COLUMBUS MARATHON RECAP

 

When: Sunday October 19th

Where: Columbus Ohio

EXPO: The expo was very organized and finding your way around was very easy. You picked your packet up from the second level and did your shopping on the first level. It was not as big as some of the other expo’s I have been too, but it still had anything you may be looking for. One thing I really thought was different was Goodwill had a section and you could go buy used running clothes or sweat outfits to throw away at the beginning of the race. Genius idea here, just keep recycling the clothes.

SWAG: Nike Tech T shirt and a bag with some coupons and a cliff bar. Compared to other marathons this bag did not have many things in it. However this race is all about the Children, so I ask you would you rather get a bag full of useless things or would you rather see the money go to the charity? I choose charity over junk any day.

PRE-RACE: Corrals opened at 5:45 and were supposed to close at 7:00 for the 7:30 start. I don’t think they ever closed though because it seemed like more and more people kept packing in. There were plenty of restrooms outside the corrals and once you were in the corrals there were more restrooms off to the side. This was nice because I am a person that loves to get into the corral early and no one knew the port-o-potty’s were there, so I was able to go a few times with no wait. Before the race started they sang the National Anthem and shot off fireworks. I was told they did this for every wave start. After the fireworks they played ACDC Thunderstruck and it was funny because one minute we are all standing there silent then the next minute we are all jumping up and down like Mexican jumping beans. I was pumped too from the music so you may have seen my little bald head bouncing around as well.

COURSE: I have mixed emotions on the course. When you sign up for the marathon you will see many things saying “fast and flat course”. Now maybe because I just came off of doing the Erie half marathon which was a totally flat course that I define flat different than the race directors. The course has a crazy amount of turns and I felt like you were either running up a slight grade or running down one. This made it particularly hard to establish a set pace. The towns you do run through are very nice and the fans came out in full force to cheer you on with some clever signs. (My favorite was “run like her father just walked in on you”) One thing I especially loved is every mile is designated to a child who has been helped from the hospital. The child had a big, orange foam hand for the runners to high five as they passed by. It was pretty awesome to see the children cheering us on. Mile 11 through 12 is known as the angel mile. Instead of being designated to one child this mile is for all the children who unfortunately did not make it through their fight. At mile 13 when the full and the half break off the full marathoners go a few miles then head into Ohio State University. Once again a lot of turns, but what was really cool was you run down a tunnel and onto the field of their stadium and out the other side. Even though I am not a Buckeye fan I had to appreciate the atmosphere, while part of me wanted to scream “GO PENN STATE” even though I am a Pitt fan.
The marathons website had a small video going over part of the course and in the video they tell you that most people will probably run their fastest 10k at the end of the race, saying it is all downhill. When I hear this I guess my mind thinks of a big hill that you can drop your arms and let your body carry you part of the way. Well I already knew from the driving the course on Saturday that it was not like this at all. After the race I heard a lot of people saying “I kept waiting for that downhill and it never came.” Was it a little grade downhill? I guess you can say that but honestly I wasn’t able to tell. When you do come up to the finish you can hear the roar of the crowd about a mile out. Then about with a half mile left you start to see flags on both sides of the road and you know you are in the final stretch. Fans lined both sides of the streets and were screaming as we all came in. They even had bleachers for some fans to sit high up and look down on us as we crossed the line.


BLING: This metal may not be as thick as some of the medals I have hanging on my wall, but it is huge. When they put it around my neck I felt like I was Flavor Flav wearing the big clock around my neck

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POST RACE: Out of all the races I have ever done I think for me this was the most organized for post-race. You crossed the line, walked a few feet and someone put your medal around your neck. You then walked a few more feet and were given your Mylar blanket. You then walked down a fenced in area and made a u turn and came up the other side and were then given water, chocolate milk, cookies, bagels, and bananas. Then before you exited the fenced in area to go meet your family you were given a bag that had some more food in it. If you were one of the lucky people to PR that day you could walk over to the PR gong and bang the shit out of it. It was cool to see so many people with excitement as they banged it. Everything was clearly marked and navigating was very easy.

MY EXPERIENCE: I will save you all the song and dance of me writing about the whole race again since I posted my race on Monday. I will say, this race had a lot of positive things that I really liked about it and a lot of things I could of did without. Overall it is very organized and everyone involved does an amazing job to make sure it goes off without a glitch. I am honestly glad I decided to run it, even if I didn't do my predicted time I still had fun. Plus one thing I will take away is even if it was just a few hours of me running and high fiving a child sitting on the side of the road, I feel like running that race made a difference. And for me that is what running is about, it’s not about the size of the medal or what you got in your goodie bag. It’s about the people you meet on your journey who help you and the people you help along the way. So I suggest if you haven’t ran this race yet and are looking for a fall marathon this is one you want to look into. Class Act is the best way I can describe it.

The Final Countdown: Columbus

    If I had 2 more fingers on my hand I would be able to count down the days to the Columbus Marathon with one hand.  As I approach the final week I normally would post about my previous weeks workout.  I will just say the last week went as planned and I am on track for where I think I need to be. Instead of me posting my workout for the week I wanted to tell you all the things I will need to work on this week as the race approaches, since this will be the last training post until after the race.
     It was pointed out to me at the Erie Half Marathon that right before the race starts I will start to say things to validate if something goes wrong.  It is almost as if I am giving myself a way out. I might say the weather is bad and could affect my time, or I might say there is no room to pass on the tight roads. Basically what I am doing is doubting myself.  The funny part of all of this is when I am running a race with a friend who is a beginner I will say the same speech to them and try to give them words of encouragement. I usually tell my friends something on the lines of "The clock doesn't matter, all that matters is you had the courage to start." or "Every time you step up to the starting line you have a chance to be great, let today be your greatest day. When pain hits, run through it. When you your mind says stop know your body hasn't reached 30 percent of what it is capable of."  Well maybe it is time I go look into the mirror and have the same talk with the person I see.  Deep down I have always believed I am better than I know I am. I am a competitor and I love to be put in a position where I can be challenged against someone.  This week I need to work on telling myself the training I have done is good enough and I can go out and do what I expect to do. It doesn't matter on the weather that day, or how crowded it is. I have a plan and I need to execute my plan the way I worked it out in my head.  It doesn't matter how many people tell you "You can do it", if you don't believe in yourself all your hard work is for nothing.
     This week I have gone over the course map and I have visioned myself running the race. I keep a steady pace and when I am hurting I find away to dig deep and find my inner warrior and continue on. It is easier said than done though to convince yourself you are great.  So this week will be my normal pre-race week, I will do a lot of stretching and cross training with some short runs to stay loose. Most of all though I will take this week to do some meditating and reassure myself that I am capable of everything I think I am. This will be a no excuse race. I am going out and I am just going to run. I will run the way I was taught from my father, I will run with no hesitation in my head, I will run and I will be great.

Take note Columbus I am throwing down the gauntlet and I am coming in 100 percent physically and mentally. No excuses!!!! It's time to see what I am made out of. As a great motivational speaker said to me a few weeks ago before a tough race,  "It's time to do business!"

Before I wrap things up here I just want to say if you see me throw out a good luck, or some words of encouragement. As much as I need to believe in myself hearing everyone's words of encouragement always motivate me and want to work that much harder for you as much as myself. Also say good luck to my buddy Aaron @nugget207 who will be running his first half marathon in Columbus.

