A pretty good highlight reel of the Chicago Marathon from October 11th. Check it out.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Two miles on day 2
An easy two mile run as I entered day two of my marathon training.
I stayed around 10:30 per mile pace. I could feel the affects of running two days in a row so tomorrow with a third day in a row I think I am really going to feel it. Especially since it is four miles.
Two miles - 20:49 and 10:28 first mile with a 10:13 second mile. I did feel some of the ache in above my ankle but I only really feel it after running or while I am driving the car. Icing for 20 minutes after a run truly helps. I am going to just keep doing that at the present time. I hope that it just works itself away. Time will tell.
I stayed around 10:30 per mile pace. I could feel the affects of running two days in a row so tomorrow with a third day in a row I think I am really going to feel it. Especially since it is four miles.
Monday, October 19, 2009
First run for marathon
My three mile run this morning was my first run in nearly a week and it tipped off my 28 week training program for the May 1st Wisconsin Marathon. All I can say is "wow that felt great."
It was a relief to wake up this morning and have my feet push the pavement behind me. It was exciting to have the 40 degree air in my lungs in an effort to burn some calories and gain some fitness.
A great 10:25 per mile pace. It wasn't too fast or too slow and it felt like a good distance to start up again at.
Using Slowgeek.com we get the splits and some more data about the run.
This site is a great resource for Nike+ users to gather more information about their run and their split times if they want them.
As you can see the first mile was 10:20, the second in 10:34 and the last in 10:28. Fairly consistent and that is what I need to be in the training runs.
Two miles tomorrow!
It was a relief to wake up this morning and have my feet push the pavement behind me. It was exciting to have the 40 degree air in my lungs in an effort to burn some calories and gain some fitness.
A great 10:25 per mile pace. It wasn't too fast or too slow and it felt like a good distance to start up again at.
Using Slowgeek.com we get the splits and some more data about the run.
As you can see the first mile was 10:20, the second in 10:34 and the last in 10:28. Fairly consistent and that is what I need to be in the training runs.
Two miles tomorrow!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Running a Marathon
Twenty-eight weeks from tomorrow I will be running in the 2nd Annual Wisconsin Marathon on May 1st. Like last year's half-marathon I will be running it for Salute Inc., a local veteran's organization. E will be running in the half again this year but joining me in the full 26.2 mile journey will be one of my college roommates, Andy. I am excited to attempting such an arduous activity, one that pushes an individual physically, mentally and emotionally. It is an event that you cannot cheat and one that you cannot take lightly. Over the next 28 weeks I will be training with three to five runs a week at various lengths in not only an effort to finish but to finish in under four hours and twenty minutes. Or even to beat my old roommate by one small step.
Under the jump I have listed out the dates of my runs and their lengths. It all starts tomorrow with an easy three miles. Please wish me luck!
Friday, October 16, 2009
Where I Stand
This week has not been a very good one for me in terms of staying on track with the exercise or the diet. I have had a much more difficult time waking up in the morning and staying within my calorie limit. I am hoping to turn over a new leaf again and get right back on top of this. I have a big announcement coming soon in terms of running but in the mean time I will tell you where I am at with the overall picture.
I weighed myself this morning at 177.5 pounds. A drop of 14.5 pounds since the Fourth of July. I am extremely proud of this and hope to take off another 14.5 pounds by the middle of next April (slow and steady in this race wins it for me). As my running mileage increases I fully expect to drop a decent amount of weight.
In the last few weeks I have set some personal records at various distances.
9:21 mile
18:08 3k
19:25 2 mile
30:00 5k
53:25 5 mile
I certainly have a long way to go to hit my goals by that is why this is a long term project.
I am still debating about running tomorrow morning's scheduled six miler because of this ache above my ankle. Maybe I will get it the weekend off. I will figure that out tomorrow morning. More later.
I weighed myself this morning at 177.5 pounds. A drop of 14.5 pounds since the Fourth of July. I am extremely proud of this and hope to take off another 14.5 pounds by the middle of next April (slow and steady in this race wins it for me). As my running mileage increases I fully expect to drop a decent amount of weight.
In the last few weeks I have set some personal records at various distances.
9:21 mile
18:08 3k
19:25 2 mile
30:00 5k
53:25 5 mile
I certainly have a long way to go to hit my goals by that is why this is a long term project.
I am still debating about running tomorrow morning's scheduled six miler because of this ache above my ankle. Maybe I will get it the weekend off. I will figure that out tomorrow morning. More later.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
New shirt and new shoes
Always exciting to win free stuff!
