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. 

Marathon Training Update: Week of January 26th

I felt good last week despite some missed days. I had two great time breakthroughs. I crushed my long run of 9 miles and a short 3 mile run. It was a good week. I'm happy to report that this week started out great too! 

The Week in Review! What a Pain!

On Sunday, I re-upped my distance. I hiked in the morning to see some frozen waterfalls. Absolutely beautiful! I didn't get home until about 3:30 and didn't get running until 4. Knowing I'd be getting home in the dark, I wore my light up running vest. By the way, if you don't have one, I highly recommend it. Anyway, I went out and was trying to run easy. It felt super easy. Two weeks ago, I ran 14.5 miles at a 14:40 pace and I felt like I was going to die at the end. This run ended up being at a 14:05 pace and I while I felt dead at the end, it was easier than the 14.5 in terms of effort. I passed the half-marathon point in 3:03:16 which was faster than my 3:04:55 back in 2022, the last time I ran a half in a road race and faster than the last time I hit a 13.1 in a training run. I'm really seeing progress. If you had told me a year ago that I'd be running these distances, I would have told you you're crazy. What a difference  a year can make!

On Monday, I took a rest day, which is typical. I like to rest the day after my long run. It helps this old man recover faster. 16 miles takes  a lot out of a guy...lol.

On Tuesday I woke up with really bad back pain. I'm not sure if it was DOMS from the long run, or if it's work related. I think it could be work related in that when I get in the car, I am slinging my heavy backpack over to the passenger floorboard area. When I get out of the car, I'm hefting it up from there and across the seats as I get out. This has happened before and at the time, I had blamed it on the same thing and I wasn't running back then. Needless to say, I did not run or workout. I also started to go to the passenger side and place my backpack down and retrieve it. 

On Wednesday and Thursday, I was no better. Still in a lot of pain so I didn't do anything exercise related. 

On Friday, I felt better but not 100%. I did think about going for a short run to test the waters so to speak, but then I decided to err on the side of caution since it was the first day I didn't feel bad all day. 

Today, Saturday, Feb. 1st, I did not run, but I did go on a 4 mile hike with my wife. My back felt OK all day with the exception of one little moment when I ran/hopped across some rocks at a creek. I felt a small twinge of pain, but it went away immediately. Tomorrow is my long run which I'm determined to do despite having not run since last Sunday. If you've been keeping up with my progress, you'll know that it's not my first time doing a long run with nothing but the prior long run in the training books. 

Six weeks to Go!

Today, Saturday, Feb. 1st marks six weeks until the Marathon so I REALLY have to get dialed in. Here's my plan:

1. I'm going to be more consistent with the runs. I have to be. 
   
   
2. I'm gong to be more consistent with the strength training - twice per week. 
   
   
3. I'm going to be more consistent with stretching. I'm sure it's been helping my legs not feel heavy so I have to keep it going and not get lazy with it. 
   
   
4. I'm still working out nutrition. So far, I think what works best is a couple boxes of raisins, a chewy granola bar and lime Gatorade. That' what I've been taking on my long runs. I have a little snack and a sip every 3 miles or 45 minutes depending on how I feel. 
5. I need to lose weight! I started January at 195 and ended January at 195. While I didn't gain any weight, I didn't lose any either. I really need to slim down. 195lbs is just too much for me. I'm officially obese per the BMI chart (which I hate). The Rock is technically obese, but I'm not muscular so I have no excuse. For every pound I can lose, I should gain 30 - 60 seconds per mile. For a marathon, that's 13 to 26 minutes faster. In the first week of Hurricane Helene, I was down to 177lbs. I can't believe I've gained it all back. I had heard that some runners gain weight while training for a marathon, but I didn't think it would be me. I suppose, even though I lost some weight, I'm where I was when I started training so it's not as bad as gaining weight really. I just have lost any overall. 

Marathon Training Update: Week of January 19th

What a difference a week makes. Saturday, I posted that week's pity party, where I talked about possibly self-sabotaging my goal of running a marathon. I think that on some level, I was not taking my training seriously, because deep down, I want to go into the marathon and have to gut it out. In the past, I've been the type of person that could roll out of bed and run a half-marathon with little to no training. Deep down, I want to still be that guy. Even at 57 years old. I realize - on the surface at least - that I'm not that young, bullet proof guy anymore, but deep down I want to be. Don't we all? 

I've been doing a lot of self-analysis lately. Partly because that's the sort of thing I naturally do with my clients. I analyze their times, training, mindset, etc as we go. It helps me understand them and look for signs that we need to step back, leap ahead or look for signs of overtraining. Since I'm coaching myself to this Marathon, why treat myself any different? 

I was also getting certified as a life coach. I started after Thanksgiving and I am happy to say, that I finished the course and am now a certified Life Coach. I figured I'd do the exercises on my self during the course. It was very insightful and made me come to terms with things I wasn't easily aware of or things I was aware of but was avoiding. It's easier to avoid pain and seek pleasure than to deal with crap! 

How Did This Week Go?

