High-Octane

7 slow miles.

9 miles @ 8:00 Pace.

It was cold and windy today so I went to the Gym.

12 Miles Total with 4 at MGP.

They put a sign up for me in the Gym.

Romans 13:1 

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.

I really need to find another gym.

Well the "Thunder Sleet" didn't materalize so we didn't get any ice on the roads.

I decided last night to go the the gym again. I ran 8 miles at a 9:00 pace. I changed machines but still broke the 60 minute rule. :-(

Jeremiah 10:13

I tried something different this morning. I decided to run 1 mile @ 8:15 then 1 mile @ 7:15 and continue this for my entire 15 mile run. I was very pleased with the results. It seems I do much better when I vary my pace and not just run a steady state. Even my overall HR was much better than on previous 15 mile runs. 7:40 @ 150 HR seems pretty good, this is much faster than my best marathon pace and HR at 15 miles. Hopefully good things are to come!

I am curious what you guys think about this workout...not necessarly the results but more the pholosophy. Is this something that's ever done in "real" training? I'm just kinda making my training up as I go along right now. I've wanted to jump into a specific program but just can't seem to do it.

DL was right. I felt fine today after my run yesterday. I wasn't planning to run today but I woke up at 6:15 and couldn't go back to sleep, so at 6:45 I went out and ran 4.2 miles at a very easy pace of 9:00.

I have planned a 20 miler tomorrow but may have to push it to Saturday as I'm going roping this evening an may not get home till late.

Any suggestion as to how I should run my 20 miler?

Proverbs 19:21 

Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.

Didn't get home until 2:30 am so I didn't run my 20 miler today. 4.25 Miles @ 8:15 Pace - HR 135.

Anybody want to run 20 with me tomorrow? :-)

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 
Two are better than one, 
because they have a good return for their labor: 
If either of them falls down, 
one can help the other up. 
But pity anyone who falls 
and has no one to help them up.

20.25 miles Total.

I would call this a "run fail"... I wasn't feeling it at all today. When I went out to run it started raining. Although it was not that cold, my hands and feet imediatly got cold. I believe I was also very dehydrated as my start weight was only 152 when I started. When I finished running I was at 149. This weight is not good for me. (I have some problems that cause me to urinate a lot at night some times and the result is what happened today.) I also had goosebumps all over when I finished. I've heard this is a sign of dehydration. On top of all of this I got rubbed raw in places you can't imagine. I even rubbed raw through the typical bandaid locations and bled through to my shirt. Ouch!!!

Day like this makes me want to quit running...

 Proverbs 14:30 

A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot.

This was a little redemption from Saturday's Run Fail! I didn't have a specific plan when I went out. It was going to be 7, 10 12 or 13 miles depending on how I felt. As you can see I ran the 13 as I was feeling pretty good. I got my weight back up a little (although I need it at about 156-157 to begin a run. I also ran some fartleks throughout the run to loosen up my legs a little. (Steady State slow runs seem to really tighten up my legs and make them feel very heavy.)

I ran 73 miles last week. I believe that is the most miles I have ever run in one week, (Only by a couple of miles.) but overall I think I'm feeling pretty good. I would like to maintain this higher milage for a couple more weeks an then start tapering the milage down but bring up the speed a little for the last 3-4 weeks coming into Boston.

I would really like to run a 7:30 pace at Boston. I hope I'm setting myself up to do that! :-) 

Proverbs 24:27 

Prepare your work outside; get everything ready for yourself in the field, and after that build your house.

Gym day. Probably should have saved it for tomorrow as the wind is supposed to be 45 MPH.

10 easy miles @ 9:15 Pace.

John 3:8 

The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Woo Hoo...my last three mile of this 15 mile run were under 7:00 pace! 

I'm pretty happy with this run. The wind was not my friend today as it was 25 mph. I wasn't expecting this run to be very good but for some reason it was. Most of the run was with the wind at about 90 degrees to me except for maybe 2-3 miles directly into it and a couple of mile with it. 

Also a big factor is my weight was up where it needs to be at the beginning and only droped to 154 afterwards so I wasn't dehydrated as I've been on some of my previous runs. My HR was good on this run too being at 150 which is about 80%.

Matthew 17:20 

He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”

4 more miles in the evening @ 9:00 pace.

I was planning to run 9 this morning but we went to the Spurs basketball game and didn't get home until 1:00 am so I slept in a little and ran short. Sarah (my wife) started feeling bad at the game and by the time we got home was very sick at her stomach. She spent the night throwing up. I sure hope I don't get whatever she has.

Anyway... 5 Miles @ 9:00 Pace.

Maybe 4 more this evening.

Psalm 103:2-3 

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases,

Got my Boston number: 12845 (I'm the only Tatum running Boston!) :-)

I decided to run my 15 miler a little different this time and run a steady state @ 8:15 for every mile regardless of the hills. This was a good test to see where I'm at arobically. I set my watch for lap pace and checked it every so often and adjusted accordingly. My max HR was 147.

Not sure what this run tells me other than 15 miles is 15 miles no matter how you run it. :-) It gets boring near the end.

Matthew 4:7 

Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Sandwitch run:

I ran the extra .15 so I could round out my mileage for the week to 72 miles. Second week over 70 miles and good so far.

