running

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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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How do you deal with a bad day when you can’t run?

Yesterday was a particularly rough day.  It was one of those days where you know that a good run is “better than therapy”.   One of those days where you would barely get out of the door with your running gear on before you are off running as hard as you can just to get the junk out of your head.

For me, yesterday was a day of frustration.  Yes, the day was difficult, but the frustrating part of the day was the fact I can’t run until Friday.

Seriously?!?

I could have set a PR.  I could have run so hard and so long.  I could have run off the day.  I could have saved my mind and my body a lot of stress if I could just have gone for a run.

I walked.

I walked for hours.

I walked along highways with no shoulders.  At times I was inches from cars on a two lane road.  I had to leave the neighborhood and there aren’t many areas to walk nearby and I didn’t want to drive somewhere.  I was careful though and most of the time stayed a few feet from the traffic.  Cars were considerate and moved over for me when they could.  At one point I slipped on pine straw, but I caught myself and was fine.

Finally after miles of walking I headed home.  This walk helped.  I’m glad I could walk and I am thankful I am in shape.  I had no fear of doing “too much”.  I just walked off my day.

I miss my running.  I think some of my problems from the day was the fact I haven’t really run much in the past month.  I was hurt the week before my marathon so I didn’t run.  I was too sore to run (or even walk) the week after my marathon.  Now I had to take a week off for other reasons.  I guess I’m having endorphin withdrawal.  🙂

Tomorrow my hiatus from running is over.  I can run as much as I want.  I already have a 6 mile run planned with my friend Neill on Saturday.  I’m looking forward to that.

We take so much for granted in this life.  I never knew how much of my mental well-being was tied up in running.  I never knew until yesterday how much I NEED running.  I have been transformed into a runner and I cannot go back.

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Discipline through running

I have never been a disciplined person.

As far as I can tell, discipline is simply doing something without feeling the desire to do it.

I was in a meeting at work this week and we were talking about personality types.  Making a long story short, I mentioned that I have always lacked discipline and people laughed at me.  One person said that I was the most disciplined person that they knew.  It was then that I realized that my running had created discipline in me.  It wasn’t a natural trait to me, but had become a learned trait.

When I run in rain, sleet, snow, cold, hot or any other type of weather, or just when I run when I don’t feel like it, I become more disciplined.  I have read somewhere that the brain physically changes when we do new tasks and do them repeatedly.  I think this is true.

I’ve got something to confess.  I have been more irritated lately at my kids.  Don’t get me wrong.  I have great kids and they are all older, but if I ask them to do something and they give me an excuse as to why they cannot do it, I get annoyed.  After working through my thought process I wrote above, I think it is because I have learned to do things without excuse.  This doesn’t mean I do everything I am asked to do or do it without complaint.  I have learned, however, that I can do anything I set my mind to.  Running has brought me to this point.

I guess if I can make my 50 year old body run 26.2 miles then I know pretty much anything is possible.

Discipline is the key.  Doing something without feeling the desire to do it.  My definition, but I think if everyone developed discipline in their lives, this world would be a much better place in which to live.

Putting that in a different way, if everyone were a runner, life would be much easier.  🙂

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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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Running goals – Looking forward!!!

Since I can’t run until Thursday or Friday, I’ve been enjoying hanging with my family and doing family things.  We had a great weekend together and I must admit it was nice not to have to wake up early to get my run in before doing weekend chores.

I was thinking today of my goal.  Last March when I made my running goal to qualify for Boston, I honestly didn’t know what I was in for.  I thought to myself that I made my half at BQ pace and so it shouldn’t be hard to get in a whole marathon at that pace.

Um – Not!

Knowing what I know now, I have a lot of work to do to make my goal.  My pace for my one and only marathon wasn’t great, but I’m fine with it.  I finished that race in 4:14 and I have to finish in 3:30 to BQ.

So, as always is the case, TJ has helped me come up with a plan (thank you TJ).  I have just under 6 months before the next marathon.  I hope to run the Shamrock Marathon in Va. Beach on March 16, 2014.  I have to save some money as TJ and I will need to fly there, run and fly back over a long weekend, but at least I can stay with family so I don’t have to pay for a hotel or meals (thanks Jeff).

Right now we are in a planning stage.  On the horizon is the Vulcan Run 10K with @BigBigGeek, The Mercedes Half Marathon and various other 5K’s and races to keep us motivated.

Back to my goal.

To be honest I like to put myself on the line for what seems impossible.  It helps with motivation and builds character.  Also since I put my goal in the name of my blog, I have no choice but to work hard toward it.  I don’t say this in a negative way, honestly!  I have learned over the past two years that pushing myself in positive ways is immensely important.  I have to move forward or I will move backward.  So why not push myself in a positive way to achieve something I never thought I could?   If I don’t try, I’ll never know what I can accomplish!!!

