week 14 done

I had an OK week of running. I got all oft he runs I needed in. I have to admit I am not a summer time runner. I actually enjoy the cold and running in the winter. Well maybe not the really cold days but when the temps are 50F and lower my system seems to work best. At least in the colder months you can add clothing. In the summer you have to wake up way too early or run way too late. We all have seen what happends when you get caught running naked!



I feel like I am starting all over again. The new shoes have helped alot. I made it through a 15 mile run yesterday with no blisters and my feet felt fine. Today I am taking a day of rest. I just have an hour of hockey tonight.



I now have a small digital camera to take with me on my runs. I have got to find a way to carry it though. So be expecting to see some action pictures in my posts from now on.

first run follies

To begin with I guess I should say at the moment I am a single Father of 2 very busy boys ages 7 and 2. My wife has left me to go shopping with her friend for 3 days at Birch Run, Michigan. She also stole my built in babysitter (my daughter Jaymie is 16). That plus my parents are gone up north presents an ability to run crisis. So I put Joey in his Baby Jogger and Jacob on his bike and we jogged on over to the local track which is seldom used and fenced in. I brought some sand toys for the boys to play in the long jump pits that are around the track.


It is only a mile to the track and since Jacob just about got hit by a car early on in the day I decided not to make our road journey any longer than it had to be. So we got to the track I got the boy settled in and I warmed up for about 15 more minutes doing strides, butt kicks, and high knee lifts.


Then came the 3 X 1600m intervals @ 6:40/mile. The first one I started out too fast I think I was super pumped to do them and was at 6:00 at about half way so I really had to slow my pace. The second one I started too slow but managed to finish right on target. The third was never completed because of wild 2 year old boy chasing me around the track. I had to stop at 800m and take the wild child home...it was getting close to bedtime.


So we cooled of with a nice mile home and that's officially the start to the new training program .


I am so totally going to be an elite athlete at the end of this!

X-training begun

I rode my bike into work Saturday morning and back this morning. It works out perfect it is 15 miles or 25ish kms each way. My plan in a can is to ride at a cadence of 90-100 RPMs comfortably and move up a gear each week or so therefore bringing up my speed. Right now my average speed being 13mph/20kmp but keep in mind I am going for cadence not speed. I also throw in sprints every once and a while. I still haven't got road tires so I am riding on knobbies, so as I stop pedaling my bike slows considerably.

And so it begins...

Training for the 30th running of the Detroit International Marathon.


I'll be using;

I will be using the 3:30 marathon finish time as my goal. Tuesday will be my first run. The week goes as follows;

Monday: XT ( I think I will ride my Bike to the lake and swim)

Tuesday: 10-20 minute warm up /3X1600m @6:41 (1minute rest btween)/ 10 minute cool down

Wednesday: XT (biking 40-50minutes)

Thursday: 6mile run 2 easy/ 2 @7:14 per mile /2 easy

Friday: REST

Saturday: 13 miles@ 8:3o/mile

Sunday: Optional XT or rest (most likely bike)

The mileage seems short to me but the XT makes up for the missed miles. It is also shorter because it is only 16 weeks. Considering it will be my second marathon this year I figures I would take it easy on me and run less/ run faster LOL.

Seems that the "intensity" will be challenging.

This time I will hopefully be able to post more pics and details. I still have a picture of me when I started running again last December somewhere and would like to do the "how'd ya like me now poses!"

Found a new route tonight

I stumbled by it during the day today on my walk to get the car. (car was at the trusty Mechanic's getting a checkup before we go to Ottawa)Of course the only reason I found it is cause I took the long way which is totally out of the way but there is a Tim Hortons the long way so you know. So I said tonight when it is cooler out I will go there on that route. They finally put a bridge over Duck creek. Most people wouldn't care but I do and I think it is aboot time our town started making more access to the less travelled areas for us walker/runner/biker types. Plus it is so nice to be able to run uninterrupted along the lake without having to go up onto the VIA rail tracks where the trains go like 80 miles an hour.Anyhow it's nice, it's shady, and it is now safer.
Tonights run was supposed to be 7 miles with 2 @ MRP. I went 7 miles 4 @ or below MRP. I didn't look at my watch until I got home other than the one time to see how many miles it was at the turnaround. I ran by feel tonight comfortably to see what pace I was running @. I was kinda suprised. The miles I didn't run @ MRP were the ones I walked to take a drink/cross the busy road. It was also really warm out there tonight probably 82 when I went out so I should feel super great with the temps in the 50's Sunday morning.



If you want to see how we are doing goto
Live race results.
I'm Bib # 1183 and Uncle Mike is Bib # 2238.
Last years bib# was 1522 incase you are curious.

t-minus 4 days

This morning the sun was shining, the birds were chirpin, Joey and I were running. An easy 6 mile run made easier by the nice weather.
Looking ahead to Sunday the weather in Ottawa looks much the same. If we can avoid the T-storms the temp looks perfect.



