Sunday Long Run Report

Things you shouldn't see on the last day of the year...around here anyway.

Had a great run today. I was a little skeptical about tapering and it's benefits, but I'm a believer. Sure, I feel rested, I expected that. What I didn't expect is how strong I feel. I haven't felt this good running for probably a few months. I guess that's the idea of this whole process.

Things I saw today that you just don't normally see on the last day of the year around here:

• 4 Motorcyclists
• 1 gentleman hitting golfballs at the driving range
• 3 gentlemen playing a round of golf
• 1 runner

The weather was amazing. Cool, but not cold. The 3 guys golfing stopped me to chat for a minute, they were blown away that I was out running 8 miles...until I told them my planned distance next week. Very nice fellas (they own the golf course) and I've golfed with the oldest of them before. The strangest thing I saw was someone else out running. I'm not some idiot that thinks I'm the only one around here that gets out and runs, it was just odd that on this back country road some lady goes past the other way, all geared up like I was. Little things like that make the run fun and interesting.

Movie Monday

13 year old hockey player

Movie Monday

I don't know if I get it or not...A desire to fly? Maybe.

Sunday Long Run Report

Not happening

Just haven't felt good running lately, so I am skipping a run or two to get my legs back. I feel a little guilty only being 2 weeks from the race, but I am not worried about it. I have the miles in my legs. Just have to rest up.

Movie Monday

4 years old...

Movie Monday

Ruuuuuuuuunnnnnnn!!!!!!

Sunday Long Run Report

20 miles whether you like it or not

20 Miles. I knew it was coming eventually. I guess it snuck up a little bit. I didn't feel good and didn't want to run (sound familiar?). around 11:00am I figured if I didn't get going it would be dark before I finished, so I went. It wasn't easy but it wasn't so difficult either. I struggled, but enjoyed the struggle. 5 miles out and 5 miles back. I was standing in the kitchen refilling my water bottles and She Who Must Be Obeyed walked in. She asked me how it was going, and I said, I hurt and I think I'm gonna run 5 more and see how I feel. She said "No, you are running 5 out and 5 back again, you're 3 weeks away from 26.2 and you are going to do this." I wasn't terribly impressed with her suddenly putting her foot down on my running mileage, but she was very right. I had to go 5 out and back or I probably wouldn't have finished the run. She brought me some ice water around mile 14. Training for a marathon is hard to do. I believe it is at least twice as difficult when you have wife and kids, due to the time it takes away from them. I'm lucky to have such a great wife and kids.
Soooooo, today starts the taper. Goals for the taper: Drink nothing but water, Eat healthy breakfast and dinner every day, and 8 hours minimum of sleep per night, and get ALL my miles in.

Movie...uhhhh...Thursday

Oops, sorry. Here's a hug for ya.

Don't Stop Believin'

Hold onto that feeling...

The big switch

Sorry for the confusion

I switched to the new blogger beta, and it gave me a ton of problems. YouTube is down for maintenance, but I promise 2 movies by the end of the day tomorrow.

Sunday long "run" report

14 miles of pain in the piggy bank. Can't wait to cash in. I hurt and didn't have a lot of motivation to go. But I did, and I'm glad I did. I know I'm on the uphill climb of training and will reach the peak this Saturday (or Sunday). And I know I've put a lot of burden on a body ill prepared to handle such burden. I'm proud of what I'm doing and trying to do. I don't expect anyone to understand why I'm doing it, mostly because I haven't really figured it out myself yet. Some people say, "why do it if you don't even have a chance of winning?" Others say, "why?" I've heard, "why don't you do a half marathon or something easier, or closer to home?" I'm not ashamed to admit that even today, I asked myself "why?" more than once.

Why? why? why?

Why not?

That's right...2 movies for Monday Alllll month long!

Movie Monday

Just a note: One of the dudes is in his underoos for a bit in this movie. Use your best judgement. I thought about not posting it due to that, but couldn't help but appreciate the work that must have went into this.

Saturday Long Run Report

01001100 01101001 01110011 01110100 01100101 01101110 01100101 01100100 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01001010 00101110 01000011 00101110 00100000 01001000 01110101 01110100 01100011 01101000 01101001 01101110 01110011 00100000 00101101 00100000 00110111 01110100 01101000 00100000 01010011 01101111 01101110 00100000 01110111 01101000 01101001 01101100 01110011 01110100 00100000 01110010 01110101 01101110 01101110 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01110100 01101111 01100100 01100001 01111001 00101110 I'm hooked on podcast novels. 7th son, so far, is terrific.

I learned a lot today. Any illusions I had about a marathon being easy were put to rest. (It's not that I ever thought it would be easy, I think maybe I just didn't have a firm respect for the distance and the sheer difficulty). 18 miles for an overweight old man new to running is absolutely tough. Ab. so. lute. ly. The big lesson I learned is that I really need to pay close attention to hydration and fueling.

Mile 9 was interesting, and my fastest mile, for good reason. Prarie doggin. And that's all I'm gonna say about that.

Ran through some real nice Amish farms today that I'd never seen before, and saw a lot of hunters along the road. Some had a good day, and some from our passing conversation hadn't seen anything.

Consumed: (6) Wild Cherry Clif Shot Bloks w/ caffeine. (2) Oatmeal Raisin Clif Bars. 16oz Crisp Apple Electrolyte Drink. 12oz Fruit Punch Gatorade. 22oz +/- Water.

Ice bath was an experience as always. Love 'em. They just work.

I'm so tired.