Run #34 - Easy 12 miles

Good evening. Well I made 12 miles this evening, not sure how, but I did it. Laurel and Tina went to a kick off luncheon for the Autism walk this afternoon, since the temperature was so cold this morning and the windchill brisk, I waited to run until they got back. I headed out to start my run around 3:15pm and started running at around 3:40pm. The computer said it was 31 degrees with a windchill of 20 degrees, but I was running the dams at the lake, and it was REALLY breezy.

Since I did not run here last week, I decided to run the "ascent" (see previous blog). That made for a rough start. I did my usual 8 mile loop and took a 1 minute break at mile 8 for a power gel and some water and then got back into my run. The wind was blowing so strong on the dams that it was pushing me across the road, figure in the windchill and it was not fun. Unfortunately I had to run the dams twice to get my 12 miles. There are 2 dams that probably total 1.25 miles of open/exposed running.

I did eat a decent lunch, peanut butter sandwich with some tortilla chips and salsa, summer sausage and some cheese. The problem is that i ate that 4 hours before I ran. So at mile 10 I was hitting the wall. I would push through for a song and then slow down, and push again.

At the end of the run my time basically sucked, but I did make my distance. I attributed the slow pace to poor food planning, the hills and weather. I know that running the hills will help in the long run with the signature hill of the Flying Pig (up into Walnut Hills past the art museum and reflecting pool) so I am content with just logging some hill miles.

Tomorrow is an easy 3-4 miles, so I will most likely run at the house.

Talk at you soon.

Peace,

Philippians 4:13

Run #32 and #33 - Easy 5 miles and a Tempo 5 miles

Good morning. Rather than write a blog, post and then write another one. I decided to just write 1 blog for my last 2 runs, since #32 was last night at 7:45pm and #33 was this morning at 5:30am.

Run #32 was to be an easy 4 miles. Since I shorted myself a mile on Tuesday, I decided to pick up that mile last night on this run. I got to the YMCA at 7:45pm. My volleyball game was not until 9:00pm, so I knew I would have enough time to get my run in. I ran the first mile listening to music. I pushed the last 2 laps of the mile a little harder so that I could catch up with Lauri, a fellow marathon runner and volleyball team mate. The next 4 miles we ran together talking about running, life, etc. The nice thing about talking and running is that it forces me to run at a pace where I can carry on a conversation. The cool thing about the run was that each mile during that time got faster. I wish tat I could say our volleyball match went as well as the run, but we gave it a good shot. I headed home and went to bed around 11:45pm without eating anything.

Run #33 was to be a Tempo 5 miles this morning. Like I mentioned in a previous blog, I decided that I was going to take it easy this week, not push the upper mileage limits or the speed. So when I started out this morning my plan was to run at my marathon pace rather than my typical tempo pace. The first mile ended up being under my tempo pace by almost 10 seconds. And the next 4 were all under my marathon pace as well. The final average for my 5 miles was 15 seconds under my marathon pace. Needless to say I was happy with the run and felt great afterwards. I felt like I could have pushed another 1-2 miles out, but decided to stick with at least part of my recovery plan.

Tomorrow is a scheduled rest day, so no running. I did officially sign up for the "Heart Mini Marathon 2 Beat Challenge" event on 29/Mar/09. I will be running a 5K race at 9:00am and a 15K race at 10:00am. I am planning on counting those as my "long" run for that week.

Have a great day and I'll blog at you Saturday.

Peace,

Philippians 4:13

Run #31 - Recovery 5 miles (should have been Quality 7 miles)

Good evening all. Like the title says, today was supposed to be a "Quality" 7 mile run today. I have been running Yasso 800's for this training day and had every intention of running 8 splits today. Since it was cold (16 degrees) and I was taking Michaela to the orthodontist, I went to the YMCA a little later than usual. I started my run like any other, but noticed that I had some pain in my legs. When I ran the first 800 (1/2 mile) split, my body revolted. I did make the split in under my target time, but after the 1/4 mile jog, I had to make a quick detour to the restroom. After that, I decided to head back to the track and only run another 3 1/2 miles and try to maintain my marathon pace, which I did.

My plan at this point is to restructure my training plan for the next 2 weeks. I am still going to try to get all of my miles in, but not focus on speed or hard splits, but rather just running the miles at a steady pace. For this week I am going to stay toward the lower mile requirements. To date I have pushed to upper mileage limits, or exceeded what was required. Given how my body responded this morning, I am going to give it a rest. I guess that the climb was harder on my body than I thought.

Tomorrow is an easy 4 miles and my volleyball league, so we will see how my body responds to that --- ibuprofen is a wonderful thing.

