Reflection - Thoughts from Race Day

I have had a few days to reflect on this weekend and have gotten over most of the aches and pains that the TC Marathon graced us with.

Kelly finally started walking more smoothly today and for me it came a day earlier. Yesterday I felt pretty good with minimal stiffness and soreness, although after the marathon I could have been mistaken for a grandpa all wrapped up in a blanket at my in-laws house. That being said, we are alive, well and actually considering another run/race.

I have to thank our good friends for showing up and supporting us. Jen, David, Kris, Meghan, Amy, Pat, Jeff, Becca - thanks for the signs, oranges, and Gatorade. It meant a lot to us both to see you guys there and to hang out with you guys post race.

Also, a big thanks to our parents, Aunt Barb, and Grandpa Earl for showing up and supporting us. Jean put on a mean taco bar following the run and it was awesome.

Here are some random stories and thoughts from the run.

1) The rain really sucked. I was cold during and after the rain. Running with soaked shoes and socks was not fun. All the runners were corralled to one side of the street due to the huge puddles, which made things crowded for about 4 miles. It was too bad because most of the rain came while we were running around the lakes area of Minneapolis which is one of my favorite areas to run around.

2) The start was an awesome thing to witness. Just seeing a sea of people that were all setting out to do the same thing was pretty cool. The big sky way tunnel on Hennepin Ave was fun to run under as all the runners were yelling all the way through.

3) The hundreds of thousands of supporters who showed up in the weather to cheer on the runners was incredible. I can't imagine making it through the entire run without them. The music, the candy, the signs, and the general cheering made the run very enjoyable for both of us. Some group of people played the Rocky Theme around mile 7 in the rain. It was pretty cool.

4) For the first 15 miles I had a great time. I was high-fiving bystanders and doing the YMCA dance. By mile 15 I started to get sore and started playing games where I would pick out a street sign and run to it and repeat. This got me through to mile 20.

5) By mile 20, I was really hoping the next 6.2 miles would finish themselves. We were running along East River Rd in St. Paul and I didn't remember any hills. Turns out there are two of them before you reach St. Thomas hill. I thought the previous 2hills WERE St. Thomas hill. St. Thomas hill looked like Everest and we walked up it. We were actually walking up that hill faster than people were running. It was kind of a buzz kill to walk that hill while the DJ was blasting "Jump Around." In my head I was thinking, "why don't you run 21 miles and try jumping around, a$$hole."

6) Kelly pretty much pulled me through the final 4 miles. I walked more than I would have liked and more than I thought I would, but it was necessary so I could finish with a smile on my face. I honestly can say that without her there with me, it would have been tough to finish on my own.

7) Turns out you are not supposed to say "you're not there yet." A lady asked us if we had passed the 20 mile marker. I was still in a good mood and replied, "nope, you are not there yet." She repeated what I said and looked at me like I had just shot her puppy. My bad.

8) I was planning on drinking a beer on Summit Ave during the homestretch. It didn't happen. I didn't even drink a beer post run. I had cramped up pretty good between mile 24 & 25. My direct quote was "oh sh#t!" Kelly looked over and thought I had done just that. Instead, my right hamstring was cramping pretty good. I tried stretching but had a tough time balancing as I bent over. It loosened up as we went and I made sure to drink extra fluids at the next water stops.

9) The last two tenths of the run was very cool. The culmination of seeing all the people lined up, seeing our parents, the capitol, the big American flag...(I didn't even see it and it is twice the size of the ones at Perkins and we ran right under it) was truly amazing. The sights coupled with the emotion of finishing what we set out to do was a very cool experience.

Time to sign up for Grandma's.......

T-Minus 3 Days

Last night was our graduation from the ALARC Marathon Training program. It was actually kind of sad know it would be the last time we would meet before the big run. There were four different speakers. Each one of them had run multiple marathons and each had their own methods and style on preperation. It was great to hear their stories and made me even more excited for Sunday. My father-in-law was one of the guest speakers and he was very entertainng.

Our facilitators talked to us some more about expectations, what to bring, etc. they also presented each of us with a letter (not to be opened until the night before the race) and a goody bag for race day. The bag included some necessities like bandaids, hard candy, and chapstick. It was a nice gesture. The MTP has been crucial to our training success and I encourage anyone who plans on running a marathon to join the ALARC program. The knowledge we have taken from it and the accountability to our long training runs have allowed us to go into Sunday feeling prepared.

