1.31.09

I started this run at the soccer complex. It was tough out there today and the hills were handing it to me. I barely made it through 15 miles and really couldn't go any farther. I was breathing heavy on the hills, and the legs weren't too happy on them either. Going downhill wasn't bad, but the uphills were killer. So I finished out the run on the treadmill. Ever so slightly my right calf continued to cramp and feel sore, until finally I could take it no longer and had to end the run early. I'm not sure if it a fuel issue contributed to it or not. As I had posted days ago my soleus (connected to the achilles) had been sore and swelled up. For what reason I do not know, but it hadn't hindered my running so I thought it was okay to run. Well that didn't hold true today, and instead of just the outside of the soleus, it was my whole lower achilles that was cramping and sore. I felt it getting worse and worse, but then finally I just said this isn't worth it and stopped running. I was 2 miles shy of my goal for the day.

So I iced it and it feels a lot better. I'm not sure how it happened as I said before - I took two days off and after that is when it started to hurt...so? Not real sure. Maybe I overstretched it, or possibly I could have been overcompensating for when I pulled that ligament in my left thigh? Either way it was not a good sign today. I dont' want to take days off, but if I have to I will. Tomorrow is supposed to be a long run. I pretty much did one today, but I didn't reach my goal so I will try again tomorrow and see how the achilles reacts. If it starts cramping or being overly sore like today where the pain is too much I'll just stop early I guess. It sucks, but I guess it's better to rest and recover than dig the hole deeper. I did have a good run today despite the injury, so at least that was a positive.

12pm. soccer complex/tread. 39 degrees 7mph wind
2:40:37, gm 859 /bf 1113

1.30.09

A nice long treadmill run. I watched the movie 300. If you can't get pumped up watching that movie then you have something wrong with your adrenaline glands. Anyway it was a longer run of 2 hours 10 minutes with a half minute rest to turn on the fan (i forgot to) and grab a little laraba bar because I skipped lunch. I didn't want to skip lunch by the way, but I had a big late breakfast and it just stuck with me. If I would have eaten I would have wait to run till later and I didn't want to do that since April wanted to go out when she got home. The run went fine, it was getting harder towards the end though. I kept the speed at 8 the whole time, and increased it gradually up to 8.6 the last mile.

My right calf is still sore, but I think it will be good to go by Sunday for a long run. I haven't ran a longer long run for a while so I might try to get three hours or more in again. I guess it'll depend on what's going on Sunday. We are going to a superbowl party so that might mean cutting a few miles. I should still be able to get a good two and half to three quarter hours in hopefully. Other than that just the normal burning sensation in the outside of my big toe joints. Tomorrow I'm planning a split run, trying to get two half-marathons in. My new thing is to keep increasing my daily miles as close to marathon as I can - so come marathon day I will be more and more prepared to run hard the whole distance and not die in the last few miles. I didn't get any speedwork in this week, but it was kind of crazy with taking a few days off, then trying to get my miles back up. I hate that, but things happen. I just have to move on and get it in next week.

3:25pm. home. tread.
2:10:30, gf 429

1.29.09

I started this run at the soccer complex. I had an hour and half in mind, hoping that if I split the run up by doing the rest at home it would make it go by a little faster. It worked, although the soccer complex is really hilly. I kept feeling my left hamstring tighten up on the hills. It does that sometimes, it was just noticeable today. Also my right calf is swelled. Not the actual calf, but kind of the secondary calf muscle just below it. It's been sore, but I thought it was my shins, when I actually looked at it today I noticed it was looking rather large. When compared to the left leg it's about twice the size, which kind of worries me. All the same once I get warmed up there isn't any pain so I guess it's no big deal.

Today felt really similar to a long run, which probably isn't a good thing. I just had that achiness. Granted a lot of that is going to come from the hills, so i guess it's expected. At the soccer complex I did discover a neat little trick to remember my laps. Instead of counting forward, I counted backwards this time and actually knew how many laps I had done! Yay for me. It ended up being 3 one way, half a lap to reverse direction, then 8 laps the other way plus a trip around the parking lot, so somewhere around 13 miles. The run at home was fine, but I was starting to get cold and was also hungry as I didn't fuel today. I just didn't want to deal with it, although it would have the run a lot easier I guess. I figured that sometimes you just have to ignore your body and push through things, because that's what a marathon is about, pushing yourself beyond your perceived limits.

3:45pm. soccer complex/home. 40 degrees.
2:22:23. gf 413

1.28.09

Morning run on the treadmill. It was raining all last night and this morning. Supposed to dry up later.

