Ron's Running

4.21.10

2010-04-21T21:40:00.002-04:00

Rained yesterday so I moved the workout to today. I was hoping to do more, but I decided on 1200,800 and 2 400's, but that didn't work out so much. Once I got about 600 meters into the first rep I knew things were going downhill fast and my legs were already getting tired. Really struggled even through that one, and it felt slow. I was kind of amazed to see the time, 15 seconds faster than last week and that pretty much explained it. Throat was super dry, probably need to hydrate more earlier on because just water wasn't cutting it.

Took equal rest then tried to run the next 800. Same thing, legs just felt tired and breathing was hard almost immediately. Struggled and pushed through making a deal with myself if I really kicked the last 200 I would just be done, so I went ahead and did that. Ran 2 mile cooldown with 100m sprints the last mile. Even on the cooldown I was breathing hard so I'm glad I didn't do anything else. The other thing was the race is Friday so I didn't want to do too much today, just kind of get a little taste for the race.

1200 (1:17,1:21, 1:21 ) 3:59equal recover
800 (1:17.2, 1:18.7) 2:36

fasttwitch 196

4.19.10

2010-04-19T21:24:00.003-04:00

Congrats to all those who ran Boston!

Did a tempo pace for first part, got some water and resumed running at average pace for the rest of the run. 3.78@6:22 pace/5.5@6:40. Legs felt fresh after another rest day yesterday.

Track workout tomorrow and then just put the miles in until Friday for the mile race. I'm pretty set on doing it, I've put in a few workouts so I can at least go into it with a good idea of what to expect. I'm going to do my best to break 5, but I'll be happy with anything really it's just a fun race. I talked to the director and they might change the course this year. As long as it doesn't have a 180º turn again I won't mind at all.

bf 2532

4.17.10

2010-04-17T21:23:00.001-04:00

Took the day off yesterday. Muscles were sore from the track workout and still a little bit today but good enough to run. It was cooler today and really gorgeous running weather. Even though my legs were a bit sore I only felt it at the end when I did some speed trap sprints to finish up. Really got the legs turning over today and actually felt like I was at a fast but comfortable training pace. Cut a lot of miles lately, but I can tell my speed is improving already.

bf 2523

4.15.10

2010-04-15T20:45:00.002-04:00

800 @2:43, 1200 @4:15, 1200 @4:15, 800 @2:38, 2x400 @1:13, 1:11.0. half mile warmup, mile cooldown and full walking recovery between reps.

Planned to do a 1600 inbetween, but my legs were already tired so I decided turnover was more important than cardio and cut it. Really nice day to run, not too hot and hardly any wind so that made things a lot easier than last time.

I ran these within my comfort zone(for speedwork that is), but I still feel like I'm missing a gear. It isn't that surprising since it's the second speed session of the year, things just aren't running on all cylinders yet. I plan to continue adding reps up to the 10k race and hopefully speed drills as well because I've been slacking on those. As far as the mile race goes I may be close to where I was last year. It's hard to compare the workouts because last year i just did 400's. I did 2 workouts first @ 67,71,70,69 and the second @77, 77, 77, 75 w/400m recovery. The second was pretty windy so times were slower. If anything I've got a little more speed endurance, but then I look at the week after which was 3x1200 @4:16, 4:10, 4:04. So basically next Tuesday I'll try to repeat that and see what happens, hopefully adding in more reps than last year - try to tack on a few 800's and 400's.

800@2:43
1200 @4:15
1200 @4:15
800 @2:38
2x400 @1:13, 1:11.0
middleschool
fasttwitch 192

4.14.10

2010-04-14T00:11:00.003-04:00

Average run, a little sore in the hips from yesterday, so I'm glad I just did 2 hills because it seemed to be just right. Tomorrow i hope to hit the track but if not it will be increased pace for time.

bf 2515

4.13.10

2010-04-13T21:16:00.001-04:00

Ran out to neverending hill and did that twice. Hilariously I was thinking 4-5 reps but after the first one I pretty much knew that wasn't going to happen. It was also 80º and I had no hydration, so after the second one I just went back home. Could have ran a little longer but I think it was plenty for today.

Been having some pain in my forefoot for a few weeks. I stepped on a rock a while back while running and so just beneath my toe joint is some bruised tissue. Unfortunately it won't go away, but the good side is it doesn't hurt while running. Not a big deal but after not running for a week I thought it might have subsided a bit. Either way things are going pretty good, still not 100% sure about the Dogwood Mile, I'll probably just sign up the day of the race if I decide to do it.

bf 2506

4.12.10

2010-04-12T21:14:00.004-04:00

First day back to running after a long break is usually pretty tough but this wasn't too bad. I took care of Veronica for a little bit while Mom went out to find some baby stuff, so it was a good trade and I got to go for a run when she got back home. Breathing was okay, legs were great. Second half of the run was very nice and I felt like the tin man who just got some oil.

Things have been hectic but not because of the baby, it's because of all the visitors! Finally this week we have her to ourselves and so we aren't obligated to stay around and visit anyone and be on their schedule. I did the Dogwood Art Festival too, so that was an all day thing and by the time I got home I was exhausted and felt bad to run because I hadn't seen my baby all day. I drew a ton of people though, so it was well worth it and I can finally relax this week.

Everyone says to get sleep while we can, but it's really not that bad. Veronica hardly cries, and when she does it's only for a minute. Actually last night mom fed her and I didn't even know it, I slept through the first one and only got up for a minute to check on her the second time because the alarm was going off. She is funny and never wakes up, just sleeps all day long. I tried putting a cold washcloth on her and nothing, dripped some on her head, nothing, poked, prodded, etc. and she just keeps right on sleeping. It's not really a good thing because she'll go five or six hours without eating and then be starving. Anyway things are going really well and I should be back on track this week as far as running goes.

bf 2500

4.6.10

2010-04-06T21:38:00.003-04:00

86º 14mph wind but you couldn't have kept me from getting out there today. Track work is just downright fun. Nothing like hitting the oval and seeing what kind of speed you can muster up. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I did indeed have some turnover when I asked my legs for it, so today was a success in that respect.

Didn't even really notice it was hot once I got going, and drinking and resting after each repeat helped a lot. The plan in my head was a few 800's, maybe three if I could handle it, which I really didn't see happening. Started off into the wind so I wouldn't have to finish running into it. First few were like a tempo pace, fast but controlled. Third one I pushed a little and the legs got a bit tired. Last one I was the same, but I really accelerated the last 200 meters. For the first track workout of the year I'm super-psyched.

I met one of my old co-workers who coaches and teaches at the middle school. We talked forever, then after my workout I met another guy who officials meets at UT and helps take care of the middle school track. So I spent more time chatting than running, but I didn't care it was good to meet people and see and old friend. Very happy with today's workout and with a baby on the way tomorrow I'm elated.

.5 mile warmup + drills
4x800's w/400m recoveries
1:26/2:55
1:26/2:54
1:25/2:49
1:25/2:44
1.25 mile active recovery
400m @ 1:11
mile cooldown

fasttwitch 187

4.5.10

2010-04-05T21:35:00.007-04:00

woops forgot to post yesterday.

Legs felt good today and I just did a quick run. Should be ready for a little speedwork on the track tomorrow.

bf 2492

4.4.10

2010-04-04T22:43:00.001-04:00

ONLY 2 MORE DAYS TILL THE BABY IS HERE!

I decided to time the neverending hill from the base to where it levels out at the top. It took a full four minutes. Doesn't sound like much but I was so happy to finally get to the top and take a breather. Good for working on controlling my breathing that's for sure.

Went out to a food city and back, took 1hr 7 minutes, then ran a neighborhood loop and a little extra to hit 13. I like the new route because it's got a stretch where I can just cruise, instead of having to turn around every 30 seconds in my neighborhood i can get into a rhythm and relax. Great run, should be good to go for some track work on Tuesday, probably do some hills Thursday if it's not raining too bad. (more hills than usual that is)

bf 2488

4.3.10

2010-04-03T21:59:00.003-04:00

Very nice run tonight. Went out a little later so I caught all the shade from the trees and houses. Nice relaxed run. Quads are still tight from the marathon, other than that things feel good. Oh, did a 5 minute tempo and then an acceleration at the end.

bf 2475

4.2.10

2010-04-02T22:43:00.003-04:00

82º you know what that means? Less laundry of course because it's shirtless run time. Whew super hot out there, but I need to get out there now and get used to it before it's 90's. Legs still aren't feeling up to par, but they aren't sore anymore so thats good.

This run was really difficult due to the heat. Had to take a break halfway to get some water, and really needed more toward the end but kept going. If I do a longer run this weekend I'm going to have to take some bottles so I can stay hydrated.

bf 2466

4.1.10

2010-04-01T18:36:00.001-04:00

It's April, and yikes only a few weeks till my next race! Luckily it's just a one miler and there is no pressure to do anything special. I just like the race and want to run it again this year. It also helps me kick it up a gear for the Expo in May, kind of like early speed training although the speed is questionable since I haven't done any since last year.

I've decided to do two workouts a week, one hill and one speed starting as soon as possible (another way to say when my legs are fully recovered from the marathon). The reason is that I pretty much have hills down, but I need a little bit more to build for the 10k distance where leg strength is key. The speed workouts aren't really going to be all that fast, it will be less about fitness and more geared toward coordination. Basically low amount of reps, longer recovery and at lower intensity than I normally would do a speed workout. After the mile race I'll start adding more repeats and focus more on the fitness side and therefore possibly drop the hills depending on how this next month goes. I guess that's the nice thing about understanding training, I can improvise and manipulate my workouts without having to rely on a plan.

Just a little hood loop today and I took it super easy. My legs still weren't recovered yesterday when i ran all the hills, so today they were really heavy and still just a bit sore so I only ran 3 miles or so. It was a good run, 78 degrees actually didn't feel too bad. The mowers were out and all the trees have blossomed, bye bye winter hello heat and humidity. I didn't really feel like I got a workout in today cardio wise so I might do some core or something, I really need to start supplementing running when I can, the pool should be open soon so that will be nice.

Last note is that April will be induced on Wednesday if she hasn't had the baby by then. Veronica is on her way!

bf 2458

3.31.10

2010-03-31T23:55:00.002-04:00

Last day of March but the start of a new season of running for me and I've found the Neverending Hill to top it off. Here is a little ditty I wrote for today, it's starts off complainy but only so you can appreciate the photos I posted of my new running area. I'll post one here too but the rest are @dailymile.

Everyday I run the same home loop. 3 miles with 10+ cul-de-sacs, cookie cutter houses that are all the same, ugly pugs that try to bite me and the rest of the yappy ones who bark EVERY single time I pass by, and all of it blocked in by a curvy busy main road that has no edges to run on. Essentially marooned in suburbia. The same old monotonous loop everyday for at least 3 times for over two years now. Sure I can drive elsewhere, but driving defeats the purpose of running and I hate wasting time. You can understand then my excitement for finding ANYwhere new to run that is close enough to get to without my car. Although it wasn't easy and involved crossing the main road, running right next to cars on the innerstate, and off-roading a little bit through a marsh, it was totally worth the trouble.

