6/30/2011 - No Run

Just poor planning and slept through the morning opportunity to run. No chance in the PM. Oh well. Will get more mileage over next couple of days. Will likely come up short of 70 this week, but still a good mileage and running week.

6/29/2011 PM Easy Run - 8 Miles

8 Miles
55:05

Easy run to and around the park. Nothing too major. Legs were feeling a little fatigued to begin, felt awesome in the middle and fatigued again at the end. Finished it up with some core and upper body stuff and called it a night.

6/28/11 AM Easy Run - 5.3 Miles

5.3 Miles
39:42

Just took it out easy around the bayou. Nothing too exciting, except that awesome feeling of running just 12 hours after your last run. All went well, which made me happy and ready to run again this afternoon. Legs were definitely not as "springy" as they were yesterday afternoon, but that's to be expected. Guess we'll see how it feels this afternoon now.

6/7 thur 6/24 Update

So, I essentially began to participate with the Kenyan Way on their Monday and Wednesday workouts, and I am realizing that I was failing to consider a couple of things.

First, the running conditions here in Houston have been nothing short of brutal. Secondly, I jumped right into two workouts a week, while doing 17+ miles on the weekend, and quite honestly, going from nothing but easy running right into that was pretty rough on the legs.

So, this week, I have two things in mind... getting my legs back under me and getting mileage. If all goes as planned, I will get over 70 miles this week, and will do so with no "workouts", so to speak. Nothing but easy running. Next week, I may throw in a workout, and the following week 2 workouts, but we'll just take it week by week. As I prepare for Chicago, the most important thing to me is getting the miles in. And the way my legs were feeling after Saturday and Sunday, I began to quesiton my ability to handle those miles.

With a little better set of thoughts, a better plan, and knowing where I want to focus, I think the plan is set to be executed.

I will throw this out there, just for the heck of it. With only July, August and September to go, my time is short, but I have a training goal, despite the heat, to get at least 3 weeks over 100-miles. I'm not 100% sure how likely (or smart) that is, but in my head, that is what is required in order for me to perform well in Chicago.

Alright...time to head home and put foot (or rather, running shoe) to pavement.

6/27/11 - PM Easy Run

8.3 Miles
55:47

After 2 weeks of heavy legs and struggling with mileage and workouts, finally got a good feeling run where I was comfortably able to maintain sub-7 minute miles. Just an all around good run. Hoping for more ahead as training progresses.

6/26/11 - AM Easy Run

7-8 Miles
57:30

Very easy, slow paced run w/Dan into downtown and around Minute Maid park. His Garmin said 7.3 miles, but I swear it's longer than that. If not, we were REALLY going easy. The last 2.5 miles were an absolute struggle. Mileage done, though. All good.

6/25/11 - Kenyan Way Long run - 16.5 Miles

16.5 Miles (I think)
2:00:01

First off, I know I have lots of dates I've missed, but I'll have to take some time another day to go back and update. I've got some workouts under my belt lately, but I tell ya, there's nothing like a workout to remind you how far you are away from the fitness you desire.

Today's run was another example. I went out with the plan for 18 miles, but the heat and humidity did me in before I could make it that far. Perhaps I wasn't fully hydrated the day before, perhaps it was mistakes in diet prior to the run, I don't know. Perhaps it was just that I wasn't up for it today. I did 17 last week and while I struggled to complete it to a degree, I made it and felt pretty darn good about it. Today, the legs were gone by 13 miles, but I somehow powered my way through for another 3 1/2 miles. It was ugly, but sometimes running is just like that.

Each day that I get out the door these days, I have this Pearl Izumi ad in my head:

NO ONE HAS EVER BEEN HUMBLED BY JOGGING.
If all we want to do is feel good about ourselves, jogging is the ticket. It doesn’t challenge us. It doesn’t test us. It doesn’t exact a physical or psychological toll. Worst case scenario is, jogging may cause mild perspiration on color-coordinated sweat suits. But if we’re willing to push ourselves into uncharted territory, a place littered with broken bodies and remnants of the human psyche, running may be what we’re looking for. Without question, it dishes out more heaping helpings of humble pie than any sport we know of. Little wonder that so few people have the testicular fortitude to lace up and run like an animal.

