My First Marathon in Review

Well, it's been a week and a day since the marathon. I've a had a lot of time to look back and think about things like what I did right, what I did wrong, what I'd do differently. So here's an honest look back at my first marathon experience. 

What went right? 

I felt really good the morning of the marathon. In fact, when I walked up to that starting line, I felt born again. I hadn't felt that level of excitement at a race in forever! I felt very relaxed and excited to take on the challenge. The morning of the race, even though I didn't feel like I needed the bathroom, I stood in line just in case. Lucky I did too, because by the time I got up there, I had that old familiar feeling. That, plus the next coupe of aid stations with porta-potties had lines as well. 

All during training, I practiced fueling with trail mix, raisins, protein bars, etc. I had a good feeling for how often and how much I could tolerate. I pretty much knew what worked, and what didn't work with the snacks I had available to me at home. Rather than carbo-load the night before, I started on the Wednesday before the Saturday Marathon. I upped my carbs at every meal over several days rather than the night before. The morning of, I ate nothing. I treated the marathon like I did my long runs. I started in a fasted state. I would have had to have been up at 5 to eat anything and have it digested in time that I wouldn't feel sloshy or full. I never run well with food in me. 

When the gun went off, I stuck to pace - or what felt like my pace - and didn't get caught up in the excitement and go sprinting off like I used to do in 5Ks. My pacing was pretty spot on up until mile 20 and then started to slow down but I had a good idea I would finish in time. 

I took Gatorade and all the water stations. In the later miles, 20 and up, I'd also take a water a couple of times. Starting around mile 1 or 2 I had a half box of raisins I brought with me. I had the other half around mile 3. At mile 6 I started taking gummy bear packets and having those at each station. The aid stations were ever 3 miles or so which was perfect for the timing I'd worked out in training. 

At mile 23.66 (I looked at my Fitbit) I had to walk. My legs just stopped when I came to a hill. I didn't let it get me down. I did what I did in training. Gave myself 50 steps with my right foot, and then I started running again. However, after running again, it wasn't long before I had to walk again. So I just ran-walked the last 2.5 miles give or take and didn't let it get me down. I knew where I was and that I'd finish by the cutoff. 

After the marathon, I walked to the car rather than have my wife come get me, took a really long, really hot shower, and before bed, I massage-rolled my legs with one of those massage rollers that looks like a weird bumpy rolling pin. For dinner that night, I will add that I ate a lot of pasta to replenish my glycogen stores. I honestly believe that helped me a lot with recovery. 

In the days that followed, I walked a little over a mile on Sunday, a mile on Tuesday, and a little over 2 miles on Wednesday. Thursday and Friday I was traveling for work but I did get a short 15 minute or so walk in Thursday night. All in all, the day after the marathon, I was able to walk, go up and go down stairs, just like a normal person. 

What went wrong? 

Due to it being a major election year, and a Hurricane, I actually missed over 2 consecutive months of training and had to practically start over. All of October and all of November plus the first week of December was shot! I lost a lot of progress. Sure, I had a few runs in there, but it was not at all what I needed. 

But in all honesty, I can't think of much that I did wrong on race day. I felt like I was really smart. I did get a tight stomach around mile 19. I had way more Gatorade than I was use to and my stomach felt like it had enough. But I was so worried about hitting the wall and needing electrolytes, that I kept drinking. Having never run over 18.21 miles, and therefore not fueling or drinking after mile 15, I was in unchartered territory at miles 19, 23 and 25.5.

What could I have done better?

First off, I would have tried gels during training. They seem so much easier to carry than boxes of raisins. It may have helped my legs feel fresher for the last 2.5 miles and perhaps I could have run farther before having to walk. 

I think I would have ignored traditional advice and gone for a 20 mile long run. Knowing how slow I would be, I think that extra half-hour on my feet, while not helping too much due to diminishing returns physically, would have helped me tremendously mentally. I also wish my 2 non-long runs during training weeks were farther. I typically just did 2-3 miles and went up to 4 or 5 in the last couple of weeks. I think some higher mileage other than my long runs would have served me well. 

