Nice 5 mile run

This run felt great! I was very glad to be running today. After a long week at work I really wanted to have a good run. Usually, I am kind of tired on Fridays but today, for some reason, I was energized. I only ran 5 miles today because I was still recovering from being sick earlier in the week. I wanted to go longer as I wasn't that tired at the end, but I decided I should let my body rest for the long run on Sunday.

As a result, I ran my five miles at an 7'53"-mile pace. I realize that to expect something like this for my half-marathon would be a bit unrealistic as my longer runs are probably more indicative my half-marathon pace. Here's looking forward to a good long run.

A Good Run

Today was a good run. Considering the past few runs I've had (crash 'n burn, 11 miles, and crappy run) I was very glad to have this one. It was about 50 degrees, sunny and hardly any wind. In other words, it was perfect for running. My wonderful wife was walking again so it was nice to see her as I was running.

The run felt very good. I decided to only run 4 miles today due to my crappy run on Monday and tired run on Sunday. I felt I could have gone more at the end, but I decided not to push it too much and keep it an easy 4-miler. I ran it in 32'25" or about an 8'07"-mile. So that is pretty on par with what I have been running. I do think though that I got the time down a little by pushing it the last half mile or so. The run felt too good to pass it up.

My new shoes held up great, and they felt especially cushy when I had to briefly run on pavement. I've also added in my running log the total mileage for the week. I'm a little obsessed with spreadsheets and it's really easy to upload excel files to google docs. Oh well.

I should be running again tomorrow. I am shooting for 5 miles. I'll let you know how it goes.

Crappy Run and New Shoe Debut

Today's run was absolutely crappy. It was by far the worst run I have had to date. What I wanted to run was about 6 miles. With my luck, though, I was doomed to only 2 miles. My body felt as if it weighed 50 gazillion pounds today. I felt winded, tired, and somewhat sick. I didn't know what had come over me. But after my second mile, I knew I had to stop. I timed myself to 16'40" or an 8'20"-mile. I guess that's good considering how utterly bad I felt.

On a brighter note, I tired out my new shoes that I had purchased. I had every intention of using them last week, but with being sick, I didn't want to use them for the first time on a long run. So, even though I ran a short, somewhat crappy run, I still enjoyed my new shoes. They were light and airy and they also felt good on my feet.

To that end, I won't be posting for a couple days because of some work stuff. I won't be running again until Thursday. See you then.

11-mile long run and Week 9 Summary

After being sick most of this week, I am very happy that I actually got out to run yesterday and today. If you're interested, check back to last week's post with my week 8 summary and 10-mile run. And over at Get Fit Slowly, "macdaddy" has completed his first week of half-marathon training. Hats off to him and to keeping up the fun/hard work.

Today, I'll start with my first 11-mile run today and then move to my Week 9 Summary.

First 11-mile Run

I started out a little bit weary of trying to run this run. Since I had been sick most of the week I didn't know how my body would hold up for this. To make matters worse, I fell yesterday so I wasn't sure how my body was going to handle the run today.

Unfortunately, my body started of the day tired. For some reason, my brain decided not to let me get a good night's sleep last night. I was determined though not to let it stop me. I wanted to complete this eleven miles especially with my good run last weekend. The beginning of this run was killer. Usually, I find the first mile quite easy and a warm up. However, today was a different story. It seemed like from the moment I started running that my body wanted to quit on me! At two miles I wanted to quit already and my calves were already tight. One good thing I had going for me was that my wonderful, intelligent, beautiful wife was also walking on the trail on which I was running. This meant I could see her every two laps or so. She definitely provided me with some motivation to continue running.

After 7 miles, I felt like I was dying so I stopped quickly for a drink of water at the water fountain in the park I run in. The water was nice and it took a lot of inner strength to start running again. I was already tired/beat. My calves were hurting and my body seemed to scream at me. I'm sure this had nothing to do with the fact I had been sick all week. At this point though, my wife was reading at a picnic table, so every time I would run by, she would yell, "go Nairb!!!". This provided additional motivation/encouragement for me to finish me eleven miles. They dragged on forever though. My body was really tired and the number of miles left consumed my thoughts. Only 3 more, 2 more, 1 more......

I completed the 11 miles in 1 hour and 36 minutes! This worked out to be about an 8'36"/mile. I am actually pretty proud of this considering how tired I was plus the stoppage for water. I also thought I was running much slower due to tiredness, but I guess my body handles my pace pretty well. I have updated my running log to include this past week. I have also added a new column with how many miles I have gone in a week. I will try to keep it updated with each run so it stays current.

Week 9 Summary

I will summarize again what I did this week versus what my training guidelines (Hal Higdon) dictate. Hal's will be in regular type and mine in italics.