9:35am.tread.
1:15:15, gf 403
75:35 10.19

Late run consisted of four loops around the neighborhood, the same as yesterday. Felt really good on both of them, nice even pace and didn't have to work my legs too hard. I might do speedwork tomorrow, but I might wait till Friday. I guess it just depends on how I feel in the morning. I would really like to do a focused session I thought of the other day - this time taking plenty of rest inbetween reps. I want to do five miles, and I dont' really care how it happens. So I'm thinking 4 mile repeats, then two 800's if I'm totally trashed. Judging from my last two sessions that will probably be the case. Then I will do some cooldown miles, maybe 3-5. Then I will be able to to do a later run of 8-9 miles at home. It all depends on the weather in the morning though. If I end up on the treadmill I'll skip speed for Friday.

5:02pm. home. 32 degrees with some wind.
1:20:22, gf 413

1.27.09

Great run today. There was an eerie mist/fog which was kind of cool to run through. My calves were extremely tight from the two days off, especially the left one. After about a half-hour they finally loosened up. Ran with no music today. I like doing that, but this time I had to turn the volume down. The problem with that is you can't hear updates, so if you accidentally pause or your sensor loses signal or something like that you have no idea. So you could run for a long while before noticing anything and losing those miles. It's happened before. I just kept checking every so often and no problems today. I really did feel great though after I got going. I kind of wanted to keep running, but I figured I wouldn't push it too much since I was working out the rust.

4pm. home. 45 degrees foggy.
1:30:00, bf 1106

1.26.09

Same deal as yesterday. My hip is almost better, I just want to make sure it is before I do anything else. Tomorrow I will be back at it.

1.25.09

Took a day off of running. My inner hip had a pull or something wrong. It feels better already and I'll try it out again tomorrow to see what happens. At this point I'm just wanting to make sure I can do speedwork on Thursday.

1.24.09

I think I pulled a ligament yesterday. When i try to lift my left leg one of the tendons really hurts and I can't lift it above my hips. I thought maybe running would make it go away. It sort of feels like somethings out of place, like my leg bone ain't connected to my hip bone. I keep hoping it will "pop" back into place, but it's probably just something pulled in there. Running went fine actually. As I said I can lift my leg nearly all the way, it's just when it gets to a certain point I can't anymore. So I ran for over an hour and it started loosening up. If it is still that way tomorrow I'm not sure what I'll do for my long run, probably cut it back a bit. I'd like to go for a kind of longer run, but I guess at this point I'll just have to play it by ear. But then again that is pretty much what I do everyday, so nothing new.

3:15pm. home. 40 degrees chilly with strong wind.
1:30:03, gf 394

1.23.09

Wind was horrible today.I ran more than half my run at the soccer complex, then I was sick of the wind so I left and finished the rest at home. The houses blocked most of the wind and at least made the run bearable. I was hoping it would be a beautiful day, but as the 60 degree days usually go around here it was just caused by overcast fast moving clouds bringing all the warm southern air up here. It really wasn't worth it. I thought to myself - I'd rather have it be cold than "warm" and windy. The thing about the wind is that it blows right through you and makes you feel cold because you are sweating. So actually my nose was running like crazy today because of it, even though it was "60" degrees.

My legs were dead today too and that didn't help matters. I'm trying to keep up my mileage and today probably wasn't the best day for a continuous medium-long run, but I really didn't want to do it Saturday. My legs did loosen up a bit, but my hips, hams, and inside of my quads were sore and didn't want to cooperate. I don't blame them, as I said I probably should have just taken it easier, and I did as far as pace goes, but some further rest would have been beneficial. Maybe I'll take Monday off after my long run or take it super-easy for some recovery for next week. I'm kinda wondering how I'll feel tomorrow.

2:53. soccer complex/home. 56 degrees 15 mph wind
2:08:57, gf 383

1.22.09

I did five easy miles this morning, just to wake up a bit. I was hoping it wouldn't affect the workout later and I don't think it did. Still, I had a tough day. Running-wise I was ready to go and everything felt as good as can be expected when moving at mile pace. The problem was with my stomach. It wasn't feeling good and furthered my exhaustion while running. I also was in a battle of the stopwatch, where I thought I had pushed the button, but actually had pressed it, but it never started... The little things like that you normally don't care about seem a lot more important when you're dying for air and your legs are crying out for no more abuse. My third mile was the last straw. On the last lap (after 3 agonizing ones) my stomach just hit the ground and I about doubled over. I pushed through and finished, but had no motivation to do any more sprinting - at least not at the track. The soccer kids were back and they were doing their little workouts so I didn't want to keep running through them anyways. I did another mile or two at my usual pace and went home.

