2009 Year End Stats

Miles run: 889 miles

Calories burned: 121,793 calories

Finished the Dallas White Rock Marathon 4 hrs 26 min 39 sec and earned my first official marathon finisher's medal.

On to 2010. I plan on taking on a few races of differing lengths. AND I am going to help my wife run her first 5K! I know you can do it honey!

Prospective Races:

Jan 24 : 10K - Resolution Run (McKinney, TX)
Aug 15 : 13.1 mi - The Hottest Half (Dallas, TX)
Marathon #2??

Happy New Year and I hope everyone has a great 2010!

My First Marathon Experience

First, I would like to thank all who donated to World Vision to sponsor me running this race. A big thanks to Bess & Alden for helping me reach my goal before the race! $562.00 was raised in total which was $62 more than my target goal! It was an awesome feeling going into the race that I hit my goal for funds raised and was about to achieve my goal of running a marathon. I'm sure the families that are helped by the money raised will be more appreciative than we will ever know. Thanks again to all who supported my cause: Peggy & Hilton Harvison, "Toots" & John Pavlica (Mimi & Papau), Scott Smith & family, Gary Pavlica & family, Nancy & Jimmy Shook, Nita & Jim Elizondo, Rique Bobbit, Sue & Dan Foster (Mom & Dad), Marty Schiller, Jan & Henry Skala, Darrel & Delores Fojtasek, Jennifer Ball, Bess Foster (sis), Alden Schiller III

On to the Race...

I guess I need to start at the night before the race. I set all my gear out and was ready to go. I was already feeling butterflies and really had a tough time falling asleep. From what I've read/heard, this is typical for first time marathoners. Once I finally fell asleep, I wound up dreaming about running the race and woke up a little disoriented, thinking I had already been running. Once I gathered myself, I hopped up and got ready.

In a side story, the fam and I decided to stay in a hotel to be a little closer to the race. We thought we picked a great location. A hotel with a DART station within walking distance so I could just hop on the train to head to the race and Amanda could bring the kids at a later time in the race. Well, we found out a couple of days before the race that the station was not accessible the morning of the race due to some platform repairs. Wonderful. So I had to wake up Amanda and the kids for them to take me to the station a couple of miles down the road.

Amanda dropped me off at the train station and I hopped on the train headed for the race. The train was filled with runners all excited about what we were headed towards. I just plugged in the ipod and got in the zone with a few selected tracks to get me going. At this point, I didn't need much stimulation, because the nerves were going crazy. The train arrived, I got off, checked my bag, and headed to the line.


I don't think there's ever been a time in my life I've felt so elated and utterly terrified simultaneously. Waiting for the gun to sound seemed to take an eternity. During the pre-race prayer, all I could do was pray for the race to start so the agony would end. The National Anthem was sung, and sadly because of a thick fog, there wasn't a flyover. A few more munutes... Go!

Right Photo: Early in the race with all the Halfers
Left Photo: Between mile 10-12.
Just glad I didn't look like the guy in the black in front of me. The guy in red next to me had awesome hair!

The horses and elite runners sped off with me and all the other runners to slowly creep towards the starting chute. Then, there it was. I hit the line and I was off. Adrenaline grabbed me by the butt and I was running a faster pace than I anticipated. I felt good, so I kept it up. We passed through downtown Dallas and into the Turtle Creek area. Then around mile 6 the half-marathoners split off and the race began. It was almost surreal when the course split off. The field of 6,000 marathon runners seemed sparse compared to the 10,000 running the half.

I kept a strong pace and wound up hitting the halfway point just under two hours. "I'm doing great!" I thought. I soldiered on and around mile 16 the fast start caught up with me. I started feeling a little sluggish. Then around the bend skittles were being handed out at the aid station! I'm not much on eating candy, but these were the best skittles I had ever tasted. They gave me the boost I needed and I plodded on toward the finish line.

