Running Out of Time

Only 19 days until the Indianapolis Half Marathon!

In all honesty, I do not feel ready. I know I can run the distance - that's never been an issue, but somehow I do not feel ready. I've gotten most of my runs in - probably 85% or more, and all of my long runs. Last weekend's near-12 miler (11.7 to be exact) left me feeling good. This weekend's 15k not as much. I think it was in part to lack of sleep and eating lack total crap all weekend... needless to say I am back on the wagon of good healthy eating.

So where does this leave me? Probably running the half just to finish in a respectable under 2 hour time and no PR. That doesn't mean I won't try...

With summer officially over I am still not finding any time to get anything done. The armoire I started to refinish back in June(?) is still not done, but it is close. Just some paint touch up, and installing new hinges and knobs and it will be ready. In all honesty, if I had any time this past weekend it would have been done by now, but Saturday we all ended up sleeping in until 10am - unheard of in our house - particularly for Lilli and me. But I was exhausted and obviously needed the rest. This got us to a late start in the day. We had talked about going to the zoo, but decided to travel down to Nashville, IN to walk around. I guess we weren't the only ones with that idea because it was quite busy - and it wasn't even peak season yet. We visited some of our favorite places (mine being Jack and Jill's Nut Shoppe... mmmm... warm roasted cashews...). On the way back we stopped at the outlets and did some clothes shopping - I still had a little birthday money and needed some new stuff.

Sunday was my day for a run since I was too tired to get up early on Saturday... and apparently Sunday too. I got out by 10:30am and ran my 15k at a decent pace (supposedly - my watch is still being fixed and I have no GPS link). I estimated my pace around 8:29/mile. It felt slower. After my run I grabbed a quick bite of lunch and then mowed the neighbor's yard and ours. 3 hours later I was done and was just a bit tired - not to mention a little sore.

Quite a beautiful weekend though. I am actually looking forward to the cooler weather this week. I love autumn - probably my favorite season.

That's all for now - more later. Happy running.

3 x 1600 = 36?!?

So I started my 36 year on the planet with an easy run – 3 x 1600… what was I thinking? It turned into a great run. The air was cool and crisp this morning, so it helped motivate me to run well I think. I started out with an easy run for the first half mile, then right into my first 1600m at race pace, or actually faster – about a 7:30 pace… I guess things do get better with age. I finished the first 1600m and felt good, slowed down a little for a couple minutes, then started my second one (right on a hill no less). I made it up and hung on to the finish. I started my third and final 1600 on another hill (lost GPS signal for some reason) and held on to the end. The last one was definitely a little harder, but I still finished it at a pace well below my projected race pace. I finished up with an easy mile (8:30 pace) back home. Probably the best run I have had in a long time. This weekend will be a long one – probably shooting for 12 miles so I can get to a 14 mile run before the half marathon.

 

For now though, I am taking it easy today. I am still working, but will be going out for dinner tonight – nothing too fancy…

 

A Late Day Soggy, Windy 10

Since I was not able to run the trail run race on Saturday, I had hoped to try to squeeze in a run on Saturday. Not wanting to get up and start at 6am (though in hindsight that was the better choice) I was unable to run on Saturday. It was a nonstop day, ending with a trip down to my parents to spend the night. While there I was able to fix my dad’s computer… still not sure how he can mess a computer up so quickly, but oh well… Steph could relax and my parent’s could spend time with Lilli.

 

The next morning we went to breakfast for my mom’s and my birthday (they are the same day - the 17^th). Afterwards we relaxed at the house. I finished up re-installing some stuff on my dad’s computer and the next thing we knew it was 3 in the afternoon… all day it was windy and on and off rain, so a run was looking less and less likely. We left and had to make a couple of stops before getting home. Once I got home I changed into my running clothes and headed out to meet John for a run. I didn’t think we’d be doing 9 miles, but left it as an option.

