Running To Beat Mark

Ran the half marathon course for Lincoln Half Marathon. Started at slower pace as a warm up for first two miles. Did sub 7:00 pace for the next 10 miles. Finished at the slower pace again as cool down. Five weeks to marathon legs feeling good. 

Parent Teacher conferences tonight, so not a lot of time to run. Got three miles in before it was too dark easier day to recover from yesterday.

Shorter speed work day by myself 14 200's at 30-32 Seconds and 6 300's at 48-53 seconds.

Warm up and cool down 1.5 miles each.

Ran with the track team today. JV runners had a meet last night and varsity has a meet tomorrow so easier days for both of the groups. I ran five and a half with the JV two miler at a fairly easy pace, was able to have a conversation throughout the whole run. Finished with 8x100m strides. I did not time the run today to make sure it was at an easier pace.

This morning I was able to get a workout in because school started later than usual. I did 10x1mile with the goal of each mile being sub 7:00. I thought about doing more or going for a faster time but I have a half marathon saturday and decided this would be a quality workout and hopefully still leave enough in the tank for saturday. The warmup was the first mile, I jogged a 300 for rest between each mile, and did a mile cool down to get me around the twelve and a half mile mark. The splits were 

1- 6:58 again the warmup   2. 6:44   3- 6:40

4- 6:33   5- 6:27   6- 6:17    7- 6:38

8- 6:38   9- 6:46    10- 6:54

Overall one of my stronger workouts in a long time. I hope the legs still have a little something left saturday. 

Travel day to Illinois for the Lincoln Memorial Half Marathon. Did three mile jog in the cool morning air. Feel ready to go for tomorrow. 

Perfect weather for the race this weekend. I believe it was 50's for most of the race. Started with my wife behind the 1:50 pace group (she ended up running a pr of 1:47!) And the first two-three miles were filled with a lot of weaving through traffic. I did not wear a watch and have no clue of my mile splits because the race did not track each mile. I felt good pretty much the whole race, my legs began to feel tired from the weeks workout after mile 7. Miles 7-12 are where the hills are in this course and that definitely took its toll on my legs. My goal was to have a time under 1:30 to help me feel the pacing I need for Boston. The 1:29:58 is also a PR for me so am excited about that. I did roughly a mile warmup and cool down before and after the race to get me to the fifteen. Overall felt good, got to see Mark, the runner whose PR's I am chasing and my old college coach! Now four weeks to the marathon! 

3 miles with the JV team. They have a meet tomorrow night so we did not want to work them too hard today. By the time we got back the two varsity runners had not started their speed work so I joined in with them.

200-30       400-67

600- 1:47        800- 2:40

600- 1:50     400- 68

200-32

Cooldown of 2 miles and some stretching. The legs responded pretty well after Saturday's race and the 7 hour car ride yesterday.

2 mile warmup with the Jv milers. 

3 mile tempo at 5:50 pace.

2 mile cooldown with JV milers, who by the way PR'd with a 5:05 and a 6:23.

I was going to try to get at least 6 tempo today, but I slept in and with the track meet and date night tonight I only had time for three.  

Went 6 miles with JV 2miler and other coach. We started fairly easy for two miles then did 2 min on 2 min off fartleks at 6-6:30 pace for about twoish miles. Then finished at a decent pace. Legs felt ok today a little tightness in quads but after the first 2min at faster pace it stretched out and felt good for the rest of the run. Have not gotten many miles in this week, hoping that faster pace will make up for it. 

On the car ride home my quad tightened again so I did a mile jog to loosen it up before stretching it out pretty well. Hope it feels good for tomorrow's workout.  

Run with the two miler from JV- 5 miles

 2 miles at home again to help get legs loosened for a good stretch once I got home. 

Easy Run before tomorrow's 20. 

Went for a long run with my wife this morning. We were trying to get in 20 miles before the storms hit. However, I slept in so we thought we should cut it down to 14 outside then finish the last 6 on the treadmill. I do not run well on the treadmill. I did another 2 inside and then 6 miles on a bike, for a total of 22 miles this morning. My wife did all six miles on the treadmill and got all twenty in so I am very proud of her for that. I still have not done a twenty mile training run before a marathon, I was really hoping to break that cycle today... 

Recovery Run very slow but legs did not feel too tired.

1 mile  Warm Up

4 mile "tempo"pace at 7:30 a mile (ran with 2miler on JV team)

8x200m 31, 32, 31, 32, 32, 32, 32, 31

1 mile cooldown

Had to do a run on my own today the varsity runners ran while I was in a meeting and the JV team had a meet today. I found out today I did not get the teaching job I really wanted for next year so I ran to get some frustrations out (i know not the best idea), so I was "flying" (all relative) on an out and back course. I came in the first three at 17:40 It had been a long time since I did sub 6 minute miles for three miles without really thinking about it. However there was another reason, there was about a 15-20mph wind straight behind me, I turned around and proceeded to run back in about 21:20 ( i accidentally bumped my watch(It felt so slow after the first three)) Overall pretty good workout. I can not imagine the boston runners yesterday, today was 75-78 during my run and I was getting super hot! It was very inspiring reading Jake K's post and watching the race last night. 19 days til the marathon and hopefully a new PR.

