Running to Catch Up - Marine Corp Marathon & the Army Marathon Team

So here I am, back again. The last 2 months have been incredibly busy and there is a lot for me to catch up on. The Marine Corp Marathon...what I have been training for since the beginning of summer, was ultimately a success. I recorded a personal record time for myself, 2:30:01, but my tracking time online recorded a 2:29:59...regardless, it's faster than my 2:32:50 recorded less than a year ago. Although I feel that my 3rd marathon (Philadelphia Marathon 2006; 2007) was a success, I definitely made some vital mistakes that cost me big time in the end. Below and to the right is a picture of me during the Marine Corp Marathon, taken by a photographer. I am in a white Army tank top with black shorts, out front in the lead pack, second from the right. This was mistake #2, which was at around mile 8 during the marathon. I will go in depth about this and other lessons learned later on throughout the discussion.

Before I go into my Marine Corp Marathon experience, I would like to first like to go into something just a little more important. Christie and I decided to take our future together into the next level, and on our big anniversary, I proposed! We decided to travel down to Pittsburgh for our weekend anniversary and check out Station Square, preceded by an amazing dinner at the Belle Vista Ristorante. It just so happened to be that our anniversary landed on the same weekend of Pittsburgh 250th Anniversary, so we were able to enjoy massive fireworks, evidently larger than the July 4th fireworks, later that evening. We stayed at an incredible hotel for the weekend with a very relaxing jacuzzi. Definitely the best weekend we've ever had together!! Although we have not yet set a date, we have a pretty good idea on the the time frame of when we want to tie the knot. To the left is a picture of Christie and I during our weekend anniversary and engagement.

There is quite a bit for me to catch up with, but I am still determined to one day publish this online blog as a book, we'll see where it takes me, but at least I have a lot to discuss and examine. If you would like to view the results of the Marine Corp Marathon, please go to the top-ten results page.

So about 2 months ago I finally got a response from the Army Marathon Team. I had been trying to contact the coach for the team and was unsuccessful on several attempts. At one point I had nearly given up, but I located one of the athlete's e-mail and decided to make contact. I finally got a response and within 2 weeks I received orders to run the Marine Corp Marathon for the team. It turned out to be extremely convenient for me because I had already signed up to run the Marine Corp Marathon through a charity organization, Team Semper Fi. Once I got the orders, it was game on. By the time I received the orders, I already had less than a month left before the marathon, and I was scheduled to go down from 23 October until 27 October, having race day on Sunday 26 October. The training had went extremely well leading up to the marathon. I did my last race before the marathon on 28 September, which was the "10k Great Race" in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I knew I was in pretty good shape after the 10k.

The Great Race had well over 6,000 competitors, and I finished a respective 4th place overall in a personal record time of 31:33, according to the online results. After the race was over, my feet were on fire. I used the Asics Gel-Piranhas, also know as "white fire." It is Asics fastest racing shoe, but it was a worn down pair and there was definitely not adequate support. It was the same shoe I used in 2007 for the Philadelphia Marathon as well as the Marine Corp Marathon in 2008, which was Mistake #1. I will discuss later.

Anyways, after the finish of the Great Race, and before I elaborate on the overall experience, I would just like to clarify that I felt that absolute, most immense pain ever after a 10k race. It wasn't the fact that I had run a PR by over 2 minutes, but rather my feet felt like they were literally on fire. Even prior to the race, I was a little distraught because I did not get very much sleep the night before. It was a Saturday night at Mercyhurst College, which happened to fall on alumni weekend. All my college friends were up to visit, and since I don't get to see most of them now as much as I like, I wanted to spend as much time with them as possible.

I ended up going to bed at around midnight and woke up a 0600 the next morning for a 2 hour drive down to Pittsburgh. I had near perfect directions, or so I thought, to the exact location of the race, but I am not sure if anyone has ever tried to navigate in Pittsburgh without a GPS, but it's damn near impossible if you aren't familiar with the area. I arrived in downtown Pittsburgh at approximately 0800, but I needed to get on the other side of town to arrive at the starting line. Inevitably, I ended up getting lost, but I still had a good hour and a half before the start of the race. Well, minutes went by and I was still lost.