 

We headed out and kept the pace easy. The wind helped too as it seemed we were running in place at times. Then a gentle rain came down soaking us, but we pushed on. Once in the protection of the trees at Fort Harrison State Park, it was better, but we spent a lot of time dodging fallen branched on the paths. As we headed out of the park, I thought we were at 7 miles from previous runs, but the GPS only said 6.5. That didn’t sound right, and it meant our pace was only 10:00/mile. John decided that was enough for him, so I kept on, thinking I’d do another 1.5 miles and call it a night. I chose a path that I thought might be enough, but it turned out to be a bit longer and instead of 8 miles it looked like it might be 8.5. Since I was so close to 9 I pushed on a little more and then got to 9, so I figure might as well make it an even 15k.

 

I got done, my knee a little sore, my clothes soaked and feeling a little tired, but felt pretty good for getting 15k done. When I got home though, I mapped the route and found out we had actually run 7 miles, and I had actually run 10.1 miles… hmm... nice surprise.

 

I took today as a rest day, but that just means Wednesday will not be a rest day – besides with it being my birthday it will be that much more special.

 

Happy running…

 

Thoughts On Being A Dad

I sit here thinking about the last 10+ months of my Life. Wow, how crazy it has all been. It has been the hardest, but most rewarding time - I can't imagine anything topping this.

Sometimes I struggle with not having my own time anymore. When I do it is in the wee hours of the morning as I run through the darkness, or it is at work (yeah right). I actually enjoy my runs a lot in the morning. I am alone with only my thoughts and it is comforting to be alone - sounds strange and a little selfish I suppose, but it works for me.

The wonderful thing about being a dad (for now at least) is that Lilli thinks I am a rockstar. She smiles every time she sees me and holds her arms out for me to hold her. "wow" it makes me feel important. I can have a stressful or bad day at work, but when I walk through the door at home or pick her up at day care I see this:

and I just melt and whatever happened at work doesn't matter anymore.

She'll eventually learn that I'm a dork and she'll probably not smile every time she sees me, but for now I am cherishing every minute of it. I wouldn't trade any of this for the world.

Scheduling Snafu(s)

The name of the game is flexibility. Stuff happens - it's all part of Life. So as I have been trying to pull together a training schedule and stick to it the last 4 or 5 weeks, I have shifted days around and, unfortunately, have missed a day or two.

Am I worried? No.

Do I wish I didn't have to keep shuffling my time around? Sure, but I'm thankful I at least have that as an option.

So, the plan this weekend was to run 10k. The schedule actually had me in a 10k race - and there even was one, but I opted out of doing that race and decided just running 10k would be a good thing. As I was checking my upcoming planned races, I realized that the D.IN.O fall trail race series is beginning next weekend. What a great idea it would be to run my 10k on trails!

Honestly, I was happy to run anything as long as I got my mileage in at a good pace. I had it all planned to run on Saturday, but Life threw another curve ball at us.

Steph woke up horribly dizzy - more so than she had a previous mornings (we thought it was just sinus drainage or something connected to fluid in the inner ear). It was going away, so an appointment was scheduled with an ENT for Monday, but here it was Saturday and it was bad. So it was off to the Medcheck where she was diagnosed with "positional vertigo". So, with some medication, it was relieved slightly, but with a wonderful drowsy affect. The rest of Saturday was a wash, but not a waste. Unfortunately, I am still not getting ANYTHING done around the house that is on my list! I am threatening to take vacation to have actual free time to get stuff done... time is running out...

Today I finally got out for my run around 11am. I headed right for Fort Harrision State Park and ran the trails. I hadn't run the trails there since April, so it was great to get back to them. I didn't set any records on this run, but felt good when I was finished.

Later on today I was mentioning to Steph that next weekend was a trail run race that I was planning on doing. Unfortunately for me, she has an appointment that morning that has been scheduled for a month and a half... oops, guess I lose on this one. Looks like I'll have to miss this race... oh well, there be plenty more. Life goes on and so do I. I'll be back at it tomorrow morning if all goes well.

Happy Running...