Well, for us here in Southern AZ....the weather here has been what we would consider cold. Yesterday I scrapped the plans of my morning workout for a bit more sleep. The forecast was supposed to be windy, rainy and cold, but that's not how it turned out at ALL! It seems as though all the predictions just kept pushing themselves out, and I ended up outsmarting myself. So, I figured it was important to get that mid-week long run in! Once i got home, I changed into my running gear and went out for an hour and a half run through the neighborhood. My goal was to run parts of the workout with some intensity, as I wasn't sure what this morning would bring. It was also a weird feeling, I don't usually run in the evenings, and for that matter, I don't ususally run well in the evenings. I started out on the course that I did last Wednesday, my typical 9.5 mile course. As I went out, I noticed that my starting pace was a bit higher then what i do in the morning, but it felt good, and I didn't have to wait for my legs to wake up....So I just went with it. Miles 1, 2, and 3 were very nice and even. For miles 4 and 5 I figured that would be a good place to do a little race pace scenario. 4 is a continuous and gradual uphill segment. Along the way, I saw a pair of runners out who had a nice lead on me, and I used them as a rabbit that I could catch and overtake. I passed them, and kept up with the great leg turnover and motored my way along trough 4 and the downhill mile 5. From there I backed out of the throttle a bit and settled into a nice 8:15 pace and pretty much stayed there up until mile 10, where I struggled a bit as the course changed to again going slightly uphill, but added in the wind in the face factor as the strom front finally decided to make it's appearance. I'm sure your sitting there going...but he said above that the course is 9.5 miles, how'd he get to 10....Well, at mile 8 I decided that I was running well, so I took a left turn through a neighborhood that ended up taking me down to our marked path, and I extended the run from 9.5 to 11 rather easily. Mile 11 was nice and even as I made the right turn for the 1 mile straightaway home, which turned the wind to cross and slightly at my back. Some great things to focus on, my 7 mile time was 59:04! 4 seconds slower then Tuesday, and still 1:51 faster then Monday! I did the full 11 miles in 1:28:50. Dr. Garmin put that at a 8:34 pace....Not bad for a average everyday run! Sheesh, I can remember plodding along at 10 min/miles thining I was cruising. That was so 33 pounds ago, and a totally different stressed out me.
Today did finally getting washed out. I may actually do the workout this afternoon as it looks like the front may have mosved through for good. The suns back out, and it's a balmy 52 degrees. It's the standard 12x400m repeat day, so I can run across the street and do them in the seclusion of a nice and quiet retirment neighborhood. Today also marks my last day of work for this Calendar Year. that means I get to sleep in tomorrow and go running when nanna and pop pop show up. 9ish...10sh...Whatev! I get two full weeks where I can focus on nothing but training, just like it was my JOB! I'm going to give myself the gift of working out as if I'm a pro athlete. I'm going to see if I can get 60 miles in each week, and break out the bike for a few afternoon rides.
Anyway, I should finish up those last few things I need to get done before I'm off for the year. Until tomorrows Blog adventure, LIVESTRONG and train HARD!
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
The quest for More Cowbell.....Errrr......7s....
HA....And I'm not talking about gambling! I'm talking miles. Today's workout plans with the group got scrapped when I took a look at the workout and saw that they were only doing 2 1/4 miles. I thought to myself...What the?? After not running the prescribed 15 miles in the rain on Sunday, I've got a little bit of makeup to do, and 2 1/4 miles wasn't the prescription. No, my workout had a fever! And the only perscription was more COWBELL....
errrrr....Miles. So I did the same run that I did yesterday, the 7 mile run through my neighborhood. My goal though was to be yeasterdays time since Tuesdays was a more of a speed day. As usual, I took the first mile easy to wak the body up. Once the alarm went off, I then gradually started to ratchet up the speed. I started at 8:35, down to 8:25, and then 8:20. At thispopint I decided miles 4-5 should be at my hal marathon pace, so I ratched up to a 7:40. After that I dropped back into an 8:15 and stayed there till the end of the workout. I managed to take 1:55 off of yesterdays time, and still got some speed training on my legs.
There's not a whole lot to report out there. Last night I did the unthinkable and went into my pools 58 degree water. WHOAH!!! You talk about an ice bath! Thankfully I got the Hot Tub back up and running, so the transition to the hot water was oh so nice.....You know, you can't not do a double dog dare from your nine year old son!
