Marathon Training Update for Rock-n-Roll Raleigh

Well the Rock N Roll Raleigh is less than a month away. How well is my training going?

Training started way back in October. I ran Tobacco trail 10 Miler and did okay. Never went over 10 the rest of 2013. The start of 2014 I changed that.

Frankly my running at the end of 2013 was not good enough to do a marathon. For 2014, I needed to improve so I would be ready in April. Well it hasn't been going to well. I went 14 miles one week, regular miles the next, and have basically been keeping this pattern so far this year. After my 15/16 mile week my right knee started to hurt. That forced me to change. I added biking during the week (no impact), and still do long run on weekend. That plan worked pretty well and I had no knee pain for awhile. Well the knee pain is back and marathon is a few weeks away. IT band issues and walking isn't all that easy.

How far along did I get before ITBS kicked in (left knee this time)? Well I had a 22 mile weekend and a 40 mile week. I felt like the distance should be enough for a first time finisher attempt. With the injuries, a sub 5 hour finish time is out the window. I have done a few half marathons and finished in 2:12 and 2:15, so sub 5 was reasonable I thought. Still have to run the race, so we will see what happens, hope the knees hold up or I'll finish by taxi service.

http://runrocknroll.competitor.com/raleigh

2013 Goals and a Look Back at 2012

   First off 2012 highlights. It was a good year of running. No injuries and I did pick up some speed. Still not fast but did complete a 5K in 25:34 which was way better than 2011 30+. Completed one half marathon, the Tobacco Trail Half in Cary, NC. It's a great event but I have other plans this year. Finished the Krispy Kreme Challenge in the under 1 hour time. Probably my last one of those since I was diagnosed with Celiac. Did a cool little race in So Cal  called Wet and Wild 5K, very fun. They should have a race like that at every water park. Ran the Second Empire Fall Series. Finished around 7th in my age group. My age group 40-44 is stacked with motivated life long runners. Most other age groups I place, my luck. Did get an invite to the awards lunch, so I get good food anyway as an award, just no jacket or something cool.

   2012 low lights. I had a goal of running my first marathon and put my name into the NYC Marathon lotto, didn't get in, in hindsight that was a good thing since Hurricane Sandy made that whole thing a disaster. Will try again but with a marathon closer to NC.

   On to 2013. My initial plans are to run a marathon and do a century bike ride. I'm guessing the century will be easier but I have run 13 miles and have only biked 34 in one outing. Also, I plan to mix in other events to make it interesting and keep me motivated. Will see and I'll keep you posted on how it turns out.

   On another subject, trying to get my guitar playing up to snuff. Taking lessons, might even post a video if I improve enough.

Magnificent Mile 2012

Well this is an old update but here it goes.

Way back on Sept. 16, 2012 was the Magnificent Mile race in Raleigh, NC. I wasn't expecting much since I have not been, nor ever have run for speed. With me, it's more like can I make it to the end. No worries here, it's only a mile and I regularly run 5. My goal is around 7:30, since that was roughly my time last year.

Onto the race. After they announced the 10 or so elite runners the gun fired. We are off. I settle into a quick for me but manageable pace. As we get near the Capital I notice no quarter splits (they had them the last 2 years), Hopefully, they have the half split. Soon I see that they do, I'm around 3:30 at the half way point. I think for a split second I might go sub 7. I guess the fast cats are sprinting to home. Not me, I slow a tad to catch my breath (and sub 7 vanishes) some as its getting beyond what I want.  Anyway, soon I see the finish line and gradually pick things back up and finish pretty strong. I actually passed several people on the home stretch and finish with a chip time of 7:26.  Hit my goal, so pretty cool with effort.


A picture from the home stretch.

http://www.magmilerace.com/
http://www.secondempireseries.com/fall/fall-series/

Wet-N-Wild 5K 2012

The Wet-N-Wild 5K in Knott's Berry Farm (California) 6-16-2012. How did I end up doing a race on the west coast you may ask? Well, I was there to visit relatives and wanted to run and thought entering an event would be fun.

What an event I found while doing an internet search. How about a 5K with the last 500 meters in knee deep water. Well this is Southern California and it seemed like a good fun time. Also, this place is 20 minutes up the road from my Aunt's house in Huntington Beach, CA. I checked with my aunt and I signed up.

