@BigBigGeek

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My Run Plan

Today is the first day of my marathon training…

Just kidding.

In a way I feel like that is the case though.  I haven’t run much since my marathon on September 8th.  In fact I have only logged about 50 miles this month (and 26.2 was in one day).  Today I can finally hit the pavement again.  I hope to run 3 miles today and 6 with @BigBigGeek tomorrow.

My plan for this next month is to build back up to about 50 miles a week.  I’ll start at about 30 – 35 miles next week and add 10% each week until I get back to 50.  I hope that eventually I can make 50 miles a week my benchmark.  Personally, I would like to be up in the high 50’s on average, but I want to take my time building back up my mileage.

With Fall approaching and cool weather less than a month away, I hope my training will pick back up.  Another goal for this Fall is to get my pace down to 8:00 per mile.  Last winter I was comfortably at 8:30 pace, but during the summer and marathon training my average pace has dropped a bit.

On a final note, many congratulations to those who have gotten into Boston.  I got a nice comment from  RunningBostonAndBeyond yesterday and read her blog post about getting that email.  It is a great post.  If you have time, read it HERE. Very exciting.

Gotta go.  Have a great weekend and enjoy your run!

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Sometimes life is like a long run…

Sometimes life reflects running – or it may be the other way around.

Have you ever been on a long run and thought of the miles ahead of you and just wanted to stop?  It isn’t that you feel badly or that you are tired, but just the magnitude of the task ahead of you seems to take all the air out of your sails.  In the end, you keep going and finish the run and are better for the experience.

Yesterday was that type of day for me.  No, I didn’t run, but I planned on walking 4 or 5 miles.  That just didn’t happen.

I got up at 4:00 AM and got to work by 5:30.  During work things got hectic.  The one good part of the day was lunch with @BigBigGeek and getting to hear his half marathon recap live and in person.  I love talking about running.

Back to my day.  I got a call from my son that he had a migraine.  He lives with debilitating headaches, so if he calls and says it is bad, then it is really bad.  I had him make a doctor appointment and then had to figure out how to get done with my work and take him to the doctor.  My Lovely Wife’s back is acting up again, so she was at home in bed trying to get some relief.

After the doctor, I took my son home and then had to go back out and get some prescriptions.  Of course our main pharmacy didn’t have one of the prescriptions, so I had to head over to another pharmacy.

Finally I got home near 5:00 PM, too exhausted to walk and just fell into bed.

I’ve had stressful days before but there were a lot of frustrations and things happening that I didn’t write about here.

Anyway, on to my premise.  Sometimes life is about endurance.  You might be on mile 5 of 20 and thinking, how am I getting through this.  I guess it’s that runner’s mindset that helps me deal with stressful days now.  I am getting used to being at the base of a mountain and having to look up and wonder how in the world am I ever going to get to the top.

So reason #162 of why I love running…  It helps me overcome issues in life and deal with the mountains.

I figure if I can run 26.2 miles, I can deal with a difficult day.

I’m glad I run.

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Hangin’ with The Dog on a beautiful Sunday morning

It is a great Sunday morning here in the South.  59 degrees and sunny.  It is the type of day you might want to go on a long run or run a half marathon.  Fortunatly for Neill (@BigBigGeek) he is running one right now!!!  Good luck Neill.

I can’t wait to hear from Neill on his twitter about how the race went, but until then I’m hangin’ with The Dog.

The Dog loves her morning treat!!!

The Dog loves her morning treat!!!

She and I have a ritual each morning.  As I come out of my room, she gets up from where ever she chose to sleep that night.  She waits for me to walk down the stairs and follows, but sometimes she leads (depending on how slowly I’m moving at 4:00 AM).

After I let her out, I go get my coffee.  Usually in a few minutes she comes back in and wants her treat.  Notice in this pic how patient she is waiting for me to tell her it is okay for her to take her treat.

She is quick.  She grabs it and goes out to the living room to eat.

She is the best dog ever.  Happy and content.

That’s it for today.  Go Neill.

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Bye bye running, for now

Okay when I said “for now”, I meant for now.

I had a small procedure done today that will prevent me from running until next Friday.  I can still walk, but nothing beyond that.

