Quest for Boston – Easy Run Through Bellevue

Third run in a row with high humidity, but at least it was slightly cooler. This morning Paxton, Nathan, and I did a very chilled pace 7.5-mile run through Bellevue. I ran in my Saucony Hattoris and felt pretty good throughout. I did feel a little soreness from doing P90X Legs and Back on Monday night and P90X Ab Ripper X last night, but overall it was not a big deal.

This may sound strange, but one thing I like about the Hattoris (that I haven’t mentioned before) is that they make it easier to run a very slow pace. When I run in my Kinvaras, or even my old Nike Vomeros, on a recovery run day, I almost always end up running a bit too fast. This is never an issue with the Hattoris because I have so much more feel for the road and my lower legs are more involved in the run.

Tomorrow will be a “marathon” day-trip to NYC (6am flight up there, 4 meetings back-to-back, 9:30pm flight back), so no running or cross training. I hope to get in an easy 2-mile shakeout run on Friday before the Oak Barrel Half Marathon on Saturday.

Beast Mode…ON!

@runlong

runlong replied to your photo: Just got my new handmade @MissionLazarus Bible…

I spent a good bit of time in Honduras doing mission work… such a neat country! And I think Rosetta Stone is great if you don’t know much of the language to begin with. If you already know a good bit, it might feel remedial for a while. Good luck!

Love working in Honduras, and especially getting to teach and study with the people there. Do you know Spanish? If so, how did you learn? I know very, very little so remedial level will be perfect! Thanks!

Quest for Boston – High Humidity Tempo Run in APRIL!!!

Even though it is only April 3, this morning was another very high humidity run. If it is this humid on Saturday morning then the Oak Barrel Half Marathon may turn into just another training run.

Humidity aside, this morning Nathan and I did a 10-mile, moderate tempo run through Belle Meade. We started with a 2-mile warmup, followed by 6-miles at a moderate 7:30ish pace, and then a 2-mile cool down.

Overall the run felt great except for the humidity and some persistent stomach problems I have been dealing with ever since the Honduras mission trip. I didn’t have any noticeable leg stiffness today like I did at the beginning of yesterday’s run. Also, the “tempo” portion felt pretty comfortable and not overly fast.

Tomorrow my plan is to do a very relaxed 7-mile “barefoot” Hattori run before taking a day-trip to NYC on Thursday.

Beast Mode…ON!

Quest for Boston – Oak Barrel Half Marathon Week

Even though this is a race week (Oak Barrel Half Marathon on Saturday) I’m not treating this like a goal race though I do plan to back off slightly on the total mileage. On Saturday John told me to shoot for 25 miles total Monday to Wednesday, with a goal of hitting the mid 40s for the week. Thursday will be a day-trip to NYC for work, so no running. On Friday I hope to get in a two to three mile shakeout run before raceday on Saturday.

I decided to breakup my 25 miles into an 8-mile recovery run today, a 10-mile moderate run tomorrow, and a 7-mile “barefoot” Hattori run on Wednesday. This morning’s run was a solo effort through Edwin Warner Park and the Harpeth River Greenway. My goal was to average around 8:30 pace and just keep everything nice and relaxed.

My muscles felt pretty stiff for the first couple of miles, but things started to loosen up nicely after that. The big problem this morning was the humidity. The temps were near 70 degrees at 6:30am, but the humidity made it feel much worse. Overall though I felt descent after a hard week last week, especially the final 6-miles. I finished with an average of 8:30 on the button, so I’ll take it.

For tomorrow’s 10-miler, I’m hoping to get in an easy 2-mile warmup followed by 6-miles at 7:45 pace (John told me to try to get in 6-miles at moderate pace) and a 2-mile cool down.

Beast Mode….ON!

2012 Running Goals – First Quarter Review

Since today marks the end of the first quarter of 2012, so I thought it would be good to review my goals for 2012 and see how things are going:

  • Goal #1: Complete 2,000 training miles. My total for 2011 was 1,763, so this will be a pretty big increase. Will take over 166 miles per month to reach this goal. I know it is attainable, but only if I stay healthy and disciplined.

    For the first quarter I completed 588-miles which puts me on pace for 2,352 for 2012. This is obviously well ahead of 2,000. Now that I have hired a coach to train for Milwaukee this fall, I’m thinking that 2,500 might be in my future for this year if I stay healthy.

  • Goal #2: Complete my “Quest for 3:15” in a full marathon. This has been a very public goal for quite a while, and I hope to break through in 2012. I would also like to take this a step further in 2012 and break 3:10 which is my Boston qualifying time. I know this is pushing it, but I’m dreaming big. Really want to run my first Boston Marathon in 2013. To do this I will not only have to be disciplined to my running schedule, but will also have to be committed to quality runs, cross-training, diet, and sleep.