Probably one of the best runs I can remember since high school. The area wasn't so exciting once I actually was out there a while, but still, there is a nice long sidewalk to run down and a pretty serious hill, okay mountain to run to the top of. Seriously I was going up that and immediately dubbed it The Neverending Hill, because the thing just kept going up. But really the only bad part was that I am kinda sore from the marathon or I'd probably still be out there running.

I went pretty far, but there was who knows how much sidewalk left to explore when I turned around about 4 miles in, and the best part was I didn't even touch my neighborhood route! I even saw some deer off in the woods! I was like 50 feet from them. So much better than being barked at by yippy little dogs. Pretty pumped that I now how have the choice to ignore that.

bf 2455

3.30.10

2010-03-30T23:23:00.000-04:00

It appears I was third in my AG, lulz.

Also I am definitely doing the dogwood mile if my schedule permits it.

3.29.10 Sore.

2010-03-29T23:26:00.002-04:00

that is all.

3.28.10 Knoxville Marathon

2010-03-28T23:53:00.006-04:00

Alright so I know a lot of people were looking for me to hammer out a great time, and I had every intention of doing that, but sometimes you just have one of those days where absolutely nothing goes your way.

Training:
So as for my training for this thon' it wasn't anything special, in fact I was surprised I was knocking out 18 milers at all considering where I was in January, barely able to run 4 miles without stopping. The reason for that was literally no training in November and December, the months where I really should have been building up a decent base I did absolutely nothing and lost a ton of fitness. I knew this going into the race, but my training recently suggested that I did still have hope. I was running the same times I was last year on my daily and long runs and I really felt good on my longer runs too so it seemed like the waters were fine to jump in.

Race Morning:
This started off magnificently. I was awake at 5 ish and had a light breakfast, my usual nothing out of the ordinary. I pinned on my bib which somehow never turns out level. Checked the weather and it actually just showed cloudy for 2 hours into the race! Considering it was raining while I was reading that I didn't have a lot of confidence in that prediction. Drank some gatorade before heading out the door, right on schedule.

I get downtown to the parking garage and for some reason the cars are backed up forever. It took at least half an hour to finally get into the garage and get parked, ugh I waited forever and without realizing it lost a huge chunk of warmup time. Surprisingly none of the people in that car line were running it seemed because they drove right by the garage. Now normally I have April or somebody around, but since she is pregnant and days (hours?) from popping out our baby it was the best thing for her to stay home. Still I like to have somebody around to talk to before the race because it relaxes me.

Anyway I decided to go find the bag check, which I didn't see because I really needed to use the bathroom. The lines for the porta-potties stretched from the start line to the finish, so I decided to go to another inside. Unfortunately some bright person decided to lock that one and so there I was with essentially no bathroom. I waited in line, 10,15,20,25 minutes. All I could do was stand there and kind of stretch. Meanwhile the clock is slowly ticking down toward the marathon. By the time I made it in and out I had maybe 5 minutes left to warm up, and so I had to skip the bag check and run my junk back to the car. It was pretty tense, but I just tried to stay calm. I swear time just felt like it was flying by 1000 miles an hour the entire time today. So I run up 5 flights of stairs to the car, which actually wasn't there. I must have parked on another level.

The Race:
I heard the friggin national anthem and said screw it. The first person I saw I said will you take my stuff. She memorized my name and #, and I said "I'll see you at the finish" then I ran like hell back to the line. I didn't make it. Things just get better from here. So I run TO the start, just so I can turnaround and start with like the 9:00 pace group, which wasn't bad, but there were a TON of them so I had to snake everyone until I could find an open sidewalk. I wasn't even thinking at this point, I was literally having an out of body experience, Crazy!

Finally we get into the race and of course the hills. Rollers and more rollers, but I was actually feeling good despite starting late. How late I didn't know so I just had to listen to other people to find out what they were running. That's pretty unreliable though and so I just tried to run at a good clip and not worry about the time until I saw the 10k. Chugging up and flying down hills. There are tons of uphills, but each one goes back down, then right back up. It's a wearing first 6 miles that is hard to describe. You want to go fast, but you know you shouldn't. So 10k reads about 42 right as I cross. Okay, not where I want to be exactly, but on pace nonetheless, especially with a late start. And what'ya know is up next, good old Noelton hill. Ugh what a beast. I did pretty well although it's a serious punch to the legs.

I was expecting flooding on the greenway but it was the nicest part of the race and the paths were dry. This was the part of course where I tried to conserve energy for the second half. I tracked a few people, but mostly just tried to maintain and relax. I was doing well. Mile 10 came up with Tyson Park and I took a GU here, and by the way there wasn't a water stop where I didn't drink at least a few sips of water or powerade. Right as I went to go up the final hill of the half, at 11 miles something just hit me. My stomach dropped and I felt like I was going to die. I really wanted to find a bathroom quick. Alas there were none to be seen. I went through the half directly at 1:30:00. Not good but I had slowed down a lot due to my ugh, condition. I was eagerly and desperately looking for a porta potty. I also managed to see the woman who was holding my jacket and things at this point, she recognized me and hollered "Go Ron!", crazy day.

The Second Half:
But it never came, until mile 16. I slowed Way The Heck down inbetween then, thinking I could make up the time after by conserving but it was really hard to focus and a few people passed me here. Finally thank the lord I found the first porta-potty in 7 miles and spent good 5 minutes there. I hate to stop during a race, but it wasn't even a choice at this point. Directly after this I kept feeling something and hearing it go click clack click clack on the bottom of my shoe. I thought it was a rock and tried to the the 'swipe' method, but it really didn't come out. So I finally had to just stop and pluck the dang thing out. It was some sort of washer or something, no idea. But I was like oh great, yet another something else to slow me down. Crazy!

So I get back on track actually running again. Things still weren't good though. My stomach was still tied in a knot and now I get to fight the wind for the rest of the race. It literally hurt to run. and at mile 18 I think it was the first time I ever really considered dropping out of a race. This was simple torture. Each time I tried to run my chest tightened up and I felt like I couldn't breathe. So I took my first hill walk at 18 or so.

Still a shard of hope remained. I just kept telling myself it will pass and I'll get a second wind. I reached 19 and was like, okay 10k to go, I still might be able to hit 3:10, which is a BQ. I figured I needed some secondary goal because after the stop I knew I lost way too much time and so that became my next motivation. But it didn't last long. Running across the bridge I was being blown all over the place and I couldn't have been running more than 8:30 or 9:00. I mean I was barely getting one foot in front of the other and said heck with it I might as well just walk. So I did. Just friggin' walking out there. I was a mess, but my only hope quickly became finishing this thing. I knew there was nothing I could do. This race was completely out of my control and I felt like it wasn't even me running, and it wasn't, I never run like this!

22-24
My right calf was now cramping and I stopped a few times to stretch it to no avail. My legs obviously weren't fresh, but I could easily run at pace until my heart felt like it was going to explode again. Over and over I would get up to pace, hold it for a few minutes and then just feel like I was going to die. Yo-yo'ing everyone, but mostly the yo-yo never returned. People along the course were great, other runners, volunteers, just people outside giving out fruit, sheer awesomeness. I felt bad for walking through their stations. I've never done that. It felt like I was insulting them.

The finish:
Still there was nothing else I could do. It was a battle that I had pretty much given up on. I would walk some, run some, walk some run some and do this as much as possible. I wasn't quitting though. There was no backing down, and I was finishing this if I had to crawl to the line. The only nice part here was the wind at the side and knowing that there is just two miles left. Two miles isn't even a warm up but Lord those two miles hurt. There were a few hills that I walked, but I actually gained some ground here and found a second wind. Probably about a minute slower than my normal runs, but hey it was consistent and I was actually maintaining so I'll take it.

I passed a few people here, but it also started to rain. It got cold so I put my arm warmers back on. Legs were pretty trash but I found a nice little group to latch on to and passed them up by 25. I bolted back across the start line (make that 3 times for this race) and went on down a nice steep hill, which of course leads right back up the nice steep hill on the other side and into the finish. I managed to pass one or two marathoners here, but most of them were halfers that were coming in. I actually felt good here and I suppose it's because I knew it was almost over. I crossed the finish line and really didn't feel anything. I guess it's because I knew this race was over for me a long time ago and had pretty much accepted it by then.

Despite all that the post-race was the worst. It was a total downpour and I was freezing. I puked numerous times, behind the uhaul, in front of the uhaul, in the bathroom, in the porta john, pretty much if there was a place to puke I found it. Funny though this never ever happens. Maybe it was the GU or something that didn't sit right, but I really just felt sick the whole race and it hit me afterward, hard. I drank something and of course you can imagine how that went. I didn't even bother eating. Ugh I was miserable. I don't even know how to describe the emotion. It's kind of an anger/helpless/wtf/astonishment all rolled into one. It just felt like everything was out of my control on this day and there was nothing I could do to prepare for it.

Please don't believe that I'm giving you excuses, that's not the point of all this. I ran what I ran and I'm confident that I could do no better on this day, and I'm happy with that. My training was not the best. I knew this going in but I'm confident that my goals were achievable. Having ran a 2:59 last year I know that I CAN do it, and I really think I still could on a better day, and I don't just mean the weather. In hindsight I wish I would have ran the half. I nearly switched yesterday when I heard someone else switch at the Expo, but it's just not in my character to back out or back down regardless of the situation, and if you've read this far that should be pretty obvious.

My original goal for this race was simply to start and continue training again and I accomplished that. I even made it back to 80 mile training week by the end which made me very happy. The problem was I saw some light at the end of the tunnel and unfortunately put an expectation on this race instead of just having fun with it. I just have to remind myself that the race wasn't the end of my training cycle, it just was the beginning.

To all my daily mile fellow runners, you guys are awesome. I appreciate and ingest every word and advice you have, no matter your pace or accomplishments. Believe me I listen to and respect you all. Congrats to those who ran along side of me (and a few in front of me) today at the race.

The Lesson:
So what did I learn from this insanely crazy day in my running journey? Well firstly, you can never be too early or prepared for a race. I learned that sometimes you don't need to PR (big for me) and that sometimes you just have one of those days and that's okay. Another thing is that I will be properly trained for my next marathon. I knew I was jumping into this one with minimal training just starting from January 1, so I probably should have just done the half. Oh - and I also learned that GU doesn't like me one little bit apparently, I don't know though my stomach still doesn't feel right.

But mostly I learned that there are some really good people out there. The woman who had my stuff found me afterward and returned it to me. I mean how amazing is that? I let her know that she was an awesome person and it was so nice to have met her. I offered my artistic services to her as repayment of her kindness. Such a cool thing happened from what I consider to be a stupid risk or incident. Whatever you want to call it I am glad for those silly risks and incidents so that I can still be amazed by just people, it was far better than any PR I could have ran today.

Knoxville Marathon
3:21:06 (7:40)
chip: 3:20:37 (7:39)

fasttwitch 182

3.27.10 - One more day

2010-03-27T16:22:00.001-04:00

Today:

and of course Tomorrow

Once I put on those racing flats and a singlet it was super hard not to sprint this one. Hay is in the barn. Like clockwork the weather takes a turn for the worst. I'm used to it because it happens EVERY year, but i really wanted to avoid running into a 14 mph wind in the last 6 miles this year. I'm not one to back down from a challenge though, gonna PR if it kills me.

fasttwitch 158

3.26.10

2010-03-26T20:19:00.000-04:00

Easy run with a few accelerations mixed in. Taper is over and legs feel better than they have for a month after all this rest. Just a shake out run tomorrow in race gear then to the expo to pick up my packet and time chip.

bf 2446

3.25.10

2010-03-26T00:49:00.000-04:00

Took another rest day. Right when I was going to run a mere 2 miles it started raining and thundering. Supposed to rain on Sunday, but I'm still hoping for the best.