I should have run more hills. While I did have long uphill runs in my training, I didn't do hill workouts per se. I knew the course would be hilly. Heck, it's Asheville. But I so focused on the river arts part since there were so many out and backs, that I failed to realize just how many hills there would be in the downtown and Montford areas. 

At mile 23, I saw my wife and daughter and I said "I'm in so much pain". I was feeling rough, but I shouldn't have made that comment. Tired was a much better word. I really believe that speaking that out loud was a sort of incantation that then made me feel worse that I was really feeling at the time. I think that messed me up mentally and took my head out of the game - so to speak - just long enough that I had to stop and walk at mile 23.66 when I saw a long gradual uphill. While I did run-walk from 23.66 to the finish, I think I could have run more had I not let those thoughts in. 

Important Notes and Things I Need to Remember

The week before I signed up, I could barely run 6 miles. My pace for 5.77 miles was 14:59 and had to be able to average 14:53 for 26.2 miles!!! I had roughly 8 months to train, two of which were lost due to work and a hurricane. 

I was struggling with Plantar Fasciitis prior to signing up and the only shoes that helped me were barefoot-style shoes. I trained and ran the marathon in Vibram Five-Finger shoes. All pain-free!

My wife and daughter where there and it was so helpful to see and feel their support. They saw me at mile 12.5, 19, 20, 23, 25.8 and the finish. 

Originally, this was my "one and done" marathon. But if I'm being honest, Sunday night, I was looking at what other marathons were coming up later this year. LOL

I'm sure there's more I'll think of. Things I did right, wrong or wish I'd done. I may come back and edit this, but I'll make a note of it. 

Marathon Training Update: Week of March 9th - TAPER WEEK & MARATHON!!

The marathon is this Saturday!!

I can't believe it's finally here - well, almost here anyway. Here's how my final week went. 

Sunday, March 9th

Today was my last training long run before the Marathon. I can't believe it's in 6 days!! That's just crazy. I went out for 8 miles. I ran it in 1:50:06 which was a 13:45 pace. It felt very slow and easy which was very encouraging.  

Monday, March 10th

Today was rest day, but since I have to drive to Raleigh tomorrow, I decided to walk on the hotel treadmill for 3 miles. I basically kept a 17:08 pace but did throw in a few faster parts just to make it interesting.

Tuesday, March 11th

Today, I had to go to Raleigh for work and help train new Directors. By the time I got home after 9 p.m. from Raleigh, I was totally wore out. 

Wednesday, March 12th

Today was the start of my carbo loading. A lot of people think you start cramming pounds of pasta the day before the marathon. But to really get your glycogen stores loaded up, I've always recommended to my clients to start 3 days out and just slightly increase the carbs each day. My clients have always had a good experience with this strategy. 

I did go for a short 2.16 mile run. I felt really slow and sluggish. I wanted to walk multiple times in the first mile. I was sure I'd be faster walking. But after the run, my slow and sluggish run was a 12:52 average pace. 27:53 was my time. With as slow as that felt, I'm curious to see what the Marathon brings on Saturday. 

I have to average a 14:53 pace to finish in the 6.5 hour course time limit. My 18.21 mile run a couple of weeks ago was done in 4:19:00 or a 14:13 average pace. 40 seconds per mile feels too close for me. I find it hard to imagine running another 2 hours basically without slowing down. Hopefully, I'll be fueled a little by the other runners, spectators, etc. 

Thursday, March 13th

Today was an easy 1 mile run with a couple of surges. I ran it in 12:04 and it felt relatively easy. 

Friday, March 14th

Today was a rest day. It was also Expo Day! I picked up my race packet so now it REALLY feels official! I sure hope I can sleep tonight. 

