A Good Week of Rest?

i wrote last week that i was worried about Jeff because he had not blogged in a few days. however, this week i was the one who wasn't running/blogging. i am not really sure what happened. i did my long run last week on sunday. so i got off schedule and needed rest on monday. then i was on call tuesday and it was really hot. when i got home wednesday, it was thundering and lightening, so i decided not to run, it never did storm. thursday, i knew i had a run on friday and sat and thought i better not run. so, finally, i ran today.

this was my fastest 4 miles this year at 39:30. a pace of 9:52. i was pretty impressed with myself, not that i ran so fast, but that i was able to keep a reasonable pace for the first 1/2 of the run and then finish the second half a little faster. probably comes from my legs being good and rested. here are my splits:

.5= 4:56 145
1.0= 10:03 5:07 160
1.5= 15:03 4:59 161
2.0= 20:02 4:59 166
2.5= 25:06 5:03 163
3.0= 29:55 4:48 165
3.5= 34:44 4:49 168
4.0= 39:30 4:45 172

my second 2 miles was 34 seconds faster than the first.

thought of the day:"We have to fight them daily, like fleas, those many small worries about the morrow, for they sap our energies." Etty Hillesum i have had so many little things bothering me lately. i have had many new responsibilities added at work, new situations to address, still trying do my regular job, and trying to keep up with increased business. all of this has kept me at work much later than usual, while still not being able to get the work finished. all this work has just put extra strain on me and has not allowed me to enjoy anything. i am constantly in thought about one thing or another work related. i usually go through this once or twice a year, so i just have to remind myself, to do the best job i can, prioritize, trust my employees and delegate, and everything will be fine, maybe not perfect, but fine.

Longest and Toughest So Far

i didn't run on saturday since the heat index was so high. it was supposed to be a little cooler on sunday. when i headed out it was 87 degrees and the heat index was 96. it was a little too hot, but i had to get my run in. by mile 8.5 i had drank 32oz of gatorade. i had emily bring me a refill so i refilled all of my bottles and took off again. over the next 5 miles i drank another 32 oz. i had to stop and walk at miles 10 and 11. the early heat had really done me in. however, i pushed, hard. my pace was 12:40. when i got home i felt so bad. i stretched a little, drank another 30oz of gatorade and went to bed and fell asleep for 2 hours. then i got up and ate a little.

it is too late and i am too tired to post my splits, maybe i will tomorrow. i haven't written them all down yet, but it will be interesting to look at them and see the journey that way. i did try a new road, it was hilly. big hills. might be good to do on shorter runs but not when i am already so tired (i was on that road from miles 8.5-12.5, wow what a surprise) and have much more to run.

hope everyone had a great weekend. i think my brother is lost, he hasn't blogged in a while.

Another Short Note

another quick note tonight. have not been getting much rest this week, so for the second run in a row i am going to make it a quick one. i ran tonight, once again i think my gps lost signal for a minute. so i just ran to what had marked off last year for 4 miles. my time was around 41:30, about a 10:23 min/mile. since my gps messed up a little i will not post splits.

have a great night.

It's Late

it is late and i am tired so this is gonna be quick. i did my 5 mile run last night in 51:24. my second fastest 5 miles this year. not that i was trying to be fast but emily was meeting me to pick me up at 9pm and i was running late. however, she got stuck in traffic and it didn't matter. did about 50 minutes of yoga tonight. feel good. need rest. good night.

Black Clouds and Windy

i waited around to run this afternoon to let it cool off once again. by the time i got ready to run and head out, there was a dark cloud in the sky and the wind was really blowing, like it was about to rain. i decided to risk running in a thunderstorm and just head out. i was pushing it a little, especially with running 8 miles yesterday, but was really worried it was about to storm. no snakes tonight and i had the correct insoles in both shoes. my calves hurt a little at the end of the run, but feel much better now that i have stretched them out well. it sprinkled just a little but never rained during the run. here are the 1/2 mile splits:

.5= 4.44 151
1.0= 9.47 5.03 165
1.5= 15.01 5.14 167
2.0= 20.19 5.17 168
2.5= 25.37 5.17 164
3.0= 30.44 5.07 166
3.5= 35.48 5.14 167
4.0= 41.05 5.07 171

thought of the day: "...and he that hasteth with his feet sinneth." Proverbs 19.2 this is the reason i try to take it slow. :)

8 Good Miles, 7.5 Anyway

i have been on call this weekend, i had someone who was going to cover for me yesterday so i could run, but my neck/shoulder/back was hurting too bad to move, much less run. so i got some rest and alternated heat and cold packs on the spot that was hurting. it felt much better today and it continues to get better as the day goes on. this afternoon i did not have anyone to cover my call but i thought i would try to run and carry my phone in case i had a call. the only call i got was right at 1/2 a mile and i talked to the lady until i was just a little past the 1 mile point. considering i walked that half a mile or a little more, i think my time was pretty good. my pace was 11:14 min per mile. these are my 1/2 mile splits for the run:

.5= 4.19 152
1.0= 11.27 7.08 146
1.5= 17.21 5.53 150
2.0= 22.46 5.24 165
2.5= 28.14 5.28 166
3.0= 33.53 5.39 166
3.5= 39.22 5.28 165
4.0= 45.04 5.42 165
4.5= 50.54 5.49 165
5.0= 56.33 5.39 164
5.5= 62.09 5.35 164
6.0= 67.34 5.24 162
6.5= 73.10 5.35 160
7.0= 78.45 5.35 162
7.5= 84.17 5.32 160
8.0= 89.56 5.39 165

i came 2-3 feet from stepping on another snake tonight. i think this one was a copperhead, i think all 3 that i have nearly stepped on have been copperheads. but it is usually dark and i am usually past them before i realize what they are, but they have all appeared to have some pattern on their backs.

thought of the day: i was just watching a movie i bought at hollywood video that is going out of business. it is navy seal iv. they talk about how it is ok for 1 or 2 people to die so that hundreds or millions could be saved. that made me think of Jesus. He allowed people to kill him and go through a horrible death so that millions could be saved eternally. how much more important is that? another quote from the movie was "freedom comes with a price, and the price is payed in blood." that too reminded me of the freedom we gain through Christ and His blood.

Just Glad to Finish

last night i did the weight training scheduled. like before, very elementary stuff using mainly body weight. however, i did use some actual weights for a few things and a weight vest for a few more things, just to up the output a little.

i got up early this morning to do my friday run because i knew i would be on call tonight and probably wouldn't get to run. it was less than 12 hours after my work-out, which does include a pretty good leg work-out. i could sure tell it too. my calves and thighs were pretty tired and i was just glad to make it 3 miles. i really had to push to keep even a slow pace. i know it hurts a little more now, but i know it will make it that much easier when the races do come up. here are my splits for this run:

.5= 4.57 144
1.0= 10.01 5.03 161
1.5= 15.11 5.10 164
2.0= 20.43 5.32 164
2.5= 26.01 5.17 161
3.0= 31.40 5.39 164

once again i think my gps may have lost signal for a bit. this morning, everything was going well until mile 2 when i had to run further than i normally do, and to finish i had to run pretty far past my starting point, which does not typically happen. who knows, don't guess it really matters.

this afternoon, at work, i was sitting and talking and somehow turned my head the wrong way and now i can barely turn my neck at all. i am really in pain to move at all.

the thought of the day: when your neck and shoulder hurt, typing on a lap top is not extremely comfortable. however, boats are very safe,and comfortable in a harbor, but if a boat stayed in the harbor, no one would get to experience the joy it could possibly bring. this is extrapolated from a quote i read the other day. i think the author's quote was a little different and the point was a little different too. however, i use part of her quote to make my point, safety is not truly living.

Didn't Want to Regret this Run

had to get up an hour and a half earlier today, not to mention i got in bed about 30 minutes to an hour late last night. i was pretty tired all day and my feet really hurt towards the end of the day. i came home and thought i would get a quick nap before my scheduled 5 miles. i woke up about 7:40 and thought about just eating a little and getting in bed and running in the morning. however, i kept telling myself the quote i read a while back, "you only regret the runs you don't do." so i made myself get my clothes on and get ready. once i got going i was happy i did, relieved. relieved that i wasn't pushed to get up and do the run in the morning. the run went well. i started thinking that my feet are very tense when i run so i started trying to relax them and my legs. it really makes a difference running completely relaxed, hard to get used to, but feels better. here are my splits:

.5= 5:09 146
1.0= 10:27 5:17 160
1.5= 15:41 5:14 162
2.0= 21:02 5:21 164
2.5= 26:16 5:14 166
3.0= 31:31 5:14 169
3.5= 36:45 5:14 167
4.0= 42:17 5:32 167
4.5= 47:38 5:21 168
5.0= 52:38 4:59 169

i think on mile 4 my gps may have lost signal for a little. it is usually one of the faster segments, but on this run it was the slowest of all. my watch beeped once and i thought it was because i made it to the next split and then a minute or so later it beeped again and i looked at it and it was recording the .5 mile split. the last 1/2 mile is where i was letting my legs, feet, and arms relax and just striding. still wearing my sunglasses at 8:50pm, to keep the bugs out of my eyes, i was hammering out the strides and i saw something in the road, looked like someone, about 30 yards in front of me. i couldn't see it since i still had my sunglasses on, so i moved over to the other side of the road and took my sunglasses off and it was 2 people walking a dog, i almost ran into them.

thought of the day: on my run i was thinking about different things and one thought crossed my mind. i was thinking of how God had seemingly changed His mind in the Old Testament. I am not sure if that is the right term for it, but He would tell one of His followers His plan and they would plead with Him to "change His mind." i just wondered to myself why we don't plead/pray like that now. i think if we truly cared for the lost, the world would be different.

