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?