Running Aimlessly Around the Countryside

 As July is coming to a close, I have to recognize all the false starts that I have experienced in my training. There were at least 3 if not 4 times that I got a good start, but was derailed after only a few days. I decided that I wouldn't run this month, would just rest my legs and enjoy the breaks. To aid in that effort I started the month by investing my Christmas money in a new bike trainer. It's a nice bright green color that doesn't go with any decor. Of course if it did, I would question my decorating taste. The trainer has been a big help to keeping me doing something, the only downside is that my workouts have become evening only. I have also worked in a few yoga sessions, but again that is an after work activity. At this point you may be wondering what's wrong with evenings after work. As the parent of 2 swimmers, 1 club and 1 high school, January, February and March are very demanding months. Making sure 2-a-days aren't missed, dealing with 2 practice s...

I saw this image in someone else's year end blog report and it just felt so appropriate. As the year came to a close, I couldn't wait for 2010 to come to a close and 2011 to arrive with a clean slate and a fresh start. Of course this is talking from a running perspective; it was a very good year for my family, career, and general personal life. The problem is, my overall picture becomes tainted by my running results. So why the dark shadow? As I wrote my goals last year, I was full of optimism for a great year; a year full of new mile totals and race goals. But that train was derailed before 2010 was even rung in. I spent the first 3-4 months of the year a knee injury from late 2010. Finally in late summer, I achieved 3 good months of training and the return of optimism. That, however, was short lived, as a calf strain brought a screeching halt to any thoughts of a big fall race. The injury wasn't major, but it was timed perfectly to dampen my optimism and plans. As I fina...

I feel like this blog has become like the old serial matinees, as most posts need to start with "when we last saw our heroes...."- not that I think I'm any kind of hero, it's just how I think those matinees were. I've been dealing with a little soreness here and there, so leading up to Thanksgiving I took about 2 weeks off from running. To be honest it was 2 weeks off from nearly all forms of exercise. On Thanksgiving day, the whole family laced up and participated in our local Drumstick Dash. The weather presented a nice change this year; instead of 30 F, it was 55 F, but with the addition of rain. Personally, that is some of my favorite running weather. Since Anna is in the midst of high school swim season, she didn't want to do the long course, but requested that Jil join her for the 2.3 mile non-timed option. Will was all about doing the full 4.5 miles and running. We arrived in plenty of time to get a good parking space, but due to the rain, didn't ...

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 ...