Slow Mo 5

I was so slow this morning... the upside is I finished another 5 mile run, the downside is my legs felt honestly tired.

Not to worry - only 4 miles tomorrow, but then a big 10 miler in the humidity!  We'll see how I feel about running in the wetness.  I think back to when I used to run in Georgia... 80's and 90% humidity!  I used to come home completely soaked through.

Got a few more items for the auction today.  Up to about 40 people showing for the festivities!  I hope we hit around 60, but we'll see.  A lot of people getting in their last trip before fall.

8 more miles

Another run to work this morning.  I do really get a kick out of running to work, mostly from the surprised look on the faces from drivers who pass me and the people at work who say, "you did what?!".

My overall time was a little slow, but I went a slightly different route that felt safer, but had more stop lights.

Lots of wildlife out on the last two runs.  A beautiful fox yesterday that thought I was chasing it and sadly two dead raccoons this morning.

The other odd sight this morning was a woman running (yes for exercise) in flip flops.  I know running barefoot is all the rage, but that's nuts.

New Tunes and Fartleks

Went to trivia last night and had a really good time.  We could have won it all, but made a few tactical errors that left us out of the money... oh well, next week.  The big excitement is new A7X, Soilwork, and 36 Crazyfists.  I have listened to most of the new Avenged and I like it.  It does focus a lot on death and loss - a good bit of anger and some on moving on.  I can hear Mike Portnoy's influence on the drum tracks.  He is a nice addition and it would be interesting if he stayed on.  36 Crazyfists, in addition to having the best band name ever, seems to have a very solid album.  They scream more than most bands I like, but it's good to have that extra layer of intensity some days.  Having gotten to Soilwork yet... later today.

The run went very well today and my foot feels back to normal.  Good news for sure!  I was a little worried about it and the potential to get off track to let it heal.  Full steam ahead!  Ran without my runmeter today so I could listen to the new music on my iPod.  I'll transfer it over tonight so I can monitor my times better.  

Yoga

I was feeling sore from my 8 mile run, so I decided to do another yoga session last night.  I am amazed at how much this helps.  It really stretched my calves, hamstrings, and hips.  Who knew that my hips would be what got sore?

The only downside is ti really works the arch in my foot and makes my plantar fasciitis flare up a little.  I assume it is a good stretch, but it did get a little sore during my run this morning.  I give it a good stretch and icing tonight and hope it feels better by morning.

Just 5 miles... ha!  It wasn't too bad of a run - middle of the road on times and I felt decent.  I did get tired around mile 4, but was able to finish pretty strong.

New Avenged Sevenfold and 36 Crazyfists.  Something up with the number named bands?  Looking forward to it for sure.  Interested to hear Mike Portnoy with A7X... interesting combination.  I'm hoping I can see them play live in September, but might be stuck at back to school night.

8 miler

8 miles this morning and all is ok.  My hips are a little sore and my foot is sore, but nothing too bad.  Started listening to "The Lost Symbol" by Dan Brown today.  I think I'll enjoy it, but it might be a good idea to change it up and do something different.  The upcoming challenge is going to be running on our trip to Illinois.  Shouldn't be too bad, but I do have to run a 10 miler on Sunday.  We'll see...

Fartlek

Today I had a 5 mile run that included fartleks.  Don't you just love that word?  Hurray for middle school humor.  Seven reps of 1 minute at 5K pace with a 2 minute easy run recovery.  I was so pleased to find this completely doable.  It made the run go by a lot faster mentally and physically.  I finished 1:13 ahead of my best 5 mile pace.

I have switched away from audio books for a little while.  I do enjoy them, but felt I needed to kick up the intensity of my runs and nothing helps that happen more than a little metal!

Tomorrow I will be doing the Gomer's "How's It Going? Group run"  virtually.  Just means that I will run at 8:30 - which I will probably start earlier since I'm running 4 miles instead of their 5K.  The Gomers have been a real inspiration to go for this marathon.  One of those times when you think, if they can do it - I can do it.

Good to know

Gaining weight puts a lot of extra stress and strain on your knees, which must bear the brunt of those excess pounds. The added pressure increases wear and tear, contributing to osteoarthritis (OA). On the flip side, losing weight can help you take a load off, literally. One study (Arthritis and Rheumatism, July 2005) found that every lost pound subtracts four pounds of pressure from the knees for each step taken. In practical terms, losing just 10 pounds means that each knee is subjected to 48,000 fewer pounds of pressure for every mile walked.

Not that this is about just losing weight, but as someone that had ACL replacement surgery five years ago it is obviously pretty important to keep the weight down.

7 miles this morning.  I am glad that my time was decent, no real pain (a little sore in the knee, but not bad and it went away quickly), and I'm glad I didn't have another Code Brown panic... TMI?  Sorry, at least I haven't written too much about nipple chaffing.  I did have to cut my Monday run short due to a code brown panic, but I made it home in time.

I did enjoy another cold soak for my legs after the run - these really do help!

I am really enjoying Black Veil Brides - who knew?  One of those times where the "listeners also enjoyed" function worked on iTunes.  I'm nearing the end of Angels and Demons audiobook and will start the Lost Symbol after that.  I need to swing back into non-fiction mode soon to get ready for the school year, but for now a little thriller and some metal is a nice indulgence for the summer.