Stay tuned.  The saga continues.  🙂

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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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Reflections of a running blogger

I love running!

I love the fact I’ve lost a lot of weight!

I’m excited every time I realize I ran a marathon!

I can’t believe how much my life has changed since I started running in March 2012.

I began this blog so that I could write about my running since people would get a glazed look on their face when I would try to tell them about the benefits and the joys of running.

I began writing this blog in January with 2 goals:

  1. Write everyday if possible.
  2. Respond to every comment because every comment deserves a response.

Now, 253 posts later, I have kept to my goals and have gotten a lot more in return.

  1. I have found a blogging community that is supportive, encouraging and inspirational.
  2. Although I have never been “into” social media relationships, I have found that there are great people and new friends I’ve made because of this blog.
  3. The amount of support I’ve received via this blog and all the awesome people who follow it has been amazing.  My marathon wouldn’t have been half as fun and successful if it weren’t for all of you!
  4. I’ve had a lot of fun.

I guess I am in a reflective mood today.  It has been a great 9 months on this blog and I hope to have many years with this blog.  One day I may even take my posts and turn them into a book about my journey.  That would be a lot of fun.  I guess I should get to Boston first – no need to get ahead of myself.

Have a wonderful day!!!

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Johnny’s Rant on The VIA Lehigh Valley Marathon

I read the funniest post yesterday afternoon (at least to me).

I was reading using an app on my iPhone and hangin’ with my Lovely Wife and I saw this post on a website called, “Johnny’s Rant on The Via Lehigh Valley Marathon”.  Knowing all that TJ and I went through from the traffic jam before the race to waiting for hours for a bus to take us back to the starting line, I had to read and see what Johnny said.

He and I must have been in the same area much of the time.  He mentions the issue with traffic (at least he didn’t go to the wrong hospital for the start of the race).  He mentions the port potties.  He mentions the buses (or lack there of).  But he also mentioned other details that I forgot to mention or didn’t write about in detail.

It was so funny, because as I said, we must have been close together, especially waiting for the bus.

Oh and by the way, he said that like me, they offered him a complementary entry into next years race.

Anyway, I have never read a random article on the Internet that so closely paralleled my experience that took place somewhere 850 miles away from where I live.

Here is the link if you are interested.

http://www.believeintherun.com/index.php/2013/09/17/johnnys-rant-via-lehigh-valley-marathon/ 

Good writing Johnny.  It made my night.

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Walking then running – Why didn’t I think of this before?

Interesting run yesterday.

It began with my daughter JR and me walking for 2 miles.  She used to love to run and exercise.  Then she had a series of health issues that has kept her from doing much in the form of exercise for the past few years.  So, I thought I could walk a couple of miles with her each day after I get home from work and before my run.

I got home, put on my running clothes, said goodbye to my Lovely Wife and we headed out for our walk.  It was a very nice time of walking and talking.  It was in the low 90s, but the humidity was low, so it wasn’t too hot during our walk.

After we got home, I headed out for my run.  The interesting thing is that it was the first painless run since my marathon.  It was only 3 miles, but that is also the most miles I’ve run since Sunday.  Also I ran 9:16, 8:51 and 8:17 pace for an average pace of 8:48 for the three miles.

When deciding whether to walk with JR before or after my run, I decided to walk before to see if it would help warm my muscles up for my run.  That seems to be exactly what happened.  It was so nice to run without issues and run relatively fast for the heat of the day.

It was a great day, until…

I was heading out last night to get some milk and jammed my little toe into a wall on my way downstairs.  Needless to say it is hurting this morning and I don’t know if I will be able to run on it today or not.

Still I am thankful for the fun time with JR and my great run.  Life doesn’t get much better than that!

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Quick running update… Long walk home

Yesterday’s run was a bit tough.  I really am not 100% back yet.  I would say I am at 75% or a little less.

It was a nice morning yesterday.  Not as cool as Saturday, but still a nice day for a run.  I decided to do 3-4 miles in my neighborhood and I used my Saucony Mirage shoes that I haven’t used since I started training for my marathon.

All was well until about mile 1.5.  My left calf started hurting.  I never had issues with my left calf before, but it started cramping at the end of my marathon and I guess it isn’t better yet.  I stopped and stretched it out and then went on with my run.

At mile 2.2 my knee started hurting in the same place it did Saturday, so I called it a day and walked home.

I’m not too upset about my running as I know it can takes a couple of weeks to come back from a marathon.  My only issue is that on Friday I am having a minor procedure that will prevent me from running for a week, so I wanted to get a few runs in before then.

That is all my news for now.  Life it returning to normal.  I’m back at work and the kids are all back to their jobs.

It is strange not preparing for a race.  I guess I need to spend next week looking at the events and calendar and see what is on the horizon.