I hit the rock concert known as the mile 19 aid station right around the 3 hour mark and was feeling winded, but I knew I could finish. Just a few more miles to go. Then I had to climb the hill between 19 & 20. The fast pace at the start was really getting to me now. This is the point of the race it becomes mind over physiology. Pretty much every part of your body is saying, "OK, I've had enough," but you just have to push through. I was doing pretty well until both of my quads started cramping in a bad way. I stopped to try to stretch them out and when I pulled up my leg, my hamstring seized up as well. So I was stuck. My legs were telling me, "stop, we don't work any more," and my head was saying, "nope, I started this thing and I'm going to finish these last 6 miles!" So there was the dilemma. I wound up having to walk out the cramps, but there was no way I was going to stop. The last 6 miles slowed down to around a 12 minute pace, but I made it. I finished a marathon. 26.2 miles.

Left Photo: Around mile 23
Right Photo: Finish Line

My official time was 4 hrs 26 min 39 sec


Below is the breakdown of where I finished overall in the race. About middle of the pack.

Here's a chart showing just how much I crashed at the end of the race.

The yellow arrow shows where I was when the overall winner finished. Man I got smoked...

I have a feeling this won't be the last one...

Week 17.9 : Santa's Runnin' and I'm Ready to Go!

We are different, in essence, from other men. If you want to win something, run 100 meters. If you want to experience something, run a marathon. - Emil Zatopek

Mucho thanks to Jennifer Ball for the latest donation! Only $14.20 makes the 2% needed to put me over the top! I know somebody out there can make that happen before the race! :)


Feelings right now:

Nervous
Anxious
Excited
Pumped!
Ready!
Let's Go Already!

This day is creeping by. Hopefully the experience at the Expo and hangin' at the hotel with the kiddos will make it pass a little faster than a snail's crawl. Thanks again to everyone for the prayers, support, and donations. I could not have done it without you!

I'll try to keep a good "runner's face" so I don't
end up with my mug on a mug like this:

Merry Christmas & see ya'll after the race!

Week 17 : Taper Complete

“Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”- John 14:6

Shout out to Darrel & Delores Fojtasek for the latest donation! Only a few days to go and $40.40 needed to hit the goal! Remember it's tax deductible!



This week was just easy. 3 easy midweek runs to keep the legs under me and help rest up before the race. I did run a bit faster this week for some reason. I think it's a combination of the cool weather and adrenaline building up. It feels weird that it's almost here. Seems like yesterday that I just started training.

Week 17 Runs:

Tue: 4 miles
Wed: 3 miles
Thur: 4 miles
Mon: 8 miles

Total: 19 miles

My long run had to wait until Monday, but it still counts in week 17. I had a bit of a sore throat and my stomach was feeling kind of funny, so I decided to postpone my run until Sunday. Well, Sunday morning comes along and I hit my alarm & start to get ready to get up. But - no bueno because it is the wife's alarm and there is no way I can get my run in before we have to do our Sunday duties. So it had to be done Monday. No biggie, just glad I got it in.

Now I'm just looking for tips to have a successful race, like the ones from this dude:

Last Minute Marathon Tips: shot with Nikon D90 from Mike Kobal on Vimeo.

Week 16 : Thankful...

"There's nothing a man can't do if the spirit's there." - Franz Stampfl

I've almost met my goal! Muchos Gracias to those who have donated so far and a special shout out to my recent donations over the Thanksgiving holiday:

Mom & Dad (Sue & Dan) Foster
Aunt Marty
Nita & Jim Elizondo
Rique Bobbit
Jan & Henry Skala

You are all awesome! Thanks for believing in me and supporting the cause!

If there's anybody out there reading this who hasn't donated yet, here's some simple numbers:

3 more donations of $1 per mile ($26.20) reaches the goal.
6 more donations of $0.50 per mile ($13.10) reaches the goal.
11 more donations of $0.25 per mile ($6.55) reaches the goal.

Help me reach my goal & gut it out for Team World Vision!



The taper has begun. Only two more weeks until the big race. My midweek runs felt great. Not much soreness after the 20 miler (as compared to the 19 miler). I actually was running a bit faster this week. Blame it on nerves or the recent cool spell. Running in the cool morning air is awesome, though. I love when it's cold enough to see your breath. Maybe it's the "magic" of it because living in Texas, you don't get to see it all that often. There's just something cool about being able to watch your body work.

