tommorow

Thats right. Tommorow is the big day. I will officially be a half marathoner. I went down to pickup all my gear, my bib, tracker, and all the other cool stuff that they give you.

I am very excited and all day I've been going over what needs to happen. I got a little nervous earlier today, especially around meal-times because I know that what you eat directly relates to performance. But I have calmed down since then and realized that I will do my best, and a last minute diet change isn't going to affect the run much.

Some people have plans and strategies. Mine is to just do what I've been doing the past few months: RUN. I think I'll start in the middle of the pack somewhere, no need to mess up all the olympic-qualifying athletes - which there are a few in the race. Other than finishing my goal would be not to let those types "lap" me. My word, that would be pretty pathetic and demoralizing. I've been drinking water all day, got my extra carbs, and tommorow morning a small breakfast and plenty of fluids and I'll be on my way. I guess I'm glad I have a normal job, because getting up at 5:30 wont be a problem. I get up at 6 for school, so 1/2 hour isn't going to kill me.

looks to be a little sprinkly .....weather forecast

I plan on finishing in 1:50, I haven't timed anything during my training other than total time, so I don't know how splits are going to work. The course is hilly and I'm getting some last minute studying in right now. There are a few hills that look pretty tough, so I'm trying to plan for when they are so they don't freak me out. Around 7 miles there is a large increase, and another close to the 11 mark. One post i read from last year said the course was tough, I believe it.

course profile (pdf)

Okay it's already past bedtime. April went to a wedding and still isn't back, so I wanted to wait for her before I slept. I saw her a few minutes this morning and she has been running all over the whole day. I'll stay up a few more minutes and double check everything I need. Good luck fellow runners.

aha! ipod can be used as a flash drive...couldn't find my 1gb anywhere, oh well!

here are some fabulous pics, enjoy.

new socks!


even labeled for convenience!


my trusty kicks


they are built to simulate barefoot running...


gotta love it


okay thats just wrong

Spring BREAK

yeap. Spring broke my running to pieces. Man that was a long week. I think I got a few days of running amidst buying a house, getting new kicks, clothes, an ipod, and visiting the mountains. whew. Well I am not even sure what happened the whole time. I think I ran maybe three days over the entire break. The first few days I was just recovering from school. So much stress, I wasn't feeling very good. About mid-way through I finally started getting things done and being alive, opposite of my zombie like state after school days. If it weren't for running I would just be a lump on a log all night. This week seemed to fly by as well.

I have been trying to blog, but i get something down and have to leave or go do something else. Most of that was due to the house buying. We had to drive and look everywhere, which was exhausting and really didn't allow time at night to go run due to all the "hurry up lets go now" runs. But I still managed to get maybe 10 miles in last week. This week was a little more productive with a 5-0-4-5-0.

I have to say I am somewhat happy with my work over the past few months, at least I have a small base built up. I think I am going to continue building the base for at least another month before I start hill and speed work. My knees are so much better than when I started, I never have soreness in them, running or afterward. That is encouraging because I'm not worried about injuring them anymore. My blisters have also subsided, partly due to breaking in my new shoes, which i just ordered another pair of.

I also got my ipod and that should help me with tracking my mileage so I can go for runs without having to think about how far I've went and where I need to run to. I plan on running a course, recording the measurement, then I can run it again without my ipod. (i'm not too into running with music yet)

The new house is nice, but I will have to find new places to run. I will no longer be .8 miles from a track, but there is a huge hill behind it that has a road leading up to more houses.

If i can figure out how, I'll post some pics of the shoes and socks I am using. This Sunday is the big race. I am excited to see what my time is going to be, if someone good is reading this all I have to say is try not to laugh when i post it :)

spring break
friday-3
sat-2
sun-0
mon-0
tues-4
wed-0
thurs-0

fri-0
sat-3
sun-5
mon-0
tues-4.5 miles at night, beautiful
wed-5 on tread. fast pace for me, sweated to death.
thurs-0

fri-(4)
sat(off)
sun- half marathon

kids who don't know how to act make life bad.

