Training Widget

Sunday, January 31, 2010

January ends - Running Streak enters 14th month

Day 396 - January 31, 2010

I'm not sad to see January come to an end. I did still manage to log 100 miles this month, but barely. That week of 1 mile survival runs while I slogged through my battle with the flu surely didn't help. But, I have 11 months to make up the 30 miles I'm behind.

Thanks to all for the well wishes while I recovered from the virus. Here's to a healthy February filled with good running.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Finally Fever Free

Day 393 - January 28, 2010

My fever finally broke yesterday and I went back to work today. I'm still far from 100% and my energy is still pretty low. I did push my run out to a mile and a half tonight which was just far enough that I coughed up both lungs when I finished. But, it's all down hill from here. I expect it will be another week before I feel 100%, but my pace was better today.

The important thing is I survived and so did the running streak. Thank you Motrin for giving me a small window each day where I could struggle through a run. On to 1000.

Monday, January 25, 2010

Day 5 - this is getting old

Day 390 - January 25, 2010

Today was the fifth straight day of having a fever of 101+. Ugggh. So, how do you keep a running streak going when you are that sick? My plan the last three days has been to load up on the motrin - wait for it to take full effect, then go out and plod through 1 mile, crawl back into bed, and sleep.

And for the record, I did go to the doctor today. They confirmed I was sick, thanks Doc, and told me it was probably viral. They ruled out H1N1 flu, which is what I thought it was going to be, but then told me the test has a 30% false negative rate. That's comforting.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to writing more about running and less about my health, so keep your fingers crossed and hopefully I will have this kicked in another day or so.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Day 3 of the fever that won't quit.

Day 388 - January 23, 2010

This is the third day of running a fever over 100+F. Yesterday I felt fine though the day and attempted what I thought would be an easy 3 miles after work. I struggled through the entire run - even took a rest break at the turnaround. By the time I drove home, I felt terrible and my fever was back.

Today, I'm still feeling the effects of the fever. As long as I keep the Motrin dosage where it needs to be, I feel less like death, but I have to admit that I contemplated not running today. Instead, I ran the bare minimum 1 mile loop in the neighborhood and the running streak continues. Hopefully the fever will not.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

fever and sleet - nice

Day 386 - January 21, 2009

I came home from work with a fever of 100.3 and I still needed to run today. To top it off, it was raining and sleeting. Awesome! Needless to say, I chose a short run. Two miles will have to be good enough.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

10 Miles in C-ville

Day 381 - January 16, 2010

Put in my first double digit mile run today. I met a few friends in Charlottesville to run. We broke into groups and ran runs of 5.5 to 10 miles. Roger and I ran the entire Charlottesville 10 miler course.


I had a hard time getting loose today and constantly watching out for the black ice that resulted from yesterday's thaw and refreeze made the first few miles tough. eventually I did feel better and we averaged 7:30's.

The 35 miles I logged this week made up for last weeks low mileage. If I can continue to put in long runs on Saturdays, I may just convince myself to run the C-ville Marathon in April.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Buddy Runner App

Day 379 - January 14, 2010

Today was a scheduled easy day so I decided to give the Buddy Runner App a try. I recently switched to Verizon and upgraded my phone to the Motorola Droid and one of the first things I did was look for a running app. The phone has a built in GPS and integrates with Google maps. I downloaded Buddy Runner, but had not given it a try until tonight.

The app worked as advertised, but I have to admit that running with my phone was a bit awkward. I'm sure I can get an arm band or something to make this easier, but I'm not sure it is worth it. The app records your pace and distance and allows you to upload that information, along with elevation changes and calories burned to a dashboard where you can analyze your runs. I like that the run is automatically displayed on a map and that you can see how your pace varies over the course of the run. The elevation feature didn't work very well considering I ran an out and back course (the profile should be symmetrical). I'll probably give the app another try, but for me, I don't see myself using this very often, not because of the app itself, but because of the inconvenience of carrying my phone while I run.

Anyone else using a mobile app for running? If so, what do you think?

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

6 miles after work

Day 378 - January 13, 2010

Had a nice run tonight after work - even if it was dark by the time I finished. I had hoped to get out earlier, but work got in the way!