3.24.10

2010-03-24T23:05:00.000-04:00

Three more easy days until the marathon! Good run to get acclimated to the heat. Legs still aren't as loose as I'd like them to be, but with just a couple miles a day left to run they should be good to go.

bf 2443

3.23.10

2010-03-23T12:41:00.000-04:00

Did an easy 4 miles (yesterday) but forgot to post, probably because it was over quickly and nothing to write home about.

bf 2437

3.22.10

2010-03-22T20:59:00.001-04:00

Second half of my run from earlier. put me at 6.42miles / 43:31 for the day. Second half felt much better than the first, mostly due to taking off my longsleeve which was over a tshirt and arm warmers. It was warmer than I thought it would be because of the sun, but the wind was around 12mph so it was a lot windier than I would have liked. It snowed this morning, it'll probably be 70 tomorrow. Just checked - 60 tomorrow with snow tonight, 70 is for Wednesday :) Gotta love consistently inconsistent weather.

bf 2433

3.21.10 - 22 day streak

2010-03-21T11:19:00.002-04:00

So I had a streak of running that just ended yesterday. After doing caricatures for 4 hours and driving 1 hour each way I was worn out. I just spent time with April and watched tv. It was nice, although going for a run did cross my mind about a hundred times. It started raining super hard and that pretty much was the final sign.

3.20.10 - Group Run

2010-03-20T12:10:00.002-04:00

Great run this morning covering the second 13 miles of the marathon. I got in with my little group from last week, Greg and Doug and we ran it together. The pace was comfortable and I never found myself out of breath but my legs were still a little tired from last week. We talked mostly about our past marathons and our goals for this race. Doug is shooting for 3:30 and considering he's kept up with me and Greg (about 30 seconds faster than his goal time) I think he'll have no problem with it. This was a pretty easy 13, could have easily run some more if I needed to.

The last half of the marathon course is somewhat flatter, but still has it's challenges. Mostly in the form of multiple back to back turns and gradual inclines, but after a 13.1 beating on the first half those small challenges are multiplied. Ipod is brain-dead and hasn't responded since I tried to check it at the end of the run, so no stats.

bf 2427

3.19.10

2010-03-19T21:59:00.000-04:00

Sunny 65º, that pretty much sums up an awesome day. This run went well. I actually felt like I had legs today and breathing was relaxed and controlled throughout. Wanted to run longer but decided to save it for tomorrows group run.

It's a little late to make habits, but I'm going to try to run every morning this coming week just to prepare a bit for getting up extra early marathon morning. Hopefully I can work out a nice routine so everything goes smooth and I'll be prepared to run when the gun fires next Sunday.

bf 2414

3.18.10

2010-03-18T11:25:00.003-04:00

The Sun Exists! After what felt like a decade of rainy overcastedness finally the light returned today. Too bad my legs didn't feel as chipper as the weather did. After yesterdays workout they were all but dead. I felt like I was wearing cement shoes and even the small little hills were pushing the quads. Still I went a little longer than I planned which was good because I didn't feel decent until the last half of the run. I'm looking forward to getting through Saturday and then taking it super easy.

bf 2404

That Good old 18

2010-03-17T21:30:00.000-04:00

Repeat of last Wednesday's hilly workout (18 miles). This one was much harder though. My hamstrings and quads were already tired from the start and it took a lot more effort to sprint to the top of those last two hills. From here out it's all downhill though, so I pushed hard on this workout.

I'm really looking forward to the taper because I miss the feeling of fresh legs. Only a week and a half till 26.2 miles so all the rest of the runs will just be maintaining fitness and trying to rest the leg muscles.

bf 2397

3.16.10

2010-03-16T22:11:00.000-04:00

Not sure about this one. Felt pretty fast, but ipod said it was over 7:00 pace so I decided to do 3x200m sprints @5:36 at the end just to prove my point to it.

bf 2379

3.15.10

2010-03-15T20:53:00.000-04:00

A little windy and overcast today but not too cold. Legs weren't fresh due to some squats, wall sits, etc. last night but the run wasn't too bad. Probably would have went longer but didn't quite get out early enough to run before dinner like I wanted to.

This weekend is the group run, but I just realized I may not be able to make it due to a caricature job in the afternoon. It's not until 1, but I have to drive about an hour to get there and grab a bite to eat before I leave so it's cutting it a little close, but will be doable if I plan it out right. My days usually go better if I just go ahead and get the run in first thing, so it'll probably end up better that way. Less than two weeks to the marathon.

bf 2369

3.14.10

2010-03-14T21:58:00.001-04:00

Spring forward is a great thing, no doubt about it, but not so much when you are two weeks out from a marathon. I'm used to waking up, eating, and running at certain times and it all gets out of order all at once. Today was a struggle to catch up with the lag. That and the fact it was rainy really threw me off.

Regardless I made my way relunctantly to the treadmill and hopped on. Things actually went well despite how I was feeling and much of this run was at or slightly around 9.0 mph. I probably should have taken it a bit easier, but every time I run fast on the treadmill the time seems to go by so much faster compared to a comfortable pace.

I'm also happy about the time change though. I love being able to run either before or after dinner, and running later always reminds me of summer runs when the sun is setting, shirts are optional, and all is warm and happy.

bf 2363

Knoxville Group Training Run - 1st Half

2010-03-13T23:32:00.001-05:00

Every year I forget just how hard the first half of the course is. And each year I get reminded with a beating to the legs. The course is rolling hills, but with two really nice inclines at 7 and around 11 that really put a smackdown on any hope of freshness in the legs. Despite that this run went well enough, and fortunately all the rain cleared out just for us in the morning so we had sun!

I got in a group of about 4 other people and we ran together the entire time. One was running the full, about my pace, and the other three were running the 5k or half. One guy Keith was shooting for a 1:20, so we had a group really close to my pace range. By 13 miles I was wanting to stop, but Keith wanted to go farther and I didn't mind so three of us kept going and ended up with 16 miles. I don't know the pace because none of us had GPS and of course my ipod crapped out. My legs were very worn after this one, but cardio I didn't really feel like I was pushing anything. This was one of those inbetween runs, I didn't feel good at any point, but I never felt bad, and it was tough at times, but not really a hard effort.

I'm about a heartbeat away from getting a Garmin. Ipod said it had no battery power and turned itself off mid-run, even though it was on the charger all night and had full power this morning. I'm sick of complaining about it, anyone have a Garmin they don't want? lol.

fasttwitch 156

3.12.10

2010-03-12T22:59:00.002-05:00

bleah blah day outside. Severe thunderstorms, lighting, and plenty of rain all-day-long. I was miserable and cranky. Finally 2 hours after dinner got in my run on the treadmill so at least now I don't feel lazy.

"Long" run tomorrow in the morning with the training group. Should be 13-15 if all goes well, but who knows what will happen with the weather. I'm definitely going downtown either way, just not sure how many miles I will get in.

bf 2358

And now it's time

2010-03-11T19:23:00.003-05:00

Okay so I pretty much abandoned this blog, which was literally my home for over a year and now I feel bad about it. Since I hadn't been updating as often as I should, I have yet again changed my mind back to logging here. I will just log the same stuff as on daily mile. I'll no longer include the time/run data, just the text because if people really want to look at those it's it two places which log it much easier than here. I will also have to refigure how turn off the auto-feed to twitter and only post to twitter when I have something extra other than daily info.

Did one loop in the hood. Legs are pretty much shot but I need the cardio so suck it up legs. Just trolololo'd along. Had to use the bathroom and the ipod quit the run on me after 30 seconds, so i started a new one which is always annoying because you can't manual input your runs like here so it gets split into two runs. Probably the worst part about it is if people want to cheat they can so it really serves no purpose not to let people insert their own data, or in this case, simply combine a run within 1 minute of another run. Or better yet, fix the dang software so it doesn't just quit the run without your permission. Meh, I know it's my own fault for just not switching to Garmin, but I still enjoy having all my miles logged there as well.

Sorry for the rant. Anyway it was rainy today. I wasn't sure if I was going to get this one in not from rain from lack of motivation. It sprinkled here the last two loops but it actually felt good. I think the hardest part about days like this are just the gloom factor really gets me down. Once I got out there though it was a pleasant 60 degrees and made for nice running weather, however dreary it may have felt.

Put this run as an alright simply because of leg tiredness.

blue free 302+2050= 2352
fasttwitch 88+52=140
gm 8+1051 =1059

It's race time again

2010-03-10T22:38:00.007-05:00

Time to go over race plans. Every year I bust out the spreadsheets and pace calculators to start figuring out just what the heck kind of goal I should be aiming for in my upcoming race. Well this year is a bit different due to my lack of training. November and December were complete and utter disasters in terms of running, with maybe one run in December, and a handful in November, and honestly Oct. and Sep. didn't look to pretty either, yikes! NOT good for marathon training. At all.

So first the somewhat short journey:

2 months of sloth-like activity really add up. Okay I did do a lot of actual work in there, with baby Veronica on the way and all, and then of course the occasional core routine just to not feel totally bad. Either way it was a good rest, especially for a beat up shin, but at the cost of a huge amount of aerobic fitness. Basically I started from nothing again January 1st, but the nice thing about running is once you scratch past the crusty out of shape surface, previous fitness is waiting there beneath it.

So I started slowly in January with a few miles here and there, and worked my way back up, but barely squeaking out 25-35 miles/week, pretty horrible. Finally in February I started feeling pretty good again, and soon I was back up to getting in decent length runs, averaging about 50 miles/week, much better but still not great. Then last week a breakthrough with over 80 miles, a lot of that from a rough 24 miler, but mostly from relatively good training adding up that allowed me to be able to run everyday again.

Now:

So I'm 2.5 weeks out from the marathon and I really would like to beat last years time of 2:59:27, which, if you read my race report was far from the ideal race by a really angry giant beast of a margin. I feel behind where I was last year. I had a ton more training and on a more consistent basis (i.e. 11 weeks OVER 90 miles in the previous 5 months of the marathon) yeah, compared to uh 0-30 miles in those same weeks and just 1 week over 80 - that's a huge difference. But last years training got me to where I am now and that's the only thing I can focus on at this point.

So I'm definitely not as confident as I was last year in that respect, but I do know what to expect, and that is a huge advantage. I also am hoping for a nice day to run, or at least an acceptable day for a marathon. Last year was not in my opinion, but it's out of my control so I'll just hope for the best.

And now the Math from last year
10k = 6.2 @6:37 pace
13.1M (6.9@ 6:31) brought me up to 6:34 overall pace
20M (6.9 @6:56) brought me down to 6:42 overall pace
26.2M (6.2 @7:18) brought me down to 6:50 overall pace

So there is a telling theme here which is dying in the second half, or in other words, went too fast the first half. Granted last year my goal was 2:55, and I really really think if it had been a better day (no wind, no stomach deal) I may have shaved a minute or more off my time, but maybe not. So I was actually on pace for my goal, but the reality was that I should have went much slower for the day I was given. Hindsight is always 20/20 though, 20/10 in this case.