Today I finally got some running in. This is the week before spring break and all the kids are nuts, more nuts than usual, which is like complete insanity x12. I saw one teacher in tears at the end of the day today. They annoy me and are rude, and just depress everyone, but I don't think I would ever cry. I dunno. Anyway it felt great to run again. Only 3 miles on the treadmill because it was raining, but it was so sweet. One more day till SPRING BREAK! I think the teachers are more excited than the kids.

thursday- 3 miles around 6mph, steady

BAH

This week has been horrible. Sunday I had a blister on my third right toe, so i wanted to wait until monday to run. Monday came around, and We went looking at a house, then went to April's aunts for dinner till around 9. I was already tired because this week is Breakfast duty. Blah. So early, so tired all day long. Today was much of the same, couldn't sleep last night, terrible day at work. Kids were crazy, I thought i had a staff meeting, but ended up missing it at the last minute to go on a short field trip, which I thought would be a good thing.... I wish I would have just went to the staff meeting, at least i would have got a snack maybe? I ended up being starved and cranky on the trip, and the kids really just annoyed me. Finally got home and went to dinner with april and didn't feel like running when we got back since I stuffed myself from being starved. I guess it was an ordinary day for me. I can't wait for spring break.

sun-0
mon-0
tues-0

Week 7

Thursday I had a meeting, and yesterday I took another day to rest. Today it was cloudy and rain is supposed to be moving in soon. I ran about 8 miles today, 8 tough miles. First I did the usual 1 mile to the track, 4 miles there. I wanted to go on home because i felt a new blister forming, but then I decided I needed more than just 6 miles, so i ran on toward the big hill and took it. It was rough. At the top I walked for a while, and started to go back down the other side. That's when stomach cramps started to take over. I stopped again because it didn't feel to great. And then again about 30 seconds later. I pushed on and about a half mile back home I had to stop yet again. I was running into some pretty good wind, and a few sprinkles were forming so I hurried up getting home.

I now have a blister on both toes beside my big toe which aren't bad because they are old calices from when i used to run, but the one today is the middle toe and near the bottom. Pretty stingy, but it'll probably go away by monday. My legs again were tired. Even after two days rest around the 4-5 mile mark. I am going to work in some lifting or hills on hard days so I can get my leg strength up. Also I think that taking two days without running at all was bad. I'm going to have to learn how to work in easy 2-4miles on those days. Only 3 weeks left until the race, it seems crazy that I've been running for over a month now.

I've been thinking about the race, I'm kind of curious as to how it'll go. I decided that if I need to walk, I'm going to. It's my first long race, so I guess just participating should be enough.

Friday-0ff
Saturday- 6.0 miles, huge hill 1 mile, 1 mile home, new blister

Wednesday

Yesterday my calves were very tight, so I took a day of rest. If I had taken monday off instead, I would have been able to run yesterday. I figured that would happen. Next time the day after a long run I will be sure to take that day of rest to recover.

Today it was windy again. Coming from the west, but it was beautiful. Around 63 degrees and sunny. I decided to just run and see what happened, no real goal mileage in mind. Today I ran outside in my favorite running shoes, the regular nike free that I wear on the treadmill. I normally run outside in my trail nike free's which have larger and more durable grip, and less "bend". They worked pretty well, but going down steep hills I can definitely tell there isn't much around the heel area. (The shoes are designed for a midfoot strike, obviously running down a hill you have to use the heel or you will go so fast you'd kill yourself)

So down to the school a mile, back across to the huge hill. Here I slowed waaay down going up, and by the time I got to the top my quads were shot. 20 seconds rest and I was off again, another mile back to the school, and then back home. So i got in 4 miles +, but after that hill, I really considered stopping. My breathing was somewhat fast and my quads were completely obliterated. I pressed on and went back to the school again before heading home.

