Feeling good again

Distance - 4 miles
Time - 28:08
Pace - 7:02
Conditions - 58 degrees, cloudy, 10 mph wind

Well, time to try and get back into the swing of things.  Did a little 3 mile test yesterday to see how things felt and went another 4 miles tonight.  So far every thing feels pretty good.  Taking four days off felt like an eternity after all of the running I have done lately (in the past three weeks I have logged 81 miles).  Plan on going for a run tomorow night.  After that it is going to get tough for about a week and a half.  The wedding is this weekend and then the honeymoon immediately after.  Not sure how I am going to find time or energy after all of the walking we will be doing on a daily basis.  I am going to take some running gear just in case.  Marathon training pretty much starts right when I get back from the honeymoon (although it is supposed to start during the honeymoon) so I need to get at least a couple of runs in while I am gone.  Plan to get a run in Saturday morning before the wedding.  I will have to see if I can convince anyone else to head out with me...

Back at it

Well, I ended up taking 4 days off this past week.  I think it was much needed after the things I have had nagging my legs for the past 14 or so weeks.  I went for a 3 mile run at about 7:05 pace last night and everything felt good.  I am still a little concerned about the spot on my shin that I banged up pretty bad.  It is still pretty sore to the touch, but it didn't bother me when I ran last night.  I am going to hit the road again tonight and see what happens.  It is about one month from Warrior Dash and I need to start marathon training here pretty qucik, so hopefully the legs can stay healthy.  The next week and a half is going to be pretty hectic with the wedding and honeymoon, but I will have to try and squeeze in some runs where I can.

I found a pretty cool article last week about a guy that has ran every single day since 1978, pretty crazy.  Appraently there is an association you can join after you have completed at least one year straight of running at least one continuous mile every single day.  There are a lot of crazy bastards out there...

Day 16 - Today is the Day

Well, as much as I know I am going to regret it I think I am going to take the day off today.  I banged my shin when I was working outside this past weekend and it has been getting worse each day.  It is swollen and bruised pretty bad.  Hurts just to walk on it, so I think it would be in my best interest to take the day off today.  I plan to get back at it tomorrow or Friday, just depends how it feels.  I don't plan on letting this hold me back.  I will be back at it by this weekend at the latest (if all goes well with the shin).  It is going to be a long road to the marathon in September so it is probably best to be smart about these types of things now so that I don't hurt myself for the long term.  As much as I hate to take a day off because I really wanted to run everyday for a year, I would hate it even more if I couldn't run in the races that I want to this year.  I have lost 11 pounds and am as fit as I have been in years, so I guess there is nothing to be too upset about.  It is only 8pm so I could always change my mind about that run...

Day 15 - Couldn't do it...

Distance - 4 miles
Time - 28:19
Pace - 7:05
Conditions - 70 degrees, humid, calm and dark

So much for taking a day off.  I just couldn't do it.  I have become completely addicted to running again.  Funny how something that can cause so much pain can become so addictive.  Happens to me every time.  I didn't go for a run until about 10pm tonight.  It was very peaceful out there tonight.  The humidity made it really tough to breathe.  I am not ready for this heat.  The bugs were thick too, pretty sure I swallowed a few.  I was pretty close to crapping my pants too, which makes for an uncomfortable run.  I got lucky because I could have hurt myself within the first half mile of the run tonight.  I forgot about the half mile turn just outside of the Velt having huge ruts and i stepped right on the edge of one.  I stumbled but managed not to wipe out or roll my ankle.  Other than all of that it was great!  haha!  Oh well, makes for a more interesting run.  Well, the shins felt alright tonight.  No worse or better than the past 12 or so weeks.  Day by day, step by step...

Day 14 - It might be time...