On that note.....Until tomorrow....LIVESTRONG and train hard!
errrrr....Miles. So I did the same run that I did yesterday, the 7 mile run through my neighborhood. My goal though was to be yeasterdays time since Tuesdays was a more of a speed day. As usual, I took the first mile easy to wak the body up. Once the alarm went off, I then gradually started to ratchet up the speed. I started at 8:35, down to 8:25, and then 8:20. At thispopint I decided miles 4-5 should be at my hal marathon pace, so I ratched up to a 7:40. After that I dropped back into an 8:15 and stayed there till the end of the workout. I managed to take 1:55 off of yesterdays time, and still got some speed training on my legs.There's not a whole lot to report out there. Last night I did the unthinkable and went into my pools 58 degree water. WHOAH!!! You talk about an ice bath! Thankfully I got the Hot Tub back up and running, so the transition to the hot water was oh so nice.....You know, you can't not do a double dog dare from your nine year old son!
On that note.....Until tomorrow....LIVESTRONG and train hard!
Monday, December 15, 2008
Mixed Weekend of Results
This past weekend was a mixed bag for me. I knew that Sunday's run was going to be jeopardized by the weather, and that held out to be oh so true. Needless to say, as the downpour raged on at 4:30am, I made the command decision to call it and go back to bed. I had a long day ahead and starting off soaking wet wasn't going to help the cause. And I felt as though I had kind of earned it with the effort I put out on Sunday in the 50 minute workout where every five minutes we altered from 10K pace back to Half Marathon pace.
This whole new running experience is quite an experience. We're in that cycle where we we have about 3 to 4 week between same workouts. This I like because you can really see how far you've progressed. This particular workout we did 3 weeks ago, and I had a GREAT run, so I was a little unsure how much I'd progress. What I didn't expect was what happened....
My first 5 mins on, I set out on a blistering pace, one that was FASTER then my 30 minute tempo the previous Saturday. I felt great, but I was running in a territory that I'd never seen before. We're talking 7:04 pace. But it was only 5 minutes, so I wasn't too alarmed that I went out too fast. My off set I trottled back to 7:45 and my legs just felt GREAT and overall I was running nice and relaxed. Set two started, and I took off like a greyhound trying to get the rabbit. I didn't even realize how fast I was going until I passed the 2 mile mark at 14:04.....yes, you read that right...14:04. I was TRUCKING!!! I looked at the pace of Dr. Garmin, and it read a 6:40 pace, and I still had 56 seconds to go on the on set. I kept it going as I figured that it was only less then a minute of effort.....But When the set ended, I had a little discussion with myself. I didn't need to go out there and blow up on sets 4 and 5. So I made a concious decision that I needed to slow down a bit. I set my target on pace at 7:15, realistically where it should be. And with that when the on set came, I settled very nicely into the 7:15, and that's where each of the 3 remaining sets were, ON THE NOSE. there was absolutely NO variation. And, I finished the 50 minutes at 6.75 miles. The last time I ran that workout, I only managed to get 6.4 miles. That's a FULL 3 tenths further, in just 3 weeks! Another MAJOR step towards where I want to be. In two weeks, we get another version of this workout, but we add one more set. I'm thinking that I should be able to do a full long loop, and close the short loop by then. That's my ultimate goal. In fact, I should go past closing the short loop, as where I finished was about a mile from that point, which I'll cover more then a mile in 10 mins. So all looks very very promising. This coming Saturday, we'll get an official reading to where my Long Loop 5 mile time trial is. I'm going to have to go deep into the spreadsheets to see what my PB is. When I find it.....We'll set the goal to CRUSH that time!
And I started the week off by doing a nice 7 miler this morning. Since i didn't run yesterday my legs were incredibly fresh. I kept the last 6 miles under 8:30 pace, as I always take that first one pretty easy. Today, that was a 9:15. I'm really starting to evlauate the caledar and see where to work in that marathon. Right now I'm looking for a fast March timeframe event, but I don't see any. If anyone knows of a close marathon to Tucson in the March timeframe...lemme know....I'm in the HUNT!
Until tomorrow, Train Hard and LIVESTRONG!