I love this, and I love the challenge of training for the marathon. Today was humbling, but even more so, it simply poured a little more gasoline over the fire that already burns inside. Later all!

6/6/11 AM Hill Workout

5.5 Miles
39:41

16 Hills along the way to doing roughly 4.5 miles on the Cloverleaf. For my 4 loops of the course we ran, my times were:
6:36
6:36
6:43
6:55

Obviously, there are some "strength" issues here. I definitely have a long way to go, but the run felt good. I was glad to be able to put forth the effort without any real feelings of injury or pain. It was all fitness today. My legs felt a little on the "dead" side, but hey, that's what comes along with the running sometimes, right?

All in all a good workout. Now to look forward to a light evening run. Later!

6/5/11 AM Easy 7-8 Miles

7-8 Miles
55:03

I don't really feel like mapping out the run right now, but I know it was somewhere between 7 and 8...pretty sure it's not over 8. Anyway, I was surprised by 81 degree weather at 10:30 AM on Sunday...was really expecting much hotter, although I'm really glad it wasn't hotter, as the water fountain I was counting on was fenced in for the weekend's concert festivities along Allen Parkway.

Headed towards downtown, then into downtown, around Minute Maid and back. Some core work, and I called it a day. Even with a little "cooler" temps, it was plenty warm enough, that's for sure.

7/4/11 Kenyan Way Long Run - 16 Miles

16 Miles
1:54:20

Good run. I had been feeling for a couple of days a little shaky on my left calf. There was a feeling like it wanted to cramp up or tighten up, but it never did. Never felt it while running, but felt it Thursday and Friday after running. Not sure what the source of the issue was, but it made me a little nervous about how I'd handle running today. The plan had been to extend my distance by a couple of miles, so I focused on being easy and smooth.

Fortunately, for the start, all functioned ok and I felt very comfortable going for the 7:45 first mile down to 6:35's by about 4 miles in. I held that till about 11 miles, then ran a bit slower when I went off course and headed down 11th St to the Heights 5k. Got to watch the winner finish and watched a few friends finish up as well. Chatted for a bit, then headed out for the last 3 miles of the run.

Finished right around 16 miles, and happy that it came in under 2-hours. It was a good point to be at this point in training. Still a long way from Chicago, and still a long way from prepared. But, as the days move along, I feel really confident in how my body will hold up right now.

Time to get on w/the rest of the day! Later folks!

6/3/2011 PM Easy 7.4 Miles

7.4 Miles
49:51

I missed running in the AM, and was paying the price by running in mid-90's temps at 5pm. Fortunately, humidity was down and the breeze was nice. Not too bad of a run. Ready for the long run.

6/2/2011 - PM Easy 8 Miles

8 Miles
55:32

Took my time getting started this afternoon. I was very aware of how my legs were feeling, as I felt like I wanted to make sure that nothing was feeling out of whack. The first mile came in at about 7:30 and I just kinda cruised the rest of the way to and around the park. Most of the miles were about 6:40-6:50 with little effort.

Good stretching, I hope, after the run, and looking forward to another easy effort tomorrow before going for, hopefully, 16-17 on Saturday.

6/1/11 - PM Kenyan Way Workout - 5.2 Miles

5.2 Miles
Loop of the bayou
2x1 Mile hard
5:07 1st Mile
5:11 2nd Mile

Very good feeling run...I was kinda surprised that I had that in me on the hills of the bayou, as the ground is uneven, not all paved, and running around the others that started before me, as I ran up to the workout area just about a minute or two after everyone started.

The first mile definitely was a labored effort. While the 2nd one felt "smoother" and more even, I was definitely struggling by the end. Overall, though, I feel good about the way my legs felt and moved. Good times, good times.