Carl's Running Blog

Time Flies

2006-11-01T17:33:00.000-08:00

Wow!! Here it is November, and I haven't posted since the end of September. First, I ran a metric marathon (26.2 Kilometers), which is pretty close to 16.3 miles, on October 1st over by Annapolis, MD. Interestingly, almost all of the runners appear to be fairly fast and competitive. Of course, most people who attempt to tackle a 16.3 miler are probably regular and somewhat serious runners. I finished!!! I completed the course in 3 hours, 22 minutes, and 10 seconds. My pace was 12:29 per mile. I felt like it was all I could do to finish. Once again, my standings were very low, I was 158th out of 166 runners and last in my age group. When I left, I drove straight to Target and bought some Glad Ziploc bags and filled them with ice and iced down my left Achilles heel and my right knee. The good news was that I finished (this was the longest run I had completed - post 40), the bad news, I was finished running for a period of time.

I did not run for 13 days and went to the chiropractor several times during that period to have electroshock treatment for the knee and tendon. I skipped a 20 miler that I had scheduled for 10/7 because I didn't want to injure myself any further.

On 10/14 I ran in the Baltimore Half-Marathon. Wow, what a hilly course. The really good news, my tendon and knee generally cooperated with me!!! While I didn't feel 100%, I felt better than I had in quite a while!!!!!! I finished the hilly course in 2:32:44 - not bad for me. The support was generally good, but once again, the porta-potties were few on the front end!!
They had massage therapists at the end - very, very nice!!!! I will have to get a full body massage sometime soon. For it being a free massage, they were generous with their time - the girl who massaged my legs and back spent approximately 25 minutes on me (I gave her a nice tip). The great news from this run - no injuries and generally good feeling (except my back ached pretty severely at the end).

On Monday, 10/16, I ran 3 miles and couldn't believe how good I felt. My tendon was pain free, my knee was pain free, and I was able to run with much more exertion than any time during the previous six months that I had been running. I felt that this was a turning point in my running/marathon training!!

I repeated my good fortune 3 more times that week and the following Sunday, I ran 18 miles into Vienna, Virginia (Denise picked me up) and once again, I couldn't believe that I was injury free. My pace was approximately 12:00 per mile - more concerned with finishing that running fast. I ran three more times that week 3-4 miles per time, focusing more on speed than I have yet. Although I ran hard, it felt very good.

Due to a hectic weekend (preparing for a Halloween party for the girl's and their friends) I was unable to put in a long run. On Tuesday, I hit another milestone, I ran approximately 7 miles at a 10 minute pace, which for me is very good!! I feel like I am on the verge of being able to start dropping somewhat significant times from my runs. Yesterday, I ran 4 miles and didn't pace myself well enough to sustain a good pace throughout the entire run, but I did finish the first mile in 9:20 - yeah!!!! Today, I ran 3 easy miles.

67 days out from Disney World (9 weeks and 4 days). I have a little over six weeks of training before I need to start my taper at the end.

Oh, I had my body fat checked on 10/25 - 19.1% I believe I have lost around 10% from May (I believe it was 24.5 in August after much effort before than). So, I probably lost around 20 lbs of fat, and replaced it with 20 lbs of muscle. Not bad. Just need to lose another 5, 10, or maybe 15 lbs around the mid-section. Nowhere near as much as I did in May, but definitely still a little ways away from a well toned mid-section. I think a 15-16% body fat would be a healthy goal.

"He that can have patience can have what he will." Benjamin Franklin

One Week Later

2006-09-29T19:22:00.000-07:00

I thought I had updated the blog on Sunday when I finished my second half-marathon. I guess I didn't.

Well, I ran 13.1 miles on 9/23 in Rockville, MD. I was trying to achieve a time of about 2 hours 21 minutes, but ended up with a time of 2.38:47. I blame the slower results on the hills of the course. That, and the fact that I started out faster than I should have, averaging around 9:40 miles, only to have that slow to an average pace of 12:07 per mile. Not good pacing.

The really bad news was that I feel that I strained my Achilles tendon during the last two miles (not really bad, but bad enough).

The race was pretty well run except for a few things that they could have done better such as more porta-johns [there were 100 people in line when the starting gun sounded], enough food for the people who finished in the back half [ran out of pizza], no finishers premium and no bag of goodies at the end despite significant promotion of these on their web site. One thing that they did well was having the course very well marked and staffed with plenty of volunteers.

