3021

I went home for lunch today and to my suprise, the final race packet was in the mail.
My number is 3021.
The race is now starting to become a reality.

Playing Catch Up

I believe it has almost been a week since I have posted, but that doesn't mean I have stopped running. The holidays are always a busy time for me and trying to fit in my runs has been a little challenging.

On Christmas Eve, I finished my last major 800 workout. I ran 10 X 800 at 3:20 pace. I totalled about 8.75 miles including the warm up and cool down. I rested (didn't run) on Christmas but I wouldn't call it relaxing. Friday was a GREAT day for running. We almost set a high with a temp of 65 degrees. The record was 66 degrees. I ran 10 in shorts and averaged about an 8:45 pace. We changed our LAST 20 miler to Sunday because of the rain and wind that was coming on Saturday. Sunday was cooler and still windy but managed to get our run in. Chris had ran his 20 miler on Saturday morning so it was just Scott and I.

I felt like I struggled this entire run. I was fighting some soreness in my left calf and knee. My legs were EXTREMELY sore after the run. They actually burned. After a couple laps around the Y, the pain and burning subsided.

I ended the final main week of training with 53.5 miles. The next 3 week are taper time. We cut our mileage 75% this next week. It's gravy from here until the race.

Magic Number is 10

Yesterday's magic number was 10. That was how many miles I had to run and what the temperature was when I started. It was indeed COLD.

The plan was run the first few miles as a warm-up and slowly increase the rest of the miles. I'll post the exact splits later tonight but the ones I can remember are 9:00, 9:04, and 9:05 for the first 3. My last mile was at a 7:48 pace. I do know that I ran negative splits the last 7 miles. It turned out to be a very rewarding run. This is our last week of heavy training and I want this week's workouts to be just like week 1 in regards to intensity.

I finished the run in 1:28 for an average pace of 8:48. Not too shabby for the first day of week 15.

An extra day of rest

This week marks the last official cutback week prior to the taper period. I was running solo on Saturday and planned out a 12 mile run through Chatham. It was pretty uneventful unless you count the 6 times I was almost hit. People need to pay attention more than they do while they are driving.

The Wabash trail was pretty slick. I prayed the entire time that I would keep my footing. At about mile 7.5, I ran into Aaron S. we chit chatted for about 10 minutes and said our good byes. I looked down at my watch and it was still running. It was showing an average pace of 10:20. I put the hammer down the last 4.5 miles and arrived at home after 12 miles averaging right about 9:10 pace.

With Sunday being as cold as it was, I took an extra day to sit, relax, and reflect on the training. I am going to alter my schedule a bit and move this week's work-outs up a day. So tonight, I am going to run 10, Tuesday- 5 miles, Wednesday- 10 X 800, and rest Thursday and Friday in preparation for our last 20 miler on Saturday.

Higdon's Traditional Tempo Run

After 14.5 weeks of heavy training, it's hard to come up with the motivation sometimes to run. Last night was one of those nights. The plan called for a 6.5 mile tempo run. I was in NO mood for my typical tempo run. I had thoughts of substituting an 8 mile run outside but the freezing rain put a damper on that idea. Since I was doing Higdon's plan, I thought that maybe I could try one of his tempo runs. Higdon's style of tempo run is described as "A tempo run is a continuous run with a buildup in the middle to near 10-K race pace".

I hit the treadmill and the plan was to still try to get 6.5 miles in with a 10 minutes peak at 7:13 pace about 35 minutes into the run. I started out with a .5 mile warmup and increased my pace when I started to feel comfortable. Fortunately, I hit the 35 minute mark right where I wanted to be. I hit the speed to 8.3 and was off dor my 10 minutes at near 10K pace. I completed the workout by gradually slowing the next 10 minutes.

This workout felt good and refreshing. I'm glad I chose this workout as it broke up the tempo run monotony. This is the last of the major tempo runs. I have 1 minor (4 miles) tempo run left during the taper period.

Lunch Time Run

I just got back from my Wednesday recovery run. I don't know if it was a recovery run or not but it was a run. It felt faster in some segments and not so fast in others. I forgot my watch at home so this run was without it and music. Just me, the roads, and a cold breeze.

I left from work and ran a loop to Rt. 29, back behind the airport over some rolling hills, and back to work. According to USATF, it was somewhere in the neighborhood of 5.5 miles.

Off to Sebastian's tonight for dinner and then to walk around downtown for the Christmas walk.

Committed or Stupid is as Stupid does...

You decide. When I initially heard that it would be snowing I wasn't too worried so I committed to an outside 6 mile run. Little did I know that the snow would be changing to a freezing rain.

After running 10 miles on the treadmill Sunday, I wanted to get outside and hit the roads, or snow, or ice. I thought to myself that I had run in the rain before, and it was only a 6 mile 6 so it shouldn't be that bad. Boy, was I ever wrong.

As I was walking the down thr driveway, I almost slipped on some ice. I should have taken the hint and walked back inside but I was committed. I dressed just perfect and the run started out fine. 1st mile was 8:50... am I ever going to get my speed back??? At the half way point something didn't feel right. I looked down and to my suprise, I had a layer of ice all down the front of me. I tried to break it off but it must have been attached pretty good to the fabric. The last 2 miles were with the wind. I took advantage and increased my pace a bit.

I finished the 6.5 mile route with an average pace around 8:30 and about 5 pounds heavier (if not more) from the ice. And it definately felt better than running on the treadmill

A Very LONG Week-end

I was looking forward to this week-end knowing that once I finished, the miles were all downhill (not literally). I was looking at a week-end total of 33 miles...23 on Saturday and 10 on Sunday. That would be a total of 55 miles for the week... WHEW!!!

Saturday started at about 0530. I had some toast with jelly and coffee before testing the weather. The temp was about 35 degrees but the winds (gusting up to 30) were going to make it feel cooler. I opted for tights, long sleeve shirt, and wind jacket with a stocking cap. Looking back, that was perfect. I met Scott and Chris at the Y at 0700. The plan called for 20. Dan and Jason with hardybreed.com told me that it would be a good idea if we got a 22-23 miler in prior to the race. Scott had previously convinced me that a 22-23 would be good and they pretty much confirmed it. I was just worried about injuries. We kept a nice easy pace stopping approximately every 2.5 miles for drinks.

I was Mr. Chatterbox on this run. I don't know what was going on. I was probably just trying to keep my mind off the fact that I would be running for a long time. I had SO much energy. I can only hope that I have that much on Marathon day. Our route took us all over Springfield. We went est all the way to Koke Mill, as far south as Woodside Road via the trail, through Jerome, over some rolling hills down Chatham Road, through Washington Park, and back to the Y. It really is a good route.

I believe our overall pace was about 9:19. That included our bathroom stop and drink/GU stops. I actually felt good the last few miles. I picked up the pace of mile 23 to about 8:40. After 3 hours and 40 minutes on my feet, I was ready to take a load off. I hit FedEx Kinko's to pick up an order for Kristi and headed home to relax.

Sunday was a different story. I woke and was extremely uncomfortable. I wasn't quite sore, I just think it was the tightness. I did some LIGHT stretching. After a breakfast of poached eggs and toast, Cameron (my youngest) and I stacked some firewood, put up our Christmas wreath on the garage, put up some decorations, and took the dog for a walk... all before noon.

After running a couple errands, I hit the treadmill for a 10 mile run. I had no desire to run outside in the winds that were supposedly gusting around 40 mph. The majority of the run would have been against the wind. I started out sluggish. But after 23 miles the day before, I guess that is to be expected. It was supposed to be a pace run but I thought "No way!". I finished the run in about 96:00 while watching some football. Cameron kept me company for a few miles. I felt pretty good after the run but I don't think I could have gone one step further.

After another successful week of training, I topped out at 55 miles for the week. Barring any injuries the next 5 weeks, I think I am well on my way. Hat's off to Scott, Chris, and Mike. They are awesome training partners. One time or another through this training, they have kept me moving. I appreciate all the positive reinforcements. They are the one's that are the "Animals".

