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.