Week 16 Runs:

Tue: 5 miles
Wed: 4 miles (pace)
Thu: 5 miles
Sat: 12 miles (1hr 48min ~ 9:01 min/mile pace)

Total: 26 miles

The long run this week was 12 miles to start the taper period of my training. For those not in the know, the "taper" is the period of training when you step your mileage down to allow your body to rest and recover before the race. The run felt awesome and I kept it about 20 seconds faster than my usual pace, which I see as a positive as I really want to keep my time under the 4 hour mark.

Since this week included Thanksgiving, I'm going to take this opportunity to give thanks:

To God for giving me the ability and spirit to take on this challenge.

To my beautiful wife Amanda for loving me and being there for me through all the hours I've spent training.

To my 3 kiddos for loving their dad and for being an inspiration for him.

And to all my supporters, thanks for all your well wishes and your monetary donations to my cause!

Much Love!

Week 15 : The Twenty Mile Monster

The more I thought about what I get to do, the less I realized I had to do. It was just a shift, just a new perspective, just a new and more grateful method for labeling the things in my life. Think about it—if you stopped yourself every single time you were about to say, "I have to" and changed it to "I get to," it might change your entire experience. - Kristin Armstrong

It's here! The peak of my training and the biggest run before tapering toward the finish and running the marathon. I wasn't sure when I started this thing how it would all work out, but I made it through a couple of injuries and am still running strong toward finishing my 1st (and hopefully not last) marathon!

My midweek runs were good. Nothing to complain about besides the 20 mile distance staring me in the face like this guy:


Week 15 Runs:

Tue: 5 miles
Wed: 5 miles (pace)
Thur: 5 miles
Sat: 20 miles! (3 hr 8 min 9 sec ~ 9:24 min/mile pace)

Total: 35 miles

But I made him look like this guy:

20 miles. It seemed so far away when I started my training. Then the 11 miles seemed scary. I made it past that hurdle, and cruised up to the 19 miler that killed my legs. But all of that just made me stronger. I ran 20 miles with confidence and finished feeling like I could take on the world. I know I will finish the marathon. I don't know how fast, but I know my legs and feet can carry me there. I'm ready!


20 miles is nothing compared to as far as this little yellow dude goes. Take a look.

Week 14 : Sore!!!

Believe that you can run farther or faster. Believe that you're young enough, old enough, strong enough, and so on to accomplish everything you want to do. Don't let worn out beliefs stop you from moving beyond yourself. - John Bingham, "Tools and Rules," Runner's World

I strike out to run the Tuesday after the 19 miler and it hits me right across the face - SORE! It took a mile or two, but I got my legs back under me and finished up the run. Then the next day I head out for 8 miles - legs still sore! It was probably midway through my 5 mile run on Thursday that I had run out most of the soreness. I just have to keep reminding myself that the soreness is just my muscles repairing and they will come back even stronger!

This is how I felt for some of the midweek runs this week:

Week 14 Runs:

Tue: 5 miles
Wed: 8 miles
Thur: 5 miles
Sat: 12 miles (1hr 56min ~ 9:37 pace)

Total: 30 miles

My long run was 12 miles this week, a bit of a "rest" after the big 19 mile run. I think overall it was fairly ordinary. Pretty much all the soreness had subsided and I was just able to enjoy my run. On to the big fat 20 miler next week!

Week 13 : Woah My Legs Are Burnin'!

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock." - Matthew 7:24-25

Thanks to my aunt and uncle, Nancy & Jimmy Shook, for the donation to Team World Vision. Hope everyone has a blessed day!

The knee is feeling great. Still a little "twinging" here and there, but I was able to do my full week of training for the first time in a few weeks. Three 5 milers and a 19 mile monster! The midweek runs felt great. Did a 5 mile pace run on Wednesday and I was able to keep it under a 9 minute pace.

