Happy Thanksgiving!

We are in Nags Head, NC on the OBX for Thanksgiving this year, and I decided to get up this morning and do my long run on Thanksgiving day, and then I could eat ANYTHING and EVERYTHING that I want for the rest of the day! Each week for my long run I've been pushing it a couple of miles further than what my schedule actually called for, and today's run was "scheduled" to be 17 miles, but since I did 18 last week, my plan was to do 20. That didn't happen. I got out on the beach road, and my plan was to run 5 miles in one direction, run back towards the house, and then 5 more miles in the other direction, and then back to the house. I changed that up because I thought at least mentally if by the time I had gotten back to the house I had completed 16 instead of just 10, then the last 4 miles would be easy! Didn't work the way I had planned. The whole way back I kept thinking, "Now why do I want to run past the house?" I would have been so much better off to have just done 10 miles in one direction - the moment I decided to run in both directions was the moment I gave myself an easy way out. And I took it. Though I'm disappointed I didn't do the 20, my pace was a little quicker than what I had been running on my long runs. I also realized after the run that I was a bit dehydrated - you learn these things in the bathroom sometimes. I could have also guessed that I was dehydrated by noticing that I never needed a rest room break. Anyway, here are the splits:
Mi 1 - 8:42.66
Mi 2 - 8:50
Mi 3 - 8:55.27
Mi 4 - 9:00.4
Mi 5 - 9:14.46
Mi 6 - 9:18.63
Mi 7 - 9:13.53
Mi 8 - 9:39.01
Mi 9 - 9:39.82
Mi 10 - 9:39.58
Mi 11 - 9:39.64
Mi 12 - 9:34.64
Mi 13 - 9:31.39
Mi 14 - 9:30.12
Mi 15 - 9:55.8
Mi 16 - 10:31.25
Total = 2:30:56.20

Now, let the feast begin!

A Charlie Brown Run

I have noticed a trend in a lot of my runs over the past few weeks - there seems to be be an uncanny amount of runs that have taken place in rain, mist, or significant winds. I've been joking with my wife that I think God is trying to prepare me for something with all the rain and the wind, and I wouldn't be terribly surprised to find similar weather conditions when I am to run the marathon in January. At times it has almost seemed like I'm Charlie Brown with a dark cloud hanging over my head as I run. Today was one of those runs . . .

Let me back up just a second - I am so pleased with where I am on my training schedule. For my long runs, I've actually been exceeding the training plan that I have been following, mainly because I REALLY have some goals that I want to achieve when I run the race, and I still feel like I'm catching up from the time I spent recovering from the stress fractures. This past weekend my schedule called for 16 miles for a novice, or 17 miles for an intermediate - and I ran 18. One of the reasons I've been pushing my mileage a little bit is because I have read that it is important to have at least 2 runs of 20 miles or more (at most, 22) before your marathon, and the training plan I was using only had 1. Looking at my schedule, I am planning on doing a 20 mile long run sometime this weekend, and then I plan to push it to 22 the next weekend, followed by a recovery long run of 12, and then one more 20 mile long run before I begin my taper (a taper is where you back off on the mileage of your runs for about 3 weeks before your race so that your body is ready to rock and roll for 26.2 miles).

For Thanksgiving, we are traveling to the Outer Banks to spend some time with my wife's family. It's a nice change, as we usually head up to PA for Thanksgiving, but this year they are all coming down here. The house we are renting was open all week, so Jenn took the entire week for vacation, and joined her mom for a little R and R, while I maintain the house with the boys till they get done with school on Wednesday. Anyway, I've been doing my long run on Friday or Saturday, and the thoughts of doing my long run this coming Saturday before I have to sit and drive back home was not appealing, so I was thinking I'd do it on Friday. But then my wife had a brilliant idea (one of the thousands of reasons I married her): why not run it on Thursday morning? That way I could eat all I want for Thanksgiving and not have to pay for it later! Plus, I'd have the rest of the day Thursday and plus Friday not having to do anything at all - except hang out in the hot tub. So my plan right now is to eat a good, solid meal Wednesday night in Nags Head, and then get up and run 20 miles on Thanksgiving morning. Stupid? Maybe.

