End of the Week Recap 10/3/10

Hail my running brothers and sisters!  Week 10 of marathon training is at an end.  This week I ran 32.9 miles at an average of 8:37/mi.  I turned in 2:20 hrs of cross-training of golf and weights.  My weight came in at 162.2 lbs.  Not too bad overall.  The highlight of the week was my long run.  My training schedule called for a 20 mi run at an easy pace.  I was feeling pretty good yesterday, so today I opted for a long run at marathon pace for as long as I could.  Turns out that distance was 16 miles.  After that I cooled down with a sloooooow (walking slow) 3 miles.  I was glad to get that 16 miles out of the way.  The pace felt easy and I didn't have any physical problems until mile 15.5, when I felt twinges of a cramp come on.  Tonight, I'm tired and my muscles are tight, but otherwise, I feel pretty good.  Next week I'll probably try to post that 20 miler.  

Geek love:  I'm still digging my Droid X.  I've transcoded a DVD and it looks AWESOME on my phone!  I still haven't named it though.  The name should be smart and sexy much like my phone.  I got Spartacus:  Blood and Sand this weekend.  From what little I've seen, it reminds me a lot of 300 cinematically at least.  That's it for now.  Later kids!

P.S.  Today is my dad's birthday.  Happy Birthday, Dad!

End of the Week Recap 9/19/10

Hail my running brothers and sisters!  Week 8 of marathon training is done.  I've considered calling this week, Hill Week or the Hills are Alive with the Sound of Pain.  Instead of tempo run this week, I traded it for hill sprints.  The run was short, but hard.  Oddly enough, this is the same description that I can apply to my long run this week.  I was on schedule to do 20 miles at 8:48/mi, but I decided to do my run through Percy Warner Park (because I'm a glutton for punishment).  My long run ended up only being 15.5 miles at a 8:57/mi pace.  I would whine about this, but that is a brutal course with hills that go straight up into the air.  I swear!  Not to mention the wildlife!  In the middle of my run, I had to slow down as a gang of wild turkeys filled the road.  Now, I don't know if wild turkeys are prone to attacking innocent, tired runners, just trying to get through their workout, but I really didn't want to find out.  Thankfully they meandered off the sides of the road and seemed to take no notice of me (though I could swear I saw one giving me the evil eye!).  Other than a brush with a family of Bambi's and wild chipmunk, the rest of my run was fairly uneventful (except, of course, for my cursing and gnashing of teeth as I trudged up and  down the hills of PWP).

My mileage for the week was 30.94 miles at an average pace of 8:41/mi.  I did 42 minutes of actual cross-training and conditioning (Thank you dear for buying me that kettleball for Christmas!), and I weighed in at 164.4 lbs this morning.  Not too bad overall.

Random bits:  Big Bang Theory premieres this Thursday on CBS at 8/7 Central.  Set your DVR's.  I already have.  This week's parochial cross-country meet was a scorcher, but my kids (my son and the ones I coach) all had impressive runs despite the heat.  It makes a dad and coach proud to see those kids toughing it out and finishing strong.  Go Bears!  Allegedly, Android 2.2 (Froyo) should be coming out on the Droid X soon.  I'm betting on Tuesday, 9/21/10, as that is the last day of summer.

Well that's all I have for this week.  Run hard and keep the faith!  Later kids.

End of the Week Recap 9/12/10

Hail my running brothers and sisters!  Week 7 of marathon training is in the books after some switching around to accommodate my race this weekend.  This last week was supposed to be another long run, but I switched it with my rest week that's coming up.  I really didn't want to a 20-21 miler after doing a fast 10k.  Given this, I still didn't manage my rest week by the book.  I was supposed to get in 24 miles, but ended up with 20.58 miles.  Considering that over 8 miles was a tempo run and a race, I don't feel bad about not getting in all my mileage.  This week I did 20.58 miles at an average pace of 7:49/mi.  Golf again counted for my cross-training at 3:30 hrs.  My weight is right at 164.  Overall, I was a little "meh" about my race this week, but I'm hoping to get back in the mental groove this week.  I'm somewhat worried that I won't be ready for my marathon if I don't get my head back in the game.  On a final note, I've been really impressed with the effort that my cross-country kids are putting into it.  If nothing else, their drive has been a real inspiration for me.  Keep the faith, my peeps!