Race day is here. Well I woke up early, that was easy I was still on east coast time. Once I got onsite, I got my packet, everyone must have arrived at the same time, a bit crowded. I dropped off the stuff from my packet back at the car and headed to starting line to chill for 20 minutes. Eventually, they had some singing and a prayer and then the shotgun was fired to take off. I didn't see the shotgun but the cat on the PA said they were using one. Southern California I expected an uzi or a glock. Once we started running, weaving, and just dodging stuff I settled into a comfortable pace. I knew I wasn't doing a 25 minute 5K since 500 meters would be in the water. This was a pretty relaxed event. The course took us down every street and passed every ride and stand in the amusement park. It was a nice run. I realized I either lined up with the correct crowd or we are faster on the east coast. Eventually, I made it to the water. I just walked thru it as most of the people around me were doing the same. More races should be like this, it was nice being in pool water for a bit. After a few minutes I was out and running the last bit with light legs. Felt like a champ and crossed the line in 31.31, finished 327 out of 2551 finishers.

Overall, I would rate this race as very fun must do race if you live nearby or happen to be nearby while on vacation as I was.

A few pictures:

Run For Hero's 5K and a PR!

Well, I should of updated this a long time ago but I've been a blogging slacker.

The Run For Hero's 5K went down on the way back  on April 28, 2012. I'll keep this short and sweet. Last year I did this race in 31 minutes and change, this year I was just looking for sub 28. I'm lighter and run more now. Early on I knew I had a sweet pace for me and did the first mile and a half in 12 minutes and change. After that split, I knew I needed to pace an upcoming hill and just push to the end no matter how tired I was. Boy was I tired after the hill.  Anyway, I'll cut to the chase, I ran a 25:34 for a PR big time for me. On another positive, the had Monster Energy and Ice Cream at the finish!

Here is a pic near the end of the race

More info here: http://www.runforourheroes.org/gallery.php

Tobacco Trail Half Marathon Report

Well 2.5 months ago I decided to run my second half marathon. It was sorta last minute but it was local to me and didn't require travel plans, a plus. So the race I chose, was the Tobacco Trail Half Marathon in Cary, NC. It all went down on March 18, 2012.

My lead up to the race was not conventional. See, I figured my running had gotten good enough that I will just wing it, maybe not the best idea as you will see later. My overall training was my normal, every other day 4 mile run, with some Spinervals on my Kinetic Trainer mixed in. I have a duathlon coming up in a few weeks, so that's why I'm spinning, plus, "I like to suffer a bit." (Lance Armstrong) Additionally, I have had a couple 10 mile runs and a very hilly 7 miles in the last month. So overall, I was feeling like I could beat my time of 2:12 in my first half.

Weeks before race day I thought my co-worker was gonna do the full marathon but he got hit with bad luck. On a positive, I got his parking pass and that worked out like a dream. Always next year when bad luck hits.

Now to race weekend, first the Expo. This was a very nice expo, easy to get packets, I picked up 2. Plenty of people to answer questions, had a good open flow, and as always plenty of stuff to buy. As usual,  I bought nothing. Time to go home and get more and more nervous as Sunday approaches.

Saturday night and what to have as a pre-race dinner. I really suck at at food choices and tonight I made the worst. I had a burger and fries from Red Robin, it was good but I knew I would probably pay a price. Now off to bed, I guess this was around 11PM, I had a 4:30 wake up time. Not a lot of sleep but usually enough for me. Not so fast, big thunderstorm and I was wide awake at 2AM, this is really gonna suck. I laid there dozing in and out till 4:30. I woke up, got dressed, gave my lady a kiss, grabbed a bite, took the doggie out and headed to the USA baseball facility where parking and race starts at. By the way, this place is really nice.

Once there, it was time to chill, I had and hour or so till race time. I used the porto, I used the woods, I paced and I chatted to a real runner, a sub-7:30 minute per mile dude. Finally, It's 7AM and time to run.