Saturday, March 15

Today was the day! The Marathon finally arrived! And, to address my comment from yesterday, I did not sleep well. For some reason, I woke up at 2:09 a.m. and felt wide awake. I know I fell back asleep at some point, but it felt like I was up off and on until my alarm went off at 6:15 a.m. I took a shower to wake up and got ready. My wife dropped me off near the starting line around 7 a.m. It was a short walk There. Just a few blocks. But I spent most of the half hour I had before the start standing in the porta potty line. Check out my instagram @ashevillerunningcoach for a panoramic picture of the porta-potty line. Luckily I made it to one before the start. 

The gun went off at 7:30 a.m. and I crossed the starting line about 3 minutes later. There were so many people! To be fair, the Half and the Full started at the same time. 

Long story short, it was a great experience. I was hoping to run the whole way, but at 23.66 my legs just gave out going up a hill. I tried to run again, but best I could do was run-walk for the last 2.5 miles. The cutoff time was 6.5 hours and I finished in 6:14:59 (Sub-6:15! LOL)

It's funny in the photo - Clock says 1:48:30. That is the actual time of day, not my running time. Only reason I can think that they had the actual time of day was because the cutoff was at 2 p.m., but who knows? 

I'm going to write a follow up post in a day or two and talk about what I learned now that I'm a marathoner! I have coached so many people to their first marathon, but now I have actual experience going through it myself. This will definitely make me a better coach for those runners. 

Marathon Training Update: Week of March 2nd

As of yesterday, I have just two weeks left to prepare for this Marathon on March 15th. I am feeling both confident and nervous. I run 18+ miles twice (18.2 and 18.21) with the second time being nine minutes faster without trying. I just can't help but think how long another 8 miles sounds! It's a little intimidating when I think about it too much. I definitely hope I'm around other runners to help push me along, but I'm afraid my back of the pack time will have me out there alone. My plan is to hit mile 20 and start a playlist for the last 10K if that happens. I trust the music will get me jazzed so I can push through. I'll just have to see what happens. 

Sunday, March 2nd, I went out for my long run in the afternoon. I waited until it was warmer because I'm a little nervous that all my long runs have been in the cold. If March 15th is a hot day, which if very possible in Asheville, I may be dying. I've tried to bundle up with hat, gloves, leggings, etc. but I can't tell I've mimicked a warm day or not to feel confident in how I'll respond to the temperature. 

Originally, I was going to run 8-10 miles, but I really wanted to see where I was on my half-marathon. I thought that would be a good gauge. I probably should have tried to take it easy, and I did feel like I started out that way, but at mile 2 I was clipping along at a faster than expected pace. At that point, I thought let's not speed up, but let's just try to maintain and see if I can break 3 hours for the half. Without much effort, I kept a pretty steady pace. I crossed ten miles in 2:15 and was feeling pretty good. At 12 miles, I was at 2:41:28 and at mile 13 I was at 2:55. I finished 13.11 in 2:56:22 which was a 13:27 pace! I know that probably sounds slow to most reading this, but keep in mind that my last half that I ran in Asheville I was at 3:04:55 in 2023. I have not passed the half-marathon time faster than that in any of my runs. So cutting off 8 minutes felt like a great achievement to me. Plus, even though I can't keep up that pace, it felt good mentally that I could cover half the distance in under three hours. Basically, I felt like I had a good cushion for the full and that slowing down a whole minute per mile should feel real easy on race day. 

Again, my goal on race day is just to finish the marathon by the 6.5 hour cutoff. My dream goal would be to go sub-6, but everything will have to go just right for that to happen. Despite all the long runs and experiments, I still feel unprepared as far as nutrition goes on race-day. Full disclosure, today's half was done with just water. No snacks. No Gatorade. Both of which I've had on all my previous long runs. I may have felt stronger had I had some, but I was out and wanted to get my run in and not spend time going to the store. 

Monday, March 3rd was a rest day. 