Since my tendon has been somewhat sore, I have put off additional running until today and then I ran five easy miles. I may run tomorrow. Sunday a.m. I am supposed to run a metric marathon. I could use a long distance run like that, but don't want to strain my tendon anymore. Maybe if I run slowly? Next week I'm supposed to run a 20 miler and the following week another half marathon.

If the 16.2 doesn't kill me, I'm afraid that the 20 miler will.

Well, today is 100 days out from the Disney Marathon!!!!

Will I be ready? Will I hurt myself?

I hope everything comes together!!

"Success is the maximum utilization of the ability that you have." Zig Ziglar

5 More

2006-09-22T19:21:00.000-07:00

I ran this evening, which isn't all that impressive when you consider that I did not run for three days in a row. However, I ran 5 miles and I ran 24 minutes at a "hard" tempo. At least it was harder for me. I ran for about 20 minutes before I started the tempo portion of the run - and the good news is, I ran 2 miles at a 9:40 pace, which is pretty good for me at this point. I don't know that I could run 1oK at that pace, but it was nice to be able to get it down that low (again, everything is relative).

I guess my longish (6 month) goal is to be able to run sustained distances (6-13 miles) at an 8 minute pace. I should be able to work my way towards that.

"No! Try not. Do. Or do not. There is no try." Yoda, Star Wars Episode IV

Last Again!!!

2006-09-21T18:33:00.000-07:00

I just got the results from the Harrisburg half marathon - My official time was 2.27:29 (2 hours 27 minutes and 29 seconds). Since I had been running for 3 1/2 months at that point, I thought my time would be decent - not top tier, but on the low end of respectable. And maybe it was. But as I review the official results, I see that I came in 46th out of 46 male runners age 40-44. I guess my consolation is that most people do not attempt a 13 mile run without being in decent shape. I can see squeaking by on a 10K, but you really don't decide that you are going to run a 13 mile run without some sort of trainup. My other rationalization is that a significant portion of the course was on concrete and I really do not like running on concrete. But alas, the real truth is that I am not a fast runner at this point. I'm not sure that I want to work on my running to the point of competing in the runs (races), but I would like to be in the top 50% for my age group. The funny thing is, I'm proud of my time and my accomplishment in getting to this point.

I have done a handul of training runs in the past week and a half (3 four miles, a 5 miler, and a 7 miler). Need to be more consistent. I could not do ANYTHING today - allergies have really got me down!!!!

Maybe tomorrow. Sunday, I have a half marathon I am supposed to run in. What concerns me is that the following Sunday I have a 16.2 mile run and the Saturday after that I am supposed to run a 20 miler. Well, we will take it as it comes.

Right now I feel lousy and will go to be shortly.

Update - 15 weeks and 3 days to the Disney Marathon!!!!
Need to put in some miles!!!!!
Don't feel like it!!!!
Gotta do it anyway!!!!!!!

"Look at frustration as a positive thing. Is is the frustration that drives you to improve." John Lyons

Half Marathon Success

2006-09-10T17:33:00.000-07:00

Looking back over the past three weeks (since I strained my Achilles Tendon), I really haven't put in much running besides my long runs. I've logged 59 miles in 22 days and 31 of those miles were my long runs!!!

On the plus side, my tendon seems to be doing O.K. Not great, just O.K. I felt it today, not really painful, but it feels like I could strain it in a heartbeat.

Since I haven't logged in at all during the last 10 days, here's my update.

Last weekend I ran 8 miles - my schedule called for 12, but I felt like I needed to rest up a little for the following weekend (1/2 marathon). I ran 3 miles Wednesday and Thursday. I also ran 4 miles yesterday.

Today, I got up at 4:30 a.m. and drove 103 miles to Harrisburg, PA for a half-marathon. And guess what, I made it!!!! I averaged about 11:18 per mile - which would put me around a 5 hour marathon at that pace (of course I will probably slow down as I run - I did today, and I hope that training will make me stronger and faster before January).

A couple of thoughts from today -

I really don't like running on concrete (about 1/3 of the course was on concrete)
Five porta-potties for 700+ runners doesn't cut it
There is no excuse for only have enough Gatorade for the first 75% of the finishers - late finishers get water
Speaking of Gatorade - 13.1 miles and all they had was water - what's up with that?