2 Weeks Until Columbus Marathon

 

 

     2 Weeks or 14 days, it doesn't matter how you say it but the Columbus Marathon is upon us.  Today I was asked if I am nervous or excited. The answer is both. I am nervous when I go into any race, if you aren't nervous than you aren't normal. However I am more excited than anything. I feel like this race is going to be a defining race for me. Every race is a learning experience and we are supposed to take our mishaps from each race and use them to better ourselves for our next race.  Well I have ran a few marathons and some things I had no control over, but others I did poorly because I wasn't ready or I planned poorly. I am hoping with Columbus I can really use everything I have learned from my own experience's and the lessons taught to me from other runners and run my best race.  The ultimate goals are to run a safe and smart race.  A personal best time would be nice and so would a Boston qualifying time.  



     This week is what I call my get back week for training.  I just came off of 2 weeks of tapering and this week my goal was to start slowly introducing the miles until the week of the marathon would be a week in which I do a very long run at marathon speed. 

MONDAY:  4.5 miles at a 8:30 pace.  It is crazy how when I started this training session a few months ago to now how much easier the runs have became.  I hardly broke a sweat on this run and I almost didn't even feel like I was warmed up yet.  All good signs with a big race coming up.

TUESDAY: 4 miles at 8:05 pace.  I started this run going fairly slow and each mile I just picking up speed.  I did not intend to run negative splits but when I finished and looked at my Garmin and went over the mile splits I realized I did it without trying.  This is what I want to see this close to a race. I want to be able to pick up the speed and feel like I am still running a comfortable pace. 

WEDNESDAY:  CROSS TRAINING:  Instead of going to the gym for my cross training I stayed home and did burpees with some crunches, throwing in a few arm exercises as well . After talking to some obstacle runners, it was suggested that I do a burpee challenge in order to get usedd to them.  In any obstacle race there is a good chance you will be doing burpees.  Next season I plan on doing just as many obstacle races as road races and I want to be ready.  My goal for next season is to qualify again for the National Championship race. 

THURSDAY: REST DAY:  The only thing I did on this day was some burpees in order to keep up on my challenge, rather than that it was a rest day.

FRIDAY: I did a 2 mile speed workout on the treadmill at the gym followed by a leg workout.  This is about the time I will start to make sure my legs are loose for the race.  When I am at the gym I will be making sure to do some sort of leg or hip workout. In previous marathons I have gotten to mile 18 and then my leg muscles will start to spasm.  I think it was from going at a speed faster than I trained at for that far of a distance.  This time around I tried to do some race pace runs of long distance and I have worked on building the muscle in my upper legs.

SATURDAY: I woke up early and headed out for a 15 miler. It was only 42 degrees when I started my run.  Normally I would bitch about the temperature but I will take 42 degrees on race day anytime.  I decided not to look at my Garmin until I was finished. I wanted to run a comfortable pace and not worry about trying to pick up or drop speed.  I was amazed when I finished and looked at the Garmin and saw a pace of 8:58.  I felt so good and I thought I was going much slower.  A huge confidence booster for my last long run over 10 miles. 

SUNDAY: TODAY:  CROSS TRAINING:  I will be heading to the gym later tonight to do some chest and shoulder exercise's.  I will also be doing my burpees in order to stay on track with my challenge.  If there is some time I will use a few machines to loosen my hips. 
      This morning Amanda and I went to Soergel's Orchard in Wexford to pick some apples and buy some things in their market.  I came across some pasta noodles that they had for Halloween. The noodles were in the shape of pumpkins and cats.  I then found more noodles that they had for every sport basically.  I laughed and thought to myself I highly doubt they will have anything running related. Wrong!!!  they actually have a running pasta.  Noodles in the shape of little shoes and a person in stride. 

 

 

Next week's training will be a lot like this week. The runs during the week will be a little longer but the long run will only be a 10 miler. I am ready for this race and hope these last 2 weeks fly by.

 

 

How is your training coming?  

3 Weeks Until Columbus

     I am really starting to get pumped up for the Columbus Marathon. The months of counting down has turned to weeks and soon it will be days.  I have now entered my second week of tapering and this week turned out to be a mixed bag of training.

MONDAY:  I ran 4 miles at a 8:00 minute pace.  I felt really after the run even though I was a little sore still from running the Gladiator Rock' N Run.  I have said it before and I will say it again, these obstacles races are giving me core strength and the runs are becoming a lot easier.

TUESDAY:  I used this day as a complete rest day. Tapering sucks, I really wanted to get out and do a nice run but I fought off the urge and stayed in.

WEDNESDAY:  At work I started to get the urge to do a long run. I came home and decided  I wouldn't go for a real long run, but a 10 miler wouldn't hurt as long as I kept a slow pace.  I ran the 10 miles at 8:45 pace. Normally I would say that was too fast for a long slow run, but recently the runs have become easier and I have felt really good. When I got finished I had hardly broke a sweat and my confidence was shooting through the roof.

THURSDAY:  I did a light work out in my house. I worked on my arms and abs thinking I would need to have them in shape for the upcoming race on Saturday, the Battle Frog Race Series. A obstacle race designed by the navy seals.

FRIDAY:  I used this day as a complete rest day. Having ran an obstacle race last week I knew I would want to be rested as much as I could for the race in the morning.  I spent the night picking out my outfit and packing a change of clothes.

SATURDAY:  BATTLE FROG RACE: I will have a recap later in the week on the race.  I was originally signed up for a 15K but decided to drop down to the 5K.  With Columbus right around the corner I didn't want to take a chance of getting hurt. However the 5K was more like a 5 miler.  I was put to the test both physically and mentally.  One thing I will say about this race was it taught me that sometimes you are faced with a challenge.  Sometimes you will want to give up and coward away. If you tell yourself you can over come the obstacle presented in front of you and you start to believe it, you can push yourself beyond your expectations.  I will use this in Columbus. When I am tired I will tell myself I can get through it. When I get weak I will tell myself I can overcome it.


SUNDAY:  TODAY:  I don't think I have ever been this sore in my life. The Battle Frog kicked my ass.  Needless to say I used today as a rest day.  I sure need it because my knees are cut up and bruised and my legs feel like they were kicked from a horse.

Next week I will start to slowly build up the mileage, and I will do my last long run.  It's a little out of the norm for most peoples way of doing a taper, but I have a method behind my madness.

Taper Time!!!!

    With the Columbus Marathon being now 4 weeks away I have started to taper.  I do my taper different than most people. At five weeks out I will start a 2 week taper.  I cut back almost to no running or very little running at all then I will use my next 2 weeks of doing medium range runs with one more long run thrown in. My last week is mostly short runs with a lot of cross training and stretching.  This may not be normal way to most people, but this is what I have come accustomed to and I feel it works best for me.  The only hard part is the 2 weeks in which I do very little running.  My mind says get out and run Shaun but I know I have to give my body some rest.  I am very cranky these 2 weeks.

So this is how training went this week.

MONDAY:  Since I was just coming off of a half marathon, I decided to rest this day.  Normally a long run has very little effect on me the following day, but I had not ran as fast as I did last Sunday in my half for a while.  Needless to say I was a little sore, but for the most part felt really good for having just ran a half marathon.

