Monday mornings never seem to be all that good, but today's run wasn't too bad. Although I didn't get much sleep last night (I didn't even hear my wife's alarm go off... twice), I was still able to stagger out of bed at about 6:10 and out the door at 6:20.
I ran the 3.44 mile loop around my neighborhood, but I definitely started out too fast. I knew I was going too fast at the beginning of the run, but things were feeling so good, I just wanted to keep going and see what I could do. Turns out, I got the first mile done in just over 9:30... almost 5K pace! That's not what I was intending to do, so I tried to slow down a bit, and went to a 4 minute run/1 minute walk structure to try to keep me honest. And the outcome of this hard work? I did the second mile in 10:00. Honestly, I haven't run this course enough to know exactly where the three mile mark is, so I'm not sure what I got for my third split, but I finished the whole thing in 33:51... which seems to be awfully fast. According to Merv's Running Calculator, the pace was 9:50.4/mi. I should have been running about 1:30/mile slower than that.
I think one problem with running intentionally slower is that it just feels like I'm shuffling along, and not really running. I don't know if this is a mental block on my part, or if I need to work on my form when running slower, or what. I feel good that I was able to run so far and so fast, but I also know that I can't keep that up for six months. I hope I'll be able to work on it with my training group when I get back out there.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Galloway Training Run #1
Yesterday, we had our first training run for the 26.2 with Donna marathon to fight breast cancer. The official training program for the marathon is with Jeff Galloway, using the run-walk-run method to help us get to being able to run 26 miles in six months, and getting there injury free. And so far, I think it makes great sense. I'm certainly intimidated by the idea of running 26 miles, but I know I can run four minutes at a time... and I'm absolutely sure that in six months, I'll pretty much be able to do that for really long distances.
Naturally, this was the first meeting, so there was a bit of getting acquainted to be done. We just ran in one big group, running two minutes and walking one minute. It was incredibly easy (as one might imagine), and really smooth. But what was really telling was today's workout. It was actually my first time back in the gym in a couple weeks, and it felt incredible! It started with 10 minutes on the elliptical, which I normaly get about .6 miles done. Today, in the same amount of time, I was able to pump out .8 miles! That's a heck of an improvement if you ask me. The rest of the workout was just lifting and stretching, but that elliptical run was fan-freaking-tastic.
On the negative side, it really struck me yesterday what I have really signed up for. I was getting ready for the run at 6AM on a Saturday, and realizing that this would be the latest I would be able to sleep in on a Saturday until mid-February of next year. Ouch. But I'm just going to focus on how good the running feels.
One other good thing -- my wife signed up for the training program today. She's not sure if she'll run the marathon yet, but running the 5K last weekend really had her realize how much she missed running. I'm really proud of her for starting to run again, and I'm looking forward to running together.
Oh, and here's yesterday's run:
On on to the marathon!
Naturally, this was the first meeting, so there was a bit of getting acquainted to be done. We just ran in one big group, running two minutes and walking one minute. It was incredibly easy (as one might imagine), and really smooth. But what was really telling was today's workout. It was actually my first time back in the gym in a couple weeks, and it felt incredible! It started with 10 minutes on the elliptical, which I normaly get about .6 miles done. Today, in the same amount of time, I was able to pump out .8 miles! That's a heck of an improvement if you ask me. The rest of the workout was just lifting and stretching, but that elliptical run was fan-freaking-tastic.
On the negative side, it really struck me yesterday what I have really signed up for. I was getting ready for the run at 6AM on a Saturday, and realizing that this would be the latest I would be able to sleep in on a Saturday until mid-February of next year. Ouch. But I'm just going to focus on how good the running feels.
One other good thing -- my wife signed up for the training program today. She's not sure if she'll run the marathon yet, but running the 5K last weekend really had her realize how much she missed running. I'm really proud of her for starting to run again, and I'm looking forward to running together.
Oh, and here's yesterday's run:
On on to the marathon!
Friday, July 27, 2007
Tomorrow's the day
At 7:00 tomorrow morning, I officially start my training for the National Marathon to Fight Breast Cancer.
It's only a two mile run, and I'm sure a "getting acquainted" kind of thing (I'm really not sure -- I've never run with a group before), so that doesn't intimidate me.
Looking at the schedule and realizing that I will be doing a 10 mile run in less than two months intimidates me a little bit.
I guess I'll hit that when I get to it.
It's only a two mile run, and I'm sure a "getting acquainted" kind of thing (I'm really not sure -- I've never run with a group before), so that doesn't intimidate me.
Looking at the schedule and realizing that I will be doing a 10 mile run in less than two months intimidates me a little bit.
I guess I'll hit that when I get to it.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Morning run and motivation
My wife was supposed to join me on my run this morning, but decided that sleep was far more important. I don't blame her. It felt good. But my run felt even better!
I ran 3.44 miles this morning, basically just adding a couple extra side jogs to the 3.2 mile track I've been running. At the start of the run, my foot was still really hurting, my knee was feeling OK, and my legs were so incredibly stiff I thought they would break right off. It didn't take long, though, for things to loosen up a bit and for my feet to stop hurting at all. I definitely love these inserts.
The last couple weeks have been a little less than motivated for me, so at the beginning of my marathon training, I'm trying to come up with a good way to make sure I do all my workouts. As it turns out, Lifehacker yesterday had this post about the way Jerry Seinfeld keeps productive. Basically, it boils down to having a big calendar on your wall and marking the days you work with a big red 'X'. Once you get enough of those, you won't want to break up the prettiness of the calendar. I think I'm going to give this a try... all I need is a big wall calendar.
How about you guys? Do you have any tricks to keep yourselves motivated during the slow times?
I ran 3.44 miles this morning, basically just adding a couple extra side jogs to the 3.2 mile track I've been running. At the start of the run, my foot was still really hurting, my knee was feeling OK, and my legs were so incredibly stiff I thought they would break right off. It didn't take long, though, for things to loosen up a bit and for my feet to stop hurting at all. I definitely love these inserts.
The last couple weeks have been a little less than motivated for me, so at the beginning of my marathon training, I'm trying to come up with a good way to make sure I do all my workouts. As it turns out, Lifehacker yesterday had this post about the way Jerry Seinfeld keeps productive. Basically, it boils down to having a big calendar on your wall and marking the days you work with a big red 'X'. Once you get enough of those, you won't want to break up the prettiness of the calendar. I think I'm going to give this a try... all I need is a big wall calendar.
How about you guys? Do you have any tricks to keep yourselves motivated during the slow times?