This year I plan to basically go out conservative. 6:42 the entire race, if I can manage it. That would put me 2+ minutes slower at the half, and still tied with last year at 20 miles. Which is 2+ minutes more energy conserved over the course. If I stay on pace I finish in 2:56! and if I fall off I still have a chance to PR. Better yet I can negative split the sucker and hit 2:55!. Either way I think it will be much smarter, especially since the first half of the course is actually hillier. Fatigue does most it wonders the second half so between conserving on the hills and running slightly slower aerobically, this strategy takes the most advantage of both the course and my own fitness. Now fueling for the second half will be important too. Stomach pains all but knocked me down around 16 miles so I'll do everything not to let that happen again by fueling often and not getting dehydrated. I plan to have plenty of extra gu/shot blocks instead of just a couple like last year.

So that pretty much sums it up for now. The plan is in place, all that's left is the execution and hopefully not dying this time in the last half of the race. Honestly even if I bomb this thing I will be happy because I am back running again. My real goals are far off in never never land, and my real purpose for running this marathon was simply to continue running as much as possible and I knew it would motivate me. I hope to remind myself of this on race morning. I love to run, but sometimes when life throws a wrench at you, or a baby, it's easy to get to sidetracked.

5k			20:51
10k			41:42
half 13.1			1:28
16			1:47:24
18			2:00:49
20			2:14:15
22			2:27:40
24			2:41:06
26.2			2:56

2050 miles

2010-01-18T10:41:00.010-05:00

Today I was totaling up shoe mileage and so I thought why not make a post about it for the blog. Lots of people say to change them at 500. This is what I did with my first pair. Well I decided to test this theory out. So far I've ran over 2,000 miles on a single pair, with really no signs of stopping. My legs don't hurt and my running is still improving. Granted I did take some time off, but that was due to a lack of motivation and getting things in order, and not injury. I've had a few injuries over the past few years, the main one actually was from basketball go figure, but most of the injuries have just been nagging pains, which any runner experiences due to simply training.

So here I am in 2010, it's been a long journey and the same shoes I've had for years now are still trodding along with me everyday. There are a few reasons I think I'm able to do this. The first is that shoe companies generally want you to buy new shoes, therefore setting a mileage for a pair at 500 is somewhat logical because it's a decent amount of miles and time to run those miles, but perhaps a bit capitalistic. For instance, for runners who run 100 miles a week, this means 10 pairs of shoes a year. And so my running beyond the 500 point was a simple test of that ideology.

The second is that I'm a lightweight runner with a quick stride. I'm not pounding my knees as much as a heavier runner and each footfall has less pressure than that of my heavier counterparts. I'm not the greatest runner, but weight and form play their part.

Third is the type of shoes I purchase. They are lightweight and flexible, really just a slipper that protects me from trash on the ground and provides a minimal shock absorber to the pavement below. Because they have no large heel they mimic the barefoot running action. I am not a proponent of barefoot running, mostly because of the surfaces we have to run on, but I am a proponent of the theory that it will build proper strength in the leg muscles, as well as proper running form. If I lived in an area with dirt roads, lets say.... Africa, I would totally embrace it.

A fourth reason is that I give myself rest when needed. Rest is the number one key to prolonged running, and the times that I've neglected it have ended up not necessarily with injury, but a lot of fatigue and eventual breakdown of the body. High mileage needs to be adapted to, so although I don't fully agree with the 10% increase rule, I do agree that restraint can sometimes reap it's benefits. However, when you are running your best, lack of restraint (within reason) can sometimes give you the boost you need to get to the next level. Cut miles, run slower, and get your rest on easy days.

I have found no benefit in altering pairs, other than severe pain (due to different types, landing differently, less give, etc) The one time I deviated from this my foot felt like it was going to break in half. So I'm not a fan of that theory but I do wear different shoes depending on the surface, if it's a race, or the type of workout I want to run. If you are going to alternate shoes it should be with the exact same type of shoe and within a few hundred miles of each other to minimize the difference.

But I will continue on with this pair, logging miles and hopefully providing some insight that 500 is an arbitrary number at best, made up because it sounds high and gives you a reason to go to the shoe store every 2-3 months. Of course all the info I have written is generally about me, and my specific running physiology and shoe type. For other runners 500 may actually hold some truth to it, and for some shoes they may have a lot less miles in them. I really don't know, I'm not a scientist, but I do know how to record data. I'm simply offering you that data as an alternate idea to the proposed "rule" that I see so often used in running magazines and among runners. That's part of my nature, to test the rules we have about running and try to find the truth in them. I'll let the shoes do the rest of the talking :)

bf 90 miles

bf 2050 miles

Switching to Daily Mile

2009-11-02T21:09:00.004-05:00

Ok, so I just got a daily mile account. I am very impressed with it, and it basically serves the purpose of my daily logging here. I don't really think I am going to barrage anyone with boring updates about my daily run twice, so from now on I will simply write relevant things to my training, like upcoming races, thoughts on my progress, or training updates here. The main goal will be to not "cross post" information so we will see how that works out.

my profile can be visited here:
http://www.dailymile.com/people/runandsketch

I will probably post here once a week or so, maybe like a weekly wrap up or something. Of course all my training is also logged automatically at buckeye so you can still look at my widgets and such for that information. I think this will help streamline things a bit and not have a simple training log for a blog. Run Far and Fast!

bf 1941

49miles in Nov.
bf 1990

10.15.09

2009-10-15T11:11:00.004-04:00

And so the rain begins. It's that time of year when the winds pick up, the sun goes down at 4pm and the heavens open up with tons of rain. I took the day off yesterday. My hams were so sore from the squats I did Tuesday I had a hard time walking. Today it's better, but still sore. I did some core work yesterday but nothing major. I think it's time to get back on the treadmill. Yesterday it was rainy and today it looks like it might flood due to the downpour we are getting, with no signs of stopping anytime soon. So I think I will at least hop on the treadmill after lunch. I'm also thinking some kind of cross training with a circuit of exercises might be good to have for days like this. I'm working on it. Tomorrow I'm going to Cleveland again to do caricatures. I'll be there the whole weekend, so running will have take a backseat to making money again.

bf 1922

10.13.09

2009-10-13T19:16:00.004-04:00

Ran about 6 miles today. My hams were extremely sore from yesterdays 100 or so squats. I also worked in some calf raises but I didn't really feel that. Cardio wise I definitely was huffing a bit more than I would have liked, but I'm sure that will go away when I get back into consistent training yet again. The half marathon is nov 16, so I have just over a month left and that ain't much. I know I can do well as long as no injuries happen. I plan on working harder, but resting harder too. So a hill workout and "speed" workout (between mile and 5k pace 5:40-6:00) once a week. I'm planning long runs as close to 20 miles as I can get. The other days will be rest/relaxed running.

bf 1916

10.12.09

2009-10-12T19:13:00.003-04:00

Did crunches, leglifts, and squats. Going to crack down on core work and supplemental lifting (body-weight only) I really feel this will help me during the half. I'm also focusing more on running fast due to the short time i have left to train, there is really no chance of "peaking" so I might as well push hard.

10.7.09

2009-10-07T21:56:00.003-04:00

Back on the roads tonight after a very long interlude. I've really had a hard time keeping myself motivated. In case some of you don't know my wife is pregnant!! She is a few months along now and so things are getting crazy. I'm just trying to make things as good as possible and hold it together. Tomorrow I have a job interview so we'll see how that goes. It deals with computers so that's like my middle name and I am really hoping it will work out. That will definitely help with the bills, erm doctor bills that is. The last one, wait, three that we got were 400, 400, 1200 and that was from a single week. Yeah, we have insurance but they won't cover the costs because April switched it over from her old job and guess what - there is a 10 month "waiting" period for maternity bills. So yeah we're screwed if she has the baby early.

So you can see why I've taken over a week off, trying to prioritize and find a way to keep my life going. Tonight I made it back outside. I've had constant headaches and have just been feeling so lame without running it was the best to just get out and run. Even better is that it's cool outside now. Couldn't have been more than 60 degrees and it's been that way all this week, sheer torture. I have a festival this Friday and Saturday and I'm hoping to get early runs on those days. Fortunately it's not 2 hours away so I think I can pull it off.

So if you don't hear from me again I apologize. I will try to keep training and posting, and I still plan on racing in November regardless of my fitness. Tonight was great despite [8] days off! I was doing some serious fartlek sprints at the end and you'll notice my max hr below. This next few months is going to be tough, but I'm hoping and praying that things will work. Happy Running!

60º 50%H
1:14:01 10.70m bf 1910
HR - ahr165 mhr197

9.28.09

2009-09-28T21:41:00.004-04:00

Right now is the best time to be running. The cool weather has finally moved in and I can tell a HUGE difference. My breathing is relaxed and controlled and I feel like I could run forever. Tonight I had no problems running the hour and half I'd been trying to reach for the past three weeks. At one point in the run I found myself just coasting, that hasn't happened for a while. I was just running without thinking about it or even trying, I love that feeling.

So yeah I missed three days. Friday I had a festival, Saturday were insane thunderstorms, and Sunday I guess I just kept the streak going. But as always I'm getting back up on the horse, and after today's run being the longest since I can remember, I find that pretty ironic after three days of absolute zero. Honestly though, now that the temperature is cooler I'm not sweating as much and definitely can breathe easier. It felt like had an oxygen mask on or something, and my shorts barely had any sweat on them, where normally they are completely soaked through, I mean literally just dripping and so wet they stick to my legs, gross.

It was fun because normally set my ipod to 1hr 10minutes. Well I somehow set it to 1:15, so when I hit 1:15 I realized that I was 5 minutes ahead of where I thought I was. It really helped my confidence because i'm usually just begging to hit that mark. The last five minutes I picked it up pretty good and nearly made it under 1:30, which was kind of what I thought I could hit if I ran well. I hope you all are having great runs as well.

7:09 pm 66° F 45%H 10mph
1:30:28 13.04 bf 1900

9.24.09

2009-09-24T22:29:00.003-04:00

April work's at the Bride's Lounge until 7 and I wanted to eat dinner with her so I got out late tonight. I could have ran before, but that usually ends up in disaster due to the heat and getting things ready since I wanted to cook for her. It worked out well although there was a point where I was going to just say forget it. I sent out a tweet and made a deal with myself that if anyone supported me to run, that I would run without question. Well it turns out that someone else was going for a night run, so that pretty much dismantled that excuse and I headed out the door. I said easy run at the beginning, but it was a bit hard to stay on pace tonight, so I put it into the moderate zone. My breathing wasn't great and the muscles were a bit tired.

8:56pm 80º 88%H
1:12:20 10.61 bf 1897

9.23.09

2009-09-23T21:55:00.003-04:00

Double today. I tried to run in the morning but that didn't go so well. The humidity was near 100% and I had to take a breather after the first loop around the neighborhood. I was huffing and puffing like I had just ran a race. So I couldn't even find it to go back out, but it didn't turn out so bad. So 3 miles this morning, then later on I got back out the door. The heat was up there today - very near 90, but humidity was much lower and there was a nice little breeze blowing that helped too. By the time I got outside it was only around 80 and I think it got even cooler as the run progressed because I felt pretty good. I just took it easy and tried to run nice and smooth, even pace.

