The Rock n’ Roll San Antonio Marathon

My thoughts on the 3rd annual Rock n’ Roll San Antonio Marathon in San Antonio, TX…

Rock n’ Roll San-Antonio Marathon
November 14, 2010
san-antonio.competitor.com

My Run:  Overall, the Rock n’ Roll San Antonio Marathon (RnRSA) was my sixth full marathon, and my second in the last six weeks (Twin Cities Marathon on 10/03).  At Twin Cities, I was going for a Boston qualifying time of 3:15, but came up short. Even so, I still set a new PR of 3:25. For RnRSA, Boston was no longer a priority since it is already sold out for 2011. Additionally, my expectations were scaled back due to lingering problems with patellar tendinitis in my left knee, and IT band pain in my right hip. Because of this I did not run at all during the 4 days immediately preceding the event, and decided that I would wait until Sunday morning to determine my pace based on how I felt. I knew from the expo that there would not be a pace group for 3:25, but only for 3:20 and 3:30. Based on my injuries, I felt like 3:20 would be very aggressive, and really didn’t want to jeopardize the race just because I like running with pace groups.

On the morning of the race, I did a 5 minute warmup run followed by 6 x 100m stride outs. During the warmup, my right hip felt fine, but my left knee was very sore and stiff. I was worried that this would end up being a big problem for the race, but was determined to give it a go regardless. I decided to start out the race at 3:25 pace (7:51 per mile) and see how that felt. I was not wearing a pace band, so my focus was mostly on just making sure that I did not get too fast, and not so much on any specific goal finish time.

Even though the race time was posted as 7:00am, it did not start until 7:15am. Not sure why it was delayed, but this messed up the timing of my pre-race gels, and my knee started to get stiff while waiting in the coral. I tried to keep stretching, but it was hard to move around. However, the weather was perfect with overcast skies and temperatures in the low 50s at race start and high 50s at the finish. That’s about all you could hope for in San Antonio.

As the race started in downtown San Antonio, I did not feel good at all. My knee was sore, and for some reason my heart rate shot up into the mid 170s during the first two miles. Considering that I was hoping to keep my heart rate in the low 160s during the race, this was somewhat alarming. However, after 2 miles my heart rate settled down to my normal race range. Not sure what was going on during the first two miles. Could have been nerves, or could have been the caffeine in the gels I took before the race.

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The Murfreesboro “Middle Half” Marathon

My thoughts on the 4th annual Murfreesboro Middle Half Marathon in Murfreesboro, TN

Murfreesboro Middle Half Marathon
October 16, 2010
www.themiddlehalf.com

My Run:  Overall, the Murfreesboro Middle Half Marathon (Middle Half) in Murfreesboro was my sixth half marathon, and my second long-distance race in the last two weeks (Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon on 10/03).  This was the second time I have run the Middle Half, which is capped at 2,250 runners.  Actually, the Middle Half in 2008 was my first long distance event ever.

I went into this race with absolutely no goals.  Being two-weeks out from the Twin Cities Marathon, I just wanted to do this one by feel.  On top of that, I also had a stomach virus the previous weekend where I lost 4 pounds from my already low post-marathon weight.  With this in mind, I decided to do a 10 to 15 minute warmup before the race, including some stride-outs, and then see what pace felt comfortable.  On race morning the weather was absolutely perfect and I felt surprisingly good.  I decided that I would start the race around a 7:00 to 7:15 min per mile pace, and then go from there.

There were a number of members from my regular running group who also ran in this race.  Many of these are gearing up for the Marine Corps Marathon in two weeks, and were using this race as a good solid tempo run.  My buddy Paxton even turned this into his final long run before Marine Corp, by adding miles before and after the race.  He ran 20 miles in total.

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Gospel Meeting – Old Charlotte Road Church of Christ

Beginning on Sunday, October 10th and continuing through Wednesday, October 13th, I will be preaching at a Gospel Meeting for the Old Charlotte Road Church of Christ in Pegram, TN. You are invited to join us as we look at the following critical questions:

  • Sunday AM Class (9 AM) – How should we observe the Lord’s Supper?
  • Sunday AM Worship (10 AM) – What does it really mean to have faith in Jesus?
  • Sunday PM Worship (6 PM) – Why do we need God’s laws?
  • Monday PM Worship (7 PM) – Where should I build my life?
  • Tuesday PM Worship (7 PM) – What is the cost of discipleship?
  • Wednesday PM Worship (7 PM) – How should we approach God?