But I still felt like I could run. So I decided I would finish out the day at home and did about a half hour of running. This time I actually got a few pace increases in here and there, and slowed back down when things felt like they were getting out of hand. If you are a runner then you know this kind of running is called fartlek, yes that's right. It's german, so blame them if you're offended. That worked really well and although I wasn't going as fast as my track speed, I was going fast enough to breathe pretty hard. So the day was certainly not a total loss, I'll just have to plan my lunch better next time. I had a porkchop with some scalloped potatoes and peas. I think the porkchop did me in. I actually second guessed the decision and almost went for something else, but then I figured it wouldn't matter and went ahead. Guess I should listen to my instincts better.

Lastly I wore my fasttwitch on the pavement - not so great. It FELT great, but it tore the crap out of the tread, so I think I'll keep them on the track until race day. Another day in the books.

8:25 am. tread
40:03, gf 367

3:12 pm. track. 40 degrees sunny with 8 mph wind. (shorts+t-shirt)
miles @ 5:43, 5:45?, 5:45? w/recovery + fartlek
1:29.01, fasttwitch 19

1.21.09

One good, one bad run. First on treadmill went by fast with no music at all - funny that that is now a challenge. Second run was much harder and I felt like I was dying the first half hour. Breathing was hard as I said, maybe it was from the cold? Then I got a second wind and things went smoothly. I'm not sure if it was lack of energy or food, water, or just too much running. It must not have been too much running because once I started feeling good everything came together and I finished pretty strong.

Since the sun was out I was a little on the warm side, but that's what you trade off for when the wind is colder. It wasn't too bad, I probably should have dropped the running pants though and just went for shorts. Pants always seem to make me work twice as hard. My right ankle was a little tender yesterday, but nothing today so that is great. That's pretty much it for today - Speed work tomorrow. I'm not sure exactly what that will consist of other than the 5 miles, but I hope to get in some other good running as well. I'll have to check the weather and see what's going on.

8:30 am. tread
1:07:29, gf 362
4pm. home. 30 degrees sunny.
1:07:05, bf 1095

1.20.09

Two runs today. First run outside. It was cold and hard to breathe as usual when the temps get below 20. Second was on the treadmill. At this point it feels a bit like work, but a work I enjoy doing.

2pm. home. 18 degrees w/11 mph wind.
1:14:01, bf 1087
6:49pm. tread.
1:04:03, gm 835

1.19.09

Made up my long run today. It was snowing! This is the first snow of the winter, and it finally feels like Christmas, even though it's already gone. I decided to go ahead and try to run in it. The flakes were huge at first, and throughout the whole run it snowed. I had a hard time seeing in it because it was getting in my eyelashes, and a few got me directly in the eye, which kind of hurt. Other than that it was really wet. Since it wasn't that cold out it wasn't slippery, but just plain out wet. My shoes were soaked when I got back in. I stopped running outside after about an hour and 25 minutes or so, switched socks and shoes and finished up on the treadmill.

So today was an interesting long run. I'm glad I ran in the snow, but it wasn't quite as fun as I thought it would be, especially considering 40 minutes into the run, I could feel my socks were squishy from my feet being soaked all the way through. Also my gloves were attracting all kinds of snow, and they were wet as well, so my hands started to get cold. Needless to say I was happy to get in on the treadmill. At least until I actually started running on it. My legs were tired, but I managed a pretty decent pace. It was nice having water/snacks available because whenever and I felt a little hungry around 2 hours, I was able to get a few bites of marathon bar. I also had water readily available, so that helped as well. I don't like the treadmill because it's repetitious and you go nowhere, but other than I really feel a difference when I'm running on it. It takes much more effort to run at my normal pace on a treadmill, where outside I just float along. The hams and calves were pretty tired at the end of this one- which is normal, but I definitely had less hills so I actually thought that would help with the legs. It really didn't. Breathing wise though it totally did, and there were only a few times where I could tell I was exerting a bit of effort to maintain. Ok that's it for today. Later.

2:45 pm. home/tread. 30 degrees snowing and wet.
2:48, gm 827 /bf 1078

1.18.09

I didn't get a long run in today. I actually just didn't feel like running. It was a nice day, but my legs were a little sore and I didn't have much motivation. I still managed my normal run, although I had to do it later on the treadmill. Tomorrow I plan on doing the long run, so no big deal. Hopefully after this easier day I will be feeling a bit better to go for a long run.

9pm. treadmill.
1:07:04 gm, 817

1.17.09

Lazy day today, but I still got out for a decently long run. I've been running twice a day lately, and that means more 8 milers. I might have to start combining them so I can get some medium-long runs in. I think that will help with my endurance for the marathon more than two runs. Still, it's easier on me to run twice a day sometimes, so I could also just increase those by a few miles as well. Two months seems like a long time, but before I know it I will be toeing the line and nervous about if I trained hard enough and what to expect. My goal over these next 70 days 12 hours and 41 minutes is to diminish that anxiety as much as possible by training hard and putting in more miles than I probably even need.