One thing I noticed tonight is that hills seem easier when you can't see how long they are. The route I chose had a mile+ long hill on the way back that has been a challenge on previous runs. Tonight I hardly noticed it. I guess that says something about the mental aspect of running. Anyone else had that experience?

Monday, January 11, 2010

I'm in - I want to make 2010 a Y.A.K.

I came across a post on Feet Meet Street that made me immediately add the blog to my Google Reader. I mean, any guy who realizes that

"my “preview” is better than your “review” because it has a “p” in front of the word review."*

*This applies to many situations. Isn’t being “phat” better than being a “hat”? I thought so.
clearly has the right perspective about blogging and running. So I am vowing to make 2010 the Year of the Ass Kicker (Y.A.K.). I want to push the Puke Threshold, set a 5K and marathon PR, and possibly run an ultra (reality may prevent that one). I'm going to make 2009 look like the prequel to the best running year ever. Thanks Nitmos for the added motivation.

Back to 5

Day 376 - January 11, 2010

The running group was back up to 5 today and we ran between 2.5 and 5.8 miles. I was glad to get in almost 6 after yesterday's run. I felt good and we ran a solid pace. Maybe last week's funk is finally over.

I also crossed the 1500 mile mark for the streak today. I know I set 1500 as my goal for the year in 2010, but if things continue to go well, maybe I'll up that to 3000 total miles for the two years.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Finally a decent run

Day 375 - January 10, 2010

After a week of short runs and cold temperatures, it was good to get out and run 8 miles today. The last week has been tough for me to get motivated. My legs have felt dead, its been cold, and finding the time was frustrating me. So, even though I had the time today, mentally I wasn't sure I was up for a long run.

So, I decided to start out with a plan to run at least 3.5 and see how I felt. From there I would tack on miles if it was going well, and if not, I'd bag another run. Fortunately, today felt good. When I hit the turn around just short of two miles, I decided to run down Beazly to the creek and back, adding another 3/4 of a mile. When I got to the creek, I decided to just keep going to the other end of the road. The extra distance added another 4 miles. Seven and a half miles seemed like a good distance until I looked at my watch and realized I could add another half mile and push the run out to an hour. It seemed like a good round number to start the week with. I was pleasantly surprised when I plotted the run on gmap-pedometer that it was exactly 8 miles. Let's hope this little bit of momentum can carry me through the next week.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Nothing exciting

Day 372 - January 7, 2010

My running this week has been pretty boring. But, one week of 2010 complete.

Friday, January 1, 2010

Happy New Year 2010

Day 366 - January 1, 2010

Well, it was exactly a year ago today that I started my second attempt at running everyday for at least 1000 days in a row. I started the streak with a very slow 5K (for me) that I actually stopped to walk in (something I had never done in any distance short of a marathon) TWICE! But as 2009 progressed, I got my legs back, my wind back, and my times were starting to get back to normal for me. I ran a decent 5K at Thanksgiving and a better than expected 4-miler in December. I was really hoping to have a fantastic one year difference to talk about today, but this year's New Year's Day 5K was canceled due to all the snow we still have on the course. So today, I'll just have to settle for a regular run.

The run today was special - I had the pleasure of running the first 3/4 mile with my six year old daughter. She did really well and while the pace wasn't steady, she still averaged out at just over 10 minute miles. She likes to run with me and I try to find time for her whenever we can.

When I went back out for the remainder of my run, I tried to think about some goal for 2010. I was inspired by the 81 goals that Perry over at Just Your Average Joggler set for himself in 2009. So here are a few that I came up with today:

  1. Run everyday and accumulate at least 1500 miles
  2. Break 18:30 in a 5K
  3. Break 65 minutes in the Charlottesville 10 miler
  4. Break 24 minutes in a 4 miler
  5. Run at least 3 races of 10 miles or more
  6. Run a marathon or 2 half marathons
  7. Qualify for Boston
  8. Do at least 100 push-ups in a single set
  9. Do at least 15 pull-ups in a single set
  10. Do at least one 50 mile ride on my bike.
2009 was a good year for weight loss for me, but I could still drop another 10 pounds. Last year I shed 17 pounds from my January high. The next 10 will definitely be more difficult. It would be nice, but I can live with my current weight if it doesn't happen. I guess I just made an excuse for myself, didn't I?

I'll try to remember to update my progress as 2010 passes along. Feel free to drop me a comment to remind me - I need the accountability.