Marathon Training Log - December 31th - Day 21 - 6.4 miles.

Today I came up with an odd little visualization scenario; I had some pain in my right foot on the outside center of the foot, so I started by visualizing a buildup of a red substance in my foot which was the 'pain'. Attached to my brain was a little control center that was in command of a few 'units': Medics, Engineers, and Special Forces. The commanders dispatched the engineers from their barracks near my lungs to my right foot to create a drain for the pain that was building up. (I started this around mile 4 or so.) The engineers arrived as set up their Tactical Area of Operations. They completed their mission, however, being highly caustic, the pain had caused minor damage to the soft tissue 'bridge' in the foot. They requested medics to help heal while they repaired the damage. Also, they stayed to monitor the drain. (Strangely enough, it started hurting less and less as I was imagining this.) While repairing the bridge, the engineers came under attack from 'ouchies' from outside the drain portal. The called in a request for reinforcements to the commanders, who in turn ordered the Special Forces down to defend the bridge at all costs. (This was about the time I was at mile 5) The spec ops gets there and takes out the attackers at the drain and places 3rd platoon there as a guard against further attacks. First platoon and second platoon were deployed to the heel and toe areas respectively to sweep any remaining ouchies. The mission was a success and the engineers covered the pain drain after draining the last of the pain. The spec ops stood gaurd while the medics healed the soft tissue and the engineers redeployed to thier barracks. (This happened during my cool down walk) All the while there were 2 factories generating and pumping to the effected areas using my circulatory system. The 'extra' factory is located on the north wall of the heart so that the 'extra' that it generates can be quickly generated and distributed thru the body. The other was the 'blocker' factory; here the blocker fluid was generated so that it could help repel and counteract the 'pain' that was built up.

Ok, so it may sound retarded, but this whole visual did 2 things; 1. It gave me something to focus on and have fun with while running. 2. It actually reduced the pain that I was feeling, and honestly, my foot does not hurt at all now. Wierd.

Weather report for the day: no wind, 23 degrees. Not bad at all. Roads dry. Good day to run.

Distance today: 6.4 in 55:20. Under 9 min mile pace, which is my goal.

Until tomorrow....

Marathon Training Log - December 30th - Day 20 - 3.4 miles.

About a week ago, after a particularly nast hangover, I decided to get more serious about the nutritional side of this marathon training. I plan on greatly limiting (none if I am lucky) alcohol consumption, sweets, and other junk foods. More fruit, raw veggies, nuts, and other sources of high nutrition type foods are on my list. The way I see it, what good is it doing me to punish my body and then eat garbage? Like a nascar driver fueling up a high performance machine with low grade gas. Anyway, I will update on how I am doing.
For the extreme end of December, the weather could not be better! Unseasonably warm, near 43, with a light breeze blowing out of the south. I acutally wore shorts this morning. My legs were cold, but the weather, for me, is just a mental hurdle. A distraction that keeps my focus away from sore legs and burning lungs. Today was another easy 3 miles, I took it out to 3.4 but only cause it was so nice that I didn't feel like quitting. Also, the kids are out for xmas break, so I have no reason to rush home. Leaving at 6:30 or so, I got to see a nice sunrise... man it was great. I finished at about 8 min mile pace, running almost 3.5 miles in 28:10. No rush, I'm going for tortoise route... Roads were mostly dry, very little traffic, and overall just a great morning run. Next week I think I am actually going to register for the race. Bodily, I had a little pain in my right foot, and just a little twinge in my right hip. Nothing serious, I just thought I would put it down for posterity sake... Well I gotta go get in the shower and get ready for work... Later!

