m.i.a.

So I have been a little busy. Still no running, but honestly have had no time. I was hoping for a run today - the weather is beatuiful, but hi-ho, hi-ho it's off to work I go... I hope running and life is going well for the rest of you... until next time...

P.S. Yes, I know I am a dork and I apparently still have too much time on my hands...

no news is good news?

Um, probably not in my case...

I have not run in a week.

I had intended to run this weekend, but I was tired, I was busy and, frankly, I just was not motivated, although it was relatively warm (at least compared to the last two weekends I have run outside).

This week looks less busy and less stressful at work, so we'll see. It will also depend on my knee. It was acting up yesterday when I would walk. Still a bit problematic this morning. Not sure what is going on, but something is not right. I may need another trip to the doctor... yuck.

I hope to be able to report on some actual running some time soon - perhaps a series of runs. It really bothers me that I am not training for anything - not a marathon and not the Indy Mini Marathon - my usual spring race. I am out of sync with my life and just need to get things back to normal in some way...

mother nature 0, dave 3

Hey Mother Nature!

Do you remember me?

You tried to keep me from running during the summer with your intense heat and humidity, but I ran anyway.

You made the weather for the Chicago Marathon cold and windy, and I ran a PR.

And this weekend? Well, you made it only 6 degrees, then added a wicked windchill, but I pushed through it. Yes, it was painful and there were times that I wanted to quit, times I certainly didn't think I would make it, but I did.

Nice try.

I'll see you next weekend...

P.S. Rain on the Super Bowl? Did you really think that would stop the Colts?!?!? Yeah Colts!

the century mark

Well, I have done it.

I have made it to my 100th post.

Now I wish I had some incredible post to make it all worthwhile, but it has been one of those weeks...

You know the type I am talking about... too much work and no running... ugh...

So, yeah, I've got that going for me.

Honestly, I could have found the time to run - honestly. I used work as an excuse to not run.

I guess the exciting news of the week for me was receiving my results booklet and finishers certificate from the Chicago Marathon. It is now all official. That part of my life is now in the history books. All I have left to do is get my medal, certificate, race photo, etc all arranged and displayed on the wall... something to help keep me motivated.

So this weekend will be exciting... a scheduled run outside and then some Super Bowl Madness... Go Colts!

dashing through the snow... well, sort of...

Almost all of the snow has melted, but there was a nice steady falling of flurries during my short run. I was feeling good that I got in two runs this week and was feeling good enough to try for a run outside this weekend. Saturday came and went before I had a chance, so I chose today.

I chose the coldest day in weeks to run outside.

Outside... where it was -4 below zero with the wind chill (a balmy 12 degrees above without).

Outside... when a sane person might say, "I have a treadmill, I'll stay inside where it is comfortable."

No.

Not me.

I needed to be outside again. The last time I ran outside was December 9th. It was the next day I "discovered" my knee problem. So was this a bit of redemption of sorts that I was seeking? Yes, I guess it was. I wanted to run and feel good while doing it. But I also wanted to reaffirm my love of running and being outdoors. Plus I wanted to be able to try out some new stuff I got for Christmas (new underarmour hat and new earbuds for my MP3 player - unfortunately with all the snow and ice just about melted, I couldn't try out my stablicers...)

Once I got out the door I found that it really wasn't too bad outside (properly dressed). So I decided for an easy, flat course that looped through my neighborhood - an easy 2.5 miles. I also decided I would use my HR monitor and GPS to see where my fitness level is.

When I first started out, the wind was whipping the snow into my face, but once I turned a corner it was tollerable. I was feeling good. I felt like I was taking it slow and steady. The run seemed to be over pretty quickly, and part of me thought about extending my run, but I chose to be cautious.

When I got back home, I checked my splits... WTF?! They went something like this...

Mile 1: 7:58/mile pace (not possible)

Mile 2: 8:33/mile pace (I was running into the wind on some of this)

Last .5 mile: 8:48/mile pace (more wind and apparently getting tired)

My heartrate was a little higher than before, but not too bad for running a bit faster than I should have. The positive spin on this is I still can run the pace I ran during marathon training. Now I just need to build my endurance again...