ARRRGGHHH!

Work has taken over my life as of late, and then there is school (just finished another class...20 more Monday's to MBA, woohoo!) and family. Of course, family isn't an optional activity, it's what keeps me sane/insane. :-) Just tough as I didn't really have hours to spare in the day and now work is demanding about 5-10 more than the 50+. Fun stuff. I know, whaaaaaahhh. :-)

Okay rant over. I'm good now. So my January was pretty good overall, but I gained a little weight I think. The weight training has added a little weight, but not as much as I've gained. The evening snacking is out of control again and needs to go on lock-down. This is my personal "El Guapo" and must be taken care of.

Other stuff -
* My daughter jogged a 1/2 mile on the treadmill the other day, I was impressed. Promised to take her to the track this spring to do a little more.
* My knee hasn't acted up at all after my running since I started to target stretch the IT band. I sent in my paperwork for physical therapy and think that will start up some time next week.
* I think I forgot to mention that we got our ADR's for July set. Looks like we're going down two days early and will stay at Pop Century then x-fer over to the Beach Club Villas. I'm waiting for the passholder discount time window to open up for July and will see if I can do better than Pop for the two lead in days, but either way I'm fine with it. We've never stayed at Pop before.
* Winter needs to end....

Frigid Run - January Recap

Well, I ended up getting out this morning despite coming up with every excuse in the book why I shouldn't. A brisk 15 degrees, but winds of only 5-10mph so after about a mile it wasn't too bad (in the sun anyhow). Put in 9 miles overall as I started to feel the extremeties showing signs of freezing. The tough part was dodging cars as most of the walkways weren't shoveled or were a sheet of ice. Most cars were great and split out pretty wide to give me room, for which I would wave and nod my head....there were a couple that wanted to play chicken however.... What can ya do..

Total run miles for the month came in at 95.06 with an extra 32.7 coming from the bike and elliptical for a total of 127.76. So I'm 95.06 miles closer to Disney, yeah! The goal for the first 6 months of the year is to get in the neighborhood of 100 miles per month and then will start to kick in a bit more once the MBA program is done (can't wait for this.. gonna party like it's 2099). I'm not committing to the Hartford Marathon just yet, need to talk with the wife as we get closer to it, but think it will probably happen... Going to change it up a bit more in the early summer and work on speed a bit more. I want to get that 5k time down to 23's and that will require more speed work on the track. If nothing else, it will keep the training interesting. :-)

Yes Rae, Lorraine is still running. :-) She just put in some work on the treadmill a little bit ago actually. She was wearing TV yellow tonight as well... She's going to be training for her first tri this summer and will take in a couple of the 5k's with me I'm pretty sure. Trying to get some of our family members out there for a 5k or two.

Running to Disney Update

Okay running this week, a good outdoor tempo run the other day (5.2 miles @ 8:20/mi) and a couple of decent treadmill runs (interval and recovery). Probably not going to hit 100 run miles for the month which is what I would have liked to do, but have added in more cross-training. Since I have been doing the additional ITband stretches I haven't had an issue there (knock wood), but still planning on getting in for the physical therapy and why not, I have a script for it and it's FREE!!! :-)

Run Miles - 86.06
X-Train Miles - 32.7
Total - 118.76

Will probably put in a couple more miles tonight on the mill as I want to do some hill repeats and will try to get a longer run outside tomorrow. The outdoor run might not be in the cards though as we've got an icing situation going on...we'll see, I may brave it as long as I think I can feel safe. Sooo, that should put me somewhere in the neighborhood of 96-99 miles (depending on the long run...."ooooh we're gonna make it, if our loooove is a stroooong one.." -Eagles).

Work is insane busy across two major projects right now, but there is a possibility that they are going to give me some resources that can help me out...we'll see... The good thing is that it gives me extra "umph" when I get my run in. Great stress release.

Looks like I'm going to be running the Colchester 1/2 marathon Feb 27th as my sister has signed on to watch the kids that morning. We used to live in Colchester a while back and my sister is still there. The run is notorious for the hilly terrain, so it's totally a pacing exercise for me, no time requirements on this one.

Dang, and Donald #2 for 2010

First, dang knee/IT band is sore after the long run today. However, I can't expect that I'll be healed after two days of stretch modification. I'm putting in my paperwork for physical therapy tomorrow and will hopefully start soon. We have physical therapists on site at work and they don't cost a thing (awesome!). Not to mention that it'll make getting to and from therapy very easy and I won't have to really miss much work.

Second, well, yeah...achieved my 2nd Donald run of 2010 today. I didn't get out as early as I wanted due to just not wanting to get out there (temp guage read 22 when I got up) and then I went to change my son when something went horribly wrong in my back. Totally locked up for whatever reason. Took about an hour before it started to mellow out. So I dressed and got my rear end out the door. Warmed up to 30 by the time I left, and felt pretty darn warm the entire run (very little wind). Did my normal 13.1 route through the hills in my area and felt pretty good overall (2:01:29). I was trying to slow it down and think I did for the most part, but know I can dial it back a bit more and need to start doing that on those runs over 10 miles. it's tough as I always feel like I gotta be somewhere..LOL. Knee felt good through the bigger hills, but started to tweak around mile 11, nothing major. I stretched out pretty good and have iced it from time to time. I'll see what the therapists want me to do, but I have a feeling they'll tell me to dial it back for a bit. Booooooo! Meanwhile, I think I just heard Goofy laughing at me from somewhere in the deep south.... Gawrsh!

RTD Update: Run miles - 73.61; Bike/Elliptical miles 26.7 Total miles= 100.31
**Justin mentioned that he was only going to include run miles in his totals for RTD, so I can't let him just hang out there...I'm going to do the same, although I'll still put in the combined miles for status.

The Knights who say knee?

Went to the Doc yesterday and he thinks its an iliotibiol band causing the issue. He's sending me to some physical therapy and we'll reassess in 4 weeks. Sounds about right as I don't feel anything structurally wrong with it, more muscular and only when getting into longer distances. So we'll give it a go and see what happens. Told him about the Goofy and do you know what he said? He laughed and said "you're Goofy!". Uh, yeah... Ya think you know a person.... :-)

Well, I put in back to back runs the past two days, although, they were only of 4 and 3 miles....but time permitting I'm hoping to get a longer one in on the weekend.

Updated: Up to 60.51 run miles; 26.7 bike/elliptical. This for all of January as that's how I'm tracking milage in my spreadsheet. I need to get back to work on the core daily, that's painfully obvious in my tracking. Although I did get a good full body workout in yesterday, yeah me.

Listened to Lou's marathon re-cap show yesterday on the drive home. I spend the whole time laughing and nodding as I knew exactly what they were all talking about. He does bring up some good points about spectating though.

RTD Update

(Running to Disney Update) Was home from class last night early enough to get a short treadmill jog in (3.17 miles). Those post 8pm runs are a bit tough, but it does feel good to get the work in when you’ve been sitting all day. I haven’t had a strength training session since the 12^th, so I’m feeling a bit behind there. Will hit the Total Gym tonight to keep current.

Total Miles – 75.21 (Run Miles – 49.51, Bike Miles – 18.7, Elliptical - 7)

With another long run planned prior to the end of the month I should be right in the 100 mile range running (if I’m able to get my rear end up a couple of these mornings to run prior to work…with temps in the 30’s that’s entirely possible J)

Heat Wave!!

***Hmmmm....can you find the Team Voicer in this picture? We're so stealth...

Holy Cats, it's bloody hot here in the Northeast, I mean, it got all the way to 45 degrees yesterday... Didn't know whether to open up the pool or what.

Seriously though, the past two days have been much warmer than it has over the past month or so. I was able to get in a 6.75 mile run on Friday, without having to put winter gear on, and still feeling the post run soreness in the knee. However, some consistent icing and it's not bothering me all that much. We'll see what the Doc says this Thursday. Not enough to keep me from some light running in the meantime as I'm planning on getting back out there in a couple of hours for a quick 4-5. Of course, it's colder now, but still in the 30's, so not bad at all.

Update - Got a 5.56 mile run in. Mid 30's, tried to keep it at an easy pace (not so easy to do...). The good news is that I didn't feel any ill effects on the knee pre/during/post. I'll ice it anyway tonight.

On the Disney front, I cancelled my XM radio subscription. So what the heck does that have to do with Disney? Ahh, well, I tend to forget about my podcasts and listen to all kinds of XM stations, so now with no XM I've got two hours a day commute where I can catch up on podcasts. Woohoo! Speaking of, did you guys catch "Snack and Sip 3" on WDW Today? Hillarious!!!

Last thing. I'm going to try to be better about checking the AATM boards from time to time as I think we get into our blog holes and forget there are other AATM'ers out there that probably don't do the blog scene. As Jonathan says, it would be great to grow our brood by next Jan.

2011 Goofy.....

Another half way decent pic of me during the race...

I've done two things this morning (aside from the pile of work...)

1. Made an appointment with my orthopedic Dr. for the right knee. Starting to get inflamation even after riding the bike last night. Now is the time to take care of it though. Granted, I'm a little worried about being pulled out of commission for a bit, but feel like I can fight through it with some anti-inflammatories and physical therapy

2. Registered for 2011 Goofy......I mean, I was going to register anyhow, but something about actually pulling the trigger gives me even more excitement/anxiety/etc.

1/2 Photos are Up

...and as per the usual, I look pretty bad in most of them. Of course, I didn't really stop to take any and I wasn't really caring how they came out as I passed by the camera folks. Soooo, that's what I get. I've posted the only decent one that I found....you guessed it, the descent one is not of me actually running!