TUESDAY: I did a short 4 mile run at 8:30 pace.  I felt really good and my body showed no signs of fatigue from the half on Sunday.

WEDNESDAY: I had Pirate tickets so this was also a rest day.  This is where the cranky comes out.  I was happy to be going to the Pirate game, but I feel like I should of some how figured out a way to run even though I am tapering.  I need to work on telling myself it's okay not to run during the taper weeks.

THURSDAY: I ran 7 miles at 8:20 pace. When I returned home I did an arm and Ab workout.  Overall felt really good for the day.

FRIDAY: After work I went to Dave N' Busters to pick up my race packet for the Gladiator Run I was doing on Saturday.  I also was going out to dinner that night so this was another rest day. 

SATURDAY:  GLADIATOR RUN- I ran my first obstacle race ever.  It was a 5K with 17 obstacles. I ran it with my friend Tom @tmcjr412 who has already ran the tough mudder. It was good because he was able to tell me what to expect.  It was a great experience and I had a blast. I will be writing a recap of the race later this week.     Let me just say a 5K with obstacles is hard and I know this did nothing but benefit my training. I used muscles I never knew I had.  

SUNDAY:  Today I will be doing a cross training day.  I plan on doing a mix of workouts to work out a few body parts. It will be hard since I am very sore from yesterday.

Next week I plan on doing a few more runs in the week.  Nothing to crazy or high until Saturday when I take on the Battle Frog Race.  A 15K obstacle race.  I was nervous at first, but now I am actually excited and looking forward to doing it.  

Until next time friends, run strong!!!!

5 Weeks Until Columbus

      The nights are getting darker earlier. The leaves have begun falling from trees. The weather is starting to change.  Fall looks like it wanted to show up a bit earlier than it should, but with all that also comes the Columbus Marathon.  We are now 5 weeks out and this week was going to be a great gauge of where I was at in my training.

MONDAY: I ran 7 miles at a 9 minute pace.  Followed by doing some pull ups at the park.  This Saturday is the Gladiator Rock n' Run and I still want to make sure that I am ready for the obstacles that will take strength.  Overall I felt pretty good, but I kept asking myself how will I be able to run 9 miles and do obstacles in 2 weeks when I tackle the Battle Frog Race.  I would be lying to you if I told you I wasn't nervous.

TUESDAY: I went to the gym and did a complete body workout. Normally I would focus on one body part a day, but I need to put my body through some torture so I am ready for the obstacle courses. I came home and felt like I was the piece of meat Rocky Balboa beat up on.

WEDNESDAY: I got out of work a bit early so I decided this would be a good day to do a little longer run than normal.  I did a nice 10 miler at 8:40 pace.  I felt good for most of the run except my shins were a bit sore early in the run.  Luckily the pain dissipated and it didn't have any lasting effect on my run.  When I got home I did some push ups and crunches.

THURSDAY:  I decided to use this day as a gym day again. Normally I would run Thursday and Friday, but I figured with a half marathon on Sunday I would only run one of them.  Once again I did a full body workout.  I felt better than I did on Tuesday, but I was still beat.  The one good thing though is strength with help with my running.

FRIDAY:  I wanted to make sure I was on point with keeping my pace, so I just did 4 miles, but the point was to hit exactly 8 minute miles.  I did really well and was only off by a second or 2 for most miles. One thing I noticed was my hips were sore when I was running.

SATURDAY:  Since we weren't heading to Erie until around 3 I decided to wake up and head to the gym.  I did a very light workout mainly focusing on my hips with some core workouts thrown in.

SUNDAY:  I ran the Erie Half Marathon in the time of 1:46:34.  I will write a full recap of the race later this week.  I felt really good most of the race and only had some shin pains early in the race.  I did not set out with a time to finish this in.  I figured with Columbus being in 5 weeks my goal was to just run a smart race. I basically did everything I set out to do, and I am confident in what I can do for Columbus.

This week I am going to work on getting more long runs in and worry less about the gym.  I will still do some lifting and things, but it will be done mostly at home after my runs.  Like I said before these obstacle races are a different thing to do and I am excited to try them, but Columbus is the main goal.

When and how far is your next race?

6 Weeks Till Columbus

This week is the start of my fall "big" races.  On Sunday the 14th I will be up in Erie Pa. to run a half marathon.  I am going into this race with 2 goals: 1. Run about 90 percent of my marathon pace and see where my body is.  I have done the long runs and I feel good after my long runs, but as a lot of us know when you get into a race your adrenaline will take over and you go faster than you practiced for.  2. I am going to work on the hydration aspect of the race.  I am going to act like I am running a full marathon and make sure I take water more often than not.  I have no set time I am looking to get, I am just focusing on running a smart, good race.

MONDAY:  I ran 10 miles with a break at about mile 4.  I ran my first 4 miles to a near by park and once I was there I did some obstacle training. Monkey bars, climbing a rope, and pull ups.  Then I ran another 6 miles to finish up the run.  I have to say I am overly excited for these obstacle races coming up in the next 3 weeks. I still need to do as much upper body training as I can though.  I can see this is going to be harder than I thought.

TUESDAY:  Went to the gym and did a 4 mile tempo run... I ran my first mile at 8:30 pace on the treadmill then dropped to a 8:00 pace for mile 2 and 3. I finished the fourth mile with a 8:30 pace.  I felt really good for running a treadmill which normally gives my shins problems.  I ended the gym with a back and shoulder workout that beat the shit out of me.

WEDNESDAY:  I planned on a 8 mile run at race pace.  Everything was going great until I got to mile 3 when I ran by a friends house and she saw me. She stopped me and asked if I would look at her lawn mower for her. "Sure why not, it's not like I am doing anything at this moment." So I spent about a half hour fixing a mower mid run. Once I get out of my mind set for running it is hard to get back in it, so I came home and went to the gym and lifted for about an hour.

THURSDAY:  I was super excited because football season finally started this day.  I came home from work and quickly got changed and headed out for a 7 mile run. I ran probably one of my fastest 7 mile training runs all year.  I honestly think it was because I wanted to get home and be showered before the start of kickoff.  I felt great though after the run and I am starting to get more confidence in myself.

FRIDAY: I used this day as a rest day and just did some stretching. Even if I am going to take a rest day I still want to stay loose for all these races coming up.  Plus at the ripe age of 35 I know my body isn't what it use to be and doing obstacles are going to be a challenge if I am not in some type of shape.

SATURDAY: LONG SLOW RUN:  That is exactly what it was a nice long slow run.  I finished just short of 20 miles. My legs were sore a bit, but for the most part I felt good.  I didn't want to push it to hard since I have that half this week, but I wanted to still log some miles.  I dropped my pace down to around 10 minutes to make sure I didn't overwork myself.

SUNDAY: TODAY:  I plan on watching the Steeler game. So if your a Browns fan today, I dislike you.  Once the game is over I am taking the dog to the park that has one of those old style obstacle courses.  You know that ones that are numbered and you are supposed to run to each one and then do the workout.  I figure anyway that will help me gain some strength is a good thing.

This week I plan on doing most of my runs early in the week then tapering off a few days before the race. I also plan on hitting the gym hard again this week.