It is tough for me to explain how I am feeling today. I have butterflies in my stomach and I haven't felt this way since my last college football game. Very weird.

The schedule for the next couple of days consists of a steady diet of rest and carbohydrates. I am looking forward to Sunday!

Planting Seeds for Good Thoughts

That was the theme and the goal for today's run. We put in 11 miles this morning and started at the Shriner's Children's Hospital. We then ran past St. Thomas and down Summit Avenue to Dale Street. This is the final stretch of the marathon course and for us it was important to run this stretch while feeling good. The idea is to have good thoughts tucked away for marathon day. Numerous people have told us that the 50% pf the marathon is the final 6 miles and 385 yards. Summit Avenue is in that final push. The temperature was good and I think we accomplished what we set out to do this morning.

For me, it was the easiest 10+ run that we have had to this point. I can't say the say for Kelly. Her IT band and knees were pretty sore today. Hopefully things improve to make the marathon more enjoyable.

I am looking forward to this week as we take it easy. It will be a week to get some time back for ourselves that was normally dedicated to training. One of the big keys will be to eat healthy, stay off of our feet, and load up on carbs. The other key will be to get a lot of sleep, which shouldn't be a problem for either of us

Scaling Back Nicely

We have dialed back the distance in our training runs leading up to race day. The big key now is to get some workouts in and stay healthy. This past Saturday, Kelly and I put in a nice and easy 10-mile run. We took our time, enjoyed the nice morning and got it done.

It is amazing how easy it is to now prepare mentally for a 10 mile run after running 20 miles in one shot. It is still a chore for me to do 10 miles, but in my head it isn't as daunting as it once was.

Here are some words of wisdon. If you use a fuel belt and fill the bottles with Powerade, make sure to not leave it on the floor after you run. It turns out dogs like the taste of Powerade and may chew holes in your water bottles. Those bottles are $14 each to replace. Pretty sweet.

I have also been taking Duke, my hunting partner, on some runs during the week. My pace isn't quite as fast as he would like, but he should be in pretty good shape come pheasant opener.

Through Rain and Sweat

Mission accomplished. Our first (and only?) twenty-mile training run is in the books. We signed up for and completed the Bear Water Run this past Saturday. The run took us around White Bear Lake two times, with a good mixture of hills. It was a touch muggy and rained for a portion of the run, but for the most part, the weather conditions were optimal for running.

In regards to the run, it was the same story as most of my other long training runs. Everything hurt at one time or another and it was another game of mind over matter. This will be the farthest we run until the marathon and I am excited to scale back the training runs until the big day.

Up until Saturday morning, I was convinced that I wasn't going to be able to finish the run. My left knee had been in pain all week and didn't seem to get much better. I went to visit a chiropractor and she taught me about muscles in my legs that I didn't know existed. She almost saw a grown man cry but my legs were very, very loose after our session. I have to say it did wonders. I had some dull knee pain through mile 12, but after that, it felt better than it had all week. I can't explain it and it doesn't make any sense why it would feel better AFTER 12 miles of running, but it did. There has been zero pain following the run and I am pretty pumped about that.

I wrote earlier that I expect to be catered to following long races. The folks that set up the Bear Water Run know what they are doing. Once you cross the finish line, there is water and Gatorade within steps. They also had a nice spread of bagels, fruit, and coffee. I also tried a jalapeno pickle-sickle (jalalpeno-pickle flavored Icee) which was as bad as one would assume.

My favorite quote from the run was produced by my wife. We were around mile 18 and the dialogue went something like this:

Steve: "Do you want to chat?"
Kelly: "Not really."
Steve: "Do you mind if just talk, you can listen?"
Kelly: "I am too tired to listen." She was serious.

Thanks to Dennis and Jean for showing up and supporting us. I will make sure to add those photos to my modeling portfolio....Nothing hotter than rain and sweat-soaked clothes clinging to this girlish figure.

Three weeks until show time.