Quick Banner picture when I made it to start area

The crowd as we are about ready to take off

The gun goes off, and it's time to see what I got. My goal was to go under 2:10 so I found the 2:00 pace guy and figured I'll hang with him for 8 miles. After a few hundred feet I just wanted to run to my truck and go back to bed. This was not gonna be my day, no sleep, poor food choice, and humid post thunderstorm weather was not treating me well. Nothing I can do now other than hope after a few miles I will feel okay. After about 2miles we hit the trail and I was still on pace, I began to think maybe it will all be okay. The number of water and GU tables they had were great but I skipped the first few, figured it was to early. After 5 miles I was still ahead of the 2 hour pace group but not for long. The soft trail, humidity, lack of sleep, maybe lack of being prepared all caught up to me around mile 6, which I hit at 55 minutes, just after pace group blew by me. The half way turnaround was 1:02 and change, still well within goal but I was feeling bad.

Onto the second half of the half marathon. This was a battle to just survive. There were a few of us suffering together, walking/running/praying  as we passed each other 50 times before the end of the race. Somewhere around the 10 mile marker the 2:10 group past by, I thought maybe try to keep them close and catch or pass in the last mile. Not to be, I just wanted to quit, I did not. Time to knock out these last couple of miles.

Around mile 11.5 there was this kid playing the trumpet, It made me laugh and sorta helped give me a last bit of go, a weak go but it was go. At mile 12.5 I was passed for about the last time, and I picked it back up to my earlier pace, figured I could go a tad over a half mile pretty strong. I did, and finished in 2:14:50, not exactly what I wanted but not so bad considering how poor I felt from the moment I started running.

Post race, I got my medal, skipped on the shinny wrap (what is that used for? Guess I'll google it), found some food and just chilled for a bit. I then went back to the finish to watch the fast marathoners finish. Seems like they made a wrong turn based on later reports, and the fast ones actually came is a 2:40 and change, still wicked fast in my book but probably slow to them.

An official picture of me crossing the finish line

Me after the race, you would think it was pouring down rain as wet as I am.

My time, thats my time with the highlight

Overall, despite not quite hitting my goal, this was a great, well run event that I will for sure do next year. On to my first duathlon in April!

Krispy Kreme Challenge 2012

The Krispy Kreme Challenge finally came and went, this is my little update.

Since last years failure, I have wanted to redeem myself and run the distance and eat all 12 of the doughnuts in under an hour. What gave me confidence this year even with the longer 5 mile distance, I run a heck of a lot better than this year.

So here are the details. On February the 4th of 2012 the Krispy Kreme Challenge went down in Raleigh, NC. The race starts at the NC State Bell Tower. I got there a bit early, but I had to get my shirt, since during my packet pickup they were out. After I got the shirt, I jogged about a 1/4 mile back to my truck, hoping to warm up a bit and to unload the shirt. After getting back to the Bell Tower I ran into my co-worker Jason who is quite good at this race, he finished in the 45 minute range last year. In comparison, it took me 1 hour and 17 minutes. This year I will complete the challenge of running 5 miles, eating 12 doughnut in an hour or less!

So now its 8:30 on a 40 degree morning and the horn goes off. Hey everybody lets run 2.5 miles to the Krispy Kreme and shove a dozen doughnuts into our pie holes.  The run there was straight forward and my Nike+ GPS was telling me 8 minutes per mile, I started to get a good feeling. After about 20 minutes I made it to the doughnuts. One thing I learned last year was to run around the traffic jam at the first table so I could get my doughnuts quick. Once in hand I quickly ate 2 and looked for the water table and grabbed two cups which fit nicely in the spot where the first doughnuts were. You need water to wash them down, especially the last six. After the first 2, I started eating 3 at a time. Soon I ran into my coworker again, I was at 5 left, and he had 6 left. He blew by me and finished his 12 and took off thru the challenger chute. About 2 minutes later I made it thru all 12 of my doughnuts and left the transition with a time of 33.38. At this point I knew I had this done in under 1 hour. One funny thing after finishing the doughnuts, there was this kid offering everyone one more, the way he said it just cracked me up.

After finishing the doughnuts the big deal is running back without loosing your sugary goodness that has rejoined into one giant mass in my belly. Overall, I felt pretty good at this point, but soon saw others that obviously were not. This year the carnage was much greater than last year, maybe it was the longer distance, who knows, but there was lots of vomit. Running back is pretty simple till the hill at St Mary's St. This is were a lot of spectators talk smack as they know a tough hill and 12 doughnuts only leads to one thing. Not me, I was rolling and passing way more people than I thought was possible because I'm not the fastest runner. Once at the top of the hill we had about 3/4 miles to the finish. Here I thought I saw my co-worker, I pushed it some, it wasn't him. Oh well, I finished and reached my goal of under 1 hour. I frigging completed the Krispy Kreme Challenge in 52.34, woohoo. Does that qualify me for Boston?