Sadly I didn’t get a final run in yesterday.  I got up at 3:30 AM and got home at 6:30 PM.  On top of that I had to be in town at 3:50 this morning, so as soon as I got home, I went to bed.

Any suggestions on what a running blogger should write while he can’t run?  I’ve had one suggestion already, but I am open to more.

Up until yesterday my running has been slowly improving since the big marathon day.  I got up to 4 miles on Wednesday and probably could have done more, but chose not to push it.  The heat has been getting to me again.  I haven’t run in 90+ degree weather for a couple of weeks and I can tell it has made a difference.  Of course it is supposed to be a high of 77 degrees tomorrow and I can’t run.  I guess I’ll have to sit and watch football.  Darn.

TJ has helped me map out my running plan for the next 6 months.  It is so nice to have him as a resource!  My goal for my next marathon is going to be three fold.

  1. Under 4:00
  2. 3:45
  3. 3:30 (BQ)

It is nice to have several options to push for and with cooler weather just a month away, I’m excited to have new goals.

I’m jealous of all you marathoners tapering and preparing for your Fall marathons.  I so enjoyed mine.  I hope I can keep healthy and keep running long distance races.  I really enjoy them.

Finally, a shout out to my running friend Neill (@BigBigGeek – bigbiggeek.wordpress.com) as he runs the Talladega Half Marathon Sunday.  I’m so excited for him.  If it weren’t for my current running situation (or lack thereof) I might think of running it myself – just for fun.  Good luck and God speed Neill (Isa. 40:31).

[I just got a tweet from him asking for advice for a newbie half marathoner – It would be awesome if you all could go to his blog (linked above) and give him some encouragement and support.  He is a great guy and really moving forward with his running!!!]

Sorry to be all over the place with this post.  Now what am I going to write tomorrow.  🙂

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Thank you!

Well we made it home safe and sound.  It wasn’t a fun ride (no 14 hour car ride is), but it was uneventful, so that is good.

The good news is that I am finally able to walk without much pain (other than my hip).  I could have run a little yesterday, but I was in the car for 14 hours.  🙂

So life is starting to get back to normal.  It was fun seeing my mom and celebrating her birthday a day late.  It was great seeing my brothers and just hanging around.  I got to visit my birthplace and see the house I was brought up in.  It doesn’t even look like the same house.  It is run down and all the work my dad put into a fish pond and Japanese gardens is gone.  Everything is grown over.  Rather sad.

It is great to be home though.  Back in Alabama with my kids and my LW (Thanks GetGoingGetRunning  getgoinggetrunning.wordpress.com for that one).  I thought that was some new type of foam roller, but my Lovely Wife figured out what that meant right away).  🙂

On our trip home yesterday we listened to an audio book BigBigGeek Neill gave to me for my trip.  It is about a guy who weighed around 260 lbs and when he turned 50 lost the weight and ran a marathon.  Sounds familiar.  It is a good story about his journey to running and his journey to Christianity.  Here is the link to his blog and his book.  All proceeds go to charity.  http://bhmatson.com.

Finally, I will never be able to thank you all for reading my blog and encouraging me on my journey.  That has been one of the most amazing parts of my running the marathon last Sunday.  When I started this blog I simply started writing daily about my running.  After a few weeks I had a few people following me.  Now, 8 months later, I have almost 200.  It really blows my mind that I have such great support and encouragement from runners, dieters and others who don’t do either.  Thank you again for being a part of my journey.  I couldn’t do it without you (okay I could and I would, but it would be much harder).

Have a great weekend.

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Hangin’ with “The Dog” and tryin’ to taper

Just hanin’ with the dog this morning and resting after my 5 mile run. I was able to get out and get my run in before it got too hot, but it was not a great run and the reason for that goes back to yesterday’s run with Neill…

"The Dog" hiding?

“The Dog” hiding?

First, my hangin’ with “The Dog” picture of the week. This is courtesy of my eldest son. “The Dog” loves to be under things and in tight places. TJ got her from the Humane Society and she had been abused as a puppy. She was 8 weeks old when we got her. She is a great dog and a great addition to our family, even when she hiding (or thinks she is hiding). 🙂

On to yesterday’s run. I really enjoy running with Neill. We have a great time talking and he is a strong Christian, which is always encouraging. Our run went well overall, but we both had problems to overcome.

