Back to 100 Percent

Day 452 - March 28, 2010

HooRAY!! As hoped for, the hip is back to normal and the weekend runs were a success. On Saturday I decided to test the hip and do an out and back 5 mile run. If I felt good at 2.5, I'd extend the "out" another mile and make it a total of 7. I am happy to report that I felt great and with all that I added on, I logged over 8 miles and ran for over an hour pain free.

Today was the real test. The plan heading into this Saturday's Charlottesville 10 miler was one more interval workout at the track today, then sort of coast the mileage back down to taper for the race. That plan was fine until it decided to rain all day here. I kept waiting for a break, but it never came. I was less than thrilled to go out to the track in the pouring rain. Have you ever had one of those runs that you think will just get better if you keep procrastinating? It took over 30 minutes to force myself out the door.

I got to the track and was soaked by the end of the first two laps. I decided I would do at least two 800's and if it was terrible, I would quit and go home. I took 5 laps to warm up and then turned in a 3:02 for my first 800. Not too bad. After a 400 recovery, I came right back with another 3:02, and followed that up with a 3:00 minute 800. Ok, three down and I'm still doing ok. I took an extra lap and ran an 800 recovery before interval #4. That extra rest was like magic and I legged out a 2:56. There was no way I could end on the fastest 800 of the day, so I did another 2 lap recovery and finished the day with a 2:59 for interval #5. Totaling up all the cool downs and recoveries, I manged to run 6 miles in the rain and felt much better at the end of the workout than the beginning. Just the kind of confidence I was looking for going into race week.

God bless this streak! There is no way I would have run today without it. Getting through a week like this past one lets me know that the only thing between me and 1000 days is another 548 runs. The rest is just mental!

And the rains keep coming

Day 336 - December 2, 2009

We were three for another group run in the pouring rain. Even I have to admit that tonight was miserable and this rain thing is getting old. But we all got in at least three miles and I can check another day off.

45 Degrees, pouring rain, and heavy wind

Day 315 - November 11, 2009

I was sitting down to right about how miserable it was to run in the cold wind and rain today and then I remembered the date. I guess suffering for 36 minutes out on a run is a pretty insignificant thing compared to the sacrifices our veterans. So, instead, I'm just going to say thanks to those who have served and fought for our freedoms. I know it isn't much, but know that I am truly grateful for all that you have given up so that I did not have to.

Happy Halloween

Day 304 - October 31, 2009

Tonight I ran with the Trick or Treaters. I had plans to run a long run early in the day, but time got away from me and I was forced to find time after dark this evening. I decided I would run at least 2 miles and go from there. Sometimes, that is the best plan, because everyone knows, the first step is the toughest. Once you are out on the road, it is much easier to keep going. Tonight's two mile run ended up being just short of 6.

So, as the 10th month of the streak comes to an end, I figured I'd give my monthly update. For the month, I ran 127.5 miles. Not quite the 130 I was hoping for, but better than 4/day. With 2 months to go, I need to average 131/month to get to 1460. With the holidays, that is going to be tough, but I'm not giving up on that yet.

Day 171 - Today was hot

I can't believe it has been two weeks since I last posted. I've been working a lot of hours lately, but I'm still finding time to run everyday. It has been a tough two weeks. I pulled an abdominal muscle a while back and it isn't healing very fast. It usually is fine after I warm up for a mile or two, but the shooting pain down my inner thigh is not fun for that first half mile. I'm stretching and icing everyday, and I do think it is getting better, but it is probably going to be a few weeks before I don't notice it.

Today I ran a 6+ mile run. A light rain shower started around 11:00 and I thought that might be a great way to beat the heat. I quickly got ready to run and just as I was heading out the door, the thunder started. With all the recent lightning related deaths, I decided I'd better wait it out. I'm glad it did, because it poured for about 10 minutes.

When the rain stopped, I checked the radar and saw it was all clear to the west and I headed out. I was hoping it wouldn't be too bad out there, but the sun came out and it got hot fast. Add in the humidity and it was down right oppressive. When I got back, I looked like I had fallen in the creek. I was sweating buckets. I drank a Gatorade and then decided to see how much fluid I had lost. I stepped on the scale and was 5 pounds less than this morning - and that was after putting 20 ozs back in. I'll be drinking a lot of water today to catch up.

I'll try and post a little more regularly the next couple of weeks. Don't hold your breath for every day, but I hopefully won't wait two weeks again.

Have a great Father's Day tomorrow.

5 Miles for Cinco de Mayo

Day 125 - May 5, 2009

The legs felt much better tonight after 3 days of short runs. It took me about a mile to loosen up, but after that I felt fine. With any luck, I won't be sore tomorrow and I can get back on track with my weekly mileage.