The Old Charlotte Road Church of Christ meets at 8663 Old Charlotte Road Pegram, TN 37143. DM me or email me at timagee@yahoo.com for more information.

Please Join Us!

Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon

My thoughts on the 29th annual Twin Cities Marathon in Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN

Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon
October 3, 2010
www.mtcmarathon.org

My Run:  Overall, the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon (MTC) was my fifth full marathon, and my first since the Country Music Marathon in April 2010.  All five of my marathons have been within the past 12 months, with the 2009 Chicago Marathon being my first.  In the first four marathons, I set PRs in 3 of them, improving from 3:53 in Chicago (10/09) to 3:39 in Knoxville (03/10).  Even though I was steadily improving, I knew I needed a better cross training program if I was truly going to take my running to the next level and ultimately qualify for Boston.

With that in mind, I started P90X in June after doing a lot of research into cross training programs.  Even with the improved training I knew that closing a 24-minute gap to qualify for Boston by the MTC in October would be exceptionally difficult.

Throughout my training this summer I began to see steady improvement, and as of August began to think about setting 3:30 as a goal for the MTC depending on the race day conditions.  However, when I stated this goal to someone in our running group, their response back was “You’re faster than that! You should be going for 3:15!”  This was both encouraging and terrifying at the same time.

As August moved into September, our group did a couple of marathon pace indicator workouts, and things seemed to be pointing in the direction of being capable of doing a 3:15. With this in mind, I started increasing the speed of my tempo runs.  My first attempt at a 10-mile tempo run at 3:15 marathon pace was a bust.  I only lasted through 7-miles.  However, my next attempt of 11-miles was very successful.  After discussing this with several members of our running group, I decided to go for it at MTC provided that weather conditions were favorable.

When I woke up on race-day morning, it was 39 degrees, and the highs during the race were only supposed to reach the low 50s.  Perfect conditions!  Unfortunately, there was not a 3:15 pace group, only a 3:10 or 3:20.  At the advice of several from my group, my goal was to run even splits as much as possible, and not try to bank any time.  From their experience, they indicated I would need all of the stamina I could get for the hills beginning at mile 20.

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Looking to Split Nashville Predators Season Tickets

My wife and I currently have 3 full-season tickets to the Nashville Predators for the 2010-2011 season, and are looking to split these tickets with one or more parties.

With our oldest daughter starting kindergarten this year, and what seems like overwhelming time commitments in other areas, it is just not possible for us to attend 41 games any more per season.

These seats are fantastic.  They are in section 310, Row C, Center-Ice.  We have been sitting here for 7+ seasons, and the fans in this section are really great.

We are open to many different options for splitting these.  If you want 5 games, 10 games, 1/2 a season, 1/4 of a season, whatever….we can work out the details.  Price will be the same season ticket rate that we pay, which is less than the current face value.  We locked in our pricing before last season.

If you have any interest at all, please send me a DM on Twitter or Facebook, or shoot an email to timagee@yahoo.com

Thanks!  Go Preds!

Tim & Olivia Agee

P90X Results – Marathon Training

Last Saturday, my wife Olivia and I completed our first round of the P90X Home Fitness program.  As a runner, my goal in doing this program was to improve my marathon performance, specifically targeted at three marathons I’m running this fall and winter.  I knew that I needed a better cross-training program, and was really wanting to take my running to the next level.  After completing 4 marathons within the previous 9 months (as of June), there were a number of areas where I obviously needed to improve if I wanted to see better marathon times.  These included:

  • Better muscle balance – My running muscles were very strong, but the opposing muscles were very weak.  This was especially true in my glutes, hamstrings & hips.  Poor muscle balance greatly increases the risk of injury while running. Also, I have been notoriously weak when running hills, and my hope was that this program would improve the consistency of my running when facing a hilly course.
  • Improved core strength – On long runs (15+ miles), I could really tell that my core was weak.  My posture would begin to fail and my lower abs would be very sore after the run.
  • Improved flexibility – Again, having poor flexibility greatly increases the risk of injury, and I was about as flexible as a steel pipe.
  • Higher anaerobic threshold – I had been doing weekly track workouts for about the last 6 months, but wanted to add some additional anaerobic interval workouts to my routine to try and push this threshold even higher.