Running to Disney Update: So far I've logged a total of 41.28 miles (running/biking) with 28.58 of them coming from running. I'm not huge on the elliptical, but will probably log some of those miles once ours gets fixed (parts are in, just need to make the appointment). Jeff, we forgot Rae on this challenge!!! We should make her milage to Disneyland Paris though....otherwise she's going to smoke us! :-)

Planning on a light run today, not sure whether it will be indoors at the work gym or outdoors. Weather.com says it's 27 out there, but feels like 15 with 24mph gusting winds. Reminds me of Disney weather... I forgot my gloves so I was going to definitely be inside, but there is a fleece vendor on-site today, so I might man-up and go buy some and get outside for 5.....okay, so, now that I've said that...I kinda feel obligated...LOL

Sounds like everyone here gets runners world, but in case you missed it...Make sure you're supplementing your Vitamin D!!! Especially those that work at night (like Lorraine) or those of us who live on Hoth, which apparently is the greater 48 these days...or 47 as Amanda is still in tropical land. :-) The article cited all kinds of nasty stress fractures due to VitD deficiency.

Fogot to mention a great purchase from the World from this trip. I bought the Four Parks One World CD, very cool collection of park music. It'll get me by till July anyhow.

Anyhoo, that's all I got for now. Stay safe out there folks!

Update: Got out for 5.45 this afternoon. Felt like Disney, okay, maybe a little colder...Mid 20's with a light snow. I thought I was running slow, but clocked out at 8:54/mile. Lots of ice to dodge and of course the occasional car with driver holding a cell phone to his ear... :-) Felt good, metatarsal area on right foot still a little sore, but will ice it down tonight.

"So what does it all mean, Basil?"

Thant’s what I’m left with after a cold-blustery PR half-marathon.  Honestly, I would be lying if I didn’t say I still think I could have done better…. 1:45:00 perhaps?  I dunno, but I had a tough time coming out of the Magic Kingdom in the same spot as last year, tough time with the lungs feeling heavy so I had to slow up a bit there.  Other spot I slowed down more than last year was the last on-ramp as my legs were burning with lactic acid (didn’t get this during last year’s run).  The only other factor that cost me time was the traffic handling as I was bumped back a corral this year and by the time I weaved through most of the C traffic, I hit the back end of the corral B traffic….  However, it wasn’t horrible, just extra energy and time is all.

How I’m feeling right now.  Legs feel fine and have since the race, shows a bit more maturity in the muscle.  The tendons in my right knee hurt a bit, as expected, but I iced the heck out of it after the race and it kept the pain down.  Froze up on me once during the night that night, but good since.  I’m going to get to the orthopedic guy to see what’s going on with it.  Leading up to the race I was starting to feel some more pain in the metatarsal area, same as last year, but I think it had more to do with my trainers starting to break down on me.  I’ve retired them to walking shoes and moved into the last pair of GT-2130’s I have.  Will look at the GT-2140’s or 50’s in another month or so to have a new pair on hand.  Other than that, I’m feeling pretty good post race and hopefully won’t lose any time as I did last January (6 weeks with the sesamoid “injury”).  Gotta get those pesky 1213 miles in prior to next year’s run!

What’s next?  Well, I’ve already committed myself for the 2011 Goofy, holy cats….  For this run I’m also going to do a bit of charity work, I mean, c’mon, anyone who can’t get on board with a good cause and someone subjecting themselves to two days of torture, has to be on some other planet! LOL    What I’d really like to do is to raise money for ALS research as my Brother in-law was recently diagnosed with this horrid disease and I’m kinda feeling like it’s the only thing I can do…..  So I’m going to dedicate the Goofy run to him and hopefully help the cause along the way.  I’ve got to get organized with all of that soon, but will probably wait till I’ve actually registered for the run(s).  Overall mileage will need to go up, but will be a much better mix of cross-training.

2010 Races - Other than this run, I’m not sure what other races are in store for me, but perhaps may jump back in sooner rather than later.  There is a half-marathon in the town I used to live coming up in February so I’m pondering that one, might just do it as a training run and not be looking for any kind of fabulous time…depending on the knee prognosis.  It’s only like 15 bucks to enter, so we’ll see.  Ya know, cause if you can run in a freezing cold Disney race, you can do anything! LOL  There is a local 5k that Lorraine and I do and are trying to get some other family members to run as well, so that’ll be on tap again.  And I think I’ll probably run the Hartford Marathon again in October as I should be able to run it without issue if I’m training right for the Goofy.  Will be a good test at that point.

Team Voice – A general shout out to ALL Team Voicers, as you guys are the glue for me.  I feel like I own a piece of the team and am accountable as a result.  This really helps drive me on a daily/monthly/yearly basis as is a great part of why I feel like I’ve had some success with this running thing.  Having the Disney race and meets (the ones I actually get to…) give me that beacon to look for as the year goes on.  Not sure how exactly I’d do this as long as I have if it weren’t for this group.  I also really enjoy in sharing all your successes (and even being a part of the difficulties as well..there are NO failures here!) as it adds more purpose for what we’re all doing.

Another long post…of course….typical post-race activity as I’m sure we’re all missing Disney at this point (those of us who’ve left anyhow), even though it’s bitter cold there!  I think our running to Disney challenge will help keep us active through the year though. ;-)

We DID IT!!! Again...

Wow, that's all I can say. I think we jinx'd the race with all of this talk about "Hoth"....cause Hoth visited Orlando today. Freezing cold pre-race (windy as well) and then some sleet starts to fall to top it off. Headed down toward the corral area, gave my wife a kiss for good luck as she went to hers and then took a 3/4 mile warm up and stretch. Ran into Mr. Mike-Speed himself along the warm up path. Then it was time, so I wished Mike-Speed good luck, told him to break a leg (or at least tweak an ankle enough for me to catch up to him ;-)) and settled into my own corral...C....but Chris, you say, weren't you in B last year? Why yes, yes I was, thank you for reminding me... Not sure what the deal was, but with the same exact qual time I was bumped back to wave 2. No worries, met some outstanding people in the corral. An Army vet who just returned from a tour in Afganistan and was running the Goofy. Great guy, wish I had more time to talk to him, but I thanked him for his service, shook his hand and move up a bit for the wave 2 start.

5...4...3...2..1...GO TIME!!! This year I was alone, so no talky-talky and I kept on pace pretty well. 25:09 5k split, which was interesting to see as I had a ton of traffic to weave through, even ran in a ditch for the better part of the first mile...yep, same as last year... 10k a little bit slower, but clocked in at 50:46...15k 1:16:21 (very close to 10k speed). Just prior to entering Epcot I notice two familiar folks all decked out in yellow shirts...I was psyched to see them (Rae and Eric) that I ran over an slapped them five which juiced me up a bit for a good finish (thanks guys!!!)...Finally, I see the finish, which is good cause my quads have been burning for the past two miles! So, the goal was sub 1:50...and I got there...1:48:52....8:18 mile pace (35 seconds off last years pace)... 1027 overall and 810 among the men. At least, this is the unofficial results, but I'm positive it's correct. So yeah me!

After the race was done for me, THAT'S when it started to get cold. All the sweat on my body began to freeze and a thin layer of Reynolds Wrap wasn't going to keep me warm. I walked all over the place trying to find a spot to see my wife finish, but couldn't....funny story...as I walked in front of the TV cameras filming, the news guy asked if he could talk with me. Sure, why not. So I got interviewed on the local news, LOL. Of course my brain and lips were frozen, so people watching must be like "why did they pick this idiot!". Anyhoo, my 2 minutes of fame... Anyhoo, I finally headed back to the family reunion area to see if I could see my wife (Lorraine) finish on one of the big screens. And sure enough, right at the time I calculated her to finish (which was faster than she was predicting mind you...) there she was! I was so proud of her for battling the injuries these past two years only to be greeted by sleet and freezing cold temps...but she did it! right around 2:15:00 or 2:17:00 as the site has her time all funkified. I think the 5k checkpoint didn't get picked up on the D-Tag, but the other splits looked fine. Hopefully they'll correct it for her so she doesn't have to start in Corral G next time! :-)

What a long post...sorry folks, typing this while I'm in my room icing my knee so I figured I'd get it all out now before I forget!

Congratulations to all the Team Voice folks out there that braved the elements to complete this run! Mike, Amanda, Jeff, Matt, Goofstin, Trace, Lisa, Rae and Eric's son (I'm totally spacing on his name...but he did awesome! 10 min miles for a 17 year old and I think he's going out for the full tomorrow? Holy Cats Indeed!)

Best of Luck to Rae, Eric, Goofstin, and Bryan in the full tomorrow, I know you'll all do great!

Florida...I think...

I don't think I've ever been to Florida where it's been this cold. Took a light 2 miler this morning in 43 degree temps, which at this point we wish was the forcast for tomorrow! Looks like lows around 34'ish and highs in the mid 40's. There is some precipitation in the air and will be showering in the AM with a possibility of snow mixing in. Yeah, I trained in this type of weather, but not exactly what you expect for the race. Going to be tough to keep the footing while navigating through the hords of people, but it' s going to be fun no matter what...

Plan for today is to get some coffee in a minute and walk over to the Studios. Sounds like there will be some other Team Voice members over there as well. Should be fun :-)

Hoth Jr. Jr....

I'm adopting Justin and Mike's assertion of the ridonculous cold weather that we've been seeing. Typically, CT doesn't get bitter cold till mid January and then it mellows out a little (20's - 30's) in Feb throughout. However, December has been insane cold and it's getting worse. It's in the teens and down to 0 with the wind chill on a regular basis and now the snow drifts are making it much more of a nightmare.

Anyhoo, if Iowa is Hoth, and Rochester is Hoth Jr. ...I guess that makes me Hoth Jr. Jr. So yeah, I'd agree with their assessment that a low in the 30's for Disney on Saturday is like tropical for us! Still, it was much warmer last year (50's and people were complaining, lol) during the day I think, so we'll still have to pack accordingly. Although, I'll still be sportin' bare legs for the race as I've got to retain my "Ice Man" status.....

