A Good Long Run

Saturday's long run was pretty good despite the circumstances. The circumstances were that it had snowed the evening before (again) and we weren't able to run on the trails. We had to run the loop of the parking lot which is about four miles and contains a hill that I hear is comparable to Heartbreak Hill in Boston. The first loop was hard and I thought there was no way I was going to be able to run two more loops. But then Andrea and I stopped for a drink of water and ran by ourselves and talked the whole time. It helped a lot. The last loop we ran with the group and pushed the pace a little up the hill. In total I did 12 miles and 27 miles for the week. I'm feeling good and pretty confident. This week ought to be a little interesting because I've never run in my glasses before; my eye surgery is next week.

A Week of Good Running

I've had a good week of running. Monday I ran 5-1/2 miles around the big block. To my surprise, the motorists were pretty friendly and didn't run me over. Tuesday I did 3 miles with the track team. Yesterday I ran 4-1/2 miles on the treadmill at Lifetime while watching Lleyton Hewitt take on David Nalbandian. Today I have 2 miles to run, and Saturday I have 12 miles to do. Next week I tackle running in my glasses, which should be interesting. I even signed up for a race that I will have to do without wearing my contacts.

Snowy Run

Like the rest of the mid-west and the east coast, here in central Ohio we got hit with a winter storm this weekend. Of course it happened Friday night and Saturday morning. My plan was to run 10 miles. Despite being slowed down by the several inches of snow on the trail, I did 9 miles in 1:22:19 and didn't really have any problems in the snow. I think my running style fits snow running very well. I usually run with small steps and that translates well to snow. I thought it was a good run. I'm not sure everyone else agreed with me. Right Andy?

Thursday's Workouts

Tuesdays and Thursdays are my winter track days. I was kinda surprised to have any kids show up for practice yesterday considering the constant snow we've had for the last 5 days. I did have two, however, including a very enthusiastic freshman who had already decided where we were going to run and how many miles. Our run took us around the country club on a trail that was covered with snow. I ran an extra mile and still beat one of the kids back to the school. He's having a tough go-about. Like me, he's had two broken bones in the last year and I think running in the snow hurts him a bit. For me, though, yesterday was a good run.

Thursdays are also spinning days for Dave and me. Our instructor on Thursdays is just coming back from knee surgery and yesterday was the first day he's ridden in weeks. Because of his injury, he's not able to do a whole bunch of standing cycling, so most of the rides yesterday were in the saddle. Not a problem, except most of them were flat road, all out sprints. I thought I was going to die! And to top it all off, Dave and I were sharing a waterbottle so we weren't able to get all the water we needed.

After all that working out, I was asleep by 9:30 on the couch. :)

Saturday's Long Run and Stuff

My long run this past Saturday was 9 miles at Highbanks. I thought it was cold, about 20 degrees, but it's gotten even colder in the last few days. This morning when I left for work at 5:30 it was 1 degree. That's obscene! Well, that's obscene here in central Ohio and for all of you who live in some place that gets even colder, shame on you for moving there! The run went really well considering it was the longest run I've done since October. I never felt fatigued, never had to stop and walk, and felt like I could run for several more miles but considering the injuries I've had, I'm going to play it safe.

As you may know, I'm considering laser eye surgery and have been searching around for a physician. Tomorrow I have an educational consultation with a doctor over at Mt. Carmel East. I asked an optomologist-friend of mine to recommend some other surgeons and he gave me the name of Dr. Beran who does the surgery less than a mile from my house. I called him this morning and the person on the other end of the line was about the best salesman I've ever talked with. By the end of the conversation not only did I have an appointment for a consultation, I also had an appointment for the surgery. He also said I could continue to wear my contacts while running (although I don't want to jeopardize screwing up the surgery) and said I would be able to return to light running just two days after the surgery. So, I have four weeks until I have my eyes zapped. Oh my goodness! What did I get myself into?

Back to running....with each run I do, the pain in my shin subsides more and more. I'm starting to feel better about my chances for actually getting to run Boston.