Thanx to all of you who are following this blog, or even just checking in once and a while. If I did not blog, I would probably come up with all kinds of excuses why not to run, but forcing myself to be vigilant about writing about the runs has held me accountable, even when I make changes in my regime.

Peace,

Philippians 4:13

Run #30 - The "Climb the Carew" event

I had a glimpse of what hell must be like today...

We had our annual Mardi Gras Party last night, which was small but awesome. There was lots of great food and a few beverages around. I worked to not over indulge in drinking, but did eat a little more than I planned.

I got up this morning and darned my running gear, got my bag together and headed towards the Crew Tower as Laurel and the kids headed for church. When I got downtown and registered, there were lots of people walking around, stretching and getting ready for the event. I talked to ta guy who told me, "Take an easy walking pace and stick to it. The guys that run it are usually passed out by the 10th floor. If you make to 10 and are doing OK, you'll make it." That sounded like good advice, but I am training for a marathon and this is only climbing stairs, how hard can it be.

They lined us up in the shoot and sent a person into the stairwell every 10 seconds. When I hit the stairs, I started out slower than I was planning on going, better safe than sorry but still at a slight jog. By the 10th floor I had slowed to a walk and was breathing heavy. By floor 20, my breathes felt like sandpaper in my throat. The last 7 flights were what I mean by "a glimpse of hell." When i reached the top, my legs felt fine, but lungs were totally spent. I was wheezing and straightened up long enough to get my medal and then was bent over again gasping for air.

My best guess at my time was around 9 minutes and 30 seconds, which was slower than I wanted, but I made it and passed a couple people in the process. However there were 3 people that passed me along the way. I must be either a masochist or have brain damage, because I have signed up to do this insane thing again next year!!!!

I am home recovering. Physically I feel great, but my lungs are still raw. I have a cough that feels like someone is using a wire brush to clean the insides of my lungs. Fortunately tomorrow is a cross training day, which I may take as a rest day. Ibuprofen has been my friend today.

Blog at you soon...

Peace,

Philippians 4:13

Run #29 - Easy 11 miles (which turned into 12.25 miles)

My new rule, "Do not run more than the maximum distance listed for a specific training." Today was to be an 11 mile run. I decided since it as so cold (21 degrees with a wind chill of 11) to try a new run instead of running at the dam. I found a map of the Loveland Bike Trail with relative distances listed. Looking at the map, I decided that I would run 12 miles since it go me close to stopping point, and I had been told the trail had good mile markers.

When I hit the trail at 11:00am, it was windy and 23 degrees. I was not sure where the trail started since there were w paths that led to a "Y", so I started on the one closest to me. I did not see a mile marker. At about 1/4 mile into the run, I found the first marker. "Good 6 markers out and 6 back." When i discovered that the 1/2 miles were marker too, I should have changed my plan and only run 11, foolish me. The first 6.25 miles out were good. I was running close to my "target" pace. The last 3 miles of the run were a long slow grade up. When I got to mile marker 49 and turned around, the trail took its revenge. My legs decided that hey were done. My pace slowed WAY down. At mile 8 I took a quick break to eat a "Power Gel" and drink some water. That gave me a little bit of a boost. Then, I stopped at a porta-let at mile 11. That was straw that broke my back. When I go back to the trail, I could not get into a rhythm for the last mile and everything hurt.

Needless to say - my time basically sucked. I have not compared it to my 12 mile training run from last year yet, but I think I may have improved some - even though it sucked.

Well, tomorrow is my "rescheduled" Rest Day since we have soccer for Christa and the annual Vogel Mardi Gras Party at our house. Then Sunday is my "Climb the Carew Tower" event. There are over 300 people participating in the climb. I will blog about the event on Sunday. I am thinking of equating it out for miles (possibly 2 miles).

Have a great weekend, be safe.

Peace,

Philippians 4:13

Run #28 - 4.5 Miles Tempo

Good evening. I am going to make this another quick post. Today's run was to be a tempo run for 6 miles. Since I picked up an extra 1.5 miles last night and I am running my long run tomorrow morning (11 miles), I scaled back today's run. I ran a 3/4 mile warm up and then 3 miles at my tempo pace. I was able to maintain under my target pace of 11:00 minute/mile for the distance as well as run a negative second half split. I then did a 3/4 mile cool down. I felt great after the run, even though I did the bad thing of not eating after running and playing volleyball the night before.

When I left the house this morning at 5:00am, it was snowing and 23 degrees. I had to switch to 4 wheel drive half way to the YMCA. When I left the Y, it took me 45 minutes to go 2 miles to the office.