That's all I got as I'm buried in work trying to make up for being out Thurs/Fri. Weight training today and perhaps a 3mi treadmill tomorrow. Unless I get out of school early tonight as I'll get a quick mill run if that works out. :-)

Holy Weather Changes, BATMAN!

Dude, from like clear and a low of 55 to rain, potential rain, slightly cloudy, lows at like 28.... Honestly, man, give us a break here! We just want to plan! LOL Bring those cheap throw-away sweats folks!

I just checked the NBC affiliate (WESH 2 accuweather, I'm sure they are never wrong...) and they have a high of 58, low of 38 with a 30% chance of showers. Says the normal high/low is around 70/50....at this point that would sound lovely!

Anyhoo, I'm going to pack a little warmer I think for the post race stuff. For the race I still plan on shorts (although I might bring the cold weather get-up....) and my 09 Team Voice shirt....subject to change all the way through Wednesday evening. I called the Dolphin today to ask if the marathon busses stopped there and the guy didn't know, but said he thinks we'll have to walk over to the boardwalk/Yacht-Beach Club. Interesting....I'll ask at registration, but that won't be all that big of a deal if that's the case.

Running-wise...I put in 5 on the mill today, moderate pace. Felt really good, I'm feeling great about Saturday. Tomorrow is an off day with school and all although I may sneak a workout in at the gym, we'll see. Will get 1 or 2 more jogs in prior to arrival, nothing more than 3 miles if I get the time.

Started to pack last night just to keep some stuff separate but will wait till Wednesday to finalize. I'm working from home on Wed. so I'll have some extra time to do wash and such hopefully. :-)

Almost there, folks!

Mired in Liquidity Ratios

I haven't even started part 2 of our financial management class (Jan 4) and I already hate it. Part 2 is the case analysis portion of the program so it's breaking down a company in detail on a week to week basis to see if they should raise capital to expand, sell the company, get on a private jet and run really fast from the shareholders....that kind of thing.

Anyhoo, I'll make it through I'm fairly certain. Just reinforces my own belief that financial management is not one of my great pleasures in life.

Sooo, training...what's going on with training....I think there's a race coming up or at least I've heard that somewhere.. Oh yeah, that's RIGHT!!! The local penguin plunge race is coming...I knew there was SOMETHING going in in, saaaay, the next week or so. Oh yeah, and I hear Disney is doing something as well, but I'm sure it's no penguin plunge..... :-)

Put in 3.5 on the treadmill last night at a slow/moderate pace to see how the knee was coming along. Knee fared just fine. I iced it down afterwards and didn't wake up with extreme pain like the other night, so all is well. Time to start ramping up the carb ratio (oooh, maybe I can include this ratio into my finanical analysis...how many carbs does the CEO take in prior to making a big capital decision...you think Eiger carbs up before he announces a park expansion? LOL). Anyhoo, the plan is to get in some light work whenever I can get it over the next week, nothing more than 4-5 miles at a moderate pace. Also, I want to hit the "real" gym at work prior to leaving for Florida. The Total Gym is okay, but lets face it, Chuck Norris goes to the gym too....

Keep safe out there!

Oh, and am I the only one that noticed rain in the forecast for Disney on race day? Low of 47, which was pretty much the same as last year, although they are calling for some rain as well.... Singin' in the Rain jokes will be "running" rampant.....I crack me up...

Just call me Ice Man....

and over there is Maverick and Goose....

Seriously though, I have been holding off on my last long run due to housely duties and had it on the schedule for today. Couldn't have done it the other day when it was 34 and sunny...NOoooooo, I had to wait till today. 18 degrees when I left with winds gusting to 40mph. Yeah, fun stuff. Needless to say I went back and forth on this one and nearly attempted it on the treadmill. I have no idea how Justin and his wife can do that many miles on a treadmill, I get to 6 or 7 and want to shoot myself! Anyhoo, I decided that it couldn't be that bad out there as long as I bundled up.... That worked for about 8 miles. Everything was freezing up on my, stomach (or "insulation" as I call it..), contacts, and eventually hands and arms. Was lovely when I'd turn and get the wind at my back, but of course, I knew it was going to be a bear when I returned that same road on the way back....and it was....at times my legs would get blown into the other one while striding, nearly knocked me over. Add insult to injury (or the other way around), my left knee tendon started to act up again making for a pretty painful final couple of miles. Was more numb than pain, until I got home and thawed out (literally....started to shake about 20 minutes after entering the door).

Sooo, no fallen power lines or branches on my head (bonus!) and I'm icing the heck out of my knee area right now while watching UP (on blu-ray, got Monsters Inc. and UP blu-ray packs for 30 shipped...had to have 'em even thought I already own the regular DVD). I'm sure this knee thing will wake me up tonight, but it should clear by end of day tomorrow.

End result of the run was 13.1 miles at 2hrs flat. Not bad considering I walked the last .45 miles as I wanted to let up on the knee. Also not bad considering I had a constant head wind for 3/4 of a mile in there as well... Hey, I'm ready for this Disney half, no worries at all, but will be going for some physical therapy on the knee post race. Gotta start right away on the training for the 2011 Goof and don't want this knee thing to hold me back.

Wow, long post, sorry folks but had to share my frozen adventure with ya. It was fun to watch drivers shaking their head in disbelief that I was out there running, let alone a half marathon distance. LOL

Mike-speed, if don't converse prior to you leaving next week, have a safe trip (don't go Mike-speed till you get there ;-)) and a great B-day! We'll see ya when we get down there (flying in Thursday...I'm practicing not going to the bathroom for an hour in preparation..ya know....cause that will keep us all safe....wet...but safe....LOL)

Wait for it...wait for it....

Kinda getting a little antsy, anyone else? Ton of stuff to do this week to prepare for my next class on Monday(yeah, we have a paper due the first class..what the...), work stuff even though I'm off this week, and of course, training. One more long run planned for tomorrow as I'll be kid-less for a couple of hours and plan to take full advantage. Not sure on the overall distance, was thinking about 15, but anything over 13 will be just fine. Checked the forcast and it's going to be 24 degrees and very windy at times (yeah!).

As for Christmas, we had a great time and of course lots of food and gifts. Need to work a little of that food off, but I didn't totally overdo it so I'm not concerned. One of the best gifts was a subscription to Running World magazine. I got the January edition to read and was able to get through most of it the other day. I highly recommend it to all you runners out there. It's full of great advice, articles, and witty runner humor. Kinda have to have a sense of humor to put yourself through what we do on a regular basis! One funny quote was "If you have to ask yourself whether your shorts are too short, then they probably are" Had to laugh as many of you know, I own a pair like that. LOL They were the shorts from the Pfizer running team uniform, not something I would purchase normally and don't run in them any more. Anyhoo, Christmas was good, but now I'm ready for Jan 7th when we fly down for the race.

Side note, I'm a fantasy football champion, woohoo! I play in two "money" leagues and won one last year (which paid for our race entry for 2010) and then the other this year. The great part is that the winnings should cover my race entry for the Goofy in 2011!! Yep, I'm already saving money for that trip.... Want to have it all paid for early in 2010 so I can focus on a new charity fundraising endevour. I'll talk more about that later though.

Stay safe out there folks, we're in the home stretch where most of you are probably tapering down your workouts...just don't let your head drift too far into the clouds dreaming about Disney... Lots of bad drivers out there that forget about people running during the winter...

11 Miles and 8 inches

In a last minute decision to get outside for a run last Saturday I ended up going a whole heck of a lot further than planned and just in time as the snow began to fall not too long after. I tell ya, after looking at my weather station reading 22 degrees outside I nearly headed down to the basement for a treadmill run. However, I've got all the winter running gear so I figured why not give it a go. The plan was to start off extremely slow to let my lungs acclimate (couldn't run in cold last year, got lung freeze every darn time) and then figure out how long I wanted to go....maybe 5 or 6 miles.... Well, the first mile felt so good that I decided to do my long loop and nearly decided to run the 13.1 mile loop....the only thing that stopped me from extending the run was the thought that my wife would send out a search part since I didn't say I'd be out that long.

I wasn't fast, but I wasn't slow, just right for this one as I intended it to be. Averaged right at 9min miles which is ahead of my normal pace due to the hills and such. I would have easily finished the 13.1 under 2hrs, very comfortably mind you as I didn't feel like I pushed it at all during the run. Again, this is more proof that the strength training is paying off as I guaged the run based on my breathing rate and not speed. Kept the breathing rate slow as I normally do for a longer training run.

The funny thing is that the more my training takes shape, the closer to easily achieving my goal, I'm more and more nervous about it. It's like I'm waiting for something bad to happen...weird... Anyhoo, time permitting, I may actually get a 13.1 in prior to the new year and then shut it down. I won't be upset if I don't as I know I'm ready, but still would like to...it's so peaceful out there...hardly any runners, walkers, kids playing, etc.... Just you and the road (and the cold).

Oh yeah, and the snow did fall right after the run to the tune of 8 inches locally, more like a foot down the shoreline. Crazy nor'easter apparently... No more need to dream of a White Christmas, it's already here and will surely stick around for the week. :-)

Visions of Mike-Speed Danced in My Head...

