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.