If you want to see how we are doing goto
Live race results.
I'm Bib # 1183 and Uncle Mike is Bib # 2238.
Last years bib# was 1522 incase you are curious.

Ottawa, here we come.

Today was our last long run before our Marathon. Mike did 8 miles I did 14. We ran at a pretty strong pace most of the run. We ran the first couple of miles @ 8:00ish minute miles. After the 2nd mile I asked Mike if he thought he could keep the pace up for 26 miles? Needless to say we had a drink break at mile 3 and settled in to 9:00 minute miles.
We both felt great which is perfect going into our last week confident, and strong. At mile 12 I actually threw in a few fartleks just to pass the time. I'm on Vacation until June so I should be well rested for next weekend.
If you want to see how we are doing goto Live race results I'm Bib # 1183 and Uncle Mike is Bib # 2238.

Have I mentioned....

that I am getting anxious to get this race over with? I am stronger, I am faster I know that but until you toe the line, until mile 22 you really have no clue how you are going to feel.Tonights run was a fun 8 miles with 3 X 1600m @ 15km race pace (7:33/m) with a 2 minute rest between. I warmed up with 2.5 miles and cooled down with 2.5. What was suprising is that at the end I was actually running at Marathon pace. This is great considering I am really anxious that the pace I am picking might be too much on race day. I would hate to run out of steam at the end because I came out of the gate too quickly.

12 Days and counting

Things are coming together well. My long run on Sunday was so so but I think I have the ability to blow last years time out of the water. I was thinking 4 hrs when I started, now 3:45/3:30. My friend and Co-worker who has run Boston several times and is a steady 3:30/3:19 says now he might come up and be my rabbit. Boston might not be so far out of the picture all depends on this months marathon and maybe I could train harder for Detroit and hit my 3:15:59.

Stroller Rides

Joey got up with me Friday and this morning for my runs. Friday was supposed to be a 10 mile run but we had time restraints and it was too much fun watching the "diggers" at the local construction site. I figure the extra weight pushing the stroller made up for the lost miles.
This morning though was a different story. He was with me for about 10.5 miles and then his Mom came and picked him up so I could run stroller free for the other half of my run. The wind was howling today. Not bad on the way out but on the way back it seemed I was standing still when it gusted. Between that, pushing the stroller for the first half all of it's minor adjustments (the front wheel pulls to the left) and feeding Joey Jellybeans every mile or so my time was pretty good.
Saturday morning was spent riding my Bike beside Uncle Mike on his 20Miler. He seemed steady and strong.

I'm getting really excited to go run Ottawa again. Only 3 weeks to go!!!

It's Taper time!

One more 20 miler then the taper starts. I can't believe how fast 15 weeks has gone by. Uncle Mike's marathon debut will be taking place in 3 weeks!
I can't help but to be a little anxious. This year I have many more eyes watching and have a time that I have to beat. Last year I ran my Marathon debut, I finished a disappointing 33minutes slower than my 4hr goal. It didn't take long for the 1st phone call at work, at the other end a giggling voice asking what my time was..."uhhh, 4:33 something" Ha ha ha , chuckle, belly laughter..."Oprah beat you!"
what? The voice repeated "Oprah beat you".
Apparently Oprah ran a marathon in 1994 with a time of 4:29:20. Since then my brother who works at the same job but different station and his merry band have been reminding me daily. It has even grown to the point that Oprah and I ran the same race and she passed me.
This year my training has gone much better and I hope to finish @ 3:45. I think it was great to finish a marathon, now it is all about getting faster, stronger and qualify for Boston. If not this year next year is ok for me...hope see alot of you there maybe 2009.

Take a look at my.opera.com/ff_jeff/blog

Lessons learned;

#1- Checkout the race venue and if you can train on it before running the race. Seems to me a couple of years ago I ran a 5km race at the exact same place as my 10 miler today and the hills did not seem so bad. That is probably because we did not have to run up them 3X.Infact if you look closely enough the entry form says steep grade +/- 60 degrees. Todays 10 miler was a very hilly run and also more of a cross country course that was mucky and had lotsa puddles.


#2- For me, if I have to work the night before you can darn well expect to have a conflagration ( A large and destructive fire) kinda like what happend this morning @5:00am. FIRE I was really lucky to be out of there in time to make it to the race. I'm not complaining cause I really love my job...I'm just making excuses.


#3- Have fun. It didn't even take me a lap to realize all this stuff. So I enjoyed the company of Uncle Mike and our DUOthon friend Dawn who ran with us today. That is for part of the race anyhow.


I believe my time was 1:30:20ish? Dawn's time 1:34:ish? Mike 1:40:ish? Still waiting on the results to be posted.
Race 2: Miracle Run 10 m / 5 km - April 15 results We all raced really well given the tough course. It felt good to be able to pass about 10-12 people in the last mile and have a strong last half mile sprinting to the finish. Seems my endurance training is working.
18 Miles with Joey tomorrow!
ffjeff.blogspot.com