Tuesday,  March 4th, I went to Planet Fitness and did a total body workout after doing 4 miles on the treadmill. I really wanted to test my progress on my Boil the Frog treadmill workout. Last time, I could only hold a 12 minute pace for a half mile. Today, I was able to hold it for 2 miles! Here's how it went: 

I walked .5 miles at a 17:08 pace. I then started running at a 12 minute per mile pace or 5 MPH. I then sped up 5.1 mph or 11:45 pace for the next quarter mile. I then went to 5.2 mph or 11:32 pace for the next quarter. For the next half mile, I sped up a tenth every tenth of a mile ending at 5.7 mph or a 10:31 pace. It looked like this the last half mile:

• 3.1 at 5.3 mph or a 11:19 pace
• 3.2 at 5.4 mph or a 11:06 pace
• 3.3 at 5.5 mph or a 10:54 pace
• 3.4 at 5.6 mph or a 10:42 pace
• 3.4 at 5.7 mph or a 10:31 pace

I finished the workout with another half mile walk at 17:08 pace. I really love this workout and highly recommend it if you have access to a treadmill. You can do it on a track too and go by feel, like but I like the specifics on the treadmill. You won't often hear me say I like a treadmill, but in this case, I do. 

Wednesday, March 5th, I had to head out of town for work. 

Thursday, March 6th, I was away for work, but I did try to run on the treadmill at the hotel at night before bed. Unfortunately, it was acting weird. The belt would occasionally slow like it was caught on something. Despite this, I tried to run a mile but I felt sluggish, out of sorts and generally all around crappy. At one point very early on, my ankle was hurting which scared me a little given the marathon is so close. The controls weren't working so I couldn't see distance so I just ran on time. I estimated that I made it a mile by alternating running and walking for 17 minutes or so. 

I stopped the treadmill attempt and did a total body workout which felt ok. I decided to give the treadmill another try before going back to my room. I took off my Altras that I wore to they gym. They usually hurt my feet when running, so I figured I'd try just running in my socks. This was a good call, in that I ran a mile in 13:20 without pain or stopping. I debated running farther since I found my groove, but I had to be up early the next morning so I called it a night. 

Friday, March 7th, I was away for work again and spent a good part of the day just traveling home.  I left Edenton, NC around 2 p.m. and didn't get home until 11 p.m.

Saturday, March 8th, I am now ONE WEEK out. Today was a scheduled rest day. 

Next Saturday is the marathon!! 

Marathon Training Update: Week of February 23rd

After a good week last week, let's take a look at how I did this week. As I mentioned in my last post, the 22nd of February marked 3 weeks until the Asheville Marathon. While I think most programs would advise me to cut back on my long run starting now, I need to hit 18 one more time. I had to walk a lot the last time I ran that far (February 2nd to be exact) and I really feel I will suffer if I don't hit that mark again before the big day. 

Let's look at how this week went. 

Sunday, February 23rd

I went out for my long in the morning. It was cold but I knew it would warm up in the 4.5 hours I'd be out there so I just wore shorts, and a long sleeve t-shirt. One thing I haven't mentioned in a long time, is that I'm still training in the Vibram Five-Finger shoes. With no cushioning, I feel like this is really something to be proud of. I have no pain while running or after. I wish that was the case with a more cushioned shoe. That would be a lot more comfortable, but I'll take no cushion and no pain over comfort any day. 

I ran a total of 18.21 miles in 4:19:00. This was an average pace of 14:13. I started out running what I thought was very slow. But at the two mile mark, I looked at my watch and I was averaging 13:44! It did not feel that fast. By mile 3, I was averaging 13:59 so I slowed a lot. At mile 6, I was averaging 14:11. At mile 9 I sped up without noticing because I was averaging a 14:04 pace. At the half-marathon mark, I was averaging 14:07 so I was really happy about this! 

After the half, I started slowing down a bit, but nothing too bad. I was feeling a little more tired but didn't really feel that my pace had changed much but it did. At mile 15, I was averaging 14:10 and at mile 17, I was averaging 14:11 which overall, I was still really happy with. 