This whole new running experience is quite an experience. We're in that cycle where we we have about 3 to 4 week between same workouts. This I like because you can really see how far you've progressed. This particular workout we did 3 weeks ago, and I had a GREAT run, so I was a little unsure how much I'd progress. What I didn't expect was what happened....
My first 5 mins on, I set out on a blistering pace, one that was FASTER then my 30 minute tempo the previous Saturday. I felt great, but I was running in a territory that I'd never seen before. We're talking 7:04 pace. But it was only 5 minutes, so I wasn't too alarmed that I went out too fast. My off set I trottled back to 7:45 and my legs just felt GREAT and overall I was running nice and relaxed. Set two started, and I took off like a greyhound trying to get the rabbit. I didn't even realize how fast I was going until I passed the 2 mile mark at 14:04.....yes, you read that right...14:04. I was TRUCKING!!! I looked at the pace of Dr. Garmin, and it read a 6:40 pace, and I still had 56 seconds to go on the on set. I kept it going as I figured that it was only less then a minute of effort.....But When the set ended, I had a little discussion with myself. I didn't need to go out there and blow up on sets 4 and 5. So I made a concious decision that I needed to slow down a bit. I set my target on pace at 7:15, realistically where it should be. And with that when the on set came, I settled very nicely into the 7:15, and that's where each of the 3 remaining sets were, ON THE NOSE. there was absolutely NO variation. And, I finished the 50 minutes at 6.75 miles. The last time I ran that workout, I only managed to get 6.4 miles. That's a FULL 3 tenths further, in just 3 weeks! Another MAJOR step towards where I want to be. In two weeks, we get another version of this workout, but we add one more set. I'm thinking that I should be able to do a full long loop, and close the short loop by then. That's my ultimate goal. In fact, I should go past closing the short loop, as where I finished was about a mile from that point, which I'll cover more then a mile in 10 mins. So all looks very very promising. This coming Saturday, we'll get an official reading to where my Long Loop 5 mile time trial is. I'm going to have to go deep into the spreadsheets to see what my PB is. When I find it.....We'll set the goal to CRUSH that time!
And I started the week off by doing a nice 7 miler this morning. Since i didn't run yesterday my legs were incredibly fresh. I kept the last 6 miles under 8:30 pace, as I always take that first one pretty easy. Today, that was a 9:15. I'm really starting to evlauate the caledar and see where to work in that marathon. Right now I'm looking for a fast March timeframe event, but I don't see any. If anyone knows of a close marathon to Tucson in the March timeframe...lemme know....I'm in the HUNT!
Until tomorrow, Train Hard and LIVESTRONG!
Friday, December 12, 2008
And the weekly grind continues
Yesterday was the standard 12x400m intervals. Thursday workouts are going to be rough for a while as I get adjusted to the mid week Wednesday long run. Last week, I was fairly well recovered, but only because I did 8 miles and didn't do the Thursday run at 5am, instead I waited until 6pm to get it done. that extra few hours of recovery seemed to really help. This week, I didn't give myself that break and I added an extra mile and a half. So the fact that I didn't totally rock the house wasn't shocking. I will say this, my goal on that workout is to keep the 400s under 1:45 per set. And I managed to accomplish that goal, even on the first set which is typically my slowest as I ease into the workout. I will say this, my last three sets, although not the 1:32s that I ran last Thursday, were VERY respectable at 1:37. They weren't easy by any stretch of the imagination either, I really had to work at them to make them happen. But that's just the thing you have to do if your going to continue to make progress. Push hard, and do it on tired legs. As you roll through that 20 mile mark of a marathon, you're going to be tired. But your body has to be trained and you have to mentally push yourself through it and know that you've done that a million times in previous workouts and have the confidence to keep going.