When I got home, I wiped my forehead and tiny white crystals like sand flaked onto my hand. Later I realized it was crystalized sweat, probably from too much salt yesterday (fries!) or the fact I had a bad bloody nose before I ran, it lasted at least 15 minutes. My nose does that mostly due to a lot of heat or quick change in temperature. Anyway, It just seemed weird at the time, as I was trying to remember if i had run through a sandstorm or something :)

Tuesday-0ff
Wednesday- 4 miles. 1.5, huge hill-1, 1.5

Monday

Today my calves were a little tight. I was supposed to take it easy, but that just didn't feel right. Next time I'll back off a little. I didn't get a lot of miles in, but I wanted to get my heart rate up. I ran on the treadmill because it was late, but it was beautiful outside and I was really tempted to take off into the dark. I was sweating pretty good, probably due to my t-shirt, and was going pretty fast toward the end of the run.

3 miles 3/4 splits
5.0/6.0
1/2 mile splits
6.5/7

Sunday

So far this was my longest run. 8 miles. Not a great amount, but hey at least I'm improving. It was very windy out, and about 30 degrees. It looked a lot warmer out that it really was. I ran out toward the big hill, but turned around at the 1 mile mark, then ran back to the track. My hands were freezing and I could have stopped back to get them, but I was just getting warmed up. At that point I walked about 100 meters because I went way too fast and my quads were so tight I couldn't move them. I think it was mostly from the cold too though. So after that I ran 5 miles on the track.

It was run 200m easy, then the wind came on the next 200m. The sun was starting to set, and it was kind of nice to see the shadows changing every time I came around another lap. After that I ran out past the school, and back home to make it a pretty much even 8 miles. My legs were very tired, but my breathing was consistent. I just went out to fast the first two miles.

Week 6

Took the day off Yesterday. It was raining, and I figured after running the 6 on Wednesday I could use a day to recover. Today I ran 3 miles on the treadmill. I was wiped out after this week, and passed out for a while on the couch when I got home. I could really feel "it" in my calves today. They weren't sore, just tight, which is a really awesome thing. In the old days they would be sore because I would kill myself just running a few miles, instead of taking it easy every now and then and putting in more miles instead.

Less than a month until the big race. It will be my first half-marathon, heck my first race over 5k, so I'm not looking for a win, I just hope to finish at this point. if I make it within 1.5 hours, I think that would be impressive. As of right now, I believe I can finish, but I'm not sure if I'll kick it the last few miles, or just keep a nice pace, I guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

On a side note I found out what caused the blister. It wasn't my shoes, it was a toenail. I guess the toenail next to my big toe decided he wasn't getting enough attention and grew a half inch. It rubbed into both toes, but formed a crater of skin at the edge that i had to cut away. Today it is completely healed, so that is good. I guess I'll have to watch out for that guy, because the other toenails didn't need a thing. What do you call the toe next to the big one? Maybe if i give him a name he'll stop bullying the big guy....

Thursday- off
Friday- 3.0 steady @ 5.5/6.0/6.5

I can do it

Yes, I can. I can update my blog! That makes two victories today. It was beautiful out and I wanted to run so badly, but i also wanted to have the energy to go for a while ( and never do since i have to eat lunch at 10am). Since I haven't ran much outside due to my eating schedule, I thought I would have a granola bar around 3, and then be able to run an hour later. So I tried it out and wala, finally got to run at a normal hour and not on the treadmill.

I am not sure how far I went. I ran to a school that's about a mile away and planned on using their track, but they were having practice, so I ran around the school instead. Then i ran back home, and past it farther up a giant hill, then back past home to the school again. They were getting out of practice just as I arrived, which means I ran their whole practice, and that felt good. So then I decided I was going to head back home. My stomach was hurting, not from running though. It may have been due to that granola bar. I haven't had an afternoon snack for months now, and I think it threw me off. I am guessing I ran at least 5 miles, I'll drive it sometime to find out. I was sweating, and had to slow down when I got up to the top of that hill, it was tough.