I did consider running a little more and getting to 19 miles but I was so focused on making it to 18.2, that when I got there my body just shut down. I was about a half mile from home so I walked the rest of way as a cool down. In all honesty, I'm not sure I could have started running again. My legs seemed to lock up, which has me worried that if I have to walk late in the marathon, I may not be able to get running again. I think with other runners around, the excitement of the marathon and other factors, that I'll be OK. I guess it's the not knowing that makes it the challenge it is. 

Monday, February 24th was a rest day. 

Tuesday, February 25th, I tried to go for a 4 mile run but I felt really tired and sluggish. My feet and shins felt uncomfortable. So rather than quit and go home, I sped up to finish the first mile. I finished in 12:42. Then I walked a ways, turned around, and walked back to the mile mark. At this point, I wanted to see if I could repeat my time or go even faster. I really pushed despite feeling like crap and finished the second mile in 11:01. It may have been 11 flat, but I was fumbling with the Fitbit button trying to get it to stop. Later that night, I was supposed to do a total body workout but I just wasn't feeling it. I know I should have tried to do something, but I really felt tired from the run and I just wanted to go to bed. 

Wednesday, February 26th was a rest day.

Thursday, February 27th, I ran a 3.59 miles with some hills. Again, I felt like I was going slow, so I tried to pick it up and push when I felt like I could. Turns out I ran a 43:40 which was a 12:10 average pace. Like Tuesday, I was supposed to do a total body workout at night, but I was spent from the 5K+ I ran that I just went to bed. These hard effort days are really helping with my easy runs feeling very easy. If you don't incorporate hard effort or speed days into your training, you really need to. 

Friday, February 28th was a rest day. 

Saturday, March 1st, marked two weeks left until the Marathon. Time to taper down. I thought about running for 30 minutes easy, but chose to just rest up for my long run on Sunday. 

Marathon Training Update: Week of Feb. 16th

As I mentioned in the last post, I'm now having to travel a lot for work which is putting a damper on things. Here's a summary of this week's running and workouts. 

Sunday, Feb. 16th, I had to drive to Raeford, NC for work. I got there much later than I anticipated. By the time I got checked into the hotel, got directions to the All American Trail and drove there, it was 4 o'clock. Sunset was at 6 and the trail goes through the woods so I knew I had around 2 hours before it got dark. I ran out for a little over 4.5 miles, turned around and then ran back. I finished at 9.26 miles in a time of 2:11:08 which is roughly a 14:08 pace. I really wanted to run 18 today, but at least I ran. My legs were a little stiff from being in the car for 4 plus hours, but overall I felt good on the trail. It was rather sandy which I found odd and made it a little challenging for running at times. 

Monday, Feb. 17th, I had my work meeting and then a four + hour drive home. I had hoped to run a little in the morning before work, but I slept right through. I guess the 9 miles yesterday wore me out more than I thought it did. I typically take a rest day after I run, so I wasn't too upset. I was just upset I didn't get to run farther yesterday. 

Tuesday, Feb. 18th, I ran 5.08 miles. I tried to push it, but I felt like garbage. I felt so slow and awkward that I didnt' even look at my watch while running. HOwever, when I got done, I saw that my average pace was 13:28! I guess that explained why it felt so hard to run. That's a good minute faster than my long run pace, but not my fastest pace for a shorter run. Later, I did a total body workout at home before going to bed.  

Wednesday, Feb. 19th, I took a rest day. 

Thursday, Feb. 20th, I worked at home. I was supposed to run, but it was crazy cold and the "feels like" temp was in the single digits. No sense getting sick this close to the marathon if it can be avoided so I stayed in. 