3:45 pm. home. 37 degrees 15mph wind.
1:28:59, bf 1081

1.16.08

A little bit longer than my usual run today, nothing special really. I decided to run on the treadmill again so it was the complete opposite of outside, sweating buckets instead of sub-freezing temps. My left shin was acting up a bit after the run. I had the same pain a while back. It comes and goes I guess. I don't think it's anything to worry about, but I thought I would mention it. As far as how I felt today I ran 8.0 most of the time, then 8.2 for about a half hour, then 8.4, which felt like a race pace. I kicked it up to 8.6 which felt a little faster, then tried 9.0 toward the end for a minute or two just to get the legs really moving, that felt like a two mile race pace or so, where it was hard to maintain, but I wasn't overly breathing, just the legs had trouble keeping up.

3:47 pm. tread.
1:21:00, bf 1070

1.15.08

My morning run was tough. The cold air made it hard to breathe and I was really struggling pretty much the whole time. Still it wasn't as cold as I had expected, but it really did effect my breathing in a big way. The sun was out and it was a beautiful day to be outside running. Although the run didn't feel that great, I was happy to get out there and brave the cold weather.

1pm. home. 22 degrees (11 w/12mph wind) sunny.
1:05:04, bf 1052

After this morning I decided to go for the treadmill. For one I didn't want to be struggling along like this morning, and I also wanted to watch my pace a bit and the treadmill doesn't lie. It was a good run even though I would have liked it be a little more spaced apart from my early run. The only bad part was I forgot my towel, so I had to pause about halfway through to get it, but that was okay too because I got some gatorade as well. My legs are definitely feeling yesterday's workout, but not anymore than usual. I should be back to normal by Saturday. That is the good thing about doing a Wednesday hard workout, you have two days to recover from a long run, then three days to recover before the next long run. It's good, but as I said yesterday I might try and do a second workout- I'm not sure if that is necessary as I like this setup, but maybe I can just do some accels on Friday.

5:15 pm. treadmill.
1:06:18, bf 1060

1.14.08

Speed Day! It's finally here. The day I go out and kill myself burning off miles at a rate much faster than I should probably be going and haven't preparation for. Well okay, maybe I had a little preparation, but still. Here is the runcast for today. I like doing them, but I'm not planning on making this a daily thing.....yet


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So the miles went like this:
1- dodged kids on the track 5:48
2- Clear track, 5:38
3- Kinda died, 5:44

I definitely thought these were harder than they probably should have been. I'm not sure how last year's speed felt fitness wise, so i might go back and read about that to compare, but today was pretty tough. I was definitely pushing hard on the last mile. It was difficult to simply get my legs going as fast as they wanted to go, my lungs were fine, but I need to play some catch up with my coordination. I have been slacking on form drills unfortunately. Honestly I can't remember the last time I did them. So instead of crying about it, I'm going to make an effort to remedy that now so in the next few weeks or months I'll be able to benefit.

For how fast I was feeling, I wanted to guess 5:30. Honestly I'm still kind of hoping in the back of my head that the track is long and I'm actually running a lot faster. I know it isn't, but I really thought I'd be faster. The weird thing is I ran my 5k at 6 minute pace, which isn't too far from today's miles, and that really didn't feel all that hard. I still felt like I could have gone a lot faster that day. But today I felt like I was closing on top speed and was surprised I could hold on as long as I did at that pace. So I thought maybe I'd be ahead, but I suppose it's a good place to start from. I mean I wanted to run these at 5:40 and add 2 (or more if I can handle) every week. So I'm actually able to run at the speed I wanted, but now I just have to make it easier to run at that speed. So next week looks like 5 x 1 at 5:40-45. I think it's doable.

My second idea was to do a secondary workout and switch to Tuesday and Thursday workouts, also cutting back a bit to be fresh for speed on Tuesday. Tuesday would be a normal workout, increasing the number of miles each week, and Thursday would be shorter, faster training focusing on holding a near-top end speed - like 800's or 400's, or a combination. Basically I need to wake up my fast twitch fibers, as they seem to be asleep at the wheel. So we will see about that second workout, but I think it could be a possibility. If it doesn't work out, then I'll just have to use form drills and some focused accelerations instead. So lots of options to consider and I'm pretty excited.

4pm. track. 35 degrees.
1600m @5:48, 5:38, 5:44 w/jogging rest
1:05:47, fasttwitch 8

1.13.08

Well I didn't feel like going outside today. I'm not sure why. I ended up on the treadmill. Here is a runcast I made during the run. I just upload straight from my camera with no editing, so fair warning that it might be a little loud (big treadmill doesn't help matters).