Have you ever had someone stop you mid run to talk or ask you something?  Does it annoy you as much as it does for me?

A MIXED BAG OF TRAINING

     Let's just call this week training for a mixed bag of races.  The Erie Half Marathon is 2 weeks away. The Battle Frog Race is 4 weeks away, and the Columbus Marathon is 7 weeks away.  Luckily while training for Columbus I basically was training for Erie. In fact the Erie race will be a nice little gauge of where I am just a few weeks out.  The Battle Frog Race is something new to me and I just found out I would be doing it on Wednesday so I have just begun my training for that, which in this post you will see I am out of my element as of right now.

MONDAY:  So if you read my post on last Sunday, you know I was nursing a shoulder/neck injury.  When I woke up Monday I felt pretty good and decided running after work would be my true test to see how I really felt.  I wanted to push it a little hard and see how it felt so I did 10 miles at a medium pace.  I finished just a bit over 1 hour and 30 minutes on a course that can be challenging.  I felt good mentally and physically. My neck and shoulder help up for the most part, there was times when it would get sore.  This actually helped because I would focus on that and forget about running all together and it made the time go by quickly.

TUESDAY: One thing I noticed during my 10 mile run was my hips were a bit sore when I was finished so I wanted to do some cross training and work on them.  I did a leg workout at the gym, followed by an Ab workout.

WEDNESDAY:  This was an exciting day for me. I was contacted by the Battle Frog Race Series and it was confirmed that I will be running their 15K Obstacle Race September 27th.  It is a day before the Great Race so it looks like I will be selling my entry.  Normally I would be pissed about missing a race but I get to do the BattleFrog for free and have the perks of media. Pays to blog people.  Now I know I can run 9 miles no problem but the obstacles will be the challenge for me.  I have made it known that I will not deviate from Columbus training so on this day I did a 7 mile tempo run.  My legs were sore from the workout yesterday but I pushed through and still managed to get a decent time.
I am still pushing for someone, anyone to do this race with me.  It may be a little pricey but the medal is nice, and all funds go to a great cause.

THURSDAY:  The more I thought about the Battle Frog race the more I started to question the physical aspect of the race.  Now I am ready for Erie so that is not even a concern, but Columbus means a lot to me.  I redesigned my training program and will throw in 2 days of cross training instead of 1.  I will just make my runs more productive from here on out.  No more junk miles as people would call them.  I headed to the gym again and did a arm workout followed by a core workout.

FRIDAY:  With Erie only 2 weeks away I wanted to get in at least one more really good speed workout.  I headed to the track and did an hour of all different things.  200's, 400's, 100's, 1600's, and I even did some speed work on a hill.  I felt really good, and I even walked away thinking the old Shaun is starting to come back.  I am now excited to see what I can do in Erie.

SATURDAY:  Lets just call this day an eye opening experience.  I woke up and set out on a 18 mile run.  The weather was perfect, overcast and a nice little breeze.  I felt really good for most of the run and I was really paying attention to when I take water.  My lungs felt really good and I had no trouble breathing through out the run. My legs did start to ache towards the end and once again my hips seem to be at the center of the pain.  When I got home all I wanted to do was lay down, but after talking to my cousin Chris my plans changed.  Chris informed me he and his wife would be taking their daughter to the park.  Normally I would make fun of him for going to the park, but on this day I invited myself to go.  I figured what does a park have that I need? The answer my friends is monkey bars. I mean if I am going to train for an obstacle race why not train on things that will be on the course. So if you drive by a park and see a 35 year old man playing with kids, don't call the cops that's just me training.   Anyway, as I am at the park my cousin is coaching me along this climbing/hanging thingy we will call it.   Now let me first say, I always was the athletic type. I have played sports probably from the time I could walk, so I just assumed I still have it.  Ya, I was wrong.  As I am hanging from this thing trying to get across (which I did) this little girl comes over and goes across this thing like it was easy as can be.  This is the point I realized I am out of my element.  So I am going to still train my normal way for Columbus, but I will throw some after run activities in to help build strength.  Like I said I live for a challenge and this is just what I need, plus this will actually benefit me for Columbus.  A stronger, leaner body will only help.

SUNDAY:  Normally I would call this my rest day, but with all these races I have decided to skip the rest day once in a while.  I headed to the gym early and did some shoulder and back workouts. Once again this helps for all the races.  The rest of this day will be spend doing Fantasy Football Drafts.  I have 2 today.  One live one and one online.  I look forward to this day like it's Christmas.

All these races have me very excited, but I have my eyes set on Columbus.  The other 2 races are ways to help me along the way..

Do you have any fall races coming up, and how is the training going for you?

8 WEEKS Till Columbus

    8 weeks left. Every time I say it I can't believe how fast time is going.  It seemed like yesterday I just started training for this race.  As of right now I believe I am going into this race in the best shape of my training and mentally more prepared than I have ever been.    This week had some high points and some very low points.

MONDAY:  As I was leaving work I noticed that my neck was bothering me.  Normally I would of used this day to just rest, but since I missed my long run from the week before I was in make up mode.  I headed out on my long run when I returned home from work and noticed my back and neck were going to hurt most of the run.  I pulled back and ran a very slow 15 miles.  The upside is I still got in the miles. The downside is my neck and back were in excruciating pain. Before bed I took a muscle relaxer and a pain pill to see if that would help.  It did help me sleep through the night but the pain was worse when I woke up on Tuesday morning.

TUESDAY:  After dealing with the pain all day at work I decided to go straight to the chiropractor and have him look at my back and neck.  When I arrived they took me in a room for a massage. This is the standard procedure here.  Now somewhere in the room there must of been some miss-communication, because what I said to the lady was:  "It hurts very bad and when I move my neck side to side the pain shoots down my back"   What she must of heard was "treat me like a rag doll and act like we are wrestling, the more pain you put me through the better I will feel."  This lady was dropping elbows on me like she was Hulk Hogan.  At one point I thought to myself do I tell her to stop or is this normal and I am just being a wimp. I still don't know the answer, but I can assure you this, next time it happens I am just saying pass on the massage.  The rest of the visit felt a lot better but when I left I didn't feel to much better.

WEDNESDAY:  As much pain as I was in I still decided to take a 6 mile run.  I actually loosened up on the run and was in very little pain.  My time was 51 minutes.  Unfortunately after the run when I was home the pain quickly came back and I was having trouble moving my neck at all.

THURSDAY:  Since the pain seemed to subside when I ran Wednesday I decided to run a 4 mile tempo run.  Once again the pain wasn't bad when I ran, but when I finished the pain was back and in full force.  I tried using a heating pad at night, but it didn't do much.

FRIDAY:  I decided to not run at all this day since Saturday I was running the Run Around The Square 5K.  I did do some light stretches that I thought would help my neck.  The pain wasn't to bad, but it was still there.

SATURDAY:  RUN AROUND THE SQUARE:  I will have a full recap of my race on Thursday for you.  When I woke up I felt pretty good and the pain wasn't to bad.  After I warmed up for a bit I felt really loose and was excited to see what I could do on the hard course.  It was humid that morning and I was sweating just from warm up and stretching.  I ended up running a time of 23:27. my pace was 7:23 per mile.  This is the pace I will need to be around for the Columbus Marathon if I want to get to Boston.  Here is the weird thing about this race.  I felt awesome the whole race. I held back a bit because I was afraid the trail would be slippery and I didn't want to risk falling and getting hurt.  I expected my time to be better, but with the humidity and hills I can understand why it was what it was.

