Random Inspirational Quote

2 mi. jog with the dog

Well - my left leg felt shaky in the easy 2 mi. jog the night before and it showed in the later miles today.  35 deg., overcast, and a little drizzle here and there - almost perfect weather.  I tried the no warmup miles approach this time - just some dynamic stretching and moving around, but no jogging or strides.  I noticed that I was a little tight for the first 2 miles, but nothing worth writing off this strategy (especially when a little injured). 

I felt very comfortable at 6:35 pace for about 15 miles, and then the left leg really started tightening up.  It started with the hammy and eventually worked its way down and became extremely painful in my calf as well - this progressively got worse from about 15 miles on. 

Splits really tell the story:

6:17, 6:29, 6:21, 6:33, 6:34, 6:34, 6:34, 6:35, 6:40, 6:35, 6:34, 6:35, 6:36, 6:32, 6:29, 6:37

6:51, 6:49, 6:50, 6:46, 6:50,

7:00, 7:09, 7:22, 7:15, 7:41, 7:54, 0.44 - 3:45

Yep - I somehow pick up alot of extra distance in marathons - my "tangent running" must be terrible :)  I was quickly slowing in the last 2 miles.  But, I'm happy that it afforded me the chance to witness something that inspired me, and remind me of one of the many reasons running is so fulfilling:

As I slowly approached the finish line shuffling with every step with a grimace on my face, about 0.2 from the finish I hear this guy yelling crazily behind me, "Come on <random girls' name>!  Come on <random girls' name>!  I need a sprint out of you!!  SPRINT <random girls' name>!!!"  So this girl shuffles past me with the same pained stride (only considerably faster)  and I here her labored grunts... so she finishes a couple hundred yards before me - very close to the 3 hr. mark.  I see them later in line at the results tent and ask her if she got it - she gets her print off and turns around crying and hugs the guy that was yelling at her - she had broken 3 hrs :)

I love running :)

easy 1 mile jog, another mile of walking also.  Lot of icing on my wonderful days off from work :)

easy 2 mile jog - legs are returning to life... slowly.  Still lots of icing and Advil

16 miles - moderate effort on bike - over to chipotle and back.  Just under an hour ride.  It was quite an adventure with the rush hour traffic leaving Cummins :)

PM Easy 4 miles - 31:45.  Cruise to the Bahamas next week! 

All day traveling today. 

2 miles easy on the treadmill in Orlando, FL at 10pm - tired and stiff... 17:08

easy 5.2 mi. - AM run around resort area in Orlando - we stayed about 2 miles from Seaworld and Disney World stuff.  Getting on the cruise ship this afternoon.

AM run on the cruise ship treadmill - 5 mi. - 39:30.  Diet this week will be awful :)

4 mi. - laps around cruise ship upper deck "jogging"track w/ 8x pickups,

3 mi. on treadmill w/ 3 x 0.25 mi. pickups

cruise ship treadmill.  4.5 mi. buildup to 12 mph.  I have put on at least 10 pounds this week :)

off- traveling all day - Orlando to Atlanta to Lexington, KY.  exhausted - now i need a vacation to recover from the vacation.

PM easy 3.4 mi. buildup around the neighborhood loop in Indiana - 25:08

attempting another CR Series 5k tomorrow - should be bad :) 

Wow - good thing there weren't too many people running this race.  Me and another CR Series regular ran out in front the whole way.  I probably could've pushed and ran a little faster, but was feeling the effects of the 10 pounds I gained in both knees.  Course had a portion in a deep fine grained gravel that may have slowed me down a bit, but really, I am just in bad shape, now :)

19:07, 2nd.  Okay - turkey trot 8k on Thanksgiving next and 2 more CR Series races.

off - I'm feeling awful

PM Run around Grandview Lake with a couple of the CR Series guys.  Tom and Jeff.  Left from Tom's house at about 5:30 and ran about 45minutes in the dark.  Tom and Jeff both had headlamps, fortunately - not too many streetlights out there.  Good run on a hilly course.  1:07:24 for 9.3 miles.

easy 2 miles - man, I feel sluggish

easy 2 mi. around the hood - 16:22

Turkey Trot 8k, part of the CR Series in Seymour, IN.  7:30a start time, about 35 degrees.

A good running buddy, Ron Brooks, came up from Louisville to run this morning, so that was cool.  Its become a good core of runner family with this series.  Like somebody said somewhere once, "Running mates is like automatic friends..."  

I ran fairly well today - very even splits - 6:05's almost every mile.  I don't feel like I'm in that great of shape - about 10 lbs over race weight and low mileage.  My left knee is still giving me some trouble, as well. 

Strides before the race to warm up, about .85 after to CD.

I think this is a PR at 8k distance, though it didn't really feel that good :)

4.99 according to Garmin - 30:20

moderate effort - 2.6 mi. in the PM around the neighborhood - 19:15.  I ate a whole lot of food yesterday :)

Off - Um, we ate at Stir Crazy in Greenwood , IN for lunch and I recieved a wonderful little bug from something.  Had trouble holding anything in my stomach, and then about 2:30am woke up with what felt like a near fatal temperature spike (I think).  My wife wnated to take me to the ER, but once it finally peaked I guess my body decided that the bug had been cooked and I immediately felt better.  Not fun :(

Anyway - I am thankful that I survived and taking today and tomorrow off.

Off - refer to Saturday's entry for a scary story...

Weekly Granview Run - 15k around Grandview Lake with Jeff and Tom - slightly slower than last week, but still a good workout considering the elevation profile.  9.3 mi. - 1:08:10.

The plan isto start ramping back up for spring marathon.  Hopefully, I will also be able to fit the Dances with Dirt Ultra or 50 miler (mid-May) in to my schedule a couple weeks after the marathon.  The course is only about 20 miles from my house...

PM short track workout:

2 mi. WU w/ strides,

4 x 0.25 mi. w/ 0.25 mi. rec. jog -- 1:17, 1:16, 1:15, 1:13

1 mi. jog back home

Those repeats were at about what I'd like my mile pace to be... soon :)

I'm making a conscious effort to start watching my diet and shed the weight, again.

3.25 mi. w/ the dog - easy effort.

30 minutes core, legs, light circuits,

1.75 mi. easy on the treadmill

easy 4 mi. - 31:35.  It sucks - its getting dark at 5:15 now.

easy 2 mi. around the neighborhood with the dog, 15 minutes core/legs, 2 mi. around the neighborhood.

Another weekly group run organized for Sunday mornings with 4 dudes that are all faster than me :)  Should be really good for me.  CR Series 8k tomorrow, 12 mi. group run Sunday morning.