I felt like I could have run a little faster, but I didn't want to strain my tendons.

17 Weeks to go to Walt Disney World (119 Days)

"We must all suffer one of two things: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret or disappointment."Jim Rohn

Fast 4

2006-08-31T20:34:00.000-07:00

I haven't really been posting great numbers for the week. I took Monday off, jogged two miles on Tuesday, took Wednesday off, and finally ran 4 miles tonight. And oh, tomorrow will be a rest day since we are expecting six inches of rain [thanks to Ernesto]. I justify my slothfulness by claiming my body needs to recover from my ten mile long run on Sunday - and to be honest, I think it does. I have some somewhat strong muscle soreness in my hamstrings - I heard it takes two weeks for the body to adjust to the long runs and be able to properly adapt.

Two important things to report on tonight
1) I ran four miles at a decent speed with no real tenderness in my achilles tendon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I may be on the way to full recovery!!!!
2) I ran the first mile of my four miles at a 9:20 pace and I kept a fast pace throughout the run (fast being a relative term) - I believe I averaged around 9:40 per mile for the four miles. Interestingly, I was much less winded tonight than other nights. Part of the answer may be more rest days and the fact that it was considerably cooler this evening than it has been in a long time. Anyway, I feel very good about tonight's run. I am trying to decide if I try to run the 14 miles on the training calendar this weekend or step back down to 7-8 miles to let my body recover from the 10 miler. We will see how I feel in two days.

129 days to the Disney Marathon

"The five S's of sports training are: stamina, speed, strength, skill, and spirit; but the greatest of these is spirit." Ken Doherty

10 Mile "Race"

2006-08-27T19:05:00.000-07:00

I signed up for a 10 mile race today (actually, I signed up a couple of weeks ago). I signed up before I hurt my achilles tendon. I had to get up about 4:20 a.m. in order to get to the race in time (it was down in Fredericksburg). Denise asked me why I am signing up for these races - actually it's quite simple.

I am far more likely to complete my long training runs at this point in my training, if I felt like I was quitting if I stopped.
"They" provide a fresh route that isn't boring.
Hydration breaks are provided.
Cheerleading.

The really, really big news is that I finished the 10 mile run. I was very concerned since I have had trouble finishing my longer runs and my achilles tendon has been hurting. I taped it up before the start of the run, but the tape didn't hold up as well as it could have if I had done it a little better (felt rushed at the end). I thought for sure I would have to quit because of tendon pain, and I felt a little pain at times, but really a minimal amount and I really thought it would get worse and worse. I think running at a shorter stride (because of the tape) actually made the run much harder than it should have been. I finished 30th out of 31 male runners age 40-44. A very interesting statistic, there were 27 male runners age 45-49 and they all ran faster that 1:38 (which is pretty good), but 10 of the 31 male runners age 40-44 finished slower than the slowest runner of the 45-49 age group. I would be willing to bet that most of the runners age 45-49 have been running more consistently over a longer period of time than the average 40-44 year old runner.

My time was 2.01:52 (actually about 18 seconds faster since they didn't use chip time). I feel confident that my uninjured time would be significantly faster (o.k. - significant to me).

19 Weeks from today to Disney World.

"Three failures denote uncommon strength. A weakling has not enough grit to fail thrice." Minna Thomas Antrim

Four More

2006-08-25T20:09:00.000-07:00

Well, I ran 4 miles tonight, actually, when I was in the 82d Airborne Division, we would call a "run" that was as slow as the pace I ran the Airborne Shuffle. It was about an 11 minute mile pace. It is hard to go much faster when your leg is taped up to protect the tendon. One interesting thing, I used CVS athletic tape earlier this week and Johnson & Johnson tape this evening. The J&J was much easier to work with and not as apt to stick to my leg hair, however, the CVS was less apt to slide from the original position and more likely to retain its function.

Last night, I wore a night splint. It is a foot immobilizer, I think the concept is to keep the muscle from contracting. I don't know if it helped or not - we will see. I plan on using it for a couple of weeks.

19 weeks and 2 days to Disney World.