My great shoes that I bought last year from Nike+ ID store (where you can customize the look and even put your name on the shoe) have sadly worn out their life span. With that they will go into retirement. I went to a Nike outlet store and picked up last year's model of Nike Air Pegasus. I will save up some money for the next pair when those run out and I can customize a great shoe again!
Unfortunately, I did not get to use the shoes or the shirt this morning as I did not go out for a run. The ache is still there and I am going to give it another day or two and check in on Saturday morning. I will be going for a mile long walk at lunch but I won't bore you with the details.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Two steps forward... one step back...
I have been delinquent in posting but I have had a couple of good runs my last two times out.
On Saturday E and I did five miles around my hometown. I felt great and decided to just go for it with the last two miles. As I have said before... not the wisest thing to do but it was so much fun.
And then a nice two mile run with four 100 meter strides afterwards. That also felt pretty good.
Some great times and some fantastic progress. I was able to completely dominate the end of my five miles (comparatively speaking). But the strain that a feel a few inches above my the inside part of my right ankle is there. It comes and goes in the amount of pain it produces. I use ice, heat, elevation, stretching and I am not sure what to do to make it go away. I have a couple of decent runs coming up (four miles tomorrow morning and six miles on Saturday). I am wondering if I should just skip them to take the time off to let the area heal properly. It helped when I did this a couple of weeks ago but then after a few runs it came back. That was probably due to the worn out shoes I was using that I need to retire.
So I am wondering what people think. Should I try to go out for the run tomorrow or should I take the rest of the week off and start again on Monday?
On Saturday E and I did five miles around my hometown. I felt great and decided to just go for it with the last two miles. As I have said before... not the wisest thing to do but it was so much fun.
And then a nice two mile run with four 100 meter strides afterwards. That also felt pretty good.
Some great times and some fantastic progress. I was able to completely dominate the end of my five miles (comparatively speaking). But the strain that a feel a few inches above my the inside part of my right ankle is there. It comes and goes in the amount of pain it produces. I use ice, heat, elevation, stretching and I am not sure what to do to make it go away. I have a couple of decent runs coming up (four miles tomorrow morning and six miles on Saturday). I am wondering if I should just skip them to take the time off to let the area heal properly. It helped when I did this a couple of weeks ago but then after a few runs it came back. That was probably due to the worn out shoes I was using that I need to retire.
So I am wondering what people think. Should I try to go out for the run tomorrow or should I take the rest of the week off and start again on Monday?
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Another running discrepancy!
My training program called for a three mile run this morning but I decided to set my iPod's Nike+ to a 5k to make sure that I ran a full three miles in a good time. I wasn't looking for a personal record or that speedy of a time. Just a solid workout.
According to my results on the Nike+ I ran the 5k in 29:56, which would be a personal record.
Meanwhile the Runkeeper map (after being adjusted like always to display a better picture of my actual run) shows a 3.01 mile run.
Usually, I lean more towards the map but this time there were more than a few instances of having to run around some construction that is not seen in the map. I am thinking that the run was probably around 3.05 or 6 but I am going to round up my time to a full 30 minutes and call that my new PR. I have little doubt that if I knew I was going to set a PR that I would have been able to do it in that time and I was not that far off in reality.
This makes this three new personal records in short order. I may need to refrain from doing this and just set a pace prior to runs. Multiple articles that I have read stress the importance of not going out too hard as it may cause injury. I would be wise to heed this advice.
According to my results on the Nike+ I ran the 5k in 29:56, which would be a personal record.
Meanwhile the Runkeeper map (after being adjusted like always to display a better picture of my actual run) shows a 3.01 mile run.
Usually, I lean more towards the map but this time there were more than a few instances of having to run around some construction that is not seen in the map. I am thinking that the run was probably around 3.05 or 6 but I am going to round up my time to a full 30 minutes and call that my new PR. I have little doubt that if I knew I was going to set a PR that I would have been able to do it in that time and I was not that far off in reality.
This makes this three new personal records in short order. I may need to refrain from doing this and just set a pace prior to runs. Multiple articles that I have read stress the importance of not going out too hard as it may cause injury. I would be wise to heed this advice.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Chicago Marathon is near
Buzz is building around the city as the Chicago Marathon quickly approaches. Over 40,000 people will be there to run this great event. For the latest news check out Runner's World's special site for the event.
I want to comment on what I think is a great attribute of Chicago that shows through this marathon. Resilience. That word fits well with running a marathon and it is especially true after Chicago's disastrous 2007 event when one person died (from a heart condition) and the race was cut off because of the extreme heat. The marathon organizers failed to provide enough water on the course when the weeks ahead of the event were stifling hot and race day was probably going to be no different.