I like doing doubles, I just have to get up earlier if I want to avoid the morning heat. Really it's just a matter of setting the alarm a bit earlier and having some sort of snack prepared for the morning. I always get up but am so hungry that I eat breakfast, and then by the time I get out it's close to 8:30-9 and the sun is already doing it's thing. Sunrise is 7:30, so I have to at least be out the door by 7 to avoid it for a normal 45-60 minute run. Hopefully having some sort of plan/schedule will get things into gear. Happy running, keep it real.

9am 22:12 3.31

7pm. 80º 80%H
pm 56:37 8.36

total - 1:18:49 11.66 bf 1887

9.22.09

2009-09-22T21:04:00.004-04:00

Nice run tonight. I waited until the sun was nearly set to run and that helped a lot because it got just a little bit cooler and of course no sun to make matters worse. I had originally wanted to a little bit of speedwork near the end of the run but as I made it to 1:10 I realized that although I was feeling good I just didn't feel like I could do any sprints. I did however pick up the pace gradually and was moving along at a pretty good clip for the next 10 minutes, and since I had went that far I just decided to run until I hit 12 miles, now getting well below 5k race pace. So I really did well tonight and stayed out there longer than I have been, which is a great sign. Hopefully that means I'll actually be able to have a chance at my half marathon coming up, and if things go really well a 5k a few weeks before.

So I'll label tonight as a hard effort, since the last 20 or so minutes was pretty close to 5k pace. That's really good because I don't feel like I'm very conditioned right now for speed...at all. At this point I just want to stay consistent. Everyday seems to be a struggle to get out the door, mostly due to the humidity. I may be able to curve this with doing two shorter runs, but I can never get myself out the door in the morning. I've never been much of a morning runner, but daylight takings is coming up, and that means no more "late" runs so i guess now is a good time to try to transition. We'll see how that goes, I've failed miserably at it in the past. Looking forward to this next month of training, October should feel great compared to September, fitness and weather wise. Alright, happy running.

7:25pm. 76º 80%H
1:22:54 12.11m bf 1876

9.21.09

2009-09-21T20:44:00.004-04:00

Wow September is almost gone people. At least I've gotten my butt in gear this month and really put up decent numbers, especially considering the whole mr. shin being weird deal. Today it rained, yet again. This time I took no chances and freakin got on doppler radar and scoped it out for myself - I'm forecasting my own weather from here on out. It worked! I was able to wait until the storm passed, then start running, otherwise I probably would have ended up running in the middle of the storm like yesterday.

Although the roads were wet it wasn't too bad of a run. My shoes were still a little soggy from yesterday, but I didn't want to get another pair wet too, so I just wore them anyway. The funny thing about running in the wet roads is all the dirt that flies up on the back of your legs. When I take a shower it feels like I just came back from a day at the beach. I ended the run with some pretty good accelerations, but nothing too much because I'm still very weary that if I go too fast or too far my shin will suddenly just shatter into a million pieces. Well I tried to make this post a little more exciting, but yet again I revert to weather, injury, and the ever present edging towards complaint.

7:07 72º 97%H
1:12:33 10.5 bf 1854

9.20.09

2009-09-20T20:26:00.003-04:00

I wanted to get a long-ish run in today in between the thunderstorms and it worked for the most part. I was about halfway where I wanted to be, head right for an hour and half when it started raining. I figured it would let up because it sprinkled for a bit at the beginning of the run and stopped, but it didn't let up. It just kept right on coming, and I kept right on running through it. After a good 20-25 minutes of running in this I was completely soaked and my shoes were squishy. I really felt like I was either going to slip and fall due to running 180º cul-de-sacs, or get some sort of nasty blister from my shoes being waterlogged so I just ran until I hit 1:15 and called it.

My plan was to get to an hour and half and see how I felt, possibly running a bit longer if need be, but as we all know plans have to change sometimes. The shin was doing it's weird thing, maybe I'm just thinking about it too much? Still no pain though, just that old tension feeling. I'm happy with today's run. Despite being 10 pounds heavier I managed to hold the pace and picked it up just a little at the end and I felt good, I could have at least got to 13 miles. I was thinking if I just held the pace for the next two miles I would've ended right at 1 hr 30 for a half, that ain't bad! I might not be as far behind as I thought. Some hill training will definitely get the times going in the right direction methinks.

6pm. rainy 74º 86%H calm
1:16:05 11.16m bf 1844

9.19.09

2009-09-19T20:07:00.003-04:00

The humidity was ridiculous. My shorts and shirt were so soaked that when I came in April asked if it was raining outside. It was not. But I digress, the run was actually pretty good. Started off slow because the last two days I didn't run due to procrastinating on a caricature gig day, then there were thunderstorms yesterday. Today was the same with storms, but luckily it held off long enough for me to get a run in. Toward the end I felt good, I guess i got the lead out and managed to get a really good quality easy run in.

I haven't done a long run in ages, so tomorrow I'm thinking 13 with some faster miles or a normal 15 where you just try to stay alive. I'll have to see what the weather looks like and go from there.

On a side note the Berlin Marathon is tomorrow. This is the one Haile set his world record at a few years ago if I recall correct, and he'll be running again tomorrow. He missed the olympics and really hasn't caused much fuss in the record scenario lately, so I hope he has a break out race even though it's supposed to be on the warm side. The sad part is the marathon is live @ universalsports.com, but since it's Germany that means 2:30 a.m. yikes! Anyway I think they have it set up so you can play it later on, but it's always really difficult to figure out and the link is never in an intuitive area you would think it would be at. I don't think I'm staying up for this one, so I'll just have to try and catch it in the morning. Ok later peeps, happy running.

76º 95%H
1:15:00 11.0 bf 1833

9.16.09

2009-09-16T20:25:00.004-04:00

Even though it was raining it was still kind of hot and I looked forward to running into the wind because that cooled me down just a bit. I keep hoping for cool weather, although I know that it'll only be that way for a week or so, then it'll just turn cold. There's no inbetween down here. There was a good sprinkling the entire time, but never really picked up but for a few minutes and even that wasn't too bad and I welcomed the cooling, even if it mean't wiping water off my forehead constantly. I took it easy for the most part, but pushed the pace toward the end of the run so I'm going to put this one in the moderate category. Surprisingly it's been easy to go over the 70 minutes I try to run, so I may have to try and add a couple more minutes. The only reason I don't is because of the shin, which again today kinda had that old feeling, so that's the only reason why I'm not running more at this point. It's just a risk I don't want to take.

5:30pm Showers 76°F 76%H From ENE 5 mph
1:15:01 11.00 bf 1823

9.15.09

2009-09-15T23:35:00.006-04:00

Moderate effort run today. Not exactly a tempo run, maybe a little slower but I was still pushing a bit more than usual. Yesterday I forgot to post but the jist of the day was the shin was causing a bit of unhappiness. I wouldn't call it pain, because it certainly didn't hurt, but it just felt weird. I don't know what is happening because today during the run there was absolutely nothing, no weird feeling, no niggles, nada. I'll take it as a good thing. So in honor of the leg cooperating I decided to push just a tad bit more than usual and see what I could run in about an hour. I was pretty unimpressed with my 8.82 nike+ miles, but as we all know that's pretty unreliable due to the change in pace. Still I was happy with the effort and that is what counts, the run felt really really good as well. Also today is five days in a row of 10 miles, so that feels good too.

8pm.
1:08:41 10.11 1812

yesterday
1:15:41 11.01 1802

9.13.09

2009-09-13T23:09:00.004-04:00

Easy run tonight. Stopped for a quick gato-break at 20, and the rest of the run was real smooth. I don't prefer to run in the dark, but it's totally worth it to avoid the heat. I also ran yesterday, but didn't get around to posting. Shin appears to be just fine, but always a little niggle at the beginning of the run...
today

76°F Partly Cloudy 79°F 64% From NNE3 mph

1:15:45 11.10 bf 1791

yesterday
10.51 1:12:36 1780

9.11.09

2009-09-11T21:41:00.003-04:00

Well I was back on the road again today after a few days off. The shin has kinda been bothering me again, but not as bad as before. I just don't like anything feeling "weird" and it was feeling pretty, well, weird. So that was kinda of a bummer. I ran on it today and it felt wierd again, but only for a few minutes when I started off. After that it loosened up. There is still some damaged tissue in there I think, because I've tried massaging the area by the shin bone and it's still just a tad bit tender, but leaps and bounds better than it was a week or two ago when it was really hurting. The run today went pretty good until the end of two loops, it was hot and I needed a quick breather/water break to finish.

So I think I'm on the right track. I'll keep trying to get runs in, but at this point I'm really considering some alternate form of exercise to get the HR up. I dont' mind not running really, it's missing the conditioning that really stresses me out. So I'm not sure what to do, I don't have a bike and don't really want one because no where to store it, and the pool just closed, so swimming is out unless I get a membership to a gym that I can't really afford right now. I'll think of something, even if it means walking.

The second part of that is to start doing my core work again. I picked it up when I was training for the mile race, but kind of let it go. Well I think it's time to bring that back again, and it will also help with my conditioning just a bit.

Work at this point involves literally every weekend from here to November (and I'm already lining up more) But at least I have the week to fit in my runs, although it makes me feel guilty. I suppose I should take my wonderful benefits and just enjoy them right? I'm training for a half in November, and there's not much time left. I'm honestly not confident that I will do as well as I would like. I know I will PR, because I PR'd during my marathon by four minutes, on a cold, windy day on a hilly course, so I'm confident in that. It's coming close to the goals I set that I am worried about. I just dont' feel like I've done enough over the summer or even in the past month or two compared to how I normally like to train. Appropriate (over?) training gives me a good mindset going into a race. Anyway I'll just do the best I can and no big deal right?, just have fun :)

5:30 pm. 80ºF
1:12:35 10.66 bf 1770

9.6.09

2009-09-06T21:56:00.004-04:00

Long weekend, and it's not really over yet because tomorrow is labor day so i have one more day of drawing left. Today was a washout with a huge rainstorm lasting about 6-7 hours in the morning so there were no people at the festival. Later on it cleared up, but only a few people showed. I drove back home again, and I'm glad tomorrow will be last two nearly 2 hour trips I'll have to make for this festival. I would have got a hotel nearby, but it was 20 minutes to the hotel and another 40 bucks, so I just figured I might as well drive another hour and sleep in my own bed. It's just a lot of driving, you do what you have to do. So hopefully tomorrow things look up and there are a ton of people that show up.

