was 7 miles. I would have gone longer but I fell at mile 6 and busted up my hand – it was a bloody mess. A climbing trip that weekend prevented me from getting in anything longer. I did plan on running during the trip, but it was too wet and nasty, just didn’t want to deal with it. I have also had a four and three mile run in this past week, so I am getting more miles in now, which is good.

Last night I only rand an easy three miles, sans RunKeeper (an awesome running for the iPhone) and headphones, I don’t even have any idea how long it took me, just got out and enjoyed it. Now, I rest until the Dallas YMCA Turkey Trot on Thursday. I will be running the 8-mile course, timed. Not only will this be my first Turkey Trot, but it will be my first race – and with 37K+ people at that!

I am excited about the race though, it’s sort of my prep race for the Dallas White Rock Marathon. I hope to have a pace of at least 9:15 or 9:30 for the Trot, seeing as how I will have to maintain a pace of 9:15 to complete the 13.1 in two hours. I think with the adrenaline flowing on race day I will be able to pull it off!

In terms of nutrition, I honestly haven’t been doing that well. I have allowed more and more processed snack foods to creep in as well as fast food. I am still maintaining a “high raw” diet, but even that has slipped a bit; however, I am getting back on the horse this week. From today until the race I will be maintaining a 100% raw diet (not counting the coffee I indulged this morning – can you blame me I was up until 1:30 a.m. at the Neko Case show in Dallas). I am 100% positive I will perform better if I do. I plan on eating 100% raw at least three days before the White Rock as well.

Currently my goal is to finish The White Rock Marathon – half in two hours. At first I thought it seemed very feasible, but I am starting to have my doubts, especially since I slacked some on training. I should at least be able to make 2:15, but I have heard that once the adrenaline kicks in you will be faster, so I may end up meeting my two-hour goal. I now have just over two weeks to finish training and I will have to build in at least three recovery days before the run. So, really that leaves me with just over a week and a half to train and that includes one race in-between!

I am excited though, no matter how hard I run. I have no doubt I will finish, unless some unforeseen circumstance prevents me from finishing. I will be starting the run with another one of my climbing friends, but she plans on running a slower pace, so we likely won’t be together that long. But on the plus side, I will have a group of people to enjoy a post race meal with. I just may have to wait a few minutes for them at the finish line.

I am going to make an effort to take lots of photos of both the Turkey Trot and the White Rock on my iPhone. So, hopefully I come out with some decent stuff. I would bring my big rig, but somehow I don’t think running with a five pound camera will be a good idea. I will post whatever photos I get though.

p.s. please excuse any errors in this post, I did not have time to proof it.

Cross Training, Health & Fitness by OrganicClimber
Dallas White Rock Marathon, dallas ymca turkey trot, half marathon, marathon, Running, training
1 comment

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Well, I have to be honest. My training as of late has been somewhat lacking. I do have some reasonable excuses though; climbing trips, impromptu trips to Austin to visit friends, and injuries. Injury has perhaps been the biggest hindrance; I think it has somehow breed laziness as it has kept me from several runs.

I recently started having knee problems while running. I would end up getting pain on the left side of my left knee. This would happen a few miles into my runs after being warmed up. All sorts of theories as to what might have been wrong were going through my head as I researched online, but what the actual problem ended up being was something I had never heard of -  IT Band. Scientifically known was iliotibal band syndrome. IT Band is the tissue that covers the knee and runs up the thigh to the glutes. Essentially this muscle is getting stretched, thus pulling along the part that covers the knee causing the lateral pain.

A sports medicine doctor diagnosed me with the problem, which I am thankful for, but I was a bit perplexed after my follow up visit when he asked me to come back again on a daily basis. I’m pretty sure he was just wanting money in his pocket. If a doctor tells you you need this be cautious. You MIGHT need it, but from my research lots of stretching, ice and warm epsom salt baths do the trick. I have yet to take an epsom salt bath for mine, but I am now at the point that I feel like stretching is all I need.

Since I have been stretching better before and after runs my IT band really isn’t bothering me anymore. It is still somewhat of a problem, but I am at about 80% now. I am also interested in foam rolling as mentioned by Matt over at No Meat Athlete. I also have planter problems on my left foot so will likely start using a tennis ball to massage and stretch that. Now, it may sound like I’m one injured dude right now, but from what I have heard it’s all because I’m a new runner and it’s something all new runners go through.

Because of the injury and recent trips I have been running less. It seems to have decrease my motivation. Even last night I almost skipped my run. On my way home from work I ended up having to stop by the grocery store, and after that was just feeling lazy and stayed home. But, after a few hours of siting around I couldn’t take it anymore; I threw on my running shoes and hit the pavement – knocking out 4+ miles with a pace of 9:18. It’s strange, even though I have been inured my last two runs have been pretty fast.

My five mile run the other day (9:13 pace) was just under the pace (9:15) I will need to meet my 2 hour goal for the Dallas White Rock Marathon (running the half marathon). I was beginning to start thinking I wasn’t going to be able to meet the goal because of the injury, taking trips and being distracted by the new road bike I got (but that has helped in some ways). I am excited to get back on track though. I plan on getting a long run in this weekend. So far 10 miles has been my longest run, but seeing as how that was several weeks ago I will likely keep this weekends run under 10 miles.