"Physiologists and high-performance trainers understand now that the concept of 110 percent is no longer a smart way to train. Fitness is like the blade of a knife; you want to sharpen it without ruining the blade. Give 110 percent, and you won't build your body up, but actually break it down. And be no good to yourself or anyone else." Sally Jenkins

Easy 3

2006-08-24T19:25:00.000-07:00

Took the family to Dave & Busters during the day - played games and walked around the mall. Everyone had fun.

When we got home, it was already dark. Went for a 3 mile run (actually, it was a slow jog). But, before I could run, I needed to tape my foot. Taping it seems to take about 12 minutes. I am very surprised and pleased that the taping seems to be working so well. My tendinitis doesn't appear to be getting worse. I can't run as fast as I normally do (and you thought if I went any slower I would be going in reverse). I am going to try a night splint tonight and see if that helps keep my muscle properly stretched and keeps in from contracting during the night. It is supposed to be good for tendinitis. We'll see.

It looks like this will be a week with very low mileage and no fast runs. Well, hopefully I can consistently run and add mileage as I go.

Right now, the Disney Marathon is 19 weeks and 3 days. [It's getting here!!]

"The more I train, the more I realize I have more speed in me." Leroy Burrell

Hallelujah

2006-08-23T18:33:00.000-07:00

Well, I guess I knew it was going to come to this. Injured - three weeks into my Disney Marathon training program.

I took Sunday off [my rest day] and Monday I felt a little bit of pain in my left Achilles tendon and yes, you guessed it, one mile into my run, I started to feel pain. I immediately stopped and walked home, but the next day, I was sore. I had the chiropractor try some electric stimulation - not a lot of relief. Wednesday, still painful, but - I taped my ankle in accordance with a set of instructions on the internet - and I was able to jog without pain [and without hurting the tendon]. Yeah!!!!!!!

So, so far this week (four days into it) I have gone 5 miles!!!!!!
But the good news is, I can keep training!!!!!!

Also, I had my body fat percentage measured yesterday - 24%. That's about where I thought it would be. Not really fit, but not poor either. I know it had to have been several percent higher four months ago!!!!

137 Days to the Disney Marathon.

"Continuous effort -- not strength or intelligence -- is the key to unlocking our potential." Liane Cardes

Hills

2006-08-19T15:32:00.000-07:00

Today was to be my 12 mile day. I prepared well - ate carbs yesterday, filled up my running belt with Gatorade, and mapped out a route that left no room for cheating - out to Leesburg on one road, and back on the bike trail with one mile at the end to walk (course was 13 miles long). I even rode out to the point where the bike trail met the road to verify the intersection.

What I failed to notice though, was that the road between miles 1.7 and 6 was either straight up or straight down (at least it seemed that way to me). I do think that one section was at least one mile with a continuous up grade.

By the time I reached mile 6, I was pretty worn out. I alternated running and walking after that, with a fair amount of walking. I'm putting 9 miles on my log - probably about right. Definitely a real workout.

I signed up for a number of upcoming long races, with the idea that I might as well do my long runs at a location that someone else has mapped out and is not the same old trails/roads that I keep running.

Next week is 10 miles in Hartford, VA. I hope I can pull it off.

Mileage this week 27 miles
Mileage after 4 weeks of training 109 miles
Weight (as of 8/18/2006) 208.2 lbs

141 days to the Disney Marathon.
20 Weeks left to train!!!

"There will come a point in the race, when you alone will need to decide. You will need to make a choice. Do you really want it? You will need to decide." Rolf Arands

100 Miles

2006-08-17T19:02:00.000-07:00

I ran 4 miles today (Fartlek of 2-3-3-3-2) bringing my Marathon training total to 100 miles (26 days into the training). Tendon on my left leg started bothering me a little at the end (right as I was finishing). I took yesterday as a rest day, may cross train tomorrow (trying to listen to my body).

I've been thinking a bit about my finish at the last 10K. I am extremely pleased that I finished with a 1:14 seconds per mile pace improvement over 6 weeks earlier. I am very frustrated to have finished in the bottom 10% of all runners in my age group. I don't expect to be first, but I don't want to be at the back of the pack either. This will help me focus on my training.