I only made it out for a little over 3 miles tonight.  I have been struggling with shin splints since about mid February.  I thought I had them pretty much under control before I ran the half marathon.  They have been getting a little worse lately and I have been trying to decide whether I should take a couple of days off to rest.  Shin splints can lead to stress fractures, which does not sound like a lot of fun to me.  They hurt pretty much every step of the way during my run tonight and it hurts to touch them.  I am going to try and test them out the next couple of days and see how they feel.  They might have just been overly sore from being on my feet for the majority of the weekend.  Trying to complete this challenege is not worth giving myself a long term injury, which would take away from my long term goal of running a marathon this fall.  So, as all smart runners should do, I am going to listen to my body and take a day or more of rest if needed.  Even though it has only been two weeks so far I have proven to myself that I can go out and hit the pavement if I just put my mind to it.  In the past if the weather was crappy or if I was tired from work I would just take the day off and tell myself I would run a different day.  Hopefully this has changed my attitude for the better.  Definitely not giving up, just going to play it safe for the time being and see what happens.  We will see what tomorrow brings...

Day 13 - Spring Hurts

Distance - 4.25 miles
Time - 30:26
Pace - 7:10
Conditions - 70 degress and calm

I pretty much spent the entire day working in the garden (9am to 5pm).  By the time I got around to doing my run (7pm) I hurt pretty much everywhere.  After the first mile or so I loosened up pretty good, my body just had no gas but I was able to trudge through it.  I wish I would have ran this morning when I didn't feel like a beat up piece of crap.  Oh well, it was a pretty perfect night for a run anyway.  Looks like it is going to be in the 80's the next few days, so I am not really looking forward to running in the heat already.  The next 3 weeks are really going to test how dedicated I am to this challenge.  I am getting married on May 21st with our honeymoon immediately afterwards, so it is going to get tough to squeeze in some running plus I'm not sure I will have the energy to do it.  We will see what happens I guess.  Tomorrow is two weeks in a row!  Only 50 more to go after that...

Day 12 - Another one bites the dust...

Distance - 4 miles
Time - 29:00
Pace - 7:15
Conditions - 75 degrees, sunny, 15-25mph wind

Felt like trash today.  Got no sleep last night so I was pretty tired, plus it was really warm today.  Its going to be pretty warm the next few days so gotta stay hydrated.  Short blog tonight, having a beer with a friend.  12 down, too many to count to go!

Day 11 - Route change...

Distance - 6 miles
Time - 42:32
Pace - 7:05
Conditions - low 60's and calm

This was by far the best that I have felt since the half marathon.  I had originally planned on going 4 miles again tonight.  I felt pretty good when I got out there so I decided to extend my route a little bit and ended up going 6 miles.  I finished the run pretty strong, running the last 2 miles under 7 minute pace and I felt like I could have went further.  That is always a good feeling and a big confidence booster after such a painful week.  Looks like I might be battling thunderstorms tomorrow so it is probably good that I went a little further tonight.  You know you are getting old when your Friday night consists of - working in the garden for about 3 hours, running 6 miles, and now probably going to watch tv with the dog and have a beer - exciting!  Have a weird stiffness/soreness going on in my right knee so I will have to keep my eye on that.  Nothing major at this point, but that can change in a hurry.  Well, time to shower and have that beer...

Day 10 - Double digits...

Distance - 4 miles
Time - 28:20
Pace - 7:05
Conditions - low 60's, cloudy, breezy

I have made it 10 days with this ridiculous idea that I had.  Today during my run I realized that it is going to be a long year and that maybe I am an idiot for thinking I can do this.  Already having doubt in my mind is probably not a good thing, but I think it happens with every runner at some point.  Hopefully my legs come out of this funk that they have been in.  That would really help the mental lapse I am having at the moment.  I think it took me a week before my legs really felt good again after the last half marathon I did.  I plan to do a little longer run sometime this weekend, maybe in the 6 to 8 mile range.  I won't be making the trip north with Melissa this weekend.  Going to stay around home and go visit my grandpa instead.  Might have to make a trip somewhere else to do the long run.  Not sure I can do another long run on the roads around my house right now.  A change of scenery would probably do me good.  I will have to see what I can come up with.  Time for bed.  The Cinco de Mayo beers have made me pretty sleepy...