Running is 90% Mental, the Other Half is Physical

My knees are killing me, plain and simple. I am on day 2 of recovery from our 18-miler on Saturday and I feel like I need crutches. I need to start taking my own advice from my last post and start taking care of myself with ice and stretching. I did some icing and made sure to stretch more than normal, but it obviously wasn't enough. I even tried to make myself use the foam roller to stretch out my IT band. This week will be different. I will ice daily and I will stretch daily. My running partner is going to have to keep me accountable.

So the run on Saturday started out great. If you were in the state on Saturday, you know the weather was about as perfect as it gets in Minnesota. For running, it simply doesn't get any better, especially for the burly type. The lakes area in Minneapolis is a great place to run early in the morning. There isn't a ton of people traffic and there is something serene about running around the water. I am sorry to get all duckies and bunnies on the bit, but I enjoy that area.

This run was the most challenging physically and mentally than any other I have done. Eighteen miles is the farthest we have run, but I had high hopes from how I felt after last weeks 16-miler. Only two extra miles, right? At some point or another, every part of my legs was in pain. From my hips, quads, knees, calves, shins, ankles and feet, something always hurt. That is part of it and you need to run through it. So many people have told me that running a marathon was more of a mental challenge than anything and now I feel I understand why. It truly is mind over matter and Kelly and I both accomplished our longest training run ever.

So what does a guy do after running 18 miles? Rest? Nope, drive to Le Sueur to play a round of golf with some old football buddies and drink some beers. My kind of training program! To top it off, I ate about 4,000 calories in ribs that night too. I am sure a personal trainer would approve of my post-run diet regimen.

Next Saturday we are running the Bear Water Run in White Bear Lake. It is a 20-mile race and it will be the farthest run before the actual marathon. Kelly and I ran the 10-mile race last year and it is a nice run. Again, around water, we will be running around White Bear Lake twice.

Joint Care, Gotta Do It

So the knee issue had me worried enough to go to TRIA and have it checked out. After a laboring 10 minute visit with some old guy, we figured out that the pain was caused by an inflamed IT band. Some posts back I talked about having a class with super trainer Johnny J who warned us about the IT band issues and we even bought a foam roller for the purpose of keeping the IT band healthy. It turns out I haven't been using it enough.

So after a full week of doing nothing but gaining weight (I seriously put 9lbs. back on) I decided to do the group run today, which was 16 miles. I still can't believe by not doing anything for a week I put that much weight back on. I know most people do not usually eat healthy when they travel, but I don't think I over did it. I was worried about the knee for the majority of the run, but I did my best to stop and stretch often. It started to flare up around mile 8, but toned down for the rest of the run and I have found some new dedication to taking care of my knees. I made sure to ice and take some ibuprofen following.

I plan on mixing in some bike and water work outs now to take some strain off the joints. I am also going to make a commitment to stretching out my IT band daily. I have come way to far to not be able to finish this thing. Five more weeks until the show. That is what we call it in the biz, the show.

A couple of notes -

1) Today's run started at the Mendota Bridge, we went through Fort Snelling and into Minneapolis along West River Road. We then crossed over the Franklin Bridge to Saint Paul and ran along East River Road to Highway 5. We finished by crossing over the Mendota Bridge one more time for a cool run of 16.25 miles. It was a nice morning to get out.

2) I finally found a fuel belt, thank God. I could have used it today. The running store had 2 left in my size....I feel like I finally found the holy grail. No more stealing Kelly's water during our runs, I am sure she will hate that.

3) TRIA is a money hungry organization. After confirming my injury, they wanted me to schedule an MRI before sending me to a physical therapist. If we know my knee issue will not require surgery, why do I need to give you my money for an MRI? I was told it was procedure. I should have told him it is procedure for people to pay me $100 to look at my legs in shorts. I just may have to send him a bill.

A Minor Set Back (hopefully)

My biggest fear in training occured on Saturday morning. Kelly and had a 10 mile run planned and we did in fact complete it. However, during the run about 6 miles in my knee started hurt. By the end of the run, I was in some serious pain.

We are getting to crunch time with our long training runs, all being over 16 miles. I am making an appointment at TRIA this week and hopefully it isn't anything too serious.

It looks like the next workouts will be on a bike or in the pool, but the key will be to keep the legs in shape with low impact. I will get out an update once know more from the doctor.

14 miles, ho hum.

