December Totals

12/1 – 12/31 = 124.8 miles average pace of 10:16

Last run of the year

I promised my wife that we would do our last run of the year together so once she got home from work we went out and did the mile loop.

We have had a great year…and the completion of this mile makes it officially 6 months of daily running. I am so proud of my wife…she never thought she would be able to run regularly and yet here we are completing a streak of 6 months worth of running. The new year will bring with it new running goals and new races but I will always remember these last six months because I did them together with my wife.

Monday, December 31, 2007

The Goofy runners decided to get together and do another “long” run…turns out to only be 10k due to multiple reasons. The group ran the Panera route and then hit the coffee shop for a while. Pace was 9:14 and a negative split too!! 1st 5k: 28:50 2nd 5k: 28:29

Sunday, December 30, 2007

Slept in and ran a little later in the morning. Simple mile loop in the neighborhood at an 8:59 pace.

12/23 – 12/29 Totals

12/23 – 12/29 total miles = 25.27 miles at an average pace of 9:29

Saturday, December 29, 2007

Needed to run extra miles so I got to the running location at 6 AM. The girls were already there and with the recent snow they decided not to run the cemeteries but to run the roads. I wasn’t able to keep up with them but was able to maintain a great pace…also very consistent!!

Ran a total of 11 miles with a 9:50 pace.

1st 5k: 30:02
2nd 5k: 29:53
3rd 5k: 30:05

Friday, December 28, 2007

We had a plan for today that was totally shot due to the coming weather. We headed out just as it started to snow. We easily ran the mile loop in 8:53 pace.

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Since I put a second coat of paint on the spare room in the morning and I decided to run once I was done. The simple mile run wasn’t going to be enough for me today so I decided to make it 2 miles. I did the usual 2 mile loop out to 3 mile rd and back and managed to keep an 8:40 pace!!

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Spent most of today cleaning the spare room out and getting the room prepped to be painted. Once my wife got home we went to buy the paint and started to paint the room. By the time we were done it was 10:30 at night and I still had not run…so I donned the running shoes and went out for a 1 mile run at a 8:16 pace.

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Christmas day…but that does not mean that we ignore the fact that we have to run. We didn’t get out until 7pm tonight but we got out none the less. Ran 1 mile with a 9:14 pace.

Monday, December 24, 2007

It was still windy this morning but not as bad as it was yesterday so I kept my promise with the group to run this morning. There were 5 of us in total and an additional 3 dogs!! We ran the Panera route for 6.2 miles and I was able to maintain a 9:13 pace

Sunday, December 23, 2007

With the weather being so bad…the wind was at 30+ mph…we decided to go to the YMCA. I really hate running on the treadmill but you have to do what you’ve got to do. I ran 3 miles in 29:40 and then spent the next 10 minutes doing a hill workout.

12/16 – 12/22 Totals

12/16 – 12/22 total miles = 25.21 miles at an average pace of 9:36

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Only 3 weeks before Disney so we needed to do a little extra. I didn’t know if anyone was running early but thought I had better get there at 5:30 just to get the extra miles in. When I arrived there were already people there so I guess I’ll be running with them. I thought that I’d be able to get in 9 before the rest of the group got there but I only got 8.4 in. I quickly dried off and headed back out on the road with Andy. We ran the church run and I finished with 14 miles at a 9:55 pace.

Friday, December 21, 2007

Just an easy mile around the neighborhood at 9:21 pace.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

I really did not want to get out of bed this morning. I was warm and I wasn’t really sore from last nights run but I could feel the muscles healing. But the wife got her running gear ready to go so I had to get ready as well.

We got outside and found the temperature to be rather nice compared to what it’s been recently…the only problem was the wind…it was cold!

We simply ran our 1 mile loop (9:00 pace) and stretched.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

I figured that I should do a few more miles today but it was my wife that suggested that I run around 6 miles…I only wanted to do 4…I’ve told her that she is a bad influence since she makes me run farther than I really want to but it is all for the best.

With the snow on the ground I was running as close to the shoulder as possible. I managed to put 6.19 miles in at a pace of 9:18.

In the end my wife was right…I needed to do the longer run and I felt good when it was all done.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Early morning run with my wife and got the mile in at a 9:08 pace

Monday, December 17, 2007

First day back from Italy and wanted to sleep in so I ran in the evening. Colder than I expected but it is winter!! 1 mile at an 8:38 pace.

Sunday, December 16, 2007

After spending 9 plus hours on a plane I was happy to be home and itching to get out for a run but the snow and the cold were a bit of a deterrent. I spent some time unpacking and getting comfortable but then we headed out after the end of the Packer game. An easy mile at a 9:04 pace.

12/9 – 12/15 Totals

12/9 – 12/15 total miles = 39.42 miles at an average pace of 11:52

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Last day in Italy and after being out until 5 AM this morning I got a bit of a late start on the day. I knew that there was a cache I wanted to get to and since it was 5 miles from the hotel I would easily be able to get in my 10 plus miles.

When I started out it was rather cold to be wearing shorts but I’m glad that I brought my gloves with just in case. I was headed out of Turin and following the river and I had a thought that the cache just might be at the top of Superga Hill which holds Basilica of Superga a church built in the 18th century and the hill is notable since the Turin soccer team was killed in a plane crash in the 1940’s on that hill.

Sure enough as I got closer to the ‘hill’ the cache seemed to be right up at the top. So like a true cacher I continued on toward the cache until the climb got to be a bit much at which time I walked up Superga…it was a hell of a climb and the walk back down wasn’t much better!! The views from the top were fantastic…kind of wish I had brought the camera. The cache was missing so it was a small waste but it was fun.

Managed to get back to the hotel before dinner and I had completed 14.25 miles at an average pace of 13:51.

Friday, December 14, 2007

With the audit conference dinner tonight I knew that it was important to get the miles in early so I was up and running at 6 AM. Put in 2.42 miles at a pace of 8:45.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Didn’t feel like getting up this morning but did anyway so I only ran the mile and called it done for the day. Pace was 8:52.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Still a little groggy so I decide to run in the evening. Was able to run 2.11 miles at an 8:59 average pace.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

First day in town and knew that I needed to get into a routine right away. Managed to find a relatively easy route…the only problem is that the buildings occasionally block the GPS signal. Ran 1.5 miles at a 9:21 pace.

Monday, December 10, 2007

With the impending flight I decided to sleep in a little and run a bit later. Ran at 8:30 AM and just did the neighborhood loop for 1 mile at a 9:15 pace.

Sunday, December 09, 2007

Well with all of us getting ready for the goofy it was decided that we would get a high mileage day in today. We started out at Panera missing only Jodi who organized today’s run.

We ran north then west…both directions that the wind was blowing from which caused all of us to have ice sheets covering our fronts!! Andy and I ran a total of 17.11 miles at an 11:34 pace.

12/2 – 12/9 Totals

12/2 – 12/9 total miles = 21.65 miles average pace 9:20

Saturday, December 8, 2007

Race Day!! Today is the Jingle Bell run but I’m still training for Goofy, so I set out to run about 6 miles before the 5k race but based on my faulty mapping it turned out to be only 5.44 miles.

The race went really well. The 1st mile was 8:05 and my time at mile 2 was 16:05…hmm negative split is pretty good! I was starting to catch my wife and a few of my fellow runners so I slowly moved past them and finished the race. Here is what is odd…The 5k race turned out to be 2.79 miles…so the running group decided that we should finish the 5k so we ran a couple of laps and finished the 5k.

Total for the day was 8.57 miles for a total time of 78:40 or a pace of 9:11.

Friday, December 7, 2007

Cold night but needed to put the mile in ran around the neighborhood and completed the mile in 9:02 pace.

Thursday, December 06, 2007

It was cold but I still wanted to run outside…I have to get used to it…it’s going to be a long winter!!

1 mile in 8:56.

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

I really would prefer to run outside but when the roads still need to be plowed it makes running rather difficult so I reluctantly decided to run at the YMCA. We got there around 6pm and it was surprisingly not very busy. Running on the treadmill for 3 miles sucked but still managed a decent time of 27:20 or about 9:07 pace

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

We were lying in bed deciding if we wanted to run this morning or tonight and then it dawned on me that we have a meeting tonight so we had to run now.

My wife and I dragged our butts out of bed and got ready for the morning run…as we headed out the door I made the disclaimer, as I do most mornings, ‘this is going to be an easy run.’ I think both of us agreed, we put 1 mile in at a 9:40 pace.

Monday, December 03, 2007

Nice cold evening for a run but it was very good. The wind appeared to come from 3 directions!! UNBELIEVABLE!!
1.01 miles at a 8:46 pace.

Sunday, December 02, 2007

With the weather turning to winter on Saturday I thought that today was going to be a bad run. But the temperature felt good and the snow/rain had stopped.

My wife and I decided that we would go shopping and go to the YMCA afterward…I would run from YMCA home (about 5.8 miles) and we would call it a day. About the time we were going to leave…the clouds opened up and it started to rain.

I hoped that the rain would stop before we got to the Y but no luck.

I ran home in the muck…there were way too many people that have yet to shovel their sidewalks and unfortunately with the temperature most of the muck was water covered by about 1/8 of an inch of snow. By 2 miles in my shoes were drenched!!!

Other than my feet being wet and the stiff wind coming out of the west I thought the run went pretty well! Managed 6 miles at a 9:52 pace.

11/25 – 12/1 Totals

11/25 – 12/1 total miles = 30.12 miles average pace 9:52

Saturday, December 01, 2007

I needed to meet Kristen and Jodi at 5:30 am and I was running late. I ended up getting to the meeting spot at 5:40-5:45…they were still there…Damn!!! I was hoping that they had left on time and I wouldn’t have to run with them. Alas they waited for me so we got moving at about 5:45.

The reverse Culver’s Route is bad even at this time of day (if you want to call this day!!) I had to walk twice going up the hills but the girls waited for me so that I could catch up and we continued together. Once we got to the end of the Culver’s Route we continued down the road between the dump and Sam’s club. There is a nice gravel road that we followed…I’ll skip the part where we attempted to get into the park but met up with a fence…and at about 6:25 we turned around and headed back to the meeting point.

Once we met up with the rest of the group we headed south toward Kenosha. I managed to get 2 miles down the trail before I had to start walking. Carol and her 2 dogs kept me company for the final 4 miles. She kept me moving and running.