Whole team was together today. The JV ran pretty well yesterday with the wind. Varsity has a meet tomorrow so we just ran some easy miles. The JV 2 miler and I ended up going 6 pretty easy (~7:30 pace) but with one half mile surge in 2:35. Legs are still feeling pretty good, I think my wife is planning to do a run with me tonight so most likely will get a few more in tonight. 18 days!

Did three more with my wife about hour an half later. It was nice running with her it has been awhile that we had time to run during the week together.  

Had to get a quick run in today between student teaching and a meeting. So I ran just over 3 miles in 18:10. Ran negative splits.

Found out last night that I was going on a 20 mile bike ride with my wife and another couple tonight so we only did three this morning and got in a good stretch. On the run we discussed marathon goals and paces we both feel that we should have big PRs!

Twenty mile bike ride was fine, I was by far the slowest, the other couple was invited to join the us cycling team. Plus I had a mountain bike which is just a whole lot slower than road bikes. But my wife looked great and had tons of fun so it was worth it even with how sore my buttox is.  

Tempo run today was slower than planned, my wife was not feeling well so I did not want to leave her. However I did get some good surges in. One mile 6:30, .5 mile 3:00, and 1.3 miles at the end 8:00. Legs felt ok after the bike ride, butt was sore, and my foot was a little sore from trying cycling shoes. One of my last big workouts probably will do two speed workouts this week. Two weeks from marathon. 

3 mile run with the JV team since they have a meet tomorrow. Then got on the track and did 8X200 with the varsity 800m runner in 32, 31, 30, 30, 29, 29, 30, 30. One mile cooldown to get to 5. 

Easy 5k loop today, legs were pretty weak. I did not wear a watch so that i wouldnt be tempted to shoot for a time. No student teaching today so it was nice to get my workout done in the morning. 

Four miles today. Went to a small town about twenty minutes away for some different scenery. Legs were pretty sore so i kept it easy again no watch so no temptation to sprint.

I also have a couple friends who got to college in this town so we hung out after my run. We ordered a pizza at 5:15 and it was supposed to be delivered at 5:58. Well it was 6, then 6:15, 6:45, 7:00 and by 7:30 after a few phone calls, we decided to head to Pizza Hut and see what was happening. Well we got there at 7:35 and our pizza had not been made yet! So we got our pizza for free, but not until 8:15 or three hours after we ordered it...

3 miles easy. 

Nice easy run with the wife. Beautiful weather today temperature wise. Had a rain shower in the afternoon which made the temperature perfect for running. Hopefully we are that lucky tomorrow morning and the marathon too. 

 Eight days before the marathon I wanted one last solid workout. Goal for today was to lock into marathon pace. My wife and I decided to jog the mile and quarter to the park near our place and then do a tempo workout on the 1.6 mile lap. I ended up doing four laps and she did over 3. Both of us were right at marathon pace. My left leg tightened up right before the last lap so I decided to go a little slower and not risk anything. Below are the splits 

10:39 - 6:39

10:56 - 6:50

11:05 - 6:55

11:19 - 7:04  

Total 44:00 for 6.4 miles or 6:52 average mile pace.  

Three mile easy run as a break from working on my thesis. One week away.

I was hoping to get one last workout in with some good turnover, however I was the only coach today so I was in charge of the stopwatch... Ran the warmup and cooldown with the team but did not have time to get my own workout in before meeting. 

No miles today. Started the part time position this afternoon, and accepted a full time teaching position for the fall! 

Three easy, it has been a busy week, good thing  i was not planning on doing much this week.

Every time I taper i get impatient. It happened again today. After running one mile easy i picked up the pace for the last two and ran them in 12:50. This is why i usually don't wear a watch on easy days. The legs felt good today. Weather forecast for Sunday is 50% chance of thunderstorms, and high of 75 with 21 mph winds, sounds perfect.

Marathon is tomorrow. Forecast is still saying storms and 70's at start time. Lets hope they are wrong and its dry and 50's! 

First things first the marathon can humble you. I was so humbled I am not even listing this as a race report. Weather did not cool down and the wind was over twenty mph for the majority of the run. I didnt ever feel good but I was still on pace for the first half 1:35ish, and then truly fell apart. My second half was in 2:26 and I ended up with a 4:01. I am a little disappointed but I am not too disappointed since my wife had a PR! She broke four hours! So i am very proud of her! 

Three miles easy with the track team tonight, they had a good laugh at how hard it was for me and the other coach (he did the half marathon yesterday) to keep up with them. 

5k loop tonight easy, at least it was supposed to be but I wore my watch and that led me to run faster than I should have. The weather has been perfect for running ever since the marathon so it has been hard to rest.