Running was on hold yesterday, I was exhuasted when I got home and couldn't muster the will to get out the door. Today I got more rest and knew what to expect so that kind of helped and when I got home from the long day and driving trips, I was ready to get a run in pretty quickly before the tiredness hit me. Decent run. The shin was bothering me a bit at first, and my stomach was kind of upset as well, but eventually both wore off and I felt pretty good running in the dark. It's amazing how cool it felt outside, until I came in after the run and went back out. 70 degrees is pretty darn warm for a "cool" run :)

1:12:02 10.31 bf 1760

9.4.09

2009-09-04T22:05:00.003-04:00

Easy effort run tonight. Legs are still pretty sore. I'm not sure if that's from tuesday still or from the hills yesterday. Either way it made for a slow start to tonights run. I just felt like I had no power, barely able to get the knees into the air, it felt like I was shuffling. But after a quick water break on the first loop I felt a lot better. It was hotter since I got out earlier and now the sun was hiding behind houses and trees, so that made for a much better running environment and I didn't need another water break for the next two and a quarter loops. The shin didn't really cause any fuss tonight, and the pain I felt when I physically pushed on the area seems to have dissipated, so that is good but I'm still kind of wary.

Tomorrow is caricaturing. I'm debating driving the hour back home or just getting a motel somewhere close by since I am also drawing Sunday. I guess I will decide depending on how tomorrow goes. I'm kind of wanting to stay at least one night so I can run somewhere new, but an hour drive isn't really too bad I suppose. Like I said I will just figure it out tomorrow. So if you don't hear from me for the next few days, it's because I'll be in Cleveland, TN. Okay I already am posting this late enough, and I'm worn out, have a good weekend.
6:30 pm80°F Partly Cloudy 81°F 52% From NNE 1 mph
1:12:34 10.69 bf 1750

9.3.09

2009-09-03T21:14:00.003-04:00

A harder run tonight at the soccer complex because of the hills. Legs are still sore from Tuesday's speedplay. I was really struggling toward the end of the run, but stuck it out and got it done. This weekend I will be drawing caricatures at an art festival. I'm not sure what the running schedule will be like, but I'm bringing my running gear and hope to find a nice area to get a few miles in while I'm there.

6:30 pm78°F Partly Cloudy 80°F 59% From NNE 3 mph
1:11:00 10.50 bf 1740

9.2.09

2009-09-02T22:26:00.003-04:00

Great run tonight. Good weather and the shin is feeling better. Legs were sore from yesterdays speed stuff, which is nice, I like knowing I pushed hard enough to do something. Tonight was just a standard run held back a lot to keep it more of a recovery, time flew.

8:15pm.
1:15:36 11.02 bf 1730

9.1.09

2009-09-01T23:01:00.004-04:00

This past weekend I visited my family in Ohio, that's why I didn't get a chance to log anything, but running has been sparse lately. I did make it to the track for about four miles or so, I'm not real sure because I forgot my ipod and just ran, I will miss that nice cool air. The shin is still hurting but it's it's just in one small area, the same spot that was hurting a while back and that scared me a bit when I started thinking about it. At first I thought I would just ignore it, but then I kind of flip-flopped on that idea and went for rest instead because I was afraid it might be something more serious than I first thought. I think it helped, but I had to take like a week off and it's still painful if I push on it just right. I'm sure it's not fully healed yet but at least it feels better, kind of sucks I had to lose fitness but I guess it's better than a full on injury.

So last night was just supposed to be an easy 6 or 7 miles, testing out the shin and not really doing anything too stressful. That planned worked for a few minutes, but after I got going i felt really good. The air cooled down a lot once the sun set and I was doing pickups without really thinking about it. I probably did at least 6, maybe more and still felt pretty good after each one. On my final loop I even did a pretty fast acceleration, probably the fastest I've ran in a long time. It felt good though and the shin didn't seem to be bothering me or hurting really, although I was still kind of wary. I really pushed this run, but it felt good to go faster and I want to run like that more often.

7:59pm

Cloudy 75°F

71%H calm

1:08:10 10.25m bf 1729

8.24.09

2009-08-24T11:02:00.005-04:00

Doubled today, morning run was hot but not too bad and later on was cool. There was a nice breeze all day and that made the runs enjoyable other than the shin pain. Last 15 minutes of the later run it was pretty painful, probably the worst that it's been. Icing it as I type and we'll see how it feels in the morning. I still don't plan on cutting back because it feels like a muscle pain rather than something serious. I don't know if that makes any sense, but as before if something is hurt it's hurt and there's no changing it at this point so I might as well push through it. I'd rather find out now than take a few weeks off and the pain is still there. It's a fickle issue with me at this point. I'm on the line between anger, and am nearly crossing over to frustration, but can't really see the losing hope line.

10:00 am71°F Sunny 71°F 70% From NNE 6 mph
48:24 7.22 bf 1713

8:00 pm77°F Mostly Clear 77°F 61% From NNE 5 mph

47:00 6.82 bf 1719

8.23.09

2009-08-23T23:31:00.005-04:00

Had a rough past few days. Most of it was work related. I also have been having that shin pain reoccur, now even when walking so that was kind of bumming me out too. I got started back a little too fast I think. So lets see, on Friday it rained most of the day and lightninged, but I still managed to get on the treadmill for a few miles. The shin pain was noticeable, but once I started going fast I just kept going and eventually turned it into a tempo run. Unfortunately when i run on the treadmill I don't use headphones because they get caught up in my armswing, so I had no idea the run wasn't being recorded. It may have been the fastest run yet, but who knows now.

Saturday I spent calling about jobs and it was a very lackluster day. I was excited about the jobs, but it literally took ALL day and I didn't get out the door because of a badly timed nap later on. By the time I got up and had some food and still felt pain in my shin I lost my motivation.

Today was a good day, spent most of it shopping for caricature this and that's. I have three or four jobs coming up and need to have signs, lighting, seating, banners, da da-da da-da created so that took up most of the day. We left this morning and were having dinner with our friends later. April is now in the Bride's lounge and we have to move her gigantic large format printer over there, and our friends who own the lounge offered us help with thier truck after dinner. So by the time that was said and done and we made it home it was dark and 9:30. Still I wasn't going to let another day slip by. I got out the door and just ran my butt off. It was soooo cool today I just couldn't let this day go without hitting the pavement and feeling the nice cool breeze. The minor shin pain is still there but I just want to run through it and see what happens, I really have nothing to lose at this point and I've had the pain before, so either that's a good thing or bad. We'll see.

Friday - 1 mile recorded (~4 actual miles total) tempo (hard effort) 1695
Saturday - rested (shin pain/unmotivated)
Sunday

9:30pm68° F Mostly Clear 70° F 70% From NNE 5 mph
1:16:17 11.24m bf 1706

8.19.09

2009-08-19T20:38:00.002-04:00

Didn't quite make my quota today, but I've been doing really well. About 10 days straight with double digits so that's actually way farther along than I thought I could be. I could have done 10 today, but there was lightning so I decided to cut it short a bit and make up for it tomorrow. The shin was bothering me today, so that pretty much set the short run in stone for me. It was extremely humid and once again I was probably carrying a few pounds of sweat around with me in my clothes.
7:3079° F Cloudy 82°F 82% From SSW
45:26 6.51m bf 1691

8.18.09

2009-08-18T20:16:00.006-04:00

Ran one hill tonight and that was enough for me. I got out a little earlier than normal, so it was sunny and hot for the first half of the run. I did okay, but still had to take the water stops every 20 minutes. Nothing special on this run other than the pugs chasing me, actually I decided to turn the tables and chased them until they got tired and quit yapping. The shin felt okay tonight, but still tender in there.

6:45 pm82°F Cloudy 86°F 70% From SSW 6 mph

1:10:36 10.41 bf 1685

8.17.09

2009-08-17T22:29:00.003-04:00

Normal run today three revolutions around the neighborhood. Kind of hot but not too bad. Yesterday my left shin was acting up and occasionally today I had a severe burst of pain shoot through it, but only lasted a second. I'll keep my eye on it, but it did feel better than yesterday's run.

8:45 pm81° F Mostly Cloudy 84° F 70% From ESE 3 mph

1:10:33 10.12m bf 1675

8.16.09

2009-08-16T21:43:00.006-04:00

Tables are turning. Runs are becoming easier, however I am losing the battle agains the bugs. One to the left eye, then another to the right eye - the same old tear duct attack move. I tried and tried to get the first bug out, and I thought I had it, but I guess not. When I got home and asked april to look into my eyelids, whatya know BOTH the little buggers were still in there. I'm convinced the stinging sensation that results is them either biting or scratching for their lives, either way that crap hurts. I was doing really well on this run, had made it about 40+ minutes without a water break and I was feeling absolutely great, even with taking a hillier route than I usually do! Then BAM, bug into the tearduct. I doubled over for literally 5 minutes, sweat dripping from my fingers and elbows, and putting my funnily large scraping utensil fingers repeatedly onto my eye trying to flush the frigging bugs out.

The first bug was the worst, the second was a nuisance and I actually thought I had got it out right away, but I must have just drown him in tear juice because there wasn't really stinging with that one. Still the run kept going, it kept getting darker, and before I knew it I had made back from middlebrook to the ragged paved path at the park and had already made two loops, heck I had even surpassed last weeks long run and gone over 1:16 (at which point I dunked some water on my head) AND done a 5 minute acceleration in there. I was feeling great. So what did I do differently today? Well I had nachos for lunch with a giant sweet tea.. could have been the sugar? Then I had a little bit of marathon bar before the run, but I do that all the time without much results. Must have been the sweet tea. Oh yeah, and it rained just before I ran, actually it did that the other day and I had a great run that day too, so actually I think it was that instead. Also I just had that attitude today, that no matter what, heat humidity or whatever, I was going to run, that helps.

Very happy with today's long run, and it was actually long and all at once, no real breaks! The bad parts were the bugs obviously, and I was completely drenched in sweat. My shorts were so soaked, they stuck to my legs, gross, but at the same time kinda cool in some weird way. The worst part about it was that the rain filled the pool, so it was like 90 degrees in their. It felt like I jumped into warm bath water and that just isn't the same the nice cool dip I look forward to. So a great run in the books, I'm putting it under hard effort, although the majority of it was moderate because of the hills (the hard part was the 5 minute accel, but even that was more just fun)

7:30 pm85° F Partly Cloudy 75% From S 3 mph

1:27:03 12.75m bf 1665

8.15.09

2009-08-15T22:41:00.003-04:00

It was nice to take this morning off. I think it helped my run later on, because I just seemed to have a little more energy, and there was also no water stops on this run, so that was great! I waited until sunset to run, and that helped a great deal. The humidity was low, temps were still a little high around 82-83, but it felt good. My left shin was kind of hurting otherwise I would have done a little bit of faster stuff. In the end I decided not to push it, saving it for tomorrow's long run.

9 pm83° F Clear 62%H calm
1:14:06 10.56m bf 1653

8.14.09

2009-08-14T09:59:00.005-04:00

Once again, the ipod quit my run halfway through when i resumed after the pause to get a drink. It's kind of annoying that you can't combine the runs or edit them (I understand people would cheat- they Already do) but I mean if your run is paused right at the end and then you resumed the run within one minute, which happened to be 9:22, then it's pretty obvious you did the run "all at once" instead of two separate runs, separated by a minute.... Anyway that's just a minor grievance that I have with the nike+ software, no big deal. The run was difficult yet again. The nice thing was at least I had some tree cover from time to time. Had I waited just a half hour there would have been none and I probably would have had to take that second water break like I did yesterday morning. I don't particularly like doing morning and night runs, but I know I would be struggling even more if I tried to get it in all at once, so this seems the best option for now. I don't want to wake up expecting a bad run everday, that would hurt my morale after a while.