We got back to the meeting spot and I had completed 13.25 miles at a 9:51 pace…Not too bad!!!

After a bit of stretching we all went to Panera for coffee.

November Totals

11/1 – 11/30 = 92.9 miles average pace 9:35

Friday, November 30, 2007

Tomorrow I need to run long and the weather for Sunday doesn’t look to great so I decided to stick with the easy mile and call it a night.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Cold out but still needed to get some time on the feet so I ran 1 mile nothing exciting to note.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

After my commission meeting I wanted to do a little more than 1 mile but got a little lazy once I started only ended up with 1.19 miles but it was still worth going out and doing.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

We decided that we were going to the YMCA today. I haven’t been to the gym in nearly 2 months so I was dreading getting on that tread mill!! I got there before my wife and started my run. Got 2 miles completed in 19:04 with a few intervals in the process. Did weights for about 30 minutes and then called it quits for the day.

Monday, November 26, 2007

Got up early this morning and did our mile right away…which is always good since I never know what the day holds for me. I still hate morning runs but they are a fact of life! 1 mile in 9:06.

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Since we are still ‘in training’ for Goofy it made sense that we run on Sunday. Andy suggested it and I suggested the location – Armstrong.

We were to meet at 6:45…I was 5 minutes late and Andy wasn’t there so I waited for another 10 minutes and headed out at 7am. I was about a mile out when I saw Andy coming.

In order to run Armstrong and get the miles in that meant doing laps…in this case 4 of them. The hills are not very tough but after doing a few it starts to wear on you. Andy had caught up with my by 2.5 miles so it was great to have company.

We put in the laps and with the stiff westerly wind made it back to the cars at Johnson Park. It was a tough run but managed to get it done. I ran 10.69 miles and did it at a 10:18 pace…not the best but not too bad either!!

11/18 – 11/24 Totals

11/18 – 11/24 total miles = 27.33 miles average pace 9:21

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Decided to get a few extra miles before meeting the group…Disney is getting close very fast!! Figured I could get 5-6 miles in before meeting everyone but my digestive system had something else to say. At about 3 miles I needed to stop and use the restroom…thankfully Pick-N-Save was open and had a bathroom.

After using the bathroom I had to try to catch up on time and make it to the group. I got there only a little late but everyone was still there. I kept a great pace but struggled toward the end. I’m getting back into the hang of running to run and walking when I need to walk. My pace was 9:40 for 11 miles which I do say is GREAT!!!

Friday, November 23, 2007

I had the day off of work but decided to wait until my wife came home before I went running. We ran 1 mile in 9:02.

Thursday, November, 22, 2007

Well today was race day. My wife and I had been watching the weather reports all week and we didn’t like the looks for the day. When we got up the snow had fallen but there wasn’t that much on the ground…only about an inch stuck to the grass. Then temp was about 30 degrees but the wind was blowing strong from the NNW.

We got down to Kenosha and picked up our registration packet then went back to the car and sat there for 10 min to stay warm. Once we headed back to the starting line we realized that the wind was picking up and that the snow had started to fly again.

The race started a few minutes late but the vocalist singing the National Anthem did a fantastic job. We headed out at a good pace…around 9:12 and did a great job sticking to that pace for most of the race. All of the way out to the turn around the wind was into our face. It was hard going but my wife was a trooper. We kept the pace nice and easy.

Before the turnaround I remembered to take off my gloves before I started to overheat. As we approached to turnaround we saw all of our other runners go by. We made the turn for home and as we headed back saw our final two running group partners.

The turn home was as bad as I thought it would be…no wind and I started to overheat a bit. We kept moving and tried to keep the pace steady I saw Andy up ahead and thought that I could catch him in the last mile so I told my wife once we hit 5 miles she would be on her own but once we got there the person calling out the time said “45:40” My wife’s goal for this race was sub 58 and I had no doubt that she was going to hit that but at this point there was the potential for a sub 56!! I decided to stick with her and do what I could to push her.

We mad the final turn west and before I could ask her to step up the pace a bit she gets hit with a side stitch!! She worked trough it like a trooper and I kept the pace up beat. I tried to keep her mind off of the pain and told here to focus on catching th woman ahead of us.

By the time we hit 6 miles the stitch went away and she was able to run fast we completed the 10k (6.2 miles) in 56:47!! I am so proud of my wife for accomplishing her goal!!

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Well things were just crappy all day. I thought about brining my running gear and going to the Y but decided not to…this means that I had to face the elements.

The wind was blowing strong…up to 30+ mph!!! The rain was light but with the wind it hurt!

Managed to put 1 mile in at a 8:33 pace.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Should have gotten up…
Wife should have told me what the weather was going to be…
Winter sucks…

Excuse after excuse, I’ve got’em. I never heard what the weather was going to be like today so when I didn’t wake up with me wife this morning I thought ‘oh well, I’ll just run tonight.’ Well as you all know the day was crappy. It was cold and windy with a misty rain all day and most of the night. When I got home from work I changed and went running…not after complaining and complaining…but I went.

1 mile in 8:36.

Monday, November 19, 2007

With the body still a little sore from the running this weekend I was reluctant to get up but I did. I wasn’t sure how to dress because the temp said 47 degrees but it looked cold outside. I was glad I dressed warm since the wind was whipping making me very cold!

We put in our mile at about a 9:22 pace.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Disney is fast approaching and it was decided that we really need to do back to back runs. So we decided that this week we would meet on Sunday and pound out another good distance run (about half of the previous days run.) So in stead of spending my Sunday morning doing what I love to do…sleeping in…I was up at 6 am and out the door by 6:15 to meet the group at Panera. With all of our Goofy gang there we set out to do a minimum of 6 miles. The wind was much worse than it was on Saturday meaning that it was rather cold out but we persevered! I ran with Andy the entire time and we kept a great pace…unfortunately the girls kept an even better pace and finished well ahead of us. At the end of the day I had 6.16 miles in at a 9:26 pace…I really can’t complain.

11/11 – 11/17 Totals

11/11 – 11/17 total miles = 19.79 miles average pace 9:38

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Got up early so I could put in a few extra miles in preparation for Goofy. Ran with Kristen who kept me moving! Once we were back with the rest of the group I decided to run with Jeff to catch up on things. Jeff hasn’t run with the group for a while so his pace was a little erratic. No problem…I can cope. Managed to put in 10.99 miles and kept a decent pace for the 5.25 miles but lagged a little on the last few. Winter is definitely coming because I can feel the chill in the air and boy was that wind blowing off the lake!!!

Friday, November 16, 2007

We ran this evening and only did a single mile…we tried to take it easy but still managed to put in a 9:19 pace.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Didn’t want to get up this morning but by the time I got home tonight it was already 8:30!! I had to get my mile in so I got ready…didn’t put on enough layers…and got out there for my run. Decided to just do the mile since it was cold and late and as I started going the cold got to me so I moved faster and faster. Soon I was forcing myself to slow down because I didn’t think my lungs were going to continue taking in the cold air. Finished my mile run in 7:56!!

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

With my wife going to here trainer this evening I knew I wouldn’t have to get up and run in the morning…thank god!! So after work (and shopping…had to get a few new work shirts) I got ready and headed out for my run.

I has gotten colder so I dressed for the weather but didn’t realize just how warm my running cap was until I was a mile in. By this point I was sweating even while my hands were still cold. I took off the cap and felt much better.

Ended my run with 2.77 miles and a pace of 9:08. I really need to keep things moving so that Disney will be a cinch!!

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Still having a difficult time trying to get up in the morning but I got up anyway and with my wife by my side we started running at 6:40. Once I was outside and the cold wind hit me I woke up quite a bit. My legs were feeling good…at the beginning and I decided that I would do 2 miles. The wife wasn’t so sure about it but she knew that she really needed to do the mileage. She decided at the last minute that if I was doing the 2 she was doing the 2.

By the time we hit 1.25 my legs started to lock up. My calves felt like pieces of timber but we were still moving at a decent clip. We pushed through the difficulties and managed to put down a good time. 2 miles at a 8:56 pace isn’t all that bad!

Monday, November 12, 2007

Got up early this morning…didn’t sleep well and I’m not sure why. Finally got out of bed at 6:25 and we were running by 6:40. We just did the mile with the last stretch right into the westerly wind.

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Well after sleeping in till 9:30 I wasn’t really in the mood to go for a run this morning. We waited until this evening and went for a mile run. Weather was great…50 degrees and with a light wind out of the west.

11/4 – 11/10 Totals

11/4 – 11/10 total miles = 20.37 miles average pace 9:21

Saturday, November 10, 2007

We met the running group at Parkside at 7 am today. A rather small group but we were not surprised since this is the cross country course. Set out on a rather brisk pace with Ken. I was able to maintain my pace with him for the first 5k but had to take a breather at that point…just moving too fast. I resumed my run and tried to catch up to him but by the time we got to the large hill I just let him go. I continued to move and hoped that I’d catch him at some point and every now and then I would see a chance but could never capitalize on it.

I managed to complete the 10k (6.2 miles) in 58:30 which is about a 9:26 pace.

Take 2

After spending 19 hours on an airplane and then another hour and a half in a car I needed to get in another mile run to make up for the lost day 4 weeks ago. My wife and I ran the neighborhood route completing 1 mile in just under 9 minutes.

Friday, November 9, 2007

Well I thought that yesterday was going to be my final day in Australia but it looks like I’m here for another morning run. You see my flight yesterday afternoon was canceled due to mechanical difficulty and they put me up in a hotel just down the road.

Woke up this morning to more rain but decided that I had to get the run in just to be on the safe side. Ran a nice mile around the nearby park in 9 minutes.

Thursday, November 08, 2007

My last day in Australia and I wake up to the sound of rain pounding on my hotel window…not a good sign. I waited about 15 minutes in hopes that the rain would lighten up a bit but there was not a hint of that occurring.

I go down the stairs of the hotel and out the back door and start my GPS…I have to stand in the rain until it catches a signal then I can start running. I run 1 mile at an 8:21 pace and by the time I am done I am drenched!!! Since I am wet I decide I might as well stretch out here in the rain. I finish my stretching and head on in to get cleaned up for the day.

By the time I head to work the rain is down to a sprinkle…damn, just my luck.

