Marathon Training Update: Week of January 5th

Since the last post, I had family come into town so that put a damper on the training. Way more than I anticipated. Honestly, this is most likely just an excuse. I could have run but I felt like I was taking time away from them visiting. It was also very very cold with windchills in the single digits all week. Again...probably just excuses. 

The week started off great! On Sunday, I went out with the intent to run 12 miles and that's exactly what I did. And I felt great before, during and after. I never had the feeling of I want to quit during the first two miles like I usually have. Best of all, the next day, I had no pain at all so I was absolutely ecstatic! I ran my usual route for my long run in the River Arts District but I went a little further down than I usually go. Turned around and on the way back, did a little bit onto the Hominy Creek trail just past the campground off Amboy Rd. If you know Asheville, you know what I'm talking about. 

All in all, it was a really great run and I wanted to run farther but I was trying to be good and stick to the plan. My plan. I find that when I let my ego run my brain, I get hurt and suffer setbacks so I put myself in the role of the client/runner and listed to my coach for once (me). There were times I felt really good so I picked up the pace a little just to test the waters and I definitely pushed my self the last two miles. I ended up running the 12 miles in 2:47:43. I was watching each mile and I was ticking them off at 14 minute pace the whole way. I can't remember the last time I was that consistent the whole way on a run. Usually, my times are all over the place. Miles 9 and 10 I did slow down a tiny bit, but as I mentioned, I picked up the pace the last two miles and got myself back to the average of 14 per mile.

Monday was my assigned rest day to recover from the 12 miler. 

On Tuesday, I was supposed to run but it was crazy cold with "Feels Like" temps in the single digits. I figured I'd be smart and just do my planned workout at home. I did my upper body workout and then decided to do the lower body workout as well. I figured a Tuesday/Thursday split would be good this week with family in town. The workout was great and I really like the set of resistance bands that I got for Christmas. The come in a range of "weights" that go up to 75 lbs. Overall, I was feeling great about the week!

Wednesday was really cold again. Single digit "feels like" temps. I wimped out thinking "it's too cold". 

Thursday, Friday were the same. I could have run, but I wussed out because of the cold. 

Today, Saturday, Jan. 11th, family left but it was once again in the single digits "feels like" and I was just so exhausted I couldn't find the motivation to run. I did manage to do my total body workout. So that's something. I almost didn't even do that but parked my butt in my office and made myself go through it. The interesting thing was that once I started - got past the Shoulder Presses, Dumbbell Rows  - I was committed. I was actually looking forward to the Curls and Triceps Kickbacks and even the front and side raises. On my lower body workout, I realized/noticed something really cool too. I didn't lose balance on my split squats. On either side!! I typically having to catch myself from falling to one side or the other. So my balance has clearly improved as well as my strength. I usually feel spent after split squats but I felt pretty good tonight. Might need to add some light weight next time to see how it goes. 

Tomorrow is my long run and I can't let that go by without running. I don't know that I'll run 12 plus since I didn't run this week at all, but I want to do at least 8. We'll see how I feel. I was hoping to go 13 or 14 originally but I'm afraid that'll be too much having took the whole week off. 

I have to be better. No more excuses. I'm running out of time. 

Marathon Training Update: Week of December 29th, 2024

10 WEEKS UNTIL THE MARATHON!!!

I mentioned last week, I had a nice surprise at the start of this week on Sunday, Dec. 29th. I went out for a planned eight mile run. I was determined to cover the distance even if I had to run/walk it. Well, I felt really good and it turned into 10 miles. 

Two weeks prior I had run 10 miles in 2:27:43 and felt pretty good. A little pain that night, but was ok the next day. On the this day however, I ran 10 miles on a very similar course (more up hills toward the end), ran the whole way and ran it in 2:21:23 - a whole 6:20 faster.

On Monday, Dec. 30th, I woke up and took a 30 minute walk. That night, I did an upper body workout at the gym and walked a mile on the treadmill at 17:15 pace. I also played around to see just how fast I could walk before I had to start running to keep up. It was around 15 minutes and I couldn't keep it up for very long. LOL

On Tuesday, Dec. 31st, New Year's Eve, I took a rest day. 

January 1st, 2025, (Wednesday), I went for 4.04 mile run and did an upper body workout. My run took me 54:05 to complete which I was pretty happy with. That's a 13:23 mile 

On Thursday I did a lower body workout at home. 