So, that being said, today I knew I needed to get in a light and easy run, and my schedule called for an easy 5. The weather forecast was for rain all day, however, though it was quite cloudy, it had barely rained all day. I felt like I was actually safe going for my run late this afternoon. Yes, it was a risk of rain, but it had been all day and it hadn't really rained. Stupid? Yes. I ran an out and back course, and of course before I got to the turn-around, it started to sprinkle. With about a mile and a half to go the sprinkle became a pour. As I was running on the sidewalk of a busy street, I felt like an idiot as all the cars passed me, and I could only imagine what the people in the cars were saying because I knew what I would be saying if I was in the car. Long story short (which if I wanted to make a long story short, I simply would have edited this a bit more), I finished the run completely drenched from a downpour - and it stopped raining about the time I finished my run. Here are the splits for my 5 mile easy run:
Mi 1 - 9:12.18
Mi 2 - 8:51.84
Mi 3 - 8:43.94
Mi 4 - 8:30.04
Mi 5 - 8:40.95

Total = 43:58.95

Questions (doubt) creeping in

Today I ran farther than I have ever run before - 18 miles. I ran without having any real problems - no blisters, no cramps, no "significant" pain (of course, that is a relative term). The sun was out, but it was still nice and cool, with a decent wind at times - sometimes quite gusty, which made it difficult, but soon I would go around a bend and the wind would be at my side or even better - at my back. I did not walk once, however I did have to take 2 rest room breaks - though truthfully there was no rest or room involved (hey - 3 hours is a long time to go without going, if you know what I mean). Everything should have been perfect.

But somewhere around mile 9 or 10 I began wonder what I was doing and why. Friday is my day off - my day of rest - and there I was running with reckless abandon. It seemed that I could think of was other things that I could be doing instead of running. And I really began to wonder if I actually even WANT to run a marathon. Am I running it to simply be able to say "I ran a marathon," or so that I can put one of those "26.2" stickers on my car window? Am I running it to just prove to myself that I can do something that just a year and a half I would have thought was impossible? Do I even think it's possible to do now? How much more can I push myself? It just seemed like if there was a negative thought, doubt, or question that could have come up, it did. And I'm not sure I have all the answers. But I do know this - on Sunday, January 10 at 5:50 AM, I will be lined up with thousands of other people who have probably dealt with these exact same questions, and when the fireworks go off, we will begin our journey throughout the world of Disney. Will I ever run another after this one? One thing I learned in my run today is you have to run the mile your in before you can run the next mile - let the next mile worry about itself.

Mi 1 - 8:54.73
Mi 2 - 9:07.25
Mi 3 - 9:15.1
Mi 4 - 9:16.46
Mi 5 - 9:30.77
Mi 6 - 9:38.27
Mi 7 - 9:28.66
Mi 8 - 9:28.39
Mi 9 - 10:02.44
Mi 10 - 9:47.8
Mi 11 - 10:08.06
Mi 12 - 9:54.61
Mi 13 - 10:14.19
Mi 14 - 10:25.28
Mi 15 - 10:38.9
Mi 16 - 10:19.24
Mi 17 - 10:34.13
Mi 18 - 10:22.79
Total = 2:57:07.07

FYI - For anyone curious, my Garmin tells me that I used 2,513 calories. And yes, I made up for that with a Jersey Mike's Chicken Parm sub!

Keeping tempo

My life has been pretty hectic and crazy the past few weeks, but mostly I've been able to keep up my training, which is good considering the Disney marathon is only 49 days away. However, I've not had much time to be with the family lately, so I decided today that I was going to get my run in during lunch. I had a 3-mile tempo run on my schedule, with a 1 mile warm up, and 1 mile cool down. It ended up starting to rain on me during my run, which just adds to the number of times lately I've had to run in either rain or strong wind - I'm just REALLY hoping it's not just preparing me for similar weather during the marathon. Below are my splits:
Mi 1 - 9:02.38
Mi 2 - 8:13.61
Mi 3 - 8:05.59
Mi 4 - 7:53.67
Mi 5 - 9:18.12
Total = 42:33.37

Manic Monday

Busy day - but I did get to cram in a 5-mile run. Still feeling the effects from the 16 mile run on Friday, but I also had a busy weekend :-)

Mi 1 - 8:24.76
Mi 2 - 8:36.12
Mi 3 - 8:43.47
Mi 4 - 8:51.76
Mi 5 - 8:47.75
Total = 43:23.86

Right now I am NOT looking forward to my long run at the end of this week - it's either a 17 or 18 mile run - I've got to check my training schedule. Hopefully I'll be up for it by Friday or Saturday.

