Half-Marathon Training Update: Week of October 12th, 2025

This week started off great! On Sunday, I went on a 4.5 mile hike with my daughter. She even joked that I was flying up the trail and she was "fighting for her life". That made me feel good. My weight didn't go down so that was a bummer. I was 197.2 which was about a half-pound more than last week but nothing to really worry about. Weight loss is not linear no matter how much I want it to be. I realize that. 

On Monday, I went for a 5 mile long-run and just ran for fun. I was totally aimless and just ran around West Asheville turning down a street when I felt like it. I averaged a 13:43 pace which is what I need to keep if I want to break 3 hours in the half. If felt pretty easy so that was a good sign. 

Tuesday, I went to Gold's Gym and worked out and then ended with a mile walk on the treadmill at a 16:40 pace. I have to say, I do like the gym and I do like Gold's more than planet fitness. There's just something about the free weights that I like. Maybe it's the old-school nature of them as opposed to all the fancy machines. Although, I will say that I like doing the Leg Press machine more than actual squats. I get nervous I'm going to hurt my back by lifting wrong. 

On Wednesday, I took a rest day which at the time was a good idea. I had done something active, Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Way more activity than this old guy had been used to doing. 

Thursday I didn't do anything either. Work had been getting crazier but I felt like I should have squeezed in something so I did do some arm curls, front raises and side raises at home with my adjustable dumbbells. 

On Friday, I was pretty busy with work again and it was date night, so I didn't do any running. But what a great date night.

Today, Saturday I didn't do anything. Not sure why. I can't remember what happened that I didn't do anything. No run, no hike, nothing. That's weird for me. 

As you may notice, not once did I mention doing my physical therapy stretches and routine. Very unhappy about that part of my life. I feel so much better when I do them and after my sessions. I have to get a sense of discipline. Motivation just ain't doing it. 

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. 

What is it Like to Run a Virtual Half-Marathon?

What is it like to run a virtual half-marathon?

Last year, I signed up to run a new half-marathon in my town. The Hot Chocolate Half-Marathon. I was super excited! At the time I signed up, I didn't think too much about it despite Covid being around. I was under the impression, Covid would be relatively scarce by the time the race rolled around. However, as the race date approached, there was now the new Omicron version of Covid. I can't afford to get Covid, so I decided to switch my entry to the virtual option. I was just too nervous to go and run with a large group of people, huffing, puffing and spitting all around me. The race did take precautions: Staggered starts, mandatory masks at the starting line, etc...but we all know all well people pay attention to mask mandates, right? 

Running a virtual half-marathon wasn't too different than going out for a long run. That is until I got to mile 10. This is usually when I grab a water or a Gatorade at the aid station. However, there was no aid station. But, let's start at the beginning: First off, I got to where I'd run but unlike an actual event, there was no crowds. No music. No porta potties for last minute pre-race tummy issues. It was just like I was going for a regular run. I tried to do my usual pre-race routine and it did get me psyched up, but not nearly as much as the usual energy felt at the start of a race.

The next obvious difference was that there were no mile markers or people telling you were to go. I know, I know. It's a virtual race so I was just required to cover the distance. Not the actual course. But call me old fashioned, but I ran the actual course. It was all along the greenways here in town so it was easy to look at the map and see what was what. The only exception is I wasn't 100% sure of the start and finish lines or where exactly the turnaround was at but I had a pretty good idea since it lined up with building I was familiar with. I figured as long as I was at the right mileage when I turned around, I'd be ok. 

I don't know about you, but my GPS watch is not the most reliable. In fact, when I go back and look at my route on my training runs, it has me running through buildings, cutting through people's yards, etc...so I know it's not 100% accurate. But when I got to the turnaround and my watch said I still had another tenth of a mile to go, I was a little upset. I'm still not convinced my half was 13.1. I think I actually ran more like 13.2 (which by definition, would be a half-ultra, since anything over a marathon is considered an ultra....LOL)

I had mentioned that since it was virtual, there were no aid stations. I knew this, of course, but I normally don't run more than 10 and have not felt the need for a water stop. However, yesterday, around mile 11, I sure could have used one. I know there are things I could have done. Planned ahead a left a water bottle in a tree. Wore a camel pack. But honestly, I'm lazy and that felt like a lot of effort to try an plan for.

To wrap this up, there's normally people at the finish line to give you a boost. Heck. There's normally a finish line! So I had to keep looking at my watch to see when it hit 13.1. I actually know fairly accurately how many steps I take to cover a tenth of a mile so I wasn't constantly looking, but still. Besides no  visual marker of a finish line, there was of course, no post race snacks. No free bananas which I know we all live for. And worst of all, I had to cut up my own orange! 