SUNDAY:  Today is my wife's and I first anniversary. I was planning on not running anyway today since I have decided to go and get X-rays tomorrow after work about my neck and back.  I pray it is just a pinched nerve.  I will say this, It will take a lot more than this shit to hold me down.  So this week is going to have a long run to make up for this weekend, but I will stay on track.  Here are a few pictures of my wedding last year.

*Before I get to the pictures, please take the time to look at my 24 hour fund raiser page on my blog.  It is for a great cause and any donations help.

9 Weeks Till Columbus

     The countdown is still going strong for Columbus. We are now 9 weeks away. This week I wanted to up my mileage on my weekday runs as well as my long weekend run.

MONDAY:  Shitty weather made me go to the gym. I decided to run 3 miles on the treadmill and do negative splits. I ended up with a time of 22.30.  After running I decided to hit the weights and do some chest exercises and some light AB workouts.

TUESDAY: I ran just a little over 7 miles at a medium pace.  I was starting to get some shin splints so I didn't want to push it to hard. After my run my shins were still sore so I tried some different stretches and some foam rolling.  I was still happy though that I got to put in the good mileage.

WEDNESDAY: I decided to step back just a bit from Tuesday and only go for 5 miles. My shins were still sore even after sleeping with my compression socks on.  The legs felt pretty good but about half way through the run I got hit hard with the bubble guts.  No toilet was in sight and I started to get the feeling this could finally be the time I have an accident while running.  I am happy to report I made it back to my car safe and sound.

THURSDAY:  I took this day off and decided to just throw on the compression socks and try to get my shins back to normal.  My shins are known to give me a problem here and there, but nothing thankfully has ever been really severe.

FRIDAY: I ran 5 miles at race pace.  If I want to qualify for Boston I am going to need to hold a pace of 7:30ish.  I felt really good for the 5 miles, but one thing I have noticed that I have problems with is that I have trouble finding my race pace during training.  In a race I can run a 6 minute mile and feel like I am running a 8 minute mile.  In training though I run a 7 minute mile and I am ready to die.  Hopefully come race day I get in race mode and don't over think the pace.

SATURDAY: Normally this is my long run day.  My wife asked me if I would come with her to Ligonier Pa and help set up a cake and a dessert table for a wedding she did.  Her boss also said since our anniversary is next week she would pay for us to stay in a bed and breakfast. This meant no long run, but i was excited to stay in a B&B since I never had.  What a great experience. The place was so cozy and the woman who ran the place was so nice and made our stay so enjoyable.  Unfortunately most of the shops were closed so we just grabbed some food at a local restaurant.  After we grabbed some wine and just hung out in our room.  The place was called the Colonial House and I highly recommend it to anyone that just wants to get away for the weekend.

     SUNDAY: By the time we got home today I had about an hour and a half to get in a run.  We were going to a birthday party, so this meant no long run again.  I did however manage to get a quick 6 miles in.  This week my wife will be working late everyday, so I will do my long run tomorrow and get back on track.  

This Saturday is the Run around the square and I hope to see a lot of my twitter friends there.  If you are running lets have a beer together after the race.

Also I am hoping to have a pretty exciting announcement this week at some point.  Just waiting to hear some things and then I will be able to discuss.

Also need to throw out a huge congrats to Stephanie @SWattenbarg for getting her BQ today. She put in the work and deserves this.

Columbus Training Week 7

10 WEEKS UNTIL THE COLUMBUS MARATHON!!!!

That's right only 10 more weeks until the Columbus Marathon.  This week my plan was take an extra rest day and conserve some energy for my long run.  I was planning on a 15 miler for Saturday, but I was also using the other week days to bump up the mileage as well.  Lets just say this week didn't go quit as planned but I walked away happy. And I mean that in 2 ways which you will see shortly.

MONDAY: Normally I would run 4-5 miles on Monday and work on my form. This day I did 6.5 miles in the heat and humidity and still worked on my form.  I ended with a pace of 8:50 per mile.  My form is starting to come together and I have really learned a lot about what works for my body this time around with training.  I plan on continuing the form day as I call it through out training.  I have definitely added some length to my stride and I seem to be using less energy than before.

TUESDAY:  This was my first rest day.  Me and my wife went to THE YARD in Shadyside to eat dinner.  If you like gourmet grilled cheese this is the place for you.  I had a grilled cheese with chicken and some kind of barbecue sauce. It was unreal, so good in fact that sandwich was off the plate and in my stomach before my wife was on her 3rd bite.

WEDNESDAY: This day I planned for a 8 mile run. As I was running I come to an intersection with a car. I stopped and waved the car on. The car didn't go, so I waved again. The car still didn't go, so I started to cross the intersection.  As soon as I got in the middle of this assholes hood he or she ( the windows were so tinted I honestly couldn't see the driver) decides to floor it. The car hit my hip and I quickly threw my hands hard on the hood and kicked my legs to the side and safely landed on my feet.  The asshole floors it again and takes off.  I was so pissed I forgot to look at the license plate. I did call the cops and give the description of the car, and with some help from my friends I was able to locate the car and take down the license plate.  After the incident I was so pissed that I couldn't get into my run. I only made it 4 miles and had to call it quits.  Either I really pissed someone off and they wanted to hurt me, which is highly unlikely since I don't have any enemies that I am aware of. It probably was a person just not paying attention and didn't look and got scared and drove off.  My third theory is my wife got a new car and didn't tell me.  This one still remains a mystery.

THURSDAY: After the incident on Wednesday I figured go to the track, at least there no one will try to hit me with their car.  Since I have a 5K coming up in 2 weeks I wanted to work on my speed for the shorter race. This will still be good for the marathon though.  I did ten 200 meter repeats with a 200 meter slow jog in between.  I also did a mile warm up and a mile cool down. I have always been fast but I can tell I have lost a step over the years.  Now that I am really focusing on my speed this training I can see that I am starting to get back to where I was years ago. I don't think I will ever get to the point I was 10 years ago, but I may be able to come close.

FRIDAY: Rest day number 2  Knowing Saturday is my long run day I wanted to have fresh legs for the 15 miles I had planned.

SATURDAY: I set out for a slow 15 miles.  As I was running I started to plan my course.  The goal was to do my normal course and add some miles on backstreets here and there.  As I got to mile 5 I was out of water and wanted more.  I knew in 2 miles I would run by Tru Runner and they usually have water set up outside.  On this day they did not for some reason.  I knew there was a park about 3 miles away that had a fountain and I decided to change up the course and head for the park.  This was great because I knew they had water and I was starting to really need it.  The problem was it threw in a shitload of hills. After I got my water I was in Frick Park and decided to hit the trail for 2 miles.  After I came out of the trails I stopped my watch.  I decided to walk back to where my car was since it was basically 1.5 miles straight up some big hills.  I could of ran it, but I think it would of beat me pretty good. So i ended with a 12 mile run and a 1.5 mile fast paced walk.  I will say even though I didn't go for the 15 planned I am happy with the 12. It was a brutal course and my legs felt really good later in the day.