End of the Week Recap 8/29/10

Hail my running brothers and sisters!  Week 5 of marathon training is in the books, and slightly better than last week.  I did 31.67 miles at an average pace of 8:28/mi.  I did almost no cross-training except for ugly 2 hrs of golf.  My easy runs have been a bit faster than easy pace, which has tended to build a lot of false confidence.  My speed work and long runs have actually been more telling.  During a tempo run, I can hit my paces, but I can't hold onto it for more than a mile or two.  My long run this showed that I started to lose it after mile 13.  My splits before mile 13 were under 8:45, but after 13, they were 9:05, 9:05, 9:19, and 10:38 respectively through 16.  Not good.  Mile 16 is especially troubling, seeing as how that was where I got dead-legged in the Country Music Marathon.  I think that I need to get serious about real cross-training and weight-lifting to further my endurance.  Hopefully a new outlook on my workouts will translate into more confidence at the end of my runs also, as I'm sure that my stupid head is getting in the way as much as any physical weaknesses.

And before I close this week down, I'm gonna do that proud parent/coach thing that usually drives me nuts to read.  After all, no one else cares about our kids like we do, right?  Well, I'm no different.  Today was the first cross country meet for the Parochial school league, of which I assistant coach my kid's school's team.  I wish that I could take credit, but damn if those kids haven't gotten faster since last year.  It is inspiring to me to see those kids gutting out that last quarter mile, just because their wildly hysterical screaming assistant coach is screaming at them to dig deep and bring it home.  Oh yes.  I was that guy.  Holla!  As for my kid, you may look up "awesome" in the dictionary and you will see his smiling, sweaty face right there.  He clobbered 2 MINUTES off his time from last year, and I couldn't be more proud!  Thas my boy! Dayum!

All right, I better cut out, before I embarrass my boy any further. Later kids!

End of the Week Recap 8/22/10

Hail my running brothers and sisters!  Week 4 of marathon training is down and out.  This week was a recovery week, but it was also the start of cross country practice.  So as I've whined said before, it was hard for me to get any actual recovery in, because I was running nearly every day (though no run was longer than 6 miles).  So after sneaking a run in (through the storm) yesterday, I decided to make today a recovery day, drop a run, and sit on my ass and watch TV do some quick cross-training.  This week I did 19.28 miles (not 22 as scheduled) at an average pace of 8:43/mi.  I only did 12 minutes of cross-training, but my weight came in at a solid 163.4 lbs.  It seems like a lot of my miles were run in the rain this week, and if I were a superstitious man (and I am), I would say that this is a bad omen for my marathon (and look, I said it.  Jinx!).  As for my dropped run, I say short, slow miles are better than no miles, and no miles are better than getting hurt as long as you go back out the day after.  I'm taking that one to heart, resting my gimpy ass tired legs and gearing up for week 5 of marathon training.  Yeehaw!  

End of the Week Recap 8/8/10

Hail my running brothers and sisters!  Week 2 of marathon training is in the books.  Overall a decent week of mileage, but my speed run was lackluster at best.  Although I've been performing at or over my training specs for my easy/long runs, I haven't found my groove with my speed work.  It could be a result of trying to do speed work on the dreadmill, but in any case, I clearly need to get more bang for my buck there.  This week I did 29.49 miles at an average pace of 8:24/mi.  I only did 30 minutes of weights this week.  I really should go back to swimming to help with my endurance, but I've really been under the crunch with time lately.  My weight is right around 163.  Overall, I'm feeling okay, but sluggish.  No major injuries but my shin splints are starting to creep back up.  I'm wearing my compression leg sleeves to help, but I need to do more stretching post-workout.  I could probably also use a good sports massage to help me recover.  Ok, on to week 3!  Later kids!

End of the Week Recap 8/1/10

Hail my running brothers and sisters!  For those who've been following this blog, clearly my blogging is starting to follow my blogging, i.e. nonexistent.  However this week, I started my marathon training, and though I did get in the miles, they were less than stellar.  Due to the heat, I've tweaked my outside runs (read here...less miles, slower times) to allow myself some recovery.  I've also thrown in the towel and have started doing longer runs on the dreadmill.  For those runs, I've upped the speed and mileage to compensate for the fact that I can cheat while I hamster.  For last week, I ran 31.52 miles at an average pace of 8:11/mi.  I did 1.7 miles of walking for additional cardio/cooldown and 2 hours of golf.  My weight fell in around 164.5.  On the plus side, I've been playing the best golf I've played in ages!  Back to the ground pounding next week.  Later kids!