Tonight I also decided my next race is going to be a 10k in June so planning to work on some more speed this next month.

Four miles easy today.

I was hoping to get mile repeats in tonight but with a meeting did not have enough time.  Instead did a fast two mile

 One mile warmup, first mile in 5:50 into a 20mph headwind. On the second mile I was flying downwind and ended up with a 4:51. I thought this had to be too fast and in fact it was short it was only .98 of a mile, still would have been sub 5 if it was a full mile though. Total time was 10:41 so my fastest two mile (1.96mi) in a while. One mile cooldown to get to four miles for the day. 

Half mile warmup then drills. Shorter intervals tonight 30 second 10kpace followed by 30 seconds mile pace. 2 sets of 4 each. Half mile cooldown 

Traveled to South Dakota tonight, so Ill have some different scenery on the run tomorrow. 

3 miles with emaurine this morning. Then did two more. Watched part of a marathon/half this morning, wish i entered much more fun running than watching.

Four miles easy with emaurine tonight.

3 mile morning run. 

Was going to do more this afternoon...

Finally ran again, part being busy, tired, and mostly warmer weather making me want to golf more. My wife emaurine got me going this morning and we ran 2 miles at a decent clip. Hopefully this run starts me training again.

Just another two mile run today. Once again I have my wife to thank for getting me out there. Perfect weather today mid 50's. 

Two miles to the Y tonight for my wife's classes. I did 13 miles on the bike in her cycling class and then she kicked my butt in resistance training.  

three in the a.m. before summer classes start.

Emaurine woke me up this morning to run two miles before classes, perfect weather. 

Seeing how I got winded just running to the parking lot yesterday I figured it was time to start training again. This morning I woke up and ran three miles. Humid and windy but good to get back out there

Another three miles today, almost no wind for the first time in a while made the run even warmer!

Speed workout this afternoon, weather was low 80s so not too hot. One mile warmup two mile repeats, 5:55 and 5:50 with one mile cooldown. IM OUT OF SHAPE! Mile race in mid july that i will be trying to break 4:50 at, gotta long ways to go. 

Rain last night led to a wonderful morning weather wise for a run. 

No run today, but biked with http://emaurine.fastrunningblog.com/ today. Ended up doing 12.8 miles, i rode on a mountain bike so I continually slowed her down. She is looking strong for her first triathlon at the end of July, she swam ran and biked today! 

Emaurine and I have decided our next marathon. The Mankato marathon in Minnesota towards the end of October. 

I ran two miles in the heat of the day, 105, and was drenched when I came back. Really glad my wife talked me out of more today. Legs felt a little wobbly since I haven't ran in a while, but it will be a fun process building up for another marathon!  

Three miles with emaurine this morning. We woke up a little later than we wanted, we were pretty tired from our trip to Brookings. Felt good running with her again. 

This afternoon I defend my thesis at the University. This has been one of my most challenging projects, also the thing I have worked on the hardest. It is also a reason I have not run in a while. I am glad for it to be done and for me to have a little more time to run. 

I attempted to run fartleks today. The goal was twenty minutes of thirty seconds fast thirty seconds slow. I warmed up for 5 minutes (.75 miles) then I started the main section of the workout. My legs just did not have it today, I ended up doing only ten minutes of the fartlek workout (1.5 miles) I then continued the rest of the scheduled run at a 7-7:30 pace (1.25 miles). I really got myself out of shape these past two months, but I am looking forward to the challenge of bringing my fitness level back up.  

Spent this morning at the lake with emaurine. We swam in the lake, so my first day of open water swimming, (it wore me out!) and then a four mile run in the trails. She biked out to the lake then we swam and worked on her transitions for her triathlon. Finally we ran. The course was perfect for a cross country race, which is what I love! There were quick turns, constant up and down, little to no flat areas, and a big hill at the finish. Finished in under 30 minutes so not too bad of pacing. The day at the lake was made complete with me having two ticks on my legs, and emaurine having one. Hopefully we can have more days like this now that my program is done!

Emaurine and I went for a nice four mile run today before we continued unpacking.

800yd swim and 10 mile bike

22miles on bike 

Nothing today. Good news is we finished unpacking from the move, so we have more time for our workouts!

Open water swimming take 2.

Emaurine and I found a new lake to swim in, so we gave it a try this morning. The winds were gusting over 30mph so the waves were pretty high and disruptive. She was able to get in a solid 900m swim, while I was much less effective and only did 500.

After the swim we did a three mile run around the lake.  

This afternoon we went to the y and took a look around all the equipment. One piece struck us in particular. A cycling machine in which you are an avatar and can keep track of many statistics while you ride. We ended up doing 6 miles on this to test it out.

40 miles on a bike today. 18 at spin class this morning, and 22 to the high school I will teach at this fall and the elementary school emaurine will teach at. 