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It turned out to be a great run except for the fact that for about 10 minutes my ipod wasn't recording. Egh. Anyway it was a good run. My legs were a little tired toward the end, but nothing major. Should be good for some speedwork hopefully tomorrow, but maybe thursday depending on how my legs are feeling.

3:20 pm. treadmill.
1:40:00, gm 809

1.12.09

Back in the groove. I had a rough start to this year with three days in a row of no running. But I hope to make up for it over the next few weeks. Today was a great run. It felt easy and I was breathing fine the whole time. Now the legs were a whole other story where I was just trying to make it through the run. It was cloudy today, but not really cold, somewhere in the low 40's with maybe a 5 mph wind. My mindset on this run was just to make it to halfway. I planned a 2 hour run, and figured if I could make it to halfway, taking it easy if I had to, that I could definitely do it.

So the run went good as I said, no real problems other than the legs being a little achy from my long run yesterday, and a little extra effort was needed on hills. I ran at the soccer complex, so it's a repeating one mile course, with rollers and one kind of steeper hill. I tried to count my laps, but I got lost around 10. i ran two one way, then the rest the opposite direction. I was going to run a few more the opposite direction, but since I lost count I didn't bother. My thinking was that if I ran a few the other direction it would help me keep track, but once I was going I didn't feel like turning around. so i think I ran 12 laps, maybe 13, heck maybe 14 it's near impossible to remember when you are running the same long course, so much time to get sidetracked or miscount.

The sun came out with about forty minutes to go and that was nice. It brightened everything up and made it just a tad warmer as the sun was setting. It was nice. I kept a good pace the rest of the time. It turned out to be just an awesome day, couldn't have asked for better.

3:20pm. soccer complex. 40 degrees, got sunny slight wind.
2:08:19, gm 796

1.11.09

Long Run down middlebrook on my usual route, well almost. I did take a little detour on up to walmart. I normally just run close to it, but I needed some water about halfway through my run at 1 hr 25 minutes or so. I felt kind of funny, especially considering that it was snowing at the time and I was wearing shorts. I actually despise running pants. I've never tried tights or anything like that. Honestly 35 degrees isn't THAT cold is it? I mean for a runner it isn't. I was actually sweating a lot today and the sun wasn't even out. It was just overcast with drizzle and snow the whole time. I didn't really mind the snow. It was actually kind of fun to run in it. So yeah I think people kind of gave me "the look", but I was all about business, got my drink and got out of there.

Okay so for lunch I had half a bagel with a good layer of honey and peanut butter. I had a late breakfast of cereal so I figured that would chip into the equation. Well it didn't. I actually went a little too fast starting out and I think I burned even more energy than normal....not good. I had a cliff block just before I took my water, and I thought that would get me through the rest of the run.... So here I am closing in on the two hour mark and my stomach is growling. Not good. So I hold off on another cliff block (I usually eat 0 or maybe 1 on a run) to see if my hunger will go away. It doesn't, and even though I don't want to eat another - you know the whole tough guy routine - I can't wait and take another one. I also had only gotten those few sips of water from walmart where I normally take gatorade. I think you see where this is going. So I am starting to get light headed and take another block with about a half hour left in my 2 hr 40 minute run I decide it's time to take one just so I can get through it. You're supposed to take it with water, but I had none and my legs were actually getting that quivering feeling when you are running on empty.

That block did me for another 15 minutes, but I was pretty much on the verge of the wall. I had a huge hill to go up - the one by weigels that always seems to take a hundred years to traverse and I still wasn't feeling very strong. Actually I was just trying to keep forward motion at this point. Then the legs starting hurting, feet, knees, calves, and hams. I only had twenty minutes left though so I just tried to focus on that short amount of time. My legs were burning now and I was really struggling along, still maintaining, but I was really looking to the end of this run. If I had my cellphone I probably would have called April to come pick me up - that thought crossed my mind. Then something kind of clicked and I started feeling better. My legs were still hurting, but I think it was knowing I could see the last hill up ahead that I had left to run that gave me some hope.

So I paused and waited for traffic so I could cross the street by walgreens (this is the only road I actually have to wait for traffic at) and only had to wait a few seconds before it was clear. I finally made it up the last hill and dyingly coasted down the other side back toward the park. I didn't quite calculate this course so I actually went over my 2 hr 40 minutes I had planned and ended up around 2 50. The reason I went a little longer on the course is because it has been raining, so I knew I couldn't run at the park in the mud. I would rather end the run early on the road and walk back to the park than have to turn around and start the course again at the park. So it actually worked out pretty good and I got an extra mile and half in because of it, so it was definitely a good thing. I was dead tired at the end of this thing and just wanted to get home. My knees were hurting and my calves and hams were aching. It felt good to get some gatorade in me and some food when i got home.

