TJ

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4.23

4.23

That is the amount of miles I ran out of my 7 mile goal yesterday.

4.23

I decided at that point to stop.  I hit a wall and could have gone on, but I did that Sunday and decided that I would be opening myself up to injury if I continued.  However this does pose a dilemma.  How do I get to 50 miles this week and ultimately the mileage to seriously run a marathon if I can’t do much more than 4 miles in a day?

I know it has some to do with the heat – probably 80% of what I felt running yesterday was due to the heat.  Part of it was due to a late meeting that meant that I didn’t get out to run until after 4:00 in the afternoon.

I’ve been thinking that perhaps I should run in the morning.  However I already get up by 4:00 each morning so that isn’t very doable.

So TJ helped me with telling me his solution.  He had to stop early also yesterday, though for him early is 10 miles.  His solution is to try running some miles in the morning and the rest in the afternoon.  Sounds like a doable solution to me.

So starting today I am going to try to run 3 miles in the morning and 4 in the afternoon.  That way it will be much less time in the 100+ heat and it won’t seem like such a long run either.  Of course, now I have to get up no later than 3:30 and probably earlier as I have to cool down and soak my achilles in ice water after my run.  However I will give this a try and see how it goes.

Tonight, Spirit of the Marathon II at 7:00.  One night only.  I can’t wait – though 3:30 will come awful early after staying up until 10:00.

Maybe I’ll take tomorrow off.

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Inspiration to run

I don’t like the heat.  I never have.

Long before I was a runner, even while a child, I hated the heat.

Now I am a runner and I have to endure the heat.  Last year wasn’t too bad.  I was running 2-3 miles a day.  This year I am running 7-9 miles a day and I would like to keep my pace up.  It is hard to get inspired to keep going outside to run when, to me anyway, it is torture.  This morning for instance.  5:00 AM.  77 degrees and at least 80% humidity.  Today and tomorrow the highs will be close to 100 and I imagine with the heat index, over 100.

So what do I do to keep myself going?  It would be easy to slow down for the summer.  Summer here lasts into October – that is a long time for someone who hates heat.

How do I keep myself inspired?

My goal.  I could wait another year to qualify for Boston, but I made a goal in March of this year to qualify – this year.  It really does drive me.  I wrote a couple of days ago that to go from obesity to a Boston qualifier in just over 2 years would be my largest achievement.  10 years from now no one may remember, but I will. I want to do this and I want to do it this year if possible.  That is my motivation.

This blog.  It amazes me how much this blog inspires me.  I write each day on running or running subjects.  I put my goals and dreams down for anyone to read.  I think as I run about what I will write the next day.  But the biggest inspiration are all the people who read and comment and like.  As I run in the heat wondering how I will keep one foot moving in front of another (as I did on Sunday), this blog keeps me inspired.

Other blogs. Reading others ups and downs and inspirational writings really helps.  It is all about keeping my mind in the game.  I have to keep focused, not on the present reality of tiredness, soreness and heat, but on my goal and other blogs and tweets keep me focused.  Thank you for writing and helping me keep inspired!

Inspirational movies.  The Spirit of the Marathon II comes to theaters tomorrow (June 12) at 7:00 for a one day showing.  When the first movie came out I wasn’t even close to running.  I had the desire, but no inspiration or motivation.   Tomorrow I am going with TJ and RS and can’t wait to sit in a cool theater and be inspired. I need a movie like this to keep my mind focused and my head clear.

I apologize for writing some of the same things I wrote a couple of days ago.  But as I said, I need to keep myself going and writing my blog does just that.  It keeps me inspired and accountable as I head outside into the heat of the afternoon to run.

We all need some inspiration these days.  Think sometime of what inspires you and then do that thing.  It makes all the difference!!!

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50 mile week and I felt it yesterday!

They say that the way you feel in your run isn’t the total miles of that run, but the sum of the past three days of running.  This is because of the time it takes to recover from a run.  Well if that is true, then I know what happened yesterday to the end of my run.

The sum of my last three runs (including yesterday’s run) was 27 miles.

It was my long run day and I was feeling pretty good as I began.  I needed 13 miles for the day, which put me at 50 (PB) for the week!  Here is a quick summary or my run:

Miles 1-4: Felt pretty good, surprisingly good in fact.
Miles 5-9: Getting tired and hot, especially toward the later miles.  Ran past the house to get some Gatorade.
Miles 10 – 13: I hit the wall and never recovered.  I slowed down to about an 11:00 pace – seemed like I was barely running. My legs were shot and I did everything I could just to finish.

