Let the countdown begin

August 13-19               Total Miles – 19.2       

Things returned to normal (somewhat) this week and I did not dread putting the running shoes on.  I had a super hectic schedule this week (with a crazy weekend to follow) so I had to juggle some things around.  I ran 4 straight days (which is generally not a good idea) but my last run of the week went very well. I started the week with a 9 miler followed by 4 the next day and then two 5k runs to end out the week.  My best average time was my last 5k.  I held my own on the nine miler averaging under 11 minutes.  I hope to run the half at an 11 min/mile pace overall (and hopefully run the marathon at a 12:30 pace).  This would shave about 4 minutes off my last half marathon.  Not super lofty goals, but for a running newbie, I think that those goals are in line.  Truthfully if they aren’t, who cares?  They are my goals anyway.

Less than a month to go before the SF Half.  I have 10, 11 and 12 mile runs staring me down over the next few weeks.  I don’t want to run too cautious since this is merely the halfway point, but I also want to be sure that I do not DNF the half.  I probably won’t push it too hard on any of the long runs in the next few weeks, but run the 5k’s as tempos in an attempt to keep lung capacity used to the stress.  Let the countdown to SF begin.

Burn Out?

August 6 - August 12

Total Mileage - 12.1

I missed my first run of this go around this week.  Truth be told I chose not to run.  I had three days where I could have got the last run of the week in (a 5k) but I just didn't feel like it.  Its odd that ever since I signed up for CIM I have not had the desire to run like I did before.  Being totally honest I am having a lot of self doubt about finishing 26.2.  Now that I have signed up I can definitely tell that I am feeling stressed about it.  Which totally defeats the purpose since I run to help ease stress. 

It was a taper week on top of that.  A week to take it easy and I chose to forgo an easy run.  Maybe it was what I needed and this week will be better.  Time will tell. 

I was in the city on Friday and walked part of the Embarcadero to ATT and got a feel for the course that I'll be running in a few weeks.  Not sure why, but the concrete felt harder (not sure if that is possible, but I swear it did).  The views were fantastic and I'll be running under the Bay Bridge on way to the Golden Gate.  Should be pretty cool. 

Hopefully next week will be better.

Pi**ed off for greatness and You did What!?!

July 23-29 Total Mileage – 18.6 Weight – 212.8

July 30- Aug 5 Total Mileage – 17.31 Weight - 210.9

Ever have one of those weeks where you are pretty sure that you are Murphy from Murphy’s Law? It was one of those weeks where I felt overwhelmed everywhere. Work, home, it did not matter, life was just crazy. I had two days at the end of the week where I just woke up mad and frustrated. I took a page from one Ryan Vogelsong’s playbook and was “Pi**ed off for greatness” (it may or may not be his mentality, but the KNBR morning show has decided that he has taken a page from Ray Lewis’ and adopted the mantra). I hit the gym early and ran angry. Appears it worked. I posted two of the fastest 5k’s and the fastest 10k I have run so far. Not sure that I can keep that mentality all the time, it’s just not me.

Last week I finally convinced myself to sign up for CIM. The entire time I was filling out the form I was asking myself exactly what I was doing. I have only hit 26.2 miles in a week once. Now I want to go and do it in one day? The race starts at the Folsom Dam and finishes up at the Capitol. This means that I run from Folsom through Orangevale, Citrus Heights, Fair Oaks, and Carmichael before I finish up in Sac. I also just remembered how much I hate driving to Folsom because it is sooooo far away (not really).

From reading the website (www.runcim.org) it looks like it is quite the event. There are bands and entertainment every few miles and specialized Cheer Zones for friends and family. The course has a net elevation drop from 366 feet at the start to 26 feet at the finish. There does seem to be a serious section of rolling hills around the half way point which is a bit concerning but I’ll just have do try to remember to ease through the hills and not to try to be a hero and power through them.

There is no drop off within a half mile of the entry area so I’ll have to bus it in. There is a bus that leaves right across the street from my office at 5:00 am…

Its hard to focus on the SF Giants run that is only a few weeks away knowing that I have a full looming in December. For a newbie to this whole thing there is so much to consider now. I have to figure out a hydration and eating plan, desired split times, will I need to do a run/walk plan…

I guess like anything else I’ll just take it one step at a time and see how it goes. If you have nothing better to do on Dec 2^nd and want to see a bunch of crazy people run 26.2 miles just because they want to say they did it, please do. I’ll need all the help I can get.