12/31 greenbelt

Brian and I went out for an easy 5 miles on the greenbelt today. The only part that wasn't easy was when I tripped on a rock and ate it. I'm ok, so that's a plus...my hand is just a little sore. We ran for just over 50 minutes. My legs felt ok but I'm still really congested. I was going to meet up with Tim later for 7 around the lake but I think I'm going to give my body a break and see if I can get rid of this cold!!

pluses: turkey roast last night, seeing friends tonight

minuses: drive to dallas

12/30 TL run

I met up with Kamran, Jason, and Larry this morning for a twelve miler. We started at Rogue and then headed to town lake and did the Dam Loop. The first mile was a warm up and then we settled in at "easy" pace which was probably around 7:40. That's what Kamran said he automatically locks in at, so I'm taking his word on that. We went to the east side first and then we started a gradual pick up around the 1st street bridge. Kamran and I were planning to close about the last four miles and then we'd do a mile cooldown. The first two of the faster miles were around 6:50 and then 6:30. Kamran picked it up on the last two as well. I started to fall behind, but ended up about ten yards behind. I didn't feel too bad I was just having a hard time locking into a pace because I couldn't get in a breathing rhythm. Darn congestion...

pluses: getting a deep freezer for deer meat

minuses: can't shake the sinus infection

the last couple of day

Last Friday I went on little trail run at my parents ranch. It's pretty rock and hilly...so it was a bit of a challenge. It wasn't long...only 4.8 miles, but it was good to get outside after having been in Michigan all last week.

Then on Saturday and Sunday I decided to take off because I have a fever/sinus infection thing going on. I'm still really congested but the fever is gone, so I was went for a 10 miler this morning with Jo Dee, Mike, Kamran, Ken, Larry, and Jason. Jason, Kamran, and I did not do Mike's 4 hr trail fun run yesterday so we ended up going a little faster. Besides the inability to breath through my nose, I felt pretty good.

pluses: nice weather, productive

minuses: still not feeling 100%

11/24 treadmill recovery

I decided to choose treadmill fun today instead of the 200m jogging track. It was a good choice because on the track I always end up chasing people and today I really wanted to take as a recovery run. I've probably been running faster than I need to lately since we're just on the lydiard build up for the program right now...but I think that's mostly because I've just been bored with running inside. At least change of speed mixes things up and gets the run over with faster. I wanted to go for 11 today but only got in 8. We had limited time at the athletic club because all of my new neices and nephews were doing Christmas this afternoon at Brian's parent's house. Bottom line...I ran 8 and my total pace was 7:43.

pluses: Christmas with Brian's family

minuses: I miss my family

11/23 fifty-six laps

Today I only ran 56 laps around the indoor track at the athletic center....this was much improved from the 8 treadmill miles and 80 laps from yesterday :) I ran a mile warm-up and then ran 2 miles with Brian's youngest sister, Mindy. Then I ran 3 hard miles around 6:20 pace...and then cooled down for a mile. My total time was 48:19 which avg out to 6:54 pace.

pluses: time to relax

minuses: nutrition

12/22 long run

I wanted to get a long run in today because I didn't do one over the weekend. I was hoping the snow would let up so I may be able to get outside...but no such luck. I think Kalamazoo is under a weather advisory until sometime this afternoon. My schedule said 18 so I was trying to figure out a way to get that done inside at the athletic center by my inlaw's house. They have a jogging track, and it's 8 laps around per a mile. So I could do a ton of circles...or a treadmill...or both. I decided to go with both. I ran 8 miles on the treadmill first. The first 2 miles were warm up pace and then I settled in at 7:40 pace. After 8 miles and a water break I started running on the jogging track. I was going to go 6 hard miles there, and then cool down for 4 on the treadmill. I actually settled into a nice rythm on the track and ran 6 miles in 40 minutes...so I was going around 6:40 pace. Then I decided to just cool down on the track too...so 32 laps later I was done with the workout. Total miles: 18...avg pace of 7:19. I feel accomplished and can't wait to get back to Texas so I can run outside!

pluses: time with family

minuses: can't get outside

12/21 biking

Today there is a blizzard outside and it's 7 degrees...so we can't leave Brian's parent's house...they have a road bike with a trainer in their basement so I road that for 32 minutes. I decided that'd be the same amount of time it'd take me to run 4 easy miles, which would put me at my mileage goal for the week. I had the resistance pretty hard so it felt like a good workout.