I decided to call my mom for further directions, thinking that she would be more familiar with the area than I was, but I was without any luck for the time being. By 0900 I was still lost with only a half hour before the start of the race. At this point in time, I was starting to panic a little, thinking to myself, "I am going to drive down here to Pittsburgh for 2 hours, miss the race, and then have to find my way back to the highway and drive another 2 hours back." The thought made me furious and my adrenaline started to boost. Five minutes went by and I knew I was at least in the area, but I did not see any runners, or signs for the race. Exactly 15 minutes before the race started I saw a lone runner jogging around with a bib number on his tank top and I asked him frantically, "where the hell is the starting line for the Great Race." I didn't mean to sound rude, but he obviously took it that way and just simply pointed up ahead.

I quickly found the nearest parking spot, slapped on my flats for the race, ripped off my shirt, and bolted towards the starting line. I didn't even care at that point about going to the registration and finding my bib number, I just wanted to run the 10k, be done with it, and make the journey back home. I was lucky however, and to the right of the thousands of runners in front of me was the registration. I knew I didn't have any more than 5 minutes before the race would start. I pinned on my bib number in a fury and luckily the race had the new technology of a "sticker-chip" to put on my shoes so they could record my time, rather than untying my shoe laces for the old fashioned timing chip. By the time I stuck my chip on my shoe, the starting gun was fired and I bolted towards the front.

Practically running over slower runners, I made my way up to the lead pack. My adrenaline was like never before and the pace of the lead pack seemed rather slow for my liking, so why not just take the lead. I went through the first mile in a brisk 4:52 and felt great. I maintained throughout the race, going through the second mile in 9:45 and then 3 miles in 15:00. At around the 5k mark, I was passed by Ryan Place, the eventual winner, and then by a Georgia Tech alumni. Mile 4 was slightly uphill and I fell from a 5 minute pace down to a 5:22. I went through 5 miles in 25:22 exactly when another runner tried making a move on me for third. Starting to falter a little bit, I answered his challenge and we ran neck and neck up through mile 6. With close to 400 meters left in the race we were both in a dead sprint for third. Unfortunately he has just a little more in the gas tank than and I ended up getting out-kicked, as usual, and finished 4th overall with a time of 31:33.

Now, as I was before, once the race was over I kept pacing around from various spot to spot, trying to get the burning sensation out of feet. I would walk around for 3-4 minutes, then sit down on a bench for another 3-4 minutes, trying to alleviate the pain. Neither tactic seemed to be a valid solution. I decided to get some water bottles and dowse my feet, but not even cold Aquafina could cure my ailment. In the midst of my dilemma a lady approached me and asked if she could sit down with me and ask a few questions about the race. Of course I agreed, hoping it would take my mind off of my fire feet. She informed me that she was from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and wanted to ask me how the race went. I could have told her my entire story, but I decided not to take up the entire article. Ryan Place had finished first place overall with a very respectable time of 30:45, and it was his day and his race. I won't go in great detail about the interview. It was short and to the point. Below is the short excerpt she wrote online for the Tribune;

Foster, 22, of Brookville, finished fourth.

"I started closing in on the third-place kid, but he outkicked me at the end," said Foster, also racing in his first Great Race. "My legs were just shot at the end. There wasn't much I could do."

Well for now I'm going to take a short break. I ended up covering a little more than what I thought I would have about the Great Race, but it was a great experience, a fast race, and I highly recommend anyone who wants to run a fast 10k, do the Great Race in Pittsburgh. Just be sure that if you do not know the area, either take a GPS, or get better directions than I on Google Maps.

I will write another blog post later on down the road about the Marine Corp Marathon. I was interviewed after that race as well, so I am just going to simply leave that article on my blog, be lazy, and not type my own experience....for now. I will be back, but I want to dedicate these last couple of thoughts to Christie. The time now is 0137 in the morning and today she will be running the PSAC (Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference) Regional Championship in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania. Horribly, I am not able to attend the race and cheer her on because I am currently at Fort Benning, Georgia for Army training. It's been a whole 8 days since the last time I saw her and it seems like an eternity. She has had one incredible cross country season, placing 4th at the Notre Dame Catholic Championship with a time of 18:11 for 5,000 meters, and last week she placed 3rd overall at the PSAC Conference Championship with a time of 21:21 for 6,000 meters. I want to wish you good luck sweetheart and I know you will do amazing. Regardless of later today, you have had the most impressive cross country season and I am so proud of all of your accomplishments. I will be thinking of you all day tomorrow! I love you always!