Week 12 Runs:

Tue: 5 miles
Wed: 5 miles (pace)
Fri: 5 miles
Sun: 19 miles (03hrs 01min. 02sec ~ 9:31 pace)

Total: 34 miles


So I again start my long run at 4:30 am. Even though ridiculously early, things were going and feeling great. I cruised through the first 13 miles in a couple of hours. I started feeling it at about mile 14 and by 17 1/2 miles, my legs were saying, "what. the. heck." I made it all the way through mile 19, but it had me asking myself if 7.2 more miles were in the cards. I know I will do it. My legs will get stronger and I will RUN the distance. oh, did I say that out loud?? Just one more monster 20 miler and 5 short weeks to go!

Week 12 : Rest & Wreck 'Em

“God's voice thunders in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding. He says to the snow, 'Fall on the earth,' and to the rain shower, 'Be a mighty downpour.”- Job 37:5-6

I took most of this week off. I tried to run on Wednesday, but my knee still felt pretty iffy, so I decided to rest up as much as possible to still get in my long run. I did find some help through julstro.com on some stretches and "trigger point" manipulation that has helped tremendously.

Week 12 Runs:

Wed: 2.5 miles
Sun: 13 miles

The 13 miler was awesome because it was the first run in a few weeks I didn't have pain that made me want to stop. Turns out getting the knots out of my quad muscles is doing the trick. I just hope this is the last little injury hurdle I have to deal with.

And watching hits like this always helps the healing process...

Week 11 : 18 Miles - Awesome Baby!

Sometimes it’s with our eyes closed that we find our sight. Sometimes it’s in the darkness we see the light.
- The Wedding, I'll Sleep When I'm Dead

Week 11 is here. 8 weeks 7 weeks (bad math) to "The Rock." Still working on trying to stretch out my IT Band. My 5 miles on Wednesday was a little rough, but I made it through. On Thursday, I decided to stop my 8 miler at 3 miles to give my knee a little rest. Tried to run a bit Friday morning, but the knee was still feeling flared up. I decided to ride my bike to keep up the fitness level.

I also have discovered a new technique in battling this IT Band pain:

And it freakin' hurts! You just roll your leg up and down the roller and it loosens up the scar tissue that has tightened up to make your knee hurt. Since you put most of your body weight down on it, it's like a "super-deep" massage, but it sure doesn't feel like a massage. Maybe when you're done, but man... It does seem to be helping though.

Week 11 Runs:

Wed: 5 miles
Thur: 3 miles
Fri: bike ride to save the IT Band
Sun: 18 miles (2hr 49min 22sec ~ 9:24 per mile pace)


In running 18 miles, I ran the length of Corpus Christi Island! When you think about it like that, it really puts things into perspective.

My knee started hurting a little bit around mile 2, but I kept running and it went "away" again like during my 17 miler last week. I just kept cruising along until I had a thought - "Just what time is Amanda going to have to leave for work?" So I made a quick pit-stop at mile 16 1/2 to make sure she wasn't going to leave before I could finish up. She was still asleep and gave me a get-the-heck-outta-here, so I headed back out to finish the last mile and a half. Wow my legs were hurting! It took me a few strides to get going again but I made it up to speed and finished the whole 18.

Had to put in a pic of Dickie V for the "Awesome Baby" reference.

Did I mention I started the run at 4:30 am?? Yeah that was interesting. Now, not just running the marathon is crazy, but I get up in the middle of the night to go running...

Week 10 : Mileage Starts to Pile Up!

Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”- Ephesians 5:19-20

Thanks to Gary, Mary, & Jake for the donation!

Well, here we are at week 10 and the miles are really starting to add up. And what do ya know, but my body decides to have another little tweak. My Wednesday run was just peachy. Then, on Thursday, didn't get up in time to go before the wife headed off to work. So I figured I could just grab the jogging stroller and get my 8 miles in. It was a great idea until my knee started hurting.

I iced and stretched and tried to get my 4 miles in for Friday, but 1.2 miles was all I could muster. By all accounts it was a common runner injury known as IT Band syndrome. Basically the muscle that goes from your hip down to the outside of your knee gets really tight and makes the knee start hurting while you run. So I iced and I stretched and I iced some more...


