It’s been quite a while since I’ve blogged but I thought now was as good a time as any.  Marathon training, and winter, are both in full swing.  Personally, I LOVE winter.  I would rather run in 20 degree weather with snow (although I like a non-icy surface to run on, of course) than in 80 or 90 degree weather.  Last winter was so mild in terms of both temperature and accumulation.  I’ve run quite a bit more with snow on the ground this year than last.  I run about 5 days per week and, this year, only one of those days has been inside.  I cannot take that hamster wheel any longer.  I was okay with it last year for some reason, but now?  NO!!!!  I just can’t do it.

I’m trying a little different training this year than last.  I still train by running and don’t use any other method of training.  What I’m doing this year that’s different is to run my normal runs during the week.  ‘Normal’ consists of 5 miles in about 40 – 43 minutes depending on my mood, how tired I am and weather.  I’m doing about 4 of these runs per week.  Then on the weekends I rest one day and run my long run the other.  The long run is gradually building, building… and then backing off for a week.  Last year I did more miles during the week.  So why am I changing my methods?  I found that more miles on more days drained me mentally and took away a lot of my will too.  I’m trying to train happier and keep more well rested this time around.  Will this be successful?  We shall see on 5/19/13 in the Cleveland Marathon.  J

My long runs have gone really well lately.  I ran 13.11 on 1/20, 14 on 1/27, 10 on 2/10 and the plan is to get up to 13 or 14 this coming weekend.  I did miss a week after the 14 miler due to some pain in my ankle and then in my right knee.  I’m thinking the pain in the right knee came from over compensating to keep the left ankle healthy.  Hey, once you hit 43 years old, these things happen.  Right?  Right!

I also feel much happier lately about running the marathon given my new training outlook.  Running is a joy.  When we make it a chore then it’s no good.  I find that time off and not being so rigid with a schedule is important to me.  Now, yes, you do need a plan or running a marathon won’t go well.  However… you also need your mind to be strong.  I think I’m achieving that goal so far in my training.

Here’s an “out of left field thought”; what has running taught you?  Answer quickly!  Don’t think about it!  My answer?  Patience!  When you go on those long 1.5 hours, 2 hours, or greater you have to be patient. Right?  I mean you want to finish with a great time and hit your goals but… sometimes weather, pain, lack of sleep, etc.  they get in your way and then your mind has to be strong.  But if your mind tells you to go faster when your body is saying go slower you are going to have a problem.  So if you can remain patient and enjoy the moment and not look ahead – you will have fun and be better as runner for being patient.

Last but not least... I have attempted to get my daughter to run in the past.  She hadn't shown much desire to do so.  However, she has been more interested in her physical fitness in the past few months.  She's even gone for a few shorter runs with a friend.  She does run in gym class so she has some sort of base.  Well this past Sunday she asked her old man to run with her.  I was so happy!!!!   We did the 1.25 loop around our block in 20 degree weather.  That says a lot to me about her willingness.  It was a mile and a quarter for her... but it meant a lot more to me.  I won't push her but I certainly would love to do more running along with my baby.

Well today was the day.  The first day that the snows came to Northeast Ohio.  It is December 21st so we can't complain too much.  I love running in the cool weather but the snow... that's another story.  It actually wasn't too bad today.  I just made sure I was dressed with a few layers (temperatures in the low 30s), wore my hat and gloves and didn't try and go too fast especially around the corners.  It was kind of fun to be outside in the elements trudging along through the snow.  Today I worked at home so I ran at home during my lunch hour.  I meant to run before the snow got too bad out but... you can see I was a little late.  I felt good and all 5 of my mile splits were within about 15 seconds of each other.  The snow was pelting my face quite a bit because the storm is still rolling in today and I had no protection for that.  Oh well.  It wasn't that cold out really.  Now if it were 10 degrees and the snow was hitting me square in the face - that would be no good.

I almost skipped running today but two things kept me going; 1) I'm in a contest where I work where you compete with each other based on exercise time and 2) I also read an inspiring Quote of the Day from Runnersworld.com which reads:

Motivation remains key to the marathon:

the motivation to begin;

the motivation to continue;

the motivation never to quit.

~ Hal Higdon

I'm training for that marathon in Cleveland in May so the quote was right up my alley in terms of providing motivation to run today.  If you don't already subscribe to Runner's World quote of the day I highly recommend them.  https://runnersworld.com

I didn't get a picture of me running today but I did take a picture from the warmth of my home.  You can see what the snow was like today.  Happy running!!!

Well I didn't make it as an official blogger for the Cleveland Marathon and I see why.  Those blogs the winners write are very detailed, lots of pictures and all kinds of good info to read.  I guess I'll have to step up my game.