Nice and Toasty

I guess the one (and maybe only) good thing about running on the treadmill is that you don't have to go out in the cold. I was actually looking forward to last night's workout on the treadmill. With that said, I would have to say that my favorite workout is speed work... 400's, 800's, etc.

I only have 1 more MAJOR "track" workout after my 9 X 800's that I was scheduled to do last night. Scott wanted to top out at 10 X 800 the week before tper madness begins. After a .5 warm up, I started in on the first of 9 800's. After 12.5 weeks of training, my body has begun to feel affects. This workout was a little tough but I managed to make it through it. The last 2 were pretty tough. My legs felt heavy. After a .5 mile cooldown, I finished the workout with a .25 mile walk and some stretching. I totalled 7.5 miles and my total time not including the .25 mile walk was 1 hour 10 minutes.

I downed my Endurox R4 recovery drink in order to make sure I was healed enough for our Saturday long run. We are shooting for 22-23 miles. Hopefully, all goes smooth (as smooth as it can get while running 22-23 miles). Couple that with 10 on Sunday and I will have over 30 miles over the week-end. WOW!!!

Arm Swing

Last night was a recovery run on the treadmill. I will spare you the details that I think I have described for every Wednesday work-out.

Today was no different. 5 miles on the treadmill at 9:13 pace.

I watched a little ESPN and caught the entire news. I have been trying to work on my arms while I'm running. I read a good article about having a nice, relaxed arm swing so I am going to give it a try. It is taking a ton of concentration. The idea is that your hands should pass the hips. Not sure if is going to do any good but it sure can't hurt.

Another Early, Rainy Tuesday

Well... it was raining AGAIN when I rolled out of bed at 0400 this morning. It was off and on as far as heavy/light rain. It was not going to be pretty as the wind was blowing at about 17 mph. This is probably the worst day of running Scott and I have had since we started this training.

The plan was to run 10 miles. I switched up the route when I showed at the Y but Scott was ok. I thought that maybe we could include some hills on this run. Contrary to Saturday's run, I was feeling pretty good. I think Scott would have rather been anywhere but on the roads but he was a trooper this morning. Did I tell you that the weather was absolutely horrible???

We completed our 10 mile run right at 9:00 minute pace. I am starting to feel the affects of this long training plan. I'm not feeling as strong at this point as I was say 10 weeks ago but I am still hanging in there. The good thing is that our last mile was run at 8:15 pace.

The End of Week 12

The week-end started at approximately 0500 on Saturday. The weather was absolutely horrible, my right foot was aching, and I hadn't necessarily been eating right all week. But it was only a 12 mile run. Piece of cake???

I met Scott at his house at 0700 and we set out on a 12 mile run. After running 20 the week before, I thought this would be a walk a in the park. Was I wrong!!! I struggled bad on this run. I overdressed and was pretty warm. The wind was blowing at 17 mph. It snowed. It was cold. I was miserable. :)

But I continued on. Trying not to complain too much. My right foot was hurting pretty bad around the 9-10 mile mark but it is a nagging ache so I pressed on. It is feeling much better this Monday morning. The route was pretty awesome. A little mix of flat and hills with some country scenery and the lake.

We finished Saturday's workout right on pace... 9:09/ mile. Not bad considering how miserable I was feeling.

Sunday's workout went much better. I slept in a bit and hit the road about 0900. I was thinking of all the runners racing the Frostbite and thought how nice of a day they were going to have. It was cold but no wind. I dressed just right. I was a little cold starting out but was just right around mile 1. My garmin died before the first mile so I have no idea on times. I will say, my breathing was labored so I feel like I increased the pace and had a quality workout.

I finished the cut back week with 36 miles and hopefully rejuvenated for another high mileage week.

A Different Approach

To break up the monotomy of the same old tempo run, last night I split it into 2 segments of 3 miles. To be honest, I didn't really feel like I could go a straight 6 miles at 7:13 pace. With this being a cutback week, I didn't want to over do it. By the way... There was no jamming out tonight. :)

After some breif stretching, I hopped on the 'mill and started with a .5 mile warm-up before breaking into segment #1. Each segment was going to be run at 7:13 pace (8.3 mph). The first segment felt REALLY good. I thought about going on but decided to take a .25 mile break and catch up on the fluids. After a quarter mile, I started segment 2. I thought about increasing this segment to 8.5 but didn't. Maybe next time. The 2nd segment felt just as good as the first. After finishing up with a .5 mile cool down, it was time for some dinner (and was I ever hungry).

I finished the work out with 7.25 miles total with 6 at tempo pace. Overall it was an excellent work out. I only have 1 more high mile tempo work out before the taper begins.

Yes... the race is only a little over 6 weeks out.

It's a good thing no one could see me

Today's workout was a 5 mile recovery run. I woke about 0500 and did some light stretching. I wasn't in any mood to run this morning. I was TIRED!!!! I know the importance of these slow recovery runs but they do not suit me any way, shape, or form... but I have to do them.

I set the incline to 1.0, the speed at 6.5 (9:13), and I started another boring treadmill workout. I had the IPOD on and instead of a podcast, I thought some music might be the answer. At mile 3, things got interesting. The song "Misery Business" by Paramore came on and I quickly turned it up. Not that I'm a big fan but this song is a great one to run to as you will soon find out.

It's a good thing the blinds were shut and no one could see me or they might have called the cops on me. I was jamming. Playing the air guitar, singing, banging on my imaginary drums, etc. You get the picture. I think I played the song 3 or 4 times in a row. The song actually made the run enjoyable.

I finished the last .5 mile wondering if anyone could have possibly seen me acting like an idiot. I think I found the song to pick me up when things aren't looking so hot during a run.

So after 5 miles (46:00 minutes), I cooled down with a .25 mile walk thanking God that he didn't let kristi walk in on me while I was rockin'.

An Unexpected Tuesday Run

Because I didn't have to drop kids off at school, I was able to meet Scott for an early morning run. This is our 4th cutback week. The plan called for a 6 mile run and Hal says that if we wanted to make it a faster run, that would be ok. I think we ran the pace that we typically run for these Tuesday runs.

We started from the Y, ran 2 laps in washington Park, and finished at the Y. Our time was about 53:00 and we averaged an 8:18 pace over 6.12 miles.

These cutback weeks have always been welcomed and help out trmendously. I remember the last cutback week. By our 19 mile run, I was all ready to go. Hopefully that will play true right before our 20 miler next week-end.

Catching up on the week-end

After a late (for me) night out on Friday, I wasn't feeling like Saturday was going to be a good run. The plan was to at least be home by 10:00 but we were both enjoying ourselves so we stayed out until around 11:30. With Saturday's 20 miler looming, I finally fell a sleep sometime after midnight.

I did the usual breakfast (toast & coffee) a couple hours before we were to meet. I was a great morning. Chris actually showed in shorts while Scott and I had on tights. We should have worn shorts as the weather was pretty close to average race day weather with the exception of the wind. I chose a pretty flat run that took us all over the central, west, and south part of Springfield. It took me a LONG time to get into a groove. We made our GU stops at the 5 mile increments. All-in-all, the run went relatively well. We ended up averaging 9:09 miles. Our last 8 miles or so were run at about an 8:50 average. I woke Sunday feeling a little sore but ready for a 10 mile run.

I wanted to get my legs back so I decided to run later in the afternoon. Cameron and I went to see Madagascar 2. We ran into Scott and his family. It was a good kid movie and I would recommend it. After the movie, I dropped Cameron off with his mother, and I headed home to get my run in. It was 4:30 before I hit the road and the weather was miserable. It was somewhere between a rain and snow but I think I hit them all. The plan was to run to Kristi's mom's house to hook-up her new 32" Sony Bravia T.V. It is about 5 miles from her house to mine so I did a little loop in Chatham and headed down Route 4. The wind was cross/ in my face all the way down Route 4 (approx 5 miles). I was glad when the run was over. I got 8.5 miles in and my pace was slow... 9:16.