Swam in the pool today with emaurine. I had a tough day today, my lungs seemed tight the whole swim and I was not able to do as much as I would like. Emaurine did awesome today and is looking strong for that triathlon. There were also some really strong swimmers at the pool today, it was awesome to watch them train, made me even more excited for the olympics! 

After the swim, we went for a three mile run. I was able to breathe much better while running so I was able to do some surges.  I did eight surges in the run. 

Spin class this morning with sprints, climbs, jumps etc. Found out that I am a much better climber on a bike than a sprinter. I must really love emaurine since I was at spin class with her this morning instead of watching tiger's round at the british open. 

When we got home we did a faster two miles. We were under 14 minutes which is moving for the two of us running together, especially after the biking.  

No run today, however I feel that the excitement one feels watching the Dark Knight Rises should count for something. Except for the fact that we had buttered popcorn, two ice cream cones, etc.

Two repeats of 2.5 miles today, the only problem was by the time we got out to where we were running I realized I forgot my watch. 

The plan for today was to have emaurine practice each part of the triathlon, and she did exceptionally well! She started with a swim that was 400m, a bike that was 12.5miles and finished with a run of 2.55miles. Watching her today she really impressed me, I never had any doubts that she would not do well with this new competition, but she looked incredibly strong today for her first time putting all three together. In fact, her run at the end was at a faster pace than any 5k races she has completed. The race is next saturday!

My runs were both around 16-17 minutes, however I did forget my stopwatch. These past two weeks I have been doing the majority of what emaurine has been doing to strengthen my base. After her triathlon next saturday we will begin focusing our workouts more on running to get prepared for the Mankato Marathon in October.

Church and watching the British Open this morning led to the run having to be in the heat. So instead we went to the Y, and rode the bike for 4 miles and ran on the indoor track for two miles. 

Swimming 800yds in pool

20miles on a bike

Swimming 700m

Running 2 miles 

Travel day to Lincoln. emaurine has her triathlon on saturday, wish her luck!

5k loop near the old apartment. Emaurine races the tri tomorrow!

Emaurine is now officially a triathlete! Congratulations!!

Travel Day back then easy 3

1.5 to the ymca, body pump work out, then 1.5 back

.5 mi warmup 16x100 splits were 16.4, 16.35, 16.18, 15.85, 15.8, 15.4, 15.7, 15.1, 14.8, 14.78, 14.34, 14.92, 13.84, 14.32, 13.96, 13.26 (if only i could do that all together i would run a 4:01 mile!)

.5 mi in 2:20

with emaurine 1mi in 6:48 her fastest mile! 

3mi and cycling for 15 today

Fartlek day, 

Legs were very sore today from body pump and all of the squats and lunges. So I did five minute warm up first two minutes were so slow!!!) and then 15 minutes of 30 seconds on 30 seconds off, making sure the off was not too slow. It turned out that it was not bad timing since I finished a minute from home, so I sprinted home then did a little cool down. 

Now Olympics and Ice Cream! 

Birthday! Started with Biscuits and Gravy and a round of golf! I missed a birdie putt on 18 to shoot even par... ugh! haha

Came back home and made homemade deep dish pizza for lunch. Then we took a nap.

During the nap, I snuck out for a few miles. 

Dairy Queen to cap off all the great food today! 

Run to the Y and back with cycling class in-between. Different instructor for us and we were tired at the end!

 Went back to the Y during the lunch hour for a body pump class. Third different instructor in the three classes this week, but still she worked us hard.

Longer run tomorrow and then the real training begins on sunday! 

Did a seven mile run this morning with emaurine. We were hoping to do six but new to town and didn't realize two roads didn't connect, so that led to an extra mile loop. We went at long run pace seeing how neither of us have done over four miles running since the marathon in May. Even without the longer runs, I felt great the whole run. I believe that doing longer distances swimming and biking as kept my cardio up enough that I can do these middle length runs without much struggle. 

 Three this afternoon. Mile warmup and four 100m strides in 16 seconds. Then a session of 30sec on 30sec off for ten minutes. Then did 3/4 mile in 3:54. Legs felt ok for the first two a day workout in a long time.

Three easy peasy miles this morning. Only goal was to stretch out the legs, so I did not take a watch because whenever I do that I always go faster. 

The goal was a 5k under 20 minutes. The weather over 30 degrees warmer than this morning. The wind gusting in the 30mph range. Started down the road and crossed the first mile in 6:05, not bad. The bad part was I was already feeling tired. I got to another spot where the road didn't continue and I had to add to the run. With about a quarter mile left I hit the twenty minute mark, no goal completed today. But wait the run was 3.25 with the extra turns, and the pace that I was on left me at the equivalent of a 19:55 5k. All is ok.  

Another three easy peasy miles, this will probably be the morning run I do before school every day for active recovery. 

2 this evening before being cut short by storm. 

Easy 3 at school

Warmup

Did 3 sets of 2 200's and a 400. Finished with 400, 200 200.

