February Blues?

After two months, my training log is consistent workouts but lower miles than I would like to have at this moment.  In January, I had 14 run entries covering 88 miles.  After my run tonight, I ended February with 16 runs covering 83 miles.  That puts me at 171 miles YTD, which means I am currently 7 miles ahead of pace to break 1,000 miles for the year.

That last sentence makes me happy.  My goal from day one has been to top the century mark for the year.  Last year, I finished somewhere around 750 miles and felt that 1,000 was a pretty good leap but something within reason.  It's nice to be on pace for it, but I also fear the fact that my November and December months typically suck pretty badly when it comes to mileage.

While I am happy to be ahead of pace, I'm also kind of disappointed right now.  Had you told me on January 1st that through two months I would have 30 runs I would have figured it would have totaled somewhere closer to 200 miles.  My runs have been consistently in the 5-7 mile range each time out, but I really don't have any distance to speak of yet.  Hopefully over the next couple weekends I can log a 10 miler.

Yesterday was a first for me, and one that I will remember for a long time.  It was probably my best 2 mile run ever.  With the weather being nice (although extremely windy), Jess and I planned to run a couple easy miles while the girls (ages 8 and 5) rode their bikes next to us.  I figured it would be a slow go, especially with the wind, but we did 2 miles at about a 11:55 / mile average pace!  Granted, we had to have a stop at the playground, but with that being Annabell's first bike ride on a "big girl's bike" I was extremely surprised and happy that we managed that distance at that pace.  I foresee that type of activity happening a few more times over the summer.

My legs feel like jelly tonight.  Feeling rested, I decided to nail some Yasso 800's this evening on the treadmill.  After my warm up, I clocked 5 x half miler at 8.5 mph with a short recovery jog between each set.  That was my first speed workout in a while, and couple that with the gym being roughly the temperature of the sun's surface, I was exhausted afterwards.  But it's done, in the books, and I'm happy about it.

I have an easy run planned for tomorrow, then volleyball game at 9:30 (yikes), then some miles Thursday, Friday, and Saturday this week.  March hopefully will have a spike in miles.

Left, right, repeat!

Countdown to the Indy Mini

The Indy Mini (indymini.com) is MY race.  I first ran it in 2005, and to be honest, I sucked.  Years before, I could run a race of any distance without much thought, and do it well.  However, as college and first few years of post-college went by, things had changed.  That race is when I realized that I was completely out of shape and a little hefty.  And that started my push to lose weight and get back to what I was capable of doing.

Since then, I have been hooked on running and specifically, this race.  I have only missed the Indy Mini one year since then, and that was due to an injury.  It's the race that I have marked on my calendar every year as the one I absolutely must perform well.

My training this year has been solid - as of right now, I have 135 miles YTD and I am 4 miles behind my pace of running 1,000 miles for the year.  My times on speed and tempo and have been spot on, and I have had some consistent longer runs as well.  Compared to years past, I should be happy with where I am at in mid February.  However, this morning I find myself scared.

I just realized - the Indy Mini is 76 days 22 hours and 49 minutes from now.  That seems like a long ways away, but for training purposes, it's really not.  The countdown is officially on; the training must kick into action over the next 10 weeks.  It's almost here....

Left, right, repeat!

So.... It's been awhile

I admit it - I have become lazy on this whole blogging thing. My wife reminds me (constantly) that I have not blogged in 6 weeks. This blog was intended to simply hush her up (since she will read it) but now as I type this, I feel like I have a lot to talk about. So what all is new running-wise over the last 6 weeks? Well...

1) How about those Olympic Trials this past Saturday? Jess and I watched the entire three hours of it, and were completely inspired by what we saw. Rupp, Meb, and Ward leading the way for the men and Cragg, Desi Linden, and Shalane (a favorite of Jess and mine) for the women. People think we are crazy because we enjoy watching people run 26.2 miles on TV - but how could you not think Saturday was great for the sport? Given the weather conditions, those six as well as everyone else who finished were awesome.  Check out this section of the USA Track & Field website and you can see all their mile and split times.  I would love to run just one segment similar to what these guys do for an entire race.

2) Speaking of Meb, he's coming to the Indy Mini! OK, so Shalane is a favorite of ours - but Meb is Meb! It was like Christmas for me when I found out last month that Meb was coming to town to be part of a race that I am an ambassador. For more, check this out!

3) Keeping with the running theme and the Indy Mini, two weeks ago Jess and I ran the 3 miler - the first leg of the three race training series. I came in 28th overall (out of 1,441) and Jess set yet another PR! Sooooo proud of her, since she did this completely on her own and she owned that race! Her training is paying off and she will be under 30 minutes easily this year.