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Ouch
I've been riding my PR high for the last couple days, but there was definitely an issue with the run. It has nothing to do with my previous surgery -- that felt fine. However, my foot started hurting something fierce -- on the arch, right below/behind my big toe. My guess is that it has to do with the way my feet are over-pronated, so I got some inserts for my shoes with every intention of trying them out this morning. Which was a great plan... until I actually woke up this morning.
I woke up, and my knee is hurting. This is actually nothing new -- it's been hurting since a neighborhood football game several years ago -- but the race seems to have put an additional strain on it. But it comes and goes, and I'm sure it'll be OK come tomorrow. Plus, when I woke up, I heard thunder outside. That's just not a way to get me to move at 6:00.
So, here I am, waiting for my next run. If I get a chance tonight, I might head out for a few miles -- especially since this is the last "cool" day we'll have for a while (the high is only in the 80's). We are planning on going to the gym nice and early tomorrow, so that'll be fun.
Oh, and the official start of the training program for my marathon is Saturday morning. It's almost real.
Oy.
I woke up, and my knee is hurting. This is actually nothing new -- it's been hurting since a neighborhood football game several years ago -- but the race seems to have put an additional strain on it. But it comes and goes, and I'm sure it'll be OK come tomorrow. Plus, when I woke up, I heard thunder outside. That's just not a way to get me to move at 6:00.
So, here I am, waiting for my next run. If I get a chance tonight, I might head out for a few miles -- especially since this is the last "cool" day we'll have for a while (the high is only in the 80's). We are planning on going to the gym nice and early tomorrow, so that'll be fun.
Oh, and the official start of the training program for my marathon is Saturday morning. It's almost real.
Oy.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Back to the Races
I have to admit that I started the race thinking that it would be really rough. Those bridges looked pretty rough... even if I did get a taste of uphill last week. I was mostly just happy to be back at a race. Apparently, there were about 900 people signed up. When the cannon sounded (oh, yeah... it was a heck of a cannon), I was way in the back of the pack, but I was able to bob and weave my way through the start and finally get a pretty good pace going. And it felt really good.
The first part of the race ran out Duval Street, for only a few tenths of a mile before turning around and running back through the start -- and that was interesting. It was only about three mintes after the start that the lead cops came through to move us all to one side to let the leaders through. It got crowded, but it also thinned out pretty quickly. I got to the first mile marker, and my split was 9:24. Holy crap! That's a heck of a time for me. And I couldn't believe how great my legs were feeling. But this was before the bridges... I still had that test ahead of me.
We got to the bottom of the Main Street Bridge, and I was still feeling really strong! Most of the people around me immediately started walking, but I kept on trudging up the bridge. I really only remember three cognitive thoughts:
1) I feel pretty good.
2) I don't like this metal grating... wouldn't it suck if I tripped?
3) Oh. My. God. That other bridge is really tall!
It's true. The Acosta was much taller than the Main Street. And I still had that to look forward to. Not only that, but most of the uphill part of the Acosta was still in Mile 2, so I was not looking like I'd have a really good split. But I still wanted to run. I *really* wanted to run at least the first two miles.
At the bottom of the Main Street (downhill is much nicer), there was a water stop. I had overfilled on water at the beginning, though, so I only took a couple sips and dumped the rest down my back. It was still pretty warm, despite the fact that we had a storm come through town just prior to the race which had cooled things down immensely. But the two bridges are really close together, so after only about three blocks, we were back on another ramp... onto the Acosta.
Ouch. It was long. And it burned. And I kept on going. I went a lot farther than I would have been able to not very long ago. Eventually, I realized that if I kept running all the way to the mile 2 marker, I wasn't going to be able to make it to mile 3. So, I started walking. About 10 seconds later, though, I could see the clock. So I ran again... to the clock. This mile's split: 9:32. That's amazing! With the two bridges, I'm still on pace! However, I was also getting really tired, so I started walking again. Bear in mind that this is still going uphill. I walked for about 30 seconds before I started trudging up the last part of the rise and crested the bridge. And again, the downhill was much easier.
I realized at this point that I just might make my goal time if I could keep it going. I tried to keep my pace relatively even, but I was starting to get that adrenaline rush. You know what I'm talking about. So I started kicking -- possibly a little early, but hey, I was feeling great! My legs weren't completely dead, but my lungs were starting to burn a bit. But I just kept on running.
Eventually, I saw the finish... and the clock that didn't quite read 30:00. And I'm thinking that not only am I going to beat 30:00 in my time, but I'm going to actually beat 30:00 on the clock!
How did I do?
And I could not be happier!
The first part of the race ran out Duval Street, for only a few tenths of a mile before turning around and running back through the start -- and that was interesting. It was only about three mintes after the start that the lead cops came through to move us all to one side to let the leaders through. It got crowded, but it also thinned out pretty quickly. I got to the first mile marker, and my split was 9:24. Holy crap! That's a heck of a time for me. And I couldn't believe how great my legs were feeling. But this was before the bridges... I still had that test ahead of me.
We got to the bottom of the Main Street Bridge, and I was still feeling really strong! Most of the people around me immediately started walking, but I kept on trudging up the bridge. I really only remember three cognitive thoughts:
1) I feel pretty good.
2) I don't like this metal grating... wouldn't it suck if I tripped?
3) Oh. My. God. That other bridge is really tall!
It's true. The Acosta was much taller than the Main Street. And I still had that to look forward to. Not only that, but most of the uphill part of the Acosta was still in Mile 2, so I was not looking like I'd have a really good split. But I still wanted to run. I *really* wanted to run at least the first two miles.
At the bottom of the Main Street (downhill is much nicer), there was a water stop. I had overfilled on water at the beginning, though, so I only took a couple sips and dumped the rest down my back. It was still pretty warm, despite the fact that we had a storm come through town just prior to the race which had cooled things down immensely. But the two bridges are really close together, so after only about three blocks, we were back on another ramp... onto the Acosta.
Ouch. It was long. And it burned. And I kept on going. I went a lot farther than I would have been able to not very long ago. Eventually, I realized that if I kept running all the way to the mile 2 marker, I wasn't going to be able to make it to mile 3. So, I started walking. About 10 seconds later, though, I could see the clock. So I ran again... to the clock. This mile's split: 9:32. That's amazing! With the two bridges, I'm still on pace! However, I was also getting really tired, so I started walking again. Bear in mind that this is still going uphill. I walked for about 30 seconds before I started trudging up the last part of the rise and crested the bridge. And again, the downhill was much easier.
I realized at this point that I just might make my goal time if I could keep it going. I tried to keep my pace relatively even, but I was starting to get that adrenaline rush. You know what I'm talking about. So I started kicking -- possibly a little early, but hey, I was feeling great! My legs weren't completely dead, but my lungs were starting to burn a bit. But I just kept on running.
