"By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail"

February is not starting too well. We got some snow and cold overnight. Blizzard conditions. The high today was 17F. No school for the kids -- no running for me. I'm going to have to brave the elements soon -- can't get too much rest. 26 days 'til Cowtown.

Well, that's a week for the record books! (NOT!) I was going to do 20+ mile today. The roads were still coated with ice, so I opted for the treadmill at work -- I only lasted about 15 minutes before I decided to run outside (it was probably 80 degrees inside the gym)

The temperature was about 40F when I joined Dave and Darin. I was trying to hold my MP (8:24), and had a hard time going that speed (I kept dipping below 8:00/mi). The ice and snow was melting, it was a slippery slushy mess in spots, and dry in others. I just wasn't feeling it today, so I packed it in after about 13. I'll try again tomorrow -- though we're expecting yucky weather again.

My kids were home from school Tuesday-Friday due to ice and snow. I worked from home all this week, and at a lot more than I should have -- especially because I didn't run all week. I hope I didn't cause too much damage. Next week will be better!

Ran after church. The weather wasn't too bad and the roads were dry!!! I normally take a break on Sunday, but because I cut yesterday's run short, I decided to make up for it. I only had time for 9. I tried again (unsuccessfully to run 8:20s..I've got 21 days to get that pace comfortably)

AP: 8: 12

46F, N10-15, cloudy

First run in my new Mizuno Wave Alchemy's. The shoes felt great,  but I felt sluggish. Very windy, but temperature wasn't too bad. Ran w/ Dave and Darin (all at our own individual paces). My Garmin battery died, so I'm guessing I was about 8:00/mi.

AP: 8:00

42F, 19 NW

I was mentally prepared to endure a lunchtime run on the treadmill, but Dave and Darin convinced me to run outside (28F, 5MPH wind, sunny). I'm glad I ran outside.

We started out with a 6:56 first mile. I'm not sure why we went so fast, I think Dave wanted to run the entire 8 miles at 7:00/mi (and he did). Ran 2 miles  to "the pond", then did 7 laps, then headed back. The weather wasn't bad, and the pace felt fairly comfortable (Half mary race pace)

It looks like our final long run before a 2 week taper will be on Sunday. We're thinking about racing a 5K on Saturday morning...it might be a Saturday morning decision for me (I'd hate to injure myself this close to Cowtown - 17 days out)

AP: 7:09'

28F, 5N, sunny

Decided to stretch the lungs and legs a little this morning. Ran a 5K race. My buddy, Dave was there, and he was healthy. I started with a 6:05 first mile (flat), then a 6:53 (uphill), then a solid 6:35 3rd mile..and sub 6:00 for the last .1, for a 20:25. Not a PR by any stretch, but I was happy only finishing 8 seconds behind my buddy, Dave.

We placed 2nd and 3rd (out of 14) in our AG. Took home a ceramic Buffalo trophy and a doorprize gift certificate to a Mexican restaurant.

The weather was nice. 42F, no wind, and sunny. I'd like to order this same weather for Cowtown.

Met Dave and Darin at the Lake Grapevine Runners and Walkers clubhouse. The plan was to run 16 -- I was wanting to run my pace group pace (8:23/mi), but I didn't want to run alone. I decided to run with Dave and Darin - and they planned to run 7:45/mi.

Once I loosened up (after about 3 miles), I felt pretty good. The weather was great (a little windy), but temps were in the low 40s. After 16, Darin had to leave, so Dave and I ran 2 more cooldown miles (about 8:00/mi).

Blueberry muffin, and double-chocolate latte for breakfast. 2 water/gatorade stops. No gels. 

AP:  7:38

40-45F, 10-15 N, sunny

Solo lunchtime run from home. 3 out and 3 back. I wanted to get a feel for 8:20/mi pace. It wasn't too bad while headed into the wind, but it was hard to slow down when the wind was behind me. I think I'll be looking at my Garmin quite a bit on race day -- hoping that I'm not accordianing (if that's a word) the pace too much. 

AP: 8:14

71F, S15-20, sunny

Lunchtime intervals w/ Dave and Darin. It was a bit on the hot side and very windy.

AP: 7:50

70F, 15-20S, sunny

7 easy solo miles at lunch. How quickly it goes from too cold to too hot.

75F, 5 SW, Sunny

AP: 8:18

1 week 'til Cowtown. Ran an easy 10 miles this morning in the heat, humidity, and wind of north Texas. It wasn't too bad, and I'm hoping conditions improve by next week. It was about 60 at 7:30am, and 90% humidity. The 8:20 pace I was trying to hold was a little tough going into the wind, but fine otherwise.