So a tough long run, but also a good one. I need to work on fueling and possibly drive up along the course and stash a gatorade somewhere, then drive back to the park. I've also considered a fuel belt, but I really don't like having anything of significant weight on me as I run. Maybe I'll have to just deal with it though, because I totally bonked today and I know it was mostly from lack of liquids.

I'm exhausted, but I'm glad to have that run out of the way. This weeks starts my speed training. I will be going up through mid-march, then tapering, so two months of speed oughta get me in gear I hope. Blog ya later friends.

2:10 pm. middlebrook. 35 degrees, some flurries and rain.
2:52:12, bf 1044

1.10.09

So as I was saying, it rained hard this morning and I obviously couldn't run. I wouldn't have even if it wasn't though. The wedding went great. I stayed at the groom's house last night and he was pretty nervous, and rightly so. It's a huge day! We didn't stay up to late talking, but I was already dead tired from the rehearsal (April was in it, I was just there for...moral support). The rehearsal lasted an hour and half. I've never heard of such a thing, but then again I'm not catholic and they do things kind of different.

I'm not going to debate about it, but I will state my opinion that although some of the traditions are interesting, I think they can lose meaning by simply becoming traditions. Kind of like your job. When you first start you are happy and everything is new and interesting, then before you know it you are stamping out the same old thing everyday with no real zeal or enthusiasm, it becomes a chore and you are simply doing the action without meaning. NOW let me get this straight, I'm not putting down anything Catholic, I'm just saying for ME it would become boring and I wouldn't be able to apply the meaning that is implied by the action. If it works for some people then that is awesome and I am happy for them, it's simply not for me. I am an artist and I don't like repetition. I like things that are new, fresh, exciting, and different than I've seen.

Okay I kind of went of on a tangent there, but hey it's my blog so I can do what I want. Alright the wedding went great! It was awesome and Jessica and Bobby really enjoyed being in the moment. I kept telling Bobby to take it all in, and to remember as much as he could because in a year or five or twenty, it's hard to remember such a special day. They commissioned me to do a caricature for their wedding. I had no boundaries for it and was only giving the suggestion of "a fishing theme". I am going to post my artwork at my art blog after I finish this up.

We made it back home in time for me to run outside. I've been doing a good job of staying off the treadmill lately :-) I maybe went a little faster than I had planned to go, but each time I passed the house it was an even 20 minutes, pretty much dead on, so I know I was keeping a consistent pace. That is good and bad - I know have to run almost 4 loops instead of 3. Wait, is that good or bad?...

I'm actually feeling really fast now, but I would rather have more miles. I really haven't been running the medium-longer distances that I was running and so my goal for the next month is to really get those quality 13-15 milers in. That means nearly 2 hours of running, but I know it will help me tremendously for my marathon. I know I have some speed to build, but I really want to push "the wall" back as far as possible. If I can push it to 23 or 24, I know I can break through it. I'm not sure what it is about that distance, but once I'm within 2-3 miles, something just clicks and says "3 miles is so short". I don't know if I will hit my time goal. As I said before it is a gold goal, something that I believe will take a perfect day, perfect planning, perfect conditions, and a perfect race to achieve. My silver goal is 2:50. I'm 90% confident I could run that, and my bronze is below 3 hours. Yes it's my first marathon, but I truly believe I'm capable of it.

Here is some data for thought:
Basically what I did was use Mcmillan's calculator and applied it to my past results to get my % of improvement. Then I used that % to predict my future race, based on my most recent 5k. (I know it's not 100% or anything, but it gives me an idea of what is possible) Honestly I think it really under-rates my personal drive and capabilities.

(nov 2007)
20:47 predicts: 1:36:04 half, 3:22:37 marathon

(apr 2008)
1:36:04. I actually ran a 1:30:26 - 6:54 pace = 5minute 38 seconds difference
(5.8% difference due to 4 mths training)

adjust time predicts: 3:10:43 - 7:17 pace
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(nov 2008)
18:35 predicts: 1:25:54 half. 3:01:10 marathon

(apr 2009)
*1:25:54 x 5.8% = 4 min 55 sec difference = 1:21:00
(*assumed half time is accurate and % training improvement is constant)

adjusted time predicts: 2:50:50 - 6:32 pace


Now factor in 2 things ONE- I 'm training more than ever before and TWO- I'll be doing major quality speedwork this cycle. Those are the two big things I have going for me and I really believe they are going to push my times faster than I can forsee or predict. Okay enough babble for one day. I'm hungry and it's time for some eats. Later friends.