Cool and Humid

i ran pretty late this afternoon again. started around 7:45pm. it seemed cooler than most of the other runs, it was actually, around 84 degrees. but it still felt pretty humid. again, it took me a little to get my breathing right. i didn't push it today, but i did run at a pace that was slightly uncomfortable. my legs were a little tired for the first 1/2 mile then they felt better. otherwise everything felt good. this was my fastest pace for 4 miles in a while, even though i wasn't trying for it. my pace was 9:58 min/mile. here are my splits:

.5= 4:51 148
1.0= 9:40 4:49 163
1.5= 14:43 5:03 165
2.0= 19:54 5:10 168
2.5= 24:57 5:03 167
3.0= 30:01 5:03 168
3.5= 34:57 4:56 169
4.0= 39:54 4:56 174

thought of the day: "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit" Aristotle. to me, this extends to what we think. i believe, our thoughts become our lives. if you think positive thoughts, you act positively, but much easier, is for your actions to become negative by constantly thinking negative thoughts. so, try hard to think positive, good, wholesome thoughts, ridding your mind of all those negative thoughts and become a much better person. you can do it!

Last 2 Runs

well, i did run friday, 3 miles. i ran during mid-day since emily had something for us to do friday evening, that is why i did not get to blog about it. it wasn't extremely hot, it was actually trying to sprinkle, so it was very humid. there was a little wind too, which made it a little better. my shins hurt a little but not too bad. here are my splits for that run:

.5= 4.46 146
1.0= 9.56 5.10 160
1.5= 15.18 5.21 161
2.0= 20.50 5.32 162
2.5= 26.18 5.28 161
3.0= 31.57 5.39 165

that was a 10:35 pace, i say, due to the humidity :)

i also got my long run in for the week, finally. not sure what i was thinking, but i misjudged how long it was going to take and i headed out a little late. i headed out at 7pm, for a 13 mile run. i was going to try a new road, i thought it might have a better shoulder, fewer bugs, and about the same traffic. 1 out of 3 is not so good, especially in the dark. it was a pretty nice road. the shoulder is better in spots but there are several spots with high weeds and curves. it is a longer route and works better for the longer runs. the amount of bugs was much less, i still got one or two in the eye. there was much more traffic, which is a little worrisome in the dark.

i started out really making myself go slow, not as slow as i wanted, but it seemed about as slow as i could go at the time without walking. it really felt kind of empowering to know i could go faster but i was saving some for reserve. i felt really good for the entire run. i wore my fluid belt and drank all of the gatorade by mile 12. i also took 3 gels with me, 1 with no caffeine, one with 1 caffeine dose and one with a double caffeine dose- this one i thought i would take at 2 hours and 15 minutes, when my energy was depleting, to give me a boost for the last 15-25 minutes. however, at 9:15pm i decided that if i took the gel with twice the caffeine i would not be able to sleep all night. and i didn't have any other gels with me, i had taken all the others. i think the last 1.5 miles would have been a little better if i had taken a gel. i was hoping to keep a 12:30 min/mile pace. i finished a little faster than that, i guess that's ok. so here are my splits:

.5= 5.08 148
1.0= 10.18 5.10 160
1.5= 15.47 5.28 160
2.0= 21.19 5.32 163
2.5= 26.51 5.32 162
3.0= 32.23 5.32 163
3.5= 38.02 5.39 159
4.0= 43.52 5.49 160
4.5= 49.49 5.57 159
5.0= 55.50 6.00 158
5.5= 61.50 6.00 154
6.0= 67.51 6.00 157
6.5= 73.58 6.07 159
7.0= 69.52 5.53 157
7.5= 85.49 5.57 158
8.0= 91.57 6.07 159
8.5= 98.01 6.04 158
9.0= 104.08 6.07 156
9.5= 110.13 6.04 157
10.0= 116.06 5.53 157
10.5= 122.17 6.11 158
11.0= 128.29 6.11 157
11.5= 134.40 6.11 158
12.0= 141.02 6.21 158
12.5= 147.31 6.29 157
13.0= 153.49 6.18 156

by the way, this was the 2nd run in the last 3 runs that i have come within a foot or two of stepping on a snake.

my first 6.5 miles took 73:58 minutes and the last 6.5 miles took just under 80 minutes. i was hoping to do the last half in the same time i did the first half. i knew i had started a little too fast to really do that. my overall pace was 11:50 min/mile.

this is the furthest i have ever ran in my life, so i was really just glad to finish the 13 miles. i can really feel today that my body is taking some time to recover, i don't feel bad, just not quite right. my legs and feet all feel pretty good.

thought of the day: "If you treat an individual as if he were what he ought to be and could be, he will become what he ought to be and could be"– Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. for some reason i like this quote.