:-)

So my latest runs...

Over the past 13 days including tomorrow, I ran 8 "normal" runs for me and 2 long runs which are my weekend runs.  All the normal runs were 5 miles or so and the two long runs were 10 and 13.1 miles.  I felt good, had good times and was glad to put in the work.  The way I figure it, every step I take is a step closer to a quality Cleveland Marathon finish.  By quality, I mean finishing in a good time (which I won't share my definition of that just yet) and not cramping up or feeling like I'm glad the race is over.  I want to finish strong and feel I did my best.  Makes sense right?  Yep!

So here are the miles and the times:

5 in 39:26

5 in 39:35

Day off

Sunday 12/9 was a long run of 13.1 - 1:49.33

5 in 42:10

5 in 39:42

Day off

5.34 (bad math or I would have run just 5 ;-) in 41:23

5 in 39:32

Day off

10 in 1:22.08

5 in 40:25 and yesterday

5 in 37:37

I selected today to blog to publish my proud moment.  I may have written this before but I'm very anal about recording my time.  I keep record of miles, time, my weight and any other exercise notes I feel important.  I actually have 3 places I log this information.  That's anal right?  Anyway, I had a really good time last night for my 5 miles.  I checked my "notes" and discovered this is my fastest 5 miles ever!!!  7:32 or so per mile.  Each mile was under 8:00 and they all got successively faster.  I think I ran well because a) the temperature was cool and b) it was getting dark and I wanted to go home and not run into any wild beasts.  :-)  I run at work in the metroparks.

Tell me about your best runs?  What caused them?

This was a tough week for me.  The weather was good and I had plenty of sleep (could always use more) and I felt good but I struggled in the 2nd half of the week's runs.

Sunday was a great day to run but I had to postpone my normal Sunday run until the evening.  This is not something I like to do for a couple of reasons.  First, I'm very regimented so having to move my run from the morning to the evening threw me a little here.  Second, I was running at night and in a light rain so visibility was hard for cars along my route - to see me that is.  In these situations, while crossing streets, I always assume the vehicle does not see me.  That way I don't get upset when they don't stop... and I don't get hit.  :-)  It all worked out in the end as my time was great and I came out unscathed.

Monday was a day I ran with a friend.  Again, it's not something I usually do but for whatever reason it keeps happening to me.  I run at work during my lunch time so there are always lots of folks around whom I know.  My friend asked to run with me.  It's difficult for me because I don't know what pace to set.  I thought I might be quicker typically, than my friend, so I knew I'd be setting the pace.  I will say this, what I learned from running slower is that I felt GREAT at the end of the run.  So while I didn't get in my run with a fast time, I did gain the feeling and knowledge that longer runs have to be slower than shorter runs.  This might be obvious to most but it's good to feel good when a shorter run is completed.  There's nothing worse than finishing 5 miles and being exhausted and then wondering how you're going to finish 21.2 more.  Right?

The tough part of the week was Tuesday and Thursday.  I felt sluggish and out of breath both days.  Part of my problem on Tuesday was that I was indoors on the treadmill.  It's boring plain and simple and it's hard to basically stare at a wall for 40+ minutes.  Motivation becomes an issue  Thursday I ran a big hill in the middle of my run - it's 1 mile down (yay) and 1 mile up (oopha!) but once it's behind me I'm thrilled!

So here's my week in review:

Sunday:  10 in 79:39

Monday:  5 in 46:40

Tuesday:  5 in 42:23

Thursday:  5 in 39:26 which included my arch enemy, Foster's Run hill

Friday:  TBD... running 5 miles in ??? minutes

Some questions:

1)  How important is time of day to you?  Do you have to run in the AM or do you prefer some other time of day?

2)  Do you enjoy running with others?  What do you like/not like about running with others?

39:45 was the time.  My guess was accurate.  I did do some big hills I wasn't counting on so I might have beaten my estimate.  I did break 3 of my own rules today.

1)  I ran with someone - I typically don't... just a personal choice

2)  I ran on a bridle path - I don't like to at this time of year because of leaves covering roots and rocks, and

3)  I did hills - hate 'em even though they are necessary to make me bettter.  It's kind of like eating my peas and carrots.

I was running down a bridle path next to a friend and rolled my ankle!  Ouch.  I kept running and right now it just feels stiff and sore.  I'll survive.  :-)  but it could have been worse.

Have a great weekend!!!!

Did you ever notice that you can run the same distance in the same time on one day as another but that one day you feel great, like you can run all day, and the other day every stride is a struggle?  Why is that?  Diet?  Sleep?  It's probably a combination of a lot of factors but it's a tough one to figure out.