On Friday, I did another 4.04 mile run. The funny thing was that I wanted to quit almost immediately. I told myself to just make it the first mile. Then I still felt bad but convinced myself to just make it to 1.5 and then I could turn around. At 1.5, I did want to turn around but I told myself that I would continue on and try to make it to two miles. I did, and when I looked at my watch, I was shocked to see that I was much faster - almost a while minute - than I was on the first. Maybe that's why the run felt so bad. I didn't feel like I was running faster. At this point, something clicked and I said I'd run back (as planned) for as long as I could. I finished my run in 52:26 which was a 12:59! I was so excited!! I know these are shorter runs but to me, it finally is showing that I'm getting better. I really felt slow so it was amazing to see that I was that much faster than my usual 14:30+ pace. 

Today, Saturday, Jan. 4th, I will be taking a rest day. As I've mentioned, being well over 50 - it's good for me to alternate running days. My legs just get so heavy and my ankles get really stiff, which is so weird. Once I get moving, they loosen up, but it's still strange to me. Getting old is not for the weak, that's for sure. 

Stay turned and see how the next week goes. 

Happy Trails!

Marathon Training Update: Week of December 22nd

 Crazy week! So unproductive, but also a big surprise going into the Week of December 29th. let me explain. 

I was supposed to do a long run on December 22nd, but did not. I was running around doing last minute Christmas stuff. Weren't we all? 

On Monday, Dec. 23rd, I did do an upper body workout consisting of 3 sets/10 reps each of Shoulder Press, Dumbbell Rows, Arm Curls, Triceps Kickbacks, Front and Side Raises. I did not run.

On Tuesday, I did a lower body workout consisting of 3 sets/10 reps each of Dumbbell Deadlifts, Step Ups, Lunges and Calf Raises. I did not run on Christmas Eve.

On Wednesday, Christmas Day, I didn't do anything but eat and open presents. Never planned to do anything but this. 

On Thursday, I realized what an unproductive week it had been and so I got up, got dressed and went for a run. Well...sort of. I ran walked for 3 miles. I ran a mile out and then had to walk about a quarter of a mile. I then ran again but had to stop another time before running it back in. My time was 41:42 which was a 13:46 pace. This was a faster pace than many of my recent runs despite walking a little. So that was weird, but encouraging. I did not however, do my upper body workout that I had scheduled. 

Friday,. Dec. 27th, I took a break as I was sore from Thursday's run/walk. I did not do my lower body workout as planned. 

Saturday,. Dec. 28th, I hiked 2.5 miles with my wife.

So, as you can see, not a great week, but it was the holidays and I had a small win in there. 

The surprise came on Sunday, Dec. 29th when I decided I was getting back into it and went out for an eight mile run. It turned into 10 because for the first time in a long time, I wasn't feeling any pain. Two weeks prior I ran 10 miles in 2:27:43 and felt pretty good. A little pain that night, but was ok the next day. On the this day however, I ran 10 miles on a very similar course (more up hills toward the end), ran the whole way and ran it in 2:21:23 - a whole 6:20 faster. Go figure. Maybe my body just needed the rest. I can tell you that all during the week of the 22nd, I was really struggling with motivation, so maybe my body was trying to tell me that I was overtraining - despite the very low mileage. I'll also add that all my running routes have been affected by Hurricane Helene. A lot of the greenway is blocked off or inaccessible. A large part of the Arboretum trails are closed. Bent Creek seems to be improving fast so that may be an option soon.

The Marathon as of today, seems almost unachievable. It's hard to imagine running another 16.2 miles, but I guess that's the point, right? To do something that seems so challenging? 

Until next week, Happy Trails. 

Marathon Training Update: Week of December 15th

This was another great week until today. I have been feeling pretty optimistic all this week but then today was just garbage. I think it was more psychological than anything, but I'll get to today in a moment. 

I started out the week with a long run of 10 miles. I ran the whole way, felt good and felt like I could have run more. However, I stuck to my plan and didn't push it, especially since the week's prior plantar fasciitis coming back. While I did have some foot sensitivity after the run, it was nothing at all like before and the next morning, I felt fine. 

