26.2

Here it is!

Stopped twice. 1 minute after 2 miles and just before the last quarter mile I took a minute long breather.

Progress.

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 08/06/2008
• Time: 07:15:00
• Total Time: 00:37:26.00
• Distance: 3 miles
• Average Pace: 12:28.44/mile

You stretch and get warmed up. You may take a minute or two to walk a few circles. Then you hit the side of the watch and go. My goal for today: don’t stop. Run 2 miles with 0 breaks, 0 minutes of walking.

But, when I looked up to start running, I realized why I hate running on Tuesday mornings: Trash Day. The side walks were full of trash! Some were even spread into the streets. Forget the side walks. I ran in the street (into the direction of traffic of course). I only passed about 5 cars the entire time & I didn’t have to hurdle as many turned over trash cans, so it was a good move.

So, I’m still running and nearing the last quarter mile of the day. I hadn’t stopped yet. My breathing is getting a little tougher. I can tell that the heat is starting to wear a little. I round a corner, take a deep breath and NASTYNESS!  Flies, Food, & just about everything you can think off enters my body in that deep breath as I stumble over open bags of other peoples trash!! I coughed the stench back out, but it was too late. I felt like I was part of the trash! I couldn’t shake a piece of something off of my leg for another 5 strides!

But I kept running. About 4 minutes later, the run was over and I was back at the house… taking a cold shower & trying to cool off before work.

So, today was kinda a big deal. I didn’t stop and I was “fast”, for a fat guy!

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 08/05/2008
• Time: 07:15:00
• Total Time: 00:24:19.00
• Distance: 2 miles
• Average Pace: 12:10.22/mile

Hey everyone.

Well, as you know, I was supposed to run a 4 miler this morning, but I missed a turn without realizing it and that 4 miler turned into a 3.6 miler.

I mapped my run online last night and I thought I remembered all of it this morning. There were only 4 turns total. What I didn’t expect was to miss a road sign and a “kink” turn in the road. So, I ran as long as I could and then when it joined a major HWY, I turned around and ran back. The problem was, until I passed by that road from the other side, I had no idea that I missed a turn! At first, I actually thought I had gone farther than planned…

So, for about 10 minutes, I was thinking about how good I was feeling at that part of the run and how I expected to feel much worse. A rabbit ran across the road in front of me and I had to walk for a couple of seconds. I thought I was about to die!! I had NO IDEA what was coming out of those bushes!! I had to calm down…
My breathing was perfect, my pace was good… and then I passed by the turn I SHOULD have taken 15 minutes earlier. My mind was racing.

Right after that turn was a hill and as I began my climb, my mind began turning against me. My mind was telling me how I was “so stupid to think that I had gone further than planned. I was dumb to think that I could feel that good late in a run. I was weak. Much weaker than even I anticipated.”

Why does your mind do that? Near the top of the hill, I had to walk. I was discouraged and I had no idea how far (or not far) I had run. All I knew is that my pace and my breathing were similar to what they always were, so I just estimated that I had covered a mile for every 13.5 minutes I had run. I didn’t know if this was right or not, but I knew I wasn’t doing anything fancy. After walking for a minute, I started to run again. My mind continued to beat me down.

After running another 3 minutes, I had to walk again. I was approaching a busy road; that was my excuse, but really, I was just trying to tell my mind to shut up and let me run! That is when my legs started to fail for the first time all week. I thought I was approaching 3 miles by the amount of time that had passed. I crossed over the road and ran the rest of the way. I ran up a street just before my home and I knew it would add 0.3 of a mile to the run.

When I got home, I mapped my actual run to find that I ran 3.6 miles. I’m a little disappointed by that, but it was still my longest run yet and I kept my “normal” slow and steady pace. My knee feels good. My legs are pretty stiff, but they are ok. No blistering.

So, in all, I would say that it was a “good” run, but I don’t like the mental battle. I felt like something in me was trying to sabotage my run, sabotage my goal. What is that about? How do I get rid of it?!

Thanks for reading.

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 08/02/2008
• Time: 07:00:00
• Total Time: 00:48:33.00
• Distance: 3.6 miles
• Average Pace: 13:28.99/mile

Today, I ran 2 miles, 2.5 minutes faster than Monday’s 2 miler. That is exciting. It is cool to already see that drastic progress. My first mile was the normal 13:20, but the second one was great! I just made the decision not to walk the last leg. I just didn’t let my body stop. I wanted too though. The start of the run was really tough. I couldn’t get my breathing down. Then, in the forth minute, I hit the rhythm and was fine. I only walked for 1 minute at the end of the first mile just to make sure all my systems were doing alright.