4:30pm. home. 45 degrees, wet and splashy.
1:12:07, bf 1023

1.9.09

I didn't have time to blog this day because I had to rush after my run to go to the wedding reception. It was a good run. Definitely more on the tempo side. I figured I wouldn't be able to run Saturday due to the wedding taking up the day and the fact I feel bad running if I'm over at someone's house as a guest. I think it's rude to just head out the door on them. Maybe I'm overthinking it, but whatever. Anyway it didn't matter because it was totally raining all night and throughout the morning so even if I got the guts to be rude I wouldn't have been able to run.

4pm. home. 45 degrees, sunny.
1:04:36, bf

1.08.09

Was going to update with a late run, but ended up working on a caricature till late so I didn't run again. The morning run went fine. The first half was a little rough, couldn't get any air, but by the second half I was feeling pretty good. Legs weren't quite as snappy today and were still just a wee bit sore from the hills yesterday. Still a good run. I would have loved to get a second one in, but I guess it will have to do for today. Tomorrow night I'm spending the night at a friend's. He is the one I did the caricature for and his wedding is Saturday. April is in the wedding so we will be staying the night, then going to the wedding the next day. Hopefully I'm able to get some running in, but it's kind of hard to tell. I'm planning to do a longer run - maybe 13-15 miles or more if I can manage it tomorrow morning and then not have to run later on as we'll be driving. Saturday is kind of up in the air, the wedding is at 1, so it could be later before we get back home and I have no idea what the morning will be like. So that's the deal, catch you later runners.

12:20 pm. home. 39 degrees sunny, 12mph wind from WSW.
1:05:00, bf

1.07.09

Morning run went okay. It was raining at the beginning, but let up pretty soon after I got into the run. The worst part about the run was the wind, well that and the pugs chasing me. Fortunately they stick to one road, but I had to run by them a second time, and nearly tripped over one of them. They like to nip at me, and bark in their high-tone annoying barks that they have. They are annoying, but I guess it breaks up the run a bit and is something rather than nothing. So that run went fine and felt okay considering I hadn't run for three days straight - been a while since that's happened. The picture above was taken a while after my run. A good sign that it might clear up, but it was still a little weird with the dark blue clouds hovering above.

9:30am. home. 45 degrees 12 mph wind from W.
1:13:17, bf 990

Later I decided I would do hills. I really didn't want to go this week without doing some and it had cleared up outside so I figured I would just get them done. Before I ran though, i listened to the live podcast at therunnersroundtable which is a group of runners who get together over the internet and chat about running. It was a good show about Resolutions and I tried to participate a bit in the chat screen, but I didn't really have a lot to say I guess. So it was after 5 by the time that was over and as I was gearing up I kind of spur of the moment decided to do hills. That's kind of backwards since I already ran today, but I didn't really care.

The hills went by okay. They were tougher than I thought. The wind picked up even more since this morning, and as usual, it was blowing right against me uphill. Still, I managed to get 8 or 9 hills in. I'm not sure exactly because I sort of lost count at 5. I didn't time any of them. I looked down at the beginning at one of them, but forgot to check it by the time I reached the top of the HH. I did notice that the HH was very UN-intimidating. I mean it's big, but nowhere near the BEAST. So I kind of laughed the first time I went up, then I was huffing and puffing by the second. Soon enough I was completely dead at the top and called it a day on the windhills. I ran a loop around the neighborhood with some sprints at the end and called it a day. It was a really good workout, but not too hard. I'll probably be hitting that hill a few more times before the marathon.

5:10 pm. home. 32 degrees 18 mph wind from W.
1:04:27, bf 998

1.6.09

Same story as yesterday. Rained all day, avoiding treadmill at all costs. Not too happy about it, but trying to make the best of it. Tomorrow should be clearer at least in the morning, so I'll at least have that to get jump-started.

1.5.09

Not a great start to my running year. Another big fat zero. Ugh. Things just aren't rolling. I'm going to have to kick it into gear. I did get some racing flats today. I originally had some nike's but they were too big (got them as a Christmas gift) So I finally got to take them today for a smaller size. I ended up trying on a whole bunch of other ones while I was there and settled on some Saucony's. I've never tried that brand, but they felt the best out of the ones I tried. I also was going to try some adidas, but they didn't have my size. Anyway I'll be back on the road tomorrow. Today we just got things in order, went shopping, and when we got home it was raining....again. So I'll be busting out some mileage here real soon on super-fresh legs.

1.4.09

Bah, another non-running day. It was raining when we arrived in Tn. The good news is I'll be able to make my own sched, eat my own food, and sleep in my own bed. Better running tomorrow.

