20 miles!

It was not all good but not all bad either. 20 miles is further then I ever thought I would run. Now I know I can finish a marathon. I may be crawling but I will finish. I am a little concerned about the time that it took for me to complete the run. It was slow to start with and then got real slow. I don't want to say numbers but the last 5.1 miles was 9 minutes slower then the first. That is a big drop and my legs were getting a little shaky.

Great news: My wife found a job that she seems to like. It’s at a very small AM radio station. She will be doing sales and marketing but they also want her on the air. She is so excited. I can't tell you the pressure that this takes off of my shoulders. Money is tight. Maybe now I can sign up for the event I have been training for so long! I have also worn out my running shoes.

I'm on Jury Duty this week. This has got to be the worst process to pick peers that anyone could come up with. What is wrong with just having random folks as your jury? Why do they need to ask me ANY question other then do you know this man or anything about this case? Lawyers make everything way to complex and I truly feel they are the cause of a lot of what is wrong in the would today. I did get to go home a little early and passed a church that was doing a blood drive. I have not been able to give in a long time and I was so happy to pull in and give. What a great feeling. If you can, go give blood. It helped my father for so long and it saves lives every day.

Yada Yada

I’m always looking for new places to run around my house and I think I found a good one. I live close to the Mall of Ga and for some time now I have been eyeing a trail that I can see from the road. This past weekend I decided to stop and take a quick look. It looks to be a good one and I’ll be sure to hit it real soon.

This weekend has me looking at an 18 mile run. If I feel go I’m going to stretch it in to 20. I’m both excited and nerves. I like the idea of running further but I struggled on the 15 mile run a couple of weeks back. I did make some mistakes on that run that I plan to fix. The biggest was not getting enough fuel. I ran out of the house mad at my wife and not thinking. I planed on hiding something to drink at about mile 7 and then stopping at my house at 10 but that did not happen. I have been trying to read more on what to eat and drink on the run and I can say that after many web searches and countless articles and posts I am more confused now then ever. HELP! Any suggestions would help. I don’t feel like I need to eat as much as some people but I do now thin I need something for anything more then 10 miles.

I have also been working on my speed. This past weekend I noticed that I sometimes run to upright. I really made sure that I had a slight lean when I ran this past weekend and the times were better. I was able to hold a 8:45 – 8:55 pace. That is not as fast as a lot of folks but I can live with it. Funny how one little adjustment can bring you back.

I excited for all the people I know doing a ½ Ironman this weekend. I wish it was me. GOOD LUCK to all and remember to have fun. Take pictures and get the race reports up quick.

I think I have used this video before but I like it:

15

With every new distance I hit I have always felt like I had something more to give, that I could have kept going. After the run this weekend I feel done. I ran between 15 and 16 miles and I feel discouraged. I had nothing left and my body hurt in new places. I know I didn't get enough to drink because I lost 8 pounds and had to change clothes after 10 miles because they were so heavy with sweat. I'll make sure to get more fluids in me for the next long run. The thing that really bothers me is that it beat me mentally. I kept running but I know question if I can make 26.2 and if I WANT to run again. I'll do like I always and just keep on keeping on until I have a good run and things will be good.

On a VERY positive note I did not have any problems with my nipples this weekend. I used a ton of body glide and that seemed to do the trick. I know this seems like a stupid thing to be worried about but they were killing me after the long runs.

UPDATE: I whine just too damn much. Sorry. I ran on Monday and I'll run again today. I'm going to start pushing the pace a little to see if I can get my speed a little faster. It sucks when you think that if I could just run 1 minute faster per mile I could save almost 1/2 hour in the race. I used to run faster, what happened?

Quick Update

Been sick for a week. Better now but have missed needed runs.

Ran yesterday and today at lunch.

Need a sports bra (or something) – my nipples are killing me!

Have a big run this weekend. It gets hard planning runs over 10 miles from home because I don’t want to do short loops and some roads I’m just not going to run on because of the traffic. I also have to start looking at fuel at this distance.

Turtles are great climbers!

I love videos and had to put this one up.

Still Going!

I'm still alive and moving. I have noticed something lately; as my long runs get further and further, I get slower. I don't mean I start out running one pace and it drops off, I mean I start out running slower. I figure by the time I run a marathon I will be walking the whole thing.

My son has been on a turtle kick now for the past couple of weeks and I have been refusing to get him another pet for me to take care. I guess fate stepped in and I happen to see one crossing the street as I was running this past weekend so we now have a tutle. I did have to run with a turtle in my hand for the last 3 or 4 miles but that is what fathers do, right?

I was reading a blog the other day about motivational videos and I forgot this one: I love AC/DC when I run.



And all of the Lance videos for Nike are great.