Times were 36,37,1:13,35,34,1:11, 34, 34, 1:10, 1:09,35,33

COoldown 

3 easy

Run around town 8.75 miles. 

3mi warmup 

Then added a mountain workout

2-38, 4-1:17, 6-1:57, 8-2:40, 6- 2:06, 4-1:19, 2-35

2mi cooldown 

easy before school

 4 this afternoon

.5 warmup

3 miles at 10k pace (I didn't wear a watch, however i felt so much faster at the end, so I had to do negative splits!) 

.5 cooldown 

3 early and easy, first day of school today!

6.5 with the xc team this afternoon. Got some good runners out this year that will hopefully motivate me to keep in shape in order to keep up with them! 

3 before school

1mi warmup before the run. 

4.25 with the cross country team. We did a run, where the team is all in a line, and then when you are in the back you need to sprint to the front. 

Early morning but nice and chilly today so it felt great.

Another run with the cross country team. Five and a half mile time trial on a hilly course. The longest stretch of flat was 300m. Before the run I did a mile warmup and then the varsity hopefuls and I toed the line. We set off at a decent pace, but not fast enough for sub 6 pace for the run, which was my goal. I picked it up and the top three went with me. I dropped two of them at the 3mile mark and the final one at the four mile. I cruised in home to 34:54 so not the 6minute pace that I would like, but for the slower start, hilly course, and me not running hills in forever not a bad first tempo run in a while. 

The top three all came in around late 35 to mid 36's so not too bad for them either.

Did not sleep well/went to bed really late with grading papers. 

Ten today, but then I ate alot of junk food to get rid of that effort...

Three with emaurine before church. 

Track workout this afternoon, 1mi warmup then a mixture of 100s, 200's 400's and 800's each with a jog in-between. I would jog 100m after a 100 or 200 and 200m after a 400 or 800, no specific order or time just tried to keep everything under 5:30 pace. However some of my 800s were closer to 5:40 pace. Lost track after 20 laps but I know for sure I did 5miles on track. 1 mi cool down for a minimum of seven total this afternoon.  

Three this cool morning.

Workout with the xc team. 1mi warmup.

5 quarter mile hill repeats up a steepish hill(steep for nebraska maybe not other states.)  times were 1:26, 1:27, 1:30, 1:26, 1:26 on a gravel road. So the 1:30 I got stuck in some (for lack of better term) deep gravel that slowed me down and ate up my legs. It worked out that on every repeat I had someone to push/be pushed by. The first one everyone went fast so I got 4th, but the next three the top three runners alternated running up front with me, and finally the last one a kid who had saved it all workout went out and ran a 1:17 (still a little upset at that one). Jog back after everyone so this part of workout was 2.5mi

Three and a half miles harder after all that I believe I came in around 21-22 minutes, so pretty close to goal MP, a little below.

Finished up with a 2mi cool down, for 9 total this afternoon. 

3 in the a.m.

3 in the afternoon with emaurine 

3 in am

4 in afternoon 

3 in the a.m. going to run with the XC team after school today, temp suppose to be over 100...

6 mi tempo with the xc team this afternoon. The pace was a fairly decent one, I had us at 6:30 for the majority after starting off at 6:45 and dropping to a last mile in 6:05. 1 mi warmup and then we started as a group of 8. I could tell we were going to slow for some of the faster guys because they were singing, so I felt my duty as volunteer coach was to pick up the pace (they did not like it as much), but I only did it a little bit. By the end it was just one other and me throwing down a fairly good mile. Afterwards I did  6x100 meter sprints uphill with jog back recovery  and a .5 mi cooldown for a total of 8. 

3 in the a.m. 

3 in the p.m. 

Long run cut short by storm for second weekend in a row! We have had no rain except for Saturday mornings when emaurine and I have tried to get out and do some longer distance. Maybe we will get one in tomorrow..

3 more this evening with emaurine after the storm.

Four miles this morning before church. I slept in so we did not get in the longer run we wanted. Will do some speed work this afternoon.

Three miles this afternoon fast. 

3 this morning. After going from 21 miles just three weeks ago to 58 last week my legs felt super sore this morning at the beginning. However just like every morning after the 2 mile mark and the turn to home, they started feeling looser. Overall mileage will probably be less this week, because XC team has a meet thursday and I am traveling over the weekend.

5.1 ran a 5k time trial with the xc team today, which had me excited because I have not raced in a while and I considered this a race, since I had my pride to keep in tact. After a mile warmup I was already pouring in sweat with the temperature in 98degrees. THis fact changed the goal of mine from a good time, to a good practice of strategy in racing. I stayed behind the top two runners for the first mile to avoid going out too fast, (partly because I didnt know the course too). We dropped one at the 1.5 mark and ran side by side until the 3 mile mark, at this point i could see the finish, and we both set off and finished at the same time. The time was not great, (but that was part of the plan), but still faster than my last 5k time trial by myself i ended up in 19:25. 

