sore legs

Wow . . . I thought I was ready to go out and breeze through a recovery run tonight. I guess the 18 miler took a little more than I thought. "BUT IT WAS WORTH IT!!!" the fat man screams.

I thought doing a 45 session on the bike and lifting weights, including leg workout, would work all the soreness out. I thought wrong or the work I did yesterday made me sore. Regardless, I managed a 5 miler tonight. I did it without a watch, again. Good thing . . . I felt sort of slow and sluggish. However, by the 4th mile I was starting to loosen up and as I sit here typing this up, my legs feel okay.

Part of the problem is that I know I am running my long runs a little too fast. But that's okay, if it doesn't kill me it will make me stronger, right?

Off tomorrow and then tempo run on Wednesday and hills on Thursday.

I LOVE the Long Run!

Hey all. For those who are keeping up, today was my 18 miler. First time in a while since I've gone over 16. It always seems like whenever I start getting ready for a marathon, I get injured about this time in my training. NO MORE!!! I have been able to keep the fat man at bay thanks to Weight Watchers, hard work, and a support group that is second to none! That includes my running friends and neighbors-Chip, Animal, Dom, Lisa, Dori. It also includes fellow bloggers like Amy and Shane. Thanks all!

I was a little concerned with today's run since I struggled a little bit with last week's 15.6 miler. Not today. Lisa ran with me for the first 9 miles or so and then Dori joined me for a couple of miles and then Dom (who was already out running with Chip) helped me finish off the last 7 miles. Lisa ended up running 14.5 miles. Chip turned in about a 10 and Dom was somewhere around 14 or 15 miles. THANKS!

Here's the bottom line. 18 miles in 2 hours 38 minutes. That works out to a 8:47 average. MUCHO better than the 9:05s I was wanting to average. The best part is that I am not hardly sore at all and managed to work around in the yard the rest of the day. I'm rewarding myself with Lasagna with some friends.

I just wish Mona were here to help me celebrate :(

hectic Thursday

or at least it seemed hectic to me.

Busy day at work. All kinds of stuff going on. And on top of all the usual BS, my boss calls me in and assigns more to me. EXCUSE ME . . . I'm trying to get over my wife passing away last month. Isn't there anyone else to handle this stuff?

Answer: yes, but I know you'll do it right.

Have you ever really just been fed up to here with it?

Okay, I've vented. Now on to the more important stuff. I ran this afternoon. I had to make it a quick, short run since I was heading over to The Bell Center (www.thebellcenter.org )-an early intervention school. I'm doing a Partners in Training (yes it is similar to Team in Training). That is what I am raising money for . . . read my profile for more info. Tonight was an awards meeting. I didn't win any awards. Didn't raise enough money. I did win a hotel room for the night before the marathon. That was nice considering that you can walk out of the hotel to the start line for the marathon. However, I told them to use the money and put it back into Bell Center. I live close enough that it is not an issue.

I ran about 5 miles. I did hill repeats and just warming up and cooling off.

I ran about 2 1/2 miles to warm up.

4 x 0.2 mile hill repeats (1.6 including the downhills)

1 mile cooldown.

I did notice that I was tired and sore from the hard tempo run that Animal and I ran last night. However, my times are improving and the FATMAN is staying way.

Check back to see how my 18 miler goes this Saturday. I'm shooting for a 9:05 average, but we'll see.

A good tempo

Good evening to all. I hope everyone has had a good day. After a few down days, I’ve broken out of my funk . . . at least for now. I think about Mona more than I thought I would. I always thought that I was a lot tougher, but this is perhaps the toughest thing I’ve ever done physically or emotionally. Training for a marathon is tough but nothing like facing grief. Enough of that!

I had a really good run tonight. Many thanks to Marc “Animal” for helping me to push my tempo run. It is always a good thing to run with someone that is a little bit faster . . . it will definitely challenge you and make you stronger.

It was a very nice evening . . . high 40s, no wind. Perfect!