Friday, Feb. 21st, I went for a run after work. I started out at what felt like a good pace. It seemed sort of easy in a way, but I could tell by my cadence that I was running faster. I figured I'd see how long I could hold on. I hit the first mile in 12:09, the second mile at a 12:22 average pace and the third mile at a 12:44 average pace. I didn't catch the 4th mile but I finished 5.62 miles in 1:11:36 for an average pace of 12:44. I have to keep in mind that there is a half mile + section between mile 3 and 4 that is all uphill. A pretty good uphill too. I'm guessing my pace slowed here but I was able to bring it home strong. 

Saturday, Feb. 22nd, was a rest day in preparation for tomorrow's long run. Since it is only 3 weeks left until the Marathon, and I've only had one 18.2 mile run, my goal tomorrow is to run 18.2 miles again. I should probably cut back and run 15 or so miles, but mentally, I need to do this. My one and only 18 miler was not great. Even though I finished in the pace I needed to, 14:40 pace vs the 14:53 I will need to accomplish, I had to walk several times. I was really hoping to run as much of the marathon as possible. 

Marathon Training Update: Week of February 9th, 2025

 After a positive week last week, it was that time again for my long run. Since I ran 18.2 last weekend, and 16 the week before that, I wanted to back off again. My plan for today was to run 15 miles and that's what I did. I felt pretty good too but I realized something that I always talk about, but it amazes me every time I come across it. 

The Week in Review

Sunday, Feb. 9th, As I said, I went out with the intent to run 15 miles. Long story short, I ran the whole way, felt good and my 14:27 pace compared to last week's 14:41 pace felt really slow. I was sure I was running slower than the week prior. So - big plus in that a faster pace felt easier. Where it got weird was when I hit 15 miles.

As mentioned, I only planned to run 15 miles today, but I was feeling really relaxed and good and so I didn't turn to head home when I should have. I continued on the greenway and went to the end of  the Hominy Creek Greenway. I turned around and was debating whether or not I should go for 18.2 again since I was ahead of pace. To see if I could maintain for another 3 miles on tired legs. The coach in me was screaming because I knew I should back off this week and reduce any chance of injury. It was my ego that wanted to go 18.2 again. However, when I got to 15 miles, it was like a giant put their thumb down on my running cape. I just stopped. I didn't even mean to stop. But it was so ingrained in me that I was going to run just 15 miles, that when I got to that point, my body said "I know you were thinking of going 18.2 again, but no. It's time to stop." It was really weird. 

I debated whether or not I should walk the 2.2 miles that would get me home - and not the additional 1 mile that would have made it 18.2 or just call my wife and have her come and pick me up. Again, the coach in me was yelling, "it's only 15 on the schedule, don't be dumb!", so I caved and called my wife to come get me. 

Monday, Feb. 10th, was a rest day. 

Tuesday, Feb. 11th, I missed getting in a run, but I did do a total body workout at home.

Wednesday, Feb. 12th, I went to they gym to do a treadmill run. It was pouring rain, and I just wasn't feeling like getting soaked and frozen. Anyway, it was a great workout which I called the Frog Pot workout. If you don't know the story and frogs in pots, here's a quick summary. Put a frog in boiling water and it will jump out right away. Put a frog in a pot of regular water and slowly heat it and the frog will stay in not recognizing the slow change in temperature. This workout works on the same idea. 

First, I warmed up with a half mile walk at a 17:38 pace. Then I started running at a 12:00 minute mile pace to see what that felt like given I've been running 14 minute + pace for my long runs. I could only hold it for a half mile so I slowed down to a 14:38 pace which was 4.1 on the speed setting. After a quarter mile, I boosted to 4.2. After another quarter mile I boosted to 4.3 and so on every quarter mile. When I got to around 3 miles, I started going up every tenth of a mile so at the end, I was running a 10:54 pace. What was neat was the 10:54 pace at the end felt like same effort as the 12:00 pace at the beginning. I then cooled down by walking a 17:38 pace. I did 4 miles in 54:53. I slowed down even more and walked until I got to the hour mark which ended up being 4.23 miles if I remember correctly. 