pluses: time with family

minuses: blizzard

12/20 treadmill

It's snowing outside. While it's nice to see the snow...it makes running tough :) I'm in Detriot now and we've got 2 ft of snow since yesterday...so running outside isn't even an option. I thought about being brave and trying it, but there's too much snow on the sidewalks so my shoes would be soaked in about 5 minutes...and I'd probably eat it. This morning I hit up a treadmill workout instead. I did about eight and a half miles in 65 minutes. I actually wanted to go further...but the treadmill stopped and dropped the speed to 3.5 after 60 minutes...so I kind of wimped out then. I decided to go play some wallyball instead, which was fun. As much as a hate treadmills, it may be the only option for the next five days.

pluses: jeff's wedding tonight

minuses: nutrition

12/18 recovery

Did an easy 5.5 recovery on the treadmill early this morning. It was good to be on the treadmill because it forced me to take it easy...but it was really boring too. The only funny part was the random man that was wearing gardening gloves on the little weight circuit thing. That made me laugh. I ran for 43 minutes so was around a 7:45 pace. My left calf still feels tight but it got better by the end of the run.

pluses: going to MI today

minuses: waiting in the airport

12/17 town lake run

I met up with Tim this morning for an 11 miler from Barton Springs then down around the big loop at town lake. Avg pace was 7:30...so with the warm up and cool down I'd say we were pusing it for most of the time. The pace felt good though. I don't know why I'm running fast these days. I'm kind of waiting for it to catch up to me. I'm hoping to get in a quick recovery before my flight out to Michigan tomorrow.

pluses: staff Christmas lunch

minuses: lots of laundry and packing

12/16 long run

I'm leaving for Michigan on Thursday so I'm trying to front-load my week with mileage because I know it will be harder to get a lot of running in on the trip. I met up with Cindy at 5:30 at the Springs and we jogged about 3 1/2 miles. Then we met up with Tim, Angie, and Grant to do the 7 mile loop at the lake. Cindy and I kept going and added on a few extra miles, so we ended up with around 14.5 miles. I was hoping to get in 16 but was so cold, then once Cindy was ready to stop because she had to get going...I stopped too...oops :( My left calf/achilles is still kind of tight but I'm sure that's because my "recovery" yesterday was not that at all. I'm not 100% sure of our time today because I didn't start my watch (surprise) but we were around 1:55 for the run which would put us right under 8 minute miles. I really do need to take it easy tomorrow. I enjoyed running with a group today. I'm ready for warm weather.

pluses: lunch with a friend and dinner with more friends

minuses: cold! car said 29 after the run...

12/15 cold run!

I decided to show my commitment today and go out and weather the cold :) I didn't run this morning because I was hoping it would get warmer as the day went on. That didn't really happen, but oh well. I bundled up and left for an 8 mile run around 3:30pm. My plan was to just take it easy because I am going to try to get in a semi-long run tomorrow. It was pretty cold so the first few miles felt really slow. I'd was actually going around 8 min pace...but it felt like my legs weren't moving. It just took awhile to warm up. Finally, things started clicking. I was going out on Slaughter for 4 miles then turning around coming straight back. I really started picking it up around mile 3-4, so I ended up having more of a tempo run then a recovery run. Partially, I did this because I felt good. Also, I knew the quicker I finished the quicker I'd be back in the warm house. I finished with 8.1 miles and an average pace of 7:10. I'd say the "tempo" miles were comfortably under 7 minutes per a mile because I know the beginning miles were around 8. All of the Team training has made me feel ridiculously fit...and sometimes I want to run fast just to make sure that I still can. Today was a good day, and I hope I don't pay for it tomorrow!