My problem was with my left foot. The top of my foot where my laces tie started getting sore. I tired to just run through it, but it became more and more noticeable. Finally at a Gatorade stop, I loosened my shoelace and that seemed to help, but it was still sore. This is the issue I had today also. That muscle on the top of my foot seems just be aggravated, which is bothering since I hope to run 26.2 miles at this time next week.

I may, in my taper, just not run a couple of days and let my whole body heal. I know that just about everyone would agree with that plan, but my head says no. In the end, what a fellow runner at work told me was good advice. He said, “You want to get to the starting line feeling 100% and like you could run the best race of your life”. That is my new goal. Besides, there isn’t anything riding on this race and as long as I finish, it is a PR!

So on to the final week before my marathon. TJ and I are excited and hope to do well. We head to PA on Friday morning about 4:00 AM with HM and RS. RS wanted to run the marathon, but he is too young according to their rules.

I hope you all have a great week ahead and please, run some miles for me. 🙂

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Hangin’ with the dog before my long run…

Great run yesterday with Neill (@BigBigGeek, bigbiggeek.wordpress.com).  We got to run the same route as last Saturday, but I was a bit early, so I ran 3 miles ahead of his arrival.  So all in all I made 13 miles on Saturday and had great conversation and company.

Today is my long run, but I am not going for 20 miles since I am 2 weeks away from my marathon and I did 13 yesterday.  I am going to try for 15.  I am sore, but I had a great night sleep so that will help.

For some reason I’ve noticed that I am usually in a bad mood during the day after my long run.  I don’t know why other than maybe I’m tired?

photoHere is my Hangin’ with the Dog pic for this week.  I cheated and took it yesterday (but I am hangin’ with her this morning).  I think it is funny how she likes to “sit” on the stairs.

Have a great Sunday and thank you everyone who gave insight into tapering yesterday.  It was great help.  I will post my ending thoughts and tapering plan sometime this week.

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The ups and downs of running this week

It has been a very strange mileage week for me…

Here is a basic look:

  • Monday – OFF
  • Tuesday – 2 miles
  • Wednesday – 9.5 miles
  • Thursday – 4 miles
  • Friday – 3 miles
  • Saturday 10 miles

I have never had a non long run over 8 miles and I had two this week close to 10.  I felt great about those days.  The other days… Ugh.

  • Tuesday we had storms and I had to stop.
  • Thursday I did steady state workout but had to stop because of a muscle cramp.
  • Friday I felt horrible.  I didn’t get to run until nearly 5:00 PM and was exhausted before I started and hungry.  Not a good combination.

Yesterday I had what I would call a much needed run.  I met Neill at the park and we ran.  We ran at a slower pace which I really needed.  The weather was perfect around 70 degrees.  We just ran and talked.  The whole run was just easy and fun.  Finally we ran our last couple miles.   Neill was going to stop at 9 miles total, but as we hit 8.5 he decided to keep going!  We got to 9 and began our run back to the cars and he picked up the pace.  We did that last mile near a 9:00 pace!! He really ran well and I really enjoyed it.

I needed that run.

So, today I am heading back to the park and going to run my long run.  I was all messed up on training for the next couple of weeks.  This week is my last 18 – 20 mile long run.  Next week will be about a 16 mile run and then a 12 mile run a week before the marathon.  I don’t know what I was thinking when I said that today was my last long run.  I guess it was wishful thinking.

I will say that after yesterday I am not dreading today.  In fact, other than the rain outside, I am looking forward to it.

I had better get going.  I really want to be in the park and running by 6:30.

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Hangin’ with The Dog and then Runnin’ with Neill

Sitting here before dawn about to go to breakfast with TJ and then meet Neill  (@BigBigGeek, BigBigGeek.wordpress.com) at the State Park and run 9 miles.  Should be a lot of fun.

When I first started running with Neill, 5 miles was his longest run and 11:00 pace was pretty fast for him.  Now he is below 10:00 and running a 9 mile long day.  He has a Half Marathon in September two weeks after my Marathon.  It is so much fun watching someone really push forward and, as my friend RunningToHerDreams would say, “run like a boss”.