Ya know, like the theoretical "speed of Mike" not actually visions of Mike running around in my head, what kind of sicko do you think I am, yeesh!?!!?? ;-)

Put in a 5.5 miler yesterday as the temps were in the mid 40's and I didn't want to waste it with arctic cold on the way for today and the rest of the week. This was my tempo run and I was able to keep every mile under 8min (like just under...7:57, 7:56, etc.). Man, I was pretty psyched aobut that. Apparently the weight/strength training is starting to pay off, who knew!?!? I'm not saying that I'll average under 8/min miles down at Disney, but I'm encouraged by the progress that I've made towards my goal of a sub 1hr 50min half marathon. So the strength training continues and I'm still putting in the miles for January. Very un-like last December where I had a strong November and cruised through December....wasn't exactly helpful for my Jan run...

Hope everyone is happy and healthy!! and Thanks for the B-day wishes! and what is this Club 8 thing? I'm still behind on the podcast thing....did I miss something?

Happy Birthday...

To me! :-) Well, I made it to 35 (half way to 70...) and appear to be well. Hey, no complaints out of me as I'm probably in the 2nd healthiest state of my life thus far. First time was when I was on the football team in college, man I was ripped! Too bad I didn't realize how fleeting that was otherwise I would have enjoyed it more. If you take into consideration the time value of health (ripped off from my finance class in realtion to the time value of money....I hate finance), I may actually be in better shape, relatively speaking.

But, to quote Austin Powers "what does it all mean, Basil?". It just means I'm still thankful for the ability to be healthy/happy. Sometimes life just doesn't give us that choice, so I'm fortunate enough to have it (for now). Some family issues in regards to health recently, so it tends to make you reflect even more. So again, I say, I run because "I can" until one day when I can't....

Heavy post today, huh. Sorry bout that, just throwing down some words that come to mind. Anyhow, I'm hoping to get some sort of long run in this afternoon just to get outside. It's a lovely 33 degrees at the moment with some sleet/freezing rain on the way, so it'll be a blast for sure.

Can you believe we're only a couple of weeks away from the best weekend of the year? :-)

Oh, the weather outside is....

Mellow? I tell ya, it's true what they say about New England. "If you don't like the weather, wait 10 minutes." We've been roller coastering through 20 degrees to 60+, tornado-like winds, downpours, snowshowers, you name it....we've had it the past couple of weeks.

Although I love Christmas-time, and yes, I'll say Christmas over "holiday"...I'm one of the growing bitter crowd who thinks Christmas is being taken from us... Not going to go down that rathole though. Anyhoo, I love this time, but I'm really looking forward to the week after (work shutdown) and then the excitement that will creep in prior to Marathon weekend. I'm a week away from being able to renew the annual pass, which is exciting in itself, and feel like my training is on track, so what's not to be excited about?

As for the "old" post...well..yeah, I realize I'm not the oldest in the group (sorry Rae :-)), or the youngest (Damn you Matt for reminding us you're 22!!! LOL), but it was more of a tounge in cheek comment than anything. I don't mind my B-days as they are typically uneventfull since it falls so close to Christmas (I'm on Dec 13th, so yes Justin, you can call me "old man"). I'm glad you guys commented though as it shows that no matter what your age, we are bound by our fondness of a mouse and maintaining a healthy (and sometimes competitive) lifestyle for the long haul!!

Oh, and my wife will laugh at this since she does read the blog occasionally... My mother in law made a comment while we were down on vacation as we were figuring out our run scheudle....You people just run to be thin..... When I heard that I was like "ummm...yeah, and that's wrong becauseee....... LOL I honestly don't think she meant it the way she said it, but it was funny none-the-less. But again, it made me think of "why" I run. Every time I think it about it, 1000 thoughts rush to mind, but the one that keeps sticking is "because I can". Honestly, I feel blessed that God has given me the ability to throw one leg in front of another and the drive to do it any time of the year in any condition. Cause then, and only then, am I able to see some of the most wonderful sights, natural sites, that you just don't take in unless you're out there on the road. Even something as simple as a tree line in the distance or clouds slowly passing by. I always get a tingly feeling when I'm out there and that perspective takes hold.

Okay, I know, I'm whacked... but figured it's a great time of year to share these kinds of thoughts. So get out there and make it a great December folks because "you can".

Getting Old

Okay, not really all that old...but with 35 looming off in the near future it's something to think about. :-) Honestly, after 30 age has been more of a frame of mind for me. 31 and 32 felt old, but since I've taken up running and such, I haven't even thought about age. It's almost a good thing as I'll now be in the 35-39 age bracket, lol! Tired of competing against those skinny 30 year olds!

Just kidding as who am I kidding, the 39 year olds will probably kick my butt.Anyhoo, primed for a good work out at the end of the work day. Running through the routine they set me up with for weight training and then will do some intervals on the mill or give the spin bike a try...either way, looking for a good sweat today as I'm feeling like I'm coming down with a cold. They are also holding a running symposium at the work gym, so I've got that going for me today as well. I think the topic is stretching techniques.

So, December goals... Not going to put up a mileage goal as I want to sprinkle in more x-training this month, but I do want to get 2 runs over 10 miles in. With school and work going full bore through the 22nd or so, I haven't been able to get too excited about January yet...pretty soon though, once I can get through some of these deliverables....

Giving Thanks

If I took the time to give thanks for everything in my life I think I'd hit the limit of this blog! So I think you guys get the drift, I'm very thankful for everything! My family, friends, this community, the ability to run, and even having a job given the state of affairs in the economy. :-)

Anyhooo, got a 6.3 mile run in this afternoon (50 degrees, light rain) as I won't have time to run tomorrow. Got my first weight training session in at Pfizer gym, a little sore today but that was expected. I feel really good about this program and getting back to strength training, so we'll see where it leads me.

Happy Thanksgiving All! Stay safe out there as I think people tend to pay a little less attention to what they are doing around holidays....

Black Tuesday...

Friday, my foot! Okay, so the smoke was due to the water heater. Oil line on it was all clogged up and would have caught fire (so sayeth the on-call emergency furnance dude). Glad our neighbor went out of her way to knock on our door!!!! Saved our house probably.... Where has our community gone when I'm actually surprised that they would stop and knock...just glad they did and I've learned a big lesson about being active in the neighborhood for sure. Wondering how many of the other neighbors just drove by wondering if the house was on fire...guessing a few.

Anyhoo, added to that on-call emergency expense I get pulled over this morning 39 in a 35...really? The officer was a super nice "kid" (probably early to mid 20's) who just gave me a ticket for failure to carry an up to date insurance card. Had to call the insurance co. on the speaker phone so he could hear that it was at least valid... You think that would be enough....but anyhoo, the "speeding" ticket would have been worse. I think it's an effort by the state/town to collect revenue since the state is in dire straights....but what can ya do.

First workout at the work gym today. I'm psyched to get back to some weight training, as I think it'll really help come January.

Another 13.1

I signed up for a 13.1 for the TV challenge and by golly, I did it. I'm whining about my knees now and think that it is getting more serious, but waah waah waah.... The knee will be fine come January as I'll give it a little extra rest going into Disney, and I'm still going to break the 1hr50min mark on this half..... The only excuse will be that I got tripped up by Donald Duck's huge flipper and broke my face or something of that nature....

13.1 in 2:03:56 (I think that's what it was give or take a second or two). I wasn't going for any kind of time here, just a good even pace to put in the mileage, but since my watch tracks it...I figured I'd state it. It was bloody cold when I left (35 degrees) and didn't warm up a heck of a lot either, but I was able to keep from getting one of those lung cramps that I've become acustomed to in the cold weather and feel pretty good overall (sans knee). Starting my gym workouts this week and will slowly creep into some more weight training through December (hoping it will help with the knee).

Other Random thoughts:
* Work is nuts, and so am I
* Start another MBA class tonight (can't wait till this is all over...6 more classes!)
* Just realized my son shares his B-day (yesterday 11/22) with Donovan McNabb...interesting...
* Is it January yet?
* No, really...How much wood COULD a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
* Black smoke from my chimney this morning (neighbor woke us up to tell us) does that mean we have a new pope or something? That or my water heater is acting up...

A Day Off

Today is our planned day off from the parks. Which gave me the opportunity to get out for a morning run. A 6.1 miler in what felt like unreal humidity. Probably not that bad, but compared to what we had back in CT, it was pretty brutal. I typically enjoy running when down here on vacation, but I really haven't during this trip (with the exception of the running I did when we were at the Beach Club last week). Not sure why, just doesn't feel all that great and it could just be the air/humidity, who knows.

We went over to Downtown Disney for the rest of the morning and did a bit of shopping. Due to the overcast and sometimes rainy skies, so did everyone else. Really packed, but we were able to get what we were looking for. Tried out the Earl of Sandwich for lunch. Can't believe I never tried this place before. Really liked their sandwich and it wasn't all that expensive in comparison to the park food (5.95 for a good sized hot sandwich). I was full after half a sandwich so I took the rest home.

Anyhoo, my favorite park (the Studios) on tap for tomorrow. I'll let y'all know how it goes. :-)

Monday, Monday, Monday...

*Spoken like a true Monster Truck Rally spokesperson*

Since we last conversed the family was going at a fast and furious pace through all parks here in Disney. We have slowed it down slightly due to taking on 10 more family members and a late night fit that grounded my daughter (and me by default) from visiting Animal Kingdom yesterday. However, we've picked it back up hitting Chef Mickey's this morning with the entire family (tables in wonderland card now has already paid for itself in two meals....) and spent the morning/early afternoon at the Magic Kingdom. The great part was when my son and I split from the brood/family to do stuff that he could do. We blasted through all of fantasy land in an hour and a half, had a nice apple for a snack and then met back up with the family (and we even rode Pooh twice, he loves it :-)). We met up with the family at the Haunted Mansion, well, sort of. They all got stuck in the middle of the ride and had to be let off the ride where they stopped. They got to see the Mansion with all the lights on, which I'm not sure how I'd feel about...probably glad that I didn't get to see it that way, kinda ruins the "magic" of it...on the flip side, they got to see how it really works... Anyhoo, they got a fast pass for any ride due to the troubles and we moved on to Toon Town. Hit the Barnstormer 2x's. My son at just under two years old measures just at the 35" mark and loves this ride so much he's rode it five times in the past couple of days. Actually, I kinda like it too. It has to be the best kid coaster I've ever seen. Most of them are pretty lame. We had a quick lunch at Cosmic Rays, rode the TTA, shopped and came back here to the condo for a quick nap. Headed back this evening for some more rides and fireworks.