The whole run I had a terrible feeling in my gut, so after the run I got the joy of seeing lunch again... One mile cooldown

Thought about doing more this morning, but decided against it, soon I will bump up my early morning run.

3 by myself this evening steady comfortable pace. 

Nothing this a.m. Been feeling sick for the past couple days, so I thought sleeping in today will help speed up the recovery.

(side note: signed up for the next marathon for emaurine and I, Mankato MN. Hopefully the weather is much cooler than my last one and that I can start getting in some longer distances!)

3 still not feeling good, but after a full rest day yesterday legs felt good. 

XC first meet this afternoon

3 in a.m maybe last run for the weekend got alot of traveling in short amount of time

Run with emaurine this morning. Got back home late last night. So this morning was more of a shaking out the legs from all the travel than anything else. We ran for an hour, thirty one minutes one direction (right around 3.25) then turned around and tried to run back in 29minutes, came back in 30 so still negative splits.

3 in the a.m.

Emaurines and my goal is to try and get 1hr of cardio in (separate from a.m.) everyday. I am just impatient and I feel that running a fast 3 or 4 is a "good enough" workout. I have been trying to run farther by myself and this 1hr plan seems to be working better. Today I ran for an hourish when i didnt run i did squats, calf raises, and box jumps. The loops were 1.8mi in 12:50. 1mi in 7:04. 1.2 mi in 7:07, 1 mi in 6:15. The goal for every loop was comfortably hard, the 1mi in 7:04  was trying to lock in at marathon pace. 

3 in a.m.

Goal for 1hr this afternoon had to be cut short because of a meeting after school. However I did get a decent four miler in around 30minutes. The other reason to cut it short was to get dinner ready and boy was it a good dinner turkey mashed taters and corn!! Yummy

3 in the a.m. not sure if I am going to get in something this afternoon...

3 this a.m. just like yesterday this might be my only run for the day

Class all day not able to get anything long in.

3 easy did not feel good today

3 easy in a.m.

7.5 in the afternoon. 5x1.5 mile repeats. The 'easy' goal with these was to keep them all under marathon pace. A tougher goal was to keep them all under 10, but with the temp still at 97 degrees, I was not expecting this. I ran with the xc team so i hoped they could keep me going. Came through first one in 10min even. Uhoh, I had not expected the amount of hills on this all grass course. Anywho, short water break and then 10:20, 10:40, 11:15 and 11:25. Just ran out of energy toward the end but still finished the workout. I have never ran well in heat so hopefully getting some of these workouts in will help in case the marathon is warm. 

Did not get up this morning, could not fall asleep last night.

This afternoon I ran 4 miles warmup then did 1 mi at 5:50 and 1mi jog for a total of 6 today. Again super hot so just trying to get some experience running in the heat.

No a.m. run.

The weather is finally cooler! I was so excited to run today but with a meeting I did not get home til 7. And at 6:30 buckets of rain was coming down. However by 7 it had slowed down enough to give me some visibility so I was able to run in cool weather!! I was so excited by this I took off and I covered 2 miles in roughly 11 minutes. I finished the next 2 miles in just under 14 however, partly because I went out to fast but mostly because the rain on my clothes made me feel like I was carrying at least 5 lbs extra weight. Anyways by far my best run in a while. Good to see that when conditions are better for running I still had a little of the old speed. Hopefully my next few races are in similar conditions (except the rain!)

Parent Teacher conferences = no time for run this afternoon 

6.5 with emaurine and the xc team. Back to a little warmer weather today but still not as bad as it had been I think it was mid 80's during the run. 

No long run Saturday, I am not feeling too good about this marathon... As a first year teacher everyone told me I'd be busy and tired, well Saturday mornings are when I feel it the most. I need something to help me break through the barrier and get a long run in... oh well at least the Huskers won today!

Talk of emaurine and I doing the long run today...fell through only three, 5 weeks til marathon longest run so far is less than 13...

4 with emaurine after school. Her hip has been bothering her. She had a fall in June that bruised and now has left scars. She has tried taking a week off at a time (twice), icing, and anti-inflammatory pills. However last night the pain was back and worse then ever. Any suggestions as to what the injury may be? (she refuses to go see the doctor...) 

A nice 3 this morning the temperature was 40degrees!! It felt so nice, except for my hands they got pretty chilly. 

Another 3 this evening. A run to the Y and back. I took emaurines step class which was fun and challenging, I got no rhythm!  

3 this morning around the high school. They have gotten into the nasty habit of locking up the track so that I can not get in... I will try tomorrow to break in. 

4 more this evening with a 30minute bike ride as well. Emaurine was able to use the bike and not have it hurt her hip.  

Only 2 this morning, woke up late, made a bigger breakfast which took longer, so got to school with about 12 minutes left for a workout. So I did a halfmile warmup 1mi fast half mile cool down. (Thought about doing nothing this morning, but realized the last time I took a day off in the morning it turned into over a week off of morning runs.)