4) Speaking of races, as I laced up my gear this past Sunday to go outside and run in 19 degree weather that felt like 7 degrees, Ella told me she wants to do another family race. I have another runner in the making there. Guess Jess and I will have to do some research and find a 5k that the four of us can do sometime.

5) And to round out all this running conversation, I checked out my Strava account this evening.  My goal January 1st was to run 1000 miles this year.  I had something like 770 miles last year.  As of right now, after doing 5 miles today, I am right on pace for 1000.  I feel like that is an accomplishment as after 6 weeks I have kept it up, however I also understand that I need to get some major miles banked up between now and the fall.  Historically speaking, my November and December miles simply suck.  Like, big time.  So I must get as many miles as possible between now and October to be safe.

I probably left some stuff out, but that's all I can think of right now, plus my Indiana Hoosiers are getting ready to tip off.

Left, right, repeat!

Welcome to 2016's Goals

Happy New Years! It's difficult to believe that 2016 is already here. My wife and I were talking tonight how quickly the last month has gone, but in reality, the entire year has been a blur. 2015 was simply a great year. From a family standpoint, we made so many memories throughout the year that we all will remember. From a running perspective, it was also a fantastic year. I ran three half marathons in one month, ran a few 5k's (one with all of my family and others helping my wife to her PR), and finished another marathon. Benjamin Franklin said "If you fail to plan then plan to fail". Or at least I think it was Franklin. Maybe he said "Don't always believe what you read on the internet". Regardless of who said it, the statement is true. So with that mind, I have come up with some goals for my running: 1) The year's Indy Mini (#indymini) will be my fastest one yet. Not fastest half marathon, but fastest Indy Mini. I think due to the crowd, and the excitement, it just takes longer to dodge people compared to smaller half marathons that I have done. So, my goal for the Indy Mini is to be under 1:36:42. 2) Help my wife get under 30 minutes for a 5k. She has cut close to 2 minutes off each of her last two races and if she does that again, she has this goal. I think with her training using hills and speed, that this goal will be crossed off early in the year and an even faster goal made for the second part of the year. 3) Run another family 5k. No PR here - well maybe Ella and Jess can go after a PR for Ella, but Annabell and I will just want to finish. 4) A Boston Marathon qualifying time in December for me. I am looking at the St Jude's marathon in Memphis. If my calculations are correct, that would be a time frame for the 2018 marathon at which time I would be 40 years old. The qualifying time for a 40 year old is 3:15:00. I think on the right course with the proper training, I should be able to do that. I had the training down for West Palm a couple years ago - just got to keep the focus in October and early November! That's it - for now. We'll revisit the goals in a couple months to see how they are coming along. Until then, it's just left, right, repeat!

Is Winter Over Yet?

Winter makes me lazy.  It gets dark so early, and is cold, and windy, and is discouraging.  I blame my laziness on winter.  I realized I have not blogged in almost a month.  Laziness (aka winter) is the only reason I can think of that's caused the delay. 

That being said, December has been a great month.  We had the girls for a majority of the time and it's been awesome having them around so much without work or other interferences.  We have done "good deeds" with them including writing holiday cards to wounded soldiers and volunteering at the local food pantry. Jess and I were also able to get away for a weekend at Oakwood Resort in Syracuse, Indiana.  It's this little resort on a lake that's about 2.5 hours away.  You would think a place like that wouldn't be much fun in the dead of winter, but we love this place because it is so quiet and peaceful. It's a great escape from all the hassles of life where you can simply rest and recharge.  This month, we also had our annual family Christmas party at our house.  This day, where my parents and my in-laws come over, is one of my favorite days of the year.  And it always amazes me how it takes over a month to plan for this day (and the holidays in general) yet the time when they are here goes by so quickly. 

However, not all of December has been lazy.  Jess and I ran our first Christmas 5k on Christmas day.  It benefited the Indiana School for the Deaf and is truly the only 5k ran on Christmas Day in Indiana.  Jess set a new PR busting almost 2 full minutes off her previous best!  It has really opened her eyes as to what she may be able to accomplish with a legitimate focus on training.  Tonight she impressed me again by doing some speed and hills on her treadmill workout.  It's also made me get a little more focused on my goals.  I realized that it appears I will end the year with about 750 miles of running.  Next year, my goal is at least 1,000 miles.  In theory it doesn't seem that difficult - just about 5 miles more per week than what I did this year.  But that's the goal - it's on the internet now so there is no going back. 

Here's to a successful 2016!