My official time:

My shirt and bib:

I can not wait till 2013!!!

Here are many links to pictures:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/02/04/1830380/first-look-krispy-kreme-challenge.html

http://www.wral.com/entertainment/out_and_about/image_gallery/10688058/

2012 Running Plans

Wow, a whole month into 2012 and this is my first blog post. Yep, I'm a slacker.

My plans this year consist of stepping it up a bit. I started the year with a sub 27 minute 5K, that is fast for me and my 220lbs (was over 250lbs in the summer). The main step up is: I bought a Cannondale CycleCross bike, with the plan of, doing some bike races this year along with running. So what are my plans so far?

Here is a pic of me in the Run For Young 5K, I'm in the background, the one in blue without the wheels (the sub 27 minute one):

Well the first race is the Krispy Kreme Challenge this Saturday (Feb 4th). If you have never heard of this race, it is a blast, but not your usual endurance event. What you do is, run from the NC State Bell Tower to the Krispy Kreme (2.5 miles away), eat a dozen glazed doughnuts and run 2.5 miles back to the Bell Tower. I've signed up as a challenger, so the goal is to do this in under an hour. Last year it took me forever to eat the dozen doughnuts (total time 1:17) but this year I run much better and I hope to sneak in under an hour, maybe by 1 second but under an hour is what counts. I'll post my results next week.

Here is my BIB:

The next event I have planned is the Tobacco Trail Half Marathon on March 18th. This was sorta last minute, but I did get signed up before it sold out. Parking passes were already gone which is sort of a bummer, as I have heard the buses are not run well. Well, I hope they have it figured out this year. As for training, nothing plan, just doing my normal with a few long runs mixed in. What does that consist of? I run 4 miles every other day, sometimes every day. Also, this past Monday I ran 10.4 miles on the Tobacco Trail. So I'm ready as I'm gonna get. Hopefully, I will improve over my last half but we will see.

The only other event that I'm signed up for is a Duathlon in Cary on April 7th. I signed up for the short course. You can sign up too at fsseries.com. The short course starts with running 2.5 miles, bike 17 miles and the run another 2.5 miles. Good thing I bought a bike. So far I have done a few 4 mile runs followed by a 20 mile bike ride. I wasn't flying but I can handle the distance just fine.

What else? Well, I hope to get into the NYC Marathon and have entered the lottery for entry. All I can do at this point is run and keep my fingers crossed that I'm picked. I don't have a big ambition for marathon but would like to do one and why not do the biggest one?

Myrtle Beach Mini Marathon, My First 13.1!

Myrtle Beach Mini Marathon 10-23-11, My First 13.1! I had to state that again, I'm pretty jazzed I did it.

Well, all this started a year ago when the sign up was at a special price of $45. I was running a decent amount and even did a 10 mile race (lots of walking) but I thought in a year, running 13.1 would be okay. The Myrtle Beach Mini Marathon was a go, I just had to make sure I would be a go.

A couple of months out I started to train loosely on a schedule I downloaded from the internet. The schedule was pretty standard but I wasn't geared to go 4 miles three times a week then a long run on the weekend. So what did I do? I decided to go a few miles in the morning and few more after work. This worked out great. Also, I mixed in calorie counting, going 13.1 isn't easy at 250lb. As the race was about a month out this really started to come together. With calorie counting I lost 25lbs, and my speed and ease of running longer distances improved greatly. I knew I had this, plus, I did my own 13.1 a few weeks before in the hilly Umstead State Park.

Soon it was race weekend. I took a few days off of work so I could chill and just do my race. The Thursday before I had my last run, an easy 4 miles with my doggie over at Umstead State Park. On Friday, I swung by may ladies house to get her, and it was off to Myrtle Beach. We stayed and the Marina Inn @ Grand Dunes, that place is nice, I would recommend it to anyone. http://marinainnatgrandedun4-px.trvlclick.com/index.aspx

My Lady and I in the Lobby

Me at the Expo

My Bib

Soon it was race day, I woke up early as I was scheduled to take the 5:45 bus ride to the start line. I was anxious so I caught the 5:30 bus with about 5 other people. Once there, it was hang out time for the start. Medievil Times did cool little sword fight thing before the start and then a quick line up then bang, we are off.