I had a good week of running. I am still injury free with minor aches and pains. But that is to be expected. I finished the week with just over 50 miles (50.25) and am Welcoming a nice easy cut-back week.

Breakfast before Turkey... How bout 8 x 800?

Turkey day is pretty hectic around here. It consists of cooking, cleaning, watching the parade, etc. The only time I was going to be able to fit in my speed session was in the AM. So, before I did anything else today, I hopped on the treadmill. The plan called for 8 Yasso 800's. My pace has always been running them at 3:20 and today was no exception.

After some stretching and a .5 mile warm-up, I I started in on my first of 8 800's. The first is always the hardest but I typically get into a nice groove after about the third (I'm sure I have mentioned that about 100 times).

I did a .5 mile cooldown followed by a .25 mile walk. I was tired but felt refreshed and ready to takle all the Thanksgiving festivities.

The plan for the next day and a half is rest in preparation for my first ever 20 miler on Saturday.

Scott... If you by chance read this prior to Saturday, I'm going to drop off some water at the end of the trail before I meet you all at the Y.

A treadmill run is... Still a treadmill run

No matter what time of the day it is, a treadmill run is still the same old boring run. Today was no exception as I ran a 5 mile recovery run over lunch in our "gym" at work. Nothing crazy to report as I took it nice and easy in order to stay semi-fresh for tomorrow's 800's and Saturday and Sunday long run.

I ran a total of about 47:00 minutes. After the run, I did some core exercises and then headed back to my office to work.

To everyone... Have a Happy Thanksgiving and be safe over this long week-end!!!!

The morning started at 0430. I rolled out of bed, made some coffee, toast, and read the paper for a bit. I tested the weather and today called for tights, long sleeve shirt, and pullover with gloves. I took my jacket along just in case and it was a good thing I did. I noticed a flag blowing in the wind so I decided I would wear my jacket. Start time temp was 29.

Todays run was going to e 10 miles. Neither Scott or I had a route picked out so we came up with a quick plan and headed out. For some reason my Garmin was completely dead. I charged it over night Sunday??? I recharged it again this morning after the run and all is well... THANK GOD!!! I thought the world would come to an end without my Garmin.

We kept a nice steady pace through the first 8 miles and picked up the pace by 10 seconds the last 2 miles. Our average on today's run was 9:00. The pace was absolutely perfect. With a 20 miler looming on Satuday, I didn't want to run this one too hard and crash on Saturday. We are both experiencing a little soreness so we may be slowing it down a bit on the upcoming runs.

Last night, I skipped the bike because my quads were toast from the 28 miles over the week-end. I did 2 sets of weights and worked on my core for a bit.

I received my new shoes yesterday, Mizuno Wave Alchemy 8, and I am planning on trying them out tomorrow on the treadmill... 5 mile recovery run. I think I will break them in on the recovery runs and tackle a couple 12 miles with them. That should give me about 50 miles on them for the race. I currently run in Mizuno Wave Alchemy 7 and I absolutely think they are GREAT.

Week-end Update

The week-end started for me at 0500 on Saturday morning. After a cutback week, I was looking forward to today's long 19 mile run. The plan was to meet at 0700 at the Y. I ate a bagel with some peanut butter prior to the run. It was a chilly 27 degrees when I got out of the car. I dressed light, tights, gloves, hat, long sleeve shirt, and wind jacket.

I felt pretty good the entire run. I started feeling the run in my legs around mile 13/14. I'm feeling pretty comfortable taking gels every 5 miles so I think I am going to do that for the race. Up until mile 15 then I am going to gel every 4 miles. We are incorporating a ton of hills in our long runs. I know hills make you stronger and that is what I keep telling myself. Next week is our first of 3 20 mile runs. I know we still have a lot ahead of us but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel... barely. We finished the run in 2:27 with an average pace of 9:20. Good job Scott and Chris.

Today (Sunday), I slept in until about 0800. These sunday semi-long runs are getting harder and harder. After a Clif bar and a gel, I headed out. It was a gorgeous morning. I headed for the trail trying to figure out where I would run in order to get my 9 miles in today. I was laboring quite a bit on this run. My legs felt like cement and I was breathing semi heavy. About mile 4/5, I got into a groove and started feeling much better. I finished todays run in 1:19 averaging 8:47. I was definately glad this run was over.

I finished week 10 with a total of 48 miles even though I didn't run 4 miles on Wednesday. In the next few weeks, it will be even more crucial that I listen to my body for any signs of over training.

Tempo Thursday

I rolled out of bed at 0450 this morning to do my tempo run. I hate trying to sustain a fast speed this early in the AM. Today's work-out called for 5.5 miles at a little slower than 10k pace.

After a .5 mile warm-up, I set the speed to 8.3 mph (7:13). As the run went along, I started to feel better and better. It takes me so long to wake up in the morning. Maybe that's why I have to be up extra early before a run. I can handle repeats in the AM but this steady pace was taking its toll. I completed the run with a .75 mile cool down.

I totalled 6.75 miles and hopefully I won't ever have to do a tempo run this early again.

I skipped my recovery run last night as I had a race director's meetings and didn't get home until 20:30. I could probably use the extra day off to prepare for the 19 miler on Saturday.

It's a Beautiful Morning

I'm not sure who sings the song but it just fit this morning. Although a little chilly, it was indeed beautiful. Not a cloud in the sky, moon was bright, stars a plenty, and minimal traffic.

I was up at 0400 to try to make it out the door by 0430. I gathered my IPOD, sports drink, stocking cap, and gloves and set out for a 9 mile run. I wasn't sure where I would run so I just let my feet direct me. Come on... it's Chatham. I can't too lost.

The first few miles were pretty slow. I want to try to work on starting slow and picking it up in the middle to ending miles. The beginning of mile 2 was spent messing with my IPOD and miles 3 and 6.5 were stops for drinking. I turned it on at mile 6 clocking an 8:00 and miles 7, 8, & 9 were even faster. I ran mile 9 at 7:30. My average pace was 8:45. I told you the beginning was slow.

Last night, I rode the recumbent bike for 45 minutes and did some weights.

The End of Another Week

Yesterday I ended the 9th week with a 9 mile pace run. It was a little cool but nothing like Saturday morning. I learned from Saturday and I toned down the layers. I was feeling REALLY sore from Saturday's run. My shins were in some definate pain. I think I am going to chicken out of the Frostbite Festival 10 mile run. I want to make sure I am injury free on Marathon day. My shins feel much better today but I don't want to risk it.

I strapped on the IPOD to get caught up on all my podcasts and headed out. The flat run was a welcome site. It was windy but it didn't seem to play a factor until I was heading home. Isn't that typically how it works??? I ran from the house to the interurban trail via a loop through the condo subdivision.

I felt like I struggled the entire run. I averaged about an 8:45 pace for the run picking it up the last 2-3 miles.

This week marked the half way point but I can't quite say it's all downhill from here since we have a 19 and 3 20 mile runs left.

To end the morning/ early afternoon, Cameron and I headed to the Convention Center to take in the Ansar Shrine Circus. I've always liked going to the circus. I can remember my grandma taking me to the Ringling Bros. circus as a kid.

Cutback #3

Today was the third cutback in 9 weeks and it called for a 12 miler. The weather was less than terrible for this run. We started from Fit Club West at 0700 with rain, a lot of wind, and temps in the mid 30s. The Frostbite Festival is just around the corner so we decided to run the cours (10 miles) and add 2 miles.

The first 6 miles was against the wind. Couple that with the hills and the rain in the face and things could only get better for the 2nd 6. We clocked the first 6 at about 54 or 55 minutes. Once we made the turn-around and with the wind at our back, the pace increased slightly. And then once we started catching up with some of the Frost Toes, the pace increased even more. We finished in 1:45 meaning our last 6 was run about 5-6 minutes faster.