...see ya tomorrow :-)

Weather is here, wish you were beautiful

Meet Stephen, mac and cheese afficionado... This pic is from lunch this afternoon at the studios, he leveled his mac and cheese, and applesauce and was looking for more! LOL

Gotta love Jimmy Buffett. Anyhoo, all is good in the land of the mouse, and yes, the weather is outstanding! We just checked out of the Beach Club and over to Orange Lake where we'll be staying the next week. Good news is that we've got a two bedroom condo with tons of space and free wireless internet. Bad news is that we are not on Disney property :-( Really loved the Beach Club. We took in the beach every night and let the kids run off the s'mores they toasted up. Watched Bolt and Wall-E the past couple of nights as well. I know we have another week here, but we're already looking forward to our trip back to the Beach Club next July.


Quick highlights so far since I'm on nap duty with the little guy...

We visited Magic Kingdom on Thursday (extra magic hours morning). Got a ton of the park done by 10:30a and strolled through to lunch at Cosmic Rays (our favorite counter service). Headed back for a nap and back for some evening fun and Wishes. Only a couple of kid fits...but we got through it. Gotta love Disney where you can have a kid melting down and nobody even blinks! Not that it happened this time for us, we've got that down and know when the wall is coming... Figure, it's my 5 year old 4th time to Disney, we've learned ALOT!

Friday was Animal Kingdom and Epcot. Did all that we could at AK, but the kids really just wanted to see Animals, so a double dose of Animals is what they got...enough to the point of lunch (pretty darn crowded, more so than I ever experienced at this park). Went back to the room for a quick snooze and off to Epcot for some evening fun. Not too much my little guy can do, except Nemo, so we strolled around the park alot while my wife and daughter rode Test Track and Mission Space. Stopped in at Mexico for dinner as we just weren't in the mood for normal counter service. Sat by the water, ah the water, and then strolled through the rest of world showcase. The kids were really beat by this time, so we didn't stop anywhere else. it was insane crowded due to the food and wine fest and it was starting to look more like an adult scene with loads of intoxication. Which reminds me. After riding Nemo we went up to the observation deck to look at the fish and ran into a reeeeeeeealy drunk girl just hanging out by herself...she started to chase my son around telling him how cute he was....so I laughed with her, picked him up and said see ya later...and took off. Not that I was worried about her taking off with my kid, but it had that kinda creepy vibe to it. What the heck was this drunk girl doing just hanging out by herself? Kinda weird.

This morning we took in a charachter breakfast at Cape May Cafe (after a 5.2 mile run at 5am...awesome) and it was one of the best dining experiences I've had in Disney. Waitress was outstanding and the food was great too. I purchased the Tables in Wonderland card as we'll use it a ton this week, January, and next July, and although they add the 18% tip, we tipped her another $5 since she was so great. I've heard how some of them drop the service down when they know they'll get the 18%, but she did the opposite...Goes to show you, the smart ones know they can still get more. :-) Picked up my rental car at the Dolphin after that and hit the Studios for a couple hours, Little Mermaid, Honey I Shrunk..playground, some charachters...lunch...and here I am now at Orange Lake.

Sorry for the long post, didn't realize I had so much to say! LOL I'll try to break it down when I get back from the next week...or maybe I'll do a daily recap...we'll see.

One day

One more day to vacation! I'm feeling pretty stressed in that I've got a ton of work things to do tomorrow in order to not leave stressed Wed morning. Oh well, what can ya do. On top of that, my MBA class (currently product management/marketing) is in overload mode. Group presentation with a ton of research, multiple quizzes every week, case studies, and a final paper all while I'm away....lovely.

Hey, what am I complaining about, I'm going to Disney World!!!!

May not get a run in till Thursday or Friday, but will definitely do so while we're at the Beach Club (first 4 days, then off-site). Love running in that area of the Boardwalk.

No Pain, No Pain...

Quite the contrary actually when I went out for a run today. The goal was just a slow run of 4-6 miles and I'd judge it as I progressed since it's been a while since I've run. Well, after a mile or so I had some serious mid-section cramping and just decided to work through it. Sometimes it goes away and sometimes it don't. This time, it didn't. So I cut the run short at 4.3 and got a good .5 mile walk home. All in all, I'm just happy to get out at this point as the body has been stagnant for too long. Still have a lingering cough and some head pressure, but it's not holding me down for the most part.

Happy Halloween to everyone out there, have a great and safe night. :-) I'm going to be handing out candy while my wife totes the kids around the neighborhood. I've decided to go the "Runner" route and wear my Disney 1/2 tech shirt and some shorts for a costume. Will put a racing bib on for good measure and my gel pack holder (fanny pack for those less sophisticated ;-))

Get Naked!!!!

Is there anything better than Naked Juice? I'm still battling this cold which I thought was going away. Is it possible to have the swine flu without ever having a temp? I tell ya, my head has felt like it was in a vice the past two mornings. It clears up in the afternoon, but man are these mornings tough! So I've got a Naked juice this morning and it's totally helping me cope. Looking at it, it might actually be a great pre-race fuel after looking at what's in the thing...good mix of simple/complex carbs, pottassium and such...may start to do this as a pre-training thing to see how it works out. Natural is best, right?

Ton's of swine flu potentially in my daughters school as 150 kids stayed home yesterday with flu symptoms. Of course, there is no way to tell what exactly they have, but it's enough to scare ya if you have a vacation planned one week away...

Wish I could say that my traning is 100% up to speed post marathon, but with illness, I've only been able to muster up a couple of treadmill runs. Hoping that will change by the weekend as my body is itchin' to get outside for a nice run.

Oh, and, got lucky and cancelled for jury duty today! Woohoo! So I got to come in to work instead! Yeah! Need to tie up a ton of loose ends prior to vacation. My son keeps saying he's going to "Mic-mouse house" gotta love it. This will be his second trip and he's not even 2 yet, lol. I didn't take my first till I was ~17! My daughter is on her 5th trip in as many years I think...I'm sure some people think we're spoiling them, but little do they know it's probably more about us than it is about them! ;-)

Anyhoo, back to work now. Glad to see Deb back posting. Get over to Mike-speed's page and give some encouraging words, he's gone through so much this year with his feet, knee's, legs, etc. Can't wait till he can get back going and give it a good couple of months without issues. Justin and I are waiting for him to reset the bar so we can try to take it down.

Better?

I think I'm feeling better today, but not sure. I've still got the whole nasal congestion thing, but it's not horrible. Chest congestion is starting to clear as well. Enough to the point where I actually got a 2.5 mile light jog in on the mill last night. Planning to do 3 on the mill tonight. I'd get outside, but don't think the humidity/cold would be good for the lungs right now.

My wife, Lorraine, got a 10 miler in this morning (I'm so jealous). I told her that if she can run the 10 on the hilly course she ran that Disney will be a piece of cake.

I handed in my paperwork to start up at the gym at work but will probably be a week before I can get in. They have to do bloodwork and then the measurement stuff first (hopefully this week). The problem is that my schedule is hellish along with jury duty thrown into the middle of the week for good measure (hoping I won't have to go..need to call Tuesday night). The following week we're off to Disney, woohoo! Going to be tricky to get my running and workouts in while down at Disney, but both Lorraine and I will make sure to add this into the plan. I'm itching to get a 15+ miler in and think an early morning run down there is in the cards. The other runs will be tempo and interval. I sooooo need this vacation!!! :-) Oh yeah, and it'll be cool to be down at Disney as well...LOL

Where are you Team Voice? We're like 76 days out to the half marathon, let's see some Bloggin'!!!!

Ho-Hum...

Still sick, but improving. The nasal passages are finally starting to dry up which is good cause the outter nose hurts like heck! Dry and such... This thing is sitting in my upper respiratory track now, so there is still some coughing going on. Should be back out for a short run by the weekend though, not going to mess around with this though since vacation is only two short weeks away.... Going to see "Mick-mouse" as my son calls him :-) Just in time too cause work has been a bear lately. If you hadn't heard, Pfizer bought Wyeth pharmaceuticals and we just had our "Day 1" the other day. Loads of integration work coming in along with two large projects that I'm still working with. Better than the alternative though!

Keep warm (for those in the northern states) and keep moving! Only like 80 days out, right? Looks like we'll be eating at Teppan Edo the evening after the race, looking forward to giving it a try. Love that hibachi stuff.

Dangnabbit!

After much illness dodging (if you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a cold...) I have finally succumb to a cold. The whole stuffy head thing stinks, but suppose it's better than swine flu. I'm just going to work from home the next couple of days and hope to get back to training by the end of the week.

Congrats to Justin and his wife on the marathon! Amazing amount of miles turned out by that guy this year.

Congrats to Jonathan and Amber and little Elizabeth! Let the fun begin! :-)

Talked with my new personal trainer to try and get the ball rolling there. He's a guy in my MBA class that does this for a living and is a competitve body builder in his spare time. He seems psyched about getting going and being part of my running/training goals. That's exactly the kind of trainer I need. We're going to devise a plan, meet up once so he can instruct as to how he wants me to execute the plan, and then build in checkpoints to evaluate. This will give me some flexibility as I don't live in the area where his gym is, but we see each other in class every week, so I'm fine with not having him watch every workout and such. He's also got some great tips on nutrition planning which I want to get going on asap. No, no roids, he's an all natural guy.... :-)

Anyhoo, this will get me going on my goals for the race in January as well as keep me honest through the holidays, last year I went a little nuts which I believe impacted my performance.