Week 10 Runs:

Wed: 4 miles
Thur: 8 miles
Fri: 1.2 miles...
Sun: 17 miles (2hr 41min 57sec ~ 9:31 min. per mile)

I started off on the 17 miler without much problem. About 2 miles into the run, there it was - like someone poking me in the side of my knee every time I took a step. I decided to tough it out and it seemed to come and go. By the time I got to mile 5 or 6 it had either just become numb or I had stretched out my muscles enough for the pain to dissipate. The run felt good and it feels good to keep upping the miles - just hope I can nip this little injury in the bud before the big race.

Week 9 : Rainy Week Ends with an "Easy" 11 Miler

To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. - Romans 2:7

Running in the rain is nice occasionally. It's fun to have something to worry about other than just hearing your own huff 'n' puffs down the street. The only drawback is having large raindrops wack ya in the eyeball while you're trying to keep the pace. All in all, it was a good week. The midweek runs were good with a nice 7 mile pace run. I really am trying to keep my pace runs under 9:00 miles in order to have a marathon time under 4 hours. I do wonder when it comes raceday, what I will do. I don't want to go out too fast for fear of totally pooping out down the stretch. That's right, I said pooping. But, I don't want to start too slow and finish even slower. I think my best bet is going to be lining up near a pace team and doing my best to keep pace. Maybe if I underestimate, I can take off and leave the pace team in the dust! We'll see...

Week 11 Runs:

Tue: 4 miles
Wed: 7 miles (pace run @ 8:43 avg. pace)
Thur: 4 miles
Sat: 11 miles ~ 1 hr 42 min. 36 sec. - 9:23 avg. pace

Well, 11 miles didn't seem so scary this time as I've conquered the 14 and 15 mile distances since. It was a nice little run and I felt good after. It's kind of funny to say/hear myself saying 11 miles was a "little" run. The long runs don't worry me so much any more. I have just gotten into a mode of heading out the door and finishing it. I feel like I'm prepared and I know what I have to do, I just have to train my body to make the whole distance. When I'm finished with my long runs, I find myself thinking, "Only 'x' more miles to the full marathon distance. I can do this thing!" Definitely keeping positive through this process.

I'm good enough, I'm strong enough, and doggone it, I'm gonna finish this thing!

Week 8 : Why would anyone ever want to run 26 miles?

and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was. - Mark 1:34

Another donation! Thanks Smith family! You are mucho appreciated! Just one more sentence with an exclamation mark! :P

My lovely wife recently made a statement, "Don't know why anyone would want to run 26 miles." I thought, "Hey, wait a minute! I'm running twenty-six POINT TWO miles!?!?" I think for me, when started this running thing, the thought of running a marathon seemed like the ultimate goal. When I was just getting up to running a 5K distance, the marathon loomed in my mind as an almost mystical event. I kept the running up and now here I am, smack dab in the middle of training for my 1st marathon race. I wanted to achieve the goal of running the marathon. I want to not just finish, but finish strong. I am taking in as much advice as I can get - I am going to enjoy this first experience and not expect too much. However I REALLY want to run a sub 4 hour race. And why wouldn't you want to run through confetti??

2008 White Rock Marathon (Dallas Observer)

On to this week's training. The midweek runs were good. Not a whole lot to report there. More battling with the wierd Texas yo-yo "Fall" weather than anything.

Week 8 Runs:

Tue: 4 miles
Wed: 7 miles
Thur: 4 miles
Sat: 15 miles ~ 2 hr. 20 min. - 9:20 per mile avg. pace

Week Total: 30 miles

So I have hit yet another milestone! 15 miles goes down like a ton of bricks. It seems so long ago that I was really worried about that 11 miler in week 4. Now as the long runs keep going up in mileage, I just tell myself, "Only 'x' more miles than last week - just finish it!" It feels awesome to mark off the training days and know I'm just a few weeks closer. 10 more weeks...

Also in my training, I have been trying Clif Shot Gels for that mid-run energy shot. Mainly because that is what is provided at mile 19 of the marathon. I'm not a real big fan of gels in the first place because of the texture and I had really not tried any since my high school football days. My assessment of the 3 flavors I've tried so far:

*Blech Meter - 5 Blechs = Most Gross / 1 Blech = Least Gross

Mocha: Blech Blech Blech Blech
- Pretty awful. Only saving grace is it has a bit of caffiene in it for a little extra pep.