    The “Quest for 3:15” was officially completed at the NOLA Marathon on March 4 with a finish time of 3:12:28. I am now only 2:28 from a BQ and have hired a coach to train for Milwaukee this fall. My training target for Milwaukee will be 3:05. 

  • Goal #3: Finish at least 5 full marathons. I ran my first 2 full marathons in the fall of 2009, and then completed 4 full marathons in both 2010 and 2011. As of now I’m only registered for the Rock N’ Roll New Orleans Marathon in March, but I have also submitted my request to be the 3:45 pacer in the St Jude Country Music Marathon in May and have my eye on a handful of other races. Whether it is as a pacer or participant, I want to do at least one marathon at a slower, conservative pace where I can enjoy it.

    I have completed one full marathon in 2012, and am registered for two more. This includes the St Jude Country Music Marathon in April and the Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon in October. I am in the lottery for New York in November, and my fall-back plan is to the the Chicamauga Battlefield Marathon in Georgia. Whether or not I do a fifth marathon will depend completely on how I feel. Even though I really want to run five, I’m not willing to sacrifice 2013 to hit this number. As for running one at a slower, conservative pace…I was selected as the official 4-hour pacer for the St Jude Country Music Marathon.
     

  • Goal #4: Officially break 1:30 in a half marathon. I had an unofficial 1:29 finish in the Murfreesboro Middle Half Marathon in 2011 (due to course misrouting), but want to have it in writing in 2012. My best opportunities will most likely come at the 500 Festival Mini Marathon in May or again at the Murfreesboro Middle Half Marathon in October.

    My first opportunity to break 1:30 in 2012 will come a week from today at the Oak Barrel Half Marathon in Lynchburg, TN. Even though I’m not treating this like a goal race, I’m still hoping to shoot for something in the 1:29 range and then take it even lower at the 500 Festival Mini Marathon in May. The big variable at the Oak Barrel is “Whiskey Hill” which is a mile-long, very steep hill at mile 5. Whether or not I’m able to break 1:30 will depend a lot on how well I handle that hill, and how quickly I’m able to recover at the top. 

Well, so far, so good with regard to 2012 goals….Beast Mode…ON!!

Quest for Boston – The East Side

Today’s group run was on the east side of Nashville, and consisted of two 8-mile loops with an optional 4-mile cooldown for those that needed to get in 20. The first loop started in Shelby Park and went out Davidson toward LP Field (Titan’s Stadium), and then came back toward Shelby on Woodland. We maintained a very easy 8:50 pace for this loop.

The second loop was an out and back lolly-pop loop on the Shelby Bottoms Greenway. Most of the group picked up the pace significantly for this section. I ran with John the whole way and all of our splits were between 7:18 and 7:35 per mile. This was a very comfortable, conversational pace, and my legs felt good the entire way. I’m really glad this pace felt good, because I’m hoping to at least run in the 6:50s for the Oak Barrel Half Marathon next weekend if my legs cooperate. Another good thing about this loop was that John and I got to talk a lot about his thoughts on my training for Milwaukee this fall, and some of the important principles that I need to keep in mind throughout the schedule he is putting together for me.

When we finished the second loop, John advised me to call it a day with 16 total miles and 55 completed for the week.  One interesting thing about the run today is that I never really felt overly warm during the loops, but was drenched in sweat at the finish. The temperatures were in the low 60s at the start and in the mid 70s at the finish, with full sun and elevated humidity. Hope this means that I’m getting better at dealing with warmer temperatures, because I have a feeling it is going to be a nasty summer in Tennessee.

Anyway, I have felt pretty good ever since we finished, and am really excited about my upcoming races and training over the summer. Next week we will be shooting for around 45 total miles, which will include the half marathon on Saturday. 

Beast Mode…ON!

Rosetta Stone – Spanish (Latin America)

Well….I took the plunge. Ever since I started making annual mission trips to Honduras four years ago, I have been thinking about purchasing Rosetta Stone to help with learning Spanish. Today I finally pulled the trigger. They were offerring $100 off of the Level 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5 Spanish (Latin America) Set today, and this pushed me over the edge.

Since a single installation will support up to five users I am hoping that Olivia and I, along with our oldest daughter Kate, will find it beneficial. Kate is already having weekly Spanish classes in school. Olivia is a trained sign-language (ASL) interpreter and has expressed interest in also learning Spanish.

It should arrive on Monday and I’m very excited to get started.

Hasta Luego!

Mega Millions Lottery

To everyone who was born in the U.S. and did not win the Mega Millions Lottery today….it is good to remember that you won the lottery when you were born in this great country. Don’t forget it!

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