SUNDAY: Cross training at home. A lot of ab workouts and some light arm workout.

The goal for this week coming up is to continue to increase the miles while not getting hit by cars.

    I know this goes off the beat and path from running but I wanted to share a neat little thing I am doing.  My cousin @mikesmithwriter wrote about music on his blog and made a little challenge. You find another person and for 20 days you take turns sending a link to your top 10 favorite songs that inspire or motivate you.  Me and my cousin Katie are currently doing this with each other, and even though we are family just after a few days we started to notice things about each other and our taste of music.  I guess you can really tell a lot about a person from the little things.  I want to do this with someone who isn't family so if anyone is down for a neat little thing let me know.

Columbus Training Week 6: Plus a Liberty Mile

      Another week has gone by and I am another week closer to the Columbus Marathon.  This weeks training was a little altered due to the Liberty Ave. Mile. 

MONDAY:  I ran 5 miles at 8:03 pace. I did a course that was fairly easy with only a few hills. I once again was working on form and stride.

TUESDAY: I decided on a harder course and ran 6 miles.  I finished with a pace of 8:30. One thing I noticed this day was when I started I felt as if it was going to be a really bad day. My legs were tight and my head just wasn't into the run.  I thought I was moving so slow.  When I finished and looked down at my Garmin I was pleasantly surprised to see I ran it in a decent time. I also picked up speed through out the whole run.

WEDNESDAY: SPEED WORKOUT:  I am not sure what got into me this day but I felt unstoppable on the track.  I was doing 800 meter repeats with a one lap walk in between.  My average time was a 2:35 and I ended up doing 5 of them before switching into 400 meter repeats. My average time on these was a 1:15.  I ended up doing 5 of them.  I finished the workout with 3 600 meter repeats at a sprint speed.  When I finished I felt like I could do so much more, but the sun was setting and I had already spent a good amount of time on the track so I decided to call it quits.

THURSDAY: With the Liberty Mile the next day I decided to go to the gym and cross train rather than kill my legs.  I rode the bike for 3 miles followed by some AB workouts and some machines that work on your hips. 

FRIDAY: THE LIBERTY MILE: I finished work at 4:30 and decided to I would go meet my cousin Chris (@chrismith6944) at his work since we both work right near downtown.  We walked into town and sat around for a half hour or so going over the course.  We both noticed that the start on Penn Avenue would be a slight up hill for the first half. Nothing major but for someone who was inexperienced this could screw them up.  This was Chris's first time running a mile race.  I told him take it out at a pace he was used to and then once he got around the half way point see what he had left and explode.  He wanted to run under 9 minutes. He also wanted to be the person who didn't eat shit as he put it (falling down while running).  At around 5:30 we walked over to Market Square to check out what was going on and too pick up our friend Anna's packet to save her some time.  While there we ran into Jennifer and her husband Dave. It was finally nice to meet them both and they are really cool people.  We also ran into Chelsea and all were going over our goal times.  It seemed like they were all going for right around the same time.  After meeting Anna we headed to the start to do some stretching and warming up. We ended up also taking some pictures at the start and running into everyone again.  I said my goodbye and headed to the front of the race.  I was shooting for a sub 6 minute mile.  When the gun sounded I took off and felt really comfortable. I tried to keep my head down and not look at who was around me. I was also trying not to look at the turn around.  From the start you could see the turn around and it didn't look far but in reality it was a half mile away.  Once you made the turn onto Liberty you could see the finish, but it too was a half mile away. I was afraid I would look up and start running too fast too early.  When I came up on the finish I intended to start my kick with around 200 meters left.  For some reason when I came up on the 200 meter sign I psyched myself out saying it was too far to start sprinting and held back until 100 meters.  I always kick with 200 meters left on a track so I am not sure why this threw me off.  I crossed the line in 6:01 and some change.  I finished 22nd in our race and 4th in my age group.  As I made my way to grab some water I watched everyone else cross the line. Chris came across in 7:58 and Anna in 8:15.  Everyone beat the times they set out for.  Well everyone but me, but I am fine with that. I would much rather watch other people succeed over me any day. We once again met Jennifer and Dave at the finish and we all looked like death.  Coughing, breathing funny, and some of us looked like we ran a marathon rather than a mile race. 

   This race is always one of my favorites and I am already looking forward to running it next year.  Next year I am going to put in a little more speed workout just for the mile and really try to see what I can do.  This is one race if you live in Pittsburgh or are in the area you need to do.  The crowd is awesome and it seemed like all the runners were trying to help motivate each other and feed off one another.  It was truly a great time!


SATURDAY: When I woke up my legs were in some pain. I was having leg spasm's all night and I wasn't sure how my legs were going to hold up during my run that day.  I met my friend @jstepsrun for a run.  She said she could do around 7 miles, so I decided to take her on my 7 mile hill course as I like to call it.  It is a challenging course, but if you can run it then you can do any 7 mile course.  We went out slow and slowly picked up the pace.  She did awesome keeping up and I may have fucked with her breathing by talking to her.  What can I say I like to bullshit when I run with people, makes the time go quicker.  I am looking forward to running with her again next time she is in Pittsburgh and maybe @donniebrunnin will be able to join us as well.   I planned on going back out to do some more miles later in the day but the spasm's started back up so I decided to take it easy.

SUNDAY: Today me and my wife are driving to Erie to take her friend out who lost a family member out to lunch. Some times there are more important things in life than running.  If I get home early enough I will do some core workout in my house. If it is too late then I am okay with missing a day and using it as a rest day.  There is always tomorrow!!!!

How did you do at the Liberty Mile?
How is your training for fall races coming along?

Columbus Training: Week 5

     Like most normal marathon trainings I have done, I am finding once you start the training the weeks start to fly by.  I am already in my fifth week of training and I can not believe how quickly this race is approaching.  Last week I ended with 29 miles and the goal for this week was to get somewhere around 33 or so.  Lets see how I did......

MONDAY: I did 5 miles at a 8:30 pace.  It seems like I have adapted Mondays as my day to work on form. I am gaining some time and my times seems to have picked up with less energy being used. However I am still far from perfecting this.  I noticed when I run up hills I revert back to my old form.  Being short for a distant runner I have always struggled with my stride. I have what is known as quick feet.  I take short strides but can go at a much faster speed than most people.  I have said before in a sprint there is very few distant runners that can beat me.  It's a curse, if a race comes down to a sprint I feel I have an advantage. On the other side though, it takes me double the effort to go the distance as a person with a 5 foot stride.  When I start to tire on runs I forget about the form and soon start taking short steps.  I will perfect this over time!!

TUESDAY: I was at work and I debated all day whether or not I should run with the heat and humidity being so high.  I even tweeted "tonight's running forecast calls for sweaty balls and a drenched tank top." After going back and forth I decided to take on the weather and run outside. I even threw caution to the wind and decided on a tempo run. If I was going to push it the limit what a better way. I did 4.5 miles and I was really happy with the results. My first mile was a 8:45. My second and third mile I dropped down to a 7:15 and finished with my last 1.5 miles at a 8:35 pace.  I was actually surprised with how good I felt after the run.  They say fall PR's are done by running through the heat of the summer. I am hoping I can bring some truth to that statement.