Vanilla: Blech Blech Blech
- This one's tolerable, but it's orange and that's just strange for vanilla.

Razz: Blech
- The winner so far! It may just be me, but fruity flavors just work a little better for me.

Week 6 : Hooray! Not Injured Any More Edition

But you are a shield around me, O LORD;
you bestow glory on me and lift up my head. - Psalm 3:3

I was hurt, but I didn't want to let my body get totally out of shape, so I decided to ride my bike in place of running. Biking was a good choice because it didn't hurt my foot at all. My back was still tweaking a bit, but it got better with each chiropractic adjustment. I had 4 that week and it got me pretty close to pain free. I decided I would try to run on Thursday as my foot was starting to feel back to normal. I didn't want to go out too fast and hurt myself again, so I started with a walk for about a half mile, then broke into a slow jog. I wound up running a little over a mile and a half and I was elated that my foot was still feeling great!

Week 6 Breakdown:

Sunday: ice
Monday: Ice
Tuesday: ICe + 30 minute bike ride
Wednesday: ICE! + 45 minute bike ride
Thursday: 2.16 miles (.5 mile walk with a 1.5 mile run to test the waters)
Friday: Rest & Ice, Ice, Baby...
Saturday: 9 miles!

After my short run I felt I could take on the 9 miles on the training schedule. I was still trying to be cautious, so I iced my foot to the point of numbness on Friday. Saturday morning came and off I went. I started off pretty gingerly, but going into mile 4 I knew I could make it. I finished off the 9 miles and felt like I had won a real race. My foot was feeling great and my training was back on track!

As I reflect back on this week and how good it feels to get back into my training, I just wanted to remind everyone why I am running and I hope you can support my cause!

Week 5 : What the Heck?!?! Edition

Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. - 2 Corinthians 8:11

This post comes REALLY late as I was not really very enthused about writing about running under the following circumstances:

So Week 5 was going great. I did my midweek runs and felt good about them. Then I was just hanging out on Friday, my rest day, and it HIT me. My right foot had a stabbing pain on the outside, closer to my ankle. The same pain that I had when I had a near stress fracture. Just in the other foot. "Great!" I thought. And Then... My foot was feeling a little better on Sunday and my back decided to start hurting. Hurting like I had a hard time sitting for a while because of stabbing pain just above my "arse." I already paid my entry fee, have this campaign to raise funds, and now I'm gonna be stuck with a bum foot and a busted back and not be able to run the race...

Week 5 Runs

Tue: 3 miles
Wed: 6 miles
Thur: 3 miles
Fri: BUSTED FOOT!
Sun: TWEAKED BACK!


Well, as it turns out, a few days and a heck of a lot of ice did the trick for my foot. 4 straight days to my chiropractor has gotten my back feeling MUCH better. I was really bummed about not being able to run and was worried it would take too long to heal to get back into the swing of training. The good news is I am feeling better and I'm back to running! More to come in the week 6 post....

Week 4 : This One Goes to 11

But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God. - Acts 20:24

I was feeling a bit intimidated this week as my longest run yet was looming. Maybe it was the fact that it was double digits, maybe it was just me being a flake. My 6 mile run on Wednesday didn't help anything. I think I just didn't get quite enough sleep and I felt really sluggish and was just glad to finish it. The 3 miler the next day was good though, so that got my confidence back up a smidge.

Then there it was - those two ones put together and mocking me, saying "I know you're scared." Kind of like this:

But then I decided to say, "Forget that! 11 miles can't stop me!" Then this morning I ran 11 miles. And it felt awesome. This is why I have made running a part of my life. It's almost the same feeling as when you hit a baseball right on the sweet spot of the bat. The "runner's high" just seems to last all day.

Week 4 Rundown:

Mon: 3 miles

Tue: 6 miles

Wed: 3 miles

Fri: 11 miles - 1 hr 40 min 37 sec

Total: 23 miles

For all my "11" nervousness, I kept thinking of the above clip. I'm just gonna make my amp go up to 11...

