Happening Again...

After a good run, pushing an hour and 45 minutes, and feeling very good about things, life just seems to take some interesting turns.  What's the saying?  Life is what happens when you're making other plans...

Well, Life has shown up and my Chicago plans may be changing.  It's unfortunate, but it's entirely possible.  I may give a little detail, but not likely, as it's pretty personal.  However, I will keep the blog posted of the final decision.

In the mean time, running has continued and it's feeling pretty good.  It's funny the effort it takes to complete a full run at 7:30 pace, and to get a little under 7:30, when it I'm used to running under 7-minutes.  Or at least, had gotten used to running under 7:00 pace, for many of my miles. 

It's good though.  It's really making me appreciate the work to get to where I want to be.  It's humbling and really makes me happy to feel like my running has become a little more relatable to others.

Guess we'll see how things go.  Later all!

Feels so good....

I plodded along today for my first run paced under 7:30 pace in a long time.  Woo hoo.  I got out for 6 miles and ran pretty consistent the whole run...actually, probably actually negative split the run.  Maybe that's not a big deal when it's only 6 miles, but it's still a win here in this guy's mind. :P

I contemplated a couple of extra miles a the end, but thought better of it for various reasons.  Tomorrow may be a different story, though.

Legs felt good, and I just felt awesome moving along out there.  The last 3 miles, if I saw it right on my watch were all around 7:20. 

I must say, the feeling of progress is an awesome feeling.  It's amazing to me how long it felt like I was plodding along with no progress to show for it, getting poked fun at for putting on some weight in my time off, etc.  The weight hasn't really come off that much, honestly, but the fitness is coming back, and it's a great feeling when you get just a little hint of its return...or at least its PENDING return. 

All in all, training is starting to feel better.  Will Chicago still be a rough experience that sees my worst marathon time ever?  That's still highly likely...probable, if I'm honest with myself.  I still harbor some hope, though, that I'll be able to get in good enough shape to make it a good run.  :-)

Later all!

Milestones

So it's definitely not a lifetime milestone, but 12-miles run the other night was definitely a high point so far over the last several months. 

Despite mid-high-90's heat, I plugged along and made it.  It was a tough go, as it was definitely NOT a negative split run, but one that I felt good about considering the places I've been and where I currently am.

Looking forward to another long run.

Still Plugging Along

Well, gang, running has still been happening, but it's slooooooooow progress.  I have had no choice lately but to increase mileage, whether it feels good or not.  :-)  I am signed up for the Chicago Marathon and need to do whatever I can to make that thing the LEAST painful endeavor possible.  I'm already resigned to the idea that it will likely be my slowest marathon...slower than my first one @ 3:14. 

Having said that, running is feeling better and better...going just a little longer each week feels better than it did before to push. 

As things get more worthy of discussion, I'll be more apt to post.  But for now, my running still feels so "mortal" and "average", although in all honesty, it's probably more accurate to say it's below average.

For those that continue to check in and read, I appreciate the little bit of traffic my little corner of the internet receives.  I really enjoyed when I first began my shortlived journey to attempt an Olympic Trials Qualifying time, my readership went way up.  Now, I'm back to humdrum mode and don't have much exciting to post about, at least not in the running realm. 

Hopefully, as I continue to get into better shape, I'll embark on something as equally exciting as a Trials qualifier time.  Till then, thanks again for the reading and the time.

Later gators!