Eventually, I saw the finish... and the clock that didn't quite read 30:00. And I'm thinking that not only am I going to beat 30:00 in my time, but I'm going to actually beat 30:00 on the clock!
How did I do?
CLASS Chip FINALFYI, that's 36 out of 55 in my age group, and 257 out of 392 for men.
ID# PLACE PLACE TIME TIME PACE
242 257 36 29:03 29:50 9:36
And I could not be happier!
Friday, July 20, 2007
Busy busy busy
Sadly, I haven't had time to run, swim, or blog the last few days -- things have been incredibly hectic and long, between putting in new closets for myself and the missus, and my 15-hour day at work yesterday (which ended up with roughly 4 hours of sleep last night), nothing has gotten done.
My goal now... go to bed early tonight, sleep in (at least until 8) tomorrow, and be ready and rarin' to go for tomorrow's 5K. Of course, it helps that it's a night race tomorrow (7:30PM), so at least this time I won't sleep through it...
Wish me luck!
My goal now... go to bed early tonight, sleep in (at least until 8) tomorrow, and be ready and rarin' to go for tomorrow's 5K. Of course, it helps that it's a night race tomorrow (7:30PM), so at least this time I won't sleep through it...
Wish me luck!
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
I lived up to my end of the deal
Yep, I promised I would run either last night or this morning. Well, last night, I ended up putting together a little workbench so that tonight, we could finish the project of putting closets together. Needless to say, I didn't run then. And tonight's going to be ugly, since my wife's closet is a huuuuuuge mess. Which is rather odd for her, being as anal retentive as she is. But that's neither here nor there.
Since I didn't run last night, I forced myself to run this morning. The alarm went off at 6:30, and I finally got up and started moving at around 6:50. I like sleep. I'm not ashamed of that. I can be good at getting up early again, but it doesn't look like it'll happen this week. In any case, I got up and started my run late... about 7:10. It was a little cooler than I expected at that time (about 74 degrees when I left the house), but that wouldn't last.
My legs were really tight. Especially my hamstrings. It got better as the run went on, but my breathing was somewhat labored the whole time, too. I need to remember to take a shot of Serevant before getting out on the road. But, what's important, is that I ran the whole thing. 3.2 miles. No walking at all. That made me at least a little happy, even when after the run, when my legs started crying. Seriously -- I heard sobbing coming from my hamstrings. At least, I think that's where it came from. I can't really put my ear down there to find out.
Oh, when I got back home, it was 80 degrees. I definitely need to start running earlier.
In any case, I finally ran 5K+, just in time to give me a little shot of adrenaline going into the 5K this Saturday night. I might not finish in under 30 minutes (which is my end goal), but I'll finish, and I'll finish strong.
Trivia: The last time I ran the full 5K distance was in April, before my leg problems showed up. It only took three months to get back where I was.
Since I didn't run last night, I forced myself to run this morning. The alarm went off at 6:30, and I finally got up and started moving at around 6:50. I like sleep. I'm not ashamed of that. I can be good at getting up early again, but it doesn't look like it'll happen this week. In any case, I got up and started my run late... about 7:10. It was a little cooler than I expected at that time (about 74 degrees when I left the house), but that wouldn't last.
My legs were really tight. Especially my hamstrings. It got better as the run went on, but my breathing was somewhat labored the whole time, too. I need to remember to take a shot of Serevant before getting out on the road. But, what's important, is that I ran the whole thing. 3.2 miles. No walking at all. That made me at least a little happy, even when after the run, when my legs started crying. Seriously -- I heard sobbing coming from my hamstrings. At least, I think that's where it came from. I can't really put my ear down there to find out.
Oh, when I got back home, it was 80 degrees. I definitely need to start running earlier.
In any case, I finally ran 5K+, just in time to give me a little shot of adrenaline going into the 5K this Saturday night. I might not finish in under 30 minutes (which is my end goal), but I'll finish, and I'll finish strong.
Trivia: The last time I ran the full 5K distance was in April, before my leg problems showed up. It only took three months to get back where I was.
Monday, July 16, 2007
It's been a long weekend
Let me just start by saying... I hate redeyes.
My flight out of San Diego didn't leave SD until 6:55pm (PDT) -- sadly, the meeting was complete before 11AM. And I couldn't find any earlier flights, so I went to one of my favorite restaurants... and had much beer. Finally, I ended up going back to the airport... and had much beer. I got to Phoenix nice and early for my next flight, which left at 11:15 to arrive in Atlanta at 6:00 the next morning... and had much beer. I think I was hoping that I'd be able to sleep and that would make me all sorts of happy for the next day.
I was wrong.
I did sleep on the flights, at least as much as I could. However, I got back home and was dead tired. At the same time, my wife was planning on throwing one of her coworkers a birthday party that afternoon (one of those no-guys-allowed things), so I stayed up until just before the party and locked myself in the bedroom to sleep. And I woke up at about 8:00 that night, had some dinner, watched some TV, and went back to bed (after biting the inside of my cheek really hard). I figure I went back to bed sometime after 11, and we woke up the next morning close to 10.
And I was still exhausted.
And we had errands to run.
So, we jumped in the car, got some coffee, stopped by Lowe's, unloaded, went to Target, tried to find a lunch place that was open, had lunch, went home, measured the closets, created a plan for new closet organization spaces, went back to Lowe's to get the closet workings, and headed home.
Now, most sane people I know wouldn't start on a weekend project of reorganizing their closets at 8:30PM on a Sunday. I am not most people, and I am definitely not sane. Start I did. Now, my wife suggested we start with my closet, since it would be easier, so we emptied out my closet, put together all the crap, put it in the closet, loaded everything back up, and it all worked wonderfully. And it only took three hours or so -- which wasn't bad. However, that meant it was now 11:30 at night, and we were just starting to get ready for bed. And I'm still all worked up -- to the point I was simply not able to sleep. Until about 3AM. I think I screwed up my internal clock pretty royally.
Needless to say, I did not run today. I may run tonight to get used to the heat so I can run the 5K this Saturday night. But damn, I'm tired. I promise I will run either tonight or tomorrow morning, though!
My flight out of San Diego didn't leave SD until 6:55pm (PDT) -- sadly, the meeting was complete before 11AM. And I couldn't find any earlier flights, so I went to one of my favorite restaurants... and had much beer. Finally, I ended up going back to the airport... and had much beer. I got to Phoenix nice and early for my next flight, which left at 11:15 to arrive in Atlanta at 6:00 the next morning... and had much beer. I think I was hoping that I'd be able to sleep and that would make me all sorts of happy for the next day.
