"By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail"

Ran alone at lunch today. Worked too late last night to meet Jo before work. 

85F, sunny, 10 MPH S wind

AP: 7:28

I just read that one of Scott Z's (forumflyers) children passed away during childbirth. She was only 32. The Z's were in Peru on a mission assignment and are returning early to help with the new baby..very tragic news.

My Garmin was being flaky today. I've had it almost 2 years -- and I'm wondering if the rechargeable battery built into this thing has come to the end of its life-expectancy. I'll charge it, it'll show "Battery Charging Complete". I'll take it off the charger..and it won't turn on. It'll still talk to my PC and download my activities, but it doesn't seem to want to turn on after I take it off the charger. Time for a google search.

Ran with (or away from Darin and Eric) at lunch. We started out together. Another hot, steamy mid-80's day. We hit the first mile at 7:38 (according to Darin's Garmin..because mine wasn't working). We ended up single file to avoid traffic, and I thought I was keeping a steady pace with them behind me. I thought they slowed down..I would check on them once in a while..and they kept dropping further behind...and I thought I was doing about a 7:40/mi pace. I finished the 6 mile run about 2 minutes ahead of them..finishing in about 44 minutes. I'll give myself an AP of 7:20...but I'm really not sure.

I kept thinking about Huans and his 6:11 3x1600's -- there is just no way I could do that, not right now..not with these temperatures. Maybe I'll give it a try tomorrow morning with Jo.

AP: 7:20?

5 at 5:00 with Eric. 90F, 48% humidity, Wind 10-25 S (a little like a blow dryer!)

Tummy wasn't feeling too good..had to stop at the golf course after 2 miles for a pit stop. (Eric jogged on a little and I caught up)

AP: 7:41 (yep 5 degrees hotter than yesterday, and :20 slower per mile...maybe that Runners World article was right)

Going to Houston this weekend...not sure if/when I'll get a long run in.

Visiting friends near Houston. Got out at about 8:00AM (and I thought it was hot and humid where I live...hah! Already a balmy 82F). Ran about 2.5 miles to a park. Lots of runners, walkers, bikers..I just love seeing other people exercising while I'm out running. My runs are usually so lonely. I didn't want to run too far..wanted to save some energy for site-seeing and playing with the kids, so only did 10. The last 2 miles were about 7:00-7:15. I'll try to get out a little earlier tomorrow morning, and maybe get in a few extra miles before spending the day at NASA then the beach at Galveston Island.

A short run around my friends' neighborhood in Spring, Tx...before a day at the Johnson Space Center and the beach on Galveston Island

Travel - rest day

4 on the treadmill at lunch. I was shocked that I gained about 4 pounds over the weekend...how could that be! I'm on the verge of entering the Clydesdale division at SGM!!!! Arggg. 

I'll get more miles in this week...I can't forget to get in 9 miles tomorrow in honor of Kathie's 9/9/9, 4+5 b-day!

I had every intention of running 9 miles on 9/9/09, but it didn't work out. I did manage 4.5 miles of hills (4+5 adds up to 9..I guess that's a stretch). 

 90F, 5MPH S wind, 44% humidity...ok, summer is over..enough already.

Ran 6 at lunch..solo. 90F, 44% humidity, no wind (was running from one shade spot to the next). My Garmin didn't want to turn on...so I'm guessing I did about 7:30 AP. 

Was going to run another 4 after work, but only got in 2 (due to some gastro-distress probably brought on by the 2 cans of Coke I drank this afternoon)

Got up at 3:30AM and headed to Colleyville (a 50 mile drive) to run with a group from one of the local running stores. It was lightly raining when I left the house (I was only slightly tempted to turn around and climb back in bed)

 I met up with Jon who is running Twin Cities on 10/4. We ran the first 16 miles together at about 8:20/mi, then he said his stomach was bothering him (he wasn't used to the Accelerade that they put out for the runners). So, I left him, and picked up the pace. Ran the last 4 miles at ~7:30.

I'm liking the Honey Stinger gels (tastes just like honey..I'm thinking they are honey). I took one at 5, 11, and 15. Had lots of energy in the tank at the finish.

I think I'm officially starting my taper for St George. I'll run 15 next weekend, then probably 10 for my long run the following weekend.

I weighed myself after I got home from today's run..191. Not too bad, considering I was 200 on Monday (I think I retained a lot of water over the long weekend...can sea water do that to you? Or was it the frozen daquiri's? Dunno)

70F, light rain, light wind...felt great!

Taper time begins!!!!!

MarkO - I ordered a new Garmin 305 yesterday. I'll definitely have it at SGM, so we can hit all our splits. Now it's time to start studying the spreadsheet.

After 2 days of rest, it was nice to get out at lunchtime and run.

My right foot had been bothering a little on Sunday and Monday, so I decided not to chance it and gave it some rest. Wore a different pair of shoes today, and did about 7:00-7:20's for the whole thing. (The new Garmin hasn't arrived, yet..so I'm guessing)

75F, Cloudy, 80% humidity (today was the 5th straight day that we've had rain. We really needed it)

AP:720

I was just taking a walk down memory lane by reading my race report from SGM 2007 (my 4th marathon..and my 1st BQ. I hope it's not my fastest SGM!)

Just for the fun of it, I took my pace for SGM 2007 and scaled it from 3:20:02 to 3:15:00, to see how it compared to Cougar's pace chart. Looks like miles 6 and 7 were a little too fast.. You can see the "fade" at the finish.Mark, Jeff, Mike -- I'd be willing to give Cougar's pace chart a shot, but you might lose me near the finish.. Perhaps, if I take miles 6,7,8, and 9 a little easier, I might have some gas in the tank!