1.3.09

Kind of had a workout this morning with my dad. It's a tradition to cut wood and fill up our wagon whenever I come to visit. I actually enjoy this. I remember a few years ago before I ran I would be dead tired and breathing hard when we cut wood. The past few times have been better, and this time I was hauling wood like a champ. We had to drag a few trees, yes entire trees out of the woods to our truck. I drug a few and helped dad with the others. It's kind of fun to drag an entire tree by yourself, there's something very empowering about it. Anyway it was a really good workout and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't breathing hard. It was cold this morning, but once I started carrying logs out of the woods I was more on the warm side. I really like getting to help my dad with the work.

Awesome run today. Normally when wearing my running pants I feel a bit restricted, but the legs were snappy and fresh. Haven't felt that way for a long time. It was windy today, but I was sneaky and ran north to south because the wind was coming right out of the East. I ran into it at the beginning of my run and it wasn't too bad because it was warmer today, but still there is no use in killing yourself during the warmup. After that I just stuck to the road by my house and ran that a couple times. I definitely felt a lot faster today and I think the rest days are paying off. The run just felt great. I was really surprised how well my feet were getting off the ground, they felt light and I was able to go pretty fast with seemingly no effort. I did pick it up at the end of my run for the last mile and half or so. I figured tomorrow I wouldn't be getting a long run in since we are driving back to TN, so I could get away with a little extra effort today.

4:30 pm. santa fe/county-line. 25 degrees, 13 mph wind from E.
1:04:46, bf 981

1.2.09

Didn't sleep well at all last night. Also I've been extremely hungry. I need to go to the grocery and get some better food I think because what we have here just isn't cutting it. Most of it probably has to do with not being able to sleep at night too. I get up late and then my whole schedule is messed up. Maybe tomorrow will be better but I doubt it. We are going to my aunt's tonight to play games and hang out, then I think we are going to my sister's tomorrow. Maybe we'll have a normal day Sunday, but we are driving back that day so that pretty much rules out a long run. Kind of a crazy schedule, but the good thing is I'm still motivated to train. It's not the motivation, just the circumstances, so I know I'll be back up on the miles soon enough. I was also thinking that as long as I get my quality days in, long runs/hills/speed I should be alright since I've been really good with my base training. Sorry for the lame update, hopefully tomorrow will be better.

1.1.09

Wow another new year is here. I have been in Ohio since last night and things have been kind of crazy. We didn't get here till just before new years. After a seven hour drive I was pretty tired, but we had to stay up for New Year's. We actually visited my aunt who lives next door and had some food and saw a few of the family members. It was loud and boisterous and I ended up with a huge headache. After hanging out there we went back to our house for New Year's. Since we didn't have Christmas we decided to do it all in one night. So technically we get two Christmas' this year :-) After opening presents with my sister and her husband, mom and dad opened theirs. It was a lot of fun, but I was totally wiped out as it was already crazy late.

So this morning I slept in way too long. We always go to my grandma's for New Year's Day roast and sauerkraut. It's pretty much the only time of year I actually eat it, but it's always good. Anyway since it was already late when I woke up I didn't have much time to run. I felt bad because I knew we would get there later than we wanted to, but it's the first day of the year, it's almost a requirement to start off on a good note. Anyway I went on for the run. It is cold here. Actually it wasn't too bad, it was the Wind that was killer. I went for my usual hour long run, fully decked out in all my warm clothes.

The first half of the run was okay. It was windy, but it was toward my back or at my side for some of the roads. The bad part was that it was blowing my pant legs so hard that each step i took I had to sort of drag my foot through. That and the fact it was cold made for a trying run. Many times I just wanted someone to come pick me up and take me back home. I made it halfway and then just tried to survive. I knew the trip back would not be fun. It was extremely cold now with the wind in my face and blowing me in the opposite direction. I pushed through it though. Once my face was numb I didn't really notice the cold as much, but still had to run pretty hard into the wind to maintain a decent pace. Finally I made it back to the house and actually had a little time left over so I did a few little pickup in a loop around our property. It was a good run. Definitely cold, but good. It's supposed to be slightly warmer tomorrow, but I just hope it isn't so windy.

Grandma's house was a lot of fun. I hadn't seen some of my family since last year so it was definitely good to hang out with them. I even taught my cousins a game and that was definitely a lot better than sitting around doing nothing or watching football all day. I don't know if it's just me, but I just don't care much for football. Call me anti-american or whatever, but I just don't get into it like everyone else seems to. I like football, but I'm just not gung-ho about it. Anyway I hope you all had a nice New Years, I know I definitely enjoyed mine.

11:30 am. schooler road. 20 degrees w/wind chill, wind 17 mph from S.
1:05:00, bf 973