Marine Corp Marathon Interview:


Tim Hipps summed up the interview with an online article saying,

U.S. Army 2nd Lt. Kenneth Foster set the pace for a lead pack of five runners through the first 11 miles. He finished 10th overall in 2:29:59 and was the first Army Soldier to cross the finish line.

‘‘I just started running for the All-Army marathon team and this is my first Marine Corps Marathon,” said Foster, 22, who ran four seasons of cross country for Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pa., where he holds the 10-kilometer school record of 33:25. ‘‘I’m also trying to qualify for the Army World Class Athlete Program.“

Foster ran the 2006 Philadelphia Marathon in 2:43:41 and completed the 2007 chase around the City of Brotherly Love in 2:32:50. At Marine Corps, he knocked almost three more minutes off his personal-best time.

‘‘I was on the lead pack for the first 12 miles — then my pace started to drift off, but I was really happy with the way I performed today,” said Foster, whose sights are set on qualifying for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Marathon Team Trials. ‘‘That’s been my goal ever since I was a freshman in college. When I was younger, I was a little bit naive and I wanted to be the new Steve Prefontaine and dominate the 5K, but I just never had that turnover, so that led me to the marathon.”

The Great Race

http://kdka.com/video/?id=46785@kdka.dayport.com

Marine Corp Marathon - Team Semper Fi

I must say, it has been quite some time in which I have been able to dedicate a solid block of time and update some of the information in my blog. Recently I have been hard at work across the board. At the job and running as well. I have increased my mileage to about 80 miles a week. I'm running at least 11 -15 miles a day, with my longer runs reaching upwards of 18-20 miles. I have decreased the amount of racing to about once every 2 weeks, concentrating on tempo mileage and speed workouts of 1 and 2 mile repeats. Frankly speaking, I can run a sub-5 mile on the track in my sleep and I feel rather comfortable running a 2-mile in under 10 minutes. I've ran a couple of cross country invites the past few weeks as an independent runner. I felt apart, however, 2 weeks ago at the Cal U XC Invite, running a 27:44 on a moderately hilly course and coming in 15th place against moderate competition. Here are the results: Cal U
Just this last Saturday, however, I ran about the same mileage for the week, (80) and still found enough strength in my legs to take the individual title. Here are the results: Penn State Behrend

I am finally all signed up and ready to go for the Marine Corp Marathon on Sunday, October 26th, 2008. I am running for a charity organization, called Team Semper Fi, which benefits injured Marines from Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as their families. Since I am affiliated with Team Semper Fi, I am required to raise a total of $300.00 for donations. If anyone is interested in donating for this charity organization, please visit my website at http://www.active.com/donate/teamsemperfi08/KFoster103

So far I have raised $565.00 and over my $300.00 goal, but the amount of funds needed for our injured troops is limitless. Thank you very much for any donations made through my website. I have almost exactly a month and a half left in Erie, Pennsylvania before I leave for Georgia. I must admit, it is not the most exciting feeling. I have lived in Erie, Pennsylvania for nearly 4 1/2 years now, going to college and working in the area...I will be sad to say goodbye to Erie, Pennsylvania. More importantly, I will be extremely sad to tell Christie, "I will see you soon."