Like I mentioned above, tomorrow is my long run. Since it is going to be 13 degrees before windchill, I am going to change my run to the Loveland Bike Trail from Newtown to Miamiville and back.

Blog at everyone later.

Peace,

Philippians 4:13

Run #26 - Quality 6 miles (Yasso 800's)

Good morning. I finished my run a little early so I am able to post this blog before work. Only 50 runs and 75 days left until the "Pig". Today was another "Quality Run" day. I decided since the Yassos were soooo much fun, that I would run them again. Actually I could not remember any of the other options this morning and since I am still running on an indoor track, they are easy to remember and break up the monotony.

I ran a total of 6 miles. I followed the same format as last week, but increased my warm up and cool down to 1/2 mile. My average was 1 second slower than last week for the 7 splits, but I did flip my Saturday/Sunday runs so Sunday was my 9 mile run. Although A was spent after my last split and my cool down was slow, I felt good.

Tomorrow is to be an easy 4 miles. I am not sure what time I am running, so I will blog at some point tomorrow.

PEace,

Philippians 4:13

Run #27 Easy 4 miles (which turned into 5.5 miles)

Good evening. This is going to be a quick post. Today was supposed to be an easy 4 miles. Since this is volleyball night, I run before my game. I got to the YMCA early and started my run. Amazingly, my first 4 miles were all at the exact same split - I NEVER do that. A friend from my volleyball team and fellow marathoner met me on the track and we ran another 1.5 miles and talked about our marathon/running experiences. She was sharing how cool it is when you finish that first marathon.

I want my 26.2!!!

Anyhow, since I am changing up my routine this week due to soccer, Mardi Gras, and the Carew Tower Climb, I am going to deduct the extra miles tonight from tomorrow mornings run (which was to be a Tempo 6 miles).

Good night fellow bloggers!!!

Peace,

Philippians 4:13

Run #25 - Easy 9 miles

Let me start out by saying, there is nothing easy about running 9 miles, especially when you do that run at a place that is anything but flat. Today I took on, and conquered, the run I call the ascent. This is the run I talked about last week at the reservoir near my house.

Since I had to play guitar at church today, I planned on doing my run after church and a light lunch. I hit the dam at 2:45pm. The computer said it was 38 degrees with no windchill, apparently the computer does know the dam. The wind was blowing briskly and I wondered if shorts and 2 short sleeve t-shirts would suffice.

When I hit the 8 mile mark, I was 2+ minutes under my time from last week. I ran out at least an extra half mile and then back to get my 9 miles in. Although I was not within my "target" time, I felt good when I finished. I also did not use the energy gel I took along and did not stop for water (which I would have done if this was the marathon).

I got home, took some ibuprofen (my friend these days) and a shower.

Tomorrow is a cross training day --- so I will blog at everyone again on Tuesday.

Peace,

Philippians 4:13

Run #24 - Easy 3 miles

Good evening world. I learned a valuable lesson tonight - no matter how long you wait, or how little you run after a huge meal, it is not pretty. We left the restaurant around 3:30pm. The slab of ribs and the Oysters on the half shell were incredible. We all had a great meal and probably ate too much in the process.

At 6:15pm, I decided I had better get my Run in before it got dark - too late. I switched my short and long runs today since we had soccer this morning and the dog was having issues. When I headed out, it was already dark and 35 degrees, with a windchill of 25 degrees. The run was slower than I wanted and I now have a nasty case of indigestion on top of sore muscles. The best part is --- I still have to run my 9 miles tomorrow.

Oh well, Happy Valentine's Day everyone -- I hope yours was as nice as ours (without the running and indigestion).

Blog at you tomorrow.

Peace,

Philippians 4:13

Run #23 - Tempo 5 miles

Good afternoon. This morning I decided to fore go the stair training again and focus on my running. I left the house at 4:50am and headed to the Y. It was in the mid 40's and windy when I got there. My training plan called for a 4-5 mile tempo run today, so I opted for the 5 miles.

When I finished the run, my final average over the miles was at my target (30 seconds blow my marathon pace). The downside is that each mile was a little slower than the previous with the exception of the last mile, which was faster than the one prior. I think this continues to be an issue due to my inability to pace myself. I start out at what feels like a good pace (faster than I should be gong), but then wear down and my times begin to slip.

So what is every one's thoughts out there? Should I worry about this if my average per mile for the total run is still at/below my target (my body is doing the pacing), or do I need to get this pacing thing under control and run a consistent time for each mile. Some food for thought.

Tomorrow is a rest day, which is good since it is Friday the 13th.

Blog at everyone on Saturday after my "easy" 9 miles.