Don't get me wrong. It felt great to get out there an run a Half again. The last time I ran a half-marathon was in 2013. In January 2018, I ran a 10K with my son but I had not trained in forever. After the 10K, I had horrible plantar fasciitis which became very stubborn. In fact, I pretty much didn't run for the remainder of 2018. In 2019 I decided to get back into running but every time I made some progress, it would come back. Recently, I made some changes and I was able to get back to running pain free again, but that's for a different blog post. 

All in all, as I said, I'm super happy I can run 13.1 miles non-stop. However, I don't think I'd do a virtual half again. A 5K or even a 10K? Sure. No problem. But I just found the virtual half a bit lonely. 

2022 Asheville Hot Chocolate Races

The Asheville Hot Chocolate races are back on for 2022! This is great news for me as it is probably my favorite race series in Asheville. It started with just a 10K, but then in the last few years, they added a 5K option. Now, for 2022, they have added a half-marathon option! 

For those of you that follow me, you know I've been doing self challenges since getting back into running. I broke 30 minutes for the 5K. I've broken 8 minutes for the mile, and now my new challenge, will be getting myself into better shape so I can run the half-marathon. 

All the races will mainly follow the new and former greenways that follow the French Broad River. It's a beautiful run that starts at the Isaac Dickson Elementary school, goes down Hill Street and then mainly along Riverside Drive & Lyman Street. 

The 5K will go down Riverside, onto Craven Street and back along the greenway back to the school. 

The 10K will go down Riverside, along the greenway next to Lyman and into the French Broad River Park before heading back. 

The Half Marathon will continue from the French Broad River Park into the greenway along Amboy Rd down through Carrier Park and turn around at the end of the Hominy Creek River Greenway trail before heading back. 

Just so you know, there are also options for the younger kids. There's a Marshmallow Dash (1,269 ft,) and a 1K Hill Climb.

Being in January, it could be cold (obviously) but I have also ran it with rain too. That was a very cold year and the hot chocolate at the end was much appreciated. 

If you haven't run any of the Hot Chocolate races, I highly encourage you to do so. They are so fun, the courses are nice and flat, which is hard to come by in Asheville, and the participants are the best!

If you would like to run either the 5K, 10K or Half, please use the sign-up link below:

https://raceroster.com/events/99b55236-2784-4e72-9756-afe8fa693417/details?aff=5K4PX

Richmond Hill Trails in Asheville, NC

Well, I got tired of waiting for the maps to show up on the various trail websites, so I created my own Trail Map for the Richmond Hill trails.  It is not to scale - does not show every twist and turn to be sure - but it should give you a general idea of the trails if you are new to them.

Basically, just follow the yellow signs and arrows for the main loop - but if you see the enticing trails that shoot off here and there...now you'll know where they go.

Please let me know any feedback - additions, subtractions, etc...

Thanks!

Click on image to enlarge

Run Along the River in Asheville, NC

Asheville has some great running trails.  If you want a nice flat running route, head to the Hominy Creek Park.  Getting there is easy.  Just turn onto Shelburne Rd from Brevard Rd.  Take a left on Hominy Creek Rd and follow to the end where you'll have some parking.

The trail starts here and goes a mile to the entrance of an RV park.  For this stretch, someone has actually painted a line with the number of meters along the left side of the trail (heading out from the parking lot).  The parking lot starts at 1400m and counts down until the RV park for these 1400m.  As you exit the RV park, there is a 200m line painted on the road.  This gives you a metric mile.  It's great for checking your pace, doing speedwork or just having an idea of how far you've gone (or if your heading back, how much is left).

Once you're past this point, continue on the sidewalk along Amboy Rd until you hit Carrier park.  You can stay on the paved trail, or you can head off to the right along the river on a wood chip trail. Either way, you go past the old racetrack and continue on to what seems to be the end.  However, if you venture up the paved path, back up to Amboy Rd, (Citgo station on corner of State St & Amboy) and hang a right, you'll run down Amboy past the old junk yard, which is going to be new park sometime in the future (Can't wait!).  At the end of the old junk yard, you will be able to pick up another paved trail that follows along the river.

This Paved trail also looks like it ends, but you'll see a dirt trail head off into the woods.  This is just a short stretch that takes you under the Amboy Rd. bridge and into the French Broad River Dog Park.  You can follow a paved loop trail here to the right so that you stay along the river.  This paved trail will curve in front of the dog park, or you can head off on a short trail and go around the backside of the dog park.  You'll join up with a dirt road (on the other side of the dog park), which leads to a dirt parking lot.  At the end of the lot, you'll see the bathrooms and a circular drive to your left.  The paved trail can be picked back up here.  Now, just  run to where you entered the park, back under the bridge and back the way you came.  Note that in Carrier park I usually run the wood chip trail heading out, and stay on the paved trail for the return (just to see something different.

According to my bike tripometer, it's 5.83 miles, or about 9km.  It's a beautiful run and very flat, which is hard to find in Asheville.