Rainy Week

It has been a rainy cold week here in Va Beach. I did rest two days after putting in a 10+ miler on Saturday. My knee had been a bit niggly after the 1/2 but it held up okay but for a slight ITB strap adjustment at mile 7.

I had bought a new pair of Mizuno Inspire 6 that I wanted to try out and I have to say, I gave them a double thumbs up. They are 3oz lighter than my Omni's but seem to give me the same amount of stability that I need. They also seem to fit a little snugger and wrap my heel nicely.

I wanted to test the Mizu with speed as well the the 10 miler I did so Tuesday, I slammed my second fastest 5k time ever in those new kicks (24:32) and then put in a sub 9mm 3.5 miler yesterday. My only complaint was avoiding all the mud/rain puddles since I didn't want to dirty up the new kicks just yet.

Happy running all.

Half Marathon in the books

Final Official Time: 1:57.49

Fantastic day with so many friends out running the 1/2 and the full. Many were first time marathon finishers. So proud of them all. Many of them integral in helping me get a sub-2hour first half. dailymile friends all of them.



Other than a brutally windy cold start and a one mile pee break, my race went according to plan. I had an 8:43 first mile which was too fast and slowed it down to 9:05-9:10s for the next 4 and then miles 6-13.1 were all 8:45-8:55.

Looking forward to doing it again soon and besting that time. No marathon yet in my future though as I was thoroughly spent after 13.1.

Easy Week

Hard to take an easy week when you are used to running at least 3-4 times. I have substituted a couple of brisk walks during work lunch breaks but nothing substitutes for a good 4-5 miler.

I did an easy 3.5 miler on Wednesday. As I approached home, I had that feeling like I could just keep on running for another 5 miles it was coming so effortlessly. I am hoping that is the case on Sunday.

Big weekend with my first ever Half Marathon and my longest run to date. I have done a few 10 milers and 12.5 miler during training but this will be the "long" one. I have no fear in finishing. My challenge will be to run it under 2 hours. I would prefer something in the 1:55-1:58 range. I think those are attainable goals for me first Half. Shamrock Luck of the Irish here I come. Rest today and tomorrow. Watching my kids do the Shamrock Final Mile tomorrow and lots of fun at the EXPO tonight.

Report on Monday .............hopefully. :)

5k PR and More!!!!

Well it was a gorgeous and brisk Saturday morning at the Norfolk Zoo. The dailymile friends were in attendance and we were having a nice morning chat before the Inaugural Run for The Orangutans.

We were called to line up and it appeared no one wanted to tow the starting line. My dailymile friends Les, Lori, Bill, Marie, Nicole, Maryanne, Elizabeth ended up all on the front row as everyone else decided to line up behind us. I am NOT a front row starter but what the heck. I was lined up beside local star and nationally famous runner David McDonald with his customary handle-bar mustache.

On your Mark, Get Set, Bang! and we were off and running. About 2 dozen runners blew by us .........told you they should have been in front............and our group settled into a fairly fast 7:20 pace. I mentioned this to everyone and we slowed down slightly. Lori decided she was going to pace us and after looking at my Garmin showing a 7:45 pace, I decided to go with her. She never slowed for 2 miles as I drafted right behind her and in fact sped up a bit and we were running a 7:30 mile 2 pace. Lori slowed a bit after the 2 mile marker and I gave her and encouragement shout and slid in front of her. After that it was a blur, I know my Garmin says the last mile was a 7:25 and the final .16 sprint to the finish was at a 5:31/mile pace. OH MY!!!!

I was hurting and spent but when I saw 23:37 as my finish time, I was ecstatic. My previous PR for the 5k had been 25:04 and my tentative goal was to go under 25 not under 24. Now, just a little extra icing on that cake already delicious 5k cake, I WON MY AGE GROUP. 1ST PLACE 45-49.............WOOOOOOOHOOOOOOO. Awesome race awesome day.

Weekend already

I have been slacking this week..................not really slacking but so busy I am neglecting things mainly running.

It has been an extremely busy work week with a big proposal coming due and lots of vendor bid reviews. On top of that my youngest had baseball practice both Tue and Wed (of which I am the "coach pitcher") and then he also had a basketball game on Wed night (last one of the season).

I did get a short run in on Monday and another tempo run on Thursday - both under 3 miles. So my weekly total has plummeted. I did start some walking at lunch during the workday and got in another 2.5 miles in the week. I need to go walk now.

Just picked up my race bib and swag for the Inaugural Run for the Orangutans at the Norfolk Zoo. Great tech t-shirt ORANGE and a cool logo and design. Nice other swag and a kids bag of cool zoo stuff. Looking to set a new PR in the am at this 5k. We will see. I am shooting for a 24:22. Not feeling 100% right now for some reason but I ate a delicious Calzone last night with onions, green peppers and jalepenos and polished it off for breakfast so that might be contributing to the queasy stomach.

Another Fun filled weekend

Tested my 5k pace on Friday night with a paces in the low 9s, low 8s, and low 7s. I would like to think I am fit enough to hold those low 7s for 3.1 miles but I am not there yet. My 5k PR is 25:04 and I know I am fully capable of going 7:30s all the way, which would be about a 23:43 but for now I am looking to go sub 25.

Put in another long run on Saturday - over 10 miles. Probably just taper down now leading into the weekend before Shamrock. I struggled a bit at the end but I hadn't fueled up right at all last week. I did get out to a big bonfire with friends Saturday night and grubbed good after my 10 miler.

My two boys did a local mile run and both PR'd so it was a great overall running weekend.

Two Day rest

Took a couple of days off rest after the weekend and I needed it.

I got in a 3.2 mile run yesterday evening before the cold front came back today. First 2 miles I was kind of tight in my calves and fought to keep a 9:39min/mile pace. By mile 2.25 I was really loosening up and pushed out an 8:29 final mile and then turned it up another notch and ran the last 2 tenths of a mile back to the house at a 7:19/min mile pace. Deep breaths Deep breaths.......... good mid-week 5k.

I read a very touching article from the dailymile blog. I try to explain to my family and my FB friends just how much this site means. The camaraderie, the friendships, motivation, encouragement, sharing, laughs, tears, and everything in between. The meetups at races or on long runs and no matter how much I try, there are those that simply don't get it.

If you get a chance to visit the site and read the article, maybe, just maybe, you will get a glimpse into the "human side" of dailymile.com.

http://www.dailymile.com/blog/how-we-succeed/more-than-i-expected