3 this afternoon easy. 

3 this a.m. Got onto the track. I wanted to see what my mile time was for a "comfortable pace." Ran a 5:58 so not too shabby and not to tired afterwards. Mile warmup and cool down. LOVING the fall temps!

3 in the p.m. with emaurine. 

Finally got in a long run on a Saturday! Just started teaching this fall and both emaurine (also a teacher) and I have been just too tired on Saturday mornings to get up and do anything. Today we decided that no matter what we are going to do it! So I planned the route last night, woke up to her saying we going to run yet? COME ON!! So she is the whole reason I got up this morning. We started slow( she is still nursing the hip) and slowly progressed to MP in the last 5 miles. It was such a good feeling when it was over that we can still do these things! Perfect weather (well maybe a little too windy) and an enjoyable run with my lovely wife. 

8 this morning with emaurine. Nice and easy in the cool morning of the second day of fall. Decided during the run that I'm going to my alma mater's homecoming to try and win the 5k race that is part of this weekend. Also most of my old xc team will be there so it will be great to all run together again.

3 this afternoon 1 mi warmup 8 x 150m  400m jog then 1 mile in 5:40.

1 mi warmup, then a mile in 6:08 the first quarter was in 1:43...I was not awake!!! 1 mile cool down. Had to only do three with a staff meeting this morning.

Another 3 this afternoon 

2x1000 (maybe a little more than 1000...) but in 3:46 and 3:45. Warmup and Cooldown included before school. Was hoping to get more in, but a student said they would like help before school. That student better show up because otherwise he cost me some of my workout! 

3 this afternoon then did a core class with the wife, amazing how out of shape my abs/core are.

Only 18 minutes to run this morning before school, so I did a faster workout. I did my warmup (1mi) at a decent pace then put in a fast 1k, a mp mile and then a fast 400, jogged until the time was up. I have been trying to get done so I could be in the classroom @ 7:30 for students if they have any questions...no students are showing up! Maybe I can run longer... 

4 in the afternoon 

3 this morning including 4x200 in 40,37,35,34

1mi warmup 

5k race first finisher that was not part of the cross country team. Been a long time since I have ran such a short race.

I struggle with acid reflux and need to sleep on an incline. However I forgot my incline pillow and medicine, so I was not too happy and worried about how my chest would react to the race. Found out at the second mile, me and the leader were step for step and then all of a sudden cramp in chest and spread to the rest of my body and was struggling to finish. Faded back to fifth since I could not close. I am thinking about doing another 5k in this next two weeks at home so I can have the pillow and meds. Pretty ok with the time given everything.

easy after the long drive back

Slept in, did not get any work done this weekend, so no run this morning. 

4 miles this evening nice and easy turned out to be another shake out run.  

Found this article, that I would like to share.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/30/sports/essay-the-honorable-clan-of-the-long-distance-runner.html?hp&_r=2& 

3 easy in indianapolis

5 back home with emaurine

5 again with emaurine past two days we have snuck onto cornfields for some pretty views of the trees...good thing we werent caught! finally back home after trip to indy which included my first flight adventure!

4 easy with emaurine

30 minute workout by myself at a comfortable pace (6:40). 

early morning 3. Emaurine and I were wondering if anyone else feels the same way we do about working out. A lot of the time before the workout we stall and do not want to go, however every time we get done working out we are so excited that we did and we feel so good! Anyone else ever feel that way? Why can't we remember that good feeling? 

 3 this p.m. with emaurine

5 total 30 minute tempo run, (was hoping to finish all five in the thirty minutes). I ended up getting a little over 4.5 in this stretch (4.55). So not bad, it should be noted that (well i think it should be noted ha) that it was an out to back and the way out was against 30mph winds...

3 mile jog

2 hours of running not sure how far, found some cornfields and back trails...but I know the minimum would be 12 (pretty sure I was going at least 10 minute miles...)

3 jog.. 1 week until the marathon.

5 out at Camp Luther. Out in some trails and around some lakes. First time trying this area out and we will have to go back!

5 nice and easy 'ran' a few errands on the way.

5 on the track. Windy! Gusts over 40mph. There were times I felt like I was not moving!

30 min run. 50mph gusty winds!!

Pre race jog. Marathon tomorrow we will see how it goes! Have a cold and have for past week! Ugh!

Mankato Marathon this morning with emaurine. The goals for this race were very small since this is our first year of teaching and we have not been able to train very well. We completed every goal that we set! Have fun- check, relax-check, break 4:30:00 check. 

Race was cold this morning (Perfect!) Today was a patience practice day for me. Running with the wife is always fun and we checked off her second state! Winds were suppose to be under 10 but were over twenty so I got to be the person she drafted behind, but we stuck together and had very even splits. Finished in our trademark fashion of holding hands and got the traditional responses of aww, and they are so cute! Overall an enjoyable weekend and we both are ready to train hard for the spring marathon and set some big PR'S!! 