This is a very tough course with major hills. Couple that with a strong wind and possible freezing temps, this race might be one that I have to skip. Although, this will be cutback #4 so I may run it as a long run.

I have a 9 mile pace run scheduled for tomorrow. This will be a flat 9 miles... but compared to the course we ran today, I think any course would be flat.

800 X 7= Good Workout

Yesterday was speed day and the menu called for 7 x 800 at my usual pace. This is the first set of 800's I will have done in 3 weeks so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. We had to run a couple errands after work so I got started about 6:30.

As with all my speed workouts, I did a half mile warmup at 10:00 pace and started in on my 800's. The plan was to run each 800 in 3:20. I don't know about everyone else, but the first one is always the hardest for me. From there, the workout seemed "easy". I know easy is relative but I felt pretty comfortable for the remaining 6. I never found myself out of breath or struggling at all during the workout. I had to keep looking down at the panel to make sure I hadn't screwed anything up, it was going that good. I thought about 1 more at the end but had to remind myself that this was a cut back week. I finished the workout with a half mile cooldown at 10:00 pace for a total of 6 miles.

I guess today's workout is a sign that I might be getting stronger as a runner.

Today (Friday) is an off day and tomorrow will be a 12 mile run followed by a 9 mile pace run.

Recovery Wednesday

4 miles on the treadmill @ 9:13 pace for a good recovery work-out.
Nothing crazy to report except it is going to be REAL cold this week-end. High of 35 on Saturday. Better dress warm!

Straight outta the wind/cold and into...

I wish I could say something like a hot tub or an 88 degree swimming pool. But instead it was a run in the wind, cold, AND rain. I guess this is just a sampling of the things to come over the next several weeks. I can put up with about anything except RAIN!!!! #1 thing on my Christmas list... Rain suit.

I met Scott at 0545 at the Y today. As the alarm went off at 0430 and I awoke to the sound of rain, I'd be lying if I said I was looking forward to today's run. In the back of my mind, I was hoping to hear the phone ring and Scott to tell me that he decided to stay in but that was not to be the case. I showed about five minutes early and much to my dismay, there was Scott with an enthusiastic wave. I added a 3rd upper layer grabbed my water and headed to the start area. Our Tuesday runs this week and next increase to 9 miles (from 8).

We set out with the wind at our back. After about a half mile, I was burning up. I was ready to start shedding layers but did not... and thank God I didn't. We ran from the Y through Washington Park to Fit Club west to Washington Street and back. We were against the wind on the way back and was very thankful I put on the extra layer. I actually had to put my gloves back on.

Our run was fast today. I think Scott was paying me back for something I did. Every time I looked down at my watch, it would read somewhere between 8:00-8:15 pace. We ended with an average of 8:33 because we stop and walk a few times while drinking. I was very pleased with today's run considering all the miles we have put in so far.

And last but not least, I'd like to say a speacial THANKS and GOD BLESS to all the veterans out there. Today is your day. Thank you for you have done past and present!!!!

Brrrrr

That pretty much sums up my run yesterday. It was a descent run but pretty cold. I had the wind with me for the first mile so I knew I would be suffering the last mile. The middle miles had a stiff cross wind. With all the leaves falling along the trail, there is nothing to block the wind.

I set out about 0930 for an 8 mile run. I went with a long sleeve wicking shirt, a pull over, tights, stocking hat, gloves, and a bottle of water. My goal was to run it at a relatively slower pace. I did accomplish that averaging about a 9:00 pace. It was pretty quiet running. I think I saw about 4 other runners on the trail and a group of 5 cyclist hitting the dirt trails. I completed the run in about 1:12 with my legs feeling a tad depleted but overall good.

I totalled 44 miles for the week. Next week is a cutback week so our long run will only be 12 miles. I think we are going to run the Frostbite course and add a couple miles. This run will determine if I run the race or not on December 7th.

Best Run Yet

As the title might suggest, today's 18 miler was my best long run so far. In looking back at the day, I believe I might have found a winning formula.

It started at 0500 when the alarm went off. I got up, ate a bowl of oatmeal, and had a cup of coffee. After getting into my cold weather gear, I sat and relaxed while reading the newspaper. I sipped on some water prior to heading out the door. On my way to the Y, I ate a banana. I was hoping this breakfast would be what I needed.

I met Scott, Mike, and Chris at the Y at 0700. Chris came up with the route for today and it was a nice change. My goal for the run was to stay hydrated and make sure I fueled correctly. I took along 4 gels. I was planning on the gels at 5, 10, & 15 miles. Scott made sure I stuck with that and it paid off. I also took 2 endurolytes at each hour of running.

The run went AWESOME as far as I was concerned. I didn't ever feel I was needing to fuel or that I was going to crash at any time. My endurance felt good and although tired, my legs felt just as good. I actually felt like I could have ran all day (slight exaggeration).

Mike took a little detour but I believe he ended up with either 16 or 17. Good job Mike!!! Today must have been one of those days???

We finished the 18 miles in 2:56 about 9:17 pace. I'm going to chalk this up as a good run and try to remember all the things I felt like I did right for our 19 miler in 2 weeks. Next week is a much needed cut-back week for me.

Although at 1900 I am feeling kind of tired, I need to start mentally preparing for my 8 miler tomorrow. I'm hoping for a nice easy pace.

Scott... Great job!!! I definately couldn't be doing this without your knowledge of endurance training. Your advice is helping me every step of the way. And I am actually going to take some water on my 8 miler tomorrow. :)

Up "Tempo" work-out

I was feeling ok when I got up but throughout the day I was feeling like I was coming down with something. Maybe it was the cold front moving in or my body telling me it didn't want to run fast tonight. I didn't give in to the latter thoughts so I changed, did some stretching, and headed for the treadmill.

The work-out for the evening was a 5 mile tempo run. I started with a .5 mile warm-up and closed with a .5 cool down. The 5 mile run was at a 7:13 pace. I wasn't feeling that great while I was running. After a quick half lap breather at mile 2.5, I was off again. I felt very refreshed after the run. I think it was the huge amount of stir fry at lunch.

I completed the run in about 48 minutes. That's a long time to be on a treadmill!!!

Today is an easy day in preparation for my 18 miler tomorrow morning and an 8 miler on Sunday. That's a marathon spread over 2 days...Almost! :)

Easy Wednesday

Last night was recovery night so I hopped on the treadmill for my 4 mile run. I set the pace at 9:31 and completed in about 38 minutes.

I took some time and reflected on the last 7 weeks of my training. Overall I am pleased with the way things have progressed. I've had the little aches and pains but nothing too crazy. My left foot is still achy from when I rolled it a couple of weeks ago.

I'm going through the normal tiredness associated with the amount of training. Fortunately, I have been able to get ample sleep.

Although we still have about 10 weeks left, we only have 5 more long runs... an 18, 19, and 3 twenties (maybe).

Double "Duty"

On November 4th, it was our "duty" and/or right to get to the polls and cast a vote for our favorite candidate. Congrats to Mr. Obama and Good Luck! You spoke...the people listened... and now it is time to act.

My plan was to map an 8 mile running route by the polling place so I could knock 2 birds out with 1 stone. The route I chose had me at the polling place after about 2.5 miles. This worked out pretty well as I was in and out in no time, resuming my run. After Monday's weight and core training, I felt relatively good on my run. So good that I decided this would be a more up tempo run. I finished the 8 miles averaging a whopping 8:00 pace. When I arrived home, I felt like I could have run a couple more.

Redemption

The good thing about having a bad run is that it makes you look forward to getting out the next day and redeeming yourself. That is exactly what I did today.

