Don't Take a Vacation While on Vacation!

Greetings! I have a couple of thoughts for this week's entry as I sip my coffee this morning from Daytona Beach! I ran 7 this morning running up and over the 2 bridges over the causeway and folks it doesn't get much better than tha! I try to get in some decent runs when on vacation. But, the doesn't mean an everyday run. I'm sure that we burned more calories yesterday in 12 hours of walking around Epcot than I would running a marathon! And all of the walking counts as fitness! On Monday we rented 3 recumbent bikes and road up the beach for an hour! That was fun and healthy! And who doesn't swim while on vacation!? That's a perfect exercise that's enjoyable to do on vacation. So, you should definitely take some time specifically for fitness while on vacation. I'll probably get 1 or 2 more runs in this week which will be fine as the other days we are on the go! So, as the weather heats up and vacation season is near don't get flustered if the vacation breaks up the fitness routine...work around it and have fun! Lastly, just a thought about the state of fitness the nation is in today. We saw numerous people that had motorized carts in Epcot yesterday. Many of these folks were just plain too heavy to walk around. In one instance I saw a couple both on carts and had their kids on their laps riding with them. What a lesson that teaches our kids...that if you get too heavy to walk that it's OK. That's really sad. If I can get one person to turn their lives around and get healthy I'll be happy! Stay fit and happy!

On To The Next!

Well, I won't lie...I was really disappointed with my 5K time last weekend!  I had the training in place, the pace numbers were there in speed sessions and darn it I'm in great shape for March!  I was happy with a second place finish to a youngster that I'm old enough to be his father but still my time of 17:37 was bad...or so I thought!  Bottom line is that it was still a great race for me.

Almost everyone using a GPS watch that I talked to said the course was long as did mine.  Now, I don't think it was long enough for me to say I really ran a sub 17 5K but I think I was certainly in PR territory and may have run faster than my 17:15 from last year.  So really, I ran faster than what I though which was better than what I had initially thought.

And, the last factor of the performance is just plain being smart.  I trained hard last week.  Way too hard to be racing and expecting a PR time!  I'm not 18 years old anymore...or even 35 for that matter.  A few years ago I could do 2 speed sessions per week and recover fine.  Now, I do 1 speed session every other week because it just taxes my legs too much!  So, lesson learned...taper even for those small races to get the best performance possible!

Lastly, let's just move on to the next race!  Don't dwell on a disappointing performance.  Use it for motivation to work harder and smarter for the next event.  Believe that you will run, bike, swim, etc better next time.  Being confident is very important in running and sports in general...but keep in it check and don't let overconfidence hurt you!

Keep moving!!!

Build That Accountability!!!

As folks are getting into fitness routines one of the most difficult things to do is to keep coming back.  This is especially true for someone that is very new to healthy living.  One of the best things you can do is log your fitness activity.  This can be as simple as just logging the day, minutes of activity, and the type of activity in a spreadsheet.  If you have more than a 1 day gap then fill it!  This can be a very simple way to make yourself accountable.  This is one of the cornerstones to the MutualBank Get Fit Challenge!  We all log our fitness time and compete for year end prizes.

Another way you can build accountability is to team up with a partner.  Find someone who enjoys the same type of activity and has a similar schedule so you can workout together, or at least carpool to the gym.  Motivate one another and challenge one another when one of you just doesn't feel it for the day.  One of the best things you can do when your not 'into it' is go anyway and workout.  Chances are you'll feel much better after that workout!

Lastly, once you've made that commitment and have made fitness a part of your life step it up!  Get serious and motivate yourself and your workout buddies to push harder!  Whether you're lifting weights, walking, running, riding bikes; encourage your partner to go farther, faster, harder than they were before and challenge them to do the same for you!  You'll both benefit.  I had a great run this past Sunday running with two friends.  We pushed one another harder than any of us had planned on running and ended up with a great workout that will benefit us in races we all have coming up!

So, partner up and work hard!

Let's Get This Started Again!

Ok, I'm going to try and keep up with this Blog this year!  I hope to keep everyone up with my running status as well as inspire coworkers and friends to get out there and be active.  I'm a team captain at work for the MutualBank Get Fit Challenge.  We just kicked off the 2012 program and log our fitness time for points.  The team with the highest point total at the end of October wins days off, nice clothing, etc.  So, I'll be posting here to try to keep folks motivated.

My goals this year are simple...run faster!  I qualified for the 2013 Boston Marathon with a 2:54 effort at the Monumental Marathon in Indy last fall.  I'm going to run a few 5Ks in preparation for the Indy Mini which will be my 'A' race this year but otherwise save my legs until then.  I have more lofty goals for the mini.  I'm going to see what I can do...I'll take anything faster than 1:19 but would love to really stretch it down into the low '18s or '17s...let's see what I've got.

After the spring running season we'll hit a few Duathlons (probably sprints only this year) and maybe a Tri although I've had shoulder and neck issues every time I've tried to get back in the pool.  Probaby my 'B' race will be the Chicago Marathon but I haven't decided how hard I want to run it...I'll let the weather decide but I'll be training for a 2:50.  So, again this year I will mostly focus on running which is what I enjoy the most.

And, finally just get out there and do something.  Set a goal, enter a race, get your kids involved and get healthy!  Make it a part of your life and your daily routine.  If you're down on the day or just not motivated remember that those days are the days you need to get out and move the most!  Stand up, grab your gym bag, walk towards the door, get to the gym, go outside, walk, run, ride bikes, just move!  Take that first step and the rest will come to you! 

Enjoy and keep running!!!

Careful don't throw a rod before the big event!