- Rest Day - I'll have quite a few of these leading up to SGM -

GOT MY NEW ASIC Speedstars in the mail today...I'll run a couple times in them, and really break them in at St George.

Ran w/ Darin (and some with Eric...Eric dropped back due to all the weight training he had done before we started). It was drizzly and 67F when we started (nice..could have been a few degrees cooler, but I'm not complaining.:)

7:31, 7:36, 7:38, 7:30, 6:30 (The last mile was approximate because Darin had the only watch...I told him I was going to turn it up a notch on the last mile, and wave my hand when I hit the start/finish point...he came in 45 seconds behind me with a 7:15. I'll take it...felt great!

Feet feel fine...wife is coming down with a cold or something...I'm quarantining myself until I leave for St George! (Can't afford to get sick now )

Went to the track at lunch with Darin and Eric. We were planning to run 8 x 800m, but the HS football team came out and got on the track..and we only got in 4. Was trying to keep them under 3:15, but because we only did 4, I sped up on the last one. Had 400m recovery jog between.

2:57, 3:02, 3:05, 2:50

80F, 64% humidity, mostly cloudy (felt steamy)

First run wiht new Speedstars. They felt great right out of the box.




 

I was supposed to run yesterday, but woke up with a headache and felt a little dizziness (maybe sinus / head congestion??) So, I decided to get some sleep instead of running.

This morning, I felt much better...so I thought.. was going to do 15, with 13 at MP...but at mile 5 my right calf cramped up. Not just a little tightness, a full-on, time to stop, charlie horse. This has NEVER happened to me this early in a run. Was it the blueberry pancakes I had yesterday? Due to all the yardwork? Didn't I hydrate? Maybe I rested too much this past week? Was it the speed work on Friday? Low potassium? I ate bananas yesterday and this morning before I ran. I also took a Honey Stinger before I started today...hmmm.

After the cramp-up, I walked most of the way back to my car...jogged a little, but it hurt. Hobbled quite bit throughout today, but it is starting to loosen up.

Let's say this didn't do much for my confidence going into SGM. Arrrg..Anyways...I'll be sure to drink plenty of fluids this week, and get back to running, and get back some of my confidence...I sure hope Charlie doesn't jump on me at SGM!

Ran 6 easy at lunch with Eric and Darin. Right calf was still a bit sore, but I made it through all 6 miles. I won't run tomorrow, and see how it feels on Wednesday.

AP: 7:54

86F, 78% humidity, 15 MPH S

Took a 1 mile walk with my 5-yearold boy. It's not often he gets one-on-one time with Daddy. We picked up a few fossils and watched the clouds turn pink as the sun set...

What a difference a few days makes. Had the calves massaged last night. Could still feel the right calf during the run, but it wasn't tight...just a little residual soreness.

First run with the new Garmin (This is my 3rd 305 -- so now I have 3 HR straps and charging cradles..I can keep one in the car, at work, and at home) Unfortunately, I only have 1 working watch.

73F, 8 MPH NNW, 47 % Humidity

7:34, 7:38, 7:26, 7:26, 6:55, 6:47

HR 153, 141, 144,148, 156,163

 ET: 43:47

AP: 7:18

AHR: 150 

Ran at lunch w/ Eric and Darin. Before we started our out and back route, we said we would take it easy to the 3 mile point, then kick it in on the way back... Easy was kind of speedy.

We hit the 1 mile at 7:20 pretty much together, then I started pulling away. I turned this run into a 6 mile tempo run. The calf felt great. The sun was shining, but it WAS NOT humid! 

75F, 40% humidty, SSE 5MPH

7:20,7:12,7:08,6:47,6:55,6:45

HR: 143,146,148,154,159,163 

AP: 7:01

AHR: 151 

Rest Day

I wrote this in someone else's blog, but decided that because she is going through enough pain and emotions at the moment, and probably tired of my preaching, that I would just post it in mine, as a reminder to myself, that a rest day is actually a good thing...

 Our bodies heal when we DON'T run. When we run we are actually tearing our muscles and inflicting damage. It is the times when we're not running that our bodies rebuild and make us stronger.

Took my boys to the local HS track. My youngest, Christian asked me to take the training wheels off his bike. He said he was ready. Nobody at the track but us. I took off the training wheels, instructed him to keep pedaling, and not to panic and he'll do fine. I jogged along side, barely holding his shirt, and after about 1/4 of a lap, I let him go. He did great!! After a while he figured out how to start and stop all by himself. One of those special moments when you realize they're growing up fast. 

Ran about 2 miles around the track and enjoyed the time with my boys. A pretty restful day..

AP: who cares? ;-)

77 F, N 20-25MPH, 40% humidity

Started this run feeling great. Around mile 4 I could feel a little tightening in my right calf (the same one that cramped up on my a week ago). By mile 5, I had to stop, walk, and stretch. It never got too, too bad, but definitely need another massage, and to hydrate lots this week. This is a little disconcerting this close to the big day. 20 miles would be a long way to walk. I think if I run any more this week, it will be MP+1:00 as the fastest.

AP: 7:19 until end of 5 miles

AP: 7:28 overall.

Rested and drank lots of water. Ate a couple bananas. Worked 'til after midnight (it's always a rush to finish stuff at work before heading on vacation or a long weekend).

Walked about a mile with the wife and boys after dinner. No watch. :)

Another rest day. Calf is feeling better on the right leg, but now I'm feeling a new pain on my left ankle...must be taper madness!!!! I'll give it a shot on Saturday!

I fly out to SLC tomorrow afternoon. Gotta finish packing!