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

After going out with our auditees last night and getting back to the hotel around 11pm I thought that getting up this morning was not going to happen but I was up and ready to run by 5:55.

I stepped outside and noticed that it had rained again and it was cold…okay not like home cold but cold enough that I should have put my long sleeve shirt on.

Started running and felt pretty good. Had a nice easy pace going so I put down , pace was 10:08.

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Up this morning at 5:45. The Indian food last night didn’t have much effect on my system, thank god! Decided that I wanted to run more than 1 mile but didn’t know where to run, so I just started running. I ended up running 1.64 miles at an 8:56 pace. Would have liked to go more but just wasn’t feeling it 100% this morning

Monday, November 05, 2007

Got up with the alarm today and got ready to run. I was still feeling a bit drained from yesterday’s run so I decided that a mile is more than enough. Once again the sky is cloudy and it is a tad on the chilly side but once I start running the chill went away.

Ran my 1 mile in 8:46.

Sunday, November 04, 2007

What a difference a day makes!

When I woke up this morning it was just pouring and I assumed it was going to be a repeat of yesterday. Well I decided that I didn’t want to run in the rain so I took my time and had breakfast. By the time I was done 8:45 the sun was already coming out and it looked like it was going to be a great day!

At about 4pm I got a call from one of the auditors and we made plans to head to dinner at 7pm…PERFECT! Just enough time for me to get in a run before dinner and still clean up.

With the sun staring to head for the horizon and the weather being rather nice (65 degrees and a moderate to stiff 15mph wind) I thought I might get a few extra miles in. I felt really good and had to keep checking my pace so I didn’t go too fast.

I managed to put in 5.70 miles and did so at a 9:27 pace.

10/28 – 11/3 Totals

10/28 – 11/3 total miles = 18.6 miles

Saturday, November 3, 2007

It is my last weekend in Australia and I have been working hard the last 3 weeks so I decided to sleep in a bit and go running at a more reasonable hour. Well 7:30 is better than 6 am!!

It started to rain last night and the prediction is for rain most of the day so I head out knowing full well that I will get wet and there is little I can do about it.

My route was to take me away from the hotel and into a very heavy industrial area before crossing the river. When I say heavy industrial I mean HEAVY industrial…I’m talking oil refinery and metal scrapping!!! The place stunk to high heaven!! When I got to the area that was supposed to have the bridge I noticed that there appeared to be some work at the top of the steps. Once I got to the foot of the steps I see that the pedestrian bridge is out…well there goes that route. There isn’t another bridge to cross the river in miles.

So I head back the way I came and decided to see how lost I can get…just joking I have a great sense of direction and it was easy to find a new route back to the hotel.

I had noticed that about every 15 minutes or so that the rain would pick up and by the time I had hit 4 miles it was a steady downpour. I ended up just calling it a day with 7 miles, it wasn’t as many as I was hoping and it was definitely slower than I expected (10:23 pace) but it’s done.

Friday, November 02, 2007

It was hard to get up this morning since my room was very dark. It appeared to have rained last night and there were still quite a few clouds so the bleak atmosphere nearly made me crawl back into bed but I figured that it might rain more so I better get going while I have the chance.

Decided to mix my directions up a bit…getting tired of the same hills every day…so a new route but the same sights. Managed to put in 1.55 miles and maintained a nice even pace of 9:10.

Glad I ran this morning…it is 10:30 am right now and there is one heck of a storm going over!!! Sometimes getting up is worth it…I really didn’t just say that did I?

Thursday, November 01, 2007

Wow its November already.

I can remember not that long ago looking at my wife and saying that I had to change my running habit. I decided at that point (June 30th) that I would run a minimum of 1 mile every day. I mean there really is no excuse for not doing this…its all of 15-20 minutes of my day?!?!

Well even being here in Australia has not stopped the streak. This morning I woke up and decided that I was only going to do 1 mile; so that is what I did. 1 mile in 8:12.

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Slightly overcast sky and daylight savings has made the morning a little later than I expected. I got up and did my usual bathroom ritual…hoping that there will not be any repeat of yesterday’s debacle.

Started out rather strong and felt really good. There was a light breeze that kept me cool as I ran to Parramatta Park. Once in the park I decided that I would run to the little dam and cross there to head back to the hotel.

I neared the dam and suddenly I was having a flashback to yesterday…I began to cramp up and I did not think there was a way for me to make it to the hotel without messing myself. Luckily the park, unlike the city, had a public bathroom near the dam. I stopped the watch and took care of business.

With that out of the way I headed on across the dam and toward the hotel. Finished my 3.1 mile run with a 8:56 pace.

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

I should have figured that today was going to be bad when I spent quite a bit of time in the bathroom this morning. With that over I thought I’d be alright…how wrong was I?!?!

I had planned on a 2 mile run but about .7 miles out my intestines said it was over. Now I’m running in a downtown area that does not have much for public restrooms during peak hours much less anything being open at 6 am!

With a hell of a pain in my gut and a lot of clenching (I’m sure you can figure out the issue) I barely made it back to the hotel at a snails pace. The pounding of the run made things worse so I was in between a jog and a fast walk.

Ended the day with 1.3 miles at a 12:30 pace…OUCH!

FYI: I made it to the bathroom without a second to spare!

Monday, October 29, 2007

This morning was very difficult to get up. With daylight savings time starting here it was still rather “dark out” compared to what I have been getting up to. But I managed to drag myself out of bed and into my running clothes.

I ran just 1 mile and felt much better afterward…to bad it hasn’t carried for long…it is just 2 hours later and I’m ready to go back to bed!

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Daylight savings time here so I lost an hour of sleep…I don’t like losing sleep!

I decided to stay in today and focus on my studying. I got a chance to talk to my wife today as well…it is so good to hear her voice, I really miss her.

Anyway I didn’t get to running until nearly 8 PM tonight but I did end up with 3.6 miles at a 10:05 pace.

10/21 – 10/27 Totals

10/21 – 10/27 total miles = 16.9 miles and one hell of a hike in the Blue Mountains…that was about an additional 8-9 miles!!

Saturday, October 27, 2007

There are two things I knew when I woke up this morning: 1 – I’m supposed to run 14 miles this weekend. 2 – I’m taking my auditors to the Blue Mountains to go hiking today and I don’t think I can do both 1 and 2!!

So with the impending hike today I opted to run just a simple 10k. I’ve really noticed how much better I run…consistency wise…when I run with people. my pace was all over the place but in the end I finished the 6.2 miles with a 10 + min pace.

Friday, October 26, 2007

Felt I was getting rather lazy in my pace so I decided to just run the mile today. It could also have to do with me staying up late to watch a TV show and that it was still raining or that I am planning on either a long run or hike tomorrow…

Ran 1 mile at a brisk 8:15 pace.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Last night I had a feeling that this morning wasn’t going to be great. It had started sprinkling on the way from work to the hotel. After dinner it was pouring.

This morning when I awoke the sky wasn’t visible and it was sprinkling. I decided that I still had to run a minimum of 2 miles but really didn’t feel like it. Took my time…kind of had to since there are many sidewalks in Parramatta that are tile and when it rains boy are they slippery!!!

Managed to put in 2.6 miles…time was horrible so I’m not sharing.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

I got up this morning only because the alarm went off. I spent too much time last night working on a work project.

I really did not want to run this morning but could not figure out when I would run tonight so I got moving. I decided that I would take things rather easy and it worked by half way through the run I was feeling much better.

Total for today was 1.37 miles at a 9:37 pace.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

This morning I was not up as quickly as I have been in the past week but when the alarm went off at 5:30 I did get out of bed.

By 5:50 I was out running. In my head I was having a heck of a debate. One side wanted to go for 1 mile and call it a day. Another side wanted to actually do a long run…what ever that meant. Then there was the body saying why don’t we just see how things turn out.

I felt okay but I’m noticing that my pace is starting to fluctuate quite a bit. I’ll have to buckle down and start focusing on a more even pace throughout my run.

In the end I finished my morning run in just under 31 minutes and completed 3.2 miles.

Monday, October 22, 2007

Back to normal.

I woke up this morning at 5AM and decided to wait until the alarm rang. Since I ran last night I wasn’t completely up for this. I managed to drag my but out of the door, even while there was American football on TV, LIVE none the less!!!

Got in a quick 1.2 miles and then was back in my room watching the next football game…oh and getting ready for work!

Sunday, October 21, 2007

I just didn’t want to get out of bed this morning so I didn’t but by the time I was ready to go running it was already too hot. So I opted to wait until evening.

After dinner I waited about 2 hours and set out on a nice easy run. I ended up hitting a few spots were I just couldn’t run slowly. But in the end it looks like I was able to keep a relatively moderate pace. Completed 1.4 miles at a 9:37 pace.

10/14 – 10/20 Totals

10/7 – 10/20 total miles = 15.8 miles and a lot of additional walking around Australia

Sydney

I went for a walk in Sydney today and managed to get nearly the whole city in!!

Here is the link to the map: My Sydney Walkabout

Saturday, October 20, 2007

I got up relatively early this morning and decided to milk it a little. Ended up rolling out of bed around 6AM and got running at around 6:15.

I knew that I wanted (needed) to run a little longer but was unsure as to how long I’d really go. I started running south away from my hotel and toward a paved bike trail I saw there the other day. Picked up the trail and followed it under the motorway and then along a parkway next to the motorway. That lasted all of .5 miles at which time I had to choose between going back under the motorway and continuing into a neighborhood to the south.

Since I was unsure where I’d have the opportunity to cross the motorway again I opted to go under. Once on the other side I face a rather large hill I trudge most of the way up in and begin walking…not very fun but needed. I continue running once the ground levels off. I make my way another mile or so when another rather large hill presents itself. I muster my way up this one and was grateful to be stopped at the cross walk.

Once I’ve crossed the street it is down hill to the park. This is the same park I spoke of a few days ago; the one that I didn’t know was here. Well today I decide that I will run the whole park. Very beautiful and about a 2 mile loop!! On the backside of the park there was at least 5 trees full of large bats all making a heck of a racket for this time in the morning.

Once I exited the park I continued up toward a nice peaceful neighborhood in north Parramatta and started my way back. I was starting to realize that I have not been drinking as much water as I usually do…the water isn’t bad here I just haven’t been drinking it.