In the words of Dr. Phil, last Saturday was b-r-u-t-a-l, brutal. It was a personal record for longest run ever, 14 miles, and it was no cake walk for this dude. The course was nice as it took us around Lake Nokomis, through, Minnehaha Parkway, around Lake Harriet and back to Nokomis.

I went through it all on this run. I ran out of breath while I normally do not, my hips hurt at one point, my ankles hurt at another point, my feet hurt at some point...I think you get the point. I know I didn't drink enough water on the run which is just plain stupid, but I am going to blame the local running stores and fuel belt manufacturers for that nugget. I will get to that in a second. So Kelly and I finished the run 5 minutes faster (or more) ahead of the group. Kelly felt great which is really good and I felt like there was no way in hell I could do 12.2 more miles. Oh well, push on, fat boy!!

This week we incorporated some speed training on the track and it really feels good to get your body moving in a different way than the normal trudging pace that you get so used to. If nothing else, it made me feel like I can run again and gave me some new confidence for this weekends long training run, which is 10 miles.

So back to the fuel/water belt issue. I have been into a running store 4 times now in search of one that will fit my frame. No dice. They have a million smalls, a half million mediums, a couple hundred larges and no XL's. To my chagrin, they do not even MAKE an XL in the style I like, they only make a "one-size," which they have been out of every time I have been there. That makes a guy feel good. Seriously, I want to start a business that focuses on the "husky" runner. The smallest size I would carry is an XL. It is time to discriminate against the small people!

Running Club - Sherwood Forest

I will keep this short. Last night's training run was only 4.5 miles long but it was a continuous hills from start to finish. After running a half marathon last Saturday, you would think a measley 4.5 miles would be pretty easy, definitely not the case. It was mostly hills and after the rain, it was quite humid. I really think there is something to being properly hydrated prior to runs like this. It was a lot tougher of a run than it should have been, but we struggled through it.

The class following the run was alright. We had a doctor talk about balance and triggers in your brain that was pretty interesting, although that is about as much as I remember so I obviously didn't take away much from it. There was also a group there from Savage that offers hydro training services. They had a machine that wraps around whatever joint is ailing you, pumps ice cold water through the wrap, and compresses the area as well. It is pretty cool and I want one for my house.

This weekend our run is another 13 miler around Nokomis, over to and around Harriet, and then back to Nokomis. I love running around the lakes and I love running in the mornings. I will be running a much more relaxed pace than last Saturday.

13.1 Miles to Sconiville

I wanted to write about this run on Saturday (race day) but I had serious writer's block. I must have been to mentally tired to recap the race, but I am giving it a shot today.

The run started at 8AM in Stillwater and ended in Hudson, WI. It was our longest run of the year and the results were favorable. Kelly shaved over 12 minutes off of her half-marathon time from last fall and I cut my time down by 7 minutes. We ran hard for most of the race, but it was tough going towards the end. We both had some serious doubts as this distance is only half way of our end goal.

So as far as races go, this one was down on my list. I like to be rewarded for running 13+ miles. I am not looking for the royal treatment here, but when fat people run that far, is it too much to ask to have some refreshments within 100 yards of the finish line? Usually at these races, they cater to the runners to the full extent. I was expecting a medal (seriously) and drinks close to the finish line. No dice on either request. Also, every other race we have done have the chip timers that attach to your shoe. They start when you cross the start line and logs your time when you cross the finish line. It gives one their real time in which they finished the race. This run, however had no such technology so we had to rely on our trusty Garmin watches. Kelly didn't have as much of a problem with the accommodations as I did, but I am selfish and I expect to be catered to when I run for over 2 hours consecutively. I will admit, the t-shirts were pretty nice. By the way, you know there are not a lot of husky runners when you go to get your race t-shirt and they have to get your size out of a "special" box. They had all other sizes out on a table, but the XL's were behind a table still in the cardboard box they were shipped in. I think I am developing a complex.

Kelly's mom was nice enough to show up and cheer us on and I cannot tell you how much motivation it gives a runner when people are cheering you on. So, thanks Jean for showing up and supporting us. This week we have a 4.5 mile training run with our group on Wednesday and another 13 miler this Saturday. We have now completed half the distance of our goal, but it seems like we are a long way away yet.