Out

The Kinzua Country Tango

I can't believe it has almost been 2 weeks since I competed in the Kinzua Country Tango, two Saturdays ago, on the 2nd of August. What an event! The Friday before the race, one of my college friends and cross country teammate married my other college friend and cross country teammate. I would like to congratulate Nate Smith and Carrie Franze on their marriage and future journey through life together! The reception was amazing and I wish I could have stayed a lot longer, but I had business to take care of the next morning in Warren, Pennsylvania. I took Christie down with me to the reception in Pittsburgh, stayed until 8:00 p.m., and then I drove up to Warren while Christie headed back up to Erie for work the next morning. It was not the most convenient time for me to be doing upwards of 20+ mileage the next morning, especially with all the driving involved, but I had already committed to my tango team as their half-marathoner, their land navigator (orienteering), and 4-miler. The Kinzua Tango is comprised of a half marathon which starts at approximately 7 a.m., then a 20 mile bike consisting of non-technical mountain bike trails and National Forest roads. The next leg is a 2.2 mile swim followed by a relatively elevated orienteering course spanning over 6 miles of wooded area. The final two legs of the tango is a 4.5 mile run and an 8 mile canoe. There are individual and team entries. The photo above is an image of the Kinzua Dam, which the half marathoners run by around mile 10.

I did not arrive in Warren, Pennsylvania until after midnight on the eve of the Kinzua Tango. Thanks to Thad Turner, the executive director of the Warren YMCA, I was able to sleep in the gymnasium of the YMCA so I did not have to wake up until 30 minutes before the half marathon started. I have known Thad, when he was the exec. director at Brookville, since I was in elementary when I would go to the Brookville YMCA and play basketball at all hours of the day and night. I ended up sleeping on a gymnastics mat that night in the gymnasium, texting Christie and telling her that I had made it up to Warren OK, and I eventually fell asleep on the gymnastics mat later on, using my running t-shirts as a sad excuse for a pillow. That night I was just hoping to get as much sleep as possible for the long day that awaited me in less than 7 hours.

Unfortunately, I was awakened before 6 a.m. by a frightened morning worker who Thad must have not informed that I was sleeping over. Evidently she saw a limp body on the floor of the gymnasium and thought I was either dead or homeless. Nope, just a tango runner who didn't feel like driving the morning of the race. Needless to say, I didn't get back to sleep after I was startled by the bewildered morning worker. I decided it would be best to grab a vitamin water and a banana and start preparing for the 13.1 miles that awaited me.

The half marathon started right on time at 7 a.m. and by mile 3, the race was between me and a runner from Duquesne, Mike Stolar. I felt pretty damn good in the earlier portion of the race. I ended up gapping Stolar by 6 miles only to have him close back in on me at the only hill of the half marathon at mile 9. I don't know what the hell happened to me running up the hill at mile 9, but my running collapsed and my 5:30 pace quickly fell. I didn't recovered completely until about 800 meters after I crested the hill, and by that time instead of looking towards the finish line, I was looking at the back of Stolar. I still had 10 miles of racing after the half marathon, so I closed the gap as much as possible, but still finished behind Stolar at the end of the half marathon. I finished the half in exactly 1 hour and 13 minutes, tagging my cyclist at the finish line. By the time our swimmer came in, our team had taken over 1st place and I went into the woods with my orienteering partner. We struggled to find the first point, which ended up costing us a good half hour, but we trekked through the hilly terrain pretty quickly and found points 2,3, and 4, back tracking a few times until we found the points. It ended up taking us another 15 minutes once we arrived at the first point again and locate it, and another 15 minutes to run back to the start so I could run my additional 4.5 miles. We came out of the woods in 4th place, with an orienteering time of 2 hours. By that time I had run over 20 miles, the latter half all in wooded terrain. I grabbed a gatorade, half a banana, and headed back out on the road. I was pretty disgusted at myself for letting my team down in the orienteering, so I tried making up for whatever time I could in the 4.5 mile run. I crossed the line and tagged the canoe team in the same place in which I had left. Our team ended up finishing the tango in 4th place overall as a team and I was happy to have run over 24 miles within a time frame of 4 hours without too much difficulty, or at least without an injury.

I highly recommend the Kinzua Tango for anyone interested in competing in an adventure race of some sort. The half marathon portion of the race is on a paved road which goes through the Kinzua National Forest, passing the Kinzua Dam around mile 10. The Kinzua Tango was a great stepping stone for myself. It was excellent training for the Marine Corp Marathon I will be competing in on October 26, 2008. I have a solid 2 1/2 months before the Marine Corp Marathon, so this next month and a half will have plenty of training miles to come.