This afternoon I met Darin at the start of the Cowtown Marathon and we rode our bikes over the new course. It took us almost 3 hours to cover the 26.2. The course isn't too bad. lots of litte ups and downs and 1 or 2 significant uphills (mile 9 is the biggest, but nowhere near Veyo at SGM). It was good to see the new course, at least now I know what to expect.

The biggest concern now is for raceday weather. I'd hate to have Tom Slick come all the way from Sandy City to Ft Worth for a hot, humid race. Here's to hoping for 40's, low wind, and overcast skies!

AP: 8:19

60F, 90% humidity, S10-15mph

Solo run at lunchtime. I decided to take the first 2 miles at a comfortable 8:00 pace, then picked it up for the last 5.

Weather was nice. It was 60F, 10 mph breeze from the South, sunny -- humidity was down from Monday's run.

5 days 'til Cowtown. The weather gypsies are not currently my friends. Temps should start in the mid 50's and possibility of rain. Which usually means high humidity :). It's still 5 days out, plenty of time for a revised forecast.

 8:01, 7:59, 7:52, 7:33, 7:27, 7:11, 6:32

Decided to run at lunch. 76F, wind gusting over 20MPH, Sunny, 76% humidity -- hopefully this will make me appreciate whatever whether we get on Sunday at Cowtown.

AP: 7:50

Picked up Slick at DFW yesterday, then took him site-seeing. We went to the expo and picked up our packets, walked around a bit, bought a few things, then we drove the marthon route (with a break for some Asian noodles).

It is almost ideal running weather...but that is today (Saturday). Its 38F now, with nearly no wind, 80% humidity, getting up to 75 today. BUT..the overnight low in Ft Worth is supposed to be 63F, 90% humidity, 12-18MPH wind. I can't help but stress about the weather..but there's nothing I can do about it. We'll do our best tomorrow and see how it goes!

Going to spend some time with the boys today (they have a basketball game this morning, and a soccer game this afternoon, then Slick and I will be heading to Ft Worth for the night.

I can come up with lots of valid excuses for having my second slowest marathon (out of 20), but the truth is, I just wasn't mentally or physically prepared for today's Cowtown Marathon.

It was good having Tom Slick in town for this event -- he added quite a bit of his "Tom Slick" charm to this event...he'll probably get his picture in the Ft Worth paper with a cigar in his mouth as he crossed the finish line. He never ceases to impress me, as he is so dedicated to his training and his pre-race routine.

I didn't sleep at all last night, and felt a little feverish...but, I decided to give my 3:40 pacing a shot. The temp was 67F and 90% humidity, with S 15-20 MPH wind. I should be able to run in these "local" conditions. I was more worried for Tom Slick.

I was right on schedule up until the 18th mile, when I made an unscheduled pit stop. I handed the "3:40" sign to one of the group, and said I would catch up. I knew, I wouldn't catch up. I was just feeling aweful. I walk-ran the last 7 miles...totally dejected. I guess some days just aren't your day.

It was a little encouraging to see a few people from our pace group after the race..and they thanked me for the steady effort for the first 18 miles. One of the women, ended up speeding up for a 3:35, and the guy I handed the sign to finished at about 3:41 (I told him to keep the sign as a sourvenir for his first marathon.)

Even though I had a bad day, it was a great weekend. Hanging out with Tom Slick, seeing lots of running buddies, and adding another finisher medal to the collection (3rd of 5 to complete the "Cowtown Star").

I think my finishing time was around 3:53 -- I'm not in a hurry to look at the Garmin.

Update: 2/28/2011

Splits

1 - 8:20

2 - 8:20

3 - 8:21

4 - 8:09

5 - 8:14

6 - 8:15

7 - 8:23

8 - 8:16

9 - 8:24

10 - 8:43  Long uphill mile into the wind..was shooting for around 9:00

11 - 8:20

12 - 8:14

13 - 8:09

14 - 8:08

15 - 8:18

16 - 8:15

17 - 8:13

18 - 9:18 (pit stop..the beginning of the end)

19 - 8:33

20 - 8:41

21 - 9:42

22 - 10:13

23 - 11:06 - I believe this is my all-time slowest marathon mile

24 - 10:44

25 - 11:56 - a new all-time slowest marathon mile.

26 - 8:59 - I managed to eek out a sub-9:00 only because a friend of mine came by with a chance to BQ. She seemed to be struggling, so I let her draft with me. She helped me as much as I helped her. So, I'm wondering if I was really hurting bad -- or just overly lacking motivation for the past 6 miles. I don't know.

Time: 3:52:50