Beyond belief

This weekend I am joining together with my best friend and we will be leading worship for over 6,000 United Methodist Youth in Fayetteville, NC. Playing my guitar and singing Friday night, Saturday morning, Saturday night, and Sunday morning, I knew my schedule this weekend is going to be quite full. Also knowing that I was unable to complete my long run last weekend (supposed to be 14, but was only 4 because of some pain I was dealing with), I knew that I REALLY needed to get in my long run this weekend. So along the way this week I decided I would do it this morning before I head out of town. Fortunately it was not raining at all - it was cloudy and overcast, so I didn't have to deal with the sun at all. I did however have to deal with the wind - winds of 15-20 mph, with gusts up to 30 - and I felt every bit of that wind.

I ran 3 miles longer than I have ever run in my life. My previously longest run was the half-marathon (13.1 miles) that I ran a year ago. During my present training, my longest run had been 12 miles. I really am so proud of myself that I pushed through 16 miles today. The funny thing is immediately after the run one of the first thoughts that I had was, "I can't even imagine running 10 more miles to complete the marathon!" I was SO worn out (mental note - when I run that far, I need to take more than one energy gel with me), and all I wanted to do was walk (but I never did!), that the thought of running 10 more miles is just beyond belief. The funny thing about that is I remember when I first ran 5 miles, the thought of running 10 was beyond belief. I remember running 10 miles, and the thought of running 12 was beyond belief. And when I ran 12, the thought of running 16 was beyond belief. So while right now running 26.2 miles may seem beyond belief, I now believe.

Mi 1 - 8:31.13
Mi 2 - 9:01.57
Mi 3 - 9:38.63
Mi 4 - 9:26.41
Mi 5 - 9:23.3
Mi 6 - 9:24.44
Mi 7 - 9:39.77
Mi 8 - 9:52.98
Mi 9 - 10:09.5
Mi 10 - 9:56.01
Mi 11 - 10:05.29
Mi 12 - 9:50.97
Mi 13 - 9:55.11
Mi 14 - 10:00.01
Mi 15 - 10:26.81
Mi 16 - 10:50.54
Total = 2:36:12.47

I feel pretty good about my splits. Before I even saw the times, I knew that the last 3 miles were the most difficult, however I think that those particular 3 miles would have been the most difficult even if they weren't the last. I was running along Highway 70 back towards town, and I was running directly into the wind. I had to take my hat off because it kept wanting to fly off. Tractor trailers would pass by me and almost blow me back with the wind and the wind from the truck.

My Garmin tells me that I burned 2,229 calories this morning. Hmmm, somebody deserves something fat and greasy!

3-mile swim

Saturday afternoon after my run I had a funeral that I had to perform, and as I was waiting for the funeral to begin I realized that my throat was REALLY sore. It was strange - it had not bothered me one bit, but man when it hit, it hit. Sunday morning I was miserable at worship, and kept feeling worse as the day wore on. Monday I stayed home and in bed all day. Finally yesterday (Tuesday), I began to feel at least half-way alive. In fact, as the day wore on, I began to feel better and better and stronger. I was still dealing with some sinus congestion and pressure, but other than that, I really felt great. Knowing that Ida was to bring lots and lots of rain for Wednesday and Thursday, and that Friday I have to get in my long run, I decided that when I took Jacob to soccer practice, that I would just go out and run around the school for the duration of his practice.