On Monday and Tuesday I had to travel for work. Monday should have been a break from running, but I was bored so I did 2 miles on an elliptical in the hotel gym along with an upper body workout. I stuck with my typical 3 x 10 Shoulder Press, Dumbbell Rows, Arm Curls, Triceps Kickbacks, Front and Side Raises. Tuesday morning I woke up, hit the gym and did 2.5 miles on the elliptical and tried to do my typical lower body workout. However, after lunges and deadlifts, my hamstring was acting very weird and felt like it was going to pop, so I finished with some Calf Raises and called it a day. 

Wednesday was a rest day. My hamstring felt fine so that was good. Whatever twinge I had in the hotel gym seemed to have gone away. However, my Achilles was very sore and it hurt to walk.  

On Thursday, I did my upper body workout at home but my Achilles was still very sore and I was limping all day so I did not run. 

Friday was not any better. My Achilles still hurt to walk, but I powered through my typical home lower body workout which is 3 x 10 Deadlifts, Split Squats, Lunges, Step Ups and Calf Raises. 

Today, Saturday I was not looking forward to running. The "feels like" temp was in the teens but I sucked it up, but on layers and went out for a run. I didn't even make it a mile and I had to stop. My legs felt like solid steel. It was so much effort to pick them up it was crazy. I was only wearing leggings - no sweat pants - so I'm not sure why they felt so heavy but I just couldn't run. I wasn't even going that fast. Tomorrow is my long run, so we'll see what happens then. I don't think it's supposed to be any warmer tomorrow but I will suck it up. With the hat, gloves, gaiter and sweatshirt all up top, I was actually not cold. I felt very big...like the little kid in A Christmas Story that falls and can't get up from the snow. 

I mentioned I felt like today was more mental than physical. I have been back up in the 190's again, having got my weight down to 177 so that has really affected me. I see myself as "fat" again, as a big lumbering blob and it's definitely impacting my motivation. I think that, combined with the extreme cold (for my area) really did a number on me today.

Wish me luck. 

Marathon Training Update: Week of December 8th

I felt really good today looking back at this week. That's a first in a quite awhile. As I mentioned in my last post, I started the week off with a long run. On Sunday, December, 8th, I ran 8.93 miles. I had planned to run 8, but then I thought, 8.75 is basically 1/3 of a marathon. The trail I was on ended up being closed so I had to backtrack and ended up running the 8.93. There's so much storm damage on the greenway in Asheville along the RAD section that it's hard to believe they'll be able to run the Marathon in March. I think we'll be on the roads a lot more than we will on the Greenway as was originally planned. My time was slower than before. I ran this distance in 2:07:38, which is a 14:18 pace. Faster than the 14:37 I need to maintain to finish the marathon in the 6.5 hour cutoff time, but still not great. I had been running in the mid to high 13 minute range. I want that cushion. 

The rest of the week, I stayed on it in one way or another. Monday, I was having some heel pain from the day before so I took a rest day, which was actually already planned. I did however do an upper body workout at home with my dumbbells. I did 3 sets of 10 reps of each exercise: Shoulder Press, Bent-over Rows, Arm Curls, Triceps Kickbacks, Front Raise and Side Raise. 

Tuesday I was in the gym. It was super cold out so rather than run I did the following for about 45 minutes. 2 miles on the Elliptical, 2 miles on a recumbent elliptical (for lack of a better description) and 2 miles on a stationary bike. I then did 3 x 15 with Squats w/100 lbs, Calf Raises w/100 lbs., and Leg Curls with 50 lbs. 

Wednesday was a full rest day, but Tuesday I did a 1.73 Fartlek run. I didn't have a watch with me so I just pushed it as much as I could at times. I also did an upper body workout like I did on Monday. 

On Friday, I took a rest day from running but I did a lower body workout at home with dumbbells. I did 3 sets of 10 reps for Dumbbell Deadlifts, Squats, Step Ups, Lunges and Calf Raises. 

Today, Saturday, December 14th, I was traveling and shopping so I had planned a rest day again. Tomorrow is my long run so I want my legs to be fresh. 

Like I said. I feel really good about this past week. I would have liked to have run more, but with the cold and a lot of time constraints, I was happy I got out there and exercised as much as I did. 

Marathon Training Update: Week of December 1st

Here's an update on how training is going. I think I'll do this every Sunday until the Marathon in an effort to keep me going. For some reason, I'm really struggling with motivation. I don't know why. Maybe it's the distance. 26.2 does seem pretty intimidating but this was something I really wanted to try. If I really search my feelings (Jedi trick), I think it's because I missed so much training over the election period when things got so busy. Now, I have no motivation because in a lot of ways, I feel like I'm starting over. 