Mileage today: 4 miles
Mileage to date: 100 miles
143 days to the Disney Marathon (or 20 weeks and 3 days)

"The greatest stimulator of my running career was fear."Herb Elliott

First Tempo Run

2006-08-15T18:53:00.000-07:00

Wasn't sure if I wanted to run today (this evening). My tendon has hurt slightly for the past 36 hours, and I understand that you are not to "run through" a painful tendon. However, given that the pain was slight, I decided to give it a go. I really have had pretty good runs for the past week, and I did not want to take a break, even though I haven't had a rest day for 9 days. I guess I feel if I run easy one day, that should count a little bit towards a rest day.

O.K., I know I am rationalizing. I know I should take a day to rest. Barring get hurt before then, I might take off this Sunday (my scheduled day of rest).

Good news, I came in 3 seconds faster than I thought on the 10K (champion chip time) - 63:39 and my official pace was 10:15 per mile. That was one second per mile faster than I had thought. Remember what Poor Richard's Almanac said, a second shaved is a second earned.

I also came in 292nd out of 324 runners and was 41st out of 44 male runners in my age group (40-44). Oh well, it could be worse. It also could be better (at least there is room for improvement).

20 Weeks and 4 days to the Disney Marathon!!

"The most important thing about goals is having one." Geoffry F. Abert

WV State Fair

2006-08-14T19:30:00.000-07:00

Went down to the WV state fair in Lewisburg (Fairlea), West Virginia. Drove down Sunday afternoon, went to the fair during the afternoon/evening and spent the majority of the day there today. I drove back this evening. I did manage to take a 4 mile jog this morning. Definitely a more hilly terrain than home - I feel it in the tendons on the back of my right foot. Hopefully it's no strained!!!

146 days to Disney World!!

"Set your goals high, and don't stop till you get there." Bo Jackson

10K Run

2006-08-13T07:12:00.000-07:00

Well, good day for a 10K run. Morning was comfortable and cool. I got to the start line about two minutes prior to the race initiation, but somehow instead of getting in the back of the pack, I was pretty close to the front (guess I entered on the wrong side). This was not where I wanted to be. I really did not want to be "pushed" along by all of the fast runners. I wanted to start slow and finish strong, this is a training run after all, not a race.

Anyway, once the race started, I pretty much stayed with the pack as best as I could (but people were passing me left and right). Sure enough, by the time I reached the one mile point, I knew I was running faster than I planned: 9:49. Unfortunately, the course turned onto the relatively narrow W&OD trail and I was very conscious of slowing down and forcing people to go around me, so I had to keep a slightly faster pace than I really wanted to. The course is set up for an out and back run for the final five miles or so. It's a little disheartening when you are on mile 2.5 and you see the leader passing you the other way at his 4.5 mile going fast and furious. It was even more disheartening when a middle school student passed me on the home stretch shortly thereafter. Oh well, I'm running against myself, right?

Interestingly, even though I kept a fairly constant pace throughout the run, I don't think I passed a single person (at least not one who wasn't hurt). It really doesn't count passing people who are injured. About mile marker #5 I passed one young man who looked hurt on the side of the road - I thought, yea, I passed someone. Shortly thereafter, he passed me at a fairly fast gait, only to be on the side of the road a little bit further ahead. I encouraged him to jog out the finish, no sense sprinting. He took me up on my offer and stayed with me all the way to the end. It was much more satisfying encouraging this young man to finish then it was to pass him. And guess what, he pushed it out during the last 1/5 mile, which forced me to as well. And that's part of the reason I finished about 1 minute faster than I should have and set my Post 40 PR of 63:42 (YEAH!!!). Thanks Sam!

21 Weeks from today to the Disney Marathon!!!!

"I learned that if you want to make it bad enough, no matter how bad it is, you can make it." Gale Sayers

3 Weeks Down - 21 to Go

2006-08-12T19:22:00.000-07:00

OK, somewhat big disappointment this morning. I was attempting to run 9 miles - my training schedule called for 8-9 miles, but all I could squeak out was 7. I'm thinking because I ran 4 miles last evening, that running my long run in the morning after might have affected my stamina. Well, that's what I'm blaming it on.

Tomorrow, I am running a 10K run in Leesburg. Sunday is normally my rest day. Not really looking to run it as fast as I can. Really looking to a) finish it as a training run b) moderately improve my time from my last 10K - possibly mid 10 minute mile pace??

Anyway, time will tell. (no pun intended)

Well, 3 weeks down for my training, 21 to go (although I'm really mentally thinking 18 since there is a 3 week taper at the end).

