Well, OK, maybe not famous, but definitely (probably) semi-famous...
I wrote a post a couple weeks ago where I told the story of how I got to be a runner. I got the inspiration to do this from Confessions Of A Runner podcast #13. After I wrote the post, I dropped a line to Jodi to give her a summary of the post, and to thank her for the podcast.
Fast forward to today--I'm driving to work listening to COAR #16. At the end of the 'cast, she read some excerpts from my email, and mentioned my blog. WHOOHOO! I'm famous, I tells ya!!!
I guess you had to be there. But it did feel cool to hear her read it, and she even laughed at a couple of the funny comments I dropped in. Anyway, if you haven't checked out Confessions (the podcast and/or the website) it's definitely worth a look/listen.
Oh yeah, and I'm back to regular running now. I've done 3 runs of 3 miles per day, and I have a 5K coming up on Saturday (race report to follow). Wish me luck!
Until next time, run strong, my friends...
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
I'm famous!!!
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Testing the waters
Well...I won't say "I'm back," because look what happened last time I did. However, I will say that I'm starting to test the waters of running again, and the signs are looking good...
I got out this morning for a short run. It was a bit chilly so I wore long pants and a long shirt, which made it bearable. I'd intended to only run a mile, but I felt pretty good and had a decent pace so I stretched it into two miles. I finished with a time of 17:50, which is an 8:55 pace. Considering that I did the first mile at about a 9:20ish pace, I must have been really flying the 2nd mile.
Anyway, it felt good to get out again. My mood was much better today, and I'm betting I will sleep better tonight because of the exercise and fresh air.
I want to say a special "thank you!" to those who gave me encouragement while I was down and out. It felt like forever, but really was only about 3 weeks. Thank you Rick, thank you Barb, and everyone else! A special "shout out" to Sara from Running From The Law...she had a great post about the STL marathon, and gave me a nice note of encouragement in the comments on my post from Saturday.
Seriously--all y'all rock. (C: (Special note to non-Southerners..."all y'all" is the plural of "y'all.")
Run long and strong, my friends...
Thursday, March 20, 2008
I'm back...
"Don't call it a comeback--I've been here for years,
Rockin' my peers, putting suckers in fear..." - LL Cool Jay
Ladies and gentlemen, I am back...in multiple meanings of the word...
First and probably more important, I'm back at home for the forseeable future--whoohoo! My travels are at a lull right now and I don't have any work trips planned until the end of April. That may change but for now, I'm enjoying the furlough.
I'm also "back" in the sense I'm blogging again. I was sick last week and part of this week (more on that in a second), so I didn't take time to write anything. If you read this blog, I'm sure you've gotten somewhat used to the intermittent nature of my posts. I wish I could post every day...but it's just not realistic. Oh well, I guess we all do the best we can...
Also, I'm "back" in the sense of running again. I took most of last week off--I had either the flu, or something like food poisioning. Not really bad, but bad enough that I had to skip some of the dinners/fun events at last week's work meetings. I was scheduled for a 20-mile run last week but that didn't happen...in fact, I only ran a lousy stinking 5 miles last week. But I guess my body needed the rest, so not much I could do about it...
I was listening to Confessions Of A Runner#9 last week, and Jodi talked about diversification. She talked about how it's not only important for your financial investments, but for your running. The idea is you start marathon training with a clear plan in mind, but have the sense to listen to your body and make adjustments and changes as you go.
When I started my training plan back in December I intended to run 100% of the miles in the plan--but over the past few weeks as life has intervened, I've just come to see that it wasn't realistic. I've completed probably 80% of the miles in the program, and I feel strong, fast, and confident. I guess that's enough, but time will tell.
I am officially in the taper period now, so I'm taking it easy--except for the Shamrock Shuffle next week, where I'm hoping to set another PR this year. Wish me luck...
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Training - Week 14
I played hooky most of this week. I woke up Tuesday morning and just could not get myself into running, nor could I get excited about it. I thought back over the past few runs and realized I was in a bit of a rut and needed some extra rest. So that's what I gave myself.
I figure if I could run 18 with no problem, I can run the 20 next week with no problem. That, in turn, means I'm pretty confident in finishing the marathon well.
I only ran 12 miles this week--that was my long run today. I found by the time Friday rolled around I felt very relaxed and rested, and I was really eager to get back into it. My run today was good, so I think that this was just what the doctor ordered.
Hope you guys are running strong this week!