Today's workout my legs were sluggish. There was no time requirement, just go on out there and turn the legs over for 5.6 miles. I was doing the big loop around the neighborhood. Today's temperature, for whatever reason was about 10 degrees warmer then the previous two days. In my morning fog of trying to wakeup....I didn't quite notice that, and I bundled up like had for the rest of the week. I will say this. If the temps in the 50s.....Don't wear so much clothing, unless theres a really stiff wind. I got warm....Almost to the point of stripping stuff off. I didn't, cuz i didn't want to have to carry it around...so I just sucked it up. If I were racing...That $4 winter cap I bought at Walmart yesterday....would have ended up missing somewhere. :) The miles were not fast, but they were very consistent ranging from 8:55 to 9:01. Nothing real spectacular to report. I got it done, and it's job of a recovery run should serve itself well. So far this week, I've already got 26.6 miles in the books. If that's any indication of where I'll be after my Sunday run, that's a good sign I'll be somerewhere around 45-47 range. That could get a bit dicey as we're expecting some rally bad weather this weekend. I just hope it's not of the thunerstorm variety, as that's going to cause me not to head out the door....uggghh....But, so goes life eh!
Until Monday AMs weekend report, Train Hard and LIVESTRONG!
Today's workout my legs were sluggish. There was no time requirement, just go on out there and turn the legs over for 5.6 miles. I was doing the big loop around the neighborhood. Today's temperature, for whatever reason was about 10 degrees warmer then the previous two days. In my morning fog of trying to wakeup....I didn't quite notice that, and I bundled up like had for the rest of the week. I will say this. If the temps in the 50s.....Don't wear so much clothing, unless theres a really stiff wind. I got warm....Almost to the point of stripping stuff off. I didn't, cuz i didn't want to have to carry it around...so I just sucked it up. If I were racing...That $4 winter cap I bought at Walmart yesterday....would have ended up missing somewhere. :) The miles were not fast, but they were very consistent ranging from 8:55 to 9:01. Nothing real spectacular to report. I got it done, and it's job of a recovery run should serve itself well. So far this week, I've already got 26.6 miles in the books. If that's any indication of where I'll be after my Sunday run, that's a good sign I'll be somerewhere around 45-47 range. That could get a bit dicey as we're expecting some rally bad weather this weekend. I just hope it's not of the thunerstorm variety, as that's going to cause me not to head out the door....uggghh....But, so goes life eh!
Until Monday AMs weekend report, Train Hard and LIVESTRONG!
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Putting Your Past Behind you
Today was the second time that I've run a midweek long run on phase two of my training plan. This is really where the fun starts in the program. From previous training cycles, the mid week run was kind of my nemesis. When I did them, I ran well and benefited greatly, but I ALWAYS had problems with gettin' my mind right, and most of the time ended up skipping it. The biggest problem was that life got in the way. Doing a longer run meant getting up earlier, because life as a small biz owner meant getting to the bank in time to make that days deposit. And what usually happened was that I wouldn't get up in time, and ended up not running at. Well, those times are behind me.....or as Timon from Lion King said...No, no no. Amateur. Sit down before you hurt yourself. It's "You got to put your past behind you." Which is EXACLTY what I'm doing. I'm doing it so fast, it's having a hard time keeping up!
Today was one of those it's going to be cold mornings. When I woke up and turnedon teh weather channel, that cold I felt inthe house, was even worse outside. It was 41 degrees, and DROPPING! So I decided i should layer up. And GOOD THING I DID.....Cuz I was really cold for most of the run. Never really got the chance to warm up much.....Not even in my hour and 21 minutes on the run. It was cold....And there seemed to be a pretty good wind on occasion out there. I decided that even though it was drak outside, I would wear my iPod and jam out to tunes. Normally I wouldn't do that, but my ears needed covering. I'm glad I did. My darned lips felt frozen! My run started out slow. I like to take it easy for about the first mile. Just get everything moving in the right direction and wake up right. My pace startedout at a 9:11 for the first mile, and from there I eventually brought it down to a very respectable 8:15 for the last mile and a half. Don' tknow if it was because i was cold and just wanted to get over with it....But in any case it felt very smooth and rhythmic, and nver once was my breathing ever labored. So, two weeks in a row, I've managed to get the 2nd most important run of the week in. The most important being that Long Run on Sunday....I think what makes it important, it really gets your running into overdrive. Right now I'm sitting on that edge of breaking 50 miles per week. I can FEEL it, and I can taste it. That will be my next short term goal. From there, I don't really want to increase my mileage a whole lot, I want to keep that 50 miles per week base going strong, and when my body tells me it's time and I'm strong enough to step it up....I'll take that next step. I think part of the reason I got sick a few weeks ago is becasue I wore myself out by getting to 40 too quickly. Right now my body is settling into 45 miles per week, and I think the perfect time to go after the big 5-OH may be during the 2 weeks I have off from work, where I can be assured to get the extra sleep, and have the extra time to really crunch out mile after mile. That's not far away, as I only have 7 more days of work after today. It will be here before I know it.