WEDNESDAY: I ran 6 miles at a 8:35 pace. One thing I did with this run was I chose a course that was very hilly.  There was very little flat land on this course.  My legs were screaming when I finished, but I really challenged myself with the run and look forward to adding some miles onto the course and making it harder.

THURSDAY:  I used this day as my rest day, I desperately needed this too.  My shins were starting to get sore and I was afraid of the dreaded shin splints.  When I went to bed that evening I put on my Zensah Compression calf socks and when I woke up I felt a lot better. 

FRIDAY: I didn't want to go for a real long this day because I knew I would be running a 5K race on Saturday morning and wanted fresh legs.  I did 4 miles at a 9:00 pace. 

SATURDAY: When I woke up I debated on running the Turtle Trot 5K, but after talking to my friend Anna I decided I would run it.  Since the race was only a mile from my house I decided to jog down to register as a warm up.  It noticed the humidity drastically increased from my jog down to the start of the race. My goal was run somewhere in the 21 or 22 minute mark.  I ended up with 23:32, I was unhappy but I quickly realized the humidity affected a lot of the runners and I still took 2nd in my age group.  One nice thing was the course was all flat with just one small upgrade.  The winning time was 14:34, so you can see just how fast the course was.  I will post a recap of the race on Thursday.  If you live in Pittsburgh and want a fast course I highly recommend you add this to your list next year.  The competition was very good and it is a well organized race.  Instead of running home I decided to just catch a ride with my friend Anna.  The heat beat me down and I was ready to go home and rest.  I still managed to get 4.5 miles in with the jog down and the 5K race.

SUNDAY:  Today I am planning on doing my long run of 12 miles however the weather looks like it may be throwing a monkey wrench in my plans. If I can not get my run in outside I will go to the gym and do a little less and add some strength training in as well.  No matter what I will run at least 6 miles though.

Total Mileage for the week: 24 plus whatever I do today.  Not bad but I am disappointed I didn't get my real long run on the rode.

Next week: goal is to be around 38 miles for the week.  Also the Liberty Avenue Mile is Friday night and I am excited to see some of my twitter friends at the start.  If you are there look out for me, I will be wearing the outfit I have in the picture above.  I am shooting for around a 5:30 mile.

If you are training for a fall race how is your training going?
Does the heat and humidity affect your runs?

Columbus Training Week 4: time to amp up training!!!

      This week I went into my training knowing I had to get back into a good routine.  The last few weeks I have been out of my routine due to different events.  I have been pretty good about still working around the events and logging my miles, but I still like to get into a set rhythm in which I know what each day holds. With this being week 4 of Columbus Marathon training I also wanted to amp up the training a bit.

MONDAY: I ran 4 miles at a 8:40 pace.  I wanted to work on my stride again since I still haven't perfected making it longer.  I felt really good though and I am starting to see some improvements on my stride, all though it is still a work in progress.

TUESDAY: I ran 6 miles at a 8:35 pace.  I started out feeling really good on this run then around the 4th mile I noticed my hamstrings were in a lot of pain.  It felt as though if they had been over worked. It was weird because I haven't done to much to tire them out.  I struggled for my last 2 miles, but I didn't give up and I finished.  I was not happy with the run because I wanted to finish at an even 8 minute mile pace, but the positive was I kept moving and finished. 

WEDNESDAY: The dreaded speed workout day!!!  I went to the track and ran 4 mile intervals, walking a lap after each mile.  My goal was to set my fist mile at race pace and then drop a few seconds on the following 3 miles.  Mile 1- 7:25, I figure this is somewhere right around the pace I will need to qualify for Boston.    Mile 2-  7:10, I actually was starting to feel better the more I ran, I could feel my legs loosing up and my breathing was under control still.  Mile 3- 6:58,  I noticed on this mile that I have the tendency to hold back on my early laps and try to pick up speed on the final 2.  Mile 4- 6:30, I kept a solid pace the whole 4 laps and when I finished I still had a lot in the tank.  My speed workout days used to be what I dreaded the most and now I look forward to them because I am starting to see a payoff from it. 

THURSDAY: I ran 5 miles. The goal was to run it at race pace and finish around 36 minutes.  This did not happen. Instead I went faster than race pace and finished in 34 minutes.  I felt really good and had no pains in my body at all.  I honestly think the cross training and the speed workouts are really playing a huge role in my progression.  After the Pittsburgh Marathon I really started to focus on my body more. I eat better, I lift more, and I do push myself on speed workouts. All things I didn't do as much as I should in previous training.

FRIDAY: I knew going into this week that I would have to use this day as a rest day.  Since I entered the 48 hour film competition, I knew I would have to go to the viewing this night.  There were 10 teams in my group and I honestly think we had the second or third best movie in the group.  We also brought about 40 people with us and those votes will really help make us look better. We should know in the next day or 2 who gets invited back for the final 12 to be judged and a chance to win awards.  Later this week I will post the link so you can enjoy the whole 7 minute film. 

SATURDAY: When I woke up and looked out the window I saw the rain and immediately thought, "this is going to suck!." I had to drop my car off for inspection and had no other way home so I knew I was still running.  Once I start running in the rain I always find myself enjoying it more than any other run.  Maybe because it takes me back to the days when it would rain and I would make paper boats to throw in the stream as it rushed down the street.  As much as I dread it at first I always have my best runs in the rain.  I set out for a 10 mile run on a very hilly and challenging course.  I normally bring my ipod for music on long runs, but I didn't want to ruin it so I went naked ( no music).  People may have drove by and thought I was crazy for not only running in the rain but talking to myself as well. I found myself yelling at a hill as I went up it and then repeating out loud "no one is going to do it for you Shaun, this is all you." I was drenched after my run, but I felt really good and ran a nice pace.

SUNDAY: (TODAY)- I will do my cross training.  AB workout with some chest workout thrown in as well.  I am just about finished with my 30 day AB challenge. I had to stretch it a few days because I missed some here and there.  I don't see a visual change but I can feel a change. I am able to do more crunches and I can hold a plank longer. Instead of just saying, oh well I did the challenge, I am finished. I think I will continue to do an AB workout daily to help with my overall core.

Total miles for the week = 29
Next week I am hoping to end somewhere around 33-35 

*Any Pittsburgh runners that are planning on running Run Around the Square in August I suggest registering if you haven't yet.  I heard that they are getting close to selling out.  If you haven't ran this I suggest you do.  It's hands down probably one of the best local races in Pittsburgh, plus they have a lot of beer at the finish line for you!!!!!

*Also the Liberty Mile is less than 2 weeks away and the elite runners coming are very good as usual. This may be one of my favorite races of the year. I am only doing the fun run because I didn't feel like going to the heats to get into the under 6 minute mile race.  Plus I like to get done early and watch the other races. 

How is your training coming for upcoming races?

Columbus Training Week 2

    I headed into week 2 of training for Columbus with the mind set, nothing is going to stop me.  All week during training I kept that positive attitude and it really paid off for me. Last week I ended with 20 miles for the week. This week I wanted to end up with like 22 or so.

MONDAY: Did 4 miles at a 9 min. pace.  This was the first time I wore my new Mizuno shoes. After the run I can say I am very pleased with them.