Anyways, here's what I've done this week. 

Week of December 1st

On Sunday, I did not do a long run. Looking back, I can't even tell you why I didn't run. I just remember thinking, I'll run long on Monday. 

Monday came and I did not run long. In fact, I did not run at all. I did to 3 sets of 10 reps for my upper body workout that I got back to doing. I do Shoulder presses, arm curls, triceps extensions, side raises and front raises. 

Tuesday I again, failed to run. 

On Wednesday, I did 10 push ups but did not run. 

On Thursday, I realized it was just 100 days until the Marathon on March 15th and a little something lit up inside. I ran 4 miles and did my upper body exercise routine. 

On Friday, I did not run, but that was planned. I did however workout my lower body. I did 3 x 10 split squats and glute bridges. 

On Saturday, I planned on running but then ended up Christmas shopping. I figured I'd run later, but we were out all day, and when I did get home and was about to run, my wife reminded me we had a Christmas party to go to that I had completely forgot about. 

The Start of a New Week

Sunday, December 8th - just to give you a preview of next week's edition - I planned to run 8 miles. During the run, I thought, let's go 8.75 which is roughly 1/3 of a Marathon. I ended up having to make a small detour and actually ended up running a little bit extra and finished my run at 8.93 miles in 2:07:38. This was approximately a 14:18 pace which is better than the 14:37 I have to maintain to finish the marathon in the time allotted, which is 6.5 hours. 

The Hominy creek greenway was very clear from the RV park most of the way until just before the parking lot. It turned out, the trail was closed there. They had work crews cutting downed trees and removing debris so I couldn't finish my run by going that way. I had to turn around and head back toward Carrier Park. 

Marathon Training Update: If You Can Call it That!

WOW! I suck. That's really all there is to say! I have not been running at all. Work was supposed to get better after the election but we have been dealing with recounts, protests, and other issues. Here's a quick summary of things since I left off last. 

Week of October 27th

I didn't do anything. Nothing. Didn't even go for a walk. It was just work, work and more work leading up to the election. At the end of the day I was so exhausted and in the mornings, I had to drag myself out of bed from being so tired from working the day before. 

Week of November 3rd

On Sunday, Nov. 3rd, I did take a walk around Lake Junaluska. It was a 3.5 mile walk and felt good to be outside. Tuesday, November 5th was Election Day so I never planned on doing any exercise. This was a 17 hour day for me. On Wednesday, Nov. 6th, I walked 3.5 miles home after dropping my car off at the garage for repairs. I then had to walk back to get it that same day so I walked 7 miles total. Why didn't I run? No idea. Would have been a good training. On Saturday, Nov. 9th, I ran 3.5 miles and it actually felt ok. I did have to walk some but overall, I felt ok. 

Week of November 10th

On Sunday, Nov. 10th, I hiked and saw 5 different waterfalls. I didn't do anything again until Saturday, Nov. 16th when I ran 3.5 miles again. This time I felt great and actually ran my fastest time for this route. 

Week of November 17th

On Sunday, Nov. 17th, I hiked Deerfield Loop which is a little over 4 miles. On Monday, I had to travel all day. On Tuesday, I did a little weight training at home with my dumbbells. That was all for this week. I traveled all day Thursday. Traveled again and stood up scanning ballots for 8 hours straight on Friday. Traveled again most of the day on Saturday the 23rd. 

Week of November 24th

On Sunday, Nov. 24th, I ran 5.32 miles and felt pretty good. I was only going to run 4 but I felt good so added a mile. On Monday I lifted weights at home after having stood for 8 hours scanning ballots again for the recount. On Tuesday, Nov. 26th, I was on the road all again delivering voting equipment. On Thursday the 28th, I hiked 4 miles at the arboretum. I finished the week on Saturday, Nov. 30th by doing 10 push ups. My left bicep has been hurting which I haven't mentioned but it's really strange. It feels so week and it hurts to lift anything. I cut my arm curls from 20lbs down to 15lbs. Long story short, 10 push ups was all I could squeeze out for fear of hurting my arm more. 

With less than 15 weeks left before the marathon, I need to get my act together. December has not been good and it's only the 2nd, but I'll save that for next time. I have no excuse for not running yesterday or today. I will do a short upper body workout tonight though.