pluses: lots of Christmas shopping done; new pots and pans

minuses: cold

12/14 greenbelt run

I've lived in Austin about two and a half years now and today was my first time to run on the greenbelt trails. I don't know why I've never done it before...I guess just because I never knew where I was going, etc. Brian has been mountain biking down there a few times so he was the navigator today. Since we signed up for Bandera we decided it'd be smart to run on trails a few times just to get used to it before the 25k. Brian hasn't run in awhile, and I am sore for yesterdays "hills to heaven" run...so we took it pretty easy. We went out 20 minutes then just came back the same way. I really enjoyed being out there. It's a nice change from the normal pounding on the roads. I think Brian liked it more than just being on the roads too. I'd say we went about 4 to 4.5 miles which puts me at 56 for the week. That's more than I was planning on...but oh well. I know it'll be a little harder to get everything in over the few weeks since we'll be in Kalamazoo and then in Mason...so I figured I'd go hard through Thursday of next week and then probably have a bit of a dip in the training.

pluses: time with Brian, Christmas party for teens tonight

minuses: 9 pages to go on paper

12/13 long run

I met up with the Austin Marathon group this morning, planning on cutting the course short with Steve and running around 12 to 13. We went out pretty fast and I was having some trouble finding a rythm. When we got into the hills I finally settled in and was feeling strong (well as strong as I thought I should for Ladero Norte). I actually had never run on most of these roads so I didn't know what to expect which was probably a good thing. Steve and I caught up to two guys who are training for Houston and settled in with them for most of the rest of the run. One glitch that came up was Steve tore off the part of the map he thought we didn't need...then he got greedy and decided we were going 16. We ended up picking up the pace again for the last several miles...mainly to keep people in sight so we knew where we were going :) All in all, it was a good run. The pace felt challenging but not too tough. The final distance ended up being 16.8 and we averaged under 8 minute pace. I think the Houston guys said they ended up with 2:11 which would be about 7:48 miles. We started after them and finished before them...so we were somewhere below that. It was definitely faster than I would've run if I had been by myself...but I feel good about it. Just need to keep clicking with things to get ready for the program to start in January!

pluses: nice weather; good coach

minuses: paper writing ALL day

12/12 recovery run

I ran an easy 5 with Mike today. It was his first run back after CA so we took it easy so he could try to loosen things up. The weather was good and I enjoyed the company...so it was a good day!

pluses: dinner with katie and paul

minuses: didn't get enough done on my paper

12/11 TL run

I met up with Steve this morning at rogue and went for a 9 mile run. I was kind of nervous that he was going to run me into the ground...but he let me set the pace which was nice. I appreciated the company because the train is on break. It's tough because I don't feel safe running in the dark in the morning by myself...and if I wait I'm a lot more likely to come up with excuses as the day goes on. That's one of the things that has been so great about being a part of the team...there always seems to be someone to meet up with.

The run felt really good. We started around 8 minute pace and picked it up to around 7:15 pace for most of the run...my legs are feeling really good and I am still feeling really positive and encouraged about the upcoming months of training.

pluses: Christmas party tonight

minuses: waited in line for several hours at DPS, Social Security Office, and Post Office :(

12/10 gym time

I wimped out on the cold weather and headed for Gold's this morning. I started out with my strength routine that Mark made up for me earlier in the week. So far it feels really easy as far as the weights go...but I am supposed to be working on form and technique now so I have to make my self slow down and pay attention to what I'm doing. After I finished with that I hopped on the treadmill. I just ran the perscribed 45 minutes according to the Lydiard build-up. I didn't get too board...which was good. In general I hate treadmills because I get board and start looking around and then I find I'm about to step off the treadmill...kind of dangerous :) But I need to get used to them because I'm sure when I'm in Michigan next week I'll have a lot more treadmill time and a lot less time on the road. I ended up getting in 5.5 miles.

pluses: date night

minuses: too cold!

12/9 mlr

I met up with Tim at the barton springs today for an 11 mile run. It was humid but I enjoyed the warmer weather. It was weird wearing shorts and a sleeveless shirt today and knowing that tomorrow I'll be back in tights and longsleeves. The weather has been so crazy lately. We ended up finishing at 1:26 overall, so we were running at a good pace for the majority of the run. We each had a lot to talk about so it went by really quickly. I felt good and am ready to keep upping the mileage. Last week I ran 38.3 in 5 days and this week I'm shooting for 45 in 6 days. Then I'll stick with six days and gradually up the mileage so I'm at 60 mpw by the end of the month...and that's where I'll stay throughout the base building phase...

pluses: last day of class!

minuses: need to start my final paper for class today

12/8 easy 30 min

I'm getting back to the Lydiard schedule and today I had 30 minutes on the schedule. I ran an out and back on Slaughter. I ended up running 33 min and Map My Run put me at 4.3 miles total. I felt great.