I got back to the hotel and found that I had run 6.2 miles (10k) and did it at a much slower pace than last week…10:17.

Friday, October 19, 2007

Good morning from Australia! I was up, again, at 5 AM and beginning to wonder if I’ll ever get to sleep in while I’m here.

Since I was up I hit the road at 5:30. Yesterday I had hoped to get out and do another mile or so in the evening since I was short on time in the morning but that never happened so this morning I decided that I’d have to do 3 miles.

I had heard that there was a huge park in Parramatta but I never got to it last time I was here so I ran to it this morning…it is so near to the hotel and the apartment from last time I don’t know how I missed it.

The park is gorgeous so I’m going to have to spend a little more time running through here on the weekend.

My total run was exactly 3 miles and kept a pace of 9:00.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Since I had to be up early to day for a meeting I thought that it might be better if I did a little less this morning and try to run more this evening. So I set out from the hotel at5:30 and tried to find a new route around the area. I headed down through a quite neighborhood and only found the garbage man out collecting the trash. At the end of the street there was a great bike trial…not sure how far it goes but I know were me weekend run will go!

It is still cooler here than I expected in the morning but it is bearable. 1.1 miles in 9:57.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Up at 5:30 AM this morning and noticed that it was slightly cloudy. When I looked out the hotel window I noticed that it had rained recently. I got ready for my run and when I stepped outside I noticed how much cooler it was and how fresh the air smelled…I just lover running just after a rain!

Hit the streets trying to keep my pace in check this morning and did a rather decent job (9:36 pace.) I managed to get 2.5 miles in before returning to the hotel. Parramatta is a beautiful area and running along the river is particularly nice.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Got a great night sleep and woke up early this morning so I knew that I had to go for a run. Not sure as to where to go I just headed east and turned around after a mile. What a beautiful day in Parramatta!!

I got 2 miles in under 18 minutes (8:57 pace!!)

Monday, October 15, 2007

After a very long flight from the states I made my entire audit group go straight into the office and work a partial day and I was getting antsy. Mind you I was getting tired too but I needed to run.

We headed off to dinner and walked back to the hotel once back in the hotel I changed and went out for a run. Too much food made for a very uncomfortable run but I managed to get 1 mile in 8:22.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

I was in a plane heading to Australia so this day never existed for me.

10/7 - 10/13 Totals

10/7 - 10/13 total miles = 30ish (not completely sure how to count the marathon)

Saturday, October 13, 2007

I decided this week that I would start to run at the head of the pack of the Saturday Morning Running Club and boy did that kick my ass!

My wife has been running with a relatively new member, Ken, and he has been keeping her pace up there, so I decided to run with Ken, Kristin, and my wife. For the first 2 miles we maintained around an 8:30 pace. Now I can handle that for that distance but knowing that I still wanted to do 4 more this was going to be a problem.

My wife was at a conference the latter part of the week so she was feeling very lethargic and decided that 4 for the day was going to be enough so she turned at this point. I continued on and had to play a little catch up with Ken and Kristin. They pulled my along. Kristin was having foot problems so she peeled off with about 1.25 to go, Ken headed home at about 1 to go, so I was one my own to the end. I managed to keep my pace and finish 6 miles in 53 minutes and change.

Friday, October 12, 2007

Wife came home today from her conference and we headed out for a nice 1 mile run. Nothing hard or fancy. Completed the mile in around 9 min pace.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Without the wife around I slept in and didn't get up to go running which means that when I got home from work I not only had to cut the grass but get out for my daily run.

By 7Pm I was done with the yard work and ready to go for a run but boy had the weather turned cold and windy! Still wearing shorts but the t-shirt has been replaced with a long sleeved-tee I hit the road.

Wasn't sure how long I really wanted to go but knew that I needed to put 2 miles in so that is what I ended up doing: 2 miles. Pace is still an issue with me since I managed to have an average pace of 8:36! Either I run too slow when I do the longer distances or I'm running too fast at the shorter distance. I'll figure it out one day.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

What a difference a few days make!! I woke up this morning to 40 degrees…it was only Sunday when the Chicago Marathon got called off due to excessive heat.

Well we got up this morning and did our 1 mile run in 9:05. Not too bad considering the wind was blowing full force.

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

This morning I was feeling pretty good so I thought that I’d start on my extra distance today. Instead of doing 1 mile each day I’m going to try to do a minimum of 2 miles a day.

It was much cooler today that it has been for the last few so I knew this was the right day to start things. The pace I chose was a little harder than I thought I could handle for 2 miles but I was wrong, since I did the second mile faster than the first!

Finished 2 miles at a 8:39 pace. Great way to start the day!

Monday, October 8, 2007

Well the day after the marathon and I’m feeling pretty good the only issue is that it is still hot and muggy outside. We decided on running after work so that I could recover a little more. It was nice and humid when we started and we took out time. 1 mile easy as that.

Chicago Marathon – My first DNF

How is that for an opening to a race report?

I was ready. I had put the training in and made the necessary modifications to my process. I knew that I’d be able to finish this race as easily as any of the others.

The weather reports all week were calling for high temps for Sunday. They were predicting 85 degrees with high humidity. I just kept my eye on that storm hoping that we’d get rained on. But when we woke up Sunday morning, at 4 AM mind you, it was already 75 degrees. This wasn’t going to be pretty.

I kept a positive outlook. I knew what I needed to do to keep me moving and I planned to just stay with my pace group and know that in the end I will be happy that I did the race. The high temps meant that I would need to drink a little more and to be sure that I kept my self cool.

At 8 AM we were off. It took me 16 ½ minutes to reach the starting line but once I did it was pretty easy running. I took my time and maintained my pace. By mile 2 I was starting to heat up a bit so I eased off and continued to run. I started pouring water over my head to stay cool.

I arrived at the first aid station to find that it had already been abandoned and no water or Gatorade was available. I didn’t panic because I was carrying my water bottle that was still half full.

I trudged along and by mile 4 I was completely drained. I was overheating and the water wasn’t enough. I was lucky enough to find a restroom by mile 5 because I wasn’t feeling very well.

Once things had passed I got back out there and found that we were being told that there was no water at the next aid station. Thank god this was incorrect! The aid station was still operating but it appeared that they were unprepared for the onslaught that fell upon them. The volunteers tried their hardest to accommodate everyone and I was thankful to have some Gatorade and a full water bottle.

At mile six I took some much needed gel to try to recoup some of my lost energy but it was no use. I took off my hat in hopes that it was holding in the heat and making me feel much hotter than I really was but it was not the case. The sun was just cooking me and I was not handling it very well.

I drenched my hat when I could and took in as much fluid as I thought I could handle but I realized that this was not going to be my day.

I saw more and more runners around me starting to walk and I knew that this was not a good sign.

At mile 11 I decided that when I saw my wife at 13.1 I was going to make the decision to drop out. I just could not take this abuse any longer and did not feel that it was worth hurting myself to try to complete this marathon.

When I saw my wife I began to cry knowing that for the first time I was not going to complete a marathon. She calmed me down and told me to take a break. I rest at the side of the road in the shade for a minute. She gave me some beans and told me that I was not going to drop just yet that I could walk some more and that she would accompany me for a little while.

I crossed the half-way point at 3:25 (3:07 chip time or 11:25 AM) and we continued to walk. My wife kept me moving and feeding me the beans when we got to the aid station near mile 14 it was closed, no water and no Gatorade but we were told there was some water about 3 blocks away. My wife said sorry but I have to do this and tasted my sweat (before becoming a runner I don’t think she would have ever done that) and said there is no salt…you need some electrolytes now!

She saw a convenience store about a block away and said that she would go get some if I wanted, I told her yes! When I approached the store the firefighters had opened up they hydrant and they were giving water out to the runners directly from the tap. I once again filled my bottle and kept moving.

My wife caught up with me about a half mile down the road. She reported that the store was full of runners doing the same thing she was doing for me. I opened up the bottle and started drinking like there was no tomorrow. I had to stop myself before I got cramps.

About a mile later I had finished the bottle of Gatorade and was starting to feel like myself again. I decided that she was right I could finish this race even if it meant walking the rest of the way.

All of the sudden we saw a bunch of people coming up the side streets. These we fellow runners that had been diverted and we were being told by police and medics that the race had been cancelled.

Well I thought that I might have enough in me to finish and said that I would continue anyway but that option was taken away from me as we approached the turn to mile 17. At this point the road was barricaded with a 4 foot high gate and police standing there telling everyone that we were to walk back to Grant Park. Anyone that was running was told, rather sternly, to stop running, the race was over, and that we were to walk to Grant Park.

I had no options. The race was over for me and my fellow runners.

The view ahead of me was quite wondrous seeing thousands of people walking down the streets and all of the fire hydrants open on both sides of the road spraying large arcs of water across the street.

I have some very mixed feelings about this race. I received a medal even though I did not complete the whole course; that is just wrong. According to the website and comments made by the RD “all runners that made it past the halfway point before noon were allowed to finish”…I beg to differ, if you look at my time on the website I past the 15 mile mark around noon and was not allowed to finish.

But what if they had let me finish? This race is not considered official unless you came in ahead of them canceling the race, around 4 hours, so I would still not have been able to count this race.

It was a memorable experience to say the least. I am not proud that I wanted to quit but I am glad that the race officials had enough common sense to see that this race was no longer safe for the participants and called the race over.

The Chicago Marathon was unique. I still have to get Illinois but I just might look at one of the smaller races and hope for cooler weather.

Saturday, October 6, 2007

We step out of the car this morning and I start getting the third degree from the group that is there. They all want to know what I’m doing here and how far do I think I’m going to go. I reassure them all that I’m here only to do a mile or 2 and that I plan on taking everything very slowly.

Completed 2 miles in 21 minutes. I think that qualifies as an easy day.

Friday, October 5, 2007

Marathon only 2 days away so we took things easy this morning. Ran 1 mile in a 9:30 pace. Still feeling pretty good but the weather for Sunday is going to be hot!!

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Wife was going to yoga this evening so we got up and ran a mile. Tried to take it easy and we still completed it in under 9 minutes!

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

My wife was going to work out with her trainer tonight and since I just so love mornings I decided to sleep in and run after work.

After work and before I headed out to the gun club I stopped home for a quick 1 mile run which I completed in 7:58. Not a new record mind you but quite fast. Let’s just hope I keep my wits about me during the marathon.