Hills, Lakes, and Heat

Last Wednesday our running group was to do hill training. We left Hopkins HS a bit behind schedule and jogged to Chevy Hill. After the second time up and back on the hill, our instructors had us head back to the high school. This is when I realized that Kelly and I were officially brain washed. Both of us were disappointed we only ran the hill twice and we were expecting more of a work out. Who in their normal state of mind thinks in this manner? Clearly they are spiking the Gatorade at our class.

After we returned to the high school, we were met by Johnny J, personal trainer (say that in your best radio voice). We took us through a series of stretches and active warm-ups included lunges and body squats. He also had us roll on the side of our legs on this Styrofoam roll to work out our I.T. band, which is apparently crucial to do for serious runners (not sure if we are at that stage yet, but damn close). This exercise almost brought tears of pain, not kidding. Doesn't he realize we are running a marathon and not training for the Olympic gold? Needless to say, our legs were still sore Saturday morning before our long training run of the week. You can guess how much training we put in on Thursday and Friday...

The run on Saturday was a 10-miler around the metro lakes. We started on the west side of Lake Calhoun, went around Lake of the Ilses, down the east side of Calhoun, around Lake Harriet and finished up again on the west side of Calhoun. We started running at 7 AM and it was 60 degrees. Just awesome for husky guy. We tried lemon flavored GU again at mile 5 and it didn't stay down as well as it did last weekend. I tasted for a few miles after I inhaled it. Cannot say enough about running in numbers, although there were only a handful of us there on Saturday, it is much easier to run when there are others in it with you.

Stuff I learned this week.

1. Don't stretch before you run. Run first, stop and stretch. I guess you aren't supposed to stretch cold muscles. Makes sense.
2. We have an IT band that connects from your knee to your hip. It hurts like an m-effer to roll on it and loosen it up.
3. I still hate squats. Always have, always will.
4. Moving heavy furniture after a 10 mile run isn't that cool.
5. Golfing after a 10 mile run and moving heavy furniture is still pretty fun.

Another Saturday, Another Mile

Today we logged 9.4 miles and it went quite well. The run started at 7 AM and it was nice and cool. The trail ran between Hopkins and Minnetonka. It was really flat and shaded most of the way. Kelly and I ran together for the full run and it went better than we both expected. Kelly was feeling really good and pushed us hard at the end. It was awesome to have the run done so early as we were home by 9:30.

We have been trying things out to find a feel and a comfort for different gear. Today we both ran for the first time without cotton socks (ground breaking, I know..) and I ran with new shorts that have compression shorts built in. Both the socks and shorts are going to take some getting used to...chafing may be an issue.

We also tried a new type of goo, Lemon flavored and it was tolerable. We have come to the conclusion that for training runs we are going to have to break down and buy some kind of water/fuel belt. I made fun of people last year that would use them in 5k and 10k runs. Turns out the joke was on me. I am sure they were getting used to wearing them for a marathon. Now I am going to be that guy and I am not too excited about it.

Today's run was pretty uneventful in terms of pain and issues, which is a good thing. I can't tell you how good it feels to have burned over 1700 calories and still have the full day in front of you. Wednesday's training run will included hill training and I have a feeling that it will not be too much fun. I guess it will be one of those necessary evils. I haven't run hills since high school football so I hope the temperature stays above 90 degrees to really walk down memory lane.

Running on the Road

This morning I woke up at 6:15 PDT for a nice leasiurely jog. It is no small feat to this guy to get up while traveling for work and running. Usually I eat way too much, have a few beers, and never have the energy to wake up and work out. I always bring work out gear with me, but is usually stays at the bottom of my American Tourister.

Today was different. Last night I checked in early and was in my hotel room by 10 PM. I got a good night's sleep and woke up on time. I found a trail along a creek pretty close to the hotel here in Santa Clara which was pretty cool. My precious Garmin Forerunner shut down on me at mile 1, so I didn't have a real good idea of my pace, time, or distance. Turns out you have to recharge battery operated electronics....whoops. The only thing I had this morning to judge was that I returned to my room about an hour after I left so I figured I ran about 5.5-6 miles based on my average pace of 9:30/mile.

There is always one danger of running in the morning and lets just say that I was praying/begging for a port-o-john for the last 20+ minutes of the run. I made it back without embarrassment but there were times of serious concern....