Peace <(-;p

Philippians 4:13

Run #22 - Easy 4 miles

Good evening. Tonight I ran my 4 "easy" miles at the YMCA after work and before my 7:00pm volleyball game. While the run was not very eventful, the drive to to the Y was very much so. I left work before a sever storm reached my location and called Laurel while I was driving up route 32 to the Y to let her know I had flying debris. There were pieces of trees flying across the highway and then hail. The next thing to happen was my truck was blown into the next lane. At that point I hung up and focused on getting to the YMCA in one piece. The cool thing was I actually got to see the end of the rainbow. Unfortunately I could not catch up to it and it looked like the slumping economy and our government had taken the pot of gold - darn them!!!

My run went well. I averaged under a 12 mile which is what my target was. We lost our volleyball match, but we played well. I think I jammed (or broke) my right ring finger and when I got home I took some ibuprofen with some chocolate milk.

Tomorrow is a "Tempo Run", I learned my lesson and am going to eat something tonight before I go to bed. I plan on making my run tomorrow and I am hopefully going to get some stairs in on Friday.

Blog st you all tomorrow.

Philippians 4:13

Run #21 - Quality 5.5 miles (Yasso 800's)

Hello all, today I focused on my running and not on runs and stairs. I decided to follow one of the suggested "Quality Runs", the Yasso 800's. For those of you, like me, who did not know what these are, they are 1/2 mile splits run at a specific pace separated by 1/4 mile jogs. The formula for these runs is if you plan on completing the marathon in 5 hours 0 minutes, then you run the 800's in 5 minutes.

I ran 7 splits and average 4:54 over all of them. My goal is to complete the marathon - and I hope to do it in under 5 hours, so I look like I am on track. I was totally spent for my 1/4 mile cool down after the last split, which is what is supposed to happen.

Tomorrow is an "Easy" day and I have volleyball tomorrow evening.

Goodnight all,

Philippians 4:13

Run #20 - Easy 3.3 miles

Today was pretty uneventful in the world of running. I came home from church and did my easy 3.3 miles in the neighborhood. Kim, a friend of mine and a pastor youth grouper, came out and ran the first loop with me. We started a little after 1:00pm and it was a sunny and 50 degrees.

On the last mile of the first loop, the girls joined us and ran the biggest part of the mile. They would run ahead and then wait for us. They each gained another mile no their "Hog Log" for the Flying Pig Kid Marathon. I ran the second loop solo and Kim and Laurel walked the mile section of the loop while I finished up.

Kim, thanks for coming out and running with me. The next run will be on your turf. <(-;p

Peace everyone,

Philippians 4:13

Run #19 - Easy 8 miles (The Dam Run)

Good morning world. I was so excited that I was actually going to get to run in above freezing weather. When I left the house at about 9:15, the temperature was 46 degrees with a windchill of 40 degrees. My plan was to run all of the roads at Harsha Dam. It is spot on East Fork Lake off of route 222. The entire loop would be 8 miles and 60% of that would be up/down some significant hills.

I started out by heading down to the lowest point of the entire run, which is about 1.5 miles from where I could park. The first indication that it was going to be an interesting run was when I found the gate to the road closed and locked. Well, I found out that the reason the road was closed was because it had not been plowed. That made the first pare of the run very interesting. When I got to the bottom, I started back up the section of the run that I have named the ascent. It is about 3.5 miles long and you climb a total of 150 vertical feet in that distance, the majority of which is in 3 fairly steep hills and balance in gradual inclines. The other thing I did not notice on the way down but did on the way up was the wind. It was blowing hard and let's face it, I am build more like a wall than an air foil. Once I got past the first 3 miles, the road was clear and it was pretty much smooth running for the other 5 miles. I forgot my music, but enjoyed the scenery. The lake looked really cool frozen over with pools of water sitting on the ice. There were other people out to so I did not feel like the crazy guy running in the cold like in past weeks.

Overall the run was great. My time was a little under what I would have liked, but factoring the slush and ice as well as the heavy wind, I was happy with it. I felt great when i finished. I was not winded, but also did not want to go run another 3-4 miles.

It looks like I may have some company on futures runs. I have a couple of friends in the area that are going to sign-up for the Flying Pig Half and want to run with me as well as a good friend who is looking for a job on a police force that wants to maintain her level of fitness. I hope they can put up with running with an old, fat, slow guy.

I get there, but not as fast as I used to.