Marathon Training - Summary Report

Here is a dump of the stats that I have gathered since 11/24 when I started Hal Higdons Marathon training program:

11/24/2008 - 12/27/2008

Date	Exercise	Duration (hh:mm:ss)	Distance (miles)	Calories (kcal)
11/25/2008	Running	0:26:01	3.10	417
11/26/2008	Running	0:28:27	3.00	397
11/27/2008	Running	0:24:23	3.00	391
11/29/2008	Running	0:59:33	7.50	1052
12/2/2008	Running	0:25:16	3.00	411
12/3/2008	Running	0:25:27	3.00	414
12/4/2008	Running	0:24:42	3.00	402
12/6/2008	Running	1:01:30	7.50	1000
12/9/2008	Running	0:23:24	3.00	414
12/10/2008	Running	0:35:29	4.05	552
12/13/2008	Running	0:40:53	5.00	665
12/16/2008	Running	0:25:40	3.00	417
12/17/2008	Running	0:42:14	4.00	537
12/18/2008	Running	0:27:06	3.00	383
12/20/2008	Running	1:26:42	10.00	1348
12/23/2008	Running	0:26:00	3.00	404
12/24/2008	Running	0:48:01	5.00	679
12/26/2008	Running	0:30:00	3.60	488
12/27/2008	Running	1:00:44	7.20	987
Total		12:01:32	83.95	11358

So, wow, that really adds up... 12 hours, almost 84 miles! I am only at week 13 (counting down to week 1 - race) from the week 18 start. Cool...

Marathon Training Log - December 27th - Day 19 - 7.2 miles.

I just walked in the door after 7.2 miles. It is late in December and the weather is surprisingly not too bad. We actually had thunderstorms this morning and went from 60s yesterday to around 40 today. There is a light wind out of the northwest but it was more of a breeze than anything. I tried a new route today, and it was pretty good. I started to the west down Catalpa to Western. Then I went south to Willow then east to Carbon. Next it was south on Carbon to Southern and then east all the way to Sinnet. I turned north and then east down Carline Rd. Turned around at Golf Course Rd and headed back to Sinnet, north to Antelope. West on Antelope and turned North on Ozark. Ozark to Howard then around the little hook over to Northern. Northern east to Carbon and then south back to Catalpa. Catalpa east to Osage and Im home. Great. Dandy. Good route. So it stormed last night so the roads were a little wet and there was running water in the ditches. It kinda reminded me of spring. Physically, it was nice to not have my head covered. Also my body is getting stronger and more used to the longer distances. About the last mile or so my right ankle was a little painful, not bad just noticeable. I had no problem with my hip at all, not even from the beginning. Today I really felt like I had kicked that injury all together. I have been waiting to actually register for the marathon until I knew for sure that this injury was not going to hamper me from being able to train correctly. I think that I will sign up after the new year.

Marathon Training Log - December 26th - Day 18 - 3.5 miles.

First off, this was supposed to be the Thursday run, but Thursday was x-mas. I got up Friday well rested and went outside to stretch. It was soooo warm! A real Christmas miracle, 60 degrees and only a light wind. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. I wore a lonsleeve tee under a sweatshirt, and shorts. Shorts... nothing on my head. By the turn around I had taken my sweatshirt off and tied it around my waist. Wow it was great. I went farther than the plan said but it was so nice I could not stop. I forgot to hit stop when I got back, so I don't have a good time, but it was somewhere near 30 mins. A very enjoyable day to run.

Marathon Training Log - December 24th - Day 17 - 5 miles.

Well, the morning of Christmas eve was very very very very slick. The rains started freezing, but there was not that much, luckily, or we would have had an ice storm. The temp was not too bad, high 20's, but the footing was absolutely treacherous. Each step had to be carefully placed, muscles tensed to avoid slipping. I had decided that if I were to start to slip, rather than blow out a knee or hamstring, I would tuck and roll off into the ditch. I did my 5 miles, took me 48 minutes. But I did it.

Marathon Training Log - December 23th - Day 16 - 3 miles.

Ok, well, another 3 mile Tuesday... not much to report here other than the fact that I forgot my stopwatch today, so I don't have the exact time of my run, but it was somewhere near my usual. It slows me down so much wearing all the clothes, and breathing frigid air. The wind was really bad today, but the upside is that you don't realize any pain in your limbs at all. My hip is almost back to normal, I can still barely feel a little pinch when first get started but it is getting trivial. Not much more to say here.