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Training - week 13
This week I pushed, but not quite as hard as the training schedule dictated. I had a busy work week, yet still managed to get in probably my most miles ever in a week.
I was in California for business most of the week, but still got a couple runs in. My trip actually started at the end of week 12 of training and carried over to this week (side note--it's a bit sad when you measure time by number of weeks of training down, and not the actual date...).
This week, I got the following runs in:
Tuesday - 5 miles
Thursday - 5 miles
Saturday - 5 miles
Sunday - 18 miles
For a total of 32 miles.
Today I considered continuing on to 20 miles. This way I would have been able to make up a few of the miles that I'm behind, plus I'd have two 20-mile runs under my belt before the marathon.
I decided against it for a few reasons--the goal was 18 and I wanted to stick with that, I felt like I didn't really need to prove anything, and the club that I run at was ready to close down for the day when I hit 18 so they probably would have kicked me out. (C;
All in all it was a good week. Drop back week next week and then, the pinnacle of training--my 20 miler at week 15.
Hope y'all are having a good week...
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Training - week 12
Whew...I was freakin' out, y'all...I just looked at my training schedule and thought I'd missed yet another week. But it's cool. Just need to learn how to count is all.
My runs this week (not counting Monday, which goes towards week 11 totals):
Tuesday - 6 miles
Wednesday - 8 miles
Thursday - 4 miles
Sunday - 7 miles
For a total of 25 miles. Not a bad week. I did the 7 miles today on a treadmill...I'm visiting the San Francisco bay area and had hoped to run outside today but the wind and rain made it a no-go.
I ran out of gas during this run. It was supposed to be 12 miles but after 7 I decided I just didn't have it. Part of the problem...I counted my Monday run toward my week 11 totals, but in reality if I add up what I ran Monday to Sunday (which is how I do my training weeks), I end up with 40 miles this week. That's a big jump, especially for a drop back week!
I just caught up with Tim's cool blog over at 26.2 Quest today, and he's experiencing tiredness and lack of energy after his fantastic finish in his first half marathon.
I'm going to do what I advised Tim to do...take a bit of time off, take it easy, and get rest. Oh, and check in with my running blogger pals also, as it's been a while since I could read and comment on what folks are doing.
Hope you have a good week of running...
Friday, February 22, 2008
I am SO done with winter...
OK, time for winter to be over now. Great to see you, it was fun, here's your hat and coat what's your hurry...BUH-bye now.
Or, is it just me that feels this way?
What kicked this off was watching part of the Today show this morning. They're broadcasting from Miami Beach, FL today, where it's in the 80s. Oh and it was sunny, too.
Don't get me wrong...I enjoy winter, most of the time. But this one has been unusually cold and snowy, and (to get the post back to running,), it makes it next to impossible to run outside. It's typically not light enough to run safely until about 6:30 or 7:00AM, which is too late for me to get out given the length of my mid-week runs now.
As I've mentioned before, the indoor track is an absolute Godsend. One of the neat things is I can catch the sunrise through the east-facing windows, and I get to watch as the sky lights up gradually. It makes that particular portion of each lap something I really look forward to.
And I had some good runs this week--one 5 miler that I was able to do at a sub-9:30 pace. If I can keep that pace for the Shamrock Shuffle in a few weeks, I'll set a new PR by a couple minutes and will qualify for a faster corral next year.
Tomorrow I'm flying out to California for a week-long work meeting. I'll get to do my Sunday AM long run on a path that runs alongside the San Francisco bay, and I always enjoy the scenery in that area which will be nice.
One last thing...Michelle posted a comment where she asked about what podcasts I listen to. I've been checking out a few running podcasts recently, so look for a post here soon with some reviews/links of what I like and listen to.
Happy running!
Monday, February 18, 2008
Training - Week 10, which is actually week 11...
Well, that was a good week, but apparently I can't count too well... P.S.--I plumb forgot to record my mileage for the week...here it is. My ORN, if you will (what's an ORN? See my blog pal Joe's explanation here):
As I was doing my long run today I started trying to figure out the rest of the training schedule in my head, and I couldn't make it fit. I thought I had a week left over. Now that I'm writing I checked my schedule, sure enough it's week 11 rather than 10. I'll have to go back and see where I lost a week. However, this week coming up is a drop back week which I'm grateful for.
I'll be out of town next week and have to leave this coming Saturday, meaning I'll have to do the long run in a different place and do it outside. I'll be at an airport hotel just south of San Francisco International. There's a nice running path along the water (about a 4 mile loop), it's quiet, and just a little on the cool side in the mornings. I'm looking forward to it.