Semi-Serious

I have not recently had the chance to post a new blog for a while, mostly because my summer schedule has been pretty hectic and I'm constantly active. I think actually taking the time to record my thoughts and insights on this web-page will be a true challenge, but I will try my best to stay consistent. Before I begin my story on the recent adventure in Warren, PA, the Kinzua Tango, which I will blog about later on this week, I am going to give whatever audience I have at this time a little insight on the book I will hopefully be authoring in the years to come. Right now it is at the very beginning stages, but the title of it is Semi-Serious. I have not yet conjured up the subtitle of the book, but it will be based on exactly what I am typing here on the blog.

Semi-Serious will include not just the joy of running and winning the races, or going the extra mile, but it will also focus on the hardships of running. Hardships such as the injuries, the defeats, the muscle soreness, and the days when running just seems illogical, but also necessary when you're goal-oriented and are not deterred by cramps and fatigue to accomplish what you have sought out from the beginning. What I have learned from running cross country and track in high school to running now after the collegiate level is that if you are true to bettering yourself and have a passion for what you do, your goals will change and reach limits unfathomable compared to earlier stages. For instance, my first two-mile in track of my sophomore year, I ran 12:26. That was the first time I had ever run a race longer than a mile, and I thought it would be rediculous to run anything under 12 minutes. But the other veteran track athletes on the distance squad were running under 11:30, which to me at the time seemed ungodly.

That (sophomore) year of track I ran 11:55 in the last regular season meet, not even coming close to qualifying for the two mile event in the District IX track and field meet. After cross country in the fall of my junior year, I returned to the track and ran a respectable 11-flat in the two mile scrimmage against a rival Bradford team. I would go on that year to qualify for the District meet, placing 2nd in the 2-mile at Districts, running an astonishing 10:23 in the two mile and breaking the 5-minute barrier in the one-mile. I could have never been happier about my performance that junior year of track, but I was just getting a taste of things to come. I wanted the school record, which at the time of my sophomore year, seemed as if it were impossible. A 10:04 two-mile record was held in the two-mile by a distance runner from Brookville back in the early 1980s. I was only 20 seconds away, so that summer I decided to set my goal for a sub-10 two mile, and with a solid cross country season and a little extra cardio-work in the winter, my name is now on the Brookville track record for the two mile with a time of 9:51. However, I missed the state-qualifying time of 9:48 by a meager 3 seconds, and since I was out-kicked at the end by Ben Hahn, who now runs for Edinboro University, I can honestly validate the bitter-sweet story of running. I never could have imagined at the very beginning of my sophomore track season of running a 9:51 in the two-mile, but I also think it is a considerably difficult goal to run a sub-9 two mile. But can it be done? Of course!
So, I decided that I am going to post all of the races that I have done online here at this blog site. Whether the time is respectable or not, I will share with the audience my ups and downs of racing competitively. You can see the races in which I absolutely bombed, and the other races, when comparing times, I faired well. Any race that I happen to find in which I competed and my overall time is posted online, I will share on this site.
Before I leave I will share a favorite quote. "
Perhaps one of my favorite not stated by Steve Prefontaine is one by Tom Fleming:

"Somewhere in the world someone is training when you are not. When you race him, he will win."

Presque Isle Half Marathon

Today was the half marathon that I have been waiting for since the summer began. The conditions today were almost perfect for the middle of July. There was a light drizzle in the morning, but held off by the time the race began to keep the air cool, but damp. The half marathon took place at Presque Isle in Erie, Pennsylvania at 7:30 a.m. Before the start of the race I did not see anyone who seemed like they would give me much competition, but then a fellow runner I have raced against before joined me at the starting line by the name of Jake Walker. We shook hands before the starting line and asked each other what times we were shooting for. I was in hopes of a sub-1:10 half marathon earlier today and he was looking for a 1:08. As the gun went off we ran the first third of the race side-by-side. We went through the first mile in 5:08, but I knew I should have stayed honest to myself and stuck to my 5:20 pace. I have been running quite well as of late, but I have been running 5k's and doing 400m/800m repeats with 3-4 mile repeats at the track, not the kind of workouts fit for a half marathon. I felt great at the start and wanted to see how long I could stay with this guy and maybe I could surprise myself. I tried staying on Jake's heels at the beginning, clipping through the 3 mile mark at 15:30 and through 4 miles in 21 flat. The next two miles my breathing started to increase more than my liking, and my pace started to slow by 6 miles, coming through at 32 minutes flat. By the 7.5 mile mark, I had lost pace with Jake and I started to really feel the consequences of going out at a faster pace than I had expected.

