Getting Badder Because Of The Ladder

Every week of marathon training could be compared to climbing a ladder.  Each day is another rung closer to the top or in this case the finish line.  Today the scheduled called for 11 miles, and Allyson and I did a 7 mile run from the track into Tyler and back before doing a 4 mile speed workout.  And yes we did a ladder, 200 (100), 400 (200), 600 (300), 800 (400), 600 (300), 400 (200), 200 (100), followed by a 1 mile cool down.  Another great workout even though I was unable to measure the first 7 miles with a Garmin because the one I have decided not to turn on (and yes it’s charged) and Allyson’s refused to acquire a satellite connection.   I think my next GPS is going to be that new Nike watch powered by Tom Tom.  Tonight wasn’t all so bad we had mild weather once again, I felt good during the entire 11 miles, and even a few people turned out for the speed workout portion.  Tomorrow is a rest day, which is good because I need to focus on writing an 8 minute speech on how running shoes have changed in the past ten years.  I’ll be back at it Thursday for a hill workout and then some.

Till we run into each other again…

Speed Workout Today at 4:30

If anyone is interested I will be doing a speed workout today at Council Rock South at 4:30.  The mileage will be about 6 miles.  Going to do some type of ladder workout.

19 mile weekend

According to plan doesn’t always work, so be able to flip flop your training days.  The marathon plan that I have laid out has Saturday’s being easy minimum mileage type days and Sunday’s as the long run day of the week.  Well, the plan was to do 6 miles easy on the trails of Washington Crossing and 13 miles long on Sunday at Tyler.  I had to flip flop the plan when the trail run was going to Bald Pate to run some incredible trails.  Chris Mortensen took us on some trails that were put together by rock formations (pictured) and past some maple tree lines, not to mention the usual mud and muck, and the occasional stream crossing.  When a training run like this presents itself you have to take full advantage of it.

 I don’t ever allow myself to become a slave to my training, meaning I don’t allow it to dictate when and how far I will go.  I agree that a plan needs to be in place to have a successful marathon, but don’t let the plan own you.  Allow yourself to be flexible and tell yourself that you’re still putting in the miles and the effort just not always in the order it was drawn up.  I’m glad I took advantage of the Bald Pate run on Saturday.  I got the chance to run trails I had not run before, I got to witness some incredible views, and I even got to talk about “The Walking Dead” with John Burrows (great show by the way if you like Zombies).  I’m witnessing more and more runners that are running by “the book” and I warn you now that if you continue to do that you’re going to end up burned-out or bored.  Tomorrow starts week 2 and as was last week Monday’s a Rest Day!  I’m back at it on Tuesday with a speed workout.

Till we run into each other again…

Oh and in case you’re wondering week 1: 36 total miles.

Day 2: Rekindling My Love With Running

Today was day two and I felt as if I had rekindled my love affair with running.  Today’s workout called for a 9 mile run incorporating a hill workout and that’s exactly what I did.  Allyson and I arrived 45 minutes early to this evening’s hill workout to do a nice relaxed 3 mile warm-up.  Getting to any workout or race early allows you the proper time to warm-up and stretch.  After our warm-up I stretched out for roughly 15 minutes before we headed over to the hill to do a 6 mile workout.  The hill workout is always tough and not something that I look forward to, even though it has strengthen my hill running ability immensely.   It was also nice to have mild temperatures and a decent turnout of runners (about 10).  Before tonight’s workout I had in the past, felt very light headed after this particular workout, but felt perfectly fine this time.  This is another positive sign that things are getting back on track.  Tomorrow is another Rest Day!  I have no classes, and done work early tomorrow, so I will be headed to the movies to see Ghost Rider II which to my surprise no one I know is interested in seeing.  My only nerd trait is comic books and naturally any comic that becomes a movie.  I’ll see some of you Saturday at the trail run. 

Till we run into each other again…

Day One Time to Ice

Before you continue I want to warn you that I don’t follow the typical marathon guide.  I have taken bits from the “Advanced Marathoning” book, pieces from a Runners World guide from years ago, and I sprinkle on top my own techniques.  I only tell you this, to warn you, in the case that you are tempted to use this some time for your own future marathons.  The program I do is a 12 month program and incorporates a speed workout, a hill workout, an easy run, a long run, and a few rest days (which are my favorites).

Today I began my journey to the finish line of the Pocono Marathon.  Today I did 4 miles easy with Allyson and Mike Brown from Council Rock South to the boat house in Tyler Park and back, followed up with a speed workout of 12x300’s with 100 rests with a 1 mile cool down, for a total of 8 miles.  Both felt good and made me think that I have been rebooted and recharged.  I try and finish each run by icing my legs; it helps keep them fresh and injury free.  Tomorrow is a Rest day which is great being I have a Biology Exam…

I leave you with an inspirational quote from the G.O.A.T (Greatest Of All Time) and I’m not talking about LL Cool J.

“Success is not achieved by winning all the time.  Real success comes when we rise after we fall.  Some mountains are higher than others.  Some roads steeper than the next.  There are hardships and setbacks but you cannot let them stop you.  Even on the steepest road you must not turn back.” –Muhammad Ali

If we all could live with these words in mind we could achieve so much.  Talk to you on Thursday after the Hill Work out.

Speed Workout Today at 4:30

If anyone is interested I begin my Pocono Marathon today and will be doing a Speed Workout at Council Rock South at 4:30.  I will be doing everyone's favorite speed workout 12x300's (100). 

Brick Walls

I just got home from school and I felt the urge to share what I learned during my Effective Speaking class.  We watched an abbreviated version of “The Last Lecture” which is a very inspirational speech given by Professor Randy Pausch.  Professor Pausch passed away in 2008 after his battle with pancreatic cancer.  During this speech or “Lecture” Pausch talks about his childhood dreams, enabling the dreams of others, and lessons learned: how you can achieve your dreams or enable the dreams of others. 

Multiple times during this incredibly entertaining, but inspirational speech, Pausch references hitting brick walls, “Brick walls are there for a reason: they let us prove how badly we want things.”  We as runner’s hit walls all the time.  We hit walls during our training, in our races, and whenever we attempt to push ourselves to go further or faster.  As most of you know I have currently hit a brick wall with my performance and have since taken some time away from running in attempt to get past this wall and continue to excel.  I will be starting back up when I begin my training for marathon number nine next week.  I’m looking forward to getting out there and pushing my limits which will bring on plenty of brick walls.

I’m playing with the idea of blogging about my marathon training to give anyone interested in getting a behind the scenes look at what I do from day one to the finish line at Pocono in May.  If I get a big enough response 

I will begin blogging about this on Monday, February 20^th.  I want to end this post with some important advice that Professor Randy Pausch passed on to anyone that was willing to listen:

Be good at something, it will make you valuable.

Work Hard.

Find the best in everybody; no matter how long you have to wait for them to show it.

Be prepared: “luck” is where preparation meets opportunity.

If you’re interested in learning more about Professor Pausch or to watch the entire lecture it is available on YouTube.