My Lovely Wife eventually sent TJ to search for me since I was taking so long to get home.  It was nice to see a friendly face driving up beside me as I had 1/2 mile to go.

My philosophy, as I have stated before, is to not worry about speed this summer.  I am training for a September marathon and the speed will come, but my body has to get used to the miles.  So as I run I do what I can, but if I have to run slow to get my miles in, that is what I will do.

We are at 13 weeks before the Lehigh Valley Marathon in Altoona Pennsylvania.  This week the temps get up near 100 and I have another 50 mile week to put in.  Next week I will taper down about 25% so that will be really nice to get a break.

I just have to keep my eye on the prize.  In some ways (forgive me ladies) I feel like I am 6 months pregnant.  I am doing all I can do each day to get by, but I know that it will all be over in 3 months, then I can relax.  Okay, not a good analogy, but it is the best I can think of at the moment.

Off day today. 🙂 Yay!

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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.

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Running in the heat… A blessing and not a curse

Hot and tired.  That seems to be the theme of my runs this Spring (not even summer yet).

Yesterday was National Running Day (http://lifetimerun.com/Sub_Social/NRD) and even though I was going to run anyway, it was pretty cool to be a part of something bigger than just my neighborhood :).

I went out after work and got some pickles.  Pickle juice is supposed to be good for the heat because of the sodium and other ingredients including vinegar.  TJ sent me an article that says that you only need to consume 2 oz of pickle juice before a run to keep the cramps away. So I figured I’d give it a try.

I didn’t cramp.  But the run was still hard.  I ran my 7 miles and then sat outside with the Dog and TJ and soaked my foot in ice water and drank my Gatorade.

I really want to figure out the “key” to running in the heat.  I run, but it isn’t fun at all.  Most of yesterday I was hoping for the storms to come so I could cut my run short.  Not because I couldn’t do it, but I didn’t want to do it.  Just being real.  If it weren’t for the Lehigh Valley Marathon in 14 weeks, I wouldn’t be running this much right now.  But the marathon cometh and I have to run whether I want to or not.

One benefit to running in the heat is my metabolism has seemed to kick in again.  I have been hovering around 182 for several months now, but for the past three days I have steadily been losing weight.  Of course everyone is probably thinking it is water weight, but I drink a gallon of water a day and eat salty pickles and I am still losing weight.  As of this morning I weighed 178.9 which is 2 oz short of my best weight.  So, wether it is water weight or just my body grabbing what it can for me to keep running, I’ll take what I can get. To be honest, I would really like to be in the 160’s by the marathon.  I don’t think I can get there without dieting and it is hard to diet and run, let alone diet and train for a marathon.  So, perhaps the hot weather is a blessing and not a curse.  Time will tell.

Today I will try for my 9 mile run I have to run this week.  If I can get that out of the way, then the rest of the week I can coast on my 7 mile runs until my 13 mile run on Sunday.

Happy National Running Day – one day late!!!

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Thank you note to my family, friends, bloggers, runners, etc…

Yesterday was my off day, so I just walked 2 miles and went home to rest.

I thought I would take a moment to say some things about my gratefulness to my family, friends and fellow bloggers who read this blog.  So this isn’t a running blog post for the most part.

I so appreciate the support of my family; my Lovely Wife, kids, mother and brothers.  They are all supportive and caring.

My Lovely Wife, as I have mentioned, has lost a lot of weight and is still working diligently to keep it off.  I know it is a constant battle that I don’t have to face as I can run and keep my weight down most of the time, but with her back problems, she has to do it all through diet and will power!  She has always been supportive of my running.  Even now that it takes about two hours a day to get ready to run, do my run and then cool down outside with the dog, she never complains or makes me feel like I am taking too much time away (I hope that is a good thing :)).  She always tells me to run fast, don’t get hurt and have a good run before I leave.  She comes to most of our races and sits and waits patiently as we prepare, then run and then cool down.  I can’t say enough how much she means to me and how much I appreciate her and her support.  I couldn’t get to where I am today without her.

My kids have been great also.  The ones who run, TJ and RS are always asking me how my runs go and how I am doing.  I really enjoy when we can run together, even though it isn’t often because we all run at different paces, but it is a great time when we can.  My kids who don’t run (yet) BL, JR and HM are also supportive and come to my races and ask me how my running is going.  I am so appreciative of them and their encouragement.

I also appreciate my Mom and brothers who read my blog and are excited as I pass new milestones.  Both my brothers run and though my mother can’t, she is familiar with the sacrifice as my late father and sister were both runners back years ago.  I guess I owe my running to my late father who started it all in his mid 50s.  He just one day got out there in his running shoes and started running.  My siblings followed after and they all ran the Marine Corps Marathon in DC each year.  I do wish my dad and sister could be here to see me run, but they do see I believe.  I couldn’t do it without their inspiration.