Marathon Training Log - December 19th - Day 15 - 10 miles.

This Saturday run was the longest so far, and also the most challenging. To begin with, my hip felt better today than it has since I started this program, that is before AND after the run. I went out in the country like usual, down south to gooding rd, but this time turned right and went to the first mile section before turning around. Ten miles exactly from start to finish (according to MS Streets and Trips anyway). When I left the house it was about 9:15 or so, and was about 45 degrees with very light wind. By the time I finished, it was 30 and a 10 mph wind was blowing out of the north. The last 3 miles into the wind were brutal. A mile south of the cemetary there is an uphill strecth about half a mile where there are no trees on either side of the road and the wind almost killed me. I could feel it cutting thru all my clothes, and was sucking all the air out of my lungs. I took my big glove off and held it over my mouth. This was at about the six mile point, and my strategy is to walk for about 30 seconds every 6 miles and drink half a bottle of water or so. I walked and drank and tried to catch my breath. Luckily I wasnt to far from where the trees picked but up, so I recovered and finished strong. My legs felt great for just finishing a ten miler, and my time was under my 9 min mile goal. I finished in 1:26:42. I recovered faster that I would have expected, it is now Monday morning and I am not sore at all. Here is the summary from 11/25 to current:

	Total	Average
Duration (hh:mm:ss)	9:16:47	0:37:07
Distance miles	65.15	4.34
Average Speed mph		7.02
Pace min/mi		8.59
Calories (kcal)	8800	586

Marathon Training Log - December 18th - Day 14 - 3 miles

Well, first things first, my cold went away after about 24 hours, so this morning I felt fine. I took some theraflu nighttime before bed and passed out. Felt great this morning, but there was still lots of ice...today being the worst so far this week. It was cold again, duh, but there were places that looked like there was no snow or ice that were slick as snot on glass. I made it, no problems, and now I am looking forward to my long 10 miler on Saturday. I is supposed to warm up some... we will see. Not much else to say this morning, but I have stopped taking mp3 player with me in the morning just to enjoy the peace and quiet, and what I find is that now I have been analyzing the books I have been reading. I am on a "classics" kick right now, finishing Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse Five". I am almost done with "The Catcher in the Rye" and I'm not sure if I like it or not... but I think about that stuff while I am running. I will keep doing it till I get bored... and besides, the marathon is a 'no headphones' race, so I had better get used to the sound of my own breathing.

Marathon Training Log - December 17th - Day 13 - 4 miles

I forgot to mention that yesterday there was also about an inch of powder snow on the ground... It was a little slippery but not too bad since it was so cold. This morning, however, was slippery as shit. What little snow melted yesterday formed a nice layer of ice on the road. Time was slow, and legs are sore. When it is slick like that you have to be very careful every step you take, or it may be your last. Ok, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but you could injure yourself. Tensing up like this while running makes your legs a bit more sore than if you had not so I will look at it as an extra workout. The cold is annoying, but the icy north wind really takes your breath away. I usually run south first and return going into the north wind. This way I am all warm and toasty before battling the wind. No slips or falls today, but the forecast for tomorrow is more of the same. We will see... obtw today I woke up with a stuffy nose from hell... I always tell people that tell me I am going to get sick from running in the cold that it is germs, not cold, that make you sick. I am starting to wonder. I hope it runs it's course quickly so I can run mine.. lol.

Marathon Training Log - December 16th - Day 12 - 3 miles

The word of the day for today's run was FRIGID. At 6:00 am when I left the house the thermometer topped out at 6. You read it right...6. 6 freaking degrees. I was bundled like the baby Jesus when I left, after a cup of coffee and a 15 minute argument with myself. After missing last Thursday, there was no way I was gonna skip this morning... I don't care if it was a nuclulear winter. Actually, with only slits around my eyes exposed, it really wasn't that bad. I ran about 2.5 miles and stopped by work to install a software upgrade before anyone else showed up so I sweated a lot in my office. That made the last half mile a bit unpleasant, but not unbearable by any means. One thing about going this morning that was good, is that it reminded me that as long as you dress appropriately for the conditions, you can run in just about anything.