Day 9 - Welcome Back

Distance - 4.25 miles
Time - 29:50
Pace - 7:01
Conditions - 56 degrees, sunny and calm

For the first time since the half marathon I actually felt like I had some energy back in my legs, which you can see by my pace tonight.  It felt pretty good to pick up the pace a little bit tonight.  I will be glad when this week or so of rest is over so that I can mix in some speed and more interesting workouts again.  It will be nice to mix it up again before I go crazy just logging miles.  We are supposed to head north this weekend to Melissa's parents house, so that will be a nice change of running scenery.  It is really hilly at their house though, but I will take the punishment if it means a different view for a couple of days. Going to make this short tonight cause I am beat.  Too much running I guess...

Day 8 - Ready for the May weather...

Distance - 5 miles
Time - 36:35
Pace - 7:18
Conditions - 45 degrees, cold, 20-25 mph winds

I decided I needed a change of scenery tonight, so Melissa and I headed to Shelbyville to do our runs.  Plus we didn't feel like battling the wind on the open country roads tonight.  Decided to go a little further tonight, but my legs are still feeling pretty tired.  Other than that they feel pretty good.  No abnormal aches and pains, so that is a good sign.  Keeping my legs healthy will probably be the hardest part of this challenge.  I have lost 10 pounds in the last couple of months, which helps alot.  Hopefully I can lose a few more pounds along the way.  It was pretty chilly tonight with the wind howling out of the north.  I had to wear a lightweight stocking cap tonight, which I was not a big fan of.  That shouldn't be necessary in May.

Another funny memory from this past weekend popped into my mind today.  I wish I could have gotten a picture of this.  As Melissa and I exited Memorial Stadium there was a guy talking on his cellphone.  He had running gear on and he even had a medal around his neck from doing one of the races (I don't remember what race).  As I look over the guy lights up a cigarette and starts puffing away.  Nothing like a nice refreshing cigarette after a hard run ;)

Day 7 - One week down...

Distance - 4 miles
Time - 28:54
Pace - 7:14
Conditions - 54 degrees, cloudy and calm

Calm is not a word that I get to use very often to describe the weather conditions in Illinois during the month of May, but it was pretty much dead out there tonight and I was thankful for it.  My legs still feel pretty trashed from the races this weekend.  I do feel like some of the soreness is gone now, just dead tired.  During the first week of the challenge I put in a little over 36 miles, which is a pretty big week for me.  I can't remember the last time I ran that many miles in one week.  Hopefully the legs can hold up.  I plan to do less miles this week and take it easy so that my legs can recover.  Usually takes about a week before things are back to normal after a half marathon.  Since I am just coming off a runner's high all i can think about is doing another race, so I need to figure out what is next.  Unfortunately, this month is probably going to be too busy to squeeze one in.

There was one funny thing that happened around mile 8 this weekend during the half marathon that I forgot to mention.  I have never really used a gel pack like GU during a race.  I probably should have practiced because when I squeezed that crap into my mouth I almost choked and couldn't breathe because it just sticks to the inside of your mouth and when you are huffing and puffing it makes it even worse.  Luckily I was able to grab a cup of water and wash it down so that I could breathe again.  Never thought about how much that could suck.

Looking to go for a little longer run tomorrow night...

Day 6 - This is going to hurt...

Distance - 4 miles
Time - 28:51
Pace - 7:13
Conditions - 60 degrees, overcast, breezy, miserable

There is a phrase that I think most runners have used at least a few times during their lives that pretty much sum up today's run - "Death March."  It's hard to explain to someone that has never ran a half marathon how bad you hurt the following couple of days, but I can tell you it is pretty miserable.  Just going from sitting to standing and vice versa is pretty difficult, so I knew the run today was going to be pretty rough.  Getting out of bed today was bad enough.  Coach K used to make us run 10+ miles the day after a race and I still believe it is the best way to work that soreness/gunk out of your legs.  I think I iced every square inch of my legs after the run today.