I headed out about 0830 after a Clif bar and some coffee. After yesterday's 17 miler, it took me a couple miles to get into the mood. But after that, things were smooth sailing. I was going to run today by feel and I felt really good. I finished 8 miles in 1:06.58 and a pace of 8:21. My splits were as follows: 8:44, 8:49, 8:35, 8:32, 8:12, 8:10, 8:02, & 7:51. I wish all my runs could feel this good.

I finished the week with a total of 43 miles.

Not Real Hot

That describes both the weather today and how my run went. I understand not every run can be perfect but when I am the cause of the bad run, it bothers me. I have been telling myself from the get go that I was going to gel at every 5 miles but I have yet to do that. Today it bit me in the butt.

The plan was to start a little later, 0700, so we could sleep in just a little bit. I showed up a bit before 0700 and Mike and Chris were already there waiting. Scott arrived shortly after and we were off. I was sluggish the first couple of miles probably due to eating something too close to the start of the run. That is something that I need to find a happy median with and stick to it. At mile 7 we stopped to take a GU and grab a quick drink and we were off again. At mile 10 is where I think things started falling apart. I was SO looking forward to our stop at mile 12 in Colony West for a restroom and drink break. Scott and Chris took a GU and I passed. That was my huge mistake. Mile 13 is when it all fell apart. I looked down at my watch and I was running a 9:45 pace and feeling lethargic. I took a GU and a couple Endurolytes. I just wanted to survive the next mile until the energy level picked back up. I felt good from mile 14 on.

We finished 17 miles in approximately 2:45. Not my best run but I survived. Sometimes that is all you can ask out of yourself on given days. From here on out, I am sticking to the GUs every 5 miles and the endurolytes on the hour. Running is a constant lesson and today I learned a big one the hard way.

Thanks to Scott and Chris for their support. If I was flying solo, I probably would have walked quite a bit today. The power of the group!!!!

Nooner

Get your mind out of the gutter!!! I was too lazy to get up this morning and I have plans after work tonight so I went home at lunch and ran my 4 recovery miles on the treadmill. I ran at 6.5 mph or a 9:13 pace.

My ankle is feeling better and better but I can still tell I did something to it. I'm trying to save a little for the week-end as I have to cover 25 miles on Saturday and Sunday.

I'm not ready for this

As I was getting ready for my run last night, I laid out my tights, gloves, short sleeve shirt, and a long sleeve shirt. I am definately ready for the cold weather. It seems like we went straight from Summer to Winter.

I met Scott at 0555 at the Y for our 8 mile long run. When I got out of my car the temp read 29 degrees. We set out on the usual 8 mile course. I was holding back just a bit because I wasn't sure how my ankle was going to hold up. After the initial shock of the pounding on the road, it started feeling really good. We were running at a pretty good pace. After we stopped for some water at the fountains, we headed down Wiggins for 3 miles of hills. It was tough getting started as my ankle/foot tightened up fast but quickly loosened again.

After a quick stop for water, we headed for the finish. As the sun was rising, both Scott and I could feel the temp dropping and the frost was starting to appear. As we were running down Scarrett, I asked if we had slowed the pace. Scott laughed and said that we had picked up the pace since we crossed MacArthur. That's my mistake. For some reason I get this burst of energy toward the end of the run. Where was that at the Allerton Trail Race???

We finished with 8 miles under our belts on a chilly morning. Our time was around 1:09. I bet if I look at the laps, we were pretty close to on pace or slightly negative splits.

Great run Scott!!! I think we are well on our way. The next 5 weeks are going to be crucial ( 17, 18, 12, 19, 20 milers) for me so I am going to be relying on your expertise. I'll have my gels ready and plenty of fluids.

Allerton Park 5.5 mile Trail Run

On Sunday, I ran the Allerton Park 5.5 mile Trail run. It had rained quite heavily a few days prior to the race so I wasn't exactly sure what I was getting into. I met my dad and one of his friends @ 0715 and we headed over to Monticello. We arrived at about 0815 with plenty of time to get our numbers, shirts, stretch, and a quick warm-up. The weather was a little chilly at start time (0900) but I knew I would be fine after a half mile. With my marathon training going so well, I was a little scared about the ground conditions. I didn't want to compromise my training by rolling an ankle or something like that.

The race starts by the visitor center (high ground). About .25 miles into the race, you head down a hill toward the river flats. The course was extremely muddy on the flats. I knew I was in for a long, wet, and muddy run when at about mile .5, there was a little creek that you had to go through with both feet. The rain the previous days had caused some minor flooding. It stayed pretty flat with some slight hills until the big one. I guess it was a .5 mile pretty steep up hill to the Sun god statue. After a brief round-about, we headed back down the hill with a quick left at the bottom. This next section is where we encountered most of the hills that was taking us back to the upper ground to the finish line and this is where I encountered my worst fear. Somewhere between mile 4 and 5 I rolled my ankle... BAD. I had rolled it earlier in the race but nothing too crazy. Initially, it hurt but that quickly went away and all felt ok until I got home. After 3 sets of stairs (about 8 each) and a little run through the Chinese Garden, we had about .5 miles left. You hit the meadow and in front of you are 2 steep uphills. I got passed by 3 people on this section of the course.

I crossed the finish line in 41.58.6 (7:38 pace). I finished 30th overall, 5th in my age group. No quite what I had expected time wise but I'll chalk this race up to experience. I will definately do this and other trail runs, just not while I'm in marathon training.

So I got home, unpacked my bags, cleaned my shoes and talked to Kristi about what the plan for the afternoon was. After much discussion, we decided to run some errands and head to the grocery store. While she was getting ready, I stretched for a bit. This is when I noticed my ankle beginning to throb. I thought, "Scott is going to kill me if I injured myself and would need to miss some running". I thought that maybe it was a little pain that would go away but it never did. I was having a harder and harder time walking on it. I took a shower, got ready, and out the door we went. After a while of not being able to walk on it at all, I had Kristi take me home. I immediately hopped into bed, grabbed the frozen veggie bag out of the freezer and started icing it. I was really bummed. I didn't want to miss any of my upcoming training runs.

So after ice, a wrap, and sleeping with it elevated, I woke feeling great. It was a little tender but I think I can manage my run for Tuesday. I wrapped it before I came to work for extra stability and when I get home, I may just hop in my chair and ice it again.

Tempo Training

Up until about 6 month ago, I didn't include any temp training into my weekly mileage. I thought that if I just did 400's or 800's that it would be good enough. Boy was I wrong. When I started adding tempo training, my times really went down. It is definately a harder workout but if you want to run fast, you have to train fast. From what I have gathered, my tempo run should be a little slower than my 10K pace for marathon training. My last 10K was run at 7:00 pace so my tempo runs are going to be a 7:13 pace.

Tempo runs can be accomplished n a number of different way. I have chosen to do a steady state tempo run where I keep the same pace for a longer period of time.

Last night I was to run 4.5 miles at tempo pace. I listened to an episode of "This American Life" podcast while running. This seemed to make the time go by faster on the treadmill. I started with a nice slow .5 mile warm up and finished with the same cool down. I totaled 5.5 miles. I don't recall the time but I felt really good after the run.

Recovery Run

Last night was recovery night. I headed for the treadmill for my 3 mile EASY run. I set the pace at 9:13 and was off. After the run, I hit the weights for a quick set and did 2 sets of my core work. Nothing crazy to report.

What was I thinking...

That was the question I was asking myself at 0355 when my alarm went off. Kristi and I are taking her mom to dinner tonight for her birthday so I needed to get my run in this morning. Because I have my kids, I needed to be home around 0530.

I headed out the door at 0420 for an 8 mile run. It was real dark, real foggy, and real quiet. Kind of an erie feeling when Halloween is right around the corner. I ran through the streets of Chatham. I might of encountered a half dozen cars along my route. I hadn't researched an 8 mile route so I was winging it. I finished in 1:10 and hit my driveway right at 8 miles.

Last night I did my normal Monday after work routine. Weights, bike, and core.

What a week-end!