I was wrong.
I did sleep on the flights, at least as much as I could. However, I got back home and was dead tired. At the same time, my wife was planning on throwing one of her coworkers a birthday party that afternoon (one of those no-guys-allowed things), so I stayed up until just before the party and locked myself in the bedroom to sleep. And I woke up at about 8:00 that night, had some dinner, watched some TV, and went back to bed (after biting the inside of my cheek really hard). I figure I went back to bed sometime after 11, and we woke up the next morning close to 10.
And I was still exhausted.
And we had errands to run.
So, we jumped in the car, got some coffee, stopped by Lowe's, unloaded, went to Target, tried to find a lunch place that was open, had lunch, went home, measured the closets, created a plan for new closet organization spaces, went back to Lowe's to get the closet workings, and headed home.
Now, most sane people I know wouldn't start on a weekend project of reorganizing their closets at 8:30PM on a Sunday. I am not most people, and I am definitely not sane. Start I did. Now, my wife suggested we start with my closet, since it would be easier, so we emptied out my closet, put together all the crap, put it in the closet, loaded everything back up, and it all worked wonderfully. And it only took three hours or so -- which wasn't bad. However, that meant it was now 11:30 at night, and we were just starting to get ready for bed. And I'm still all worked up -- to the point I was simply not able to sleep. Until about 3AM. I think I screwed up my internal clock pretty royally.
Needless to say, I did not run today. I may run tonight to get used to the heat so I can run the 5K this Saturday night. But damn, I'm tired. I promise I will run either tonight or tomorrow morning, though!
Thursday, July 12, 2007
The Tale of My Ascent of Mt. Ohellno
So, I've gotten to San Diego, and stayed up until 10:30, and I was exhausted. But, since I just came from the east coast, that doesn't mean much... I still woke up at 3:00 in the morning. And 4:00. And 4:30. And 5:11. At 6:00, I finally started moving, since I could see that the sun was coming up, and I didn't want to run in the dark in a strange area.
Since it was a strange area, I decided to keep it simple. There's a main road right here with a sidewalk, so I thought I would just run up the road for a while and then run back. That's when I went outside and saw this road...
Now, being from Florida, I've completely forgotten what hills look like. But you guys out west certainly have them. With a vengeance. I'm pretty sure it was about a 60 degree incline. So, I studied the west face of this peak, and came up with a plan. I started my ascent to base camp alpha, remembering to take small steps and conserve some energy. I started a 5 minute run/1 minute walk to head up to the summit. And it felt pretty good. The other part of this trip was to find the Rubio's in the village at the base of the mountain -- and I found it about halfway up. Oh, boy... I better really want some fish tacos later to make that trip again. But up, up, up I went. Finally, when I saw a mountain goat bound past me, I decided that I'd gone up high enough. 13 and a half minutes of climing -- definitely not bad for a Florida boy.
The downhill part was (obviously) much easier, but I'm still remembering to take small steps. I'm not sure what I looked like doing this run, but I'm betting it was kinda funny. I made it back down to the bottom in another 13 minutes, so I still had some time to go, so I turned around and went back up -- and that was the tortuous part. My legs felt like jelly... but they didn't hurt, so I pushed on through. I only went up another couple minutes, found a good marker to turn around at so that I could map my run, and went back down. And that brings us to now.
It turns out that it was a short run... only 2.69 miles. I have to admit that I'm disappointed in that, but it felt good to get some hill work in. It's not like we have them all over the place at home. I definitely feel more confident that I won't die during next week's bridge run.
Since it was a strange area, I decided to keep it simple. There's a main road right here with a sidewalk, so I thought I would just run up the road for a while and then run back. That's when I went outside and saw this road...
Now, being from Florida, I've completely forgotten what hills look like. But you guys out west certainly have them. With a vengeance. I'm pretty sure it was about a 60 degree incline. So, I studied the west face of this peak, and came up with a plan. I started my ascent to base camp alpha, remembering to take small steps and conserve some energy. I started a 5 minute run/1 minute walk to head up to the summit. And it felt pretty good. The other part of this trip was to find the Rubio's in the village at the base of the mountain -- and I found it about halfway up. Oh, boy... I better really want some fish tacos later to make that trip again. But up, up, up I went. Finally, when I saw a mountain goat bound past me, I decided that I'd gone up high enough. 13 and a half minutes of climing -- definitely not bad for a Florida boy.
The downhill part was (obviously) much easier, but I'm still remembering to take small steps. I'm not sure what I looked like doing this run, but I'm betting it was kinda funny. I made it back down to the bottom in another 13 minutes, so I still had some time to go, so I turned around and went back up -- and that was the tortuous part. My legs felt like jelly... but they didn't hurt, so I pushed on through. I only went up another couple minutes, found a good marker to turn around at so that I could map my run, and went back down. And that brings us to now.
It turns out that it was a short run... only 2.69 miles. I have to admit that I'm disappointed in that, but it felt good to get some hill work in. It's not like we have them all over the place at home. I definitely feel more confident that I won't die during next week's bridge run.
Training across the country
Before I get to the tale of today's run, let me first mention a little about the trip out here. I flew out of Jacksonville, through Atlanta and Phoenix, and finally made it to San Diego a little past 7:00 last night (PDT). Two connections... and both were actually pretty good for my training!
We were sitting on the plane in Jacksonville, having boarded on time, which was kind of a surprise to begin with. After a little while, we realized something -- we were still on the ground. About ten minutes after we were supposed to push off (1:05), the captain came on the PA and told us that there was a ground stop in Atlanta due to weather, and he was bringing the jetway back to give us some A/C. At 1:45, he told us that we were going to have to sit for at least another 15 minutes. We finally got clearance to leave at 2:09, which was 5 minutes before we were supposed to land in Atlanta. Now, this guy was one hell of a driver, because he got us there pretty quickly, although it was really bumpy going into Atlanta. We landed at 3:30 or so. No problem -- my next flight leaves at 4:15. Which means that it started boarding pretty soon. I only had to get from B8 to A20, which isn't that bad, but I still went pretty quickly to get there.