I also met with Mark from South Congress Athletic Club this afternoon to learn some different exercises for strength training. Basically, I know this is something I need to incorporate to prevent injuries in the future. Mark didn't have too many surprises for me but did caution me that I had some posture issues that could be a problem in the future if I don't work on things now. At least now I have a good idea of some simple things I can be doing when I go to the gym...so that's good.

pluses: my dad...it's his bday

minuses: skipped running yesterday...not so good when the #1 thing i need to work on is consistency

12/6 Long Run

I did an easy easy twelve with my sister today. She's running with the at&t half group and since I'll my buddies are in CA i ran with her group. We were probably going around 9 minute pace so it was a bit different than the running I've been doing lately...but it was really nice to catch up with Katie and spend time with her!

pluses: great weather, Xmas party

minsuses: lots of cleaning to do

12/4 tempo run

I did a four mile tempo today with Larry, Ken, and Andrew. For them, it was supposed to be more of a mgp run...but we ended at around a 6 min pace...so it was definitely not mgp for me :) I wanted to run faster today because I haven't run fast since the marathon 3 weeks ago...so I just wanted to get the legs going a bit. We ended up with about 5 miles of total running so I'm right on track for my mileage goals this week. Yay for one week of consistency!

pluses: had a great dinner w/ katie last night, UT game tonight!

minuses: blister on my heel from my flippers won't go away

12/3 Easy 8 and some goals

I met up with Mike, Bruce, Ken, Damon, and Kamran this morning for an easy 8 miles mostly around town lake. My left achilles is still really tight so I need to work on some stretching over the next few days. I'm going to go to my first pilates class today too, which should be interesting. Adding in strength, stretching, etc should give me a better shot at achieving my goals...so I need to start getting in to that routine now.

Speaking of goals...I had a chance to meet with Steve yesterday to talk about some short term and more long term goals. The summary of the conversation is that I have a lot of work to do to achieve my long term goals. I feel pretty positive about things though because I know my biggest weaknesses are things that I have put very little effort in to improving. For example..building a base. This is something I haven't done very consistently, ever, until this last training season. But even then, I ended up being gone a lot over the summer so I missed out on a lot of miles. Building a bigger base this time around is a very doable thing for me. I know the road ahead will not be an easy one but I also know if I want something bad enough I'll do what it takes to get it.

For now, I'm just going to focus on running as much as I can while staying healthy so I have more of a base built up for Boston in April. It's not necessarily going to be an "a" race but I think it should be a good indicator of how much more work I need to do and how to proceed. I'd like to break 3 hours in Boston...but if it doesn't happen it's not the end of the world. My plan is to use December to get to a 60 miles per a week base building phase and mix that in with core, yoga/pilates, etc and then get going with the team when we regroup in January. I know being consistent over the holidays will be hard...but I'm looking at that as a mini test of my commitment to the goal.

All in all, I'm in an exciting place. I had a great marathon, a great wedding, and now I'm looking forward to more good things to come!

12/2 team workout...yay!

I met up with the team this morning and we did 3 x 2m at mgp. It was good to be back running with everyone. The run felt a little harder than I wanted it to...but oh well. My left achille's is really tight so I need to be good about stretching that out. After the run I went to Gold's to do some lifting and core. That's one of the things I know I need to commit to in order to be more successful in the upcoming training. I'm meeting with Steve today to come up with a plan for what's next in my running life...so I'm excited to see what he has to say and to get some direction for my training.

pluses: got to see everyone on the team

minuses: back to class tonight :(

12/1 getting back

Today was my first day back in the real world since the wedding and honeymoon. I ran an easy 6 miles. It was weird because I don't know where to run in the new neighborhood, so I basically just did an out and back on Slaughter. Not the prettiest...but oh well. The run actually felt really good. I was a little worried since I didn't do much on the trip. I ran a couple of times, but only about 3 miles each time. I guess I was still pretty active though...we played a lot of beach volleyball, went kayaking, waterskiing, hiking, climbed waterfalls, etc. So I wasn't totally useless. I'm going to meet up with the team tomorrow to do their workout and I'm looking forward to seeing everyone!

pluses: dinner w/ friends tonight

minuses: changing your name requires a lot of work