The week-end started at 0500 on Saturday morning. I was to meet Scott, Chris, and Mike at the Y for our 16 miler. I was feeling a little nervous because this was going to be my longest run... EVER. I fueled up with some coffee and toast with Jelly, stretched a bit and was off to the Y. All week I tried to make sure I fueled correctly so I wouldn't crash.

Our plan to run the "Big Loop" (13 miles) and incorporate the "Art Run" (3 miles). It was a bit chilly when we started but I warmed up after the first couple miles. The run went real well for me. I felt pretty strong most of the run... Hungry but strong. I took 2 gels, 1 at around mile 7 or 8 and 1 at mile 12. Those helped with the hunger for a bit. I was feeling a little "weird" around mile 16 but we only had .5 miles to go. We finished in a time of roughly 2:30 averaging 9:08 pace. I was stoked at the conclusion of the run and am looking forward to that feeling after our 18 miler in 3 weeks.

On Sunday, I slept in a bit until 0830. I made some coffee, had some toast, and read the paper till 1000. I set out for a 7 miler. It was not scheduled to be a pace run. I ran the first 3.5 miles at around 9:30 pace but finished averaging 8:43 and feeling strong.

For the week-end, I totaled 23.5 miles and ended up with 39.5 miles for the week. This week is a cut-back week and I will be cutting back a lot. I have the Allerton Trail 5.5 mile race scheduled for Sunday so I am going to rest Friday and Saturday which means no real long run this week-end.

Speed Day

Yesterday was a speed day and the plan was do 5 x 800 woth a 400 recovery. I had zero motivation for some reason so it was chore just to hop on the treadmill.

I started with a 1 mile warm-up. After the 1st lap, I was feeling pretty good and was getting psyched for the 800's. The plan for the 800's was to run them at a 3:20 pace and if I needed to, lower the speed to how I felt. I ended up running all 5 at 3:20 and finished up with a .5 mile cool down for a total of 5 miles. Not bad considering how I initially felt.

Friday will be a rest day in preparation for my first ever 16 miler. Wish me luck!!!

An easy 3

Nothing crazy this morning as I woke at 0530 to get 3 easy miles in. We have plans after work tonight so I thought I better get it in because who knows what is going to happen.

I hopped on the treadmill at 0540 and set the speed at 6 MPH (10:00 pace).

I'm glad I kicked myself out of bed this morning after hitting snooze twice. Although slow, the recovery runs I have found to be very beneficial.

A Hilly 8

Today, we increased our mid week long run to 8 miles. I believe that is mileage for the next 3 weeks. As the distance gets longer, our start times will be earlier. The plan was to meet at the Y at 0555. I was early (0545) and I was walking up to do some stretching and wait for Scott, he appeared from out of the Y. Scott did some light stretching and we were off... early.

I came up with the run for today and it is one of my favorites. The middle 3 miles are hills, hills, and more hills. Nothing crazy but you do get kind of tired of them. We headed to the park from the Y. After a half loop, we caught Wiggins and ran the "Art Course" (hills). The Art Course is about a 3 mile loop from the picnic shelter at Washington Park. You head out Wiggins, cross Outer Park, run around the neighborhood, take Outer Park to Illini to Leland to Wiggins and back into the park. It is a GREAT run and will definately build strength.

We totalled 8 miles for the morning pushing about an 8:20 pace. After we finished, Scott ran off the splits and we were almost negative with the exception of 2 of the miles and those were only off by a couple seconds.

Last night was cross training where I completed 45 minutes on the recumbent bike, 2 sets of my weights routine, and some stomach work.

Koke Mill Trail

I headed out about 1030 to the Koke Mill Trail for what I thought would be an easy 6 miles. Boy was I wrong. This was my first attempt at running a trail but it won't be my last. It was really cool. It's about a single file trail that winds and weaves with plenty of ups and downs. It was not an easy run for me after coming off of 14 miles the previous day.

I am planning on running Allerton Park Trail race so I wanted to get a feel for trail running. I think there are a few general rules you should know before attempting to run any trail for the first time.

1. You have to balance the looking up and looking down.
2. You have to be decisive when approaching 2 paths.
3. If you can, run 1 lap clockwise and the next counter clockwise
4. Wear a hat
5. Be extremely careful. This a lot of debris that can cause some major damage if you're not careful.

I was a little uneasy on the first lap because I wasn't sure what to expect, where the trail went, if my shoes had enough traction, etc. After lap one, I kind of got into a groove. I had a good idea of how the course ran so I sped up a bit. After lap two, I headed to the water fountain just up from the entrance to quench my thirst. I headed back in for 2 more laps and finished up with a sprint from the entrance to the far end parking lot.

I had plans of running 5 laps but it was extremely warm running under the cover of the trees so after 4 laps and a total distance of 5.75 miles, I called it quits. My legged were completely drained.

I will definately run this trail again.

Lincoln Memorial Half...and 1

The alarm went off at 0415 and after 1 snooze, I rolled out of bed. I fixed a small breakfats consisting of oatmeal, a banana, and a cup of coffee. The plan for our 14 mile long run today was to meet at the Y and run the Lincoln Memorial Half Marathon course with an extra mile.

We were joined on our run today by one of Scott's friends, Chris. He is typically much faster than us but Scott told him we were going to be running at around a 9:15 and he was ok with that.

It was a WONDERFUL morning for a run. The weather was perfect. Maybe that's why the run seemed to go as fast and as well as it did. This was my 2nd time running the Lincoln Memorial course. It is a challenging course but VERY nice.

We finished the run averaging a pace of 9:05...just about where we wanted to be at. We ran the last 4 miles somewhere between 8:45-9:00. It is always nice to finish a run strong like that.

Good Bye 7

Last night after work I drove to Lincoln Park for my last 7 miler. Next week, the mid-week Tuesday run increases to 8 miles.

I arrived at Lincoln Park @ 1730 to a temp of 65 with a nice breeze. What a GREAT night for running. If the weather sounds good, my run was even better. I wanted to get some hills into my run so I decided to run Abe's Amble course and add a little extra for a total of 7. I started at Nelson Center and headed to the cemetary. The leaves are starting to change and the cementary was beautiful. I must have gotten lost in the moment because I looked at my Garmin at mile 2 and it said I was averaging 8:00 miles. I felt AWESOME!!! I did slow down a bit the next couple (8:15 -8:22 pace) before picking it back up the last 3. It was funny as I approached the fairgrounds. I'm so used to seeing it during fair season, that it felt kind of wierd running with nothing around. I finished the run up in Lincoln Park by going down the hill to the lagoon and back up the big hill. My last mile was 7:42. I felt like I could have ran forever but then quickly thought I should save it for our 14 miler this week-end.

I ended the run with 7 miles at a pace of 8:06 and 7 hills.

Decisions, Decisions

I was scheduled for a 7 miler after work but as I walked out the door from work it was raining. Not hard...yet. I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do. Would I brave the elements and try to run outside or do I hop on the treadmill and do either a tempo, interval, or hill work-out. The rain was only supposed to last 1 day so I would get my 7 miler in on Thursday.

As I entered my subdivision, 2 women were dressed in there raini attire running outside (You go girls!!!). THIS was not going to make my decision any easier. If they were braving the elements, then I could too. After much thought, I didn't want to risk getting sick by running outside so now I was left to decide on which work-out I was going to do on the treadmill.

I resorted to a tempo run. I started with a .5 mile warm-up, 4 miles at tempo pace (7:13 pace), and a .5 mile cool down. My average over the 5 miles was 7:48/ mile.

I'm glad I decided to stay in and do some speed work. I have a race scheduled for October 26th that I need to get ready for.

Cross Train Mondays

Mondays are becoming monotonous. After dinner, I did some stretching and headed to the recumbent bike for 45 minutes of cross training. While riding, I listened to an episode of This American Life podcast. This is a great podcast. They have a title and then the stories relate to the title. The title of the one I was listening to was "Something for Nothing" and it was probably the best I have listened to.