Fast forward another four hours, and we land at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix, AZ at 5:15. My next flight leaves at 6:15, so this again, shouldn't be a problem. Except that my boarding pass has no gate information on it. Naturally, I would normally find the little monitors and find out where my next flight is, but I'm in a Delta terminal, and my next flight is on USAir. Now, this is where I start to appreciate just about every other airport I've ever been in, including Atlanta. Most of the time, if you're just switching terminals to get to another airline, there is some mechanism to get you there without having to go through security again. Not here. So, I exit security, wander around until I find the exit, catch the bus to terminal 4, and see a loooooong line at security there. And it's important to remember that a plane leaving at 6:15 starts boarding at 5:45. So now it's 5:30, and I'm at the back of this line. It moved pretty quickly, and I didn't have that much of a problem, but let me tell you -- if you're a terrorist trying to get through an airport security line, pick another airport. These guys inspected my ID more than anywhere else I've ever been. Good job, guys, but definitely irritating. Oh, and then I got to the plane and realized that I left my copy of Marathon, by Jeff Galloway, on the other plane. Whoops. Don't worry... I've already hit up Amazon to get another copy.
Finally, I get to San Diego, grab my cab, and head out. And the cabbie was nice enough to take me through the drive-thru at In-N-Out. Oh, was it good...
Now, seasoned traveler that I am, I stayed up until my normal time to make sure that I'm fighting the jet lag. But I did eventually go to bed, which leads to my next post...
We were sitting on the plane in Jacksonville, having boarded on time, which was kind of a surprise to begin with. After a little while, we realized something -- we were still on the ground. About ten minutes after we were supposed to push off (1:05), the captain came on the PA and told us that there was a ground stop in Atlanta due to weather, and he was bringing the jetway back to give us some A/C. At 1:45, he told us that we were going to have to sit for at least another 15 minutes. We finally got clearance to leave at 2:09, which was 5 minutes before we were supposed to land in Atlanta. Now, this guy was one hell of a driver, because he got us there pretty quickly, although it was really bumpy going into Atlanta. We landed at 3:30 or so. No problem -- my next flight leaves at 4:15. Which means that it started boarding pretty soon. I only had to get from B8 to A20, which isn't that bad, but I still went pretty quickly to get there.
Fast forward another four hours, and we land at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix, AZ at 5:15. My next flight leaves at 6:15, so this again, shouldn't be a problem. Except that my boarding pass has no gate information on it. Naturally, I would normally find the little monitors and find out where my next flight is, but I'm in a Delta terminal, and my next flight is on USAir. Now, this is where I start to appreciate just about every other airport I've ever been in, including Atlanta. Most of the time, if you're just switching terminals to get to another airline, there is some mechanism to get you there without having to go through security again. Not here. So, I exit security, wander around until I find the exit, catch the bus to terminal 4, and see a loooooong line at security there. And it's important to remember that a plane leaving at 6:15 starts boarding at 5:45. So now it's 5:30, and I'm at the back of this line. It moved pretty quickly, and I didn't have that much of a problem, but let me tell you -- if you're a terrorist trying to get through an airport security line, pick another airport. These guys inspected my ID more than anywhere else I've ever been. Good job, guys, but definitely irritating. Oh, and then I got to the plane and realized that I left my copy of Marathon, by Jeff Galloway, on the other plane. Whoops. Don't worry... I've already hit up Amazon to get another copy.
Finally, I get to San Diego, grab my cab, and head out. And the cabbie was nice enough to take me through the drive-thru at In-N-Out. Oh, was it good...
Now, seasoned traveler that I am, I stayed up until my normal time to make sure that I'm fighting the jet lag. But I did eventually go to bed, which leads to my next post...
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
On the road again...
Yep, I'm traveling again. Those of you who know me from way back know that I used to travel for my job, up to and including 100% travel. I've been lucky enough in the past year to have a job that doesn't require too much travel. However, when I do have to fly out, it's been pretty good so far.
Today's destination? San Diego, CA
I love, love, love San Diego. I've said often that if there were anywhere on the west coast that I could live, it would be SD. As a matter of fact, we even spent half of our honeymoon in San Diego, and had an absolute blast there. Now, sadly, this trip isn't going to be nearly as much fun as that was. For instance, I'm staying way north of downtown, and won't even have a car, so I can't really head out to the Yard House for a quick half-yard of some delicious brew. However, I am looking forward to some of the other fine left-coast food that's out there. Oh, yeah... I'm definitely having the cab stop by an In 'N' Out on the way to the airport. And, if I did my research correctly, there's a Rubio's just down the street from the hotel.
Mmm... fish tacos...
Oh, yeah, I'm definitely bringing my running gear so I can try to get a nice run in. I think I found a good course to run right near the hotel, but I'm not really sure. And, since it's a work trip, I'm bringing a laptop with me, so I should be able to blog about the wonders of a hilly world.
Now, let's hope I can get through Atlanta and Phoenix with no problem.
Today's destination? San Diego, CA
I love, love, love San Diego. I've said often that if there were anywhere on the west coast that I could live, it would be SD. As a matter of fact, we even spent half of our honeymoon in San Diego, and had an absolute blast there. Now, sadly, this trip isn't going to be nearly as much fun as that was. For instance, I'm staying way north of downtown, and won't even have a car, so I can't really head out to the Yard House for a quick half-yard of some delicious brew. However, I am looking forward to some of the other fine left-coast food that's out there. Oh, yeah... I'm definitely having the cab stop by an In 'N' Out on the way to the airport. And, if I did my research correctly, there's a Rubio's just down the street from the hotel.
Mmm... fish tacos...
Oh, yeah, I'm definitely bringing my running gear so I can try to get a nice run in. I think I found a good course to run right near the hotel, but I'm not really sure. And, since it's a work trip, I'm bringing a laptop with me, so I should be able to blog about the wonders of a hilly world.
Now, let's hope I can get through Atlanta and Phoenix with no problem.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Not getting lost... now that's new
This morning, I tried the same route that I did on Saturday, when I took a wrong turn. Today, however, the running gods were smiling on me (plus, I had just run it a few days ago), and I managed to get the whole thing in without any wrong turns at all. Hooray me.
The whole thing was 3.2 miles, so just over 5K length. And I did it all in 33 minutes. Now, that's slightly disappointing, as I'm hoping to break my plateau of 30 minutes in the 5K next weekend, but then I started thinking about several things:
Tonight, my lovely wife and I are going to give the swimming a try again. She says her shoulder is feeling much better, and I'm going to see what I can do to have her use it as little as possible. I'm not really sure how to do that just yet, but I'll think of something.
The whole thing was 3.2 miles, so just over 5K length. And I did it all in 33 minutes. Now, that's slightly disappointing, as I'm hoping to break my plateau of 30 minutes in the 5K next weekend, but then I started thinking about several things:
- Oh... My... God... it's hot. Yes, it's Florida. But it was 76 when I left at 6:50-ish this morning, and damn near 80 when I got back at 7:30-ish. Naturally, that's going to slow you down.