Marathon Training Log - December 13th - Day 11 - 5 miles

I missed my run on Thursday morning. I was planning on making it up on Friday, but I did not want to over do it before a long run... ok that is a bad excuse, I missed Friday because I went to Gene's house to play "A Game of Thrones" board game on Thursday night, and stayed out until 2 am. My bad. Anyway, I got up Saturday morning raring to go. About 10 o'clock I hit the street. The day was much warmer than it had been all week, between 55-60, I didn't check for sure, but windy. Windy, windy, windy, windy. It was blowing out of the south at about 30-40 mph... no exaggeration. I left my house heading west and it wasn't that bad at all; until I turned left. WOW. It was hard just to move forward... Seriously, it felt that if I just let myself fall, the wind would hold me up. The wind was sucking the life out of my lungs and I felt like I was barely moving. When I turned left again it was a relief , but the real relief came when I turned left again and began running to the north. Now, with a wind in my sails, I made up some time... This was great, a feeling of being shoved from behind by some great force with no chance of slowing down. I finally caught my breath that the wind had stolen and made a dash for home! Victory. The wind was tough, but I was the winner.

Marathon Training Log - December 10th - Day 10 - 4 miles

I got up this morning about 5:15 expecting to see snow, ice or both on the roads. After a cup of hot coffee, I got dressed and headed out. 23 degrees and a nice stiff wind was going to make for an interesting morning. I am starting to notice that I am writing the same thing day after day so today I am going to change it up a bit by detailing my extreme cold weather running wardrobe.

I start with the spandex compression shorts and a tight t-shirt. Next I put on my running pants. These are no ordinary pants. These pants are made of fleece I think, but they are so warm that you can only wear them when it is cold as it gets, else you will sweat. Actually you will sweat no matter when you wear these bad boys. They are loose fitting blue fleece, with elastic drawstring waist, zippered front pockets, and elastic, zippered ankles. These pants are Perfect for winter running. Then I put on a sweat shirt (no hood). Over this, I pull over my fleece. It has a high neck that zips, and a big pouch on the front. For the hands, I go with a pair of small knit gloves that fit skintight and cover these with a larger pair of fleece gloves. Last, but most important, the head... This is the key to surviving the uber-cold winter morning. I start with, you guessed it, fleece balaclava. This is basically a full head hood with just the face cut out. This is crucial since so much of your head leaves via the dome. Finally, and fittingly, a fleece "buff" (like on the show Survivor) with a little mouth hole cut out. Actually it was a fleece hat, I just cut the top seam making it an open tube, then cut a hole to breath out of. Then I pull this over the balaclava, around my nose and mouth with the breathing hole lined up. When all is said and done, all you can see is my eyes and a little slit to breath from.

Oh I almost forgot, a pair of warm socks and your best running shoes top things off... can't forget the shoes... I prefer New Balance. Not sure what the model I have is called, but it is the 3rd pair I have had. I bought 2 last time, so I am all set.

And about the run, it was cold (as I already explained) but good. There was a little icy stuff around, but nothing treacherous. Today was a 4 miler, and I finished in 35:29. My hip still hurts some, but I have basically decided just to ignore it. I know, not that smart, but oh well.

Marathon Training Log - December 9th - Day 9 - 3 miles

This morning was fairly warm with a misting rain. The wind was blowing out of the northwest at probably 10-15 mph. Temperature was maybe 45. I left the house about 5:50. The first mile or so, my hip hurt some with each step, but gradually loosened up. I am starting to think maybe it was a pulled muscle or something, since it feels better after running a while. Really started to pick up speed, and then turned for the 1 mile home stretch... into the north wind. Slowed me down some, and made breathing a little tougher. I gutted it out (wasn't really that bad) and finished with a respectable 23:34.