TUESDAY: I did 3 miles on the track. I would sprint the straight away and jog the turns.  I struggled with this, for some reason my right hip was giving me a problem. I think I need to go to the chiropractor and get adjusted a few times a month just to be safe. I usually can tell when my problem is coming from my back and I am pretty sure this is a side affect of that.

WEDNESDAY: REST DAY/ MOVIE NIGHT

THURSDAY: After work I was unable to run because me and my wife had to go somewhere. When I got home it was to later to run so I decided to just be angry that I missed my workout. I knew it would be hard to make up. Thank god its early in the training.

FRIDAY: Woke up early and ran a little over 6 miles.  Man did I feel good. I ran a new course downtown and I felt really good for the entire run.  I actually was mad that I didn't just keep going and see how far I could of went that day.


SATURDAY: Normally I would go for at least 10 miles for my long run. I had yet another wedding to get ready for so I knew going real long was going to be hard. I was able to get 7 miles in though. I was happy because I finally got to use my new water bottle.  I don't know how I managed to do long runs without one in the past.  It was so nice to not have to worry about dehydrating myself.

SUNDAY (TODAY): I went to the gym and rode the bike for 6 miles, followed by some circuit training.  I am sore and hurting but I just keep telling myself this is all worth it.

So for the week I ended up with 20 again.  Not what I wanted but I felt really good with my runs and I can see improvements. This week looks like I will be able to get in more runs and hopefully I keep feeling this good. 

     I know that going to Columbus and getting my Boston qualifying time is going to be hard. I know the training has to be amped up. I also know that their are people that don't think I can do it.  Listen there are always going to be people that doubt what you can do.  Don't ever let someone tell you can't do something. Whether it be in running, work, school, or life if you want something go get it. Stop at nothing until you accomplish your goals.  Weak minded people always want to pull people down to their level. Be stronger than them.
     
     You may fail 9 times out of 10 but if you never give up and keep pushing forward you will get that 1 time and make it all worth it.
     I will be honest I may not get my BQ but hopefully as you follow me on this journey you will see that I am dedicated and doing everything in my power to get there.  If I fall I will pick myself up.  I believe if I stay focused and keep pushing myself the card will fall into place.
     I hope you too can look at yourself in the mirror and see a person that is willing to give it their all to overcome the obstacles we face. 
     Believe in yourself, because I believe in you!!!!!!

Affirmations : Weekly Recap

AFFIRMATIONS: These are positive statements that describe a situation, which are often repeated, until they get impressed on the subconscious mind.

                         “The body is tougher than the mind”

     It is time for me to get serious. This week I took a long hard look at myself and my previous races, and I had to come to the realization that I am to blame for my short comings. I have no one to blame but myself for things that have gone wrong. Pittsburgh Marathon 2011, I didn’t train even close to what you should for a marathon. Pittsburgh 2014, I got dehydrated from not taking water. I was over an hour off of where I should have finished. With Columbus in my head lights I have decided to really go for it. I want, I need, and I will get my Boston qualifying time. This training session is going to be different from the rest. I am taking different measures to ensure a good race. No more relying on raw talent, this time I earn my time.  

      During previous training I have ran into some mental problems more than the physical. I would let my mind tell my body to shut down. So this time around I have started to tell myself “The body is tougher than the mind” anytime I want to call it quits on a workout. Affirmations are a great way to keep you motivated. You pick a saying that is short and easy to repeat, example would be “never give up”, and you keep saying it throughout your training. Eventually your mind will pick up on it and you will start to almost trick your body into keep working. 

      I am going to call this past week my first real week of training for the Columbus Marathon. This will be the base of improvement from here on out. 

     Monday: I ran 4 miles. My goal for this run was to work more on stride. I felt really good the whole run and I even started to pick up on how to lengthen my stride. It’s still going to take some time but I think I can maybe save some energy by doing this. After my run I came home and did my workout for my 30 day Ab challenge. I started the challenge last Wednesday and I can already feel some improvements in my running from it. At this point I do not see any change in my look from it, but I can feel a tighter core and it has become easier to do.

     Tuesday: There was a storm when I got home from work so running was out of the question. I headed to Planet Fitness or as I like to call it the Average Joes Gym for some cross training. I did 8 miles in a half hour on the bike, followed by an arm workout. My wife was with me and after the workout she wanted to tan so I decided to do my Ab work out at the gym. It was very difficult since I increased the weight in my lifting. My body was tired and I knew it would be a battle. “The body is tougher than the mind”. I finished the workout.

      Wednesday: As usual this day was my rest day so my wife and I could go to the movie. We went to the theatre but didn’t stay. Let’s just say we walked away laughing with a funny story, and came home and ordered a movie on demand. 

     Thursday: I was excited for this run all day. I have decided to not wear my compression socks when running. However I know they are a key ingredient for recovery and I put them on every night while I sleep. This was going to be my first run to see if my ab and cross training workouts were going to have an effect on my running, and it was time to see if the compression socks while sleeping helped. I am pleased to say I had one of my best runs in a while. I did 6 miles and my legs felt great the whole time. I was moving fast and I think I may have found what works for me. Go hard at the gym, do the abs and wear my compression socks at night. 

      Friday: This was a disappointing day for me. At work I did not have time to take a lunch and was out of the office most of the day. Therefore I did not eat or drink for almost 10 hours. When I came home I had all intentions of doing a 4 mile tempo run. Something told me to play it safe and don’t hurt myself with running on empty. I decided to forgo running this day and I made a big dinner and filled up on water for the night knowing tomorrow would be my long slow run. I still did my ab workout though.

      Saturday: Long slooooowww run day. This time around I really need to focus on the slow part. Previous training sessions I would say I am doing my long slow run and end up with just short of race pace. So I set out for 10 miles and my goal was to stay around a 10 minute per mile pace. I started the run at 7:45 am and the humidity was already high. Once again I did not bring water with me and on mile 6 I felt like I was going to pass out. Thank god the course I chose ran pass Tru Runner and they have water and energy gel outside for free for runners on weekends. I stopped, took some water and a shot of the Cliff energy gel. I felt good enough to finish the rest of my run but realized I need to get serious and buy something to carry water on my long runs. Except for the dehydration part of the run I felt really good, there was no pains in my legs and I felt like I could have went longer. Not bad for not having done the long run since the marathon.    

      After my run I had to go back to MOJO running store to return my Adidas Boston shoes. After wearing them for a few days around the house and on 2 runs, I can tell they just aren’t a good fit for me. I exchanged them for the Mizuno Wave Inspire 10’s. They are a much better fit and I can tell they are going to work better for me. I also purchased a 10 oz. water bottle that attaches to your hand. No more going waterless on long runs now. 

      Sunday (today): I woke up today and normally I would expect to have some sore legs. I do not though and I credit that to sleeping with the compression socks on. I will be doing some swimming today since I will be attending a party of my cousin’s house. Every month we try to have a cousin’s party and all get together and just hang out. Swimming is great for cross training I plan on taking full advantage of the pool. When I get home I will still do my Ab workout.

       Week 1 of training for Columbus was a good one. I ended up with 20 miles logged and got in some really good cross training. I am happy with a solid base to go off of for the rest of training. Every week I hope to add more miles and add weight in my cross training. Columbus take note this runner is coming for you!!!! “The Body Is Tougher Than The Mind”


Do you use an affirmation to get you motivated? If so what is your saying?