- It has been a while since I was able to run that 30 minute 5K, and I didn't do much in the meantime -- except have my leg sliced into and pieces of it removed.
- Oh, and let's not forget that the race is running over two bridges in downtown Jacksonville next Friday night. It's going to be even hotter than, plus I get the fun uphill parts of running the bridges.
Tonight, my lovely wife and I are going to give the swimming a try again. She says her shoulder is feeling much better, and I'm going to see what I can do to have her use it as little as possible. I'm not really sure how to do that just yet, but I'll think of something.
Monday, July 9, 2007
Ooooh, that smarts!
Sunday morning, my lovely wife and I decided that we were going to go for a nice walk on the beach. It was before 10, and it seemed like such a nice day, so we headed to our local coffee house and picked up some drinks and then headed off to the beach. It was supposed to be a nice stroll. It ended up being a death march.
I'm not exactly sure when it happened, but at one point, we realized that we'd been walking for a really long time. LW asked me if we were going to be walking all the way to the Sea Turtle (a local hotel), and we decided that it seemed like a good idea. We were very wrong. As it turns out, the total length of our nice beach stroll was 6.4 miles. Don't get me wrong -- that would have been great, if we had been prepared for it.
Since we weren't expecting to go for such a long stroll, we hadn't slathered ourselves in sunscreen. And we weren't wearing good shoes. Or good clothes. And we ended up finishing after noon, when the midday Florida sun was beating down on us horrendously. We got burnt. To a crisp. And it hurts. Happily, I was wearing a shirt the whole time. So now I'm just a redneck.
Granted, we live in Florida. It wasn't the first time, and it sure won't be the last.
Moving on, LW wants to learn how to swim better. Given that I was a competitive swimmer in my youth (from when I was 7 to shortly before going to college), she turned to me to be her coach. Luckily, she doesn't have a bad stroke at all... just some tuning is necessary. Unfortunately, I don't remember all that many drills to get that tuning done. And even more unfortunately, she seems to have hurt her shoulder over the weekend, which very much affected her pool time.
Now, since her shoulder is hurt, she's taking it easy. And I am very happy about that. Mostly so that she can have a chance to heal and make sure she doesn't make it worse. Of course, there's a side benefit in that I didn't have to get up at 5:00 this morning to go to the gym. Instead, I woke up at 6:30 and dragged myself out the door. Some things got in the way of my time, so I had to cut my workout short... I just did the 10 minute cardio at the beginning, lifting for about half an hour, and then stretching (well, I threw the basketball for about five minutes, but not well). That got me to work a little after 9. Which means that I still have to get up early. Sigh.
Disappointing. But I know I can do it.
Now I just wish my neck would stop hurting.
I'm not exactly sure when it happened, but at one point, we realized that we'd been walking for a really long time. LW asked me if we were going to be walking all the way to the Sea Turtle (a local hotel), and we decided that it seemed like a good idea. We were very wrong. As it turns out, the total length of our nice beach stroll was 6.4 miles. Don't get me wrong -- that would have been great, if we had been prepared for it.
Since we weren't expecting to go for such a long stroll, we hadn't slathered ourselves in sunscreen. And we weren't wearing good shoes. Or good clothes. And we ended up finishing after noon, when the midday Florida sun was beating down on us horrendously. We got burnt. To a crisp. And it hurts. Happily, I was wearing a shirt the whole time. So now I'm just a redneck.
Granted, we live in Florida. It wasn't the first time, and it sure won't be the last.
Moving on, LW wants to learn how to swim better. Given that I was a competitive swimmer in my youth (from when I was 7 to shortly before going to college), she turned to me to be her coach. Luckily, she doesn't have a bad stroke at all... just some tuning is necessary. Unfortunately, I don't remember all that many drills to get that tuning done. And even more unfortunately, she seems to have hurt her shoulder over the weekend, which very much affected her pool time.
Now, since her shoulder is hurt, she's taking it easy. And I am very happy about that. Mostly so that she can have a chance to heal and make sure she doesn't make it worse. Of course, there's a side benefit in that I didn't have to get up at 5:00 this morning to go to the gym. Instead, I woke up at 6:30 and dragged myself out the door. Some things got in the way of my time, so I had to cut my workout short... I just did the 10 minute cardio at the beginning, lifting for about half an hour, and then stretching (well, I threw the basketball for about five minutes, but not well). That got me to work a little after 9. Which means that I still have to get up early. Sigh.
Disappointing. But I know I can do it.
Now I just wish my neck would stop hurting.
Saturday, July 7, 2007
Another beautiful Saturday morning
This morning, I decided to try another route. I've actually run it before, and it's pretty close to 5K length, but I took a couple wrong turns the last time, which made that run more like 3.5 miles. Well, I did it again. Not so bad as last time, but I took a wrong turn again and turned it into 3.3 miles.
I also changed some things up for this morning. I was thinking that it's been a while since I actually ran a complete mile, so I decided to give it a try. I ran the first mile in just about 10 minutes (I don't know what the exact split is -- I obviously didn't know the route well enough).
Still, it felt pretty good. The first mile was fine... and I was taking it pretty easy the whole time. After the first mile, I switched back to a 3 minute run/1 minute walk trek. However, by the time the third mile came along, I was getting pretty tired, and I'm starting to notice that when I get tired, my form definitely starts to suffer. I start running much heavier and flatter. I'm trying to make sure to work on that -- anyone have any suggestions?
I also changed some things up for this morning. I was thinking that it's been a while since I actually ran a complete mile, so I decided to give it a try. I ran the first mile in just about 10 minutes (I don't know what the exact split is -- I obviously didn't know the route well enough).
Still, it felt pretty good. The first mile was fine... and I was taking it pretty easy the whole time. After the first mile, I switched back to a 3 minute run/1 minute walk trek. However, by the time the third mile came along, I was getting pretty tired, and I'm starting to notice that when I get tired, my form definitely starts to suffer. I start running much heavier and flatter. I'm trying to make sure to work on that -- anyone have any suggestions?
Friday, July 6, 2007
Facing the day, pre-dawn
Yesterday, I was under the impression that I would have to wake up at 4:45AM to get to the gym in time for my lovely wife to make it to power-body-pump-flow-whatever class at 5:45. But last night, the plans changed. She decided that she would much rather do the cycling class that starts at 6:00.
That was the sweetest thing I've ever heard.
I know I've harped on the early morning thing before, and I know I will again, but I just have to say that there is a huge difference in those 15 minutes. 5:00 is reasonable. It's early, but it shows dedication. Before 5:00 -- even at 4:45 -- is insane. That's just gone over the edge.