Tuesday, October 02, 2007

This morning we were up earlier than normal and got to running. With the thick fog out you couldn’t see to the end of the block…it was kinda cool! Managed a good pace for our morning mile

Monday, October 1, 2007

It was raining pretty hard this morning so my wife let us both sleep in. I’m not so sure that was the best idea since we both complained that we didn’t feel very well the rest of the day.

Once we got home we both changed and headed out for our run…we both complained about not wanting to do it but we persevered. Tried to keep the pace slow but still managed a 9:07 mile.

Sunday, September 30, 2007

Marathon is only 1 week away now. Went to the YMCA and did a fast 8:28 mile on the treadmill and then walked for 15 minutes at a 14:40 pace. Did about 40 minutes of light weights and then rested in the whirlpool and sauna.

Saturday, September 29, 2007

Last ‘long run’ before the marathon. I was up and out the door by 6:30 and put 3 miles in prior to meeting up with the Saturday Morning Running Group then I put 5 more on. My wife is becoming quite a strong runner…we were doing between an 8:30 and 9:00 pace in the first two miles with the group and I just couldn’t hack it so I backed off to a respectable 9:30-9:45 pace.

Finished 8 miles at a sub 10 min/mile pace!!

Friday, September 28, 2007

We got up early this morning and ran. I’m feeling really good but that might just be the anticipation of the marathon approaching. 1 mile 8:45 pace.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

This morning brought a rather cool day but not too cool not to go running. Started pretty easy and finished our run with a 9:00 mile.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

A very busy day starting with a lazy morning so I didn’t run until late. I got home from a village meeting and waited for my wife. Once I heard that she had already run I told her that I’d just go…she said no she was feeling good so she would run with me.

With the moon full and bright in the sky we pounded out an 8:57 mile.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

It was not the best conditions to sleep in last night…the house was all humid and stuffy. The breeze that blew through the window was beautiful but very, very infrequent!

My wife was up and moving before I was and once I got up she told me that it was okay…I could go back to bed. That was tempting but I know that if I’m up I should actually do something, so I told her to go ahead without me. I finished getting ready and even though I considered running 2 miles I decided to stick to 1 mile and finished it in 8:15. If things had been a bit better (less humid) I could have done even better!!

Monday, September 24, 2007

My wife had to leave early this morning so we didn’t get up to run. Once we both got home from work neither of us felt like doing anything so we decided to eat dinner first and run later. Now that sounds all fine and dandy but I don’t think it was such a wise idea for me to run after eating cereal. We took it slow and did our 1 mile in 9:45.

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Since neither of us really wanted to get out of bed this morning there was no rush to head to the YMCA today.

About 5:30 pm my wife came out into the living room all ready to run, so I got dressed and we ran at 6:00. I said we would take it easy and I tried to slow her down a bit but she wanted to push it so I just kept up the pace. We ran 1 mile in 8:50, so I guess that we didn’t keep it easy.

Saturday, September 22, 2007

I just love taper weeks…I only had to get up at 5 am this morning! It was still dark now that fall is descending upon us but it was 55 degrees so I was very comfortable. The route was easy enough and I got to the Saturday Morning Running Group meeting place a bit early so I was able to get in another mile before meeting the group. 7 miles and feeling pretty good.

Now that everyone was there we set off and I was determined to finish my 5 remaining miles strong. I was able to do just that. Once I was finished with the main run I ran up the hill at Colonial just as I was told I had to when we run this route.

Total mileage was 12.35 miles!!

Friday, September 21, 2007

Beautiful morning for a run…if you don’t count the humidity in the air. Feeling pretty good with 3 weeks until the marathon. Started out slow and built to a brisk pace. Completed our 1 mile loop in 8:45.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

A very foggy night for a run and of course I wear all black again. Good thing I was running with my wife and she had the foresight to wear clothing that could be seen. Ran our standard 1 mile route in 9:40.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

We were up and out the door by 6:50 today and ran a somewhat subdued pace but with how lovely it was, 70 with a light wind, it was great just to be out side. 1 mile, 9:30 pace.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

My wife was going to work out with her trainer tonight so I was left to decide if I wanted to run by myself or to wait and see if she ran while at the club. She called and informed me that she was not running at the club and if I had not run to wait for her.

It was so beautiful out that neither of us was in that big of a hurry to finish the run. We took our time and still did 1 mile in under 10 min.

Monday, September 17, 2007

My wife asked when I would rather run…and given that choice I said tonight so she rolled over and we didn’t run this morning. After work she was starving so we decided to head to dinner first and run later. By 8 PM she was ready to go and I didn’t. But I knew I had to so we went for our usual 1 mile loop and I really pushed it the last half and came in with an 8:30 mile. The cool breeze made it a lovely evening and a great run.

Sunday, September 16, 2007

After such a long day of running and drinking beer it was nice to take it rather easy today.

My wife and I headed to the YMCA and I put in 1 mile of running on the treadmill and then walked an additional half mile. I put in about 20 minutes of weight training and then decided to hit the pool.

My elbow seems to have a small pinch in the nerve that caused me some discomfort so I stopped after about 20 minutes in the pool.

Saturday, September 15, 2007

I fell asleep early last night and was able to easily get up at 3:20 AM. I remembered to lay all of my gear out so that I would be able to be as quite as possible so as to not wake up my wife. I ate my banana and granola bars, drank my water and got out of the house at 4 AM.

The sky was beautiful! There were so many stars and no moon (that will be an issue later.) It was cold…40 degrees and an 8 mph WNW wind. I started out running down N Green Bay Rd. and turned onto Rapids Dr. I am always surprised at the amount of traffic on Green Bay so early in the morning.

The run down Rapids and Mt Pleasant were very non-eventful and I picked up the Root River Bike Trail here. It is much nicer to run on the trails than the side of the roads. It was very peaceful and allowed me quite a bit of time to think.

By the time I came near Colonial Park it was around 4:30 and sunrise was still 2 hours away. I had originally thought that this part of the trail would be hard due to the tree cover but didn’t realize that there would be no moonlight. I got to the bridge to enter Colonial and realized I could not see the trail at all…all I could see was blackness. This meant that I had to change course and run back up the hill and get into Lincoln Park via the roads and connect back up with the trail there.

Once I was back on the tail there were no problems. I got a little spooked when at about 6th Street and the trail (near the Rotary Overlook) a coyote came out of the underbrush and ran across the trail…I nearly wet myself at this point!!!

I hit Main St. right on schedule and started heading south, by now you could see the sky lightening in the East.

Once I hit 14th Street I knew that I was going to end up a bit short on my mileage but things were still pretty good other that I was now running straight into the wind! I followed Washington out to Ohio and then Ohio to 21st Street. Since I was going to be a little short and I still had some time left I decided to venture toward the mall before I hit Durand. This allowed me to put an additional 1.5 miles on just to be sure I had the mileage. Durand was a straight shot to West Blvd. where I was meeting the rest of the group.

My wife stopped to check on me about 5 blocks from the group, I told her things were going well and that I’d met her at the start. I got to the start and found about 8 of our loyalist waiting for our morning run. The majority decided they were going to head south on the bike trail and I decided to run north (I didn’t feel like dealing with the gravel) so off we went. I was quite a bit slower now…I really have to learn not to hang around and chat at this point but to just move out and catch up with everyone at coffee, but I’m sure I’ll never learn.

I finished my 20 miles (actually 19.8 miles) in under 4 hours so I was overall very happy. Only 3 weeks to Chicago!!!

Friday, September 14,, 2007

This morning I was up and ready to go even though the pillow kept calling me back. It was cool out but I still flet comfortable in my short sleeved tee. Easy pace was possible this morning...9:30 mile.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

This morning I decided that I didn't want to run since we were going to go to the YMCA. Well one thing led to another and we ended up not going to the Y we did however pick up our much needed lawn mower and go out to dinner.

Once we got home I decided that 4 weeks of growing was enough and it was time to cut the grass...I did this until I could not see anymore.

I cooled down from dragging all of the lawn clippings to the back of our yard and decided it was time to go for a run. I thought that I'd take it easy but ended up putting in a 8:30 mile!

I really need to slow that pace down!

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Once again my wife was up and ready to go before I even realized that it was morning. I jumped out of bed and quickly got ready. I was dressed in shorts and a long sleeve tee as I was putting on my shoes when I noticed that my wife was wearing workout pants!?! I asked why and she said that the temperature outside was in the mid 40’s…yikes!

Well I decided not to change, I mean it is only a mile it can’t be that bad. I struggled a bit but managed a respectable 9:00 minute mile.

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Wife heard that the wind was going to pick up during the day so she got up to run. I jumped out of bed and got ready. It was still cool and reminded me just of what the rest of fall is going to be like. Ran the 1 mile loop in 8:40…boy did we pick up the pace on the second half of that mile. After the marathon in a few weeks we are going to increase our daily run to 2 miles since we are starting to treat this as nearly a sprint!

Monday, September 10, 2007

We decided that it would be best if we ran before dinner since I didn’t think the burger and fries would sit real well. It was raining so there was a little whining involved but we got out anyway. It was the best time that my wife had run a mile in around 8:40! I ran the mile in 8:36.

Sunday, September 09, 2007

This evening we went for a nice run. My wife was still recovering from her 5.5 miler yesterday so she said I should run ahead. 1 mile at a 8:35 pace!

Saturday, September 08, 2007

After the mess last week with me shin and the blisters I was a little leery as to how well this week would be. I got up at 5 AM and was out the door by 5:30. Got 7.3 miles in before meeting the running group. Completed another 4.7 miles for a total of 12 miles. it was simply perfect weather to be out running.

Friday, September 07, 2007

My wife realized that it was raining this morning so we didn’t run in the AM. We decided to go to dinner right after work and let our dinner settle. Ran a little later and completed the mile at a good pace.

Thursday, September 06, 2007

Didn’t get up so I decided to wait and run with my wife after her hair appointment. Easy miler around the neighborhood.

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

With my wife going to the gym this evening we had decided not to run in the morning…I’m not so sure that was such a great idea since by 6 pm when I went running it was hot and humid!