"The Dog" waiting for me to throw "The Stick".

“The Dog” waiting for me to throw “The Stick”.

So I sit here with “The Dog” and wait for the sun to rise to start my day.  I must post a picture (my Lovely Wife insists on it 🙂 ) each week.  This one was actually from yesterday after my (not so good) run while throwing “The Dog” “The Stick” in the back yard.  The stick is in the upper left corner of the picture.  She is so intent on that stick… Sort of like me at the start of a 5K (ha!).

Have a great weekend and, as my Lovely Wife says to me everyday before I leave for my run:

“Run fast, don’t get hurt, have a good run”.

Tomorrow – the last long run day before my marathon…

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Yesterday’s run and injury update

It was a good run yesterday with my friend Neill (@BigBigGeek).  I do enjoy running with other people rather than the lonely road by myself in my neighborhood.  It can really get monotonous running by yourself all the time, so when TJ and I can run together or I meet Neill to run, it is usually a much easier and more fun run for me.

Neill and I met at the mountain lake to run the trail, which is always fun.  Not only is is different running trail runs, but we also have a lot in common to talk about.

I got to the parking lot about 15 minutes early and it was pouring.  I wanted to warm up a bit so that my achilles and hip wouldn’t bug my on the trail, so I ran about half a mile around the area before Neill pulled up.  After we got ready to head out for our run, we decided that the trail may be a bit too muddy and slick to run and so we ran the road instead.

We did about 3.2 miles together and I did about a half a mile, so I was close to 3.75 miles for the day.

All that to say, I am still hurting a bit.  My left hip is still giving me problems from when I tripped over a sidewalk crack last week.  I am hoping that my reduced mileage this week will help calm it down and I am stretching it a bit.  I guess I should be putting ice on it also.

I admit that I am concerned  that with my marathon being less than 10 weeks away I feel this banged up.  There isn’t much I can do, but take it easy and stay off the sidewalks!!!

Anyway, thanks Neill for the great run.  Always a pleasure.

I may take today off and hope that tomorrow things feel better.

Sigh.

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A new experience for me; trail running!

What a great place to go for a run…

View of the lake right before our run - Beautiful!

View of the lake right before our run – Beautiful!

Yesterday I met Neill (@BigBigGeek) at Oak Mtn State park to run trails around the lake.  I haven’t been to that park in 10 years, I haven’t trail run much at all and I have never run with Neill.  So it was a day of new experiences and a lot of fun.

When I first got to the park, I drove to the lake and there was a triathlon going on. Swimmers were in the water and bikers were on their bikes. I have never seen a triathlon before, so it was pretty cool.  My late sister was training for a triathlon when she passed away in 2003.  I wonder if that might be something I would like to attempt one day.  Perhaps a future challenge?

I met up with Neill and we went for our trail run.  I was hesitant because with all the mileage I’ve put in the past week my achilles has been a bit tender and I was wearing some trail running shoes that I haven’t really used but a couple of miles.  It wasn’t a problem.  The trail was definitely a trail.  Rocks, roots, narrow and other runners and bikers.  We ran over 2 miles in one direction and then the same back.  Funny, it seemed like it was much more than just a couple of miles.  I guess it takes so much concentration not to trip (which I did once) that it just felt longer.  I had a great time talking with Neill as we ran and the lake and woods were beautiful.  I will be running this trail again.  It was fun.

Our path around the lake

Our path around the lake

After we got through with the trail, I ran with Neill back to his car and then I had to run another 1.5 miles to complete the 7 miles I planned the day.  I don’t know what it was, perhaps the trail run, the triathlon, or just all the people walking, biking and playing at the park, but I ran the best 1.5 miles I’ve run in a long time.  I felt like I could run as fast as I wanted and as far as I wanted.  I just felt free!!!  It was fantastic.

Running has been laborious lately.  The heat hasn’t been too bad, but it was really affected me in a negative way.  Everyday the past couple of weeks has been a difficult run other than last Monday with TJ.  Yesterday was such a blessing.  It was fun running with Neill; it was fun running the trail; it was fun watching the triathloners and it was fun running at the end.

It was fun and I am excited about running again.