The next race on the agenda is the Warrior Dash June 18th, which is honestly going to be more of a party than a race.  I would like to do a race between now and then, so we will see if I can work something out.  Maybe a 5k or 10k to see if there is any speed left in these old legs.  The training program I plan on doing for the full marathon in September doesn't techincally start until May 22nd (the day after my wedding, go figure) so I plan to just stay fit and keep my base between now and then.

Hopefully the legs feel a little better tomorrow, but I'm not going to hold my breath...

Day 5 - I-Challenge Part 2

Well, I was able to survive this weekend and run exactly how I wanted to.  Took it nice and easy in the 5K and ran about 7:05 pace on Friday night.  It was a little chilly this morning and the wind was blowing pretty good already at 6:30 this morning, which worried me quite a bit.  I was able to go out exactly how I planned - the first 5 miles right at 7 minute pace, the next couple of miles in the 6:50's and then cranked the last 6 miles at 6:40 pace or better.  It was a nice flat and fast course with plenty of entertainment along the way (not that I cared much, I was busy suffering).  The only thing that sucked was that the marathon started at 7amd and the half started at 7:30am.  Well, around mile 6 to 7 I started catching the slow people and it got really congested between mile 9 and 10 when we had to run thru a park.  Here were my splits for the half.
Mile 1 - 7:02
Mile 2 - 7:00
Mile 3 - 7:00
Mile 4 - 7:02
Mile 5 - 6:57
Mile 6 - 6:52
Mile 7 - 6:58
Mile 8 - 6:40
Mile 9 - 6:38
Mile 10 - 6:41
Mile 11 - 6:37
Mile 12 - 6:34
Mile 13 - 6:21
The final stretch - 0:56
Final time - 1:29:17

Other than that it was a great race and a great weekend!  The finish at the 50 yard line of Memorial stadium was pretty sweet.  Here are some pics from the weekend.

My new bling

Showing off the hardware while I am still delirious from the race

The view from the finish

Me and my lovely lady

Goal achieved!  Time to drink some beer!

Day 4 - I-Challenge Part 1

Distance - 5k - Champaign IL
Time - 21:56
Pace - 7:04

The first part of the I-Challenge is in the books!  I think I succeeded in keeping myself under control by keeping it at about 7:04 pace.  My legs felt pretty strong tonight, so hopefully that is a sign of things to come.  Time to shovel some food in myself and get plenty of sleep.  5:30am is going to be here way to soon.  I think this was probably the largest 5k I have ever ran in, about 4,600 people.  There were your typical weirdos - guys in hot dog suits, elvis getups and so on.  Nice flat course and plenty of loud college students along the route.  Race goes off at 7:30 in the morning.  Planning on cruising the first 4 to 5 miles at about 7:05 pace, then cranking it up a notch after that.  Hopefully I can break the hour and a half barrier.  Here's to a happy finish at the 50 yard line of Memorial Stadium!

Day 3 - Pre-Race

Distance - 4 miles
Time - 28:58
Pace - 7:14 per mile
Conditions - 15-20 mph winds, 60 degrees, sunny

Today was a nice and easy run.  My legs felt pretty tired today, but it has been a long twelve weeks of training for the half marathon this weekend.  It would have been nice to have today off to rest, but it wouldn't be much of a challenge if it was easy!  The future wife and I are headed to Champaign tomorrow afternoon to hit up the expo and pick up my race packet.  Then the 5k (the first part of the I-Challenge) kicks off at 6:30pm.  I plan to take it pretty easy and just use it as a training run and save my energy for the half on Saturday morning.  Unfortunately, I have a hard time taking it easy in a race setting, so we will see what happens.  Then we have reservations at Biaggi's, which is a delicious Italian restaraunt that I think we are both looking forward to.  Well time to get packed and get to bed early.  It's going to be a long weekend!