8:56 am75° F Sunny 97%H calm

22:54+22:30 = 45:24 6.62m bf 1638

The later run started off pretty bad actually. I went to the soccer complex, which has some construction on it right now, and so the path has a little detour around it. That was no problem other than hoping I wouldn't crack my ankle on some unseen pothole or rock that was unearthed from all the loose dirt around. The real problem I just had a hard time getting the engine started so to speak. After a quick water stop at 20 minutes, I immediately felt better and the rest of the run was pretty much cake.

9:03 pm76° F Mostly Clear
35:10 5.02m bf 1643

8.13.09

2009-08-13T12:42:00.003-04:00

This morning's run didn't quite go as I planned. I waited a bit for the humidity to drop, but at the same time the heat was going up. I thought this would be a good idea, since the humidity seems to be a bad thing, but after this morning's run, it's definitely just the sun. I planned on going for two loops, a water break, then a third to finish. So the first part of the run was pretty tough, as usual and I was breathing hard and dying. I took a water break then headed back out to finish another loop, pretty much nixing any idea of a third. This time I made halfway around (back to the house) and stopped again for just a few seconds to get water because I was sweating a ton. I got right back out the door and finished the second loop and called it a day, or morning I guess.

Tonight I'm drawing caricatures from 5-7, so I'm not sure what will happen afterward, but I plan on getting in at least another loop tonight.

11:19 am81° F Sunny 63%H From ENE 4 mph
45:45 6.70m bf 1628

After caricatures, which went great by the way, I had dinner at chic-fil-a which is always delicious. And no that is not a plug, it really is a good place to eat, I love their milkshakes too. Anywayz I let my food digest a few hours, then hit the roads in the dark. I put a few strips of reflective tape on the backs of my shoes, but I would like to have more. I may even have to buy some sort of running vest, but it's hot enough already without it. So that's something to work on. It'll be nice too for winter because you really don't have a choice but to run in the dark unless its on the sweatmill. Good litte run.

9:30 pm73° F Clear 93%H From NNE 3 mph
32:31 4.74m bf 1632

8.12.09

2009-08-12T11:59:00.006-04:00

Not exactly an easy run this morning. The first loop was pretty bad and I barely made it around, humidity was really high and I think that hurt a little. Second was better, after a good rest to get my HR back down and keep my pulse from thumping my neck around. I think I was ready to get that one over with so I could jump in the pool. Did a few laps, but was pretty worn out so nothing really special.
9:30am75° F Mostly Cloudy 75° F 84%H From ENE 3 mph
44:08 6.43m bf 1611

Awesome run tonight. It rained really hard with some lightning, then cleared up just before sunset. By the time I hit the road it was already dark. The humidity was high but the air was as cool as it's been in weeks. A light fog was rising up from the pavement and was pretty neat to run through. After the first 20 minutes I felt great and didn't take a water break. The second loop was much the same, still no need for water. Then I started increasing pace and doing some accels and turned the run into a fartlek. This felt even better and for once I could go fast without worrying about my heart blowing up. I never did need that water break. So this run was definitely a good sign that fitness is lying there beneath all the hot and humid conditions. Great run, wish I could do 10 more just like it right now.

8:40 pm74° F Night 85%H From NNW 2 mph
1:09:20 10.34m bf 1621

8.11.09

2009-08-11T22:10:00.004-04:00

Only took one water stop tonight which was good. I waited until the sun was pretty much down to start the run and that helped tremendously, although I hate doing that because the later it gets, the higher the chances of making the excuse of it being too late. The only bad part about the run was the humidity, I was completely dripping when I got back, I think it was even worse than during the heat of the day on Sunday morning. Other than that I added a couple accelerations. I had originally thought I might work in some speed work, but I think I need to wait a week or two just to get my legs back under me first, just finishing the run at this point is an accomplishment.

8:30 pm77° F Mostly Cloudy 84%H From NNW 1 mph

1:10:02 10.03m bf 1605

8.10.09

2009-08-10T10:40:00.006-04:00

I would like to call today an easy run, but just making one loop around the hood was enough to call it a day. My legs were just really tired from yesterday's run. Middlebrook isn't exactly the easiest course to run, lots of rolling and moderate hills but it is the longest stretch around here and that's why I run it. In a few weeks I should have some of my conditioning back, and if I start running at the right times in the morning and afternoon that will help as well. I got out at 9 this morning, but it really didn't matter. Once the sun is up you might as well just consider the run a jog.

So I ended the run early and only got about three miles, a good recovery run after yesterday. Then I jumped rope for about 1,000 total, alternating feet for half of it. After that I went to the pool because I was completely soaked and dripping and needed to cool off. I swam 3 x 2 laps at the pool, but it's not standard size I don't think, so I'm not sure what would that be in real swimming terms. Either way it was enough to wear out my shoulders so i suppose that is good enough. All in all a pretty good day.

9am79° F Sunny 86° F 80%H From WSW 2 mph

22:11 3.25 miles bf 1589

also did a run later, although i paused halfway so it was split into two when my ipod decided to stop the workout during the pause :<
23:28 3.37+ 25:54 3.75= 49:22 7.12miles bf 1595

8.9.09

2009-08-09T13:13:00.006-04:00

I really wish I could have gotten out the door earlier this morning. This run may have turned out a lot better. It was just too hot to run for very long. I did 40 minutes (barely) and made it to walmart for a quick water stop, but I was thirsty well before I got there and the legs were pretty sluggish. I did an out and back to walmart, so on the back I knew I would have to stop and take some walk breaks.

I might have been able to keep running if I had some water, but I didn't so I just did what I had to do. I took about three walk breaks, probably a total of maybe 8-10 minutes altogether and at different points on the way back, mostly after large hills. It took 40 minutes out, and 36 back, so really I only lost 4 minutes of running and considering how I felt it was worth it. I had a hard time getting started up after each break though and my legs were really spent. My third stop was the best because I got to into a air conditioned store and get some nice cold water. That was awesome. Although I didn't quite go as far as I wanted to, it was still a good high effort run and if running in the heat with sun bearing down doesn't make you more fit, I'm not sure what will.
11am86° F Sunny 90°59%H From SSW 4 mph. bf 1586
1:16:07 11.01 miles

8.8.09

2009-08-08T16:47:00.006-04:00

I didn't sleep all that well last night and found myself awake at 5 am. After some twittering and checking of emails and such I figured it was time to get out there on the roads. Nothing incredible but it was nice to have some cool air in my lungs, not that fresh mind you with the smokers out in full force in the morning for some reason. Despite that it was a great run and it felt pretty easy.

I am supposed to do some speedwork today, but I think I will wait on that. I am trying out the nike+ coach because they have a new beta site with more options. I thought it would be helpful to have a guide to compare to, but honestly they have a ton of days off, even on the advanced coaching that I signed up for, and that's just not my style. Today was supposed to be some 800's, but I don't really see that happening because I want to run long tomorrow. I suppose I could do both, but I'm not exactly at the top of my game right now, so I err to the side of conservative rather than aggressive and just do another easy run tonight after caricatures.
7am65° F Mostly Sunny 65° 74%H calm. bf 1575

Well the second run didn't happen. I ended up doing caricatures until 9 instead of 8, so by the time I got home it was really too dark to run. No problem really because I'll be able to do my long run in the morning tomorrow. I'm thinking 12, but we'll see how it goes I might be able to tack on a few miles.

8.7.09

2009-08-07T22:31:00.006-04:00

I once thought heat was the worst part of the summer, but I was wrong. It is bugs. This is three runs in a row where I've had a bug fly directly into my eye. This one crawled around in my tearduct and I could not get it out. Eventually after stopping, hunched over in the middle of the road, I was able to excavate a head of the flying larva, but I'm not sure If I got the rest out or not. I took a short detour to the house and rinsed my eye out, but it was still stinging. Did I mention I had to surgically remove a bug about the size of a dime from April's eye the other day when we went running? Well I did, I now I feel very strongly that I am a qualified eye doctor when it comes to getting bugs out of your eye. The culprits are these little ant-like creatures, bigger than ants and of course have wings and fly in menacing packs. It's probably comical to see me running by, using both my hands in a windshield-wiper motion, while keeping my mouth sealed and eyes half open to avoid ingestion or otherwise catching them in my liquid fly-trap eyeballs.

So add bugs to the list of reasons to enjoy the cold of winter. Other than that stop I also stopped a few more times to get water. The world was against me today it seemed with two weather warnings: one for heat and humidity (90º today with high pressure) and another for an orange level air quality (yay) I wasn't sure if I'd even be able to breath. But I got out there, and even after the bug attack at 5.6 miles and my ipod thinking the run was over and ending the workout, I continued on for the remaining 28 minutes, so things seem to be rolling along. Fact: This week I've ran higher mileage than previous weeks in the past two months.

bf 1567

8.6.09

2009-08-06T22:51:00.004-04:00

Didn't post yesterday, but that doesn't mean I wasn't on the roads. It was a busy night and I kinda forgot to post the day. Nothing incredible happened, just a normal run at the soccer complex. April went with me and ran for at least half an hour. I was pretty impressed. She's been doing better.

Today was a normal run through the neighborhood. As many times as I've run it, it never feels any easier, although i guess thats the curse of running, it's always going to be hard if you push yourself.

7:15pm. 1:00:43, 8.88m. 83º 50%H. bf 1558

8.5.09

2009-08-05T21:03:00.003-04:00

8pm. 48:23, 7.20m. 80º 60%H bf 1550

8.3.09

2009-08-03T21:34:00.006-04:00

I'm really going to miss swimming after my runs come winter time. Feels great. I'm not that great of a swimmer, only swam about a lap and half before my arms got tired, so no triathlons on the horizon for me. Quads were a bit sore today.

1:00:16, 8.75. 80º 61%H bf 1543

8.2.09

2009-08-02T23:01:00.006-04:00

Back on the roads again. It's been a trying last month or two, but I've hung in there by the soles of my running shoes getting a few runs in here and there. I really lacked the drive that I usually have for running. I'm not sure exactly why but I suppose the changes and life situations I've been dealing with are the brunt of it. I tend to devote all my time and energy toward one or maybe two things, and pretty much anything else gets pushed to the wayside. And when that happens running running can get the boot, no pun intended. The funny thing is I really don't feel bad about my time off, or laziness as most runners might say, although my body would tend to disagree with that feeling. In the end I've realized that it's okay to take time for yourself sometimes and not always give in to the running gods whenever things get tough.

So I'm not going to say I'm back, but I am planning for a half marathon in November (and therefore a 5 or 10k before that). Hopefully putting my name on a sign-up sheet and paying the registration fee early will awake some internal mechanism that aligns my brain into training mode. If not I'm not to worried about it. My goal is to just train as well as I can and not expect any miracles. I still want to do well, that is always a given, but I'm not going to push myself into oblivion to get results this time around. Of course I say that now, but those of you who read this humble blog know that once I'm in the midst of miles and gatorade and race prediction calculators oblivion becomes a very relative term. So as usual I will try to stay consistent, and hopefully the results will follow. If you are reading this, then thank you friend, for sticking around to see what's my happening in my tiny little cross section of humanity.