There were no random thought during this run. The only thought going through my head was find a spot in the weeds or risk a jaunt back to the lobby.

8 Mile, not quite like B-Rabbit

Mission accomplished, 8 miles down on a cloudy, muggy Saturday morning. Our training group met just south of Lake Harriet and we ran along Minnehaha Creek toward Lake Nokomis. Four miles out and four miles back. There were a lot of other groups out running as well and I can't say enough about being in a group for training. Everyone in our group is really nice and supportive. They all have either done this before and offer great tips or are doing this as their first marathon, so you have others to go through the ropes with.

I ran today sans the iPod and it was tough. Usually when the body is telling the head that it sucks, I can flip to a Metallica song or Eminem and lose myself in it. My brain then ignores the body and I keep chugging along. Not today, no iPod, no Metallica, and it went better than expected. I was able to chat with another guy in our class for a good portion of the run and that made the time move quicker. I am sure I did most of the talking and I am sure nothing intelligent came out, but hey, it made my run more enjoyable!

Kelly is on a boondoggle to Chicago with the girls but I got the report this morning that she woke up and ran on the tread mill. That takes dedication to get up and run on a girls' weekend vacation. That puts the pressure on me this week while I am in California for work to get some runs in. Damn her.

A couple things I learned today.
1) Drink a lot of water the day before long training runs, it really helped.
2) I guess you need to learn to like the carbo-loaded gels and eat them every 4 miles.
3) Carbo-loaded gels are disgusting. Not only did it taste horrible, the consistency is that of cake frosting. Baby food has to taste better.

Club Marathon

Kelly and I attended our first marathon training "class" last night. We quickly found out we are a little behind in our training, but nothing we cannot overcome. They handed out running schedules and it was eye opening to see what was in front of us. The nice part is, we now have a plan to follow. The trick will be following the plan.

Last night's class consisted of a 5.5 mile run in the sweltering heat and humidity followed up by critiquing running forms of the people who were at last week's class. The run was pretty difficult for a number of reasons, but mainly becasuse of the heat and because of our lapse in training. This coming Saturday our group is running 8 miles and we start at 6:45 in the AM. All of our long weekend training runs that are coming up are early on Saturdays. This is going to cause a drastic Friday night lifestyle change for the next 3 months, which I am more than a little nervous about. As it turns out, I really like beer which isn't condusive for training.

The great part about the group is that there is more support than doing it on your own or even with one other person. It also forces us to train by going to class. The class also will have different people talk each week and they will cover different topics from nutrition to they type of gear you need. Another great part about the class is that there doesn't seem to by any psycho runners in the group. Everyone seems pretty normal and the pace last night was very managable.

Saturday will mark the longest training run of the summer and I will check in after that if my body allows it.

Back from the Boondoggle

The two week trip to Europe was one of a lifetime. It was simply awesome and I had a great travel partner in Kelly. We were constantly on the move, saw a lot of places from London, Paris, Nice, Cinque Terre, to Rome. During our trip we saw historic churches, museums, monuments, and beautiful landscapes. Kelly and I did quite a bit of walking, but the running took a back seat, although we packed our running gear it never made it out of the bag.

After the two week hiatus, Kelly and I ventured to the Shakopee Community Center for our first run post excursion. We weren't sure how far we had regressed, but we were less than excited to start back up. It was a jolt of reality today. It was too warm out in our minds to try running outside, so we headed for the comfy confines of the air controlled gym. I dread running inside, it gets boring quickly. Forgetting my iPod was pretty cool, so instead, I got to read a closed captioned version of Entertainment Tonight......riveting.....Brangelina had twins.......Lindsay Lohan may have a secret sister....you get the point.

Our pregame plan was to run a 5k, but half way through it Kelly suggested we run 4 miles. The first few miles were good, but then around mile 2.5, the knees started to go the way of jell-o, next the hips, and finally the quads. We both made it through all 4 miles with out pushing the lungs, but I have a sneaky feeling we will be sore tomorrow.

We start a marathon class and running club this Wednesday. It will be interesting to see how much further ahead of us most people are, but we still have a solid 2 and a half months to train for this beast. I will give an update after Wednesday's class.

