9-2 Day!!! Man, was it hard to get outta bed....

But I managed to...and ran my 3 miles in 29:32. That's about a 9:50 pace. I stayed right at the top of Zone 3, much like my 13 mile run last week. Couldn't speed up and sustain to save my life. I am thinking the lack of sleep caused that...

It's 7 miles tomorrow...

8-6 Day!!! 13 miles w/o really kicking my own a$$...

This is coming a couple of days late, but my "cross training" day was busy with mowing the lawn and tearing down a "sucker tree" - whatever that is. Basically it was a weed that grew so big that it became like a tree. Had thorns too...little $^%!&#!...

So two days ago was 8-6 day...and here I am on 9-1 day and getting ready to be mid-way through the training program. I tried to keep it at the high end of Zone 3/low end of zone 4. That said, I did the 13 miles in 2:24:45...that's an 11:08 per mile pace!!!! Remember a few posts earlier when I said I just want to finish? Well that's still true, but hey...I'll take a faster pace any day.

I am tweaking the page a little, so please notice the graphic and link to the Chicago 2016 Olympic bid. GO CHICAGO!!!!

8-4 Day!!! 3 miles somewhat easy...

3 miles in 28:44. That's a 9:34/mile pace. I didn't push it that hard, so I am happy with that.

It's almost midnight so I am going to bed....

8-3 Day!!! Skipped another one...

But felt better for it. Today was 6 miles. I went a little slower today since I ran after work. It was quite a bit hotter than I am used to but hey....

It was 6 miles in 1:04:24. That's a 10:44/mile pace. Not bad in 82 degree weather.

The training is going better than I expected. I can't wait for the day though when a big mileage day won't intimidate me...

7-7 Day...12 miles...

I would normally have run on the 6th day, but we had a family picnic yesterday and I didn't want to be completely cashed.

Anyways...12 miles in 2:17:08. That's a 11:25 per mile pace. Not too bad, especially taking into account that I stopped for a bathroom break and walked 6 times for water.

More later. I am going to take a nap!

7-4 Day...and I ran at night...

It was my fastest 3 miles ever. 26:49. That's a 8:56 pace per mile. Of course I had some great incentive. The neighbors across the street, Jason & Becky told me I could use their hot tub after I ran. So they automatically rock!

This weekend is 12 miles. I am so glad that the Canadian air mass moved in. Even this morning the humidity was murderous. But things cleared up nicely in the afternoon.

7-3 Day!!! Skipped a day but...

I had gotten only about 3 hours of sleep Monday night. I was so cashed Tuesday morning that I thought I could bag the 3 mile run. So I did.

My Mother's cousin (my first cousin once removed) passed away over the weekend. I attended his wake last night. He was battling liver cancer. Your prayers for the Ouimette family would be appreciated (pronounced "we-met").

SIX miles today in the humidity. I pushed a little at times but mostly stayed in Zone 4. I finished in 1:00:41. That's just about a 10:07 per mile pace. At this rate, I should be pretty well set up for a relaxing 11:00 per mile pace for the marathon.

6-5 Day!! Seven miles in 70 degree weather...

It was another beautiful day for a run. I think I am starting to get spoiled.

I did today's run at the peak of Zone 4, on average. I ended up walking to drink some water three times, at the 2 mile, 3.5 mile and 6 mile intervals.

That brought me to the end of my run in 1:09:47. That's a 9:58 pace. I am pretty happy with that.

For the marathon, I found out that they are setting up pace teams. At this point I am thinking about hooking up with the 11 min/mile pace team, which brings me into the finish line in 4:48:17. I shouldn't have wrote that because now I will lock in on that time.

All in all, I'll be happy finishing, ecstatic if it's under 5 hours.

6-4 Day!! Another gorgeous morning for a run...

I woke up a little late and couldn't find my heart rate monitor, so I simply went out and ran on "feel". I pushed it a little and did my 3 miles in 27:30. That's a 9:10 pace. Not too shabby...

The balance of today and tomorrow are rest. In fact, tomorrow night I am going to be lazy and take the kids to see the new Harry Potter film. I am kinda hoping that the spookier stuff will scar them for life...

6-3 Day! 5 miles in 60 degree weather...

Talk about nice...it was a great morning to run. Now I know where the general malaise came from...the HEAT.

I tried to stay at the peak of zone 4, which is about 144 bpm for me. I did 5.12 miles in 52:07. That's a 10:10 pace. Now that's more like it. It felt pretty good too.

I am again looking forward to getting out on the road tomorrow.

6-2 Day (part deux)....

Some musings on why the 10 miles was so dang hard...aside from the possibility that I could be a total wuss.

I have been taking a gel pack every morning before my long runs. This last weekend I ran out and failed to use my brain to get more. So...here I am running for 2 hours on an empty stomach. That was pretty stupid.

I was still feeling the effects from Sunday this morning when I woke. I gotta get more sleep.

The next thing to worry about is when the last Harry Potter book will be out on audio so I can listen to it. I know - I'm a huge dork.

6-2 Day!!! 3 miles again...

Today was more of a recovery run, given that I did my long run on Sunday instead of Saturday.

I stayed at the low end of my aerobic zone (about 138 bpm) and managed to do the 3 miles in 29:40. So, without really pushing, I was at about a 9:50 pace.

The breakdown for the rest of the week...
Wed. - 5 miles
Thu. - 3 miles
Sat. - 7 miles (it's a stepback week)

5-7 Day!!! 10 miles in the sweltering sun...

It's 90 degrees out there now as I am writing this, so I am guessing it was about 80 when I ran..Oy!

I think I stopped about 7 times to walk because of the heat. How slow was I? VERY! On top of it being hot, I didn't make any good markers for my turn around so I managed to go about 10.56 miles instead of just 10. So...10.56 in 2:05:11. That's a 11:51 pace but again I walked quite a bit too.

Today was the first day that I got out there and thought "I don't wanna do this." So I worked through it and thought to myself "All you gotta do is finish.." and I did.

5-4 Day! 3 Miles....along the lake...

'Twas a nice run, but a little hot. I don't know the exact temp it was when I ran at 11a, but it was 78 degrees at 7:30a according to the local news. That means HOT!

I did the 3 miles in 27:35, which makes it a 9.13-ish pace. I was wondering why it took me so long, especially since the route was significantly flatter than the route at home. Then I realized, I had a "long-ish" day yesterday.

This Saturday....10 miles!!!!

Happy 4th of July!!! 5-3 Day...

5 miles today...at about a 10:18 pace. I tried pushing a little and came in under my 10:49 pace for the 9 miler last Saturday.

I was asked about how long it is going to take me to do the marathon. I've been counseled by experienced runners not to even think about finishing in a specific time. Just finish the race. That said, I would still like to finish it in under 5 hours. If I don't, that's ok too. It's my first marathon...

Have a happy and safe 4th!!!

5-2 Day! DANG!!! I woke up late!!!!

So it was a quick three...in 27:15.32.

That makes it a 9:05 per mile pace. Not too shabby. And here I thought I wasn't feelin' it due to my diet yesterday. Pizza Hut for dinner? Ugh! But hey, the Jamba Juice line at the train station was too long, so I took a risk.

Never again...

5-1 Day!....Rest and blog stuff...

If you've been reading this, then you'll notice a few tweaks to the blog, but nothing major.

Today is a day of rest, so I will do just that. My main goal? Rest and eat and go to bed early...