I decided that I’d run a bit longer tonight since I wasn’t able to get the miles in that I’d hoped to on Saturday and chose what I thought was an 7.5 – 8 mile loop. I’m glad I brought my water bottle because it was needed to cool me off a number of times during this run. I continued with my 2 mile run with a ¼ recovery and it seemed to work pretty well. By the time I hit 4 miles though my heel, which I blistered on Sunday, had torn open again and my sock and shoe were bloodied again.

I got into the neighborhood to notice that the run was not 7.5 miles but only 6.5!! Well 6.5 miles is better than no miles!

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

This morning was like most weekday mornings…my wife rolls out of bed and I wake up as she comes back in with her running clothes. That would be my queue to get up and get ready for our run. I got up, none to happy to be awake, but I got up and went running.

It was still rather cool outside but you could feel the dampness in the air. My wife tells me that today is supposed to be “hot and humid today.” “Great!” is my only reply.

The run goes well 1 mile at a 9:04 pace but I will have to put my new shoes back on this week and see if my blister has healed.

Monday, September 03, 2007

Got up this morning after sleeping in and we went out running. It was humid and we decided to cut back on the mileage. My wife turned around sooner than I was expecting…when I turned around with her she told me to continue. So I did another about face and ran 2 miles in just under 20 min. Heel wasn’t much of a problem today.

Sunday, September 2, 2007

Today, as most Sundays, we decided to head to the YMCA. I managed to put 2.3 miles on the feet before I realized that a blister on my heel had burst and I was bleeding.

So with my heel out of commission I decided to spend the next 30-40 minutes lifting weights.

Later in the day we played tennis…my wife beat me of course but it was fun and sweaty!

Saturday, September 1, 2007

Since I just ran a marathon last weekend I was not ready to do another 20 miler just yet so I decided that I would only run 12-13. After donning my running gear and setting out before the sun had risen I would easily get in 7 miles before meeting the running group.

What I had not planned on however is that my left shin would start to hurt again. It seemed to hurt running down hill. I decided that I was fine with the 7 miles and only walked the next 3 miles for a total of 10 miles on the day.

Friday, August 31, 2007

I was lazy and didn’t want to run in the morning…thankfully my wife agreed but she said we had to run right after work. So when we both got home we changed and went for our 1 mile run.

Thursday, August 30, 2007

We had planned to go to the YMCA but since we needed to get the lawn mower fixed we changed plans and just ran late. We took it easy since neither of us really wanted to do this. We go it done though and stared at the stars…1 mile at a 9:24 pace

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

I had to get my run in before heading out to the trap range. With family issues getting to me I could have easily run for mile but due to the time issue I ran 1 mile in 8:31.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Tonight was very humid but we managed to do a great job. My left shin is still hurting a bit but the running helped to ease the pain. We got 1 mile in at a 9:40 pace. The full moon was beautiful!

Monday, August 27, 2007

I was hoping to have the grass cut before running tonight but seeing as the mower did not want to cooperate I gave up and had dinner. We went running at 8:30 this evening. I’m still nursing a sore left shin so I let my wife run out ahead. That only means that she just became a rabbit! I tried to keep up with her and struggled. By the half mile mark my shin had loosened up enough that I was able to gain some ground…not a lot mind you but a little…I think the hill slowing her down helped too. I finished the mile with a 8:40 pace (she finished with a 8:30 pace!)

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Today we flew home from Utah and then drove the long way home. Started to wash clothes and then decided we had better get out and do our run. Seeing how yesterday I ran a marathon I was not sure how well I’d fair. The humidity was up (54%) from Utah but down from last week. The temp was just right, 76 degrees. I told my wife to run ahead since I was not going to be busting any great numbers today. 1 mile at 9:26 pace.

Race Report - Park City, Utah

This all begins 3 months ago when out of the blue I find out that the late summer marathon I was going to run (Bangor, Maine) had been canceled due to an illness. This sent me into a tizzy looking for a new run so that I could have three marathons in this year.

Along comes Park City, Utah. The date for the race was ideal, 6 weeks prior to Chicago and far enough out so that I could adequately train.

Thursday’s flight out was eventful since we were ultimately delayed about an hour due to storms in the area and then due to the delay we were stuck on the tarmac waiting for takeoff. Once we got under way our pilot came on to tell us that only 2 planes were able to takeoff after us due to another storm that blew through Chicago!

We arrived in Salt Lake City and drove to Park City. The drive was rather uneventful but driving into the mountains with semis on the road can be rather nerve-racking when you are not used to it.

We spent most of Friday driving around town and the surrounding area just getting used to the altitude. Since I have never been at this altitude I was not sure what to expect. I found out that my muscles were tingling most of the night Thursday and by Friday they were feeling good but tired. I had trouble sleeping at this altitude, or maybe it was the humidity which was very low (10%) compared to home, and didn’t get sleep that I am used to.

Saturday morning came and I was up and ready to go at 5:30 am. I had half a banana and about a third of a breakfast bar. I drank about 20 oz of water and took 2 electrolyte pills. Got dressed and started to bitch about my shoes not fitting properly…at this point my wife jumped in and told me to knock of the negative talk, I was just making excuses and that everything would be fine if I just kept a positive attitude. She was right of course but at five in the morning I didn’t really care because I was nervous and worried about what the day had in store for me.

The temperature outside was 48 degrees…which for me is not a big deal but with 10% humidity it was COLD!!! The “gun” went off at 6:30 am on the dot and approximately 400 marathoners hit the road before the sun had risen above the surrounding mountain tops.

Miles 1-6: From the starting line we head east along a frontage road and we encounter our first hill of the day. It wasn’t that big of a hill but it was steep and all I could think of is “why did I chose this race?!?” The frontage road gave us some great views of the nearby nature preserve that we would get to see up close at the end of the race. We entered a residential area with some very impressive homes (we later found out that the cheapest one in that neighborhood was $950,000!!) and got a wonderful tour of the trails around the community. We encountered our first bit of gravel trails here. This section of the course, with the rolling hills, was the closest to what we would get in Wisconsin.

Miles 6-13: This was a long stretch. The course was an old rail line that had been converted to a multi-use trail. The grade was slightly upward and as the miles added up you could also feel the toll of the incline in your legs. The sights were awe inspiring. Upon turning onto the trail we could see 4 hot air balloons rising in the nearby mountains. We continued to watch them dance in the sky until about mile 10 when they were behind us. This section of the course we have mountains to both sides and straight in front of us so you know what is coming! The land on both sides of the trail were open for grazing and we got to see a number of cows grazing away…in fact at mile 10 there were two on the trail! As we got closer they moved just off to the side of the trail and kept eating. At 10.5 I saw my wife and introduced her to the people I was running with.

She was a champ…she made sure that I was in the right frame of mind, asked me what I needed and what I would need at the next stop. I told her that I’d like a few Jelly Belly’s the next time I saw her because I could really use some food. I was still progressing at a good pace and was confident at this point that I would be able to hit my goal of 5 ½ hours but the hills were still to come. By 13 miles I was doing great with a 2:35 half!

Miles 13-17.5: This is the hill climb. At this point we turn into Park City and start to progress up to the highest point on the course. The trail was impressive running right next to a major road and under many of the intersections into the city. From this vantage point we were able to see the many parks and shops of Park City up to mile 14. At mile 14 we take a turn and head for the “resort.” The “resort” in question is one of the most expensive in the area. The views here are spectacular! We ran into the resort and circled the lake. We were surrounded on all sides by the most fantastic mountain views I have ever seen. I was still feeling good but took my time and enjoyed the sights. The lake had people fishing in it and there were all kinds of people biking and hiking in the area. I continued on knowing that it was truly “all down hill” from here. My lovely wife was there to greet me at mile 14 and remained there until I returned from the resort at mile 17 at which point she gave me the beans I had asked for and we chatted a bit as she walked me down the trail I had just ran up not too long ago. I was still on pace and now I was headed down hill so all I had to do was run more that walk…sounds easy right?

Mile 17.5-18.5: This mile gets its own remarks because it was just mean. I’m telling you the person that placed this 3 block 16% grade hill at this point of the race should be shot! It was just plain wrong! We cross over a few walking bridges in town and then have to go up this ugly incline. There were people there to cheer us on and I was very grateful the guys at the top of the hill with the water.

Miles 18.5 to 20: This is the section that I though I would have the least trouble with it was down hill at a moderate grade and should be a fast section…well it was and it wasn’t. As I stated earlier Thursday my muscles were tingling from the lack of oxygen and up until this point in the race I had not felt any ill effects of the altitude but running down hill I was starting to pick up speed and my body was not getting enough oxygen to remain happy. My entire body tingled and not in a good way. I never felt like I was going to pass out but all of my muscles felt drained not tired. I know that sounds odd but I was feeling rather good but my body wasn’t sure how to handle what was going on. This section of the course we headed back into a residential area. We ran around a beautiful golf course at the foot of some impressive ski slopes and saw very little in the way of people.

Miles 20 to 26.2: We are back on the trails mostly gravel but there were some improved paved trails. Most of this section I spent walking. The sun was beating down and the temperature had risen to the low 80’s and there was literally no shade to be had. From 20 to 22 we followed a major highway and rounded a farm house where the aid station had bananas…now in the past I have had a bad reaction to bananas on the course but today I was craving them so I gulped a quarter of one down…boy did that taste good! The trail headed under the highway and made its way around a rather big hill and into the nature preserve. This was a beautiful section with a babbling brook to the side of the trail and a number of small bridges to cross. I tried to run a number of times but I felt like jelly and could not maintain any pace for more than a tenth of a mile. So with that I found a few people to chat with on the course and just admired the scenery. Rounding 25.5 mile mark I saw my wife in the distance and she had the camera in hand…I told her to take the picture as I was since I was not about to try running until I could see the finish line.

Well with a tenth of a mile to go I ran the rest of the way in. My official time was 5:46:42.

The rest: After the race I picked up my finishers shirt and sun catcher medal then stretched. The race had worked out an arrangement with the facility to allow runners to use the showers which was a great idea. I took a shower and was relaxing when we spotted someone with a Racine Half Marathon shirt on. It turns out that this couple was from Kenosha!! What are the chances? We chatted with them for quite a while.

The race was fantastic. I would recommend this marathon to everyone. The hills are, for the most part, easy enough. The views are beyond anything I could ever try to explain. The aid stations were well stocked with water, Gatorade, and fantastic crews.

We are ready to move…If we had a reason to move to Park City we would. The people are great.