Releasing the Weekend Toxins

This past weekend was an absolute blast. Forty five of our good friends squeezed on a bus and made the six hour trip to Milwaukee to watch the Twins split two games with the Brewers.

A long weekend was ahead of us as the first top was popped at 8:15 AM on Saturday morning. The full weekend consisted of two exciting baseball games, two full days of keeping Anheuser Busch in business, and throwing down tasty brats and burgers. Saturday was simply a long day from getting on the bus at 7:45 AM and getting back to the hotel room around...well, not really sure when we got back. After that, I figured Sunday would be a pretty calm and laid back day. Maybe we would have a few casual beers at the tailgate and enjoy the afternoon game. As it turns out, our group embraced the keg stand and Sunday was another day of throwing down. It was a great trip as everybody seemed to have a good time and we all made it back safely.

As much fun as it was, it took a full day on Monday to recover. I was pretty nervous about running today and I set my sights on 4 miles. Somewhat of a step back from last week, but I wasn't too sure of my ability after the extended weekend. Today's run felt pretty good up to the 4 mile mark so I decided to keep going and finished the day with a 5.5 mile run. The last 1.5 was a struggle, but it felt good to get back on track not only with running but also with eating. I am pretty sure it isn't good to drink a case a beer and eat a pound of brats on a daily basis. It should be interesting to see how the legs feel tomorrow.

Here is a little note to the lady that sat behind us at the game on Saturday. You cannot ask people if the speak English because they cannot hear you. There may be seven hispanics sitting in front of you that might take offense to that. At least she checked her clan hood at the door.......

Working for the Weekend

So I have taken a short hiatus from writing, but I haven't given up on the running. Last Saturday Kelly and I had a goal of circling Lake Calhoun twice (6.2 miles). We were not smart enough to get up early to do this, so we ventured out and started our run at 10:30 AM. The sun was hot and there was hardly a breeze. Not the best day to put in the longest run of our short training program. It turns out that I sweat, a lot, and that I should never forget to bring a towel. I think Kelly's car has recovered......

It was definitely a struggle and the toughest run I have had to this point. I had done 5.5 miles before, but all were run in the early mornings and never in temperatures about 80 degrees. 80 degrees didn't sound that warm on Saturday, but it felt like 120 degrees. The sun absolutely does something to your body. I questioned my ability to run 26.2 miles several times during the hour I put in. The best part was after we were done with this run, I got to drive to New Prague to play baseball!! My legs felt great..........

I gave myself Sunday off and ran Monday morning. My legs were pretty sore but loosened up as I went. I was able to log 5.5 miles that morning. Fighting off geese only twice, it was a good start to the week. After a two day lay-off, I pushed myself pretty hard on Thursday. I only put in 4 miles, but ran at a pace that is 45 seconds per mile faster than I had been running previously.

This all leads to today where Kelly and I ran 6 miles together along the Minnesota River trail in Shakopee. It was a relaxing run and it is definitely more fun to run with your partner. It was also much easier for both of us compared to last Saturday, which proves it had to be the sun and heat that attributed to the struggle a week ago. We both felt great after today's run, which is how it should be.

Random thoughts from todays run.

1) Didn't know that Shakopee had a brewery in the 1800's
2) Not sure why I get pumped up every time a Metallica song starts on the iPod.
3) How much beer will we drink this weekend in Milwaukee? The world may never know...

Got Me a New Toy!

Well, I haven't given up yet. I did run Saturday morning and logged 45 minutes, but it was a pretty uneventful run and there was nothing really to report.

Kelly purchased a Garmin Forerunner 305 and as I waited for her to test it out. After seeing the basic features and intuitive software, I had to get one for myself. It is pretty much the coolest thing I have bought off of eBay since the Ken Griffey Jr bobble head I sniped a couple of summers ago. Today was my first day using my own and it is awesome. This thing tracks your pace, total time, calories, your route, heart rate and it has a host of other features. On top of all that it has navigation and allows you to save data points. The navigation tools will be useful for hunting and fishing. It comes with a computer program that allows you to log, track, and analyze your runs. Very cool.

The problem is now it gives me a virtual competitor on my wrist. Today my goal was to run for 45 minutes once again. The last few times I have run, I was going for set times, now with the new gadget, I could tell how fast I was going. So naturally I competed with myself and told myself that I needed to get at least 5 miles in that 45minute window. I was able to do it but I could tell I pushed myself more than I had previously. I am sure my legs will yell at me first thing tomorrow morning. Stupid hamstrings....