Training for this half marathon has been pretty exciting. The other day my roommate suggested I just got for the full marathon, but I really don’t think I am mentally ready for that yet, nor am I sure I want to dedicate more time to train for the longer distance. I have already taken up cycling on top of running, and now both of those are competing with climbing – which is my true love. I had always secretly made fun of other climbers that also ran, cycled and had other hobbies on top of climbing. In my mind I didn’t want anything competing with that, but now I find myself right where they are and understand them a bit more.

So far, I have not let any of these interfere with my climbing trips, but my guess is there will eventually be a race scheduled for the same weekend as a climbing trip and then I will find myself conflicted and torn, but at the same time I will be enjoying one of them. Running and cycling may have been the smartest things I have decided to do for my health. Since beginning to do those things I am starting to feel even healthier than when I started a vegetarian diet. Now, with that said I am a firm believer that man can not add to his days, I don’t do these things to live longer, I simply do them because I enjoy them and they help me enjoy the days I have more fully. Just because God controls all things doesn’t eliminate human responsibility, and I believe we are called to take care of what he has given us, even our bodies.

Climbing, Cross Training, Health & Fitness, Running by OrganicClimber
Climbing, Cross Training, cycling, dallas white rock, fitness, God, half marathon, iliotibal band syndrome, IT band, knee pain, lateral, marathon, Running, stretching
1 comment

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Since writing my post Starting to Run I have not really mentioned my running, so I thought I would take a moment to speak to that. I am officially registered for the Dallas White Rock Half Marathon and will also be running the Dallas YMCA Turkey Trot eight-mile run. So far my training has been going pretty well.

With the help of some friends and fellow blogger No Meat Athlete I have been able to put together a training schedule that is working pretty well for me. It does end up getting shifted around some though since I am out of town a lot for my climbing trips, but for the most part this is what my schedule looks like.

Sunday: Rest Day
Monday: 3.5-4 mile run (I sometimes climb this day too)
Tuesday: Rest Day
Wednesday: Climbing Day (I may run this day too if I won’t be able to Thursday)
Thursday: 4-5 mile run
Friday: Rest Day, Climbing if no social engagement interferes
Saturday: Long run (so far I have worked up to 8.5 miles)

This past Saturday was my longest run to-date, 8.5 miles. It seems I have been saying that every weekend for the past few weeks. I will likely continue to say that until I reach my 13.1-mile goal. Who knows, at the rate I have been going I may end up surpassing that. I have been quite surprised with my overall fitness level. I really think it has a lot to do with my diet; eating clean, whole organic foods has given me a tremendous boost of energy and has contributed to my overall good health.

Anyway, last Saturday’s run was quite interesting. I went to bed around 11 p.m. with rain pounding my bedside window, and when I woke up the rain was still failing. Despite the rain I decided to complete my planned 8-mile trail run. Once I arrived in the parking lot I encountered some members of the University of North Texas Cross Country team that had just finished their run. They were soaking wet with mud covered shoes and calves. I knew I was going to be in for a fun time!

My overall pace was slower than I have been, but I was spending lots of time dodging puddles and trying not to slip in the mud. It was also raining for most of the run, but only a light rain. Earlier in the morning it had been pouring, just before I arrived the sky opened up and it was really coming down hard for about 30 seconds. That is probably why the UNT track team looked so drenched.

Once I hit the 8-mile mark I decided to run just a bit further. I picked a spot off in the distance and told myself I would run there and then turn around. I ended up adding an extra half-mile to the eight I had planned on running. I paid the price too, not too long after that I started feeling weak and tired, so I backed off a bit until I re-gained some energy and was able to finish off about as strong as I started.

I have yet to add speed workouts and hills to my regime, but plan on doing so in the near future. I need to do some more research before taking that on. But so far it looks like I am on track with being able to finish the half marathon, and in two hours or less – that is my time goal. Even though I know it’s best not to have a time goal for your first half marathon I feel that at my current fitness level that is very attainable. Plus, it gives me more to work towards, giving me less opportunity to slack off.

Upcoming Races

Since starting writing this blog earlier today I heard about an upcoming race in early October taking place in the Wichita Mountains in Oklahoma. If I end up entering the race, I will be running the 10K race as part of the Spirit of Survival Marathon (also a Boston Qualifying event). From the looks of the race video it appears to be a fairly flat and scenic course. Hopefully I can round up some people to make the trip up there with me. It would be a good prep race before I run the Dallas White Rock Half Marathon in December. I’m also entering the Dallas YMCA Turkey Trot as a training race as well.

The dates of these races work out perfect too! None of the interfere with my climbing schedule! I will be sure to post results after those races and make more updates about my training. As far as benefits running has made to my climbing go, I have noticed a substantial improvement in my ability to hike up and down hills to get to the climbing locations and I’m no longer winded at the end of routes. Not only am I enjoying running, but I enjoy how it helps improve my climbing!

Cross Training, Health & Fitness, Running by OrganicClimber
Cross Training, denton, Green Belt Trail, half marathon, marathon, Running, trail
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