"When did you get up?"
"Oh, I got up at five this morning."
"Wow... that's early. You must be doing great in your training!"
As opposed to:
"Before five."
"Dude... you're insane. Don't come around me anymore. You're not welcome here. "
See? Those just sound like natural conversations to me.
Now... this isn't to say that I'll never get up at 4:45. If my lovely wife wants to go to whatever random class is at 5:45, I will naturally support that. But I'll complain the whole time. And you'll hear about it.
Oh, and today's workout? Not too bad. 10 minutes on the elliptical, a trip around the weight stations (which felt pretty good), and then 15 minutes on the stairmaster (although not a StairMaster(TM)... it's from TechnoGym). That kinda hurt, but I wanted to change things up a bit -- the elliptical gets boring when that's all you do.
For this weekend, I'm looking at running again tomorrow (hopefully a different route... I'll tell all about it), and then probably swimming on Sunday. I'm excited about that... I used to be a competitive swimmer, so I love getting back to the pool. Plus, my wife wants me to coach her a bit to help her stroke along. Should be fun!
That was the sweetest thing I've ever heard.
I know I've harped on the early morning thing before, and I know I will again, but I just have to say that there is a huge difference in those 15 minutes. 5:00 is reasonable. It's early, but it shows dedication. Before 5:00 -- even at 4:45 -- is insane. That's just gone over the edge.
"When did you get up?"
"Oh, I got up at five this morning."
"Wow... that's early. You must be doing great in your training!"
As opposed to:
"Before five."
"Dude... you're insane. Don't come around me anymore. You're not welcome here. "
See? Those just sound like natural conversations to me.
Now... this isn't to say that I'll never get up at 4:45. If my lovely wife wants to go to whatever random class is at 5:45, I will naturally support that. But I'll complain the whole time. And you'll hear about it.
Oh, and today's workout? Not too bad. 10 minutes on the elliptical, a trip around the weight stations (which felt pretty good), and then 15 minutes on the stairmaster (although not a StairMaster(TM)... it's from TechnoGym). That kinda hurt, but I wanted to change things up a bit -- the elliptical gets boring when that's all you do.
For this weekend, I'm looking at running again tomorrow (hopefully a different route... I'll tell all about it), and then probably swimming on Sunday. I'm excited about that... I used to be a competitive swimmer, so I love getting back to the pool. Plus, my wife wants me to coach her a bit to help her stroke along. Should be fun!
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Oops
Thanks to everyone for their well wishes on the 5k yesterday. However, you know how plans sometimes go awry? Well... yeah. That happened.
The plan was to go to the pub crawl for just a little while. My lovely wife was going to come out a couple hours later, hang out for an hour or so, and then we would head home, ready to relax and get up early for the run.
In actuality, she arrived about 45 minutes after we started and said, "Do you want to split a pitcher?" Now, I've never been able to say "no" to her... especially when I've already been drinking and she wants to offer me more sweet, sweet beer. Then there was an issue where we couldn't go walking around the street with full beers, so we had to chug them to catch up with everyone else. It's a beach town on the 3rd of July -- how come we can't carry beer outside? Sigh.
So, I ended up getting home at about 2:30 in the morning, and we slept right through the race. I kinda figured that might happen, but not in so spectacular a fashion.
But they say that the only real mistakes are the ones you don't learn from. Now I know the truth... no pub crawls the night before a race. I'll get my carbo loading done in some other fashion from now on. But definitely not with so much beer. I hear pasta is good. Or potatoes. Maybe that would be a better way to spend the night before.
So, I don't have a time to report from the race. I did, however, get up and ran my three-loop trip around the neighborhood this morning. And it was hot. And it was humid. And my legs were dragging something fierce. For once, my lungs were feeling mostly OK, but my legs just weren't working past the first mile.
2.9 miles / 33:13 == 11:27 pace.
Oh, well... I know I'll have good days and bad days and going half mad days (any Buffett fans out there?), and today was pretty much expected to be a bad day. Tomorrow, we attempt to get up at 4:45 in the morning to get to the gym on time. But that shouldn't be that bad... we're not going out for beer tonight.
Next race: Vestcor 5K Bridges Run on July 21. And this one, I'm actually going to run.
The plan was to go to the pub crawl for just a little while. My lovely wife was going to come out a couple hours later, hang out for an hour or so, and then we would head home, ready to relax and get up early for the run.
In actuality, she arrived about 45 minutes after we started and said, "Do you want to split a pitcher?" Now, I've never been able to say "no" to her... especially when I've already been drinking and she wants to offer me more sweet, sweet beer. Then there was an issue where we couldn't go walking around the street with full beers, so we had to chug them to catch up with everyone else. It's a beach town on the 3rd of July -- how come we can't carry beer outside? Sigh.
So, I ended up getting home at about 2:30 in the morning, and we slept right through the race. I kinda figured that might happen, but not in so spectacular a fashion.
But they say that the only real mistakes are the ones you don't learn from. Now I know the truth... no pub crawls the night before a race. I'll get my carbo loading done in some other fashion from now on. But definitely not with so much beer. I hear pasta is good. Or potatoes. Maybe that would be a better way to spend the night before.
So, I don't have a time to report from the race. I did, however, get up and ran my three-loop trip around the neighborhood this morning. And it was hot. And it was humid. And my legs were dragging something fierce. For once, my lungs were feeling mostly OK, but my legs just weren't working past the first mile.
2.9 miles / 33:13 == 11:27 pace.
Oh, well... I know I'll have good days and bad days and going half mad days (any Buffett fans out there?), and today was pretty much expected to be a bad day. Tomorrow, we attempt to get up at 4:45 in the morning to get to the gym on time. But that shouldn't be that bad... we're not going out for beer tonight.
Next race: Vestcor 5K Bridges Run on July 21. And this one, I'm actually going to run.
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Oh, boy
Yesterday, I found out that I screwed up at work. It ended up not being a huge deal, but it was big enough that I had to put everything else on hold until it was fixed. Which took until midnight last night (actually, there was one nagging thing this morning, but that wasn't too bad). Now, if you recall, I woke up at 5:00 in the morning yesterday. Which means that midnight was not a time when I wanted to be awake. And I was planning on waking up at 6:30 this morning to run.
"Planning" is the operative word there.
Now, first, let me mention that my lovely wife did, in fact, get up at 5:00 in the morning to go to the cycling class at the gym. And she left me at home, sleeping. God bless her.
However, when the alarm blew at 6:30, I looked outside, and it was still pretty dark. "Obviously, that's just not safe!", I told myself. So I went back to sleep. Briefly.