Thoughts and music

So there I was, finishing the last mile of the 5 mile run today and I was thinking about how 5 miles was a tough run.  Not too tough, but it took some determination to finish strong (which I did - best time on the 5 mile loop).  That is when it struck me that this is how I felt about a 3 mile run in November.  It took will power to finish that distance last year and now I feel the same way about 5 miles.  Definite progress.

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Thrice and the Drive By Truckers the past two days.  I had Thrice blaring in the car like I was a teenager.  I got a few looks from the cars next to me at stop-lights, but who cares...

Speaking of music... I have been better about getting the guitar out and playing.  I enjoy it, but need to feel better about my singing voice.  I need to find sometime when Shelly isn't home so I can sing and not be self conscience about it.

Yoga

So today I tried "Yoga for Runners".  I thought it would be easy since I am a quarter of the way into my marathon training and stretch daily... um, no.  This totally kicked my butt!  Great stretches and really identified some areas to work on to prevent injury and improve my training.  I HIGHLYsuggest giving it a try.  My arch, my right hip, my right knee and my left hamstring go a real work out.
6 mile rune today before I yoged it up... yogaed?  voga-ed?  hmmm how to spell that....

Decent run, although a  slow overall time.  I did like having some extra miles today.  Of course I will be hating it by mid-week.

Recovery Week

I have really enjoyed this recovery week!  It all ends on Sunday when I ramp back up to a 6 miler.  I have been playing around with different shoes (my old Brooks and newer Saucony) and haven't noticed a difference other than the toe box width.  I enjoy the Saucony better at this point.  I have also switch from books on ipod back to music.  I've been digging Thrice lately and find them totally inspiring to run to.

Did my first interval training on Monday and think it went pretty well.  I definitely could tell I was pushing harder on the uptempo parts... I'm not really looking forward to these on a regular basis now.

10 miles and beyond

So I was able to do the 10 mile run on Sunday. It went well, except my run meter got turned off towards the end and I didn't know my exact mileage. I ended up running an extra .6 of a mile to make sure I didn't short change my training. The whole ice/cold bath is a good thing. I really feel that this helps with recovery after those long runs. After the run and icy goodness, I walked to the Pumphouse with my wife for lunch, it felt good to get out and move. That night I went to the Thrice concert in Denver. Great show, but it was tough being out past midnight after such a long and early run.

I did notice some soreness in my feet, but not totally saying it was the run - 3 hours of standing at a concert played a role. Some icing, stretching, and shorter runs this week have helped a lot. I also had my first twinge of knee pain. It freaked me out a little because that is always the first question when people hear I'm training for the marathon. I blew out my knee 5 years ago and had it replaced the same year. The twinge passed quickly and I haven't had any new pain. I don't think this will be an issue and I am living on Joint Juice (the new formula isn't too bad) to help.

Just 3 miles on Monday and Tuesday, nice break. I can't believe I just wrote that a 3 mile run is a "break" and more surprising is that it truly feels like a break. I guess that is the point of this type of training and it is working. Tomorrow is the start of interval training... barf.

I ordered a RoadID today - I think this is a good idea since I train alone. I'm thinking all of my running friends can anticipate getting one for their next birthday.

5 mile wall

Today was one of those runs where I felt like I could stop at any moment. I have worried about the Forest Gump moment where I just stop running and go home. Thankfully, yesterday I wrote about having self-discipline to finish so I couldn't just stop.

My legs are getting tired and now I have to get up so much earlier for the longer runs... whine, whine. I'll be good. You are just one run away from a good run.

By the way, that was my fastest time on the five mile route.

Movies

Seen a few movies lately... both very enjoyable and ones I would recommend. This weekend we saw "Knight and Day" and it was a lot of fun. Not believable, but Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz were great and seemed to have good chemistry. Clever writing and constant action made it fun.

Last night we watched "Run Fat Boy Run" - what a fun movie. We laughed a lot and I found some inspiration in it as well. It did make me reflect on this whole running a marathon quest...

I am really pleased that I have stuck with running (in general and for the marathon in particular). This has taken a lot of self discipline. There are mornings when I don't want to run 5 miles or 8 miles, but I have to keep on track. It would be so easy to roll over and go back to sleep - miss a run because I'm late for work. Thankfully I haven't given into the temptation and I don't think I will. Today at least, I have the momentum. 150 miles complete, 495 to go...

Let's Catch Up

So I missed a few entries due to a work trip and then I got out of the habit. So, let's get caught up on the training. I was out in Salt Lake City for a conference and had three really nice runs there. As per usual on a travel run, I was slowed by taking some pictures and getting lost a few times. I did find a nice park/canyon to run in next to the capitol building. This had a gradual, but never ending climb to it that made for challenging (in a good way) work-out. The other thing I enjoyed was running through the tabernacle square - not a Mormon, but I can appreciate an iconic site. Upon returning to Colorado, I was back to my normal routes and another 38 miles of training done. One really interesting event was running to work (7.7 miles) today. Not sure why that was so cool to me, but it felt like a big mile stone. 500 miles of training left before the marathon, but that means 150 miles completed.