3x hills
3x accels
1:15:08, 10.85. 80º 60%H. bf 1535

7.27.09

2009-07-27T11:04:00.001-04:00

6 miles

bf 1525

7.21.09

2009-07-21T20:17:00.002-04:00

much cooler after sunset, ran later on after dinner. Hard to go fast with a full stomach. Had to take it really easy at first, but very slowly was able to increase speed the end was able to sprint. Lungs were clear and perfect, no heavy breathing at all, would have went longer if it weren't for the right foot. Legs were sore today, mostly quads.

2loops w/HH+1loop
home. 1:15:07 10.72m bf 1519
78º calm (cool)
note: top of arch on right foot still hurt when running, not when walking

7.20.09

2009-07-21T16:16:00.002-04:00

home 6 miles - tough

jumped rope about 5 minutes will record more accurate data from now on.

note: top of arch on right foot hurt toward end.

bf 1509

7.6.09

2009-07-06T19:51:00.004-04:00

I kind of thought I made a good move going out to run when I did, because it was pretty cloudy and blocking a lot of the sun. We had storms yesterday and they were on their way out. But about as soon as I started running everything cleared out pretty quick and I was left to run with the bare sun shining down on me. It made for a pretty hot time, but at least it was windy in one direction and that kept my eyes just dry enough not to get a ton of sweat in them. Either way I held on as long as I could and actually felt pretty good for the most part. We went to a networking meeting tonight, so ending a few minutes short wasn't a bad thing because it gave me some more time to get ready.

It's supposed to be in the 90's over the next week, so I'm really going to try to run in the morning and at night. Hopefully I'll miss the hottest hours of the day that way and possibly be able to get more miles in than I normally would. We'll see what happens.

4pm. home. 85º 58%H From NNE 6 mph
54:02(7.92) bf 1503

7.4.09

2009-07-04T23:44:00.003-04:00

Happy Fourth. Spent yesterday with the family and didn't run. So much for the streak. It's okay though, i'm making up for it with a double later in the week :)

Easy run today and did it later on. Much better to run when the sun is almost set, could have went a lot longer.

7:30pm. home. 81º 49%H calm
45:06(6.60) bf 1495

7.02.09

2009-07-02T19:39:00.005-04:00

Two days down. Run was progressively difficult. I didn't think I was gonna make it toward the end and bout did myself in with a final sprint. Another day in the books though.

4:30pm. 83º W 9mph
46:16(6.88) bf 1489

7.01.09

2009-07-01T19:48:00.006-04:00

I had an interview for a cross country position this morning. It went really well up until the point where recruiting was considered. I mean the guy really liked me and said I would be a great asset to any program, but that he wanted someone in the school. I respect that, and believe me I wish they'd give the art position there as well, just show me where to sign. You see our county is cutting positions, especially in art and music, and basically all the teachers who have been working 30+ years aren't planning on retiring any time soon. It's a waiting game for teachers like me, and I ain't getting any younger. Doubly bad it's now seemingly keeping me from this coaching position, which I would LOVE to get.

But things aren't hopeless, there is a chance I can still get the job. I live really close to the school, and honestly if they really need recruiting I could run around the school all day long for a week just to see how many kids I could get to join to the team. The main reason they need kids is because a new school is nearby, so they lost a large portion of their students, about 700 of them. So I'm praying and hoping that it works out.

In running news I've had a nice long break. I seem to be ready for training again, which is the good news. Today is the first of the month, and I think that got me back into gear. I've decided to set a goal to run everyday this month. Just get back to basics, doesn't matter how far or long or when, just get out there and run sometime every single day for this entire month.

Today was actually pretty nice, with the temps in the lower 80's and dropping, with a little shade from the trees made a pretty good run. I didn't go quite as far as I wanted to because I had a stitch in my lung and behind my left knee was kind of tight - which is normal after a few days off. So as I said my goal for this month is to simply run everyday. i think it'll get me back on track.

Also thanks for the comments, I appreciate them probably more than you know!

6:00pm. home. 83° 41% From WNW 9 mph
54:40(8.01) bf 1483

6.26.09

2009-06-26T19:42:00.003-04:00

I feel like I'm hanging by the skin of my teeth lately when it comes to running. Each day is a battle to get out the door, and the runs aren't exactly easy like they were when it was cooler outside. For instance today during my run I had to stop twice for water and a little recovery, and about halfway through the last loop I really had to stay positive and think about the old "one foot in front of the other" 4-feet running theme song just to make it. Still each time I go out there and do that I feel better about it, but apparently not enough to do it everyday.

Still working hard. I've got lots of caricatures to work on, and April has a new printer so she can print all kinds of things. It's not just a photo printer, it's a deluxe printer that can print large format things, print on vellum, etc. and it has 4 drawers that can hold about 350 sheets of paper. So yeah, it's not simply a new printer you can just by from the store, it cost a pretty penny, but she needs it to get her business going.

Tomorrow we are going to Splash Country near Pigeon Forge. We are going with April's sister and her boyfriend and I think it will be a lot of fun. Not sure how it will affect running, but at this point I guess any reason is acceptable to put a zero in the calendar.

92° F 51% From W4 mph
1:05:05 (9.60) bf 1475

6.23.09

2009-06-23T21:31:00.004-04:00

Great run today. Not a cloud in the sky and it was sunny and beautiful. Took a water break after each loop because it was really hot because of the direct. I ended up having to take a water break about every three miles, or every loop around the block. It worked well, but was still a pretty good effort at the end to stay on pace and finish the run.

Actually had some words of encouragement from a woman in the neighborhood. She said I have inspired a lot of people around here with my running, and it's true I've seen a couple more people walking and running than I normally do. She has been doing water aerobics because she cannot run quite yet. I encouraged her to keep at it, but it was really cool to hear that from a relative stranger. I've waved at her a few times, but never really talked. It really felt good.

6:15pm. home. 89º
1:04:00 (9.51) bf 1466

6.22.09

2009-06-22T22:59:00.006-04:00

So today was a great run through the neighborhood. After the major storms today, which blew over have the plants on our front porch, it was clear and beautiful. It also wasn't too hot because the rain had cooled things down slighty, so just above 80 degrees wasn't too bad. I felt really good the first two loops and the last one struggled just a bit, but still felt really good.

I like that my legs feel great. When I was running a lot of miles they always felt tight and honestly I was probably running too much, but that's the sort of thing I risk I guess. Running is a sort of all or nothing for me. If I'm going to do something, I do it all the way and taking days off or whatever is to risky with my mindset. I'm kind of in that place now, where I've taken so many days off I'm kind of that brink of not running, but I'm hanging in there and I think things will turn around soon.

Well it's been a rough couple weeks. Not bad rough, just different rough because so many things are happening right now. Lots of life changes with jobs and just getting used to new schedules. April is getting her business going. We have an office now and so we are getting things together for that. It's just hard getting used to her being home now, because she did work most of the day before and now she gets to hang with me. There is also talk of maybe getting a teaching position, but it's still up in the air. There are just so many things going on right now it's been difficult to feel motivated to run with so much else on the plate. Soon I should have a new normal and get back on my usual running track.

5:30pm. home. 82º 71% 4mph
1:04:00 (9.41) bf 1457

6.16.09

2009-06-16T12:29:00.003-04:00

Not too bad today, a little cloudy but got sunnier and hotter. Probably going to switch to morning and afternoon runs soon.

11:30am. home. 81° 70%H 2 mph
42:15(6.34) bf 1448

6.14.08

2009-06-14T20:12:00.001-04:00

Tough run, it was hot. Not sure what's going to happen in July when it hits 90 at 9 am.

5:05pm. home. 85º 51H 4 mph
42:36(6.41) bf 1442

6.12.09

2009-06-12T18:13:00.002-04:00

It wasn't too bad out today. The first loop I caught clouds and the second the sun really came down, but I felt good. The third loop was tough and about halfway through that one I knew I was almost spent for the day. I really feel inconsistent lately so I'm thinking I need to write some stuff down. Other than this blog, which is basically just a log/journal I normally keep a barebones schedule laying around. I haven't gotten around to filling one out yet, but I was thinking before I know it fall races will be here, training has to start now (at least in the base sense). There's something about having a schedule, no matter how rough, that keeps you extra accountable. I hate filling in zeros.

4:45pm. home. 83º 60%H 6mph
1:02:41(9.35) bf 1436

6.11.09

2009-06-11T21:46:00.003-04:00

Thunderstorms were still going on through the day, but luckily it cleared up and was very nice around five. I got out the door while I could. A good run. It was a little hot today, but not too bad since the rain had just come through and I caught a couple clouds too :) We were supposed to go camping tomorrow, but now it looks like the plans aren't going through. It's not a bad thing it'll give me more time to finish some things and run.

5:30pm. home. 77º 76%H 5mph
1:07:10(10.02) bf 1427

6.10.09

2009-06-10T21:46:00.001-04:00

thunderstorms and lightning, stayed inside.

6.9.09

2009-06-09T17:52:00.005-04:00

Extremely hot today, just tried to make it 40 minutes.

4:45pm. home. 88º 50h 5mph
42:37(6.37) bf 1418

6.8.09

2009-06-08T23:46:00.003-04:00

Was busy all day visiting and working, didn't get a run in.

6.7.09

2009-06-07T17:49:00.001-04:00

Easy run turned into a kind of tempo around the neighborhood. Clouds made it a little easier to run and since I've had plenty of time off the legs were really fresh and I just wanted to go fast so I did.

7:33pm. home. 84º 41h 5mph
41:30 (6.38) bf 1412

6.6.09

2009-06-06T21:26:00.004-04:00

Okay so sorry about this past week no real updates coming from my end. I've been feeling very unmotivated lately, but I actually enjoyed having some time off from running for a while. It just seemed like I had been grinding it out for a long time and I need a nice long break from running. Well I'm feeling better than ever and am ready to get back to training.

Today started off a new base where the focus will be one quality run a week, one long run, and striders/coordination once or twice as I see fit during the week. I've had a lot of time to think and reflect about my goals for this year and I'll be focusing on a half marathon in the fall. I have no goal time right now and probably never will. My only goal will be to put forth my best effort on race day.

It was a very beautiful day today, I like when the humidity is low like this. The wind was just strong enough to cool me down one way, although running with it I did get pretty hot. Still other than a stitch I got under my rib (common area for me) where it's closest to the bellybutton for the first 20 minutes the rest of the run went fine. My legs are feeling really great right now. The biggest thing I hope to get from my time off other than motivation is injury prevention. Sometimes I take things a little too hard, so hopefully this week off will help with anything that may have been going astray. I haven't had any niggles lately, but I'm sure most of this week off can't hurt.

home. 3:53pm. 82º 39%H 4mph wind from ENE
1:11:31(10.50) bf 1406

6.5.09

2009-06-06T21:25:00.002-04:00

Fully rested? I hope so.

6.4.09

2009-06-06T21:25:00.001-04:00

Resting a ton

6.3.09

2009-06-06T21:24:00.002-04:00

Resting more

6.2.09

2009-06-02T23:01:00.002-04:00

Rest

6.1.09

2009-06-02T23:00:00.000-04:00

Taking a few days rest