I know the progress will come, and I've seen remarkable progress so far. I'm running better then I was when I was in my early 20s.....Heck, I may even make an effort to head back to my 20 year high school reunion in July and when people ask me what I've been doing I can tell them....ahhh...not much, just qualifying to run the Boston Marathon. :) I really wish I had been more of a runner when I was in High School and college. Remember.....You've got to put your past behind ya! But don't forget those mistakes you made along the way. Learn and grow from them.
Tomorrows workout is the standard 12x400 with wamrups and cool downs. I'm going to do a longer then normal cool down. I'll have the extra time. I may even get out early and jog to the start instead of driving. :) Until tomorrow, TRAIN HARD and LIVESTRONG!
Today was one of those it's going to be cold mornings. When I woke up and turnedon teh weather channel, that cold I felt inthe house, was even worse outside. It was 41 degrees, and DROPPING! So I decided i should layer up. And GOOD THING I DID.....Cuz I was really cold for most of the run. Never really got the chance to warm up much.....Not even in my hour and 21 minutes on the run. It was cold....And there seemed to be a pretty good wind on occasion out there. I decided that even though it was drak outside, I would wear my iPod and jam out to tunes. Normally I wouldn't do that, but my ears needed covering. I'm glad I did. My darned lips felt frozen! My run started out slow. I like to take it easy for about the first mile. Just get everything moving in the right direction and wake up right. My pace startedout at a 9:11 for the first mile, and from there I eventually brought it down to a very respectable 8:15 for the last mile and a half. Don' tknow if it was because i was cold and just wanted to get over with it....But in any case it felt very smooth and rhythmic, and nver once was my breathing ever labored. So, two weeks in a row, I've managed to get the 2nd most important run of the week in. The most important being that Long Run on Sunday....I think what makes it important, it really gets your running into overdrive. Right now I'm sitting on that edge of breaking 50 miles per week. I can FEEL it, and I can taste it. That will be my next short term goal. From there, I don't really want to increase my mileage a whole lot, I want to keep that 50 miles per week base going strong, and when my body tells me it's time and I'm strong enough to step it up....I'll take that next step. I think part of the reason I got sick a few weeks ago is becasue I wore myself out by getting to 40 too quickly. Right now my body is settling into 45 miles per week, and I think the perfect time to go after the big 5-OH may be during the 2 weeks I have off from work, where I can be assured to get the extra sleep, and have the extra time to really crunch out mile after mile. That's not far away, as I only have 7 more days of work after today. It will be here before I know it.
I know the progress will come, and I've seen remarkable progress so far. I'm running better then I was when I was in my early 20s.....Heck, I may even make an effort to head back to my 20 year high school reunion in July and when people ask me what I've been doing I can tell them....ahhh...not much, just qualifying to run the Boston Marathon. :) I really wish I had been more of a runner when I was in High School and college. Remember.....You've got to put your past behind ya! But don't forget those mistakes you made along the way. Learn and grow from them.
Tomorrows workout is the standard 12x400 with wamrups and cool downs. I'm going to do a longer then normal cool down. I'll have the extra time. I may even get out early and jog to the start instead of driving. :) Until tomorrow, TRAIN HARD and LIVESTRONG!
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Nope....Not a Fluke...
So, I figured today would be the tell tale sign if Saturday's run was a fluke or not. Well, I've got my answer. Today's workout was one that we ran about a month ago and one that I blogged about. It entailed 3x2mile intervals with a 2 minute rest. And boy....2 mins didn't seem like a whole lot as compared to the time you were actively running. The last time I ran this workout, I was given a projected pace of 8:05/mile by coach Momma Michele. I don't think she realized all of the miles I had been putting in with Paul in the mornings we weren't running with the group, so it was an eye opener when I ran the workout amazingly consistent at a 7:30 pace.