18 Months and Perspective...

It's been 18 months since I made the decision to start running in order to train for the 2009 Disney Half Marathon. First, it feels like it's been much longer... Second, I wanted to see where I started all the way to where I am now.

Feb 2008 - total of 19.18 miles for the 2nd half of the month. Average mile around 12 minutes per. March was more of the same, but was able to run a full 5 miles (11:45/mi) on the mill.
June 2008 - 100.18 miles, ran first half marathon at ~8:55 pace
August 2008 - Only 50 miles, but running comfortably in the 8:15/8:30 mile range
October 2008 - Ran 2nd half marathon of year (ING Hartford) under 2hr again
January 2009 - Disney half marathon, the 3rd 1:56:xx half marathon in 7 months
Feb/June 2009 - Lost months due to injury and surgery
August-September - 2 100+ mile months
October 2009 - 1st Full Marathon completed.

Not bad for a kid with asthma who had never run more than a mile (in one session) prior to Feb 2008. So, who cares, right? Well, I just had to put some of this on paper after I was getting down on myself about the full marathon time.... Like a "Look stupid, see what you have accomplished in a short timeframe" kind of thing to myself.

The one thing I can honestly say..... I'm a runner.... I wasn't convinced of it till now. :-)

Next steps - Well, I'm going to start a more rigorous strength training program (operation "hit the gym") and nutrition program (with some help from a trainner from my MBA program). Lean and strong in order to finally break my streak of 1:56:xx half marathon times this coming January. Or as I like to say "I've got a date with some roasted duck".... The goal being sub 1:50:xx (in the vicinity of Mike-Speed (Mike made me remove the "Bryan" from this speed option under threat of legal action...Of course he's bitter...must be those long cold winters up there in Buffalo wing land....)

1st Marathon - Done

Place: 1111 out of 2287
Age Group: 97 out of 167
10 Mile: 1:29:27 8:57
13.1 Mile: 1:56:32 8:54
20 Mile: 3:02:45 9:09
26.2 Mile: 4:17:43 (clock) 4:13:14(chip) 9:40

Okay, so I'll start off by saying that I really am happy with the race overall. The weather turned out great, the event was very organized, loved the course and most importantly...I finished! (apologies up front for the monsterous post, had to get it all out).

However, I'm a little dissapointed as well.

Got a ride into Hartford from my father in-law as my wife and the kids were going to come down later on so I didn't want to have two cars downtown. Some people like malls for people watching, but I'm guessing they have never been to a race with 30k people. Some very interesting characters and routines happening for sure. I walked around for a bit looking for my friend Chris (who ran the Disney half with me, some of you met him), but think he showed up a little later than he wanted and I had to start warming up.

7:30 - Checked my bag, and took a 10 minute light jog before stretching.

7:45 - 15 minutes to go, took a GU gel with some water and headed for the start. They changed up where the full/half marathon started this year due to crowd control (I think). I liked it better this year actually, as we lined up right in front of the capital building, very scenic from that spot.

7:55 - A quick race blessing, the Star Spangled Banner, and we're ready to roll.

8:00 - Go time, well, sort of. I was hanging out by the 4:05 pace guide area so it took a while to actually get across the start (think it was around 4min). They announced that there were over 1300 first time marathoners for this race. I'm not sure if they ment full marathoners or combined with the half...either way, maybe people are starting to realize that their health and welbeing is going to fall on their own shoulders as the years go on. :-)

Mile 1 - Ahhh, just kidding, not going to go mile for mile, that would be brutal for me too! Here are the highlights though. With the 4 days of rest I got prior I felt as strong as ever for an event and for the majority of the race it showed. We saw the leader pass us on the loop back, and man, I felt the breeze and he ran by! Smokin' fast. I noted the body types of the leaders passing and as more and more ran by on the other side the type started to change...LOL

Felt like I was keeping good pace and perhaps a little faster than I had planned. At the 10 mile check point I was just under the 9min average, about 5-10 seconds faster than I targeted, but I just felt so darn good... As I passed through the 10 mile mark, the 13.1 checkpoint was just after it on the other side. With flat road ahead, cheering crowds, and the leaders smokin by my body naturally kicked it up a little.

13.1 - I have no idea how or why, but apparently I'm the model of consistency for a half-marathon with three of them at 1:56:xx in the past year, so why should this split be any different, right? Sure enough, my split for this 13.1, 1:56:3x. If I were just running the half I would have smoked this time I think as I was pacing for the 26.2. Granted, every run is different, so who knows. Post 13.1 checkpoint I realized that I was going a little faster than I wanted, so I slowed it up a bit.

Mile 18 - Things were going well to this point, but I started to feel spasms in my left calf. It went away, so I shrugged it off. Around mile 19.2 they came back and even locked up my leg at one point. Had to stop and stretch it out which worked for another half mile, then came back... Not going to recap the rest, but lets just say that I went through the stop, stretch, walk, jog/shuffle, stop, stretch, walk, jog/shuffle, for the next 6 miles. The frustrating part was that I had as much energy and drive as when I started the race. Still, I chugged on as fast as I could only walking as much as needed to loosen up the leg.

Half Mile to the finish. I started to jog lightly after a brief walk but was able to keep the jog up all the way through the finish. Not sure if it was the crowd or the chant in my head of (no pain, no pain...little Rocky IV for ya), but the leg didn't freeze up as long as I kept the slow pace. I think it was obvious that I was in trouble as the people lining the streets seem to cheer a little harder for me, huge help! Turned the corner for the final .1 and jog/shuffled as fast as I could. My wife and the kids were there cheering for me at the finish, although I missed them at first as I thought they were on the other side and I was focusing on not falling over....but caught up with them just after the finish line.

Bottom line is that I gave it all I could given the circumstances, didn't give up for one second, and feel extremely proud of the effort! The dissapointing thing is taht I was holding a sub 4hr pace for 20 miles, had the energy and will, but fell short due to whatever was going on in my calf. I've got to figure out how to correct that for the next one, but will make whatever adjustment and will get that sub 4hr marathon!

Special shout out to a couple of folks who really made a difference in my training and prep. Of course, my wife who encouraged and supported me to this goal. Wasn't always easy due to the hectic schedule and conflicting with her own training as well, but she did it with a smile. Justin, who had loads of great experience and advice to give. Mike F., Jeff W., Rae, and all the other Team Voicers who've always been there with kind words and support. Not a mile goes by where I don't think of you guys and turn that into fuel!! I call you guys my X-factor. Yeah I could do it and all, but I do it better knowing the team is behind me. Wow, it sounds like an academy award speech or something...Maybe more like a Nobel Peace Prize...they give those out to anybody these days. :-b

Mike G had to get that headphone comment in there I see, ha! Yeah, I know.... Actually, I didn't use them for half the race, but after a while it just got boring out there....They say they have all kinds of music, but it really didn't feel like it. Shut them off at the end there so I could really take in the crowd.

One more thing, Team Voice shirts rock! Kept me cool and comfortable, gotta get me another one. Oh, and gentleman, band aid the nips! Worked like a charm.

17hrs 50min

Probably not going to post again till after the race, so I thought I'd get a quick one in now.

First of all, thanks to all you Team Voicers for the support and advice over the past month or so. With the work I've put in and tips/strategies I've planned, I'm ready to go for this thing. Although it's funny cause this is the first race where I actually have some nerves going...weird...

Second, why would anyone really want to run for over 4hrs straight? Honestly! I think us runners have a screw loose somewhere!

Last, I just wanted to say good luck, we're all counting on you...no wait...that was Leslie Neilson in Airplane.... Oh well, I don't have a "last" then... See y'all on the flip side.

1.5 Days...

Picked up my race packet this evening, and hit the very small expo. Think I'm ready for Saturday morning, but we'll find out soon enough. Forcast has pulled a John Kerry and flip-flopped on me again...Now it looks like showers in the AM Saturday clearing at noon. Lovely, just in time for me to finish. LOL I'm sure it'll be fine though, a light rain would keep us nice and cool. Will make sure to body glide and band-aid though. :-)

Runner Tracking for ING Hartford Marathon

Nothing special like with Disney, but it's better than last year!

Go to www.comfortinc.com/liveresults on race day, and type in my last name (Cullen) or type in the bib # 520 and you should be able to see how I'm doing, or how I did. The SMS alerts are available, but with a $5 charge...maybe they'll be free next year, who knows.

Frankie Say's (or Justin Say's).....

RELAX!!! Ha! Oh, really, you mean it? Of course, he's right... I feel ready to roll, which is good, now to try and take that advice and give the ol' body a rest in prep for the main event. Ya know, I didn't think I'd anticipate the race this much, after all, it's not like it's for a Mickey medal. Just a long run through Hartford (and ajoining towns) on brisk fall morning. Foliage is great this time of year here in CT, so I'll have that going for me.

I'm going to put in a short jog tonight just to keep the muscles moving a little bit, but it will be brief, and slow. After that, I'm giving my body a couple of days off from workouts. Just stretching and PU/SU till Saturday. Packet pick-up for me is this Thursday where I'm going to meet up with my buddy (the guy who came down with me this past January) for the pickup and then some carb loading at a local restaurant. :-) We did the same thing last year when we both ran the half in Hartford. Going to make a tradition of it I suppose. He's running the half again and will be my ride that morning. One change from last year is that we're going to get there much earlier. Had to make a mad dash to the starting line last year due to traffic in the area....not fun...