Marathon Training Log - December 6th - Day 8 - 7.5 miles

Again, the weather changes like a woman's mind around here. I didn't run first thing Saturday morning, so that makes a difference, but 54 degrees is a lot better than 17, I'll attest to that. I took Friday as my rest day, and slept in Saturday morning. Didn't run until after lunch (which is unusual for me, I almost always run before breakfast) It wasn't too bad but the wind sucked. It was coming from the NW about 20mph. Killed my time, I pushed hard on the way back (wind in my face) and finished at 1:01:30. A lot slower than last Saturday's long run. But I loved every minute of it. I think I got passed on the road by 1 maybe 2 farm trucks...that's it. I run south on Western all the way to Gooding road and back. Works out to right over 7.5 miles, and is so peaceful. Smells like cows, dirt roads, farms and fields. It was bright and sunny, I made extra effort to really take not of how beautiful it is even when everything is mostly brown. You can see back into the woods, streams, fields, old farms and barns. There was just a bit of ice floating in the trickling creek that I went over. It was really a great run. So far I am feeling really good, and glad I decided to chronicle it. Next week the mileage builds some more...

Here are the cumulative stats of my training at the end of week 2:

Cardio Summary Report
Total Average Maximum Minimum
Duration (hh:mm:ss) 4:35:19 0:34:25 1:01:30 0:24:23
Distance miles 33.10 4.14 7.50 3.00
Average Speed mph 7.15 7.56 6.33
Pace min/mi 8.41 9.48 7.94
Calories (kcal) 4484 560 1052 391

Marathon Training Log - December 4th - Day 7 - 3 miles

Not much to say about this run, 3 miles, but it was freaking COLD! 17 degrees. Wind about 7 mph out of the north. The cold hampered me a bit, but once I got warmed up, I pushed a little harder, finish time was 24:42. This was a lot slower than my goal, but weather does make a difference. It can get pretty hard to breath when it gets down below 20 or so... It is amazing how at this time of year the temp can swing so much in a day. Yesterday it was 44 degrees. Plenty more cold days like this to come.

Marathon Training Log - December 3rd - Day 6 - 3 miles

It is December now, and my entire run is in darkness as the days get shorter and shorter. I no longer get to see the sunrise in the east as I run my home stretch. The way I see it is that after some months running in darkness, when the sunrise comes, I will appreciate it that much more. This morning was not as cold as yesterday, still chilly, but not freezing. I am still having some pain in my right leg, but it is getting no worse. I will keep going and hopefully it will work itself out. Time this morning was 25:23. Nowhere close to my 5k time, but a decent daily workout. I ran my usual 3 mile route... osage->catalpa->western->willow->summit->catalpa->osage. Tomorrow another 3 mile run, but faster since it is before a rest day. I will be shooting for 23 mins or less.

Marathon Training Log - December 2nd - Day 5 - 3 miles

Another easy 3 miler, not a bad thing after the longer distance I ran on Saturday. It was good to feel rested, although my hip was tight and a bit painful at the start. I think next weekend I will jog or walk a little just to keep it loose, even on the rest days... just nothing to strenuous. Time was 25 something, I screwed up my stopwatch...didn't get the button pushed all the way. I got a new pair of NB running shoes, size 11, cause they didn't have 11.5 or 12. They are a bit small, but I got them anyway... I ran in them this morning, and no ill effects, a little tight, but I think that they will loosen up enough with a little time.

Marathon Training Log -November 29 - Day 4 - End of Week 1 - 7.75 miles

My brother stayed at my house Thursday and Friday night. I got up and around and made some breakfast before they left. Then I hit the road, it was 45 degrees or so, and sunny. I took out at a good pace, heading down Catalpa to Western. Then south on Western all the way out into the country to Gooding Road. It was a great day for a run, just a little wind and even less traffic. I felt great and my hip felt strong when I hit the turn around. I sped up some on the way back, pushing it a bit harder. I finished 7 3/4 miles in 55:33. Not too shabby. Just under 8 min mile pace. The best part was that my right hip felt good enough to do that distance. Rest/Cross Train on Sunday and rest Monday.