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Monday, October 8, 2012

First Maraton? Check


I finished my first marathon yesterday... as you can see, I had a respectable 4:20 time (official time was 4:20:48).  I hope to write a recap soon, but I will say the crowd support on the Twin Cities Course was amazing!  Also, marathons are really hard!

Monday, October 1, 2012

Twin Cities Marathon Training Summary



So where the hell have I been?!  Well, I have no excuse for not posting over the past month and a half... other than that I have been very busy with work, kids, and training.

And now, the Twin Cities Marathon is 6 days away... so I thought I'd update you on my training with a very high-level summary.

Total Miles (June 18 through Sunday, Sept. 30): 373.4
Total Running Time: 2 days, 9 hours, 4 minutes, 59 seconds (57:04:59)
Total Missed Workouts: Lots... more than I want to count or admit
Longest Run: 21 miles (Sept. 15), 3:16:25 (9:21/mi)
Fastest Long Run: 8:51/mi (10 mi marathon pace run on Sept. 30).  Fastest non-marathon pace run was a 9:13/mi 15-miler on Sept. 9.
Slowest Long Run: 11:02/mi (20 mi run on Sept. 2) (it was very hot and humid that day, so I don't really feel too bad about it)
Toughest Runs: There were two 10-mile marathon pace runs that were scheduled on the same day of the week as tempo runs.... meaning I had to get up at 4 in the morning and run for 10 miles before breakfast... TWICE!

That's pretty much it.  This will probably be the last post until I write a race recap (hopefully completed within a couple weeks after the race).


Tuesday, August 14, 2012

WDW Marathon Medal Finally Revealed

runDisney finally revealed the 20th Anniversary medal for the WDW Full Marathon.



Overall,I really like it.  The double spinning concept is very cool.  I'm not crazy about the stabby flag at the bottom, but I will be happy and proud to wear this bad boy in January.

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Twin Cities Marathon Training - Week 2

As you will recall, last week, I ended up skipping three workouts (including my first speed intervals workout).  So, my primary goal for Week 2 was to get all of my run workouts in... and I achieved that goal.  I still missed both of my cross-training workouts, but I'm hoping to get back into those next week (including a swim workout with my new toy)

Mon. June 25 - Rest - Another Monday, another skipped cross-training workout.  However, after the disastrous long run the day before, I couldn't bring myself to do anything.


Tues. June 26 - 4x800 m Intervals (3.79 mi, 37:13, 9:49/mi avg) - My first speed workout of the training program, and this one was actually pretty easy.  Only four 800s go by pretty quick.  My goal for each 800 m interval was 3:37
Splits
1) 800 m - 3:35
2) 800 m - 3:32
3) 800 m - 3:31
4) 800 m - 3:33 

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Twin Cities Marathon Training - Week 1

It's finally here... I'm now (sort of) officially training for a marathon.  And it wasn't a great start to my training.  Oh well, that's why the program is 16 weeks long.

Mon. June 18 - Rest - I ran 11 miles on Sunday, so this is was a rest day (alright!  First day of the training program, and one workout skipped already!  Great job, Mike!)


Tues. June 19 - Rest - This was supposed to be a 3x1600 m interval workout... but a HUGE storm hit the South Metro of the Twin Cities (where I live)... and it hit just before I was about to go out for my run.  This storm ended up flipping FREAKIN' PLANES over just a few miles from my house, so it's probably good that I didn't run.

Wed. June 20 Rest - OK, so I could have worked out this morning... and I don't really have an excuse not to... but I couldn't really bring myself to make up the previous day's missed interval workout or the cross training workout I was scheduled to do this morning.  Ugh.  Three days in, and I've missed ALL three workouts so far.