Finally, thank you to the blogging / tweeting community of runners and dieters and friends who follow my blog and twitter and encourage me.  I don’t have a Facebook and frankly didn’t tell many people about my blog.  I now have over 70 followers and have had views from over 45 countries.  Quite amazing to me.  I know I can get repetitive with my posts at times, but that is what running is about.  Doing the same thing day after day after day.  Anyway, thank you to all who read my blog, comment and like my posts.  It is very encouraging and give me motivation to improve and move forward.

Okay that is all for today.  I just wanted to take a post and give my gratitude and appreciation for all the support.  I could not be more thankful to have this blog.

Thank you!!!

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A great run with TJ

Monday’s are my day off from running… Not yesterday!

I decided to take yesterday off from work as a last minute thing.  The 5K put me behind on some things I had to get done during the weekend and I just needed a break.  So, I got to sleep in and rest and run.  I ran Sunday for my long run and it wasn’t pretty.  I was wiped out from the 5K, but needed to run anyway as the marathon is just 14 weeks away.  I didn’t break any speed records, but I got 10 miles in.

Yesterday I was going to run in the morning, but ended up going out do spend time with my Lovely Wife and get some things done that we didn’t get done from the weekend.  I saw TJ at his work and he mentioned us running together in the afternoon, so I was glad I had decided to hold off.

Well the afternoon came and we went running.  It was warm but not as hot as it has been.  TJ has suggested I work on running 50 miles this week, so I am going to average 7 miles a day with one 9 mile day and a 13 mile long day on Sunday.  Finally he and I went for our run.  It was fun – until the end.

I ran really well.  I felt well and according to his app, kept about an 8:07 pace through the first 6 miles or so.  The problem was that I hit a wall at about the 5.5 mile mark.  I started really feeling the run and it was hard to concentrate.  Unfortunately I had 5.5 really good miles in and didn’t want to just crash the last mile and a half.  So I kept up the pace.  TJ wanted to run a half mile further than me so we split at the last half mile and I ran home.  

I was beat.

I would say that I was as more tired from this run than our 5K.  I ended running about an 8:16 pace.  My app had problems and measured me running at 8:29, but I know I was running faster than that, so I went with TJ’s app.  

So I have now run 9 days in a row.  I am taking today off, which is good since it is going to be 90 this afternoon.  

Anyway, I appreciate running with TJ, it makes it much more fun for me, even though it is a slower pace for him.  Funny, we were talking and I found out that last year at this time he was running an average of 5 miles a day at an 8:30 pace.  That is about where I am now.  Last year at this time I was running 2 miles a day at an 11:30 pace.  I think just putting in the miles 6 days a week has made the biggest difference.  Also the workouts that TJ has shown me how to run has really helped.

I am looking forward to my day of rest – two days late, but also enjoying to memories of a great running weekend.

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CityFest 5K: Cancer survivor, Biggest Loser and a Masters

The CityFest 5K was quite an event for me.

It started while in line to pick up my bag and bib number. I met a woman behind me who was running her first 5K. She was a cancer survivor and said that running a 5K was on her “bucket list” of things to do while she was in recovery. Evidently she had leukemia and almost died. Now she was running her first 5K and even her doctors were amazed. I regretted not getting her name or picture so I could put it in the blog, but it was very inspirational.

Then the race. My Lovely Wife and JR came to cheer us on and TJ, RS and I ran warmups around the track and got ready for what we knew would be a tough course. TJ didn’t race, but paced me and kept me motivated. I really needed his help several times. The first was at the start. All the adrenaline of the start got to me and I began by running under a 6 minute mile and my goal in the beginning was to run a 7 minute mile. TJ kept saying, “You need to slow down”. I felt like I was walking by the time I slowed down enough.

Although we started at the front of the starting line, there were about 10 people ahead of us. We passed a few in the first quarter mile and one other teen about half a mile into the race. After that, we were on our own. There was another teenager ahead of us the whole way and I was passed by a teen about 2 miles into the race, but I was able to hold my own up and down all those hills. Not bad for a 50 year old.

As we got to the stadium where the finish included a lap around the track, TJ remarked that I was only 3 seconds way from a PR. Wow, that was exciting. Then the only bad part of the run happened. A gate was open going into the stadium and so we headed for it. Then a nice runner who was making his lap around the track saw us and shouted for us to run further around the stadium to find the entrance. So we had to stop and turn around and get back on the road that lead around the stadium (I noticed later that the gate was closed). So I lost a lot of time and missed a PR by over 30 seconds. It totally threw me off.