I did adjust my schedule a bit this week as my brother will be in town from Colorado for a visit & wanted to maximize the time. Next week will be back to the Saturday long run. 12 miles can't stop me!

In the meantime, the college football season starts up this week! I will have my "guns up" this weekend cheering on my Red Raiders to victory!

Week 3 : "Stepback Week"

Better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fattened calf with hatred.
Proverbs 15:17

Week 3 comes late as I have been sucked in to a "Lost" watching party. Hulu just had to put seasons 1-4 up for free... Not sure why I never watched "Lost," but now I want to know what's next. Also, by some wonder of the universe, I actually had an interview with an Architectural firm. Wasn't sure if there would ever be another one hiring. So with the interviewing and tv watching, I am just now posting about last week's running.

Run Breakdown:

Tue: 3 miles
Wed: 5 miles
Thur: 3 miles
Sat: 6 miles

Total: 17 miles

So, it was a pretty easy week and I felt good after all my runs. That's about it. Not much else to let you know about. Thanks for all your support and prayers.

Oh... They run a lot on "Lost" so that counts as "studying running form" right?

Week 2 : Gotta Have More Cowbell

“When I said, "My foot is slipping," your love, O LORD, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.” Psalm 94:18-19

Thanks for reading everybody! Just remember I'm running this marathon for more than just me. Children out there need a clean source of water and you can help. :)

This week was a bit nutty. The wifey was busy getting ready for back to school and I was busy making sure the kids were out of her hair. Felt pretty good during my mid-week runs and had planned on getting up early on Saturday to get the 9 miler in. Well, whether it was just me not waking up after I turned the alarm off or just divine intervention, I didn't get up in time. I was kind of bummed, but I had a fun time with the kids on Saturday, and it allowed me to prepare for a date with my wife (haven't had enough of these lately). My training plan allows for me to switch my long run between Saturday or Sunday, so no problem. I ran long on Sunday...

My runs for the week:

Tue: 3 miles

Wed: 5 miles

Thur: 3 miles

Sunday: 9 miles (longest run so far)

20 total miles for the week.

During my 9 miler, I found myself enjoying the first half, but feeling a little tired. Then when my ipod said, "halfway point, 4.5 miles to go," I thought to myself, "If I'm going to have a hard time with 9 miles, how in the world am I going to run a full marathon?" I just kept running. Sometimes that's all you can do. Then a thought then occurred, "Hey, Will Ferrell has run a few marathons. If THAT GUY can run a marathon, I can do it! More Cowbell!" So with my new "mantra" clanging in my head, I finished the 9 miles and I have to say I could have kept going. I can feel it now. I know I will finish. I just need more cowbell...

Week 1 : In the Books

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, and to love kindness and mercy, and to humble yourself and walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8

So week 1 was a success. I plan on doing a weekly update on my training as though not to bore my (2?) readers with running details. And maybe that way I can come up with some witty anecdotes to include so as to keep those 2 "fans." (thanks bro & sweetie!) Enjoy.

In 4 days of runing, I covered 19 miles. Quick thanks to Mother Nature for providing temps under 80 for my runs this week - hope that becomes a trend. Here's how it shook out:

Tue: 3 mile run

Wed: 5 mile run (at race pace)

Thu: 3 mile run

Sat: 8 mile run

I have to say earlier in the week, I was feeling a little bit unmotivated. Not really sure why - maybe just a little bit nervous about the reality facing me. But this morning was great. Hopped right out of bed & headed out ready to take on 8 miles. For some reason the long runs seem a little more fun than the shorter ones - crazy right? I think it's just the build-up during the week. I tend to equate it with preparing for a football game. You have your Monday through Thursday routine, then rest on Friday for the big "game" on Saturday. There's just something about finishing up that long run and (for me right now) knowing it was the furthest distance I've run at one time. The sense of accomplishment is awesome and my body and soul just feels good post-run.

See ya next week. Oh, and I hope ya like my new cheezy grin pic...