Mileage this week - 26 miles
Goal mileage week - 25-30 miles
148 days to the Disney Marathon!!!!!
Weight 211.5 lbs (still higher than I want it - but not focusing on that at this point)

"If you train hard, you'll not only be hard, you'll be hard to beat." Herschel Walker

Fartlek for Fun - Right

2006-08-10T18:55:00.000-07:00

Tonights training run was a 2-3-3-3-2 Fartlek. It seemed like each time it came to running the fast part of the Fartlek, it was time to go up a hill. I found the entire affair pretty exhausting, but I persevered and ended up with a 6 mile run. Yeah!!! I need to be putting in more 5 and 6 mile runs during the week - need to get the mileage up.

Today is a milestone - 150 days out from the Disney Marathon!!! I can hardly believe it - seems like only yesterday it was 168 days and I was starting my training.

"The will to win is important, but the will to prepare is vital." Joe Paterno

Road Trip Update

2006-08-09T18:44:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been almost a week since my last post, but alas, I have not been neglectful, I've simply been on a road trip with my family. Friday we drove up to the Poconos and spent a day and a half and a 1950's era motor inn. I ran 3 miles Friday evening and got up and ran (slowly) 8 miles Saturday morning.

So, here were the stats as of Saturday, August 5, 2006
155 days out from the Disney Marathon
22 weeks and 1 day
mileage this week - 25 miles [last day of running]
mileage during 24 week train-up (14 days into it) 56 miles

Sunday, we drove from the Poconos to Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Stayed at the Sheraton (at the airport). Very nice. Got a good deal on Hotwire.com - paid $57 for a 4 star room (although they forgot to include the $20 daily parking fee). All in all, a very good room at a decent price. No running Sunday - day of rest.

Monday, wanted to go running, but there really wasn't any good place to run near the airport, so I did some running on the treadmill (I really do not like running on the treadmill!!!!). Lasted for about one mile. Figured a day of rest would not hurt. Did a light workout on the weights. Went into Toronto - decided to show the kids the Toronto islands. Went to board the ferry to the islands and it was packed!!! Took about 45 minutes to get on the ferry. Finally realized it was a holiday and the locals were putting on a Carabana festival (Caribbean (Jamaican) party). Lots of people, probably the busiest day of the year for the islands!! Oh well. Walked around the island, got some really bad food at the Carousel restaurant. The girls wanted to go on a ride, so I waited 30 minutes to be able to buy tickets for them to ride on a fun boat ride. It was basically a round float type boat that was powered with a lawn motor engine and could be steered with a handle bar style steering wheel. Pretty cool. When we got off the island, we decided to show the girls the neat underground mall they have in the center of Toronto, so we walked the mile and one half to the mall. We arrived at 5:51, only to find that the mall closed at 6 p.m.. I walked (too hot and tired to run) back 40 minutes to the car and picked up Denise and the girls. From there we loaded up to drive to Niagara Falls, Canada. We checked into our next Hotwire deal, a 2 star hotel for $57. It turned out to be Days Inn on Lundry Lane. As good as the Sheraton was, the Days Inn was bad. The beds were smelly and uncomfortable. The clientele was colorful to say the least. The carpet was threadbare. Basically, I don't think the rooms have been updated in at least a decade.

We were able to see the falls at night. We saw the lights on the falls and caught the fireworks show at 10 p.m.. Pretty neat. I'm not sure how I feel about the lights and the fireworks. On the one hand, you could take it as us humans saying, here is something really special and we are going to accent it with some special shows. On the other hand, does one of nature's (God's) most special creations really need our help to make it special?

On Tuesday, after a really bad night of sleep (if you want to call it that), I was able to get in a 5 mile run (with some 100 meter strides). Ran 1 mile loops around the local outlet stores - not that much of a fan of running loops, but didn't know of a better alternative. After I was done, I realized there was a really nice running trail on the other side of the hotel!!! Oops. At least I got a good run in. We went to the falls and rode on the Maid of the Mist. Very impressive, but they put too many people on the boats (very difficult for the kids to get a good look). We also took the tour behind the falls (Journey Behind the Falls). The tour was very nice, although the headsets were not available (they were supposed to give you an audio tour).