I ended up getting up at around 7, out the door at 7:10, and ran basically the same route I did on Sunday. I changed directions, though, and ran clockwise through the neighborhood. I'm trying to keep things balanced that way. The other thing to note is that I ran 3 minutes to each 1 minute walking. And it felt... ok. Not great. I was dragging a bit at the end there. But I think that may have a *lot* to do with everything surrounding last night and this morning. What's most important to me at this point is that I STILL DID IT!!!! It wasn't that long ago where I would have made an excuse, slept another hour, and gotten up and gone straight to work. But not anymore. I'm in training! (kinda)
Oh, and it was a little faster than Sunday, too. 32:17 for the three loops, plus warmup and cooldown. I'm still trying to keep things kinda slow for now.
Oh, and I did sign up for the Celebration 5K tomorrow morning. This should be interesting. I'm not expecting a PR, but I'm curious to see just what I can do. My last 5K was in early March, and it wasn't timed, so I have *no* idea what I can do... but I know I lost a lot over the last couple months.
Plus, there's a pub crawl tonight. Hey, it's a holiday. I'll try not to go overboard, but it certainly wouldn't be the first time I've run with a hangover/buzz/lampshade on my head.
Wish me luck!
"Planning" is the operative word there.
Now, first, let me mention that my lovely wife did, in fact, get up at 5:00 in the morning to go to the cycling class at the gym. And she left me at home, sleeping. God bless her.
However, when the alarm blew at 6:30, I looked outside, and it was still pretty dark. "Obviously, that's just not safe!", I told myself. So I went back to sleep. Briefly.
I ended up getting up at around 7, out the door at 7:10, and ran basically the same route I did on Sunday. I changed directions, though, and ran clockwise through the neighborhood. I'm trying to keep things balanced that way. The other thing to note is that I ran 3 minutes to each 1 minute walking. And it felt... ok. Not great. I was dragging a bit at the end there. But I think that may have a *lot* to do with everything surrounding last night and this morning. What's most important to me at this point is that I STILL DID IT!!!! It wasn't that long ago where I would have made an excuse, slept another hour, and gotten up and gone straight to work. But not anymore. I'm in training! (kinda)
Oh, and it was a little faster than Sunday, too. 32:17 for the three loops, plus warmup and cooldown. I'm still trying to keep things kinda slow for now.
Oh, and I did sign up for the Celebration 5K tomorrow morning. This should be interesting. I'm not expecting a PR, but I'm curious to see just what I can do. My last 5K was in early March, and it wasn't timed, so I have *no* idea what I can do... but I know I lost a lot over the last couple months.
Plus, there's a pub crawl tonight. Hey, it's a holiday. I'll try not to go overboard, but it certainly wouldn't be the first time I've run with a hangover/buzz/lampshade on my head.
Wish me luck!
Monday, July 2, 2007
Talk About Your All-Time Backfires
So I've spent the last few days ribbing the wife a little bit about her lack of desire to get up and work out.
BIG mistake.
Last night, she tells me that she wants to start doing some of the classes at the gym before work. Which is great... except for the starting time. Tuesday through Thursday are for cycling, which starts at 6:00. Monday and Friday are for some other class... something having to do with weighted bars... and they start at 5:45. In the morning. Plus, we're trying to carpool to work a little more these days. Hey, that gas is pretty expensive now. Oh, boy.
So at 5 AM, the alarm goes off. It's still dark, and will be for quite some time. And she pretty much rocketed out of bed to go get ready. I stumbled around for a few minutes, trying to get my bearings, and finally got around to getting changed. We checked to make sure that we had everything we needed, packed the days lunch, and were out the door at 5:25 or so. And the kicker? The class started before we got there. On Friday, we have to get up earlier.
That'll teach me.
BIG mistake.
Last night, she tells me that she wants to start doing some of the classes at the gym before work. Which is great... except for the starting time. Tuesday through Thursday are for cycling, which starts at 6:00. Monday and Friday are for some other class... something having to do with weighted bars... and they start at 5:45. In the morning. Plus, we're trying to carpool to work a little more these days. Hey, that gas is pretty expensive now. Oh, boy.
So at 5 AM, the alarm goes off. It's still dark, and will be for quite some time. And she pretty much rocketed out of bed to go get ready. I stumbled around for a few minutes, trying to get my bearings, and finally got around to getting changed. We checked to make sure that we had everything we needed, packed the days lunch, and were out the door at 5:25 or so. And the kicker? The class started before we got there. On Friday, we have to get up earlier.
That'll teach me.
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Sunday Morning Run
Yes, I've hit a milestone in my running career. If I recall correctly, today marks the first time since high school that I have actually gotten up early on the weekend just to work out. The alarm went off at 6:45 this morning... and I actually got out of bed at 6:50, and hit the road just a few minutes later. Yes, at this point, that's really early for me on a Sunday.
I decided to just run around the neighborhood, which is just about .9 miles/loop. I did a five minute warmup, three loops around the neighborhood, and a five minute cooldown. I ran the three loops in 32:48, but what's way more important is that it felt good! I didn't have the tightness that I had on Thursday, my asthma didn't act up nearly so much, and my legs were still pretty strong at the end. Granted, I was concentrating on going a little slower than last time, but I guess that's what I have to do for my training runs -- especially when I'm just starting out like this.
Of course, as we were going to bed last night, my lovely wife was saying that if we got up early enough so that it was still cool (it was about 76 when I woke up), she might join me. That lasted up until the alarm went off. Her first words of the morning... "Have fun." Of course, she has repeatedly said that she doesn't like running when it's more than 50 outside. Good thing we live in Florida, eh?
Oh, and there's a 5K in Jacksonville on Wednesday morning. And a pub crawl Tuesday night. What to do... what to do...
I decided to just run around the neighborhood, which is just about .9 miles/loop. I did a five minute warmup, three loops around the neighborhood, and a five minute cooldown. I ran the three loops in 32:48, but what's way more important is that it felt good! I didn't have the tightness that I had on Thursday, my asthma didn't act up nearly so much, and my legs were still pretty strong at the end. Granted, I was concentrating on going a little slower than last time, but I guess that's what I have to do for my training runs -- especially when I'm just starting out like this.
Of course, as we were going to bed last night, my lovely wife was saying that if we got up early enough so that it was still cool (it was about 76 when I woke up), she might join me. That lasted up until the alarm went off. Her first words of the morning... "Have fun." Of course, she has repeatedly said that she doesn't like running when it's more than 50 outside. Good thing we live in Florida, eh?
Oh, and there's a 5K in Jacksonville on Wednesday morning. And a pub crawl Tuesday night. What to do... what to do...
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