I had a fellow cross country team member, Leif Schmidt, bike the half marathon at my side when Jake was...well...just too fast! Leif kept me honest with my pace for the most part, but he really helped me out when he told me that he noticed my form was going to shit. With Leif biking at my side, I went through 10 miles in just under 55 minutes, but I really didn't break completely until mile 11. Between mile 11 and 12, I ran just under a horrid 6-minutes for my mile split, and I felt as if there was nothing I could about it. Probably one of my worst attributes as a long-distance runner is the fact that I run up on my toes. So as I am sitting here typing, it is not my quads that are in extreme pain, it's instead my much smaller calve muscles. Every step began to hurt, but I could not believe that this extremely flat, 13.1 mile course was taking as much a toll on my legs as it was. If it had been another 5k, I could have gutted on the pain in my calves because it would only last me for a little over 15 minutes. However, I didn't adjust to the half marathon distance, and I paid the price. I finally finished in 2nd place overall with a time of 1 hour 12 minutes and 43 minutes (5:33 per mile). Jake continued his grueling pace and finished first, for what I later found out was his first half marathon ever in 1 hour 7 minutes and 54 seconds (5:11 per mile).

I was a little disheartened that I did not hit my sub 1:10 time for a half marathon, or even come close to it, but I did run a personal best for a half marathon, and I dropped almost a full 3 minutes from my half marathon in Cooks Forest in late March. I will be heading back to the track later on this week to continue my "speed" training. I ran a 15:29 5k at the Fredonia 5k last Wednesday, and I would like to get under 15 minutes by the end of the summer. I have a little over a month to go until September rolls around to accomplish my 5k goal. September will be my highest mileage month as I prepare for my marathon in October. As for now, I am running a 5k in about two and a half weeks, with plenty of speed workouts in between.

I will call this a night since I have work in a.m.
Out.

Blog Training - Day 1

So today is my first day of training and also recording some insight. I've concluded that this (blogging) is an excellent tool for runners to let themselves disperse their thoughts in a collective way. Although this is the first day of recording some of my running online...although I also use "Google Docs" to record my mileage...I am in the midst of my marathon training for the summer. I'm going to be well over 70 miles for the week. Yesterday I did some mile repeats. I notice that yesterday was definitely by far the most sluggish my legs have felt thus far this summer. Regardless, I was still running my splits a hell of a lot faster than in June. I've grown akin to not just doing mile repeats, but incorporating 200 meter repeats, along with 400s and 800s. I don't usually do 1200 meter repeats though for some reason. I guess I would just rather go that extra lap.

Yesterday I was hitting my 200s in about 30-32 seconds. I only did 4 total. I figure 200s are a good way to wakeup the legs. It wasn't until halfway through my 800 meter repeats until I realized that my legs did not feel fresh at all. Nonetheless, when I went through the first lap in 67 seconds, I was under my 2:20 mark for an 800 meter repeat. I did 2x800m repeats. The first in 2:16 and the second in 2:20. In between the 800s I did 2 mile repeats. The first in 4:50 and the 2nd in 4:49. They weren't the fastest mile repeats I've done this summer, but at least I ran them at a consistent pace. After the 2 mile repeats I took some extra time on the track to let my legs recover for a bit. I wanted to run this last mile repeat at least in the vicinity of 4:50. I took off a little faster than normal...I knew this would be my last mile repeat for the evening. Went through the halfway point exactly in 2:20. Great! The third lap was a little slower feeling the lactic acid starting to settle in. I push forward however and ignore the quickening of my respiratory system. This hasn't been one of my superman workouts, but I'm determined to finish strong. As I hit the final 100 meters of the track I just let loose. Click the watch as I cross the line in 4:44. I'm happy...or content would be a better word I guess. I finish with a cool down and stretching. When it's all said and done I put in a solid 10 1/2 miles for the day.

