Yes, last week was an "easy" week. My weekend runs were 6 miles at goal pace on Saturday, and 8 miles on Sunday. Yes, my long run was "only" 8 miles. We were hanging out with some friends on Saturday and I caught myself saying I only had to run 8 miles the following day. When did 8 miles become "only" 8 miles. That's bizarre. It was just a year ago that I thought 5 miles was a forever distance. It seemed like a really long ways. Now I'm thinking of ways to make 8 miles seem a little more difficult to give myself a little better workout. What a difference a year makes.
Three weeks of marathon training completed. Things are going well (knock on wood). I'm still looking forward to what is coming. We'll see how long that lasts. One thing is certain, I'm going to have to figure out how to run while traveling. We will be doing some traveling in July and this coming weekend is the only weekend that I will be at home for my long run. This is another bizarre change of mindset for me. Vacation has always been my time to indulge. While I'm sure I'll do my share of indulging, I'll also continue to get my miles in. I've done some Google map scouting on available trails/running routes near my destinations. It should be fun to explore some new areas.
No excuses. Just run.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Country Runner vs. City Runner
My training schedule called for 6 miles today. For the second day in a row rain was in the forecast, and for the second day in a row it held off during my run. Maybe I'm lucky. It was a bit of a restless night of sleep, but I got out of bed and out the door. The 6 miles went by uneventfully.
So I do the majority of my miles in rural America on country gravel roads. I take my dog along and he gets to run around off leash. I get to log my miles on a little more forgiving terrain. I very rarely see other runners, or even cars. It's usually just me, Bo (my dog), and miles of nothing. This is all setup for this past weekend. We took our kids to Omaha to visit the Henry Doorly Zoo. Luckily we have family that lives in Omaha so there is a free place to stay and most of the comforts of home.
Saturday morning I woke up to rain. I have no issues running in rain, however I'm obviously not used to running around cars. About a half mile into my run I was at a corner. A pickup came flying past right through a puddle, soaking my left side from head to toe. These are things I remember doing as a stupid teenager, now I'm regretting it. The rest of the miles went by without issue, but I had my head on a swivel.
Sunday's run called for 11 miles. I was able run on the Keystone - Central and Big Papio trails in Omaha. For the second day in a row I learned some things about running with other people around. The first few bikers that passed me on the trail did the proper thing and announced themselves as they were passing. In the process of announcing themselves they scared the living daylights out of me. I think I jumped on the first 10 bikers that came past. As the miles went by I noticed my legs aren't used to putting in miles on the concrete surface. This is something I should probably work on over the summer. I'm guessing the Chicago Marathon isn't run on gravel roads, so I'll probably work on getting a few long runs in on hard surfaces to train my body for that.
Overall the runs went pretty well. I learned a few lessons about running in the big city (what a hillbilly I am), but those can only make me a better runner...right?
No excuses. Just run.
So I do the majority of my miles in rural America on country gravel roads. I take my dog along and he gets to run around off leash. I get to log my miles on a little more forgiving terrain. I very rarely see other runners, or even cars. It's usually just me, Bo (my dog), and miles of nothing. This is all setup for this past weekend. We took our kids to Omaha to visit the Henry Doorly Zoo. Luckily we have family that lives in Omaha so there is a free place to stay and most of the comforts of home.
Saturday morning I woke up to rain. I have no issues running in rain, however I'm obviously not used to running around cars. About a half mile into my run I was at a corner. A pickup came flying past right through a puddle, soaking my left side from head to toe. These are things I remember doing as a stupid teenager, now I'm regretting it. The rest of the miles went by without issue, but I had my head on a swivel.
Sunday's run called for 11 miles. I was able run on the Keystone - Central and Big Papio trails in Omaha. For the second day in a row I learned some things about running with other people around. The first few bikers that passed me on the trail did the proper thing and announced themselves as they were passing. In the process of announcing themselves they scared the living daylights out of me. I think I jumped on the first 10 bikers that came past. As the miles went by I noticed my legs aren't used to putting in miles on the concrete surface. This is something I should probably work on over the summer. I'm guessing the Chicago Marathon isn't run on gravel roads, so I'll probably work on getting a few long runs in on hard surfaces to train my body for that.
Overall the runs went pretty well. I learned a few lessons about running in the big city (what a hillbilly I am), but those can only make me a better runner...right?
No excuses. Just run.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
What is this?
I don't know what this is, or what it will become. I guess we'll see together.
Official marathon training has started. I'm in week 3 of Hal Higdon's 18 week Intermediate II plan. So far, so good. There is a lot to catch up on, not sure how much of it I'll get down in a post. I guess you'll just have to wait and see. For now, let's just say that I'm wanting to keep up the blog, but not sure if I have what it takes.
No excuses. Just run.
Official marathon training has started. I'm in week 3 of Hal Higdon's 18 week Intermediate II plan. So far, so good. There is a lot to catch up on, not sure how much of it I'll get down in a post. I guess you'll just have to wait and see. For now, let's just say that I'm wanting to keep up the blog, but not sure if I have what it takes.
No excuses. Just run.
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