Out Of Breath

Short run today with nice weather.

3.23 miles at around a 7:50/pace.

3.44 Miles today before I had to go to work.Two of the miles were easy and one mile at a 6:57/pace.The weather was pretty comfortable but windy.

Hill work today. Hills seem to scare and hurt me every race so I need to face my fears.Drove to a area not far from my house that has a winding (nothing but hills ) road.The road is about 1 1/2 miles long and some of the hills are STEEP!!This was my first time to run this area and it was nothing but tough! I hope that the old saying (no pain, no gain) is true.

I woke up this morning and my calf muscles were a little sore from the hills yesterday.So I decieded to go to the Black Warrior 25k course and run it. I will be running it in about 2 weeks and I wanted to get a feel for it.The course starts at Brushy lake and heads up hill for 1.6 miles and then levels off. At 2.6 it turns right onto horse trails. Since my legs were already sore I started where the horse trail starts and ran the key mill loop.(10 miles) This was my first trail run and I wasnt really sure what to expect.

The temperature was 24 degrees and very windy but the trees blocked most of the wind.It had been very muddy and where the horses had walked they had left deep tracks in the mud.Last nights temp was 18 degrees so the holes were frozen hard making runing across them very tricky.All I needed was a broken ankle in the middle of nowhere all by myself.By the time I was finished the ground was starting to thaw out and was very slippery. I only fell one time but almost twisted my ankle 100 times!I was surprised that my legs held up and I had a pretty good time.I cant wait until the race.My pace was slow but I know that I can do better now that I have run the course. 10:50/pace

A beautiful day for a run! I left my house at 9:30 this morning and got in 11.13 miles and felt great. I would have got in more but I need to spend some time with the family. Lost 5lbs during the run but took salt and water during the run and oh yea...one reesee cup.Yummm! Took a ice bath afterwards and I feel awesome.Thanks bloggers for all your advice.

11.13 miles in 1:39 @ a 8:49/pace

Due to limited time today I ran 2.30 miles to get the blood pumping. The weather was great and I felt good. I wished that I had more time.

2.30 miles in 16:56 @ a 7:21/pace.

The best weather so far this year 70 degrees.Eleven miles ,some were fast and some were slow. Felt good but I wished the wind would let up.

Very windy but warm day. 5.34 miles with one of the miles being a 6:52/pace. Now its time to take a nap for work tonight.

The weather doesnt  get any better than this. Calm and 60 degrees.Today I ran 8.21 miles and by the end was pretty thirsty.The pace on my long runs are starting to come down a little. Tomorrow I will run the Black Warrior 25k course again.This will be my last long run until after the race.2/21/09.

8.21 miles in 1:10 @ a 8:35/pace

Today I ran the Black Warrior 25k course. All I can say is MUDDY.

I got a early start this morning. I arrived at 6:45, the weather was calm and about 39 degrees. Around the 6 mile mark I had drove to where the trail crosses a gravel road and hid some water and snacks there.I took off and quickly realized that it was very muddy and the horses had really tore up the trail.There were fallen trees across the trail and standing water in a lot of places which made it tough to get a good pace going. I was slipping and sliding all over the place but never fell. Yea!!I saw a deer and also pig tracks on the trail.Yes I said pig. I was wondering what I would do if I came face to face with a angry wild pig.Yikes!! I'm not sure what will happen on race day with all the traffic on the trail so my goal for this race will be 2:50.I'm sure that it will be exciting. A bright point for me tonight is that my legs are not even sore.I think that these long runs are paying off.

15.12 miles in 2:43 @ a 10:50/pace.

Has anyone ever met up with horse riders at this race? Just wondered how that would work out.

I felt really tired today so I didnt run until 3:30pm. After 1 1/2 miles it started to rain so I came back home soaked.

A very warm day for this time of year,72 degrees and very windy. I went for a short run after lunch. I kept my pace around a 8:00 but would sometimes drop it down to 7:30. A couple of times I would hit a 6:40 pace for about a 1/4 of a mile. Felt good. This will be my last run until after my race Saturday.

Today I ran the Black Warrior 25k trail run. This was my first trail run and I had a great time.I worked 10 hours Friday night came home around 4am, took a small nap and headed out by 5:15. I got to the race site at 6:05 and there was already a big crowd.I saw a couple of friends from work ,Eric Schotz and Sooi Ooi and we chatted for a bit and before I knew it, it was time to start.

The weather was clear and 28 degrees. Not to bad for a trail run. It seems to be warmer in the woods during a run because the trees block the wind,I guess.Sooi had asked me to run with her for a while and I was happy to because I didnt want to start to fast. The first 1.5 miles is a steep incline up a gravel road and then it levels out another mile before you make a right turn into the woods.

The first 2.5 miles went easy at a 9:00/pace and then we hit the trails.Sooi was rite behind me and I was tucked in behind a guy that was running a decent pace.At mile 4 I saw him twist his ankle pretty bad. I asked him if he was alright and he said yes, just go on. I questioned him but he said that he would be ok.I was off again.

I made it to the first aid station (5.9 miles) and I was feeling great.I grabbed a gel and a cup of water and was running again after about 30 seconds.Sooi and I ran together until mile 7 and then she fell out of site. I ran by myself for the next 2 miles and my mind began to wonder. I thought about where I was a year and a half ago. I had just started back running again and couldnt make it a .5 mile without gasping for air.And now here I was doing what others cant/wont do and enjoying every minute of it.:) Oh well, back to the race.

At mile nine I caught up with a guy and a lady that were runnning a ok pace and I thought that I would follow them for a while and take a little break. I was starting to feel a blister forming on the inner part of my right foot.After another mile (mile 10), the blister was starting to get painful.So I decieded to stay behind the two runners in front of me and take it easy.By mile 11 they were starting to slow so I passed them. The trail was now heading up a gradual incline.I tried not to think of the pain in my right foot but sometimes it destracted me.

I hit the last aid station at mile 12.I swallowed a gator aid and was off to the finish. I thought that the blister would feel better on the road but I was wrong.I tried to keep a decent pace but it was messing up my form.I crossed the finish line at 2:43:15. Not to bad but I know that there were several times that I could recall that I could have shaved off several minutes of my time.

Lessons learned--- Buy better trail running shoes. Dont wear your old ones because you dont want to get your nice running shoes dirty.Dont get lulled into a slow pace by following slower runners. The time and miles go by faster than you think.Drink and eat more during the race because I was starving at the end and starting to feel weak.

Everyone did a great job at the race and I met a lot of super nice people. I WILL BE BACK NEXT YEAR!! NEXT TIME IT WILL BE THE 50K.

This afternoon I took a pin and drained the blister on my right foot and went for a 2 mile walk with my wife. My legs were just a little sore but after a short distance they felt great.

The blister on my foot was gone this morning so I went for a pretty good run. Just a little over 8 miles.Most of the miles were slow all though one was at a 7:28/pace. It felt good to get back on the road, but I kind've miss the trails.

A very nice day for a run. The wind was blowing pretty hard but the temperature was 70 degrees. Worked up a good sweat and the legs felt pretty good.

It rained all morning so I went out this afternoon for 5.42 miles.Warm and muggy.