Tomorrow is my current “long run” of 4 miles. I know that is a warm up for some of you, but I haven’t run 4 miles in 5 years!! YIKES! I’m nervous, but excited. I need to wake up really early. At 7:15 this morning, the temps were already nearing the high 80’s with a truck load of humidity!

Thanks for reading. If you are training for a marathon, friend me! I’d love to follow your progress!

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 08/01/2008
• Time: 07:15:00
• Total Time: 00:25:02.00
• Distance: 2 miles
• Average Pace: 12:31.57/mile

Today wasn’t so bad! It was my first 3 mile run in a while. I walked about 3 or 4 minutes on the back mile because the sun was out and I was TOASTING. My knee feels good. Feet are a little sensitive. I need thicker socks.

I ran the first mile with no rest (that is good for me), walked 1 minute, ran the second mile and walked for 1 minute and then ran most of the 3rd mile before walking on the back half to cool down. I MUST wake up earlier and get more sleep. As you can see from my daily info, I didn’t sleep well last night at all.

I’m proud that I have completed my 2nd run of the week as planned and I was a little under my expected time!

26.2 is the goal!

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 07/30/2008
• Time: 08:50:00
• Total Time: 00:39:27.00
• Distance: 3 miles
• Average Pace: 13:09.47/mile

I laid down at 10:30… The last time I looked at my watch was 3:00 a.m.

I was hot, then cold, tossing and turning. Not a good night of sleep. I’m so tired this morning.

Health:

• Date: 07/30/2008
• Weight: 289.7
• Mood: Normal
• Sleep Hours: 5
• Sleep Pattern: Insomnia

This is an amazing video about “normal people” running a Marathon! Watch it, buy it, enjoy it!
If this is ever “removed” by google, you can watch all of the video’s on NOVA’s website.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5570837968321056207&hl=en 

Hey all!

I ran 2 miles today as planned. I ran really slowly because I’m still a little nervous to reinjure my knee, but it was a good run. I had to mow before the run (while it was still “cool”) so I was a bit zapped from the start. I walked twice during the run and stretched a few times so that I was sure to take my time.

All that is about normal for where I left off before the mission trip. And yes, I do realize how incredibly slow I run. I know. But you have to start restart somewhere!

I’m new to sweat365. I’m currently a wordpress’r, but it is nice to be in a community of like-minded individuals!

Catch you later.

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 07/28/2008
• Time: 09:30:00
• Total Time: 00:27:17.00
• Distance: 2 miles
• Average Pace: 13:38.18/mile

Hey all!

It has been a while since I ran and even longer since I have written.

All was advancing well. I took my week off and then learned the Sunday before leaving the country that I would be gone an additional 2 weeks (and this is not a place that I could run or visit a gym). The mission trip was incredible/unforgettable/amazing and all that jazz!!! Needless to say, I have been set back on the running schedule so I will not be running the 5K this weekend (Dam Night Run). However, I think I will have enough time to prepare for the next race (Bass Kick’n 5K). I’m really excited to get back to it now that I’m home. I’ve missed the clean air & exercise!

Next week, I will be starting slow again to avoid injury and get used to running again. Then I will start the millage listed on week 14 and 15 of my plan.

I’m probably not going to post every run like I used to. I got to run 6 and was already tired to posting about my running, but I will be keeping an old fashioned pen and paper run log and I will post on this thing if anything interesting happens. I’ll also be sure to post race reviews and gear reviews, etc… It just isn’t entertaining enough for me to post every run!!

See you soon,

Ray

Yesterday was Run 6. It was only my second day of the week, but I’m learning that my knee is more sensitive than I first thought. I’m having to take it a lot easier than I wanted to. Hopefully I can still hit my time goals and run just 3 or 4 days a week vs the planned 5. Also, I hope that I will be able to run more and more days of the week as my body becomes used to the torture.

This run was a good one. Same loop, same time. 2.17 miles, 29 minutes and I still had to slow way down on the back side of the loop. I’m not running for distance yet, just time. 30 minutes non stop is the goal and I think I will get there. I was feeling really good after this run and even though I was out of breath, I wasn’t devastated like I was on the first run!

Just call me the tortoise!