happy blog-iversary to me

Well, how time flies. It has been a year since I started this blog. From my first race report of last year's Mini Marathon through last weekend's trail run -- it has been quite a ride, er I mean run...

I have been doing a lot of thinking about my fall marathon and I know it will not be the Marine Corps Marathon for me, but there is always next year. I am going to train for and run a Marathon, but I will get this figured out soon as training is just around the corner. This year I am going to use the Pfitz plan. I need a much more disciplined plan and I think I am ready for it.

I am planning on heading out for a run after work today to get some more mileage in for the week and then try for an 8 mile run this weekend - probably not on the trails, but who knows - they were a lot of fun...

Tomorrow I am out to the track to see some Indy car practice. It will be the first time I will have been there during Indy car practice in all the years I have lived here - hopefully it will be fun.

where the wild things run

Another week has passed and not much running happened again. It was a busy week at work. I found myself having to do a week's worth of work in the first two days for out of town meetings I had on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The meetings were fine, just made for long days. The first two were both up in Michigan, but I chose to return each day as I had to get a few things done at the office afterwards. By the end of Friday I was spent.

On Saturday I slept in and didn't wake until the starting of the Mini-Marathon. It was a tough time just watching it and the 35,000+ runners and walkers on TV. I wanted to be there running it as I have the past 6 years -- but I know I would not have run my best race. Even if I had trained for it and run it, I was so tired that it would have been painful.

Saturday night, after a little yard work including mowing the yard, I indulge in some margaritas - it was Cinco De Mayo after all! They were a little heavy on the Tequila though, but they were tasty...

On Sunday I did get out for a run. I decided it was time to get back to the trails so I headed over to Fort Harrison State Park to check out the trails. With 7 trails to choose from, there was plenty of distance to run. I started out on the Fall Creek Trail, which runs along the banks of the Fall Creek. It was a nice fairly wide path that I found out the hard way has a set of stairs that are killer. I was breathing heavy by the time I got through those. The trail then curved around, crossing the paved Harrison Trace Trail that I usually run when I am there, and I picked up the Camp Creek Trail which circled back around to the Fall Creek Trailhead. I then ran on part of the paved Harrison Trace Trail to the Lawrence Creek Trail. Wow! This trail seemed like it started going straight up for what seemed like a half mile. It was most likely less, but I did have to stop at the top to catch my breath... the margaritas were catching up with me. I was dehydrated and just felt exhausted. I continued on, circling around back to the trailhead and then hopped back on the paved trail heading back towards my truck.

The times I was out in the sun, I could tell it was getting warm out, but amongst the trees it was cool and just so scenic. I have fallen in love with this park all over again!

I was surprised to see so many people on the trail walking their dogs... I did see one other runner, but she was running with her dog. I got a few weird looks, but people were courteous. The next time I go, I may try to get out a little earlier.

Overall, it was a great run. It certainly kicked my ass. I have a lot of work to do to get back to a decent base before marathon training begins. And my destination marathon is changing for this fall, but more to follow on this at a later date.

Until then, Happy Running to all!

craziness ensues

Well, the last couple of weeks has been crazy for me. The last three weekends I have spent almost all of my time installing flooring at my parents. I am excited to report that it is now complete (minus a couple of small items that need attention) and my parents can get things back to normal at their house... I now wait for my turn for things to be "not normal" in my life... yet another teaser, but more to follow on this...

I wish I could say my running has been going well, but it has suffered a little during the week for the last two weeks. One of the factors was the rain. You might be asking yourself, "what about your treadmill, Dave?" Well - I am sorry to report it's demise a week and a half ago. I have yet to call service to have it checked and I still need to check a few things on my end first, but it is dead as a doornail. I am hoping that it is covered under the warranty (10 year motor warranty), but with my luck it is the controller card. I am bummed about this, but at the same time I was looking to sell it anyway. It's not that I never used it, on the contrary I used it almost daily, but it is taking up a bit too much room in our little house. I am looking into alternatives, but I think I am just going to try to embrace running in the rain and leave it at that...

The good news in all of this is my long runs have happened on schedule and they have been good. Last weeks 5k race was a great morale booster. I am not as slow as I thought I was... and this weekends run was an exercise in making the most of my time. Allow me to explain: Steph had to work at a health fair on Saturday morning and needed help carrying stuff in. It only lasted from 10am to 2 pm, so it gave me time to help her carry stuff in, set up and then go out for a run. As luck would have it, the health fair was being held at one of the Indy Parks, so I thought it to be a great opportunity to run in a new location. The park was not the most conducive to running, as it was rather small, but it did offer some great hills to run on. On the schedule was a 6 mile run, so as I started out I quickly learned that the loop around the park was just over a mile, so it was going to take 5 laps plus a little extra to get my mileage. I felt a little out of place running, as there was no one else out there running - mainly basketball, but I did see someone playing disc golf.

I finished up in 57:08 with an average pace of 9:27/mile. I tried to keep it consistent, which was a little tough on the hills, but it felt good and fairly easy.

Up next for me is to start some furniture refinishing and continue on some home renovation projects... lots to do. A busy summer if just around the corner...

Hope everyones run went well this past weekend. Until then, Happy Running.

race for the cure 5k

It was a beautiful morning and there were tons of people. I was feeling tired and not up to the race, but I decided to run it anyway, as I said it was a beautiful morning...

I lined up at the back of the 8:00/mile corral (there were only three choices anyway - 6:00, 7:00 and 8:00) hoping I would not get passed by everyone. To my surprise, I did okay. I still felt sluggish, but I kept up with everyone, even passing some.

As the sun crept ever-so-much higher in the morning sky, it started getting warmer...any more and I would have been uncomfortable. Wasn't it just 30 degrees last week?!?

As I approached the finish I was able to push a little harder and finish strong. My overall time was 25:13, with an average pace of 8:07/mile. Not too bad for being tired, I guess. I immediately followed up my run with a drive down to my parents to try to finish installing the flooring. Unfortunately, something came up and I had to leave early... hopefully I'll be able to get that done soon...

much too young to feel this damn old

So I spent this past weekend at my parents house installing flooring. I have never felt so old in my life. No, not because I was hanging out with my parents, but the work it took to install the flooring made every part of my body ache. I worked until midnight on Friday and Saturday and when I woke up on Sunday morning, my body just hurt. I wanted nothing to do with work and even less with running. So much for getting my long run in, but I did make up for it today and got in 5 miles this morning - and what a beautiful morning it was. I think spring finally caught up to us...

I'll try to get a couple of easy runs in the rest of this week and then it is the Race For The Cure 5k on Saturday... followed by some more installation of flooring... ugh.

Until next time -- Happy Running to All!