I hit the weights after biking. I did a couple of sets of 20 reps each, worked the core a bit, and hit the sack.

Tonight I have a 7 miler to do after work. I didn't sleep well last night so tonight might be a pretty easy run.

End of Week 3

Today I concluded week 3 with a 6 mile run. I was feeling really good considering yesterday Scott and I ran 8 miles for our LSD for the week. It was our first cut-back week which means our long miles were dropped back a bit.

Scott met me for a run around Chatham. We totalled a little over 8 miles in 1:12. Our pace was probably a little faster than our typical long run pace but I think we were both feeling pretty good.

For my 6 miles today, I averaged an 8:36 pace in 51:41 running the last mile at a faster pace to work on my finishing. I know that probably sounds a bit faster than I should be running but I have decided to run the Allerton Park 5.5 mile trail run in 3 weeks. I know my competetive side will show up and I want this to be a quality race for me.

The next couple of week, our long runs will be 14 and 16 and this is where we need to watch our pace a little more closely.

As of today, I'm still feeling pretty good and am taking each day in stride (no pun intended) and trying not to look too far in advance.

Same routine (almost)... Different day

I headed to the treadmill again last night for some running and the Brewers/ Phillies game but it wasn't for an easy run. I was scheduled for a speed workout of 4 x 800's. I wasn't quite sure what pace I was going to run them so I thought I would start at a higher pace and work down if needed. My speed work in the Summer had me at a 6:18 pace for my 400's. After a mile warmup, I set the pace at 6:40 (3:20 800's) and I was off. The first one always kills me but the pace was spot on. I didn't start feeling them until I was on my last 800. I completed the workout with a .75 mile cooldown and that gave me a total of 4.5 miles for the evening.

All-in-all this workout felt REALLY good.

Running and Baseball

Does it get any better than that on a chilly early October evening... Running and the MLB Playoffs. Although my team (Cardinals) are not in the playoffs, I will be watching as many games as possible.

I passed on running 3 miles outside last night to run on the treadmill. I turned on the Cubs/ Dodgers game, set the pace to 9:13, and I was off. The Cubs went up early 2-0 but that was short lived. The final score... Dodgers 7 and the Cubs 2. I hope (for my girlfriend's sake) that the Cubs pull through this and end the 100 year drought. She is a die hard fan and definately bleeds blue. They have an excellent team (although I wouldn't admit that to her) and I think this is a great chance for them to win it all.

I had promised Addison, our Black Lab, that I would take her for some exercise as well after my run and I didn't let her down. We did about a 30 minute walk and called it a night.

Soooo Tired!!!

The first comment out of both me and Scott's mounth this morning was that we were both REALLY tired. I'm sure this is why Mile 1 seemed so hard...and slow (9:15 pace). But we quickly snapped out of it and were into a nice 8:30ish pace by mile 2. The morning was beautiful. The temp in my car said 53 degrees but with the little breeze, it felt cooler than that. I guess it is time to start digging out my cooler weather running gear.

We did our normal 7 miler from the Y, through the park twice, and back to the Y. I'm not sure what our pace finished up at but we were cruising (for us) the last 4-5 miles. I felt strong for the most part considering I rode the bike for 45 minutes and lifted last night.

I know it is still early but I am going to keep my fingers crossed that our training goes this well for the entire 18 weeks.

End of Week 2

I ended week 2 with a short little 5 mile out-and-back from the house to the lake via the Inter Urban Trail, and back home. I left at about 2 so I could make it home in time to watch the Cowboys. I finished up with a pace of 8:43 and it felt easy.

So far, I'm feeling REALLY good. My shins were hurting a bit late last week and early this week but I think it was from the hill workout last Thursday because things feel good now. I feel my pace slowing a bit which is a good sign.

I totaled a little over 31 miles for the week.

I'm looking forward to week 3 because it is a cutback week.

12 Miler

Yesterday was our second long run in this training program. We totalled 12 miles @ about a 9:07 pace. The pace today was perfect. We started at 8:45 from the Y and did a loop that consisted of Washington Park, the mall, a stroll by Illini Country Club, back through the park and to the Y. I am loving the change of scenery each week. We encountered some slight inclines along the way but nothing too crazy. It's nice having someone to talk to on these LSD (long slow distance) runs. So far, both Scott and I appear to be on course with our training but then again, it has only been 2 weeks.

The weather was beautiful today with a slight breeze. I think fall has finally arrived so we should have some awesome days of running ahead of us.

Next week is a cut back week and it calls for 8 miles for our LSD run. I need to focus on the fact that this is a recovery week so I don't run this long run too fast.

Tempo Run

I took a half day off of work today to... run!!! Work has been pretty slow lately. It sure beat getting up at 0430 to do this run. I'm headed to St. Louis tonight with Kristi to see Pat Green at Harrah's. We got a room at Harrah's also for $69 (no fees) a night... which will end up costing us a whole lot more than that. :) On Friday, we are going to hang out together and dp some shopping at Trader Joe's and Crate & Barrel. I'm sure we'll hit a few other spots.

Today, I did a 4 mile tempo run on the treadmill. I started with a .5 mile warm-up with 3.5 at temp pace (7:19/ mile). I finished the workout in 30:30. The workout felt great although it felt like it was 100 degrees in our all purpose room.

Friday is a scheduled off day to prepare for the miles this week-end... 12 on Saturday and 5 on Sunday. Almost done with week 2!!!

3 Miles

Yesterday, the schedule called for 3 miles. I wasn't sure exactly when I was going to fit it in but I knew I needed to run 3 sometime.

After cutting the grass and eating dinner, I hopped on the treadmill for an EASY run. I set the pace an 10:00/ miles and I was off. It felt funny running that slow but I left the speed alone. I think I will do this workout with all my Wednesday runs.

Listen to your body

Last night I went for my 7 miler around 1800. It was still a little a warm and for some reason the humidity felt pretty high as well. While doing some stretching, I noticed that I was pretty hungry. I knew I had eaten quite a bit for lunch and breakfast so I didn't know what was going on. I should have listened to my body and grabbed a little something before the run.

The first couple miles came and went without any "issues" as I was holding pretty steady at about an 8:45 pace. Around mile 2.5 is when I started feeling it. I was all over the place in regards to pace and I felt like I had ZERO energy. Despite all my issues on the run, I finished in 1:01 and some change. Once home, I downed my Endurox R4 drink and devoured my Grilled Chicken Salad from Bella Milano... Thanks Kristi!

Note to self... Next time you feel the hunger bug hit you, grab a little something.

Little bit of everything

Last night was weights, cross train, & core workout night. After stopping at Subway and getting myself and the kids some dinner, I headed to the multi-purpose room. It is actually our 3rd bedroom but you would never know it. It houses the treadmill, weight set, and recumbent bike. It is also where Kristi does all her beading and where the dog kennel is located. Boy... do we need a basement.

I started off on the weights. I did 2 sets of upper body work. I'm not sure if I should be working the legs or if I should leave them for the running. I also throw some core workouts in between the reps of weights. I hopped on the recumbent bike after the weights. I rode for 35 minutes at a real easy pace while listening to Phedippidations podcast on my IPOD. I finished the evening with some stretching before heading to bed.

Week 2 is staring off on the right foot, no pun intended. I feel refreshed this morning and hopefully I feel this good tonight for my 7 miler.

Hey Scott... How did the run go this morning???

End of Week 1...Nothing too crazy

Yesterday marks the end of Week 1. So far... So good. I hope I can keep this up for the 14 weeks.

I went out for a 5 mile run about 1000. I did a 2.5 mile out and back incorporating the trail in Chatham. My legs were a bit sore from the long run on Saturday but once the blood started flowing, I felt pretty good. I averaged about 8:20 pace.

I'm looking forward to Week 2 as I have a 4 mile tempo run on Thursday. I like doing speed work. I'm also going to St. Louis on Thursday to see Pat Green at Harrah's. Good thing Friday is a rest day!!!