Well it is just two years later and Chicago is a marquee event with Deena Kastor and Samuel Wanjiru will be participating as elite runners. Wanjiru is the 2008 Olympic gold medalist and Kastor is the most herald American female runner out there. That kind of recovery in just two short years show how fantastic this event is and how important many runners believe it to be. Wanjiru is young, fast and ambitious. If the weather cooperates (but when does it in the Midwest?) Wanjiru may shoot for the world record as he has stated that he wants to break in the near future.
That is resilience. Coming through adversity - bigger and stronger. That is the Chicago Marathon...
Also, check out this video with Bart Yasso
I want to comment on what I think is a great attribute of Chicago that shows through this marathon. Resilience. That word fits well with running a marathon and it is especially true after Chicago's disastrous 2007 event when one person died (from a heart condition) and the race was cut off because of the extreme heat. The marathon organizers failed to provide enough water on the course when the weeks ahead of the event were stifling hot and race day was probably going to be no different.
Well it is just two years later and Chicago is a marquee event with Deena Kastor and Samuel Wanjiru will be participating as elite runners. Wanjiru is the 2008 Olympic gold medalist and Kastor is the most herald American female runner out there. That kind of recovery in just two short years show how fantastic this event is and how important many runners believe it to be. Wanjiru is young, fast and ambitious. If the weather cooperates (but when does it in the Midwest?) Wanjiru may shoot for the world record as he has stated that he wants to break in the near future.
That is resilience. Coming through adversity - bigger and stronger. That is the Chicago Marathon...
Also, check out this video with Bart Yasso
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
It's getting cold!
I am used to running in the 60 and 70 degree days but this morning was about 50 degrees. This is going to take some getting used to but E and I ran our four miles anyways.
And here is the Runkeeper map:
According to the map the total distance was 4.17 miles and not the 4.08 that Nike+ says. My thinking is that the runs (until Nike+ is in need of another calibration) from here on out are in between those two distances in which I am pretty happy with the good solid pace for today. 48:01 for 4.17 miles is an 11:30 pace with the following mile splits:
Mile 1 - 11:45
Mile 2 - 10:55
Mile 3 - 11:05
Mile 4 - 12:32
I can live with those times for today. The thing I have to remember is that I am going at a training pace and not a race pace. Thus, these times are sufficient to continue building up endurance that will lead to being able to run further and faster. I am also doing this to lose weight, which is happening :)
And here is the Runkeeper map:
According to the map the total distance was 4.17 miles and not the 4.08 that Nike+ says. My thinking is that the runs (until Nike+ is in need of another calibration) from here on out are in between those two distances in which I am pretty happy with the good solid pace for today. 48:01 for 4.17 miles is an 11:30 pace with the following mile splits:
Mile 1 - 11:45
Mile 2 - 10:55
Mile 3 - 11:05
Mile 4 - 12:32
I can live with those times for today. The thing I have to remember is that I am going at a training pace and not a race pace. Thus, these times are sufficient to continue building up endurance that will lead to being able to run further and faster. I am also doing this to lose weight, which is happening :)
Monday, October 5, 2009
Back from a break
As you can obviously tell I haven't posted anything since last Thursday and haven't ran since last Tuesday. I mentioned in those last couple of posts about some pain near my calf and I decided that it would be best to take a small break from running to hopefully let it go away.
I am anxious to see if this pain has subsided in that recovery time. I had a nice two mile run this morning with a brand new Nike+ sensor (and as you can tell it needs to be calibrated which I did after this run)
I was not running that quickly! Trust me. It was an even two miles according to Runkeeper and my city block math of eight blocks equals a mile.
A total time of 20:34 for two miles - 10:34 first mile and 10:00 for the second. Give or take a few seconds for each. I am happy with this after skipping two scheduled runs and think that the rest helped.
Tomorrow's four mile run with some tempo intervals should be a test.
I am anxious to see if this pain has subsided in that recovery time. I had a nice two mile run this morning with a brand new Nike+ sensor (and as you can tell it needs to be calibrated which I did after this run)
I was not running that quickly! Trust me. It was an even two miles according to Runkeeper and my city block math of eight blocks equals a mile.
A total time of 20:34 for two miles - 10:34 first mile and 10:00 for the second. Give or take a few seconds for each. I am happy with this after skipping two scheduled runs and think that the rest helped.
Tomorrow's four mile run with some tempo intervals should be a test.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
No run today
I mentioned on Tuesday that I had some pain in my calf muscle area after the four miles and since I have had this pain before I know that I cannot push myself. So this morning I decided that it would be best not to go out for my scheduled run. This way I can have three solid days off while stretching it out and icing it down. I am hoping this will allow it to get better and that I will be able to run properly and healthy on Saturday. My fingers are crossed.
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