2 Down, 2 To Go

well, i have done 2 runs this week and have 2 more to go. i did 6 miles tonight, felt pretty good. had a little soreness in my shins and calves at first which eventually went away. then i had a pretty good pain in my right foot for a little while, that went away too. i ran late so it was a little cooler, the bugs were back out too, from miles 5.5 to 6.0 they were killing me, in swarms. i had to switch to running with my head down part of the time and trying to breathe through my nose so i didn't get them in my mouth. at one point i did get one in my mouth and it went to the back of my throat and gagged me. that took a little out of my run for a little, to get my breathing back right. here are my 1/2 mile splits and heart rates:

0.5= 5.04 149
1.0= 10.18 5.14 162
1.5= 15.39 5.21 164
2.0= 21.15 5.35 164
2.5= 26.54 5.39 163
3.0= 32.33 5.39 165
3.5= 38.16 5.42 163
4.0= 43.51 5.35 166
4.5= 49.38 5.46 164
5.0= 55.20 5.42 165
5.5= 61.03 5.42 166
6.0= 66.10 5.07 169

the last half mile, once i go through the bugs, i was feeling good and decided to pick up the pace, kind of race like situation. it was my second fastest 1/2 mile of the run and felt pretty good. i finished wit a 11:02 min/mile pace, i was thinking an 11 min/mile pace would be perfect, so i finished pretty good.

i have been trying my new fluid belt the last 2 runs and i like it pretty good. i do think it is helping me stay hydrated just to have something to drink. the bottles do slide to the front of my waist. after a while i don't really notice it, just at the beginning. it doesn't keep the fluid as cold as the backpack but i think for the long runs it is going to be much more comfortable.

thought of the day: if you brighten the day of everyone you come into contact with, just think how much better the world would be. just a thought that came to mind. be positive and smile :)

Back from Vacation, Hopefully, Back on Track

i haven't gotten to do my long runs the last 2 weeks. 2 weeks ago i was off track and didn't get the long run in. this past week we were on vacation and driving all weekend and sight-seeing so i didn't get my long run in this past saturday. i think we did walk about 10 miles in d.c., or it felt like it. we were driving until late last night and didn't get to a hotel until late and they did not have a treadmill, so i could not get my run in. i did do my strength training last night that was scheduled for tonight so i could do my run tonight. so, that is what i did, 4 miles tonight. my legs felt a little sore, i think from all the lunges that i do in the strength training. that was expected though. here are my .5 mile spits and heart rates:

.5= 4.44 157
1.0= 9.40 4.56 173
1.5= 14.54 5.14 172
2.0= 20.26 5.32 173
2.5= 26.05 5.39 167
3.0= 31.41 5.35 168
3.5= 37.34 5.53 167
4.0= 43.14 5.39 172

thought of the day: i feel good on my new schedule, even though i am a little sore i feel better that i am working my entire body and stretching more. i know when i complete this schedule i will be in better overall condition, and most importantly, in better shape to climb those mountains! everyone work hard and get your runs in!

Quick, Easy Run

I did the scheduled 3 miles tonight. i was not comfortable. i had taken 2 immodiums yesterday and 1 this morning for some g.i. problems. we ate an early supper tonight, around 6, and then came back to the hotel. i felt extremely bloated. i think maybe the immodium is keeping things from moving through at all instead of just slowing stuff down. i guess that is better when you are at the beach instead of what was going on. so i took my first nap of the week to let the food settle and get a little needed rest before the run. it didn't really help, i woke up bloated and had that "woke up to early now i'm irritated" feel you get sometimes after a nap. so i fiddled around the room a little and got ready. i wanted to run outside, but when i got up it was dark so i went and ran on the treadmill, the hill workout again. i started a little faster than normal on the treadmill and finished the first 1.1 miles in 11 minutes then slowed down until .6 miles to go and sped up again. my right foot hurt a little and my shins hurt a little afterwards but i feel pretty good now. my overall time was 31:31, a 10:30 pace, about average for me. i think i will get a little faster when i get back on the real road, not that speed is a huge goal right not.

thought of the day: "We run for our head, we run for our health, and we run for our vanity. We run to push our limits and to challenge who we are. We become both mentally and physically stronger with each mile and with each new goal attained." Tom Holland

tired, late

it is really late and i went to bed late last night, got up early this morning and have been running around tired all day (other than being a little wired right now 7-8 hours after drinking a full throttle).

i did the strength and core work-out again today. a little better than the other night, i also stretched afterwards. hope i am not as sore tomorrow as i have been the last 2 days.

good night.