We began the program in June 2010, after doing a lot of research into various home fitness routines.  We additionally followed the general guidelines of the nutrition plan, and used a Weight Watchers maintenance plan to help with knowing how many calories to consume daily.  It was tough to maintain the 6-day a week P90X schedule while running 40 to 50 miles per week, but it has been a blast seeing the results.

I’m thankful that my wife agreed to try it with me, though I’m not sure she knew exactly what she was getting herself into 🙂  Her before and after results with the “Fit Test” were very impressive (see below), and I’m proud of her for sticking with it.  She is also entered in 3 races this fall and winter (half marathons), and I’m confident she will see significant gains in race performance.

I’ll probably do another post at some point to review the program itself, so I’ll not go through all of the routines.  However, my overall review is that this program is excellent and really does work.  Anyone who dismisses it simply because it is typically promoted through infomercials, is really missing out on a fantastic routine.  It has a great mix of resistance, cardio, and flexibility training.

As part of the program, all participants are encouraged to do a “Fit Test” before and after the 90 days.  Olivia and I both saw pretty dramatic improvements in these exercises, and I have included the highlights below:

Timothy – Fit Test – Before & After

(01) = Before Day 1 / (90) = After Day 90

  • Rest Heart Rate (01) – 59 
  • Rest Heart Rate (90) – 57
  • Pull-ups (01) – 2 
  • Pull-ups (90) – 10
  • Push-ups (01) – 28 
  • Push-ups (90) – 42
  • Wall Squat (01) – 98 sec
  • Wall Squat (90) – 240 sec
  • Bicep curls (01) – 11 w/ 20 lbs
  • Bicep curls (90) – 20 w/ 20 lbs
  • In & Outs (01) – 45
  • In & Outs (90) – 80
  • Weight Lost = 8.5 lbs

Olivia – Fit Test – Before & After

(01) = Before Day 1 / (90) = After Day 90

  • Rest Heart Rate (01) – 67 
  • Rest Heart Rate (90) – 67
  • Push-ups (01) – 4.5 
  • Push-ups (90) – 28
  • Wall Squat (01) – 60 sec
  • Wall Squat (90) – 120 sec
  • Bicep curls (01) – 20 w/ 8 lbs
  • Bicep curls (90) – 26 w/ 8 lbs
  • In & Outs (01) – 33
  • In & Outs (90) – 60
  • Weight Lost = 7.5 lbs

Timothy – Training Run Stats – Year over Year (2009 vs. 2010)

While all of these improvements can’t be solely attributed to P90X, it has no doubt helped a significant amount.  The comparison is year over year to try and see stats in similar running conditions.

Average Speed:

  • June 2009 – 6.1 mph
  • June 2010 – 6.7 mph
  • July 2009 – 6.5 mph
  • July 2010 – 6.9 mph
  • August 2009 – 6.4 mph
  • August 2010 – 7.0 mph
  • Sept 2009 – 6.6 mph
  • Sept 2010 – 7.4 mph 

Average Heart Rate:

  • June 2009 – 165 bpm
  • June 2010 – 153 bpm
  • July 2009 – 166 bpm
  • July 2010 – 153 bpm
  • August 2009 – 161 bpm
  • August 2010 – 150 bpm
  • Sept 2009 – 160 bpm
  • Sept 2010 – 150 bpm

Well….the real test of the results will be at the Twin Cities Marathon on October 3, 2010.  My current marathon PR is 3:39, and I’m hoping to significantly improve upon this finish time.  Anyone else have a positive experience with P90X they want to share? I would especially love to hear from anyone who has gone through the program to improve their running performance.

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