2.5 Miles with The Yeti

Since I have started this whole marathon training thing, I have not had the extra energy to head out on those lunch time runs that I really enjoy. Yesterday was a different story. Lately I have felt like I haven't had very much time just to sit down and relax and enjoy and evening with my family, with all of the cross country meets, band competitions, marathon training, and extra hours at work.

So yesterday I decided to skip my 10 mile run and just hang out and do nothing with my wife for a change. Man was it awesome! So as the evening went on and the time to head out the door approached, I decided at the last minute to grab some running clothes and toss them in my backpack before heading out the door.

I didn't say anything about this to Chris. So, at lunch time I suited up and headed out to the parking lot to wait for him. When he walked out I think he was a bit surprised. He asked me if I knew what was about to happen. I said yes, and we were on our way.

We ended up covering the 2.5 mile loop in just over 20 minutes, which was good. But man it felt awesome to be back out there on an evening run with a great friend. I know that I have done this to myself with the tasks that I have decided to undertake, but there is something to be said for running for the fun of it.

With that said, today is hill day. I will probably end up putting in about 6-7 miles later today, which may actually leave room for another 2.5 this evening. We shall see.

Later

Marathon Training: Week 10

Today was the beginning of Week 10. On tap for today was a 4 mile run at a 9:52/mile pace, which I knocked out with ease. I have found that when I run by myself that my pace is quite a bit quicker than when I run with any of my friends. I guess that is because I am not running my mouth! I ended up averaging just over 8:30's for my run. I am very happy with that, since the pace felt pretty easy. Tomorrow is calling for 10 miles with 8 of those at marathon pace. It shouldn't be a problem, but who ever knows how a run is going to go until you are a few miles in?

As for the rest of the week, I plan on running hills on Wednesday with Tom and Jen followed by a couple of rest days. Saturday will be my very first 20 miler. I am not too concerned, since I ran almost 19 last Saturday and felt pretty good afterwards. But it will still be the farthest I have ever gone. Every weekend has been pretty busy with running in the morning followed by my daughter's cross country meets and my son's band competitions. But I wouldn't miss anything my kids do for any reason. They take priority over everything, even running!

So that's what this week looks like. I'll try to post a little more frequently. I know, I've said that before and haven't done it. 

Later

Late Night Run

This weekend we changed things up a bit. We normally put in our long run on Saturday mornings, which for about the past month meant getting up around 3:15 - 3:30 am for a 4 am run. It has worked out, but not as much fun as it sounds. So, when we realized that we may have to get up earlier or cut our run short something had to change. Shawna and Jen came up with the idea to run Friday night. Worked for me since I am a third shifter.

I had planned on working Friday night on second shift for a bit of overtime, so that I can enjoy my Disney Marathon trip to the fullest. So the plan was for them to meet me at work and run from there. Shawna said she would put together a route, which I knew meant heading up Moser knob weather we liked it or not!

At 10:30 everyone was there and ready to go. The route was pretty awesome. It headed up into the hills that overlook Louisville. So the views of the city lit up at night were awesome. The hills were definitely a good challenge and I am a big fan of not running the same route over and over. I think that changing it up actually makes the miles go by faster, just like good company.

We ended up putting in 15 miles in 2:34:55. I was very happy with that considering all of the hills. I will say that at the 15 mile mark I was done. As soon as my Garmin hit 15 I started walking. We were still about 3/4 of a mile from work, so it made for a nice cool down walk.

Yesterday I was a little bit sore, but not too bad. I may try and get out for an easy run later today. We shall see. Tomorrow starts week 9 of training and longer miles through the week. I envision very tired legs!

That's all I have for now.

Later

Marathon Training: Week 7

Good morning faithful readers. Sorry it has been a bit since an update, but life has a way of getting in the way.

Yesterday wrapped up week 7 of training. I have to say that it went pretty well. I only missed one run, which I think I have consistently done for the past few weeks. One of the best things about week 7 was that everyone is back. I am pretty sure that I got to put in miles with everyone of my friends this week. I call that a win!

Week 7 also brought a couple of awesome accomplishments my way. One being my second successful attempt at 18 miles. I have learned a lot from running with my group of friends. They have a vast resource of knowledge and couldn't be more supportive. Accomplishment number two was that I hit 1000 miles for the year yesterday! That is very hard for me to believe! I honestly thought that it would take me all year to even get close to that. Now it looks like I will probably get close to 1500, amazing!

On to week 8. Hope everyone has a good holiday weekend.

Later