On Black Friday I had nice 50 degree weather and the sun was out.  I went to the Metro Parks for my long run of the week.  Within the first 2 miles there are some really big hills.  One is kind of gradual and the other is straight up.  Maybe running these hills so early in my long run is why I felt this run was so arduous.  However, I've run other long runs where I start with hills and then I feel really good after the hills because they're done and everything feels downhill.  Hmmm?  Don't know the answer.  I still finished in a good time for me; about 8.5 minutes/mile for the 12.  Not a bad time, but I felt pretty beaten up afterward.  I'm going to run long this coming Sunday.  The weather's supposed to be great and I'm really looking forward to getting outside without all the cold weather gear of this past week.  We'll see how the run goes.  I'm excited!  I think I'm doing a half.

Here is my past 2 weeks of training runs:

2 Mondays ago - 5 in 38:29

2 Tuesdays ago - 5 in 39:06

2 Wednesdays ago - 5 in 40

Black Friday - 12 in 1:42ish

Sunday - 5 in 38:57

Monday - 5 in 39:12

Tuesday - 5 in 41:50 (??? don't know what happened here ;-) although I did run a big hill on this day... Foster's Run... anyone run it?

Thursday - 5 in 39:19

Friday - today will be 5 in ... I'm guessing here... 39:32

Here's another question for the masses out there running around; when you run do you always plan your run?  I always know exactly how far I'm going and I don't deviate from the plan.  Sometimes this is good and sometimes not.  But this is a function of my personality.  What if I have extra energy?  What if I have none?  Should we deviate from our plans?

This past week didn't go quite as well as I would have planned.  I didn't get the miles in due to some other commitments.  This always raises the question in my mind, how diligent are others?  I know I'm fairly diligent.  I get my 4 runs in during the week and then a long run on the weekend.  Sometimes family engagements muck up my schedule... but that's okay... right?

Monday - my "Crossfit" day... for me, this means 45 minutes in some combination of stairs, elliptical and rowing

Tuesday - took a break because the past Sunday was the 16 miler I blogged about earlier.  Breaks can be very beneficial for me; I get that "vacation" day and I also am well rested for my Wednsday which is...

Wednesday - 5 miles in 39:55.  This was a really great time for me because it included Foster's Run which is in the North Chagrin Reservation and includes 1 mile of a pretty darn big hill.  Love the down!  The up?  Not so much.

Thursday - 5ish miles in 42... my watch was messing me up and I couldn't get it going so I ran for time and not distance.  That's a novel approach for me and, actually, kind of liberating.

Friday - off (this is a day I really wanted to run but had to travel)

Saturday - too many family obligations to run.  I was happy to attend the family events... just need more hours in the day.  :-)

Sunday - did my long run which was 10 in 1:23.31.  That's a pretty good pace for me.  It's not one I can duplicate in a marathon but it is good for the distance.

Here's a question for you folks; when you are running your long runs during training, how close do you try and get to your marathon pace?

I haven't started my formal training (or maybe I have) yet but I did manage to take advantage of the great weather this past Sunday (11/11/12) and fit in a long run.  I ran 16 miles in the Cleveland Metro Parks in 2:19.47.  It was a great pace for me and I felt good afterwards... tired... but a good tired.  Here's what I debate in my own mind and would like feedback from the masses on; what are the physical benefits of long runs while not part of training?  Not so much the benefits maybe but who does them?  How often?  Do you build up the miles and then back down only to build back up again during training?  In the back of my mind I think that these long runs outside of my formal training plan will help me do better come marathon day.  Thoughts?

I am extremely diligent about keeping track of my runs and all related information.  I track in 3 places how far, how fast, weight and any other exercise activity done besides running.  I could tell you what I weighed on this day 4 years ago or how far I ran and at what pace.  I don't recommend this extreme for all but I do think it's fun and necessary to track yourself.  Are you improving?  Are you doing the amount of running you need to do?  Is it time for new shoes?

So my running week typically goes from Sunday through Saturday.  Here is last week's training:

Sunday - missed long run

Monday - 5 miles in 40:15

Tuesday - 5 miles in 41:20

Wednesday -

Thursday - 5 in 39:17

Friday - 5 in 41:40

Saturday - raked leaves for 4 hours and thought that was enough work.  :-)

Hello fellow runners.  I'm establishing this blog in the hopes that I can be an official blogger of the Cleveland Marathon.  Why?  I want to share what I've been through and what I'm going through.  I also want to know the same about my fellow runners, whether you are just starting or a seasoned vet.  Let's share all things running and help each other improve!