Note the title for today's blog entry.  These are wise words spoken by Mr. Dave Poole owner of Aerocat Bikes.  I had planned on running both Saturday and Sunday this weekend but yesterday left me tired and run down after Friday's speed session.  So, I reflected on Dave's comment on my FB post the other day and decided that resting on Saturday was probably the smart thing to do!  Well, next weekend is the mini and for this week I'm forgetting that I have a marathon coming up.  Forget the daily 8 to 10 mile runs...this is taper week!  I will log very few miles this week.

The last few weeks have been great for racing and training.  A few weeks ago I ran the Give me a 5K race and ended up wining and set a PR for the 5K.  The following weekend I ran a 15K race and again won as well as set another PR.  3 races this spring and 3 PR's.  It's not luck but just hard focused training.  I've dedicated the first half of this year to just running and it's paying off in a big way.  I hope this 'payoff' continues for the Indy Mini as well as the Carmel Marathon.  I'm having a great time preparing for the Carmel Marathon and have realized that running is my true fitness passion.

But beyond running well and winning races and PR's is the state of our fitness overall as a community.  I'm talking about Delaware County and Muncie in particular.  We are near the bottom of the heap when it comes to fitness.  Not everyone needs to go out and train like crazy and race every other weekend.  Just getting out there are moving for 30 minutes is a great start.  People like Chris Day and other members of the Yorktown Run Club really inspire me in what they've done and I wish more people would just try to get more active. Kudos to the YRC for what they have done for increasing fitness levels and awareness for the community.

Well, that's about it for now.  I'll post up a race report next week from the Mini...hopefully it will be a good one!

Keep moving!

Another Update

Well a lot has transpired the last two weeks!  I'm back into a good training pattern after my feet started feeling better these last two weeks.  My right foot/ankle is 100% now and my left foot still is a little tender at times but I'd put it at 95%+ which won't change my training at all.  I was having some odd knee pain in the right knee but that seems to have gone away with slight adjustments on those tender days. 

If you're in need of taping up a knee or ankle then you have to checkout this KT Tape (http://www.kttape.com/index.php).  This stuff is great!  I  wrapped my right knee up last weekend to race a 10K and had absolutely no pain or discomfort from the tape.  You can find it locally at Duhnam's Sporting Goods...an no they didn't pay me to promote this...the stuff is just plain good!

Now onto the 10K!  I knew I had a chance of beating my previous best of 36:47 but had no idea what I was going to run at the Shamrock 10K in Muncie on 3/19.  I toed the line with BSU Tri club member Gardner Burg and we both knew it was going to be a good race.  Gardner and I pushed each other through 5 miles when he put a little bit of a lead on me.  I started gaining on him the last half mile and ended up just 3 seconds short of catching him.  We both PR'd with Gardner running a 35:42 and I ended up with a 35:45.  I was very happy with this time!  I think I can run faster though with better managing the first couple of miles...we came through mile 1 at 5:26!

The next day (3/20) I decided to back off on only ran 12 miles to give myself a little rest as I knew this coming week would be a big one.  I really got in some good quality training this past week.  Each run was 8 miles with varied pacing throughout the week.  Thursday was the tough speed day with another 8 mile run consisting of a mile warm up, 5 X 1 mile runs at / below 10K race pace with .5 mile jogs in between.  The last mile was run @ 6:01 which I'm hoping may be close to what I'm planning on running the Indy Mini in.  Friday was an easy day and Saturday I rode my bike on the trainer for an hour for some cross training.  Sunday capped off the 50 mile week with an 18 mile run that was pretty darn cold but very good.  Everything felt good for the entire run!

I'll try to update a little more often than two week!  Run hard folks!

Back on Track!

The past week or so I've had to ease in and out of running.  The previous week I cut my running short due to both of my feet being sore.  I think my left foot was sore due to running too many miles in my shoes.  My left foot has been sore for the last week because of rolling my ankle after coming down on a small branch during a speed workout.  Well, I added in some healing time and switched to a new pair of shoes and I'm at about 90% on both feet which is good!  Last week I only ran 32 miles but this week I got in some good quality runs and topped out at 45 miles.

My speed work and marathon pace runs are right on target if not a little ahead of where they should be.  This is a great sign but I don't want to get too confident as there's a long way to go before June!  Now I just need to run smart and ease off when there's an issue and train hard when I'm feeling good.  I'm starting to think about a nutrition plan for the marathon which is probably where I messed up last time.  I'm leaning towards just relying on gels and water...no gatorade this time.  When I start getting up into the high teens long runs I'll experiment and see how my body reacts to this.

Today's run was the best run I've had this week.  I ran 15 miles and started out with a nice easy pace.  For about 8 or so miles I kept the pace at about a 7:10.  From there I settled in around 7 to 7:05 for a few more miles.  At Mile 12 I ramped up the pace and finished up the run with the last 3 miles averaging about 6:35 for a faster finish.  All in all not too bad and very little foot discomfort.

Finally, I need to decide which pair of shoes to wear for the marathon.  I'll most likely be done with my second pair of Newtons long before the marathon so I'll need to decide whether to stick with those or try something else.  I've ordered two more pair of shoes to try out.  In the mail are a pair of Saucony Kinvara and a pair of Saucony Mirage.  I'm going to try the duo and train in the Mirage and race in the Kinvara's to see how well they feel.  There's a couple of 5 and 10k races coming up so I'll get a chance to try these out. I ran on a treadmill with both of those shoes at a running store a week ago and they both felt like fast shoes.  I'm hoping these can be my marathon shoes!  We'll see!

Keep running folks!