My original plan was to drive back from Niagara Falls to Virginia in the afternoon and arrive late evening, maybe 11 or 12. We didn't leave until almost 5 p.m., so we had to split the trip into two days. We finally arrive home at 3 p.m. today!!!! Yeah - almost 1200 miles of driving over 5 days (mostly 3 days of driving). This evening I ran 3 miles (measured course) in 30'30" (10'10" pace). Not bad for me!!! So here are the stats as of today:

151 days out from the Disney Marathon
21 weeks and 4 days
mileage today - 3 miles
mileage this week - - 9 miles [3 days of running]
mileage during 24 week train-up (18 days into it) 65 miles

"The world cares very little about what a man or woman knows; it is what the man or woman is able to do that counts." Booker T. Washington

2006-08-03T07:08:00.000-07:00

Hot, Hot, Hot

Posting info on the run from yesterday. I decided to wait until very late to run. I started at 11:30 p.m. and went for an easy 3 mile jog. Since I waited so late the heat index was only 98 degrees (actual temp was 87).

158 days out from the Disney Marathon
22 weeks and 4 days
mileage today - 3 miles
mileage this week - 9 miles [3 days of running]
mileage during 24 week train-up (10 days into it) 40 miles
weight - 210 lbs
speed - little
endurance - little
commitment - medium-medium/high (7.5 - 9)

"I've never known a man worth his salt who in the long run, deep down in his heart, didn't appreciate the grind, the discipline. There is something good in men that really yearns for discipline." Vince Lombardi

2006-08-02T11:41:00.000-07:00

Wednesday afternoon update (for Monday and Tuesday)

Well, Monday was scheduled for a 3-4 mile run. Wanted to run 4-5, but the heat was killing me. Ended up running 3 miles. Yesterday was to be a 4-5 mile run with 4X100 Meter strides. Ended up being a little shy of 3 miles. Ran at 11 p.m. because is was soooo hot!!!! We broke 100 degrees yesterday, and will do it again today. Right now (almost 3 p.m.), the temperature is 98 and the heat index makes it feel like 108 (but don't forget to take the wind chill into account). I will probably end up running very late tonight.

Will fill in stats after tonight's run.

This weather makes me wonder about which phrase to use:

Its hotter than ________

Its hotter than Hades.
Its hotter than the 4th of July.
Its hotter than a match tip.
Its hotter than Potter (my personal favorite).

I can think of a few others that shouldn't be published on a public website.

Anyway - back to the grind.

2006-07-30T10:03:00.000-07:00

Day of Rest

Today is Sunday, my rest day. Rode the bike 7 miles this morning (measured my course from last night - mapped out course was dead on accurate with bike trip meter).

Taking the girls to see Hilary Duff in concert in Harrisburg, PA this evening. They are very excited.

Well, 161 days to go. 22 weeks and 6 days to the Disney Marathon.

"Just go out there and do what you've got to do." Martina Navratilova

2006-07-29T20:12:00.000-07:00

Long Run Day

Really didn't want to run this evening (almost all of my runs have been in the evening). I was a little gun shy for a long run since I tried to run around 6 miles on Wednesday and I bonked around 3 miles. Just ran out of gas. Don't know if I just hadn't eaten enough or if it was the leg workout from the gym earlier in the day, but I ended up walking 3 miles home. Not great for the mental part of this endeavor.

So fast forward to today. Plan calls for 6-7 miles. I mapped out a route that is just a little over 7 miles but in the back of my mind, I noticed that the route has spots at miles 3, 4, and 5 that allow for a detour back to the house without completing the full run. Well, I've gotta tell you, I was tempted at each one. But I felt that I had to get this run in if I'm going to be able to progress towards completing the really long runs and ultimately the marathon. Next Saturday is supposed to be 7-8 miles and in 5 weeks the distance is to be 14 miles and then it progresses pretty quickly up to 20 miles!!

Saw Disney's movie Cars today. Cute movie, the kids enjoyed it. Lots of humor over their head. Entertaining for child and adult alike. Not quite as good as some of the other Pixar movies, but enjoyable.

Oh, Week 1 is OVER!! ONLY 23 Weeks to go!!! 162 days to the Disney Marathon!!!

mileage today - 7 miles
mileage this week - 31 miles [end of week]
mileage during 24 week train-up (7 days into it) 31 miles

"I've failed over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed." Michael Jordan

2006-07-28T18:55:00.000-07:00

Well, yesterday was my first speed session since I started running (short bit of Fartleks). Seemed to make things a little bit easier today - probably mental. I noticed when I ran the 10K and was able to maintain a 10 minute pace during the first several miles, that I was able to run a little bit faster after the race than before it.

