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Monday, March 31, 2008

Monday, March 31, 2008

After dinner again here in Calhoun but it is also the day after the marathon meaning that I am a bit sore but after the first half mile the second came quite easy. 1 mile in 9:23…I guess I didn’t run fast enough yesterday!

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Race Day!!

The story how I ended up here at the finish line begins about 4-5 weeks ago when I mentioned to Kristen (one of my running partners) that I would be traveling to Georgia in March/April for work. She queried if I had looked if there was a race when I’d be in the area…hmm hadn’t thought about that.

By the time I got home that night the question was stuck in my craw and I had to find out…marathonguide.com and sure enough…the ING Georgia Marathon March 30, 2008.

I slept on it over night but it kept coming back to me…when would I really ever get the chance for the company to pay for my airfare to a marathon again? By the end of the week I had signed up for the race and was not sure why I had done it.

I trained rather well for the next few weeks but my longest run only capped out at 18 and that one I walked for the entire last 3!! I only wanted to finish the race but I was feeling good up to today and thought that I stood a chance to get back into a good pace. I’ve told most of you that I had abandoned the standard thought about training…a minute slower than race pace…and would run the race the way I prefer to train, all out and walk when I need to.

When I got up this morning and looked out the window I saw that it had indeed rained last night as predicted and I was hoping that the weather would hold to the 40-50’s as well. The hotel I stayed at was picked because of it’s proximity to the start and finish but never dreamed that my corral would be right outside my hotel!! I had to walk all of a block this morning to get there!!

Race time was 7:00 A.M. I assume we started on time but it took me nearly 21-23 minutes to cross the starting line and boy was the wind blowing by this time!! It took me a little while to settle into a good pace but once I was there the race was pretty good!

The course was very nice…it started off near the World of Coke and took a short jaunt around the downtown area. We then headed East out of town and into the suburbs. We ran past the birth place of Dr King and saw the neighborhood he grew up in all the while winding in and out of residential areas with some gorgeous homes.

The entire course had rolling hills…nothing to big or small but as the run wore on so did this up and down motion!

I was doing great my wife was able to see me at a number of spot n the course and was surprised at how well I was doing…in fact she kept telling me that I was “way ahead of pace” but she could obviously see I was feeling good because she never warned me to slow down or to take it easy. My pace felt great. My legs felt good. And the support on the course was fantastic.
But then I hit mile 19…from this point until mile 25 it was nothing but relentless hills. I felt as though I was constantly going up and never going down. I know that is not the case but it felt like it! I struggled to keep running when I could but the up hills had become nothing but walking.

I kept my spirits high and trudged on knowing that this race was in the bag and all I needed to do was keep it up. When I hit mile 25 the course became flat as a board but I had very little left after all of the hills so I tried to run (waddle) when I could and kept a brisk 15-16 min pace on my walk.

Up until mile 23 I was sure that I would break the 5 hour mark but after mile 23 and the hills that kept coming I was finding it harder and harder to imagine that happening. At 25.7 miles the 5 hour pace group passed me…how sad.
I managed enough power in my calves (which were just burning from all the hills) to run the last .3 miles and to cross the finish line in 5:02:35.

Well that makes 10 marathons in 10 states…I can officially join the 50 state club now!
I have 2 marathons coming up in May…Cincinnati, OH and Fargo, ND…I might even try to do a 5th one this year in Las Vegas in December!!

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Saturday, March 29, 2008

It was getting late and I was starting to contemplate not running since it is the night before the marathon but how could I allow my streak to end so abruptly? I went to the hotel gym with the wife and I managed to put in 1 mile in 9:53. The gym was as hot as the day before so I drank some more water and called it a night.

Weekly Totals

3/23 – 3/29 total miles = 9.11 miles average pace of 9:14
Mar total miles = 81.33 miles pace of 9:58
2008 total miles = 268.06 miles average pace of 9:59

Friday, March 28, 2008

Friday, March 28, 2008

I’m in Atlanta tonight and I still need to run but I really don’t want to run in an unfamiliar city at night when there was recent tornado damage…I might get hurt and the race is only a day away. I opted for the hotel gym and was pleasantly surprised at the layout…6 treadmills, 3 ellipticall and 2 bikes (recumbent and upright) all with plasma TV’s attached to them, a number of medicine balls and a few weight benches. The only issue I had with the room was that it was rather stuffy and warm.

I jumped on the treadmill and ran 1 mile in 9:33.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Trying to stay calm and take things easy…still late at night but the mileage counts!! 1.01 miles in 9:07

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Had a bit more energy…I think it’s because of the upcoming race! Did 2.01 miles in 18:37

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

I think this is becoming a theme…work late, eat late, and run late. 1.00 mile in 9:07

Monday, March 24, 2008

Monday, March 24, 2008

Have to get the job done and after eating late I still managed to get outside and put in 1.07 miles in 9:35.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Sunday, March 23, 2008

With all the snow that had fallen I knew that I still needed to get my run in but I really didn’t want to do a little more so I did the regular 2 mile run in 18:16.

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Weekly Totals

3/16 – 3/22 total miles = 16.17 miles average pace of 9:23
Mar total miles = 81.33 miles pace of 10:03
2008 total miles = 258.95 miles average pace of 10:01

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Got up on time this morning and even got ready to go but with the 14 inches of snow and the 20+ mph wind…I really didn’t want to be out there longer than I needed to so while I was hemming and hawing my wife convinced me that I could always do a few miles tomorrow. Besides I have a marathon next week!!