Thursday, Feb. 13th, I took a rest day from running but I did do my total body workout at home. 

Friday, Feb. 14th, was Valentine's Day. I missed running in the morning and we had 5 p.m. dinner reservations so there was no running. 

Saturday, Feb. 15th my wife and I spent the day at the NC Arboretum so no running. 

All in all, not a great week for running mileage. Work is picking up with a crazy schedule over the next few weeks. I'll be traveling a lot with a lot of travel on Sundays. This will make getting in my long runs difficult. I may have to switch them to Saturday's just to make I do it. More on this in the next post. 

Marathon Training Update: Week of Feb. 2nd.

As I mentioned in my last post, last week was not great. While I did run 16 miles for my long, I spent the rest of the week with back pain. It finally subsided and I took a 4 mile hike yesterday. Today was the start of a new week and I was nervous about running my long run. So how did it go? Overall, great!

This weeks Progress

Today, Sunday, Feb. 2nd,  I set out with the goal to run 17 or 18 miles. If you've been following me, you know I usually pick the longer route. Well, today was no different. However, it started out rough. 

In the first mile or two my shins were getting sore. I had to walk twice. I proceeded to have to walk several more times in the first 6 miles which was really frustrating but it was not shin related. I just couldn't get my head in the game. I told myself, there was no turning around and going home. I was going to run or walk the distance if I had to. 

I went super easy and relaxed. After mile 6, I ran the rest of the way. Because I had to walk so much in the first 6 miles, I decided that I would go for the 18 miles to make up for it. I didn't even care what my pace was as I was sure it would be slower than the 14:53 required pace to finish the marathon in 6.5 hours, but turns out I was ticking off 14:43's roughly the whole way. I ended up averaging a 14:41 pace for over 18 miles despite the walking in the first 6 miles. This was really good news and did wonders for my mental state heading into this marathon. 

It's nice to know that I can take some walk breaks if necessary and still finish in time. Granted, I still have another 8 miles to go to run the full marathon so I am not delusional enough to think that won't be super challenging. Doing the math, I have to do what I did today and then keep that up for another 2 HOURS!! As of today, that does seem rather daunting. 

Being slow sucks!! If you ask me, and there's a bit of sarcasm in this, but a runner that runs a marathon in 6.5 hours is more impressive than one that runs it in 4 with the same level of effort. My conversation pace is 14+/-. Someone else's might be around 10 minutes. That's what I mean by same level of effort. 

Monday, Feb. 3rd, I took a rest day from running, but I did walk 30 minutes. It hurt, but I did it. Yesterday was pretty challenging and taxing on this old guy's body. Overall, I feel decent. Just stiff in the ankles which has been happening. I walked away from my house for 15 minutes which didn't get me too far, but the walk back only took 10, so it was good that things loosened up.

Tuesday, Feb. 4th, I walked 30 minutes and this time I went much farther. In the evening, I did a total body workout at home. 

Wednesday, Feb. 4th, I went for a run. I wanted to kind of open it up and get in some hard effort. It was great! I ran 3.07 miles in 34:38, which is an 11:17 pace!! I was so happy and excited. I'm getting closer to my other goal of getting back under 30 minutes for a 5K and I have the long runs to thank for it. 

Thursday, Feb. 5th, was a rest day after yesterday's hard effort run. In the evening, I did a total body workout at home.

Friday, Feb. 6th, I was supposed to run, but I failed to get my butt out of bed and didn't run in the morning. I figured I'd run at night, but I ended up not having any time what with dinner plans and other stuff life throws at you. 

Saturday, Feb. 7th, I went for a hike with my wife around the Catawba River area of Lake James. It was a 4 mile hike and the lake and the mountains in the background are so beautiful!

All in all, I worked twice, as planned and ran just two times, walked two times and hiked once. While not as much running as I should be doing, I did do more activity than I have been. I see that as a step in the right direction.