Today, I ran approximately 4 miles (44 minutes). I say approximately, I measure my distances on a really neat program - www.gmap-pedometer.com. You can plot your course using a map and/or a satellite image and the distance is calculated. You can save and print your courses. Pretty cool.

Tomorrow is supposed to be my distance day - 6-7 miles. We had spaghetti for dinner tonight. Hopefully, that will help fuel my run.

163 days out from the Disney Marathon
23 weeks and 2 days
mileage today 4 miles [lifted weights]
mileage this week to date 24 miles
mileage during 24 week train-up (6 days into it) 24 miles

"Competing in sports has taught me that if I'm not willing to give 120 percent, somebody else will." Ron Blomberg

First Post

2006-07-27T14:06:00.000-07:00

Well, here’s my first blog posting. My name is Carl, I turned forty in April and decided that being overweight and out of shape was not how I wanted to spend the second half of my life. After a business trip/vacation to Las Vegas with my wife, I weighed myself and was shocked at the scale reading 208 lbs (quite a bit higher than the 198 of the previous summer which I thought was high) and it was not muscle weight!! (My height is 6' 1" - I may not be overweight, I might just be undertall)

Denise, my wife, had been urging me to get a gym membership for the family. Now that I had turned forty and was heavier than I had ever been in my life, I needed very little convincing. I joined the gym on May 2nd. Somewhere during the first month, I decided I would need to have a program to follow, if I was going to make headway in re-shaping my body. I started following a weight training program called HIT (High Intensity Training). I will finish my 11th week of training on the HIT program tomorrow. I have seen significant (to me anyway) improvement in strength and toning during that time period (nothing impressive by anyone else's standards I'm sure).

I also decided in May that if I really wanted to lose the love handles, I was going to have to exercise aerobically on a regular basis. That meant running, biking, and swimming [triathalon ?]. Most likely running anyway. Knowing myself, the only way I would stay on a training regimen would be to train for something. I saw a very interesting half Ironman (1 mile run, 56 mile bike ride, and 13.1 mile run) event in September and thought seriously about training for it, but as the time came closer, I realized that it would be too much too fast. I did sign up for a 10K run at the beginning of July and surprisingly I finished (73:30). Not bad for not having been running for years and years.

Well, I decided on Sunday (July 23rd) that I would need a new goal to keep my progress going, and I set a goal of completing a marathon (I have never run a marathon). Now, I did not want to run a marathon that was too soon (i.e. I would not be able to complete it or would hurt myself training for it) nor did I want one so far off as to make training for it seem to distant to be taken seriously. The only marathon that appealed to me given these constraints was the Disney Marathon in January. 24 weeks out – fairly attainable, although still stretching it when you consider that most training regimens expect you to have six months or a year of consistent running under your belt - BEFORE you start training for a marathon. Well, I have two months of training (and years of training when I was in the military a decade and a half ago). I will simply persevere as best as I can.

Also, the main purpose of this blog is to put myself on public notice that I will complete a marathon - specifically the Disney Marathon in January 2007. (It's hard to back down from a public pronouncement)

So, here it is Thursday, and my training for the week so far is:

Sunday 5 Miles (slow pace)
Monday 5 Miles (slow pace) [lift weights]
Tuesday 4 Miles (slow pace)
Wednesday 3 Miles (slow pace) [lift weights]
Thursday 3 Miles (Fartlek 1-2-3-2-1)

Sunday was exactly 24 weeks from the Disney Marathon date. I am attempting to follow a marathon training program (with minor modifications) that was published in the August 2006 issue of Runner's World magazine. The regimen is for a non-runner to train to be able to complete a marathon after only 16 weeks of training. I figure I will have around 33 weeks of training by the time of the event - hopefully that will be enough. My plan is to follow the program for the first 13 weeks and then add 8 additional training weeks at high intensity before the 3 week taper at the end. Not looking to set any records - I am looking to finish.

Stats
23+ weeks to race day (164 days out)
mileage so far (5 days of training) 20 miles
weight - 210 lbs (less fat, more muscle than it was - % BF unknown)

"If you aren't going all the way, why go at all"? Joe Namath