Now that we all were running, about 3000 of us I was feeling good. It must of been the steak I for dinner the night before. Could of been training, or my new Brooks Pure shoes too. The Brooks Pure shoes are awesome by the way, I'll do a full review when I get a 100 miles on them. Back to the race. We ran around one mall, and rounded a business park and soon I was 3 miles in, 27 minutes, man was I flying for me. Well lets see how long I can hold it. Now we are at the Boardwalk Mall, 6 miles in and I'm still killing it, 55 minutes but I'm starting to feel it. My mojo was about to leave me.

Since my mojo was leaving, I figured a swig of gatorade and a GU would do the job. Well a little late but I figured I would be okay if I mixed in a few 30 second periods of walking. This was all I needed and soon it was 5K to go, 1:38 minutes. I asked the person next to me to pace me for a 22 minute 5K, that sucker just laughed at me. Well it was a slow last 5K and I finished up 2:11:35 which was 20 minutes faster than my goal. I was one happy camper!

Once the race was over I grabbed my medal, very nice surfboard shaped one. I was handed a water and then stood in line to get my picture taken. A quick trip to a the porto, I had to go at the start but but the line was to long. It probably helped me keep a good pace lol.

Once I found my lady it was time fore a few more pictures, grab my free beer (9AM on a Sunday) and eventually head back to the car and then drive home.

Overall, the Myrtle Beach Mini Marathon is an excellent run event on a course that was flat as flat could be, my GPS had a 0 feet elevation change for the race. If your trying to lay down your fastest 13.1 ever, run this one.

http://www.runmyrtlebeach.com/

Susan Komen 5K and more

Well, first off it has been a month since my last blog post, guess I have not felt like typing, because I'm not short on runs.

Pre Race Photo, not sure I'm awake at this point lol



Well back on June the 11th I ran the Susan B Komen 5K. All the proceeds go to fight breast cancer, so you knew I would be there to save all the breasts I can. The run itself was quite good for me although not to fast. I was in my Vibram Bikila's and I'm just not speedy in those, or ever for that matter We started in front of Meredith College bright and early at 7AM. As normal I started near the front of the pack, I really enjoy getting passed by a few thousand people.



Once the gun went off we ran down Hillsborough St for the first mile, I was in the 9 minute range for that first mile. We then turned right into the neighborhood and began the mostly uphill final 3K. I slowed up a bit but maintained a running motion till the end, I even skipped water and mist tunnels, it was a warm morning. I ended up crossing the line in 32 minutes flat but was happy I never once walked.

After the race was done I talked to a few co-workers that participated in the days events. Then I hit all the booths for free stuff and got on the bus to return home. A real positive day for a great cause.

Finish:



Wall of Survivors or something like that:



Now to the more!

The more is really just a brief update on my running. Well it is getting better. Now that it is hot I'm not doing many long runs unless I get a lucky cool morning, haven't had any recently. The heat forced me to change it up, I now run 2 miles in the morning and 2 miles in the evening, every other day (will do this every day, hopefully, in August). So far this has been working out really well. I still get mileage but don't kill myself with the heat.

Next Race: Warrior Dash in August, High Noon!

Till next post, Billy

Vibram FiveFinger Bikila Review

I've been running for a year and a half and have logged many miles in Vibram Classic and old fashioned running shoes. About 3 months ago I picked up a pair of Vibram Bikila's. Here is my take on Vibram FiveFinger Bikila's.

If your a wearer of say Vibram Classics the first thing you will notice is Bikila's are comfy. The fit is like a glove and the little pads on the sole add a little extra cushion. If your a true barefoot runner this may not be your thing but this dude has baby feet and the little extra is nice. Even though there is more to the sole of Bikila's the ride still has barefoot qualities.

What do I think about Bikila's ride? You get the control only your foot gives you. No shoe gives you ground feedback like these babies. No matter the terrain: pavement, steep hills, grass, creek bed, roots, rocks (ouch) I always feel balanced and in total control of every step. That's something I really dig about Vibrams. I just never get that in shoes!