Anyhoo, hope everyone else is doing well. Been kinda quiet out there in TeamVoice land... I'll post the tracking information later on in case anyone is interested in getting alerts on my race. Frankly, I'm interested! :-)

6 Days to Go Time...

Well, next Saturday at this time I'll be sitting back and enjoying a nice meal of my choice at, well, wherever we end up deciding on. Call me lame, but I love Chili's and will probably end up there for a burger and a tall beer.

Got the last of my real running done today for rest up to marathon day. A nice 10.41 miler averaging 8:56/mile. Wasn't looking for any kind of speed, just to keep the pace I plan to run the marathon at, which I did for the most part. Most of the miles were around 9:00, but had a couple that were 8:30'ish (on the flat areas of the run) that skewed the numbers. My left knee is a little sore. Same one that gave me trouble on the 20 mile attempt, but nothing major and think it'll be fine for the marathon with a little extra rest and stretching.

100 miles and running...

Over the 100 mile mark for 2 consecutive months. Final run miles for September was 100.56 with 1500 PU and SU's. Was at an all day off-site meeting yesterday and didn't get a chance to post it.

8 days to the marathon. Going to get a couple of runs in this weekend and perhaps one more on Tuesday, then I'm going to rest up the shins for Saturday's main event. Will probably get some elliptical or bike in there though, just to keep the blood flowing. This will be the first race where I really don't know what to expect. Even the first half marathon June of last year I had a good idea I could make it with a slower pace. With this one I'm just hoping my body will hold up. With the knee issue and shin issue experienced on the 20 miler it's all a crapshoot at this point. Pretty sure it had more to do with the extreme route and not something physically wrong since I recovered quickly. Who knows...

93.2 - Almost there

7 wet miles last evening. I don't mind running in the light rain, but the issue is with the feet. The shoes are so "venty" that they also allow alot of moisture in, at least I think that was the issue. Have the start of a blister under one of my toes as a result, but it's not a major problem and won't hamper my efforts. The one note I took here is how consistent I was in time on this one. With the hills on my runs I typically vary in mile times up to 30 seconds. I was between 8:55 and 9:05 every mile. Just the way it worked out I suppose. Anyhow, it was a very comfortable run and probably not too far off the pace I plan to run the marathon at (12 days). Looking somewhere in the vicinity of a 9:15 average for the marathon, but will judge it as I run it. On that note, I took the kids for a ride over the weekend to checkout the marathon course. It's nearly as flat as it is described to be, which is great! Some slow incline/declines, but should be very condusive to keeping a good pace. There is one large hill, at mile 22 which could be trouble, but it's still not half of pretty much any hill where I run now... Of course, after 22 miles of running it will look like Everest I'm sure. LOL

Update: Added a couple more on the treadmill to bring me to 95.25 and have some time blocked tomorrow afternoon to finish off another 100+ mile month, woohoo. I'm also going to finish my PU/SU challenge of 1500 just over my goal for each.

15 Days - Marathon Cometh

Quick post to update the status. Another 4.3 yesterday, kind of an interval run. Splits were 8:32, 7:55, 9:00, 8:16, and a light .3 to finish it off.

September run miles: 86.2
PU - 1190
SU - 1040

Will get a "long" run in over the weekend hopefully; weather isn't looking to promising... Maybe 7 or 8 miles, we'll see.

Question was asked about the "gel pack" and it's the Nathan brand "gel pack". That's about it...I think it'll work really well on the marathon course. I'm going to have to look into Rae's suggestions though, sounds nice and potent! :-)

16..16...16...16 days gotta get it done..

For all you High School Musical fans, the whole “Now or Never” song which I felt was appropriate for my mood counting down to the Hartford marathon.  So, 16 more days to my first marathon attempt and I’m calm but the excitement is building for sure.  Added to that, I just received my new gel pack holder for the run.  It’s really just a glorified fanny pack (man I hate that word) that holds your race day gels, powerbars, etc.  It also has a neat little pocket that holds the sticky empty packs as well.

4.3 miles at a faster pace yesterday (8:23 average) and the knee continued to feel better as well as the shin splints feeling bearable and no need for extra icing or pain reliever.  Slow paced medium length run on tap for the weekend at some point (probably Sunday), I’m thinking about 8-10 miles.  My running during the week will alternate between quicker tempo runs, medium interval runs, and slower recovery type runs.  I should still hit the 100 mile mark for Sept without pressing it and I’m close to my SU/PU goal of 1500 each.

 

Run Miles for Sept: 81.9

PU: 1010

SU: 910

Day 17 - Hartford Marathon Countdown

“Weeeeee’ve traveled back in time…..so-far, we haven’t found any signs of life…..but if I have to tear this universe a new black hole, I will…cause I’ve GOT TOOOO MISTERRRR”.  For no other reason than I love that scene in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective…..

17 days to go till 26.2.  Since this one is my first run of that distance I’m not going to say that I’m ready cause I just don’t know till I give it a go.  Do I believe that I put in the work in order to succeed? Yes, I can honestly say that I don’t think I really could have trained all that much more to prepare myself for this.  Although I didn’t follow a formal marathon plan, I had taken what I’ve read about a number of them and incorporated them into my own philosophy matched with the time I had available to train.  Feel like that was the best of both worlds and something I could be happy with going into race day. 

The knee is okay, although I do still feel it the slightest bit when walking up a long flight of stairs.  Bottom line, it’ll be all set come Oct.10 as I’m not going to push the speed or distance all that much in the coming days.  My focus is to keep a certain rhythm going, and to slim down a little more.  In the slim down category I’d like to lose 3-4 lbs and think it’s very doable while still keeping my “fuel” levels high.  Basically, time to cut out the late night snacking on fatty stuff.  I’ve realized that this has been keeping where I am, on the scale, but haven’t really cared all that much till now.

With that, are there any other big events coming up for Team Voicers in October?  I know it’s typically a big race month around the country, so I was curious.  I know Justin is gearing up for the Lincoln Marathon but not sure when that is, or if that’s the right one. J  Any others?

Testing 1,2,3...

First, thanks for all that commented on my last post. I was a little down after missing the mileage mark, but felt good to hear the encouragement. :-)

Just a quick reply so we're on the same page. I think I left the impression that I was going all out on that run and worried about my time and such. Although the time was actually decent, on second glance, I was just trying to find a comfortable zone for the long haul. I think what did me in where the knee is concerned was the hills. I decided to double loop an area that is up then down, up then down...not really condusive to long distance running I guess. The tough part is getting 20 miles of anything that is flat where I live (short of circling a track for 20 miles...which I might do next time....holy repetitious Batman!). After seeing a short video of the Hartford marathon course (http://www.hartfordmarathon.com/marathonnew.htm#Video) mostly flat...phew.

Anyhoo, my knee appears to be okay. Tested it last night on a 4.37 miler (with some hills, of course) and it appeared to be okay, a little pressure but it's still recovering so no worries. I've been dealing with shin splints in my right leg for a while now, but it doesn't really impact my running, just tight for the first couple of miles and it loosens up. Mostly due to the mileage I've been putting in. I'll give it a rest post marathon and pre-gear up for Disney.

My wife has shown interest in joining us team voicers, what do ya think? Should we let her in? ;-) I tell ya, if anyone has had ANY problems running, she's a great resource as she's been through it all in the past year. She started training when I did last year, but always had the 2010 half-marathon as a goal (I just got antsy and had to do 2009). She's battled knee problems, plantar facitis problems...physical therapy, cortizone injections....major blisters, etc. All to complete this darn thing in January. Going to be a great weekend for sure.

Side note- Disney's Earth Blu-Ray was great. Video was amazing, music was also great. The only wish I had would be for more footage. It only ran 1hr 30min, so by the time you got into it, it was over. Definitely one to add to the collection though as it even kept the kids interested for a while.

1st Failed Run....

I suppose it was just a matter of time, but today was the first run where I set out to do a certain distance and came up short. :-( Before I get into excuses, here's the data.

Target - 20 miles
Actual - 19.37 miles
Time - 3:10:87
13.1 Split - 2:04:xx
Mileage Total for Sept - 73.22

Things just didn't line up that well today. Temps at 49 when left, no issues there, actually it felt good! Carried two 20oz bottles and one 22oz on my back for the first 2 mi and then dropped the 2 in the park. Instead of watching the Heart Rate and keeping in a zone, I decided to just get into a good breathing rythm and go with that At mile 3 I felt a small rock rolling around in my shoe and just decided to keep going. Mile 3.5 was stopped dead at a light for like a minute, crazy morning traffic, and then again by a lost motorist a half mile later...One of my pet peeves!!! Can't you see I'm running here!!!! After that things were going well, but felt just blah...not stiff or in pain, but just never got into a rythm as I typically do. I did a double loop in a pretty hilly area and headed back towards where my water bottles are. Somehow I miscalculated the mileage and was behind by around a mile or so. So I had to loop this downtown area like 3 times which is another annoyance of mine...I just get bored and lose all motivation. At mile 16ish I started to feel pain in the tendon behind my knee, but kept plugging along. My calves were burning, but I expected that at this mileage. So at this point I'm unmotivated by having to cratively make up mileage and headed towards home thinking I would just make my 20. Turns out I have to wog the last mile in this run (another first) as my tendon wouldn't hold up on the hills and I couldn't even take a corner without it feeling like it would give out. So I ran the straightaways and walked the corners/hills.

I was contemplating another long one prior to the marthon, but I'm only 21 days out and don't think I could get another one in with enough time to recoup. So I'm going to keep them under 10 the rest of the way and hope for the best. The good news is that the marathon course is pretty darn flat, although, anything is flat in comparison to what I've been running lately. Also, I won't have to carry water with me!

