Training blog, take 2

The marathon has come and gone. Had a great race- felt great, time was as good as I could have hoped (4:21), and enjoyed every bit of it. Enjoyed the training too, though you'd never have known it from checking in here. This started off as such a good idea last year, and interestingly, the more I ran, the less interested I became in the blog. But I really liked the total mileage thing, and as I racked up the miles in August and September, I wished I had kept up with it. After the race was done, I enjoyed going back and reading about the early days, when I ran only 1-2 miles at a time. Would have been nice to have a more complete account of all of my training.

So, here I am for round 2! Have made a verbal and psychological commitment to running next year's race as well- Chicago Marathon 2010- 10.10.10. A second chance to keep an accurate count on miles, an assessment of my abilities, and an account of what's working and what's not.

So far, since the big race, I've run 3 times- once for 3 miles and twice for 4. My goal for 2010 is to break the 4 hour barrier, so I'm running faster now than I ever did training for this year's race. I walked for a short bit on one of the 4 milers, something I would have never done a month ago, but my pace was still over a minute per mile faster than anything I had run before. My hope is that by setting my pace fast from the get-go, it will become my standard, and I can train into it. With a year to go- and a blog to keep track of my efforts- we'll see if it works out that way.

10/24- 3.0- ??
11/1- 4.0- 32:05
11/8- 4.0- 33:00

MTD- 11.0

less writing, more running

well this hasn't turned out as i hoped it might- no posts in 2 months means i've completely lost track of my total miles. most of the absence from posting has been because my running schedule has been less than *ahem* adequate. but i'm back on track now, and while i won't make any promises about posting, i will be running more and better.

did a 5 k on the 4th of july which was fun- first race of any kind that i've done since the RNR marathon in 2000. time was 27:02, i believe, which was satisfactory given my poor training until that point.

had a great run yesterday though- 8.5mi on the treadmill. longest run in 9 years, and felt surprisingly good afterward. it was a huge confidence boost for me, and an inspiration for the coming months. looking forward to a few early morning runs this week.

getting longer

went for 4 today- hot and humid day, kept me from going further. felt a little tight, which held me back as well, though after i finished, i felt pretty good.

5/21 3.1
5/25 4.0

62.7 MTD

finally!

here it is, may 20, and i would finally consider myself to be "on track". developing a good routine of running in the morning, which works much better than trying to squeeze in a run between dinner, homework, playtime and bedtime. got out 3 mornings last week, then yesterday and likely tomorrow and friday. still just 3 at a time, but will likely attempt a longer run this weekend. the countdown starts.

5/12, 5/14, 5/15, 5/19 3.1 mi each

55.6 MTD

new shoes look great...on the shoe rack

you'd think new shoes would have inspired me. no excuses, but i feel the need to post occasionally to keep this thing honest. i'm still signed up for the marathon, which means sooner or later i'll have to really start running in earnest. for now though, it's once every few weeks, which is pathetic. ran wednesday last wednesday, which was good. if i can get out this wednesday, and maybe saturday too, i might get a little streak going and finally get this training into gear.

4/8 3.1M
43.2 MTD

new shoes!

completely lost on the week count by now. since the last post, i believe i ran a pair of two mile runs, then put in a back-to-back weekend with 2 on saturday and 3 on sunday. those last two runs were the first in my new shoes, a pair of sauconys that erin picked up for me. they felt great, as did my legs and feet after both runs suggesting a good fit. weather's getting nicer and the days longer, so i'm hopeful for more steady running opportunities in the weeks ahead.

early march- approx 4 mi
3/21 2 mi
3/22 3 mi
40.1 MTD

week 8

missed this week thanks to the nasty stomach flu. should have run today, but didn't.

this week i think i'll make a countdown calendar and more formally sketch out my running schedule. only about 30 or so weeks to go...

week 7 (i think)

still too damn cold here to get into a rhythm. sticking with 5K each time out now- feeling good.

time for new shoes. still running on the old ones from the last marathon 9 years ago. got maybe a few runs left in these but will start the search for new ones soon.

2/14 3.1m
31.1 MTD

it's on

signed up tonight for chicago. $125 entry fee is non-refundable, which means there's now 125 more reasons not to back out.

had a great run for the inaugural finkbowl 5K on sunday. mad props to puddin' for getting out there with me as the only other "participant", and to mcv for participating via satellite. weather here was perfect- crisp and cool with no wind. a great run with a great friend- much like i expect chicago to be.

2/1 3.1M
28.0 MTD

week 4

finally hit 5K today. coldest run yet with a little wind, but as erin would say, "refreshing". forgot yet again to bring the watch, but with as close an estimate as i could get from adding up the minutes of the songs i listened to, time was in the ballpark of 27:15. for the weather and the shape i'm in, i'll gladly take that.

1/25 3.1M
24.9 MTD

week 3

didn't post, but ran on sunday the 11th and again today. sunday's run was my longest yet, and fast too, but very tiring. today's was shorter, not as far but a good distance and at a much more comfortable pace. still can't get up in the morning- too cold and dark, so i've made a deal with myself that if i run on a wed or thurs afternoon and at least once on the weekend, i'm doing OK. at least until the days lengthen and the weather warms up.

marathon signup is 2/1. must run several times before then to give myself an idea if this is really going to happen.

1/11 3.0 m
1/22 2.4 m
21.8 MTD

week 1, take 2

chalk up december as a complete loss. have had a difficult time getting motivated to run in the dark, either the mornings or the evenings. need to take McV's advice and get me a reflector vest.

did get some nice new running duds for christmas though, and broke them in this past saturday. thought i'd only get in 1.5-1.7 because of the layoff, but felt better than expected while out there. busted it for the whole 2 miles, feeling tired but not too miserable at the end. will get out again tomorrow, then sat and sun this weekend.

as you may have read on finkipedia, the inaugural finkbowl 5K has been announced. i think it will be fun, but it is somewhat self-serving to keep me motivated this month. i won't embarass myself by not finishing my own race. not going for speed, but i am determined to finish better than my first ever 5K 10 years ago, which was clocked with a sundial at just over 30:00.

1/4 2.0 mi, 16.4 MTD