I will not be meeting Scott until Saturday so we should have plenty to talk about on our Saturday long run.

Switch-a-roo

We decided to move our long run up one day instead of Sunday morning. Today called for 10 miles. I met Scott and a couple of his friends, Chris & Mike, at 0600 and we were off. The pace for todays run was a little faster than I anticipated but it felt good. We were somewhere around 8:45, if I recall correctly. We encountered 3 MAJOR hills on our run. It was nice including some hills in my long run. My typical long run is pretty flat with maybe 1 little incline.

All-in-all it was a GREAT work-out this morning. I really enjoyed the group run. I appreciate all the advice from everyone and I am taking it to heart.

Hills

Today's workout called for 3 x hills. We have a perfect hill in Washington Park that is .25 miles in length. I started with a 2.5 mile warm-up, completed some light stretching and started the hills. The plan was to attack the hills at a faster pace and jog back down. I rested for about 30-60 seconds before I started the next one. Once the hills were complete, I did a 2 mile cool down.

I totalled 6 miles of running and averaged about a 7:30 pace.

I need to slow my work-outs down or I'm never going to make it to the starting line. I don't feel like I'm pushing myself to the extreme but this is only week 1.

Friday is a rest day before Saturday and Sunday runs.

I ordered another Marathon book today, Training to Run the Perfect Marathon. It is an older book but someone on Hal Higdon's forum suggested it as it was one of his books he references frequently.

"Fall" Out Boy

I finished my run up this morning with a little music from Fall Out Boy. With the cooler weather this morning, it got me thinking how Fall is right around the corner... September 22 to be exact. Hopefully the upcoming season can be as nice as our summer.

Today was an easy day totalling a little over 3 miles @ around a 9:00 pace. I felt pretty good this morning after our workout yesterday.

After work, dinner, and cutting the grass, my plan is to do a LITTLE weight/core training.

You can cut it with a knife

That would be the fog this morning. It was really dense!!! If it's not one thing, it's another. I'll take fog over rain any day. The temp outside was a cool 56 degrees. I met Scott at the local YMCA at 0600. My plan had me doing 5 and Scott's plan had him doing 7 miles. I decided to run the 7 because Marathon training is all about miles. If this starts to become too much, I'll back down a bit.

I have never ran from the "Y" before so I had no idea where I was going. The course was an out and back with some hills through Washington Park. The nice thing about running in the park is that you don't need to take any water because of the water fountains and there are bathroom just in case. For me, this new course is a much needed change in scenery, although we couldn't see a whole lot.

We started at about an 8:50 pace but quickly picked it up after the first mile and through the remaining 6 miles. We finished with exactly 7 miles in a time of 58:35 for an average pace of 8:20. I was dragging a little the last 1.5 miles. More than likely from the race on Sunday and weights/core last night. All-in-all it was a quality run.

Lewis and Clark Half Marathon

My dad and I arrived in St. Charles at the Ameristar Casino around 1230 in order to pick up my race packet and tour the expo. Since I have only ran 1 Half Marathon (St. Louis), I guess I kind of expected the expo to be about the same size...NOT! There were maybe 5 tables for vendors and Fleet Feet had a large area where they were selling running stuff. I think we covered the expo, twice, in about 15 minutes. I did purchase a souvenir sweatshirt. After the expo, we decided to blow some money in the casino. $40.00 to be exact for me. I think I would be better off donating to a charity.

We finally checked in to the hotel. After unloading, we went to Picassos which is located in Westport for some Authentic Italian cuisine. It was VERY good. I highly recommend to anyone visiting the Westport area. After dinner, we retired to the room for some football, baseball, and sleep.

On race morning, I woke at 0400. I made some oatmeal, half of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and some coffee. While eating, I turned on TWC. After catching the local weather, I knew today was going to SUCK!!! The weather called for HEAVY rain with wind gusts between 20-30 mph and the temp would be about 65. There was no turning back at this point. I got ready and we headed out the door at 0530 in order to be there at 0545 for a start time of 0645.

We made our exit onto I-70 and made an immediate stop. Traffic was backed up as far as I could see. I knew at that point that I wasn't going to make the start. No big deal as this is chip timed. We finally made it to the start line at about 0730. It was pouring. The parking lot was flooding and people were trickling to the start line. I guess the actual race started around 0700.

I removed the plastic bags from my feet and the one covering my body (they didn't work) and I was off. No warm-up, no stretching... nothing. I think it took about 5 seconds to be completely drenched. If I remember correctly, of the 10 miles we ran (I'll get into that) about 7 were against the wind. The rain made it feel like you were being pricked by a thousand little needles.

So when I approached mile 9, people were saying that they closed the course at 10 miles. No one was going to be able to run any further. BUMMER... I was just starting to get in a groove. So I picked up the pace and finished my ten miles in about 1 hr 20 sec. That is about 8:00 miles.

All-in-all, I am pleased with my time considering the coditions. I knew I wasn't going to run what I would have liked so I ran just to run based on how I felt.

Tomorrow I start the grueling 18 week Marathon training with my long run this week being, you guessed it, 10 miles. Wish me and Scott luck on our journey.

Nice and Easy

After a couple days of much needed rest in preparation for the Lewis and Clark Half Marathon Sunday, I went out for little 2 mile run to get the blood pumping. No watch, no IPOD... just me and the road.

My dad and I are heading to St. Charles around 10:30 today to visit the expo and pick up my race packet. The expo is located at the Ameristar Casino. How convenient??? We might even take our chances on some blackjack, craps, or even roulette.

We are planning on an early evening dinner at a local establishment and then the plan is to relax the rest of the evening while watching the OSU vs. USC football game. I'm planning on skimming the new Runner's World while watching the game to see if there might be any pointers.

The race starts at 0645 with chances of rain. If all goes well, I should be finished up by 0830. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Early to bed, Early to Rise...

Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and EXTREMELY tired. Today was an early day for me as I woke at 0445 in order to meet my training partner, Scott H., at 0545.

I forgot to mention in my initial post that I will have a training partner for the Marathon. We met for our first run this morning to work out everything and compare notes while running. We both have the same time/finish goals and our times/paces are pretty aligned. Since this is Scott's 2nd Marathon, I am going to rely on his knowledge. His 1st Marathon was in the heat of Chicago.

After a 6 mile run @ 8:11 pace, I think we have everything worked out. We have decided to meet up on Tueday mornings for a sorta-long run and on the week-ends for our long runs. We will probably meet up on some Thursdays for hill workouts.

The key to training with someone is flexibility and I think we are both going to be pretty flexible with times, distance, days, etc.

The Tuesday before a race is a speed day for me so last night I warmed up for a mile, did an interval workout consisting of 6 x 400 @ 6:18 pace with a 200 recovery, and a .5 mile cool down for a total of 4 miles.

Doom's Day

On Monday September 15th, 2008, I will embark on an 18 week Marathon training plan that will conclude with the running of my 1st Marathon, the P.F. Chang Arizona Rock-n-Roll Marathon to be held in sunny Phoenix, Arizona. The Marathon travels through Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Tempe where we finish at Sundevil Stadium. I chose this Marathon for a couple of reasons...

#1- The weather- Who wouldn't want to run in 60 degree weather
#2- The course- Flat, flat, and flat
#3- Free lodging... Thanks Grandma

I've had luck with Hal Higdon's programs in the past, so I am choosing to use a mix of 2 of his training plans. I'm using the Intermediate II plan with the speed work from Advanced I. I have also swapped the mileage on Tuesday and Wednesday so I can have an easy day before the Thursday workout.

I have a couple goals in mind since this is my first Marathon. I want to make it to the starting line injury free, I want to finish, and I want to have fun and enjoy all the music. I'm going to shoot for a finishing time between 3:45 and 4:00.

Thanks for joining me on my journey and I look forward to all your comments and feedback. If you too are running the Marathon, let me know how your training is going also.