Thurs. June 21 - 2 mi Short Tempo (5.60 mi, 51:24, 9:14/mi avg) - phew, I finally got out for a run... and for a very tough and fast tempo run too.  Thankfully, the "tempo" part of this workout was only for 2 miles.  My goal for the tempo portion was 8:05/mi
Splits
Warm up - 2 mi, 18:48, 9:24/mi
2 mi Tempo Run - 15:45, 7:52/mi
Cool Down - 1.6 mi, 16:52, 10:32/mi

Fri. June 22 - Rest - This was actually a scheduled rest day.
Sat. June 23 - Rest - My wife and I have been busy getting the house ready for guests next weekend, and after a long day of yard work and other chores around the house, plus playing with the kids, I decided to push this workout to Sunday morning... BIG MISTAKE.

Sun. June 24 -10 mile Long Run (reduced from 13) (10.32 mi, 1:44:24, 10:07/mi) - This was a TERRIBLE RUN.  It started out OK, with the first four or five miles being right on target, or even a little faster than my goal (9:29/mi)... but then the hills started coming, and the temperature and the humidity started rising.  I ended up cutting the run short and calling my wife to pick me up along the route.

Total Running Miles for Week 1: 15.92
Total Running Time for Week 1: 2:34:58
Total X-training Time for Week 1: 0:00:00 
Total Training Time for Week 1: 2:34:58


Total Running Miles for TC Marathon Training: 15.92
Total Running Time for TC Marathon Training: 2:34:58
Total Training Time (Running + X-training) for TC Marathon Training: 2:34:58

Monday, June 18, 2012

The Wailin' Bitch Trials - The Strassburg Sock

Today, I begin a series of posts on the various treatment options I have tried to cure my plantar fasciitis.  This injury has been so annoyingly persistent, that I have "lovingly" called it "The Bitch."  (starting back with my first post entlted "The Plantar Fascia: That Fickle Bitch," and continued a couples weeks ago with "The Bitch is Back").  So, in keeping with that theme, I bring you the "Wailin' Bitch Trials" (get it?  It almost sounds like "Salem Witch Trials"... and PF is painful, so you wail in pain... shut up, I thought it was clever).

For any treatment where I tried a specific product, I will write up a review of the product.  The first product I ever tried to treat PF was the "Strassburg Sock," which is this weird looking contraption:
It feels just as weird, too
I mentioned Strassburg back in "That Fickle Bitch."  The purpose of the Sock is to keep your foot flexed while you sleep at night because both the plantar fascia and the calf (which pulls on the plantar fascia indirectly when it is tight) tighten up when you sleep.  I think it is also supposed to increase blood flow to the plantar fascia while you sleep to help heal it.

Workout Summary - June 11-17

Another week with a couple runs.  Nothing too major, but I'm slowly getting back out there.

Mon. June 11 - Rest - yep, another week starting off resting (although this time because I ran a 9 mile long run the day before) 

Tues. June 12 - 5 mi Easy Run (5.19 mi, 47:41, 9:11/mi) - I need to rebuild some of my endurance base, so this week was all about longer, slow runs.  This actually turn out to be a bit faster than I wanted (I wanted to stay in around 9:30/mi), but I felt good.

Wed. June 13 - Rest 

Thurs. June 14 - 6 mi Easy Run (6.07 mi, 55:57, 9:13/mi) - Another pretty solid longer run at a relatively easy pace.

Fri. June 15 - Rest

Sat. June 16 - Rest - Initially I had planned on doing my long run on Saturday, but we were going to have breakfast with my parents to celebrate Father's Day with my dad, so I decided to push it to Sunday.

Sun. June 17 - 11 mi long run (11.38 mi, 1:46:37. 9:22/mi avg) - FINALLY!  A long run that felt decent.  In fact, for the first 7-8 miles, I felt like I was going slow, but kept clocking miles right around 9:00/mi (I had to practically force myself to go slower).  The last couple miles weren't so strong (more like in the 9:30-9:40 range), but I don't mind that.  Next week starts Marathon Training!

Total Running Miles for Week: 22.64
Total Running Time for Week: 3:30:15

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Twin Cities Marathon Training Plan

It is almost that time!  Starting next week, I will start my training program for the Twin Cities Marathon.  I am excited, nervous, scared, nauseated, and I think I have to pee a little bit.... but no matter, starting on Monday, I will be exercising for the purpose of running 26 miles and 385 yards.

Here is my current training plan (with some explanation after the jump):