Chad’s Running Commentary

Hello world! June 4, 2008

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Chicago Hope October 3, 2007

With the Chicago Marathon one week away, I decided to start the final week of preparations on Sunday by squeezing in one last speed workout at the Second Empire 5K Classic in downtown Raleigh. The course for the Second Empire 5K is advertised as one of the fastest in the Triangle, and it certainly lived up to its billing on Sunday. I set a new personal best in the 5K with a time of 21 minutes, 3 seconds in the Second Empire 5K.

I hope my results in the Second Empire 5K bodes well for the Chicago Marathon. Prior to my last marathon in June, I ran a personal best in a 5K race the weekend before, and then went on to PR in the Sunburst Marathon the following weekend. Hopefully the flat, fast course in Chicago will help me take a few more minutes off my marathon PR of 3 hours, 54 minutes.

Bare Bones 5K Race Report May 27, 2007

Before one of the flight training sessions in Top Gun, Maverick and Goose say to one another, “I feel the need, the need for speed.” That’s sort of the way I felt at this morning’s Bare Bones 5K in Sailsbury, N.C.

I think I’m beginning to enter a new phase as a runner. One where I want to push myself further eacth time to see what my full potential is. I’ve dabbled with some speed training earlier this year and the time gains I’ve made in a short time this year make me want to keep pushing to break new boundaries.

Happy Easter April 8, 2007

Matthew 28

The Resurrection

1 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

The Guards’ Report

11 While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. 12 When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, 13 telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ 14 If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” 15 So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.

The Great Commission

16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Da Bears! February 1, 2007

Although, I’m pulling for Indianapolis in Super Bowl XLI this Sunday, the Chicago Bears have certainly left their mark on popular culture over the past 20 years or so.

Who can forget the “Super Bowl Shuffle” rap video the 1985 Bears released prior to dismantling the New England Patriots 46-10 in Super Bowl XX?



And who can forget the Chicago “Superfans” skits on Saturday Night Live, beginning in the early 1990s? They are responsible for making “Da Bears” part of the popular lexicon.



I’m sure the Superfans wouldn’t like my rooting interests for the Colts this Sunday. If they were making Super Bowl picks, their predictions would be something like, Da Bears 107, Colts -4.

Scenes from Sedona January 22, 2007

On Saturday, Jan. 13, the day before the P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Marathon, I drove up Interstate 17 an hour and a half north of Phoenix to visit the town of Sedona, which is known for its spectacular Red Rock formations. Here’s a sampling of some scenes from Sedona.

I really loved these “twin peaks.” Well, “tri peaks” if you want to count the smaller formation off to the left.

Similar to making pictures in the clouds, some of the formations are given names based on objects they resemble. This one is called the “Snoopy Rock.” Can you see the resemblance to Snoopy sleeping on top of his dog house?

And this one is known as the “Bell Rock.”

Here’s the Chapel of the Holy Cross, which appears to rise right out of the red rocks. Completed in 1956 by a pupil of renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright, the chapel is one of the town’s main tourist stops.

The chapel is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and offers a place for prayer, reflection and panoramic views of the formations.

Photos from Phoenix January 17, 2007

Here are some photos from my weekend trip to Phoenix for the P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Marathon, starting with a desert cactus.

Chase Field, home of Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks, located directly across the street from the Phoenix Convention Center, where I had to pick up my race number and packet before the race.

A Mountain. Literally, “A” Mountain on the campus of Arizona State University in Tempe.

A familiar face in the desert. It’s Herb Sendek, former North Carolina State University men’s basketball coach who is in his first season coaching the Sun Devils.

Wait a minute, this is Phoenix, not Philly. But after the marathon I could yell, “Yo, Adrian! I did it!”

Didn’t eat here, so I can’t vouch for the restaurant’s claim. The official name is Kid Chilleen’s Bad Ass BBQ & Steakhouse, and it’s located on exit 244 off of Interstate 17 in Arizona.

Self portrait with a cactus. I couldn’t leave Arizona without getting a shot of me with a cactus. Unfortunatley, there was no one around to snap a photo, so I had to do it myself. I wanted to explore some other cacti in the area but feared there might be rattlesnakes in the brush. Couldn’t risk a snake bite the day before the big race.