Yesterday I mentioned I was postponing my long run until today. I finally got it in, and my mantra today was "Who cares?" Not as in 'who cares whether I run this or not?', but as in 'who cares about time, about how many walk breaks I take, what my pace is...'
I decided to give myself the grace of just finishing and not worrying about any other metric that I usually go by. Oddly enough even with more breaks for water, walking, etc., my per-mile pace was only about 5% above what I expect race pace to be. So, pretty darned good.
Oh, and one other thing--I tried my first ice bath today. It's pretty simple--fill the tub with cold water, add ice, jump in, and shiver until your legs are numb. Sounds bad but it helps reduce the swelling, micro-tears, and pain in your muscles after a run. I sat in the tub with a jacket over my shoulders holding a cup of hot coffee, and it OK. It got painfully cold after about 5-10 minutes, but it was just enough to do the trick.
Tomorrow is a rest day, then back at the schedule. And of course, this will be week 12... (C;
Wednesday - 6 miles (scheduled for 4)
Thursday - 8 miles
Friday - 6 miles (scheduled for 4)
Monday - 16 miles
For a total of 36 miles this week. I also caught up 4 miles on my defecit, so now I'm only 5.5 miles behind schedule.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
I did it! I'm in!!!
Well...I finally went and done it. As of yesterday, I am an official registrant for the 2008 Chicago Marathon.
I wrote a post on Feb 1 about the fact that registration had opened up. Due to some travel, and a couple outstanding bills I wanted to get out of the way, I waited to register until now. Call it an early Valentine's Day present, but I'm in. Finally.
I'd feel much better about my readiness for Chicago if I already had the St. Louis Marathon under my belt, but it is what it is. I can tell you I feel stronger in my training, healthier in my body, and more focused in my mind than I ever have before.
So, I finish St. Louis, take a break for about 4 weeks, then start the training cycle all over again for Chicago.
Can't hardly wait...
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Training - Week 9
It was not, ladies and gentlemen, a good week of training. I sort of hinted about this in my post yesterday, and you can see from the dearth of posts this week that running and blogging just didn't get the attention they usually do.
This week was scheduled for 28 miles, I only got in 22. It looked like this:
Tuesday - 3 miles
Thursday - 7 miles
Sunday - 12 miles
Where did I go wrong? I skipped an end-of-the-week 3 miler. Sunday's long run was supposed to be 16 miles. I ran (as usual) with my good buddy Mark, and neither of us were feeling it today so we cashed it in at 12 miles.
The ironic part--I was listening to Steve Runner's latest podcast entitled "Pushing Through Exhaustion." Guess I didn't pick up the mental tricks quick enough.
I sort of feel bad about being short on mileage this week, but I'm not going to beat myself up too much. Overall I'm about 9 miles behind plan so far--theoretically, with one extra mile per week, I could get caught up. But the more important thing for me is to rest tomorrow, get back in the saddle, and complete every step of every mile next week--and for the weeks forward from then until the marathon.
I guess I'll have to go back and listen to "Pushing Through Exhaustion" again. That, and get a decent night's sleep...
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Training - Week 8
I am muy, muy behind in my posting (side note, one of my quirks is inserting the few Spanish words I know into my sentences)...to the extent that I'm posting my regular Sunday training report on Thursday. Schwoops...
But here 'tis. Last week was good, and was a drop-back week. Hey, so yet another side note--I Googled "drop back week" to find a good definition, because I was going to make that term from the previous sentence into a hyperlink. Imagine my surprise when this post from this very blog came up as number 4 in the search results! Yay me!!!
Anyway, it was more indoor running as it was too stinkin' cold to run outside. The week looked like this:
Tuesday - 3 miles
Thursday - 7 miles
Saturday - 3 miles
Sunday - 10 miles
Yeah, I know I should give myself a rest day before the long run but since it was a drop back week, I figured it was OK. I ran the 10 at a sub-10:00 pace--about 9:47. I didn't keep track of the exact time, and I'll have to check my Nike+ account to see what it actually was. But whatever it was, it was darned fast!
I've been in California all week for work meetings, so I've been able to take advantage of running outside. It's cold here, just above freezing, but still manageable when you run with about 4 shirts, a pair of long pants, and gloves. As a bonus I get to run right next to a beach, and I can see the sun coming up about midway through the run. It's nice.
That's all for now, and I hope to be more regular with blogging again soon...