I also forgot my water for lunch today. I habitually drink water for lunch everyday of school, so today I forgot my bottle and I had to drink something, so i got a Dr. Pepper- that is probably the real reason my stomach was wierd. If it weren't for my stomach and forgetting my watch- I could have ran farther. Heck, I'm about to go back out because it's still daylight and I'm feeling fine now.

Wednesday: 5-6 miles, +hill, steady pace,
note: new Trail shoes/toenail may have caused blister on left toe??-

Catching Up

week 4
Friday: Staff day, Parents drove in for the weekend --
Saturday: Shopping in Pigeon Forge/aquarium --
Sunday: Shopped all day, visited Aprils family til 10pm --
Monday: exhausted from weekend/ Another staff day ;( --
Tuesday: Summative Evaluation, --
Wednesday: --
Thursday: 3 miles at steady pace, knees a little wierd again

week 5
Friday: 5 miles (6.0), felt good to get back into running
Saturday: Off
Sunday: 3 miles in the morning, saw a guy who needed the tread more than me, so i stopped.
Monday: 6 miles, (6.0/6.5/7.0) felt awesome, same guy stared at me last 2 miles, so i stopped early.
Tuesday: 2 miles (6.5/7.0 mph)
Wednesday: 6 miles along road, huge hill, steady pace. developed blister
Thursday:off

I really need to keep this updated. Being at school all day really takes the life out me for things like this. I am planning on running 10 miles tommorow. Judging from Monday's easy 6, I think it's about time I upped the mileage. Also I have been running on the treadmill a lot. That is because I eat lunch at 10am, then by the time i get home (the perfect time to run) I am exhausted and starving. So it's at least 5 before my wife and I eat, then an hour to digest, and now dark. I don't like running in the dark. I have nothing against it, but it just feels wierd. I also like to have April come with me to work out in the fitness center, which is a big reason I wait to work out.

Background

Been a while since I've tried to blog, and hopefully the death of this one is not inevitable. In the past there has always been some quick death to my blogs, but I am very hopeful for this one's future. You see I recently began training for a half-marathon. I was a decent runner in high school, but after 6 years I finally have returned to something that I enjoy and miss. It has been a little over a week now, and I am in the process of rebuilding back to my former 18 year old self.

Although I'm not yet in the habit of blogging, I wrote down notes on what mileage I have been running and how I felt each day up to now

week one
Friday: treadmill 3 miles
Saturday: 2 800's on the nearby track (+2 miles there and back)
Sunday : 30 minutes treadmill- had to visit family
Mon: 1 hour- 5miles tread steady pace (read Galloway's Book on Running over the weekend)
Tues: off
Wed: 1200's @6:07, 6:07, 5:50 pushed pretty hard on last one +2mi
Thurs: 3.2 tread 6.5-7 mph, breathing fine good pace

week two
Friday: 6.0 miles tread, 5mph. knees felt sore along the outsides, could have ran more though
Saturday: Off
Sunday: 7 miles, steady pace. Felt a blister develop on my right toe at 4 miles.
Monday: 2 sets of squats/ jump rope. 2 miles tread, knees hurt at first
Tuesday: 4 miles tread. Knees fine, but developed a blister on inside arch of my right foot.
Wed: day off
Thurs: day off

week three
Friday: evaluation- relaxed
Saturday: 3 miles: tried out new running shoes.
Sunday: off
Monday: recouped from hard day
Tuesday: Staff Meeting
Wed: Valentines- hung out with April
Thurs:

This last week was pretty tough. I had two evaluations at school and so I've been doing a lot of work for those, plus planning for all the other classes I have to teach. It is time to pay the registration fee for the half-marathon, so I think that will help me get more serious as my schedule has been slacking lately. There aren't many days until April 1st, so I've got to get things back in gear.