Fast forward to today, I wanted to 'prove' to myself that Saturday was for real, but in my mind, I figured my pace should realistically be 7:30/mile or 15 mins per set. Well, that went out the window....but in a great way! My first set I came in at 14:30, on the nose. A picture perfect 7:15/mile! In fact, I crossed the 1 mile marker spot on at 7:15. Did I mention there was a NASTY headwind on the way out. We had some wicked front rolling through this morning, and I can say with confidence....the wind is NEVER in our face on the outward legs of this course. Today, it was. Set number two, my goal was to stay consistent with set ones times. And I did that, with a little margin....I ran the first mile of the interval in 7:18 and finished the set in total of 14:38, which means my second set was a 7:20. Still very consistant in my eyes. I don't see 8 seconds as that huge of disperity over 2 miles. That's only 4 seocnds per mile, and STILL under a 7:30 pace. Set number 3 I had to modify a bit, and only got a mile and a half in. What I did was run out to the half mile marker, turn around and run the mile back to the car. During the rest period I checked what time it was and I noticed that it was alreadcy 5:42am. There was no way I was going to make it back in time for my 6am meeting if I ran the whole set out to the 1 mile marker and back, and then jogged the half mile back to the car. This is a MUCH longer day then we usually do on a Tuesday, and my work at Honeywell entails me working globally and I have an engineer that I meet with via telecon at 6am every Tuesday. The set held AMAZINGLY strong hoever, and I kept the total pace under 7:30, and around the 7:20 mark, and that includes the slowdown of a turnaround at the 800m mark.
In all I'm very pleased with the workout. All these miles during the week are really benefitting. I think in the month, I'm going to have to drop down to a 30" waistline on my jeans. 34s are amazingly baggy, and 32s are starting to get loose. Thank goodness for belts! Nobody needs to see a massive plummer crack incident at work!
Tomorrow I'm on my own for an 1:30 minute run through the neighborhood. I shoudl be able to get between 9 and 10 miles in. Until then, have a great day, and LIVESTRONG!
Fast forward to today, I wanted to 'prove' to myself that Saturday was for real, but in my mind, I figured my pace should realistically be 7:30/mile or 15 mins per set. Well, that went out the window....but in a great way! My first set I came in at 14:30, on the nose. A picture perfect 7:15/mile! In fact, I crossed the 1 mile marker spot on at 7:15. Did I mention there was a NASTY headwind on the way out. We had some wicked front rolling through this morning, and I can say with confidence....the wind is NEVER in our face on the outward legs of this course. Today, it was. Set number two, my goal was to stay consistent with set ones times. And I did that, with a little margin....I ran the first mile of the interval in 7:18 and finished the set in total of 14:38, which means my second set was a 7:20. Still very consistant in my eyes. I don't see 8 seconds as that huge of disperity over 2 miles. That's only 4 seocnds per mile, and STILL under a 7:30 pace. Set number 3 I had to modify a bit, and only got a mile and a half in. What I did was run out to the half mile marker, turn around and run the mile back to the car. During the rest period I checked what time it was and I noticed that it was alreadcy 5:42am. There was no way I was going to make it back in time for my 6am meeting if I ran the whole set out to the 1 mile marker and back, and then jogged the half mile back to the car. This is a MUCH longer day then we usually do on a Tuesday, and my work at Honeywell entails me working globally and I have an engineer that I meet with via telecon at 6am every Tuesday. The set held AMAZINGLY strong hoever, and I kept the total pace under 7:30, and around the 7:20 mark, and that includes the slowdown of a turnaround at the 800m mark.
In all I'm very pleased with the workout. All these miles during the week are really benefitting. I think in the month, I'm going to have to drop down to a 30" waistline on my jeans. 34s are amazingly baggy, and 32s are starting to get loose. Thank goodness for belts! Nobody needs to see a massive plummer crack incident at work!
Tomorrow I'm on my own for an 1:30 minute run through the neighborhood. I shoudl be able to get between 9 and 10 miles in. Until then, have a great day, and LIVESTRONG!
Monday, December 8, 2008
Weekend FULL of Goals CRUSHED!