Take care, enjoy the warm weekend - blog at you tomorrow,

Philippians 4:13

Run #18 - Tempo 3.5 miles + Stairs (15 flights)

Today I reminded myself what it feels like to "Hit the Wall". Like I mentioned in my previous post, I ran yesterday evening right before our volleyball match. So it was literally 13 hours from when I ran this morning. Since we were on a 2 hour delay, I slept in a little. I got up and helped Laurel and the kids out the door and then headed to the YMCA for my run. Since my routine is generally not to eat before I run, I did not think to grab a bite to eat. This was my first mistake since the last meal I had eaten was at 5:00pm the night before.

My run this morning was supposed to be 4.5 miles with 20 flights of stairs. I got to the YMCA at a few minutes before 8:00am. It was a blustery -5 degrees, which made me thankful that I was running inside. My first quarter mile and stairs went well. The first mile of the 2 mile spilt went well, I was 90 seconds under my marathon pace (better than I should have been). My second mile of the split is when things started going to pot. My time was 60 seconds under my pace, but I was in pain. I shortened the number of flights of stairs from 11 to 6. When I hit the track after the last flight of stairs, I was spent. I could not get back into a rhythm and my legs just would not move. Mile 3 was painful. I did a final 2 flights of stairs and my quarter mile cool down. I was totally spent.

Things were crazy when I got to work so I did not get lunch until 12:45pm. Once I ate something I could feel my energy coming back. Thank goodness tomorrow is a rest day. I plan on using it to recharge before my 8 mile hill run on Saturday.

Here is the lessons that I learned from today:
1. Do not try to do runs close together - especially if you are running them faster than you should.
2. I need to make sure and eat between scheduled runs.
3. Pace, pace, pace, pace - I need to work on this skill. Any suggestions (besides a treadmill)

Take care all. At some point I will blog about what music is in my head when I run. I am open to any suggestions of songs as well. I have not hit what I call "Long Runs" yet, so I need to have some good music for those 2+ hour runs, especially since I do not have a running partner at this time for those long runs.

Phillippians 4:13

Run #17 - Easy 4 miles

Good morning. I dd not get home until later last night and was too wiped out to post my running blog. Since my work was closed yesterday and I am playing volleyball again on Wednesday nights, I changed my running schedule a little. I went over the the YMCA at 7:00pm (after dinner) and ran before I played volleyball.

I am still having issues with pacing. I was supposed to run an "Easy" 4 miles which should be slower than my target marathon pace, but I ended up running at my target pace. The good thing is I was not winded at the end.

Another concern is that I am having a little pain in my knee. I am contributing it to stiffness due to the cold/wet weather, having run outside in the cold 4 of my last 5 runs and shovelling snow 3 times in less than 24 hours. Our driveway is about 100' long and 12' wide. That makes for a lot of snow when it is 4" deep , not once, but twice in that time.

Today is a Tempo run. I am planning on using the same run formula as Run #16 from Tuesday of this week.

Take care,

Phillippians 4:13

Run #16 - Quality 4.5 miles + stairs (25 flights)

Today's run was another encouraging endeavor. I am to a point in the training schedule that I am using where Tuesdays are "Quality" runs and Thursdays are "Tempo" runs. Since I am still in training for the "Climb the Carew Tower" event, I am incorporating stairs into my routines twice a week. So the "Quality" part of today's run focused on stairs and maintaining a running pace under my target marathon pace. I hit the YMCA this morning at 5:30am and it was around 20 degrees.

The run split out as follows:
0.25 mile warm up
5 flights of stairs
1.0 mile below target marathon pace
(repeat the 5 flights and 1.0 mile 3 more times)
5 flights of stairs
0.25 mile cool down
0.25 mile walk

This is the split I am using at least until after the climb event, alternating 5 flights of stairs with 1 mile of running. I was pleased that I was able to maintain a pace over 30 seconds below my target pace, and that my cool down was only 3 seconds below my warm up.

Well tomorrow is an "Easy" 4 mile day.

Take care everyone, be safe.

Phillippians 4:13

Run #15 - Easy 3.1 miles

Good evening everyone. It has been a busy day and I am just now sitting down to get my run blog done for the day. Today was an easy 3.1 miles. I decided to run a part of the route that kicked my tail yesterday. The run went well, my time was faster than expected for the type of run and distance. Laurel and the kids went along and walked/ran part of the course with me. Michaela ran the first 0.3 miles and the last 0.3 miles with me. She did really well also.

It was like running in a heatwave today. It was 44 degrees when I ran at 2:00pm. I decided to run in shorts and a long sleeve compression shirt with a t-shirt. I was still overdressed for the run though. I had a great run and my spirits are lifted again.

I also found out this evening that I will have company for at least the first half of the marathon. It's good to have running buddies!!!

Tomorrow is a cross training day.

Keep it real and raw

Phillippians 4:13