3 mile jog nothing felt too bad

3 more today again just testing the waters. Legs feeling good 

Never have I felt this desire to do another marathon. However, I want this next one to be done right. I know that in the training cycle long runs are a big focus. What other workouts do I need to be make sure that I am doing?  

4 easy

2 mi trick or trot, got to dress up like a zombie and scare everyone once I was done!

10 miler with emaurine.

We have a goal to finish a marathon in all 50 states. We were wondering which one in Utah we should do? Any suggestions? 

easy 5 

6 today including 3 fast with emaurine

3 in the a.m. 

Starting the 2 a days small hoping to get to minimum 5 in the a.m. and 5 in p.m. and then building again from there! 

8 in the p.m. was struggling this afternoon. Ran some errands and then tried as hard as I could for the rest of time but it did not go well, core class right after the run.  

3 in the a.m. making sure I run hard today, so I can get some candy!!

3 more in the p.m. threw in some fast 400's in there @ 1:10. 

5 easy today, then played some football with some high school students, and then more football with emaurine

3 this a.m. The goal for these a.m. miles is slow and recovery, however when I am on the track my body just feels like it should be running fast! 

8 

5 

Good 5k with emaurine, rest easy running tonight

 Tried a track workout this afternoon 2 warmup

Goal was 12x400 all under 80 seconds @ 3 sets of 4 with 200m jog recovery between each 400 and 2min rest between sets

1st was at 82 uhoh...not a great start

2-4 were at 77,78,77

Felt really sluggish after 4, not alot of energy but figured I would try the next set.

5-8 went 78,79,77,78

Tried to finish the fourth set but after the first 400 (81) I had nothing so to finish the 3miles of speed I did 6 200's 37,34,37,38,38,39 

 Overall, yes I did get the 3 speed in but not as fast as I wanted and not in the form that I wanted (all 400's) 

Cooldown 2miles 

5 easy

Four easy, thought about doing a fast run tonight but it never happened, legs just didnt want to turn over.

Traveled to Illinois today to see the Family. Grandma's 80th birthday party tomorrow. 

6 miles and then a 'boot camp' type workout with emaurine. It was a rocky-esque type workout just using whatever we were finding in the yard and non stop moving. Then the traditional James family football game, before the party. 

ate too many sweets.... 

drive back. this is how short the days are now, we left Illinois about 2 hours after sun up and drove for just under 8 hours and the sun was setting when we got home. Great! 

3 in the a.m. 

Fast 5k this evening 

5 today, nothing too special.

nothing today with PT conferences going until 8

Legs finally felt good today. I have been nursing a pain right above my right ankle. Ever since Thanksgiving I have not done any running. Been doing some cross training, but nothing too serious. Anyways felt good to get back out there today. Lincoln Marathon Registration opened yesterday and I was not going to register until I could run on the leg again. So I registered tonight and have decided that this is finally the marathon I am going to qualify for Boston!!!

Another 3 tonight. It was sub zero if I was going to run before school, so I decided second day back to not do that... Did not feel the pain above the ankle at all so cut loose on the last 2 miles and ran them both in 6minutes. Needless to say pretty happy that I can still get down that low after taking a few weeks off. 

Easy 5 this afternoon in about 35 minutes. Then an abs class and cycling class. Right leg is feeling good!

4 easy today. Only 20-25 mph winds with gusts of 30 today out here, nothing compared to what I heard others went through today!

6 easy

3 Easy

Eight today, a bunch of positives from this run. I had no specific goal for today but to enjoy the fact that it was 40s in December, and I did! Before I realized it an hour had past and I was still feeling great, great confidence boost after the injury. I made it through a whole week of training with no ankle injury, which makes me feel that I can start the marathon training tomorrow. Trying for an increase of mileage gradually til beginning of February and then marathon specific. I really think that if I actually train correctly for a marathon that I can break 3! I really hope this winter early spring is good weather because I am feeling that this is the race! Oh reading that 20+ people were going for a group run today was a major motivator getting me out there today, so thanks!

8 today. A bunch of different types of runs mixed in, I did a faster 5k (roughly 19:30-20:00) then hopped on the treadmill and did two miles at grade 7-8 and a fast mile at 10mph (grade was now at 1.5). Rest were easy mileage in between. 

6 miles on treadmill with 10 1 minute fast and 1 minute slow was hoping for more, but finally felt some fatigue, not sure if it was from running or school, but overall not bad. 

4 miles I am regressing by even number miles as the week goes along, but yesterday was for a special reason... It was my wife and mine 2nd wedding anniversary!

Wintry snowy mix winds at 30mph so yep I was outside running! I decided to do laps around football field and then some sprints into the wind. Cold, wet, and windy but an enjoyable run!

Five miles today. Traveled to Brookings, SD. On the way stopped and got a massage and some dinner to celebrate the anniversary.