Mon- Stretch and strengthen; 2-mile walk (sick)

Tues- 5 mile run; (sick)

Wed- 9 x 400 5K-pace; (sick)

Thurs- 3 mile run + strength; (sick)

Fri- Rest or easy run; 2-mile walk (sick)

Sat- Rest; 4-mile (crash 'n burn)

Sun- 15K race; 11-mile run


This basically ends me up with 15 miles this week. It is significantly less than I wanted to run, but what I am supposed to do? At least I listened to my body for the most part. I am proud of myself though because I ran 11 miles today! I have never run that long before, so I is proud of my!

Crash and Burn

Today was quite the running day.

I finally felt well enough to run! I decided to run 5 miles because I wanted to still try and do my long run tomorrow. So I started out and even though I was a little stuffed up in my nose still, it didn't seem too bad. I felt pretty good during all of this. I did experience a mild hiccup at about 2.5 miles. My left foot briefly caught the shoe lace of my right shoe in the middle of my stride. I stumbled briefly but then I didn't really think that much about it after that.

Unfortunately for me, I should have stopped and dealt with it. Right as a finished my fourth mile, I caught the right shoelace with my left foot and when crashing down much like the runner in the picture. Lucky for me, I was running on a gravel trail!!! I basically caught myself with the palms of my hands ( or so I thought). I immediately got up and brushed off my hands of gravel to see no blood. I almost entertained continuing the run because I only had one mile left. I thought, my hands sting a little but that's it... Well, then I glanced at my left elbow and saw that it was bleeding all over the place and there was gravel embedded in my skin. It was a good thing I was close to a bathroom. I was able to get in there and wash out all the gravel and clean it up all nice. Upon exiting my wife saw me walking while holding paper towels on my elbow and only mildly freaked out. I convinced her to walk a little first for me to cool down before going home.

Other than not finishing my 5 miles and taking a cheese grater to my elbow, the run was pretty decent. I hope tomorrow's is just as nice.

Oh and since I fell and then walked, I didn't have time to stop my stopwatch( or cell phone).

Who loves being sick???

ME!!!!

That's right, I am still with the sickness today. I think I will try to walk a little bit as I think I may be on the up swing. I got some antibiotics yesterday from the doctor. Hopefully my drugs will work.

Still Sick

Yep, that's right. I am mad sick. Sickness sucks bunches.

I'm out...

Sick

Today, I had every intention of running even after completing 10 miles yesterday! However, I thought I might have been getting sick yesterday and today has confirmed that my suspicion. I feel icky, congested, runny nose, and complete with headache. I did manage to walk for two miles, thought. Short post today due to that.

Here's to feeling better...

First 10-mile Run and Week 8 Summary

This training week is finally over. I will summarize all my running for the week below, but first I will mention my first 10 mile run!

My First 10-mile Run

I was a little bit anxious for my first 10-mile run today. Since last week was my 8 mile run, my previous longest run, I didn't know how I would do with adding two miles to that. The start was fairly mundane, but about 2.5 miles into I hit a mental block. For some reason almost every time I run, it is very hard to me to complete/run mile 2-3. It is definitely more mental than physical. I think my brain just over exaggerates the work my body is doing and tries to convince me to stop!

By mile 5, I was still feeling nice but a little doubtful I would be able to complete what I wanted to run. Luckily, I had put lots of motivating/upbeat tunes on my mp3 player so I think that helped. Around mile 7, my calves started to feel tight, as well as my gluteal muscles. Then after finishing mile 8 and moving into mile 9, my right knee started to hurt. Basically it felt like my body was kicking my butt for running so much. =+). I tried to run a little bit harder the last mile, even though I wanted to stop. I'm not sure if I actually did, but I do know that I just kept pushing on. I wanted to stop so much, but I knew if I did I would not start back up again. I just kept going, one foot in front of the other, trying not to slow down.

And I did! I finished my ten miles in 1 hour and 21 minutes! I am very proud of myself. That works out to be about an 8'09" mile. My time surprised me as I thought I was pacing myself a bit slower than that. Oh well, I guess.

Week 8 Summary

I would like to sum of this week by looking at what Hal Higdon wanted me to run versus what I actually did. Hal's numbers will be in regular type and mine in italics.

Mon- Stretch and Strengthen; 5 mile run

Tues- 4.5 mile run; 20 minute pilates video

Wed- 40 min tempo run; 4 mile run

Thurs- 3 mile run + strength; 55 minute pilates video

Fri- Rest; 5 mile run

Sat- 5 mile pace; Rest

Sun- 10 mile run; 10 mile run

So it seems to me I did a pretty good job of loosely following his program. The modifications exist due to my work schedule and such. If I can keep up this schedule, I should be doing pretty good when it comes to race day. I have also included an updated running log (which I will try to update weekly). I have included in it an extrapolation time for my half marathon. Basically, I wanted to know if I keep the pace I just ran, what will my half marathon time be?