I could not have completed this race without my wife. She keeps me level headed, she keeps me motivated, and she keeps me running. I can only hope that she realizes just how grateful I am to have her not only by my side but to have her course side. I’ve told her plenty of times that all I really need is to see her at the end of the race but she knows that her presence, expectedly or unexpectedly, on the course helps to move me along. Thanks babe…I love you.

Onward to Chicago.

Friday, August 24, 2007

First full day in Park City and we wanted to be sure that the streak did not end. We found a neighborhood nearby and set out to run our mile. We ran out .4 miles and came back to the park. Ran around the park to complete 1 mile. The altitude was much harder than either of us had expected, but it was worth the experience.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Got up this morning and my wife and I debated waiting until we were in Utah to run. It was decided that we had better do things now since it will be late when we get in. So we were out the door by 6:50 am. By the time we hit the end of the road it was starting to rain. By the half way point it was pouring. Finished the 1 mile in a great pace.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

You see sometimes it pays to procrastinate. Woke up this morning and didn’t feel like running and since my wife had the club tonight I decided to wait and run later. Tonight I was raining badly. So I didn’t head out until around 7:30 pm. When I got outside the rain had stopped and a new front was moving in so I stayed dry (except for the sweat) and got to see an amazing light show coming into the area. 1 mile at 8:20 pace.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Met my wife right after work and we ran our usual loop at a decent pace. 1 mile. Off to shoot trap!!

Monday, August 20, 2007

I was really hoping that my wife was not going to make me get up this morning but alas she did. I got up, reluctantly, and got ready to run. The ground was still wet from all the rain the previous night and while the temperature was pretty cool there was a note of humidity in the air. We started strong and by ¾ of a mile I was done I told my wife to keep up her pace and I’d see here at the end. Finished my 1 mile run at a 9 min pace.

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Only 1 mile in the rain at night but it was worth it. All the gloom was starting to get to me and running cures quite a bit! Thanks to my wife I am a new man!!

Saturday, August 18, 2007

Well it is the last weekend before the Utah Marathon, only 8 miles today!! I only had to start running at 6:30!! This was great but I didn’t want to get out of bed…I’m starting to think that running real early is great since I do not remember getting up!!

First 3 miles was pretty hard…the last 5 miles went well running with my wife! :)

Total of 8 miles at a 10:21 pace.

Friday, August 17, 2007

This morning was hard to get out of bed. The weather was perfect for a run though: mid 50’s with a light wind from the west and humidity that was very low!

Ran 1 mile in 9:15.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

YMCA day...did 30 min. on the treadmill only 2 miles out of the 2.8 were running though. The running was all at a 2% grade the walking was upto 4%.

Did about 40 min. of weights as well.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Ran with my wife tonight and had decided to forgo the 1 mile route and do 2 miles. Didn’t go out until late due to a show being on. 9 PM we were heading out the door both with GPSr’s on our wrists. We were flying…so much so that my wife asked if my pacer alarm was turned off. I told her no that we were just running faster than the alarm…I’m not sure that made her very happy. By 1.5 miles she was getting a stitch so she let me run ahead. I kept a great pace and finished my 2 miles in 17:53. I’m getting there…I just have to remember not to try that during my marathon!!!

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

It was raining in this morning so we decided to hold off and run later. Unfortunately as the day went on the humidity started to go up! I thought of running during lunch but decided against it…big mistake!

Got home from work around 5:30 and had to get ready for trap that night but thought I had better get my run in now since I did not know when I’d be home later.

Hit the ground running…the humidity was bad and the sweat started pouring. I had a rough day so my mind just kept churning which is why I ended up running 1 mile in 7:57 for me a new PR.

Monday, August 13, 2007

We got up at 6:30 and were ready to go! The temp was the same as on Sat. but the humidity was half!!! I was in heaven. We ran 1 mile in 9:09 and felt like we still had gas in the tank. I hope this weather lasts!

Sunday, August 12, 2007

After a long day of caching we still managed to head out and do a mile. Thought we were running much faster but only put in a 9:45 pace for 1 mile.

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Glad it is taper time because this way I don’t have to get up so early!! Out the door at 5:45 is much nicer. 6.5 miles before meeting with the group but at 90%+ humidity I was glad to be there in one piece. Managed another 5 miles…a lot of it walking and poured myself into the car and headed to coffee with 11.5 miles in the bag.

Friday, August 10, 2007

Another morning another mile…quite humid but managed a 10 min. mile pace for 1 mile.

Thursday, August 9, 2007

We are going to the State Fair tonight so we had to get our run in this morning. 1 mile at about a 10:00 pace.

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Didn’t run in the morning since I knew my wife would be going to the club this evening. I decided to do a few extra miles and see how the virtual partner works on the GPS…It’s Cool! Put in 3.25 miles and beat the virtual partner!

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

This will teach me to not write these things on time…I don’t remember if I ran in the morning or in the evening. I only know that it was only 1 mile.

Monday, August 06, 2007

Got up at 6:30 this morning and found out that the humidity was horrible. Ran a mile in 9:40 but was sucking wind at the end!!

Sunday, August 5, 2007

With the pain gone from the prior day I was ready to run around 7pm. We only did a mile but I felt great when it was over!

Saturday, August 4, 2007

When I have to get up early to run I dread the thought of being late…I slept right through the first alarm and luckily the second one woke me up! I hit the road at 4am when the moon was still high in the sky. I enjoyed the silence of the early morning but still have trouble remembering parts of the run.

The weather had gotten notably better than it had been earlier in the week but was still a little more humid than I like.

The miles went by pretty quickly and the wheels started to come off at about 12-13 miles. I struggled to get the 15 in before the Saturday Morning Running Group but I got them in. The next 5 miles were pretty bad…I walked most of it and it took me over an hour for 5 miles! I pulled my left shin pretty bad and the pain was horrible.

Ended the day with 19.91 miles.

Friday, August 03, 2007

Didn’t want to get up this morning…I hope this is not a harbinger of what is in store for tomorrow…but ended up running at 7am…wife stayed in bed! Tried to keep it slow since tomorrow is a long day but still ended with a 9:10 mile.

Thursday, August 2, 2007

WOW! I got up this morning thanks to my wife! She was up and getting ready at 6:30 so I figured I should too. We got outside and realized that it is still quite humid…I’m hoping it breaks before Saturday’s long run!! 1 mile in 9:40.

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Well once again I didn’t get up to run in the morning so my wife recommended that we head to the YMCA after work. I hate the treadmill!! Put in 3 miles and work the pace for the 1st mile and the hills for the last mile. Utah is going to be fun!

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Didn’t manage to get up this morning which meant that I was going to have to run after work. Since I had trap this evening I run at 5:30 and boy was it still hot out. I did push myself a bit though and put in a 7:59 mile!!

Monday, July 30, 2007

We were actually up and out the door by 6:50 this morning! We had trouble getting moving and the sun was so bright but we managed to put in 1 mile in 9:22.

Sunday, July 29, 2007

We had today planned already so it was no real surprise. Headed out the door at 10:50am and rode our bikes for about 8 miles.

Went out in the afternoon and played 9 holes of golf. (carried our bags…you walk 9 holes!)

At about 6:40pm we went out and did our mile…pretty slow at 10:14 pace for 1 mile but the day was busy so it needed to be easy.

Footnote: I am now signed up for the Park City Marathon. Airfare and hotels are now booked…no getting out of it now!

Saturday, July 28, 2007

Thank god this was a step down week! I was really getting tired of those 4am starts.

I was up at 4:50 and listening to the weather when I heard that it was 68 degrees out (beautiful!) and that the humidity was 95% (what? Did I hear that right?). I waited for the local weather to come back on and sure enough 95% humidity…this wasn’t going to be very fun.

Hit the road at 5:30 and got about 1.5 miles away before I was completely dripping with sweat. Managed to get 7.25 miles in before meeting the Saturday Morning Running Group but I looked like I just got out of a pool! The cemetery run is always pleasant and easy to run. Humidity had dropped to 80% by the time I had finished 11.5 miles, .5 miles short of my expected mileage for the day.

Friday, July 27, 2007

Talk about walking into a greenhouse! I got up this morning and the wife wasn’t feeling the best so I decided to put the morning run in by myself. I stepped outside and felt like I just walked into Steins’ greenhouse. It smelled of freshly moistened soil and the humidity was off the charts.

I settled in for a steady pace and ended with a 8:50 pace for 1 mile.

Thursday, July 26, 2007

The dreaded YMCA treadmill…managed to put in 3 miles of running/walking on a progressively faster and steeper course. Boy was it hot in there!!!

After my run I did about 2 miles of walking at a brisk pace and a steep incline.

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Once again a beautiful morning to be running. 1 mile about a 9:30 pace.

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Didn’t get up as early as we hopped but still got up and ran 1 mile at 9:25 pace.

Monday, July 23, 2007

Hard to get out of bed this morning but finally managed to do so. Wife and I headed out and I started complaining right away…”BOY AM I SORE!”

I put my head into it and we pounded out 1 mile at a 9:35 pace.

Sunday, July 22, 2007

Back to the YMCA and the dreaded treadmill. 1 mile at 10:00 pace. Lifted weights and went for a swim.

Saturday, July 21, 2007

I doubt I will ever get used to these early morning runs but I am getting better at just doing it and not questioning the sanity of the idea.

4:00 AM out the door and headed for a nice long run. I knew I was going to have to keep a better pace than I did last week or I’d miss the running group. I managed to put 15.5 miles on before meeting the group just before 7 AM. I don’t think I could have asked for better conditions. The temp was right, the humidity was right, and there was only a gentle breeze to keep me cool.

I finished my remaining 4.5 miles well behind the small group of runners we had this week. A bit of the way was walking…I should never have stopped for as long as I had waiting for the group, I’ll do better next time.

Finished 19.9 miles in 4:01:10…Could have been faster if those last 4 miles weren’t so bad!!

Friday, July 20, 2007

Wife and I were up and running this morning. She was feeling good and so was I so we managed to get 1 mile at a 9:25 pace!