I did 7.2 miles in 58:14. That works out to 8:05.5 average pace.
However, we steadily picked up steam along the way.
We ran a 1.2 mile loop. Here’s the splits and the pace/mile:

Lap 1 10:33 8:47 pace
Lap 2 9:49 8:11 pace
Lap 3 9:37 8:08 pace
Lap 4 9:27 7:52.5 pace
Lap 5 9:19 7:46 pace
Lap 6 9:28 7:53 pace

Not too bad for the fat man.

Routine Monday

As promised, I am coming back to my blogging. I've missed you more than you've missed me, I'm sure.

It took me at least a full day to recover from my long run on Saturday. Actually longer. Normally, I wake up without an alarm clock. However, this morning I actually hit the snooze a couple of times. It really zonked me out. Anyway . . . .

Decided that I would run without my watch tonight since it was a recovery night. It was a good run and it was refreshing to not be looking at the watch-very freeing. It was in the mid 50s and foggy since it has rained here for the last 24 hours. Not sure what my pace was but I felt very comfortable and light on my feet after the first mile. I ran a nice 5 miler and then lifted weights. Between the run, the cooldown and the workout I spent about 1 1/2 hours just doing my thing. Very nice.

I'm back . . . . sort of

Hello everyone. Thanks for your patience with me. It has been hard to get started back to blogging. I haven't had any problem getting my runs in, just not overly inspired to write about them. However, I've been journaling my emotional journey after Mona's death and I have found it helpful, so I figure getting back to this might be helpful.

I've been sticking to my program for the most part. Understandably, it's been a little tough to stay motivated, but with my half marathon coming up in a few weeks I figure I better get with the program.

Two weeks ago Saturday I ran in a 10 mile race. I didn't run all out, but I did push the pace. I completed it in 1:23. That works out to a 8:18 pace. I was pleased with it. Especially knowing that I still had a little bit left in me.

Last Saturday I did a 13.2 training run. Dom and Lisa (my next door neighbor's sister) ran with me. It was a nice controlled pace that was slightly pushed, but not out of control. Not really a LSD run though. 1:53 for the whole run. that's a 8:33.6 pace.

This past Saturday I ran a 15.6 miler. It was warm (mid 60s) and sprinkling. I deliberately ran a slower pace. Thank goodness I did . . . the run wiped me out. It has been a long time since a had a long run do me that way. Legs felt fine, but my back and chest hurt. I guess from the heavy breathing! ;) anyway, I ran it at a very consistent pace. I didn't vary more than 5 seconds in any mile during the whole run. 2:21. That works out to 9:02.3 per mile pace.

My goal is to break 1:50 for the half marathon. It will be close. I'll be picking it back up over the next couple of weeks and I'm planning an 18 miler next week. I figure if I can hold a 9 minute pace for 18, I should be able to make 8:23s for the half . . . . that would give me 1:50.

Come back and check my progress over the next couple of weeks.

And thanks to everyone for your comments regarding Mona.

A sad new start to the new year

It was 2 weeks ago today that I buried my wife and best friend of 14 years. http://www.mem.com/display/biography.asp?ID=1155253 Mona was the most indescribeable person I have ever met and will probably ever know. Her life is a testament to her faith and her joy for life. She passed away Christmas night due to complications from her Marfan Syndrome www.marfan.org . The ER doctor said that it was probably a catastrophic aneurism or a failed heart valve. She had survived a dissecting aortic aneurism (95% mortality rate) when she was 24 years old. She has had 5 major surgeries since to repair aneurisms along her aorta. She never complained nor did she ever tell folks about her condition unless they were family or close friends. She spent her time helping others . . . working in the NICU while she could work. Afterwards, she volunteered at the hospital one day a week and continued working in NICU. She also worked with our church's respite program. She was always looking for opportunities to serve others. In fact, Christmas Eve evening, the night before she passed away, we went down to the local shelter and helped serve dinner to the homeless. I thank God for having the opportunity to know this wonderful person and I count myself blessed that she loved me and agreed to be my wife. If you care to do anything, please make a memorial donation to the National Marfan Foundation in Mona Hamlin's name. Thank you.

I'll start blogging my running later.