Usually the day after I do a good speed workout I like to run at a long distance and at a fast tempo. Penn State Behrend is approximately five miles from where I currently reside, so I have created a nice 10 mile loop for myself. I've run this loop probably about 4 times so far this summer. I usually do it once every other week and like to run it faster each time. As soon as I started my watch today I could tell that this run probably wasn't going to be as promising as I would typically like. Usually when I do a speed workout the day before, the next day my legs do feel a little tired, but also responsive in a sense because in stead of running at sub-5 minute pace, they are now running at either a high 5-minute pace or a low 6-minute pace. Today felt as if I was going at 7-minute pace, but hell, I cross the half way point in a little over 29 minutes, and the 2nd half is a little quicker on the way back. I pick up the pace a little on the way back, feeling revived by the notice of my watch that even though I feel like a slug, I'm running like a stud, haha. I finish the 10 mile loop in exactly 57:38 and start my cool down.

Maybe this is a good sign for the half-marathon coming up in exactly 10 days (July 20th). I'm running the Presque Isle half-marathon next Sunday. I want to get myself over 70 miles for the week and then take next week easier than the norm. I do notice a slight twitch in my achilles-tendon. I'm hoping to run the half-marathon in 1:12 at least, but I would really like to run a sub-1:10 and start hitting the pace for the qualifying time for the Marathon Olympic Trials. I ran a half-marathon in late March in 1:15:39, but the course had a nasty hill at the end and I ended up puking my Gatorade infested stomach half-way up. You can check out the results below:

http://runhigh.com/2008%20Results/2008%20Results%20A/R032908BD.html

I think I am going to stick with the speed workouts and tempo runs for right now. I would really like to get my 5k time down to sub-15. My PR just came a little over a week ago in 15:24 back near my hometown in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. My girlfriend, Christie, also ran her PR for the 5k. She's definitely the most impressive story between the two of us. She decided to run cross country for the first time in her life a little over a year ago. She had never been in a competitive race before her first cross country race last fall. In fact, she passed out the first race from the heat, but then came back the next race at the Notre Dame Catholic Cross Country Championships and ran a respectable 20:57. Last Wednesday...in Punxsutawney...she ran 18:26! Hopefully the success continues and the times keep getting lower for us both. Out.

This will first be an experiment.

Wow. Pretty cool stuff. I've read about blogging(i.e. "The World is Flat" by Thomas Friedman great book!), heard about blogger.com, but have never really felt the need to create a blog. Since this is my first blog I'm not going to bother typing any questions, comments, gripes or complaints. This is quite new to me right now and I'm sure I'll become more accustomed to this whole new way of exercising thoughts, experiences and virtues, but I guess I'll just kind of tell the audience reading a little about myself.

My name is Kenny Foster. I'm originally from a small town called Brookville, Pennsylvania. I recently graduated from Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pennsylvania. I graduated with a degree in Intelligence Studies, and I now currently work for the US Government. I ran four exciting years of cross country at Mercyhurst and now I'm faced with the challenge of still bettering myself without the hopes of collegiate competition. What helps more than anything with this challenge is the fact that I have an amazing girlfriend who shares a common passion with me. We both love to run. Since I titled my blog "My Running High", that is primarily what this blog will be about. Perhaps I will even publish these blogs one day and make a book out of it, who knows.

I'm currently training for the Marine Corp Marathon in hopes of joining a marathon team that I may or may not discuss later on down the road, but for right now...it's just a "marathon team." I've ran the Philadelphia Marathon twice. My first time running the 26.2 mile course I finished with a time of 2:43 and the next year in 2007 I ran the course in 2:32 (5:49 avg. per mile). I have high hopes of running in the Marathon Olympic Trials in 2011, but we will see how things pan out. If I can get under 2:30 for the Marine Corp Marathon I'm confident that I can drop it down to sub-2:20 before 2011.

But that's still a few years down the road, so in the mean time, I'm going to catch a little rest. My legs are pretty sore from the mile repeats I did just a few hours ago. Out.