So now I have a very expensive watch specifically for running, a little added motivation to keep this train on the tracks.

Again, these cool days are awesome for us big-boned fellows to run.

Second day of Documented Training: Yep, I am for real.

Turns out I am feeling pretty serious about this venture. I woke up a little early this morning, drove to my office, and jogged around the pond/lake behind my office. I figure it is about one mile per lap and I made it for four laps this morning. It was cooler than normal out and I missed any rain, which made it nice to jog in.

There wasn't anything especially eventful about this morning's run except for a pair of geese and their young gaggle. The two adult geese managed to hiss at me and chase me for a few steps each lap, which drove home the fact even more how much I hate the species I call sky carp. These two geese must know how much I hate the city species. I know the stupid foul isn't going to hurt me, but they annoy the crap out of me and I get sick of side stepping their piles of fertilzer on the path each morning.

I decided as a second gig that I would like to become a goose sniper for any metro city or county that would hire me. Heck, I will do it for free, just make it legal. Day or night, I would like to be the guy that is responsible for ridding our suburban communities of these filthy birds. I would gladly donate the meat to the local food shelf, so if there are any local mayors or county commissioners reading this and feel my services could be of value, feel free to call me on my cell. I will be at home cleaning my Ruger.

Day 1: The start of a love/hate relationship

After remaining sedentary for 9 straight hours, I figured it would be good to get up off my a$$ and get serious about this running thing today. It is no secret what the title of this post means and it was true to form today. The first 15 minutes of the run felt pretty good. Time went by fast to start. I had some good music and I felt like I was covering ground. My legs and lungs felt good and at this point I was digging my decision to go for run.

At 15:01 the honeymoon was over. My stomach started to hurt and I had to put the jake brake on. I lumbered through to 30 minutes with the same feelings in my gut and legs, but magically things started to feel good again. At that point I set the goal for the day at a 45 minute jog and at my pace, should have put me somewhere between 4.5-5 miles. The track today was simply around our neighborhood in Shakopee, nothing too scenic, but it beats staring at my girlish figure in the mirror at the community center.

Here are some random thoughts from today's run.

1) I watched the caged heat at the women's prison play softball and couldn't help but wonder if Mikey "Double-Down" Peters (Jon Favreau's character in Swingers) could mess up getting some action in that joint.

2) One by Metallica may be the greatest Guitar Hero song ever.

3) Most people probably think it is too cold out, but running in this weather is a husky guy's dream.

Idea that sparked this blog

A quick background for this blog. I thought it would be interesting to document my training for the TC Marathon this fall. I am far from your typical distance runner. You simply do not see a a lot of 235lb+ former o-linemen pounding the pavement.

Every sport I played growing up used running as punishment and if you asked me 5 years ago if I would consider running a marathon, let alone run a block, I would have asked you to stop talking crazy. The only running I would consider doing a year ago was to grab another beer or to the can in emergency situations.

My running history up to this point is as follows: Kelly and I ran a couple of 5k's, a 10k, a 10 mile and a half marathon last summer. With intermittent training, we did okay for rookie runners. Every race was gratifying, but each run caused some internal issues. During each run, Kelly and I would swap complaints about running in general and fatigue which caused some tension between us during the runs. When the race was over, all was good and we had something to share in the accomplishment of completion. Last summer was also a humbling experience during our runs. There is nothing quite like have a 7 year old beat you in a 5k by over 5 minutes or having a 75-year old guy pass you around mile 5 in a 10k. If those two things aren't enough to make you want to throw up, how about having a 70+ year old little old lady keep pace with a couple of former college athletes for an entire 10-mile run? If you know me, you would probably guess what was going through my mind as I hear the PA guy at Canterbury congratulate 7-year old Kyle from Bloomington for finishing the run as I knew we were a good half mile back. Upsetting and humbling all in the same feeling.

Who knows, maybe this summer we can beat most of the Buick driving, hearing impaired, gray haired senior crowd along with the occasional second-grader. Time will only tell.

So, Kelly and I will be paying over $200 to run for 4+ hours this coming October. Seems logical.....