I'm sitting here absolutely amazed at the progress this training session has been for me. At no point would I have ever 'believed' I'd be where I am today. I knew the training plans put together by Mama Michele were amazing. We've got the results in the group to prove it. Never was that ever a doubt for me. My biggest doubt in my mind was ME. So, the fact that I've been religious about making the workouts has been one MAJOR accomplishment. A lot of that has to do with the fact that I'm not straddled with the day to day stresses of being a small business owner. I look back at where I was in my life mid August to early September time frame when we closed the store. NIGHT and DAY. Officially, I'm 34 pounds lighter. That's right. 34 freakin' pounds of FAT no longer plaguing my joints every time I put one foot down in front of the other. Every day when I wake up, I'm excited about what my run will put in front of me. I never want to miss a run, and I get angry when I do. Before, it was always....The coffee house got in the way, and there was never a consistency. That's all in the past, and and the me of NOW is FULL THROTTLE about achieving and setting new GOALS!
Which takes me to my Saturday workout. On tap that morning while most of the group was in Sacremento for the California International Marathon was a 30 minute tempo run. All along, my goal was to get to the elusive corner of Coachline and Silverbell. On that corner sits a Walgreens. My goal for the past 5 years has to be able to run our large loop and get to the Walgreens. And every single 30 minute tempo run in the past five years, I've always come up quite a bit short. My best effort to day was about 5 weeks ago when I made it 3.88 miles. To get to my goal spot, is 4.25 miles. The group was small on saturday, but there was FAST runners. I was the slowest of those that showed up, and so we wnet off in waves. I took point as the rabbit, and went out first. I set off at a pace that felt comfortable. To my utter amazement, about a half mile into it I start hearing the footsteps of a couple of the runners. It was at this point, I looked down at my watch to see what kind of slacker pace I'm running. Sheesh, even with the faster runners in the group, I usually hold out for a mile before getting caught. When I looked at my Garmin 305, imagine my amazement when I noticed that 6:57 as my current pace! WHAOH! I'm freakin flying!!! But, those guys passed me like I'm standing STILL, and the next thing I notice is their red flashy light moving off in the distance. After the workout, I find out they were running a 5:20/pace. Showoffs. :) Anyways, I go past the first mile marker in 7:02. Strangely enough, I'm still feeling GREAT! I keep going and get passed by a couple of other faster runners, about the spot I expected to get passed at. At mile two, I was at 14:04, so another 7:02 in the books. How all of a sudden did I become Mr. Consistency.....Mile 3 slowed a little bit, but came in at 7:08, and at this point is where I actually start to realize that my goal is rapidly approaching. This is kinda where things start to get sketchy....My pace was ALL OVER THE PLACE between mile 3 and 4. Mostly because I found myself getting so exicted that I would almost start hyperventilating. Somhow I managed to put all of that in check, and when I crossed my 4 I had something like 1:40 to go in the 30 minute workout. So yes, it was slower, then the previous 3, but I WAS GOING TO MAKE IT!!!! AND MAKE IT I DID!!!!! Not only did I make it, I crossed the street, and ended up towards the BACK OF THE WALGREENS BUILDING!!!! That's when I'm sure somebody in the neighborhood probably had to wonder why is there some stranger in lycra tights the middle of the street jumping up and down screaming!! Those are honestly the moments I would love to have on video. BUT.....That would entail having someone there to video it....namely my wife....and the sun was barely up....so that ain't happnin! HA!
Because I accomplished my goal, I allowed myself to sleep in an extra 35 minutes and cut my 16 miler to 12. I still did the wade loop course because the hill work is ABSULTELY necessary. But I didn't want to kill myself before travelling up to Phoenix to watch the Cardinals win their FIRST EVER NFC West Championship. By the end of the day I was totally WIPED OUT! I had nothing left in the tank. My boys and I actually got home, and all three of us pretty much went straight to bed. I had INTENDED to run this AM for a little 5 mile jog through theh neighborhood, but Mother Nature had a different plan when she decided to schedule that impromptu THUNDER STORM at 4:50 this morning. Honestly, I've never lived in a place that had more violent weather in the 40 degree early mornings. What's up with that. Oh well, I fugure I'll just do a short run when I get home so as not to completely wipe out the day. Mother Nature, if you're listnening.....I really despise treadmills, and I love enjoying the beauty of which you helped create. Please leave me dry and unstruck by lighteneing.
Your Pal.....KidStallyn. :)
And I would be remiss if I didn't give HUGE SHOUTS OUT to those who ran California International yesterday from my traingin group. The Grinders went out, KICKED ASS and took Names. Here's their results.....(EVERYONE Boston Qualified!)