110 days complete

The running streak has reached 110 straight days. I'm finding it much easier this second time around. If you are new to the blog, my first attempt to log 1000 consecutive days of running ended on day 365 when a nasty flu-like virus kicked my butt! I guess when you've done 300+ straight days, 110 is a piece of cake.

Tonight was a late run after the severe thunderstorms and tornado warnings ended. Thankfully we only had rain and lightning. It was a rather uneventful run. With the heavy cloud cover it was really dark and all I saw were rabbits running across the road in front of me. Everything else was lost in the darkness.

On to Day 111.

As good as its gonna get

Day 93 - April 3, 2009

The training is over - now it's all about getting mentally prepared for 10 miles.

The day before the biggest race of the spring and pouring rain - you gotta love a running streak. I wonder how many of the 2000+ runners in tomorrow's Charlottesville 10 miler decided to take the day off?

I would have preferred some better weather today, but I'm thankful it isn't going to rain tomorrow. Today I started out in a mist which quickly turned into a downpour. I'm hoping I can get my shoes dry before morning. But, I plodded along through the puddles and mud for three and half miles and am now ready to take on tomorrow's challenge.

Just a side note: as I sit here typing this, less than 30 minutes after finishing the run, the sun is out with blue skies overhead! Gotta love the irony in that timing.

10 miles in the rain

Day 85 - March 26, 2009

With the Charlottesville 10 Miler just 10 days away, I wanted to run the course once to get reacquainted. I lined up a couple of friends to run with me and it was poised to be a great day. Unfortunately, I guess I should have extended an invitation to Mother Nature.

The rain chased one of my running partners away, and I'm pretty sure the other would have canceled if I had left for Charlottesville five minutes later (the wife told me he called as soon as I backed out of the driveway).

We met at the track, stretched for a few seconds and then started out. The rains kept coming, but never very hard. It really just kept the puddles full and enough water in the eyes to miserable. My running partner wears glasses and he hates days like today because he has to choose between not being able to see through the water drops on his lenses or not being able to see without his glasses on.

We pressed on, through the muddied road around the stadium where they are doing construction, back through grounds and past the fraternities and sororities, and then down Preston to the Downtown Mall. Here's where it gets interesting. Teh brick replacement on the mall is going to force the runners to weave through and around construction gates. I can see that being quite crowded for runners in the middle of the pack.

The second five miles were just as I remembered and I didn't notice anything that might affect the course next Saturday. Traffic was the only trouble, but hey, it was 5:30. That shouldn't be an issue during the race.

So, while not a perfect day for running, it was still good to get out and see the course. I'll take it easier the next few days to rest up and start to taper a bit. I'm feeling pretty good about my preparation. I just need to avoid getting sick or injured over the next week or so.

Today's run - 10 miles (YTD 356)
Today's time - 1:15:56 (YTD 45:50:42)

Day 75 - 300 miles logged

The streak almost ended today because I almost forgot to run. After working all day and then waiting out two dance classes I came home and had to call all the parents of the kids on the soccer team for practice tomorrow. When I finally finished, I was ready to sit down and relax in front of the TV when it dawned on me that I hadn't run yet. UGH!!!!

To top it off, when I went out, it was still pouring rain and a nice thick fog had settled in. Great conditions for a late evening run! But I grabbed my flashlight and blinking taillight and headed out the door. The run itself was uneventful and I slowly cruised through my 3.3 miles. But it was enough to crack 300 miles for the year tonight, just three weeks after breaking 200. That is definitely one of my best three week stretches. Hopefully I'll be to 400 miles in another 3 weeks.

After dinner, in the dark, in the rain

Tonight I just feel fortunate that I got out to run. A couple hour trip into C-ville turned into a 7.5 hour trip that involved dinner at Chili's (happy B-day Molly) and 3 hours trying to find just the right combination of toys, movies, books, and games to maximize the spending power of birthday gift cards. We were at Target long enough for the manager to offer me a red shirt and name tag.

After all of that, I had no idea how the run would go, and with the rain, I didn't want to end up walking home from too far away. So I stuck to a 1.3 mile loop and just ran it a few times and then ran a half lap to finish. That was enough to get me to 35 miles for the week and I should still be fresh enough for a long run tomorrow afternoon.

I guess I should mention (or at least I guess it is obvious) that I didn't run the 8k this morning. My challengers who tried to get me to run the race with them bailed when they saw the weather forecast and I wasn't disappointed. I can run in the rain here just fine and don't have to drive 45 minutes and pay $40 to do it. I'm not sure if I'll get a race in before the 10 miler in April or if I'll just wing it. I don't have any aspirations of a PR this year, so I'm not too worried about it.

Day 73 of running streak
Today's Run 4.6 miles (YTD 286.6 miles)
Today's Time 0:36:29 (YTD 37:05:41)