Running Aimlessly Around the Countryside

In case everyone missed it in all of the press about Ryan Hall dropping out of the Chicago Marathon, I officially did not run my goal race for the year, the Monumental Marathon. But I really feel pretty good about how I responded. Instead of sitting around complaining and making life miserable for everyone around me, I gave back to the local running community. I volunteered as a course marshal for the race. My son Will also decided to pitch in for the day. Luckily we got a 2nd shift time so we didn't have to be up really early, but weather wise it really didn't matter; there was just no escaping the unseasonable cold. I think it was 28 F at the race start, and was only in the mid to upper 30's when we arrived at our post. We knew it was going to be cold standing around, so we were smart enough to layer up, and really, only our hands got a bit cold. Many thanks to the spectator who provided Will with an extra set of hand warmers she had. We were posted about 1/2 mile from ...

Today I have peace and understanding and find myself in a better place. I rested, did a mediocre job of cross training (it has been nice to get reacquainted with my bike), and had a sports massage. Last week Saturday I went to watch my son in a middle school cross country meeting. For those of you who haven't watched XC before, the fans get a workout running to different points on the course to watch. As I did so, I noticed that my calf was pain free! The plans for my Saturday afternoon changed at that moment. I really didn't want to work on the honey-do list anyway. When I got home, I grabbed a quick pb&j sandwich, gathered my long run gear and headed out the door into the unseasonably warm 85 degree day. I have to admit, I was hoping to sneak in 12-15 miles. That would have put me in place to get back on track for the marathon. I don't know if it was the lack of fueling earlier in the day, the warm temperatures or something else, but after about 5 miles I was starti...

The pattern is occurring, again. For long time readers you will have noticed a pattern. My training just gets to the point where I'm really excited about the possibilities and injury strikes. My training has been going extremely well lately. Yes, I've been tired, and yes there have been days that I didn't want to lace up the shoes and head out the door, but I always felt stronger and better after finishing the workouts. Last week was a step back/recovery week and I was fired up and ready to start into the final block of training before tapering and racing. My form has gotten to a point that I really thought some of my goals were very realistic; it also didn't hurt that I had just added some Saucony Kinvara's to my shoe stable and I was really wanting to put them to the test. Tuesday I headed out for some mile repeats, a workout that I had dreaded a month ago but was now excited for. I had some tightness in my left calf from my first steps. Nothing to be concerned ...

As most of you are aware, the fall race season is fast approaching. I'm getting close enough to my target race to have started an official training schedule and so far so good. But just days after starting my 12 week training plan, I was in a meeting at work where I heard something that cause fear and dread deep inside me. In order to meet some deadlines for next year, there is a very good possibility of a couple weeks of travel in October. And not just any travel, but to the far east, splitting the time between Japan and China. Any other time of the year I would be excited for the opportunity to visit these locations, just not 2 or 3 weeks before my target marathon that I have been aiming for all year.. Those are the biggest weeks of the training plan and don't know if I'll be able to find safe places to run, much less the time to get in the miles. The timing for trips can be somewhat fluid so I'm still training like nothing is going to happen, but I'm also trying ...

Okay, I have to apologize for a couple of things. First, sorry for not posting for a while. Life has been busy and every time I think of posting I'm away from a computer. Secondly, sorry for taking the easy way out the title. Indiana has been like the rest of the country this summer - hot. Through July I was holding up pretty well. I was sticking to my usual schedule of lunch time weekdays and mornings on weekends. I increased my hydration and on the really warm, humid days I took my fuel belt as well, even though those runs were less than an hour in length. I think I have been acclimating to the heat and hydrating correctly, because my sweat level has gone off the charts. So much so that on a recent long run I had to bail out a couple miles earlier than planned because my feet were sliding around in my shoes and I could tell that blisters were imminent. I wasn't disappointed with my workouts, but I knew that the heat and humidity were negatively affecting my performance. But...

I recently reviewed my vacation schedule at work and realized that we are at mid-year and I still have a lot of vacation left. The answer? Take a couple days off...from work that is. Scheduled activities dictated that it would be a staycation, so I put maximum use of my 12 days of freedom. My mornings were dedicated to training. I alternated days between running and cycling, and yes, I did include some rest days. It was fun to put schedule around my training rather than schedule where my training would fit. It was also fun to mix things up. I got in a muddy trail run, shared a run with my son, met up with a family friend and ran with him for a while. On the bike, I didn't get to the normal group ride,  but I got some miles in with my son, and on other days was able to beat the heat and humidity by getting out before everyone else was out of bed. The biggest positive to my time off? Year high totals for both an individual run bike and run. One day I managed to get in an 8 mile r...

I've been away again, but mainly because my free time has been severely limited as of late. Work has been crazy and the kids have been keeping the calendar very busy. Anna has begun the summer swim practice practice schedule, so I am dropping her off and heading into the office early. That has been very nice to get things going before everyone else wanders in, but I don't seem to be able to get out much earlier in the evening. When I have gotten out, it seems that Will has had baseball games. For example, this week, with the storms that were rolling across the country, he had a game suspended due to rain 2 times. It took 3 days to get the game in. The 3rd day then included another tourney game. While I'm glad to not be back at the ball park for another night, I'm disappointed that the boys are done for the season. But it also means that Will and I can ride together more. I have backed off my running mileage quite a bit to nurse through some calf tightness. I have been...