About the time we were driving to the school for practice, the rain began to fall. However, I made up my mind that I would still run as long as they were practicing. So we both got out of the car, and off we went. I ended up trudging 3 miles in the midst of the downpour as his team was on the field practicing - and I loved every bit of it! After spending a day and a half (Sunday afternoon and all day Monday) basically in the bed or in the recliner, it felt AWESOME to burn some energy. The running cleared out my head, and the rain was really great for cooling me down. Unfortunately, the rain also weighed my shoes down quite a bit, but I figured that made for even more exercise to have to lug those things around. All in all - it was a fun run. And Jacob said it was an awesome practice - it was neat to go sliding around all over the soccer field. They did end practice early, so I only did the 3 miles, but they were good and productive.
Mi 1 - 7:53.9
Mi 2 - 8:21.67
Mi 3 - 8:29.96
Total = 24:45.53

I usually share these blogposts on my facebook page, but I know a lot of my friends there have known that I was sick, and I'm pretty sure they'd be giving me a lecture about how I should not have run. To that I say this: the run really made me feel better, and I feel MUCH better today. Still some congestion, but not much. The point is we all have to do what we think is best for our own bodies, and I needed that. Now I have to just wait to knock out my long run on Friday - not sure how long I'll go - either 14-16 miles. I've got to do it early Friday AM because Friday afternoon I'll have to be in Fayetteville preparing to lead 6,000 youth in worship for the weekend! Pilgrimage, here we come!

Smart run

Today was supposed to be a 14-mile run, yet due to some pains I've been having this week, I figured I needed to adjust my plan. The pain in my foot is better, but I still have the pain in my hip, however I still decided to get out there and see if it felt better after stretching and warming up. It did feel better, but after the second mile my right achilles really seemed to tighten up and hurt. I've learned from the 2 stress fractures that I had earlier this year that I need to be smart, and sometimes pain is something you need to pay attention to, so I cut the run short and finished at 4 miles.
Mi 1 - 8:39.7
Mi 2 - 8:35.77
Mi 3 - 8:42.41
Mi 4 - 8:49.31
Total = 34:47.19

Other than the pain, I felt great. I'm really not all that concerned about the pain, or having to cut the run short. One of the things I've read is that virtually every time you are training for a marathon you will encounter some kind of road block. We'll see how things develop this week.

Depositing miles

Today was definitely one of those rough days to pack in a run. However, I knew that if I wanted to get my long run done on Friday, then I definitely needed to make a go of it today. Not much to say about it - just a run that I packed in some intervals. Here are the splits:
Mi 1 - 9:04.71
Mi 2 - 8:34.23
Mi 3 - 8:32.8
Mi 4 - 8:42.71
Mi 5 - 8:57.45
0.4 Mi 3:25.92
Total (5.4 miles) = 47:17.82

Just to note for my own personal record, I did start breaking in a pair of new shoes (ASICS Gel-Kayano 15 - exactly the same pair I've been running in, but I got them much cheaper!). I need to pay attention to a couple of pains that have sprung up - the ball of my right foot, and a pain in my left hip. If these pains are still there on Friday, I may put my long run off until Saturday, and if the pains are still there Saturday, well . . . we'll just see.

Inspired run

Today was truly an inspired run for a couple of reasons. First, yesterday was the New York Marathon, and though I've not even run in my first marathon yet I would LOVE to run the NY Marathon. I was such a running dork that I DVRed all 5 hours of coverage on Universal Sports HD. I got to watch a little bit of it today while I ate lunch, and just hearing the stories of some of these runners - elites and average joes - was very inspiring. Plus, it's amazing for me to think that some people can run THAT fast for THAT long!

The second reason for today being an inspiring run was the passing of a dear friend and true saint of God - Richard Williams. Richard is a significant reason that I am in the ministry today, as he was so important in my life due an early time in my ministry where I really was questioning my calling. I will always be grateful to Richard for the chats we were able to have as his office was right next door to mine at Centenary UMC, and the gentle ways he could calm me down. My prayers will be with Carolyn and the family.

Today was supposed to be 5 easy miles. I think I picked it up a little more than I anticipated, but that's OK, because I've got to go teach/preach at a church in a little while - and I knew I needed time to shower off ;-)

Mi 1 - 8:56.84
Mi 2 - 8:45.66
Mi 3 - 8:51.12
Mi 4 - 8:26.1
Mi 5 - 8:01.73
Total = 43:01.45