End of the Week Recap 7/25/10

Hail my running brothers and sisters!  This week I ran 13.56 miles at an average of 8:32/mi.  I did 4:02:00 hrs of cross-training/cardio, thanks mostly to 3 hrs spent on the golf course.  I have no idea what I weigh, but if I'm anywhere in the neighborhood of 165 lbs, I'll be shocked.  I had a lot key lime pie this vacation.  A LOT.  I was hoping to get a bit more mileage this week, but due to a nasty rainstorm yesterday, I did not get to finish my run. I did get pelted by sand and water for a good mile.  And I learned this neat trick that turns my cell phone into a brick.  Otherwise, I was not overly happy with my run.  To add insult to injury, after I made it back to the condo and dried off, it, of course, stops raining and turns into a beautiful afternoon.  I took it as a sign that the Universe hates me called it a day.  No workout today either as I spent 8 hours driving back from the beach.  I'm planning on crashing early and starting over tomorrow.  This is muy importante as I officially start my marathon training tomorrow.  I'm even using a plan (sort of).  That's all I have for now.  Later kids!

End of the Week Recap 7/4/10

Hail my running brothers and sisters.  A quick week recap.  I've been out of town so my race report will be tomorrow.  Only 19.93 miles at an average pace of 7:52/mi.  1:03:43 hrs of cardio/cross-training.  I think my weight is still around 162.  The big news of the week is my PR at the Peachtree 10K.  My official finish was 44:51, 7:14/mi.  Race report tomorrow or Wednesday.  Later kids.

End of the Week Recap 6/6/10

Hail my running brothers and sisters!  I realize this recap is late by a couple of days, but cut me some slack.  I was on vacation.  I did 21.67 miles at an average pace of 8:01/mi.  I did 28:00+ of cardio/conditioning.  I'm reserving the plus as I walked for miles around Disney.  Sadly my weight did not fare as well last week as I ate everything in sight (I had forgotten how good real ice cream is!).  When I got back home, I weighed in at lucky-it-wasn't-more 165.4 lbs.  Most of my runs were early in the morning before my family and friends woke up and we hit the parks.  We did stay on-site at the Contemporary Resort-Bay Lake Towers for the last 2 days of our vacation, so I managed a nice 5 mile run over to the Magic Kingdom and then to the Polynesian Resort.  And a special thanks to Psyche.  I used her lawyer joke at the Disney Laugh Factory Ride (you text them a joke and the Monster's Inc. guys use it in the show), and it was one of the jokes used!  Thanks my dear!

Now for the hard numbers (for today):  I did a 4.02 mi fartlek at an average pace of 7:29/mi.  It was a cool 91 degrees.  2 bikers nearly ran over me.  1 passing runner did not wave after I did.  1 woman of questionable dental hygiene yelled "woohoo" at me.  1 guy standing on the corner commented that "It's too [damn] hot [to be running outside [moron]].  All-in-all not a bad little run, but I need to be racking up more mileage and cross-training.  Later kids!

End of the Week Recap 5/23/10

Hail my running brothers and sisters!  This week I ran 30.19 miles at an average pace of 7:57/mi.  I did 1:36:54 of cross-training/conditioning, but I ended up topping the scales at 160.2 (ugh).  Tonight was also the end of Lost.  I'm still withholding my opinion on the final episode, because, to be honest, I'm still trying to figure it out.  I still have so many questions that weren't answered, but maybe they were never supposed to be really answered (much like my questions about women or Krystal sliders.  How do they make that gray thing so tasty?).  Overall, though, I did like the series. I don't know if it was the best series ever (Sorry guys, but I will always have a soft spot in my heart for Buffy), but it definitely re-defined what I expected from a TV series.