We entered the track and ran the lap and TJ peeled off and I finished 6th overall. It was a fun run. TJ went to find RS and help him to finish strong. After a few minutes we saw them entering the stadium and we cheered RS to a strong finish. Not a PR for him either, but 2 minutes faster than two weeks ago and he was running on 4 hours sleep because of work.

We all went in the gym for the giveaways and the awards ceremony. It was neat because Gina McDonald from “The Biggest Loser” was the MC. As many of you know my Lovely Wife has lost 86 lbs and I have lost almost 100 lbs in the past two years. Gina lost 113 in her quest. So it was a cool thing to hear her story. We don’t watch cable since I don’t think it is worth the price, so we didn’t know her when we saw her. But I can see why she was chosen. She is very vibrant and energetic and obviously worked hard to lose her weight. So that made things a lot of fun. My Lovely Wife got to meet her after the event was over and tell her how much she had lost. Very encouraging.

Okay, so overall I came in 6th and won the Masters division age 40 and up! I finished at 22:19 (36 seconds off my PR). RS came in 16th overall and 3rd in his age group with the only two others who beat him also beat me. Once again, I can’t thank TJ enough for all his help and motivation during the run. And it was fun seeing Neill Tyler @BigBigGeek (who came in 3rd in his division!) and @David_Topping at the race. It is always fun to run with friends.

I will definitely run this race again next year!

Now to marathon training. TJ says I need to get into the 50 mile a week range, so that is my goal for this week. I’ll see how it goes as it isn’t supposed to be as hot this week as it was last week.

Running never stops!

Neat view of beginning of race (circle around TJ and me and arrow pointing to RS)

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5K CityFest summary – More tomorrow

Yesterday’s race went really well.  I don’t have time today to write, but I will in the morning.  Suffice to say that it was the first time I won the overall masters 1st place (age 40 and up).  I couldn’t have done it without TJ pacing me and encouraging me to keep going.  RS won a medal as did @bigbiggeek. Congrats!

Anyway, check back tomorrow for a recap.  I think you’ll enjoy it, the dog did. 🙂

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Excited about our 5K today

I’m all rested and ready for today’s 5K.  I didn’t run or walk yesterday, just to give my body a break.

I woke up excited about the race today.  I don’t know why.  Maybe because it doesn’t really matter how I do since I just ran a 5K two weeks ago.  I’m not trying for a PR, however…  I would like to do well and will try.  TJ, as I said, will pace me and RS will run also, but had to work really late, so I don’t know how well he will be able to run on 4 hours sleep.

I am excited about my marathon training and trying coconut water for hydration.  It is going to be a long summer, but also a fun summer of training.

One thing about running, every day is a new adventure!

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Gatorade folly and tomorrow’s 5K

I had a fairly good run yesterday and I think I know why this week had been so hard.

Other than getting adjusted to the heat, I have been drinking Gatorade before running.  I just started this on Tuesday, thinking that it would help with the heat.  To be honest, I have been putting a scoop of Gatorade into a half cup of water since I didn’t want to drink too much before running.  So I gave myself a 30 minute high on all that sugar, but when that wore off around the 3-4 mile mark, I would crash hard.

As a test to see if that was it, I had nothing to drink before running yesterday (I had 96 oz during the day though).  It wasn’t easy, but I did get 5 miles in at an 8:40 pace and never felt like I couldn’t go on.  I stopped on purpose at 5 miles since I ran and walked 16 miles the past 2 days and I want to be fresh for my 5K on Saturday.  Anyway, no more Gatorade before a run for me.

I haven’t mentioned much about the 5K tomorrow since I wasn’t going to push it too hard, but now I am changing my thoughts.  It is an inaugural 5K and I have run the course and am familiar with it.  I really think I can PR it if I run it correctly.  Right now I plan on running the first 2 miles at a 7:00 pace and try to run the 3rd at 6:30.  That would give me a PR and be a good end to my 5K days as I start my marathon training.  I’m looking forward to seeing Neill (@bigbigggeek) and David (@David_Topping) at the race.  RS is going to run with us and TJ isn’t running the race, but wants to help pace me.  I’ve never had anyone pace me in a race before, so that will be really great.

Tonight it is Stouffer’s macaroni and cheese and chicken caesars (thanks big brother @fooddude4life) for the inspiration; then we will watch “The Race” Seinfeld episode.  Finally a good night rest so we can run hard tomorrow (and not get hurt – thanks Lovely Wife).

I love 5Ks.  I hope this one is memorable.