Todd 2:36:08 (33rd overall, 5th age 35-39)
Steve 3:13:11 BQ
Merry 3:24:27 (942nd overall, 2nd age 50-54)
Rhonda 3:43:56 BQ
Untill tomorrow, LIVESTRONG and Train HARD!
Which takes me to my Saturday workout. On tap that morning while most of the group was in Sacremento for the California International Marathon was a 30 minute tempo run. All along, my goal was to get to the elusive corner of Coachline and Silverbell. On that corner sits a Walgreens. My goal for the past 5 years has to be able to run our large loop and get to the Walgreens. And every single 30 minute tempo run in the past five years, I've always come up quite a bit short. My best effort to day was about 5 weeks ago when I made it 3.88 miles. To get to my goal spot, is 4.25 miles. The group was small on saturday, but there was FAST runners. I was the slowest of those that showed up, and so we wnet off in waves. I took point as the rabbit, and went out first. I set off at a pace that felt comfortable. To my utter amazement, about a half mile into it I start hearing the footsteps of a couple of the runners. It was at this point, I looked down at my watch to see what kind of slacker pace I'm running. Sheesh, even with the faster runners in the group, I usually hold out for a mile before getting caught. When I looked at my Garmin 305, imagine my amazement when I noticed that 6:57 as my current pace! WHAOH! I'm freakin flying!!! But, those guys passed me like I'm standing STILL, and the next thing I notice is their red flashy light moving off in the distance. After the workout, I find out they were running a 5:20/pace. Showoffs. :) Anyways, I go past the first mile marker in 7:02. Strangely enough, I'm still feeling GREAT! I keep going and get passed by a couple of other faster runners, about the spot I expected to get passed at. At mile two, I was at 14:04, so another 7:02 in the books. How all of a sudden did I become Mr. Consistency.....Mile 3 slowed a little bit, but came in at 7:08, and at this point is where I actually start to realize that my goal is rapidly approaching. This is kinda where things start to get sketchy....My pace was ALL OVER THE PLACE between mile 3 and 4. Mostly because I found myself getting so exicted that I would almost start hyperventilating. Somhow I managed to put all of that in check, and when I crossed my 4 I had something like 1:40 to go in the 30 minute workout. So yes, it was slower, then the previous 3, but I WAS GOING TO MAKE IT!!!! AND MAKE IT I DID!!!!! Not only did I make it, I crossed the street, and ended up towards the BACK OF THE WALGREENS BUILDING!!!! That's when I'm sure somebody in the neighborhood probably had to wonder why is there some stranger in lycra tights the middle of the street jumping up and down screaming!! Those are honestly the moments I would love to have on video. BUT.....That would entail having someone there to video it....namely my wife....and the sun was barely up....so that ain't happnin! HA!
Because I accomplished my goal, I allowed myself to sleep in an extra 35 minutes and cut my 16 miler to 12. I still did the wade loop course because the hill work is ABSULTELY necessary. But I didn't want to kill myself before travelling up to Phoenix to watch the Cardinals win their FIRST EVER NFC West Championship. By the end of the day I was totally WIPED OUT! I had nothing left in the tank. My boys and I actually got home, and all three of us pretty much went straight to bed. I had INTENDED to run this AM for a little 5 mile jog through theh neighborhood, but Mother Nature had a different plan when she decided to schedule that impromptu THUNDER STORM at 4:50 this morning. Honestly, I've never lived in a place that had more violent weather in the 40 degree early mornings. What's up with that. Oh well, I fugure I'll just do a short run when I get home so as not to completely wipe out the day. Mother Nature, if you're listnening.....I really despise treadmills, and I love enjoying the beauty of which you helped create. Please leave me dry and unstruck by lighteneing.
Your Pal.....KidStallyn. :)
And I would be remiss if I didn't give HUGE SHOUTS OUT to those who ran California International yesterday from my traingin group. The Grinders went out, KICKED ASS and took Names. Here's their results.....(EVERYONE Boston Qualified!)
Todd 2:36:08 (33rd overall, 5th age 35-39)
Steve 3:13:11 BQ
Merry 3:24:27 (942nd overall, 2nd age 50-54)
Rhonda 3:43:56 BQ
Untill tomorrow, LIVESTRONG and Train HARD!
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