Side note - Got Disney's Earth Blu-Ray in the mail from Blockbuster and will watch over the weekend. I'll let y'all know how it is. :-)

Back to School and the Triple Lindy

The summer is officially over for me today as I get back to it and head into the final stretch of my MBA program. Somehow I knew going into June that the summer would fly by leaving me to say only this "wow, summer really flew by". Very profound... :-) and No, I didn't even get to try a triple lindy off my roof and into the pool....how disapointing.

In any event, I'm at 53.85 run miles for September and plan to take a couple of days off prior to the big 20 miler on Friday (I'm targeting Friday at the moment, but subject to change). This is going to sound strange, but the upper part of my lower legs is aching and feels like it needs some rest and perhaps ice. From everything I've read I should be taking it down a notch prior to a long run like that anyhow. If I get home from school early enough, I may do 2-3 on the treadmill, but will take the next couple of days off.

How's Team Voice feeling out there? Some are in recovery from the DL half and the others are gearing up for WDW half/full/Goof.... I know I'm starting to feel more and more anxious/excited about Jan now that the temps are slowly dropping here in New England. Going to creep up on us fast folks, so start hitting those training plans and working more consistently toward your core and strength training! I'm back to SU's and PU's everyday again and it feels good.

Let's give some love to Bryan out there as he very quietly trains for the WDW full marathon in Jan! He can hide, but can he run? ha! Also to Justin who I believe is going to Goof it up in Jan. When does this guy have time to do that lawyering thing....jeeez! :-)

Sloshy Six

53min for 6 miles today in the rain. No, I didn't melt, but it's not exactly a load of fun either. In any event, I'm just shy of 50 miles for the month (48.2) and eyeing my 20+ miler for some time later next week. Still trying to figure out how I'm going pull 20 miles out of my area without having to run on the highway, or do too many of the same loops (almost as much fun as running on a treadmill).

Got my new marathon shoes the other day and started to break them in. Just another pair of Asics GT-2130's. I think Amazon has fully run out of my size at this point and I'll have to head back to the shoe shoppe for zomething different. Probably a treat for the feet come WDW Marathon weekend, timing seems right.

Trip planning chatter is starting heat up around my house. We've got those 10 days in November and the Marathon trip not too long after. I tell ya, it really keeps us going!

Tarzan - Okay, I'll admit it...I'm lame...I watched Tarzan for the first time yesterday morning. Wow, what a great job Disney did on this! Is it me, or do they really try to make you cry in all these movies! Maybe it's me...it's like the older I get, the more emotional I get...What a softie! LOL
Back to school Monday night, boooo, International Business. Think I might have already griped about this one.... Thankfully I'll have internet access via computer or at the very least, the blackberry.

Take care of yourself out there during you training! We'll chat with ya soon. :-)

9 on 9/9/09

Didn't actually plan it this way, but laughed when I realized it. Just ran 9 miles this afternoon on a beautiful afternoon here in CT. Mid-70's, breezy, and then there was my lead legs. The first four miles were extremely difficult for me due to two things 1) I took the mondo-hill route and 2) My legs were so stiff it felt like I was running with lead pipes attached to them. Knew I'd loosen up at some point and finally did around 4.5 miles into it. After that, everything was grand. Averaged 9:26 right in the heart rate range I wanted to. This is where I want to be for the marathon run and think it'll be very easily possible given that the course won't be as brutal (hardly any elevation minus one large hill at mile 22) and it's an 8am start time in October which should be optimal weather-wise.

NFL football tomorrow night, I know at least one other Team Voicer that is as psyched as I am!!! That's right, give me some love Mike-Speed!!! :-) Steelers/Titans I believe, should be a great defensive match-up.

Status
Run Miles for Sept = 42.6
PU's = 400
SU's = 380

26.2

Not sure why I was waiting, but I finally registered for the Full Hartford Marathon on Oct. 10th. I knew it wasn't going to fill up to capacity (3500 for the full, 3500 for the half), but my neighbor just missed out on registering for a triathalon that she'd been training months for....so I thought I'd get off my rear end and make sure I'm in for this.

Weird how I actually feel different now that I'm registered. Must be the financial commitment (90 bucks in this case) that makes the brain go "holy cats....I've actually got to do this now".

I've read some articles on Active today about Marathon prep and such. They talk about winding down the the miles one month out. Much quicker than anything else I've seen. Interesting. I'm still planning on a 20 mile training run by 9/19 at the latest, so I think that should give me enough time to recoup for the race on 10/10. The article said it takes 4 weeks to get over a training run like that. Again, interesting... I'm going to use the iPod for this race even though they recommend that you don't (noticed they changed their language from last years race, from prohibited to recommend against it). I'll try not to use it for the most part and keep the volume down when I do use it. I have never had an issue with other runners as I'm pretty aware of my surroundings when I run. God bless those runners that can do without, and I hope to do another in the future without, but we'll see.

Back to the MBA program next Monday night. At least it's one step closer to finishing next June. International business is the next class, and should prove interesting given the times we're in economically. Of course, my training will take a hit as it's now a day that I won't be able to sneak in a run.

The "Wishing I Were Running in Disneyland" Half Marathon

Only one entrant for this years "Wishing I were running in Disneyland" event, but a determined entrant at that! This years race start time was 12:44p, under sunny skies and 80+ degree heat (ick). Below are the results for our runner. He finished 1 out of 1, 1st in his age group, and 1st overall!! Way to go!

Chris Cullen (34M) 2:02:10

________________________________

So I decided this morning to run the half marathon distance that our Team Voice folks would be running this weekend. The issue is that I should have run it in the morning... Would have, but had two meetings on the calendar (of which one of them blew me off...). Heat/sun made for tough sledding this time out and about 80% of the course is wide open in the sun (ugh). Granted, I ran 3 half's faster than this, but they were also run very early in the morning in 50-60 degree temps. Ran about 7-8 miles in my heart rate range, but my body wasn't comfortable (probably due to the extra time in the sun), so I picked up the pace a little till I felt a comfortable pace. Run the long one's in the morning..lesson learned. I think the next long run will be in 2 weeks and will be a 20 miler (probably a 7am start). 9:21 average mile, Below are the splits.

Mile 1 - 8:48
Mile 2 - 9:01
Mile 3 - 9:21
Mile 4 - 9:15
Mile 5 - 9:28
Mile 6 - 9:37
Mile 7 - 9:36
Mile 8 - 9:51 (Long winding hill)
Mile 9 - 9:18
Mile 10 - 9:32
Mile 11 - 9:28
Mile 12 - 9:05
Mile 13 - 9:12
Mile .1 - :01

Walked a mile home from the "finish" (in the sun the whole way...now I'm all sunburt! :-))

GO T.V. in DL!!

Best of luck to all the Team Voicers this weekend in Disneyland!! From the training I've ready about, you all will do great. :-) Just wish I was going out there as well, but what can ya do. I wouldn't have been able to go no matter what as it's my daughters 5th b-day and there's a whole of party festivities to be had.

Side note - We are booked into the Beach Club Villas for next July, kinda psyched about that. My in-laws do the timeshare thing and are now able to trade for DVC properties. They have been gracious enough to give us one of their weeks for quite some time now. We've been checking the DVC availability, not expecting much, and this one popped up so we snagged it right away. Now that my daughter is in school it looks like the summer and break vacations will be the norm. Not loving how hot it's going to be, but hey, it's still Disney!

Training - Kicked off well this month, up to 17 miles for the week and planning a longer run today. Might go for the 13.1 again and save the loooong run till next week, but I'll decide this morning based on how much time I have. I've been puttinging in SU/PU's every day as promised too. :-)

August Review - Best Mileage Month Yet

August turned out to be exactly what I needed in order to prep for the Hartford Marathon. I was able to get two 13+ mile runs in and exceed my best mileage month from 2008. Not bad at all… September is going to be key as my one and only goal is to feel that I can complete the 26.2 miles without injury, death, ya know, that kind of stuff. J I’m pretty confident right now, but feel I need to get at least one 20+ mile run in and then I’ll declare myself ready. Thus far, the 15 miler is my longest to date, but I tell ya, I felt like I could have gone another 5 no sweat at all….well…of course there would be sweat, but you know what I mean.

I had hit over 100 miles Sunday evening with a 3 mile treadmill interval session (100.58 to be exact) and exceeded my June 2008 total of 100.17. These are all run miles, I do keep track of the walking/warm-up-down miles separately. Happy to have exceeded it, but yesterday was an outstanding weather day so I put in a lunch run of 8 miles really boosting the total over my previous best. The 8.23 miler was incredibly easy and felt great, the only reason I stopped was time, had to get back to work (this put me at 108.81 total for Aug). As I had mentioned previously, I’m tracking my average heart rate trying to slow things down in order to maximize speed at a given HR. Well, I compared my 8 miler to a run last week that was similar in every way (except it was warmer last week) and I reduced my HR by 3 (149 to 146) and was nearly 20 seconds faster per mile…go figure… It’s a challenge to keep in the HR zone when I was feeling really good, but I did and feel like it’s paying off. I’m going to keep this up through September as it really should help me in the marathon (hopefully).

In any event, probably not going to get a long run of more than 9-10 miles in this week with two b-day parties for my daughter Saturday and Sunday, but I’m going to keep up the frequency best I can prior to school starting back up Monday evening (the 14^th).

One more note, yes Mike, I use the caffeinated gels infrequently. Pretty much the first one for a morning run and then switch over to the non-caffeinated ones. I drink enough coffee as it is! Used the shot blocks yesterday and I like them a lot, so much easier to stomach, but not as easy to “take” while running. I’m used to the gel packs, so I’ll probably keep going with those (perhaps try some of the other brands that y’all have been mentioning..hammer and whatnot). Oh, and I’m slacking on the push-up/sit-ups and have put a 1500 goal on each for this month. Only finished with 600/800 last month L Core, Core, Core!!!