So how do Bikila's hold up you ask? Great in my view. So far I have maybe 50 miles on them in all kinds of terrain, well the terrain that Raleigh, NC offers. The wear is almost nothing as you can see.



Are there any negatives? Not really in my view, I can tell you on my last trail run there was a 1/2 mile section of rocks and one sharp rock cut through the sole and stuck my toe. Not good, but that's the price of not having an inch of rubber on the bottom of your foot.

Overall I like them, they offer great feedback from the ground to your foot, offer more cushion and protection for us with baby feet and are as durable as you could expect with a shoe with so little material.

My Recent Umstead Runs

First off, running isn't easy but I get out there every other day and run/walk 2 to 5 miles, sometimes more. One of my preferred places to run is William B Umstead Park. Its close by, challenging for me and its scenic. I run many loops, Sycamore Loop (3/4 miles based on where I start), a Graylyn to Reedy Creek to Turkey Creek back to Graylyn (8mi), Sals Branch (2.7mi) and a few others. All fun and all present different challenges.

A map:



My runs the last 3 weekends were quite fun. First was my post Christmas run in the snow. I have only been running a year and have not had many chances for snow running. Anyway, I got to try out my YakTrax, they worked great.

Here are a few pix:





Back to the run its self, it was great, the snow was blowing off the trees, there were 2 others on the trail, and the YakTrax kept my feet planted well. My running buddy liked it too, here is a pic of him while waiting on me to get ready. This run ended up being short and fun, 2mi.



On to the New Year, I went on a run around the Sycamore Loop. This loop is pretty easy but does have many roots and rocks to watch out for in a few sections. Being that my normal parking location was blocked off due to weather I parked at the Church on Ebeneezer Rd. Not supposed to, but I did anyway. This run started very flat on Graylyn, but soon I took a right onto the Sycamore Loop. Down a hill I go and my dog (Rocco) picking his own path in front of me. This presents challenges when Rocco takes the other side of the tree...brakes!!! A few switchbacks and a little hill and I'm down by the creek (1mi). Along the creek it is quite flat for the most part and its about a mile until you cross Graylyn (2mi). Time for another pic, taken from a ridge above the creek.



Once across Graylyn it continues for another mile along the creek, crossing it several times. The bridges still had ice from the previous weeks snow. As I come around toward a cut out to N. Turkey Creek I see some runners flying by. I decide to stay on my loop which at this point is all uphill for about 3/4 of a mile till back on Graylyn. Feeling Pretty good and back on a flat open muddy dirt road I pick the pace up and cross the 4mi on my GPS (Nike + GPS App). The run ended up being 4.29mi and I finished with my fastest pace of 9'02". I went slower too as I get tired and walk, also, my dog had a few nature calls and a play time in the creek.

Run number 3 at Umstead was today 1-8-11. It was 39 degrees, shorts weather for sure. I didn't feel that good but still managed 3 miles on an abbreviated Sycamore Loop run. The run started at the Sycamore Loop parking area and then followed the same downhill and run next to the creek and to Graylyn. This time I didn't cross Graylyn, I took a left and went up the Graylyn hill. Being I didn't feel all that hot I walked half of this. Once to the top I brought it home, running the last 3/4 mile back to the truck, done!!! This was the first time this winter I saw more than a runner or 2 on the trail. You would of thought 39 degrees was a beautiful spring day as I saw 10 runners, 8 or 9 walkers and a few cyclist.

Well thats it for this post, I hope to post several times a month this year and actually gain a few followers lol.

Summer Heat?

Getting my run on in this summer heat has been rough. I would like to train for a fall 1/2 marathon, either Myrtle Beach or the OBX. Well, the heat puts a wrench in it. I have resorted to running in the woods on trails and late at night, along with just short runs of just a few miles. Hopefully, I will get a few cool days where I can push through 10 miles a few times. I have done so once a month ago when I was testing myself to see if a 1/2 is doable for me.

What do you all do to maintain your running when heat is on?

What I have done so far and why a blog?

What is the purpose? Well back in January I started "Couch to 5K." I completed the program a few weeks ago and even finished one 5K race. Finished in 37.49 which is slow, but hopefully, soon, I will get that 5K time under 30 minutes. On a positive, this week I logged 22.5K.

By the way, I'm 40, 250LB and a million times better at racing motocross bikes than running by foot.

So basically, the purpose is to log my running progress.