Okay now for the hard numbers:  I did a 10.9 mi long run at 8:32/mi.  My pace might have been a little higher if I hadn't run part of it on a nearby trail.  Then of course, I fell down.  It was my own fault for trying to tackle a technical trail in road shoes.  D'oh!  Still I managed to escape with a little scrape and finish my run in negative splits.  So overall, I can't really complain.  I also finished up the evening with 24 mins of pilates and kettleball workouts.  All right.  That's it for me.  I need to go figure out what the hell happened in Lost.  Later kids!

End of the Week Recap 4/11/10

Hail my running brothers and sisters!  I did 37.25 miles this week at an average pace of 9:03/mi.  I only spent 12 minutes on cross-training and conditioning, but my weight this morning was at 156.0 lbs.  Not a huge week by any means and nothing truly notable.  No long run over 10 mi this week due to some life issues that crept up.  I’m trying not to let my lack of long mileage stress me out since I’m supposed to be tapering anyway.  I officially have 13 days left till my marathon.  I’ve decided to re-evaluate my fall/winter race schedule to accommodate more BQ races depending on how close I am at the Country Music.  I’m probably done with the Yasso 800’s until after the race.  I might try and squeeze in a short set of intervals next week just to keep my weight under control, but it's mostly base mileage, peppered with some tempo runs, until the marathon.  I definitely need to do more cross-training, but for some reason, I lose interest as I do more miles.

Now for the hard numbers:  Today was supposed to be a long run, but I got sidetracked.  I did manage 13 x .15 mi hill repeats with .15 mi recoveries in my neighborhood though at an average pace of 9:36/mi.  Per Garmin, I had an elevation change of 645 ft.  Not huge numbers, but the repeats were fairly consistent, if not a bit slow.  Later kids!

End of the Week Recap 3/28/10

Hail my running brothers and sisters!  I realize that I owe you a race recap, but I’m afraid that it will have to wait till tomorrow.  My stats for the week were:  33.57 miles total at an average pace of 8:05/mile, 17 minutes of conditioning, and a weight of 155.8.  The major run this week would be my half-marathon, of course.  I’ll give all the juicy details tomorrow, but here are some of the hard numbers.  Official finishing time:  1:42:00.7, 7:47/mile.  In my age group, I finished 11 out of 133;  In men overall, I finished 86 out of 830; and overall, I finished 110 out of 1838 finishers.  A not-so careful review of my PR’s will show that, yes, I did get another PR, and I also met my 2010 goal time for the half-marathon!  To say that I’m happy with these results would be an understatement, and I think that this race sets me up well going into my full marathon in one month.  Now all I  need to do is ice my legs to do some intervals this week!  No rest for those in training…or weary.  Later kids!

End of the Week Recap 3/14/10

Hail my running brothers and sisters!  This week was a big week for mileage, but short on cross-training/conditioning.  I ran 46.33 miles at an average pace of 8:22/mile.  I did only 35:00 minutes of cross-training.  This is a sad trend for me, in that my cross-training tends to diminish exponentially as my mileage goes up.  In my defense, I’m tired after 40+ miles for the week.  I weighed in late this morning as I was helping my wife and kids pack up the car for spring break (miss you guys already!), but I did come in at 159.2 lbs.  Interesting little fact:  after my long run today, I lost nearly 5 lbs from dehydration! 

My long run was 21 miles at 8:48/mile.  I was hoping to keep it around 8:30/mile, but my back was sore from cross-training yesterday (I did a lot of bridges and deadlifts).  When you throw in that my right shin has been bothering me periodically, I guess I should be happy that I was able to manage sub-9:00’s.  Today I ran the back half of the marathon course. 

From elevation charts

I was doing okay, right around 8:30/mile until, I hit mile 19.64.  I had the worst leg cramp that I’ve felt in a long time slam me to a stand-still.  The pain in my left calf was so acute that I would have fallen to the ground if I were able to bend my knee.  Instead I let out a bellowing scream as my leg locked up and nailed me to ground.  I managed to stretch out my calf and start walking.  I walked a tenth of a mile and picked up my pace to a slow jog.  It was rough, but I finished the last mile and half to end my run.

I didn’t get any time at the YMCA this week due to my crappy schedule, and I probably won’t again this week because of another craptastic schedule.  My family is on spring break in Gulf Shores, and I miss them already.  The only upside is that I should be able to get lots of rest and guilt-free exercise.  Later kids!