I've Joined a Cult!

Peachtree City has a large and active running club and I joined. On Saturday I participated in my first club event. Besides the weekly fun runs on Saturday and long runs on Sunday, once a month they have a club event that everyone has a chance of winning. This week it was a handicap run. You emailed the guy running the event your predicted time, and based on that, you were given a start time so that theoretically everyone would cross the finish line at 9 AM. No one could wear a watch or MP3 player or anything else that could be used to pace yourself. Also, anyone that crossed the line before 9 AM was disqualified; so the object was to cross the finish line at or after 9 AM. The temperature when I woke up Saturday morning was SIXTEEN degrees, and that was farenheit not celsius! I figured with the temperature being that cold in Joja that maybe 5-10 people would show up. Was I surprised, there were about 40 runners that showed. It took awhile to get warmed up and running well, but I was dressed appropriately and the temperature wasn't that bad. At about 3 miles people started zipping past me, I knew my pace was a little slow, but not that far off my prediction. Sure enough, over half the runners were disqualified for finishing before 9 AM. I really had a fun time, and look forward to more club events.

Tuesday - 5.71 miles on treadmill in 1:10

Wednesday - 4.04 miles on treadmill in :50

Saturday - 10K in 1:07 (still waiting for official time)

Sunday - 5.78 miles on treadmill in 1:10

Monday - 14.13 miles on treadmill in 3:00
For some reason I seem to be getting slower and slower. The good news is that I have absolutely no aches or pains. So things look like they are still on track. Next week an 18 mile long run!

Gotta Love Those Endorphins!

No matter how bad I feel before a run, once I get on the treadmill or out the door and get 20 - 25 minutes of running done, the endorphins kick in and I'm glad I'm running. So I'm going to make a deal with myself, as long as I have running facilities and time available, I'm going to try to get at least 3 miles a day in. For now, I've just finished my long run, and I'm off to Golden Corral for their annual "Thank You Military" free dinner!

Training for the week:

Thursday - 7.25 miles on treadmill in 1:28

Friday - 4.66 miles on treadmill in :55

Saturday - 11.38 miles on treadmill in 2:10

Sunday - Rest Day

Monday - 16.6 miles on treadmill in 3:27 (I had to take several 2 minute walk breaks on this run, I'm blaming the flu shot I had the day before.)

Critical Juncture?

I am now at the point where previous attempts at training for a marathon have run into snags. Hopefully I will continue to be injury free for another two months and run my very first marathon. I almost thought I might be having a problem this week. My last long run was last Sunday, and I ran over 15 miles, my longest run ever. The run itself went very well. However, when I ran the next day, my hamstring got really sore the last mile or so of my run. The day after that, I had to stop my run after only 3 miles or so. It felt worse than a sore muscle, but not as bad as a pulled muscle. I took the next day off, and the day after that I ran 10 miles outside. The hamstring was tight the whole run, but not really painful, but afterwards, it started hurting. I iced it and the next day I used some IcyHot before my run, and everything seemed fine. Then on Saturday I ran with absolutely no pain, but cut the run short because my heartrate was way up. I've just finished my long run for the week, and all initial indications are good. I ran over 15 miles again with no major aches or pains and my hamstring gave me no problems. I've only got one more week of increasing my short and medium run times to 1 and 2 hours. I'll try to maintain that for the next two months, while increasing my long run from 3 hours to one or two 20 mile runs before the marathon. Hopefully I won't burn out either mentally or physically this time.

Monday - 5.79 miles on treadmill in 1:08

Tuesday - 3.31 miles on treadmill in 40:00 (for some reason hamstring felt really tight)
Weight Training

Wednesday - Rest Day

Thursday - 10.4 miles in 1:56 around cemetery in Flint, MI (wearing shorts and short sleeves in November, no less!)

Friday - 5.87 miles on treadmill in 1:08
Included 4 x 5 minutes @ 6.0 mph

Saturday - 7.5 miles on treadmill in 1:30 (I cut the planned run short by 30 minutes, why do hotels think 80 degrees is a good temperature for the fitness center?)

Sunday - Off day

Monday - 15.32 miles on Peachtree City golfcart paths in 2:54

A Picture of my bro

Running In Peachtree City

A couple of weeks ago while I was running the PTC Classic 15k, I noticed that some of the route was on a well marked 10k route. I did some looking online and found a running club in Peachtree City that did group long runs on Sundays. I also printed out a map of the 10k route that they had on their website. I showed up at the designated point at 7:00 AM this morning and there were about 15 people there. Unfortunately, the 5 or so walkers were too slow for me, and I was too slow for the 10 or so runners that were there. But, they were all very nice, and showed me on the map how I could do my planned 15 mile run, where there were places to refill my water bottle, and where the emergency bathroom stops were (in the woods ;-) ). I set out for my run and had a really good time. I even saw two deer while I was running, close enough that I could have spit on one of them. I will definately be going back there for my longer runs!

Training this week:

Monday - 5.68 miles on treadmill in 1:06
Weight training

Tuesday - Rest day

Wednesday - 10.5 miles on treadmill in 2:02

Thursday - 5.73 miles on treadmill in 1:06 (included 6 x 1 minute runs @6.3 mph)
Weight training

Friday - 10.54 miles on treadmill in 2:02

Saturday - 5.77 miles on treadmill in 1:06
Weight training

Sunday - 15.09 miles on golfcart paths in 2:48