Day 2 - Not so Perfect

Distance - 4 miles
Time - 29:42
Pace - 7:21 per mile
Conditions - 52 degrees, 20-30 mph winds, pouring rain

It's amazing how quickly the weather can change in Illinois.  Perfect running conditions yesterday but the exact opposite today.  20-30 mph winds, cold and pouring rain.  I have ben training for a half marathon for the past twelve weeks now.  Any other week in the past I would have just switched my night off so that I didn't have to run in this crappy weather.  Now that I have started this challenge that is a thing of the past!  It is crazy how competitive I can be with myself.  I forgot how much a difficult run like tonights can really toughen you up mentally.  The wind stopping me in my tracks and the rain stinging on my face and legs...makes you feel like you really accomplished something by still going out and cranking out a run.  I wanted to log more miles tonight, but with the conditions I feel like I ran a hell of a lot farther than 4 miles.

Getting motivated to go out for a run on days like today can be pretty difficult at times.  What helps me is having an end goal.  I am a highly competitive person anyway so challenging myself with a goal helps motivate me even more.  My goal for the half marathon this weekend has been to break 1 hour and 30 minutes.  If I take a day off because the weather sucks I know that is going to make that goal further out of my reach.  I say bring on the shitty weather (except for this Saturday, calm and clear would be great).  The more challenging the run, the stronger it makes you.  Let's pray for better weather tomorrow anyway...

Day 1 - Perfect

The first day of the challenge is officially in the books!  I think I will start off by mentioning the Ultramarathon Man Dean Karnazes, as he had a lot to do with this idea.  I ran a 5k with him recently in Altamont, Illinois and let me tell you that man is a machine!  He is so fit he doesn't even look human.  No 48 year old man should look like that.  It was awesome to have the opportunity to run beside him and hear some of his stories from the road.  Seeing Dean conquer the United States over the past 60 days has inspired me to challenge myself.  It's not quite the magnitude of Dean's adventure, but it will be a hell of a challenge for a mere mortal such as myself.  If I get any followers to this blog I plan to make it even more interesting, but time will tell.  Anyway, on to today's run.  The weather was perfect tonight.  65 degrees, slight breeze, and sunny (something we haven't seen in Illinois recently).  I went 4.25 miles at 7:10 per mile pace.  It was a beautiful night for a run.  I think I am going to take pictures during my runs at least a couple of nights a week and definitely at races to share on here.  I have a few other ideas I plan to unleash as time goes on.  Admittedly, this week is going to be pretty easy for the most part because I would really like to break 1 hour 30 minutes in my half marathon this weekend.  Well, tomorrow will bring a little more challenge since the forecast is thunderstorms.  Welcome to Illinois running...

Off to a running start...

So here is the plan...I want to run more in the next year than I ever have in my life.  I used to be a pretty good distance runner back in high school and college.  Somewhere along the way I stopped loving running and got older and fatter as alot of us do.  I recently have found that love for running again, but I want to try and keep it interesting.  So I figured there was no better way to keep it interesting than to issue a challenge to myself.  Here are the guidelines.

1) I will run every single day in the next year - 0 DAYS OFF
2) At least one race per month.  More races if possible, but I only make so much money at my day job
3) Increase the distances and difficulty as the challenge progresses
4) To start with, the shortest distance I want to run per day is 4 miles
5) I will happily accept challenges from anyone that leaves a comment (if anyone ever reads this thing) - including races and training runs

As you can see, this will be an ever changing challenge which will keep it plenty interesting.

As of right now I am signed up for the following races
1) April 29th - 5k at Champaign, Illinois (part of the Illinois Marathon Weekend)
2) April 30th - Half Marathon at Champaign, Illinois (part of the Illinois Marathon Weekend)
3) June 18th - Warrior Dash at Channahon, Illinois
4) September 25th - The Quad Cities - Quad Cities Marathon

Beyond that I don't know yet.  The more races the better, so I guess it is time to fill in the gaps.  Time to get running...