Thursday, July 19, 2007

The cold front moved in finally so this mornings run was not too bad. Decent weather but still recovering from previous day. 1 mile at 8:50 pace.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

With the wife at the club I thought I’d be able to put a few extra miles on the legs. Well I felt good up to about 2.5 miles and then things got iffy. By 3.5 miles I was not feeling well. By 4 miles I was done! It was so humid that I was dripping…I felt as though I had sat in a steam room for 3 hours. I continued home at a walk and managed 5.25 miles on the feet but only 4 of them did I try to run.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Early morning…wife didn’t sleep well so I’m on my own. 1 mile in 8:50.
Too humid to even try to explain!!

Monday, July 16, 2007

Nice evening run right after work. Took our time and just did our mile circuit. 1 mile in 10:06.

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Today was a YMCA day. Did 1 mile on the treadmill at a 2.5% grade then hit the weights and the pool.

Saturday, July 14, 2007

4AM is not my friend! But somehow I managed to get my but out of bed and hit the road by 4:05. Took a scenic route down to Parkside to meet up with Racine’s Saturday Morning Running Group by 7AM and was glad to hear that everyone was interested in running the road route rather than the X-country course!

Put 18 miles on the feet and was feeling pretty good.

Friday, July 13, 2007

Early morning run with the wife managed to put 1 mile in at a 10 min/mile pace. Beautiful day!!

Thursday, July 12, 2007

After work, meet the wife at the YMCA…she was late so I got a few miles in before she got there. Managed to put in 4 miles on the treadmill….boy was it hot in there!!!

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

It was such a beautiful day out I just had to go for a run. The only problem is that once I got ready to head out I didn’t want to do it anymore…funny how that works!

I did manage to get off my but and head out for a run. Very light breeze and a clear night. Managed 4 miles with a few walk breaks and still averaged 9:31 pace.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

The wife decided not to run this morning due to an appointment with the trainer this evening so I got to sleep in a little before heading out for this 1 mile ritual.

It was much cooler today than in the past week so it was very welcoming. I tried to keep an even pace today but still found myself moving faster than I should be going.

1 mile at a 8:28 pace.

I have to put some distance in tonight…maybe 4-6 miles.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

This morning was easier to get up but not easier to run…just didn’t feel like it. We hit the road and even though I felt that we were much slower than yesterday still put in 1 mile at the same pace as yesterday!

Monday, July 9, 2007

Back to the morning grind…I really hate getting up this early but I know that I need to.

1 mile at a 9:54 pace

Sunday, July 8, 2007

Headed down to the YMCA and ran 1 mile on the treadmill, did some weightlifting, and then went and did a few laps in the pool…I really need to do that a little more often!

Saturday, July 7, 2007

The plan was to get up and be out the door by 4 AM…run 14.5 miles before meeting everyone and then finishing up with 18 miles…well a few things didn’t happen.

First I am in desperate need of new shoes…they were ordered but still haven’t received them. Second I was up on time but did not actually get up. Some how I talked myself into resetting the alarm and I got up at 5 AM instead.

I was out the door by around 5:35. I managed to get in right around 7.75 miles before meeting the Saturday Morning Running Group. Ran with my wife and a few others through the 1st cemetery but then we parted company while I finished the remaining two in a different order than they wanted to do.

In the end I was short 6 miles but managed to put in 12 miles so in all not a bad day.

Friday, July 6, 2007

Didn't sleep very well but was ready for a run. Wife came along for the 1 mile run and we completed it in 9:47.

Thursday, July 5, 2007

After work headed over to the YMCA for a little workout...2 miles on the treadmill at2 and 3% grades and 1/2 hour of weights....overall a pretty good workout.

Thursday, July 05, 2007

We got up late so wife was not able to join me for this mornings run. The weather was perfect with just a light NE wind. 1 mile at 8:20 pace…I think I’ll be able to run faster once my lung capacity increases. I’m still spending too much time wheezing.

Wednesday, July 4, 2007

After spending a few hours in the sun walking in the Franklin and Sommers Parades’ for Paul Ryan I convinced my wife that in stead of running the simple mile we had been trying to do every day that we should run 2. She reluctantly agreed.

We headed out for our 2 miler at 5:30 and it was still HOT!!! Ran the 1st mile and only walked twice for the second mile. Glad we did it in the end but wife realized that I would be making her get up tomorrow and run again!!

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Day 3 and still sticking with the mile a day routine…I just hope I can stick it out the whole month!!!

VERY SORE still but the run helped to loosen things up. 1 mile at 9:30 pace.

Monday, July 2, 2007

I am sore from working out with weights at the YMCA yesterday but I know that I have to get a few miles on me just to feel normal soon.

The rain had stopped by the time my shoes hit the road at 9:30PM but you could still smell the moisture in the air. The first 1.5 miles was cake the last 1.25 not so much.

Finished 2.77 miles at a 10:15 pace but felt only so-so. Spent a great deal of time stretching when I got home just so I’d feel good in the morning.

Monday, July 2, 2007

Got up this morning and went out and did a mile run.

1 mile 9:55...I'm sure I can do better but this is only day 2.

Sunday, July 1, 2007

Turning over a new leaf for July and ran a mile at the YMCA then lifted weights for about an hour.

1 mile at 10:10 pace.

Saturday, June 29, 2007

Well with the Utah Marathon only 2 months away it was important that I get out early and get in a few miles before meeting the Saturday morning group. Ended up with 6.18 miles at 11:11 min/mile before meeting the group.

Once I met up with the group I didn’t feel like running any more but I got out there and tried to put in a few more…most of it was walking though. An additional 4.11 miles at 13:21 min/mile pace.

Total on the day was 10.29 miles.

Thursday, June 28, 2007

I’ve now had almost 2 weeks off of running…I really should have run on vacation but just couldn’t wrap my head around it…so I was headed out to put on a couple. My wife stopped me and reminded me that the next marathon is right around the corner and that I should really do 4 miles. So reluctantly I realized she was right. I headed out and completed my 4 miles at a 10:42 min/mile pace.

Sunday, June 17, 2007

With how humid it was yesterday I was still a little wiped but I forced myself…and my wife….to get out and complete a 3 mile walk.

Saturday, June 16, 2007

For Utah I need to do 15 miles today…for Chicago I need to do 9 miles…the Lighthouse run is today and it is 10 miles…isn’t that enough?

I guess not! I really needed to put the miles on so I decided to run down to the starting line 5 miles away. Managed to complete the 5 miles at a 11:11 min/pace.

Then I completed the Lighthouse Run in 2:01:00. Finished the 10 miles at a pace of 12:23.

In all I completed all 15 miles on a day that was just too damn humid!!

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Nice little run around the neighborhood.

3.74 miles at a 10:26 pace.

Saturday, June 9, 2007

The goal for today was 14 miles but I was willing to settle for 12 seeing that next week is the Lighthouse Run. I started out from Colonial Park at 5:30ish in the hopes of getting 7-8 in before anyone showed up.

I ran out of the park toward Gilmore; around Gilmore to Mt. Pleasant; down Mt. Pleasant to South St; South to Main; Main to State; State to Prospect; Prospect back toward the park.

While I was on Main St I remembered that the GMR (Great Midwest Relay) was taking place and they were running through Racine about then. So I stopped by Main St bridge and cheered one of the runners on…that is a long way to go…maybe I should put a team together for next year!?!?!

I got back to the cars and meet the rest of the group (small for such a nice day!) We headed out and I chatted with Jeff. We caught up on all our work activities and didn’t talk politics much. I gave out at 2.5 and decided to turn around and Jeff came with. With about 1.5 miles to go I told Jeff to go it alone and I would work my way in.

I finished the day with 12.34 miles…Happy but could have been faster!

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

Got out for a run tonight and put about 3 plus miles on the feet. As usual North Green Bay was busier in what ever direction I was headed!

Monday, June 4, 2007

Didn’t think that I’d be able to get this run in due to the meeting that was scheduled for tonight but meeting got canceled and I told myself that I had to get a few miles in so I did. 2 miles

Saturday, June 2, 2007

Got an early start with the running group on a very humid day – not sure how well this is going to go! I got 3 miles in before meeting up with the rest of the group. The Culver’s run is difficult due to two major issues: lack of shade and the up hill on the way back to the start.

Started out slowly but after discussions turned political the pace picked up quite a bit. After another 3.5 miles I needed to slow down and relax. I ended up walking the last 1.5 -2 miles back to the car with Jud…we had a fantastic conversation!

Ended the day with 9 miles on the feet – too bad they weren’t all running miles!!

Thursday, May 31, 2007

In order to keep my spirits up I headed out at 10 PM for a nice evening run. It was horribly humid but managed to get 2 miles in and continued to sweat for the next half hour after the run!

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

I realized the other day that I have become rather agitated and could not explain why. I didn’t want to run tonight but thought I had better since the Lighthouse Run is only 18 days away!! So I set out and did a nice 3.5 miles on a beautiful spring evening.

Saturday, May 26, 2007

6:10 AM I hit the road…or in this case the trails…it was raining but the ground wasn’t too wet. I was able to get in 3.5 miles in before the rest of the group showed up…it was a small group only about 6 trail runners and another 4-5 road runners.

Ended the day with 9 miles and coffee at Panera

Bad news for Maine

I was planning on running the Bangor Maine Marathon in July but when I went to register last night I found out that the 2007 running has been canceled due to illness!

Back to the drawing board...Chicago is in October so there is limited time for another race but I'll see what I can do!

Saturday, May 19, 2007

6 AM is not usually a good time for me and today was no different.

I got down to the towers at 6:05 AM and headed out form my run by 6:10. I decided that a run along the river would be peaceful and offer me a little time to think before meeting the remainder of the running group at 7 (Run Racine).

Since I’ve been having such trouble getting into the zone I left my MP3 home and went out musicless. Boy was it a rough start! Trying to get into a rhythm was bad and then to concentrate on running was even worse.

I came across a number of geese, one of which just did not want me anywhere near him, and got to see some of the first goslings on the spring!

I got back to my car with 5 min. to spare (ran 4.4 miles) and it looked like a big group…in all 23 runners this week! We all headed out on the scheduled run (Saturday Morning Running Group) and I was still having a little trouble staying focused but pushed my way through it.

There were plenty of geese on this route as well including a huge family with at least 20 goslings!!

When I got to the northern part of the route I ventured off and went up main to 3 mile turned around and followed the exact route back to the car. While I still walked a bit I did managed to complete a total of 11 miles in about 2 hours (a little slow but not bad with all the walking)