On Sunday of this week, I went out for my long run and had the best run I've had since I've started. I was a little pressed for time, plus I've been needing to cut back on the long run before progressing farther so I planned to just go out for 8 miles. Around mile 7, I decided I was going for 9 miles instead. Dropping back from 14.5 to 9 also sounded better than going all the way back down to 8 miles. 

Here's the thing though! I felt so good! My legs felt good the whole time. No shin issues, no heavy legs, just relaxed and comfortable running. Two weeks ago, I was super excited to have run my long run at a 13:59 pace! I hadn't broke 14 in my long runs so it was awesome. Well, get this....my long run Sunday was at a 13:19 pace!! I didn't even feel like I was pushing it that hard. I was definitely trying to push myself a little, but I certainly didn't expect 40 seconds faster per mile for 9 miles!!

On Monday, I took a rest day from running. 

On Tuesday, I missed running, but I did do a total body workout at home with my dumbbells and resistance cables. I think in past posts, I've called them resistance bands out of habit. They are really more like cables. Technically, they're surgical tubing, just FYI. I also stretched. A lot! I had stretched a lot on Saturday night, and I'm just curious to know if that's why Sunday's run felt so good. 

On Wednesday, I missed my run again. 

On Thursday, I missed my run...again...but I did do a total body workout at home. Again, with the dumbbells and resistance cables. 

On Friday, I got my act together and went out for a short, hard run. I ran 3.07 miles in 36:10! That's an 11:47!! I had no idea I could break 12 minute pace for any distance so I was super stoked!!

On Saturday, I went on a hike with my wife. It was only about 2 miles but it felt good to be in the woods. 

Saturday marked just 7 weeks left in my training. It seems to be coming so fast now. All in all, despite the missed runs, I'm feeling pretty good. 26.2 seems daunting, but that's the point isn't it? 

Marathon Training Update: Week of January 12th

Despite not running the prior week other than a long run on the beginning Sunday, I was able to go out and do my long run. I did feel like I hadn't run in awhile. My shins were very stiff and I had to walk briefly two different times in the first 3 miles. However, after that, I ran the whole way. I went my farthest yet in training - and my longest run EVER - 14.5 miles! I was planning on just doing a half-marathon distance, but I felt really good once I got past 3 miles so I figured I'd aim for my longest run. I had run 14 just before Hurricane Helene hit. Then the election kicked into high gear and lost a lot of progress. But now, I feel good about being where I left off, even though I still hate that missed so much time. I should be farther along, but I knew starting to train for a marathon in a Presidential Election year was a crazy idea. 

Overall, I was slower than I've been running, but even with the two walk breaks, I was still below the required pace to finish the full marathon in 6.5 hours. To me, that's a HUGE win!

On Monday, I took a rest. 

I missed workouts on Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday. I have no excuse. I should have run in the morning, but it was cold or it was after work and it was dark. All just excuses!!

On Friday, I tried to run 3 miles but it turned into a run/walk session. I had tried out my Altras with a pair of Dr. Scholls plantar fasciitis inserts. They felt good for the first mile, but by 1.5 miles my arches were hurting. I had to walk. I tried to run again, but the pain came back and then the tops of my feet started hurting. Not sure what that was about. Long story, short, I took my shoes off and ran home fully barefoot and was fine - other than the sharp rocks that kept poking me, but that was few and far between. But it still hurt like hell when I found one. Moral of the story, stick with what works. My barefoot style shoes have been great. My desire to change at this point is just BS. I feel like I could run faster with traditional shoes, but I'm not out to run fast. I'm out to finish. A marathon! The barefoot shoes are working so why mess with it? 

Today, Saturday the 18th is 8 weeks until the Marathon!! Do I feel ready? No. Am I freaking out? Actually, no. I feel OK. I took a hike around Lake Powhatan today which is under two miles, but I was with my wife and we saw a Great Blue Heron. A beautiful bird that we don't often see around here. Tonight, before writing this, I did a total body workout using my dumbbells and resistance bands. I also did some stretching. I did a couple to hamstring stretches, the butterfly stretch, the Miss America which is good for the IT Band and modified Hurdler's stretch. I should have been doing these from the beginning, but I didn't. I was totally relying on the wall stretch, calf stretch variations and some dynamic stretches like leg swings. With 8 weeks to go, I'm breaking out all my tricks. 

Time to get serious. 

Today my wife asked "what if you're not ready? Just 'if'." I told her my pride wouldn't let me drop out and I'd follow through no matter what. I had considered having a backup marathon - Grandma's in Duluth, MN in June as a back up. It's actually my dream race. But it's sold out already, so Asheville Marathon, here I come!! At first it didn't bother me that she asked that. Seemed like a reasonable questions given my lackluster training. But the more I think about it, the more I realize that I haven't taken this serious. I haven't been consistent. I'm letting myself down. Worse, I feel like I'm letting her down. She's been so supportive of me doing this and here I am complaining about the cold or the dark. WTF John?? Get with it!!

I've been taking a Life Coach course. It's very similar and a lot of the same information from various Tony Robbins' books and tapes that I have. But it has made me realize that I'm probably afraid of failing. So if I sabotage, slack off, and don't train, then when I fail to finish in time, I can blame it on work, weather, hurricanes, etc. All excuses!! Some valid for a day or two - but not this whole time. 

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.