Those Crazy High Schoolers

Yesterday was a beautiful day outside. It was warm and not raining, for once. And as fate would have it, that all changed the minute I was supposed to go to track practice. The sky opened up and it just poured, and it poured until about 2:00am (yeah, I was still awake at that time). Yesterday was a record day for any winter training program I've had for the school. I had four kids show up...Mark, Don, JP, and Chris. The plan was to do 2 miles and I thought they would say that they didn't want to get wet and would just go over to the weight room and do the circuit. To my surprise, all four of them said they wanted to run outside. So, I did my two mile run in the pouring rain. It was a good workout, though, 14:49.

Is It Spring?

Is it El Nino that's screwing up all the weather? Yesterday, JANUARY 11TH, I ran outside in a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. It was over 60 degrees! It was super windy, though, which made the run a little rough. 4 miles, 31:50. Pretty good run, I just wish my shin would stop hurting. I'm starting to wonder if I'm ever going to run pain free.

Triathlon Change of Plans

Because I've endured so many injuries in the past year and have had to spend a lot of time cross training, I had intended on doing the Wendy's triathlon again this summer. However, I found out this week I'm a candidate to get the Lasik surgery done on my eyes. It's all a timing issue, though. You have to get out of your contacts before being evaluated and having the surgery so the shape of the eye is at it's natural shape. That could take up to two weeks. I'm not sure I can run without contacts (I can't see squat) or be able to run in glasses. Plus after the surgery you can't do any physical activity for a week. So I might wait until after Boston to get the surgery. But, after the surgery you can't swim for two months which already disqualifies me for the triathlon. I've got lots of questions to ask when I go to my consultation next week.

In other training news, I must say that I feel in the best shape I've been in since I qualified for Boston. I did a four mile easy run on Monday in 31:16. I hope the easy running continues and the freakin' swelling in my shin goes away.

First "Long Run"

I am taking classes for the next six weekends to get my real estate license so my training schedule is all out of whack. So, I have to do my long runs on my own for the next several weeks until the classes are over. I was planning on doing my long run today, but yesterday my run was going so well that I decided to keep running. My plan was to run 40 minutes yesterday at 75% so that should have been about 4 miles. When I got to 40 minutes, though, I was at 5 miles and my long run for the week was only 6 miles so I decided to keep going. I finished my 6 miles in 48:36 which is an 8:06 pace. I'm going to say that's pretty good considering I've taken off the last 8 weeks and my longest run until yesterday was only 3-1/2 miles.

Dave and I also went to spinning last night. Note to self...do not spin on the same night as a long run. I was exhausted. Everything was off too. My seat was loose and everytime the instructor had us sit upright my seat would tilt backwards. I felt really off balance. Then as the workout went on I felt ackward like my knees were up in my face and my back seemed to be all hunched over. When the class was over I noticed that my seat had fallen two notches. I had the instructor tighten my seat after class and next time I'll tighten everything a little better. He he!

Holy New Year's Resolution!

Yesterday (Tuesday) was a double workout day. First, track season has started...unofficially. We started winter training this week. I meet the kids on Tuesdays and Thursdays to do some base-building running. During the season I have been 20-40 kids that I coach personally. Yesterday I had 2 show up. Does that mean that the 38 other kids that should be running with me are all playing winter sports? I highly doubt it. Even worse, I ran a slow mile with them, 8:36, and I beat one of the boys. I feel bad for the kid. He's a senior and works really hard, but he's just bad. I just can't figure out what event I may be able to run him in this season.

The second workout was spinning class. I had been warned of the great increases in numbers after the New Year, but I had no idea. The locker room was packed. It was hard to find an empty locker. Then Dave and I went up to the class to wait for entry and there was a line completely down the side of the wall. We were there 20 minutes early!!!! We were able to get a bike and it was a hard ride. The hardest part about the class was not the ride itself, but the fact the instructor's microphone was not working and he's not a really loud guy to start with and it was hard to hear instructions.

Today is another running day--40 minutes. It's been raining for days and looks like it's going to be doing it again today, ALL DAY. I don't want to run on the treadmill anymore!

Happy New Year

With the start of the New Year, I have set some goals for my running in 2005. Here they are.

Ultimate Goal: 3:30 marathon
Other Goals:
- Run more races
- Improve speed and PRs
- Run Boston
- Requalify for Boston
- Do another triathlon
- Improve on triathlon time
- Consider a 1/2 Ironman
- Cross train through marathon season

I think these are all obtainable goals, and hopefully will keep me healthier this year.