So I went back to bed for about 40 minutes and then headed out to meet a few of the runners. We did about 2.5 miles before meeting the rest of the group at 7:00 am.

The partially plowed roads made for an interesting run. 8.01 miles in 1:19:04 or a 9:53 pace.

Friday, March 21, 2008

Friday, March 21, 2008

I get home on Thursday night and what happens this morning…It snows! Not a little but a lot!! I headed to the YMCA and ran 2 miles in 17:40. Still had to remove the snow this evening…over 8 inches!!

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Another late night run after dinner but since the weather was so bad today I needed to do it this late otherwise I would have had to do it in the rain. It was still windy when I headed out and did my 1 mile in 8:53.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Great little run but later in the evening than I really like…I would much rather do this before dinner than after. 1.03 miles in 9:12 for an 8:56 pace.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Only a 1.12 mile run but at an 8:57 pace I’m feeling pretty good…it is hillier than I remember.

Monday, March 17, 2008

Monday, March 17, 2008

First day in Calhoun and needed to get out for a run. It feels great to be out in shorts and a t-shirt…sure beats WI right now!

I ran 2.01 miles in 18:05 for a 9:00 pace

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Ran around the neighborhood midday so that I could be ready to go to the airport. 1.01 miles in 8:53.

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Weekly Totals

3/9 – 3/15 total miles = 23.92 miles average pace of 9:55
Mar total miles = 65.16 miles pace of 10:13
2008 total miles = 242.78 miles average pace of 10:03

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Up early in the morning so that I could do a little extra mileage…I really wish that winter would end soon!!!

Had 12 miles in before meeting the group and ended the day with a total of 16.89 miles at a pace of 10:17.

Friday, March 14, 2008

Friday, March 14, 2008

After a long week we decided to go out for dinner so we postponed our run until a little later in the evening. Since we are both looking to run a little longer tomorrow we only ran 1 mile at a 9:24 pace.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Since we both knew that we had things tonight after work my wife recommended that we get up early and run, the weather is getting better and the sun is up earlier so it wasn’t too bad. We ran 1.01 miles in 9:20.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

2 miles in 17:50 meaning I had a pace of 8:54. Felt good since the weather is getting a bit better.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

I didn’t get out of work in time and I headed up to a blogger event in Milwaukee so I was not able to run my mile until 10:30 at night…but I got my mile in!!!

1.01 mile in 8:46.

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Heel hurts and I’m really sore from my falls. 1 mile at a 9:11 pace.

Saturday, March 8, 2008

Weekly Totals

3/2 – 3/8 total miles = 26.23 miles average pace of 10:36
Mar total miles = 41.24 miles pace of 10:23
2008 total miles = 218.86 miles average pace of 10:04

Saturday, March 8, 2008

I was out running at 4:00 am and by the time all the other people got there I had already got 15 miles under my belt. My heel had split again and I was bleeding but that wasn’t even the best of it. I fell at 1.5 miles and at 6.75 miles and both times fell on the left elbow. I hurt and I was starting to get sore by the time I met the rest of the group so the last 2-3 miles was just a walk. Ended the day with 18.16 miles and a 11:22 pace.

Friday, March 7, 2008

Friday, March 7, 2008

Took it easy since I am looking to run a long distance tomorrow. Did the 1 mile loop in 9:03 pace.

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Needed to do a little more but not wanting to stress too much so I did the 2 mile route that we love so much.

Completed the route in 17:20 or an 8:33 pace.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

I really didn’t want to run tonight but I ended up getting 1 mile in at a 9:00 pace.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

With the GOP meeting being canceled I decided to hit the road and run a bit farther than the easy mile…I ended up doing the easy 2 mile loop in 18:02.

Monday, March 3, 2008

Monday, March 03, 2008

The weather around here really sucks! One day we are nearing 48 and the next we are hitting a high of 28!!

I took the easy way out and just ran 1.01 miles in 8:56.

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Went out with the wife for a nice run on a 40 degree day…spring is around the corner...I can feel it!!!

1.00 mile in 9:19

Saturday, March 1, 2008

Weekly Totals

2/24 – 3/1 total miles = 23.08 miles average pace of 9:34
Feb total miles = 78.92 miles pace of 9:32
Mar total miles = 15.01 miles pace of 9:59
2008 total miles = 192.63 miles average pace of 10:00

Saturday, March 1, 2008

The GA marathon is fast approaching and even though I have yet to sign up for it I still need to be prepared. I decided that I would run 15 miles in stead of the standard 12 that would usually be done at this point in time but it’s gotta be done.

I started out early…as usual and was able to get 5 miles in before meeting the girls. We ran to Kristin’s house and picked up Chippy and my wife who decided that she needed extra miles!!

We got back to Panera a little late as the group had already struck out onto their run. My wife and I got some Gatorade and decided to head to Panera 2. The route was all frozen over so we improvised. I got back to the car before my wife since she decided to do a few more miles.

I finished my run in 2 hours and 29 minutes and completed 15.01 miles. I was stretching and hydrating when I saw my wife come running from the other direction. She ended the day with 8.05 miles!!!! That is far and away the longest she has ever run. I am so proud of her!