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Training - Week 7
All in all, a darned good week of training. I'm surprised that, while I've been tired and a bit sore, I'm not anywhere near as hurtin' as I was at this point in my training last year. All in all, I felt strong, I felt fast, and I didn't feel sore or too tired. Just 11 more weeks from this point. Fortunately, this coming week is a dropback week so it should be only 10 miles. "Only," I say...I can remember when the thought of running 6 scared me! Have a great week, everyone...
The week looked like this:
- Tuesday: 3 miles on the indoor track
- Wednesday: 6 miles on the indoor track
- Saturday: 3 miles on the treadmill
- Sunday: 13.1 miles - a complete half marathon!
A couple things really stood out this week:
Monday, January 21, 2008
Training - Week 7
I'm a little late with this since I usually post training wrap-ups on Sunday, but here goes...
I had a bit of a setback last week with being ill. I had to stop a little more than halfway through a run on Thursday, and I completely skipped my Friday run. So, in total, the week looked like this:
- Wednesday: 3 miles
- Thursday: 3.5 miles
- Sunday 12 miles
For a total of 18.5. Not the week that I wanted, as I'm now 5.5 miles behind my schedule. Having said that, I don't intend to go back and make it up. I just count it as miles lost because of illness/injury, and I'm giving myself a "hall pass" on situations like this.
The good news is I'm feeling better now, and the 12 miler yesterday was hard but bearable.
This week, I'll get back in the saddle. Tomorrow is 3 miles--looking forward to it.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Rest - it does a body good...
Maybe God was telling me something? "Rest," I think he was saying...
I've been feeling generally icky since about Monday. I had a dropback run on Sunday, only 6 miles ("only"? I still remember my first 10K race where I was scared to death I wouldn't make it all the way...my how things have changed...). My friend Mark and I were kind of pushing each other, and I ended up running it way faster than my anticipated marathon pace--about 60-90 seconds per mile faster.
So when I woke up feeling sore and tired Monday, I figured it was a bit of overtraining. I ran Wednesday and tried doing a 6-miler this morning. 3 miles into it, I just crashed. Like I had zero energy.
You should know, as background, that I've got a chronic infection that pops up every once in a while. It's not obvious when it hits--I have to start thinking back, adding things up, and then I say "Ah, so that must be why I'm feeling this way..."
I went to the doctor today and, you guessed it, it's back. So I'm taking a "sick day" from my training today and maybe tomorrow. Sunday is 12 miles, but I know from previous experience with this infection I'll be alright by the time Sunday rolls around.
The moral of the story? Rest more, drink more fluids, and listen to what my body is trying to tell me!!!
I'm a little mad that I didn't finish the run today and that I may not run tomorrow--these will be the first two runs I've missed in my training so far. Then again, I'd rather be resting now than ignore my body and just make it worse...
So, that's it for me today--I'm off to bed. But do me a favor--get out there and run a few! (C;
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Training - Week 6
Once again, I say "Thank God for drop back weeks."
This week was a bit of a rest, if you can call 7 miles 'a rest.' This week I ran as follows:
- Tuesday: 3 miles
- Thursday: 5 miles
- Friday: 3 miles
- Sunday: 7 miles
I'm not exactly sure that Thursday was 5 miles--my Nike+ wasn't completely calibrated at that point, so I'm guessing it was a little short.
I ran with my good friend Mark today--he and I ended up pushing each other pretty hard through the whole 7 miles, and ended up with an average 9:23 pace for the entire run. For some that's pretty slow. However, this pace would have given me a 10K time about 2 minutes better than my PR, so I was pretty happy.
As Mark says, though, "speed kills" so next week it's back down to something closer to my expected marathon pace, between 11:00-12:00 minutes/mile.
That's all for today--now get out there and run a few!
Friday, January 11, 2008
Calibration...
I had an easy 3-miler on the schedule today, so I decided it was a good time to calibrate my Nike+. It was about as easy as falling off a log!
Let me back up here...I am not a shill for Nike, nor am I getting paid to say good things about Nike+. I work for a software company, I'm a gadget freak, and I tend to babble incessantly about new technology until I get bored with it, or something else new comes along.
So anyway...I calibrated my device today. It's spot on now--works like a champ. It told me my average pace was a hair over 9:00, which sounds more reasonable.
I had to get into work early this morning so my run was SUPER-early--I was up at 4:30A, out of the house at 5:00A. Needless to say, when the end of the day rolls around I'm going to be drooping a bit, but at least it's Friday! WHOOHOO!