Check back later for another round of pictures from my day trip to Sedona, Ariz., to see some magnificent red rock formations.

P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Marathon Race Report January 16, 2007

For much of Sunday’s P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Marathon, Phoenix’s recognizable Camelback Mountain loomed in the distance on the course. For the 37,000 runners competing in the full and half marathons, the mountain stood as a symbol of reaching the summit of a remarkable athletic achievement For me, the mountain also represented a personal challenge to reach new heights by finishing the 26.2 mile race in 4 hours or less.

A sub 4-hour marathon has been a target of mine for some time, but it wasn’t until I ran a personal best time at the Victory Junction Half Marathon in early December that I began to seriously consider going for the four-hour marathon mark in Phoenix. I incorporated some speedwork into my training plan and following a PR in a New Year’s Resolution 5K run, I believed 4 hours in Phoenix was a realistic possibility.

To eclipse the 4-hour mark exactly, I needed to run each mile of the marathon in 9 minutes, 9 seconds. For good measure, and to build a cushion for the last few gruelling miles when pace times inevitably slow, my goal was to run at a steady 9-minute per mile pace. I logged my first mile in 9:05 and proceeded to run 14 of the next 17 miles under 9-minute goal pace.

I reached the half marathon mark in 1 hour, 55 minutes, 5 minutes ahead of the projected 4-hour pace. Over the next eight miles (miles 14-21), I increased my time cushion to nearly 6 minutes, but I knew that I would have to tap into those reserves before the race would end.

Then, over the final five miles, it hit — the wall, and the time came to tap into those reserves. My pace slowed considerably. Mile 22 in 9:35. Mile 23 in 9:43. Mile 24 in 9:45. My legs hurt. My mind wandered and wondered, how much farther to the next mile marker? Prayers were uttered.

The last two miles were the hardest, toughest and longest. Mile 25 in 10:27. Mile 26 in 10:26. My time cushion that was once nearly 6 minutes was down to less than 2 minutes. But only two-tenths of a mile separated me from the sub 4-hour marathon finish. As I rounded the final turn at Arizona State’s Sun Devil Stadium, I summoned what little energy and strength I had remaining to cross the finish line in an official time of 3 hours, 58 minutes, 11 seconds.

Following the race, I was too exhausted physically and mentally to appreciate the fact that I had scaled the 4-hour summit. The feelings of accomplishment didn’t begin to sink in until the plane ride back to Raleigh yesterday. The P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Marathon was by far my most complete race to date, from the training (adding speedwork), to my race-day strategy (maintaining a steady pace rather than going out too fast) to post-race recovery (walking and icing).

The flat course no doubt helped me reach my goal, as did the unseasonably cool (OK, downright cold) temperatures. The temperature at the start was only 32 degrees — which I learned later was the coldest temperature on record in Phoenix in 17 years. Despite the cold, the skies were clear and sunny for the race, and temperatures reached a high in the low 50s. It was warmer back home in North Carolina (70s) over the weekend than it was in Phoenix (50s), which made me wonder, isn’t this supposed to be the Valley of the Sun?

I guess I should stop trying to plan warm weather destinations for winter marathons, because the same thing happened to me at the Disney World Marathon last January. I was greeted by similar conditions there — unseasonably cold weather for Orlando in January and a temperatures in the low 30s at the start. Hopefully, I’ll get some good springtime weather for the inaugural Georgia Marathon at the end of March, which is my next step on the 50-50-50 Challenge.

Sub 4:00 January 14, 2007

Logging in from my hotel in Tempe, Ariz. I’ll have a complete race report and recap of my weekend in Phoenix when I return, but I wanted to let everyone know that I met my goal of finishing the P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Marathon in less than 4 hours. My unofficial time was 3 hours, 58 minutes, 14 seconds.

Ready to Rock January 12, 2007

The training is complete, the taper is over and the bags are packed…well, almost packed. I’m boarding a plane for Phoenix, Ariz., in the morning to run in Sunday’s P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Marathon. This will make marathon four in my 50-50-50 Challenge, and my goal for the race is to finish in four hours or less, which would be a new personal best. With some speedwork under my belt, I feel ready physically and am trying to focus mentally on the goal. Projected race-day temperatures in the mid-50s should make for perfect running weather. Whether or not I break four hours, I’ll have a race report when I return.