James 4:17 

So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

I had to break this into two runs today. I didn't want to get up early enough to run it all. I went with our church group to serve and minister to the homeless in Austin at an event called Church under the bridge.

It was very windy during both runs. Can you tell where I was running with the wind? :-)

7:23 avg pace on the first 7 mile run (respectable) and 8:06 on the second 7 mile run (faster than I really planned).

Mark 4:39-41 

And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

Recovery run at the gym. 9 Miles @ 9:20 pace.

Psalm 127:2 

It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.

Today was a perfect morning to run. The weather was 42 degrees, low dew point and a full moon to run by. I wish I could have enjoyed it more but I think I'm getting a little mentally tired again. I find myself dreading the run and while I'm running continuing to think about how tired I am. I know I'm not really tired because as soon as I finish running I feel like I haven't run at all. Oh well...mental tricks, I just need to keep pushing for another couple of weeks and then I think the Boston high will kick in and I'll get excited again.

I left my Garmin at work so I only had my Iron Man watch so no splits or HR on this run. 

10 Miles @ 8:03 Pace (1:20:33). I started out pretty slow and picked it up after about half way through the run.

Psalm 55:22 

Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.

A windy morning here in central Texas. Winds about 25 mph. My Garmin was dead so I had to use my trusty Iron Man watch again. No splits as it's not a GPS but I did run the usual 15 miles I've been running so I know the exact distance. This run was not spectacular...not good..not really even fair. I just ran with no intent. As usual it felt harder than I thought it should but who really know how hard it really was as my mind is playing games with me right now.

15 @ 8:05 Pace (Probably would have been below 8:00 but I had to stop and throw rocks at a couple of dogs that kept chasing me and acting like they were going to bite.)

55 Degrees - 76% Humidity - 49 Degree Dew Point - 154 Starting Weight

John 10:20 

Many of them said, “He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?”

My legs felt good this morning and the weather was great so I decided to sandwitch a tempo run between some slower miles. The first mile of the Tempo Run is mostly up hill (about 65') and this was an out and back run so the last mile of the Tempo was mostly down hill. The rest of the run is rolling hills so overall elevation 0. 

I stopped to reset my watch before and after the Tempo Run. I think the Tempo part loosened up my legs, they felt better for the last 2.5 than they did for the first 2.5.

Psalm 121:1-2

I will lift up my eyes to the hills—
From whence comes my help?
My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.

Easy day... 4 @ 8:30, 4 @ 8:15, 4 @ 8:00. Probably no run tomorrow and a 22 miler on Sunday (or Monday) depending on the weather.

Proverbs 13:4 

The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.

I took Saturday and Sunday off...Not for any specific reason, I just thought I needed a rest. Today was a gym day so I went 8 miles easy with 2 miles at marathon pace. tomorrow I'm planning a 22 miler (the longest run in this cycle). One more 20 miler next week and I think I'm done with long runs before Boston.

Exodus 14:14

The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

WoooHooo....BOSTON...!!!

This was by far my very best 20+ run ever....! I planned my usual 20 mile run targeting it in four sections (5 @ 8:00 pace - HR @ 145, 5 @ 7:45 pace - HR @ 150, 5 @ 7:30 pace - HR @ 155, 5 @ 7:15 pace - HR @ 160, then a final push for 2 miles at what ever the pace and HR would allow). Wow was I supprised. I had to keep speeding up to keep the HR up to were I had planned, the paces felt good even when I was running my 15-20 mile section. I did feel a little stressed on mile 21-22 but my legs still had some spring and weren't feeling heavy. My cardio is what was hurting in on mile 21-22.

This run improved my 20+ fastest by 13 seconds per mile with an equilivant HR.

I know this is probably more information than any of you want to see but I'm posting below all of my 20+ training runs so you can see the progression since 2011 when I first started running.

Here is my run for today:

No running today after my long/hard run yesterday but I thought I should report in. I was pretty sore yesterday evening but supprisingly feel pretty good this morning. I scheduled not to run today and will pick it back up tomorrow. This whole week is an easyier week (except for yesterday). Next week I jump back to 70+ and then begin to taper down to the big race.

I really think I could have run an entire marathon at the paced I ran yesterday. The progressive effort seems to work best for me. If I just add a mile to each segment, making them 6 miles instead of 5 and then kick hard for 4 miles instead of 2 I should come close to a 3:12 marathon...way faster than my actual goal. :-)

2 Chronicles 15:7 “But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.”

Took it easy today to make sure all my mechanical parts were still in good working order after the long run on Tuesday. Everything seems to be fine but my next two days of running will be light as I'm going to a conference in Austin. I'm not sure exactly where or when I will run but hoping to get in 4-5 miles each day.

Next week will be back to 70+.

10 Easy Miles Today @ around 9:00 Pace.

Hebrews 10:25 

Not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Bad new I'm sick again! I'm feeling better now but have been running a fever since last Thursday. This is the fifth time I've been sick since Christmas. First I had the flu, then a bad cold with a fever, stomach bug then bronchitis and now a fever with some stomach issues.

I nee to get well. I may go back to the doctor again today (for the third time). I am usually never sick!

Anyone have any suggestions?

How bad is this going to hurt my marathon...assuming I get well long enought to actually run it?