Hope y'all have a great weekend--now get out there and run a few!Thursday, January 10, 2008
I bought the Nike+!
Yesterday I posted that I was looking at the Nike+ device, and asked for opinions on it. Well...I couldn't wait. I bought one yesterday.
The two things that made me interested in it in the first place are: 1) I'm doing a lot of indoor running right now, and my Garmin 305 wouldn't get a signal in the building where I run, and 2) it has a feature where I can upload my runs, keep an online running log, and post it to my blog. I've tried keeping a written running log and...uh...sometimes I kinda forget to write stuff down for, oh, a month or two (OK I'm exaggerating, but not much).
So anyway, I had a work-related dinner last night, and after I left the office I had some time to kill. I drove by a sporting goods superstore and dropped in. They had 'em, they weren't too expensive, so I bought it.
I tested it out tonight. I did a "5 mile run" on the local indoor track. I put 5 mile run in quotes because I know it really wasn't...the device still needs some calibration. It reported I was running an average pace of 8:13/mi., when it was probably a minute or more slower than that. But I set it for a 5 mile run and ran until it told me I was done.
I really like it...it's simple, has good functionality, and integrates well with my iPod (which, as far as I'm concerned, is the 8th wonder of the world!!!). I'm going to read the manual one of these days, but right now I'm learning by doing. Once I get it calibrated, I'll post an update as to how it's working. I'll also put a widget on my blog to display my latest runs...
That's it for today...now get out there and run a few!
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Drop back week...
According to my training plan, I have a "drop back" week every 3rd week (or 2nd week, later in the program). God has good timing...I really needed it this week!
I've got a ton of work meetings going on, people in from out of town, and late dinners/social events to attend to...all of which works against me getting up at 5AM to hit the indoor track in our area. This week is supposed to be 3 miles, 5 miles, 3 miles, and 7 miles. I'm either going to have to shift days around (i.e., run Tues/Thurs/Fri/Sun), do some late-night running on the treadmill at home, or both. But it's all good...the running is a stress reliever and helps me feel not so bad about eating poorly during those late work dinners.
On an unrelated note--I've been doing some research into the Nike+ device, and I'm just about ready to pull the trigger. Anyone using it? Any opinions pro or con? Anyone? Bueller...Bueller...
That's it for today...now get out there and run a few!
Monday, January 7, 2008
The joys of long runs...
What does not kill me, makes me stronger. - Friedrich Nietzsche
Long runs are...well, let's be honest...they're a pain in the rear. My current training plan has 3 runs through the week, and one long run on the weekends. I dread them, but I also look forward to them...
But long runs have a polarity to them. "Polarity" is a term a good friend of mine uses to describe those tensions that pull us toward opposite directions at the same time--like the need to be individualistic while at the same time needing to feel just like everyone else.
I ran 10 on Sunday. The polarities abounded--I wanted to beat my PR for 10 miles, but I wanted to run slow and steady. Each lap of the track seemed like it was sooooo far to go, but when I finished it seemed like it took no time at all. I started out dreading the run but felt a wonderful sense of accomplishment when I finished. I was spent, but felt like I had another 2-3 miles in me still.
I love the challenge. I love knowing I'm better than the 10 (12, 15, whatever) miles that are in front of me. I know that if I set my mind to accomplishing a task (running, something in my personal life, business life, whatever), that I will accomplish it. It may take me longer than I thought, but I'll "git 'er done", in the words of Larry the Cable Guy. I also love knowing, as Nietzsche observed, that if the runs don't kill me they'll make me stronger.
So I'll keep doing them...not only because they're part of the training plan, but because at the end of it all, I secretly do enjoy them...
So, that's it for today...now get out there and run a few!
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Training - Week 5
I'm in training for the St. Louis Marathon. Up to this point, I've been posting training reports on my blog jtj3, but will start posting them here. I'm following a plan created by author and marathoner Hal Higdon. If you're considering a marathon or a half marathon, his programs are excellent.
My previous training reports are accessible via these links:
This week was pretty good. It was extremely cold here (-2F on Wednesday!), so I did indoor training.
Wed: 3 miles on indoor track (didn't record time)
Thu: 5 miles on indoor track (49:07)
Fri: 3 miles on treadmill (39:13)
Sun: 10 miles on indoor track (1:44:47)
So, as you can see, I'm definitely not Speed Racer...but hey, I'm out there and I'm working toward a goal. According to blogger and marathoner Mal James, only .1 of 1% of the world's population ever has or ever will run a marathon.
So, that's it for today...now get out there and run a few!