I'm also glad I'm not the only one training for my first half-marathon. Someone over at Get Fit Slowly is also on his way to complete his first half marathon. Congratulations to him.

That's all I got for now...

New Shoes!!!!!!

My New Shoes

I just wanted to share my good news that I am getting new shoes!!! Woo-hoo! Currently I run in New Balance shoes, as I have for years. They are the best shoes in the world for me. I would highly recommend them to anyone, even if you don't run. They are so comfy.

So, my secret for getting really good shoes for cheap (because if you have bought them, you know New Balance shoes can run up a tab pretty quickly) is a website. I use the New Balance Web Express website. Luckily for me, every year in January they have a massive blowout/clearance sale where shoes are about 50% off! It is great.

To share, here is a picture from their website of my brand spanking new shoes! For those that don't know, generally the higher the number on the shoe, the more support/cushioning there is! Holla!

Friday Run

Today's run was quite interesting for me for several reasons. First, it was a Friday run which I notoriously detest. Second it was very cold. Only after these will I get to the actual run!

Why I hate Friday runs

I really don't like Friday runs. To start with, at the end of the work week, the last thing on my mind is exercise/running. Motivation is key here, and generally I lack quite a bit on Fridays. Last Friday I felt really horrible, tired, and unmotivated. I didn't exactly do what I had planned. I wanted to complete 5 miles but I only managed 3. Going into this run I had the expectation that I could at least do better than last Friday. Unfortunately for me, the weather was out to get me.

Cold Running

The weather as it turns out, must possess some sort of vendetta against me. The South is supposed to warmer, right? Well, today it was colder here than in Alaska.

I have to say that there wasn't any snow here, but quite the dose of chill. It was about 29 degrees during my run with a wind chill much colder. The cold really made me want to go home have a nice cup of hot chocolate instead of running. Alas, I remembered that I wanted to run about 13.1 miles in 4 weeks, so I begrudgingly made myself sit on the cold ground to stretch!! I dressed myself in shorts, covered with swishy workout pants. Then I layered with a wife-beater and a long sleeve t-shirt. I topped it off with a stylish headband/ear warmer thing.


The Actual Run

Despite the really cold temperatures, I got to going. The run started out as expected: cold. Then after about 2 miles, I had to stick my hands out of the sleeves of my shirt. At 3 miles, I pushed up my sleeves--it was gettin' pretty warm. I felt really good and did not feel like stopping. I kept up my pace and even gave it a little push the last half-mile or so. I finished 5 miles, which was my plan, in 40 minutes and 32 seconds. That ends up being an 8'07" mile. I was pretty happy with that considering the aforementioned cold and Friday.

That's all I got for now. I'm mentally gearing up for my planned 10 mile run on Sunday. I have never run that much before, so we'll see how it goes!!!

4 mile run

Today I ran a nice four-miler. It felt pretty good for the most part. It went rather well. There were no major glitches in running today. Pain was minimal and it was nice outside, very sunny but brisk. I've decided to start keeping a log of my runs with my times and distances. You can see it by checking out the link. I'm not sure how it will work because it's an excel spreadsheet but uploaded to google docs. So we'll see I guess.

Here is my half-marathon training schedule that I got from Hal Higdon's website.
January 11, 2009 is my week 7 Sunday run. I am actually using this as more of a guide than anything else. I don't really have access to the track and I can't run all those days do to other issues. I need/want to do some low impact exercise as well. As that is part of my journey to a marathon, I will include my progress on that as well.

Tomorrow is another day...

My Running Background

I want to start with a little bit of background about my running history.

I first starting running back in 1997 when I was a freshman in high school. I raced middle distance on the track team and ended up doing all the long distance work outs. After one year of this, my family moved to a new area. The combination of moving and other things kept me from running.

Fast forward to my first year of college...

I started running again because I felt I was out of shape. I kept it up consistently for about 2 years with about 3-5 miles three times a week. Due to the increase in college tuition I had to work more to pay rent, etc. and running went by the way-side. Three years of college later, I had stopped running and decided to start again when I started grad school.

Of course this went quite slowly as I could barely run a mile. Just as I started to get into it, I got hit by a car on my bicycle (this is a completely long and different story). Bruised, battered, and with dislocated shoulder, I managed to not get any exercise for about 6-8 months. A lack of exercise and no motivation dealt me a stacked deck--I weighed the most ever in my life. That was quite a jump start for me and I slowly worked my way back to running about 3 times a week for about 30-40 minutes.

The current regime has persisted for quite some time due to "issues/problems" which cause pain in my lower body. This aside, a couple of months ago I decided I wanted to run a marathon. In preparation, I signed up for a half marathon February 15, 2009.
















The ultimate goal is by next year at the same time I will run the marathon. Wish me luck and here I go.