Running slowly...

is difficult.

I have been struggling to hit my easy day paces. I get warmed up and I want to GO. Ya know?

Today: 3.07 miles in 36:23

Mile 1 - 11:51
Mile 2 - 11:59
Mile 3 - 11:41

My 6 mile LSD on Saturday was run at a pace of 10:40. BOTH todays run and Saturdays run were faster than McMillan suggests. Oh well. I'm gonna stick with trying to hit the suggested paces and hopefully get to the race happier and healthier than if I try to push too hard too soon and end up calling myself "Mr. Injury" again. I'm not sure, but I think there will be marathons next year too. I can step it up next time. Before you start chastising me for not meeting my potential, I'm still likely to PR at these current paces. OK?
_________________

Wife has not been running. She has brand new running shoes, unopened, sitting under the bed. I'm gonna guess that she will run before summer ends and she'll be joining me on the course at Bayshore next spring.

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Total miles toward Chicago - 15

In the beginning...

So, here we go. Marathon training again. I was afraid to get out of bed this morning. Not lazy. Not tired. Afraid.

"What we have is based upon moment-to-moment choices of what we do. In each of those moments, we choose."

I stayed in bed I wouldn't run. If I didn't run then I couldn't be crushed by disappointment if injury rears its ugly head again. If I chose to sleep for another hour I could always run later...but when?

"We either take a risk and move toward what we want, or we play it safe and choose comfort."

I could hear rain drumming off the bedroom window. The streets would be wet. It would be more difficult for traffic to see me even though I wear a reflective vest. I wondered about the temperature. Being wet is bad. Being cold and wet is worse.

"Most of the people, most of the time, choose comfort."

I reached for my glasses and rolled out of bed. I thought, "I could stay in bed, and nobody would care. But, I would still know." That was all it took. I dressed for my run.

"In the end, people either have excuses or experiences; reasons or results; buts or brilliance."

I walked to the end of my driveway, hit start on my Garmin, and began an awkwardly slow shuffle toward the country road beyond my neighborhood drive. The rain had turned mostly to mist but dark clouds were piling ominously on the western horizon. Marathon training had begun.

"They either have what they wanted or they have a detailed list of all the rational reasons why not."

I had no foot pain. There was no knee pain. There were only footfalls, puddle splashes, and bird songs. I ran easy. I ran comfortably. I felt my body wake to the morning, happy to be moving. The air smelled more of spring than the nascency of summer. Dark skies had turned to heavily overcast gray by the time I returned to my green roofed house at the end of a cul-de-sac and this morning I had what I wanted. I was marathon training again.
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Mile 1 - 12:31
Mile 2 - 10:08
Mile 3 - 9:56

McMillan suggest that an easy run for me should be between 12:01 and 12:31 per mile. Ugh. That's really slow for me. Is there really value to that? I don't want to take that much time running 3-5 miles. My long run pace is sane (11:01-11:31). I get that. My suggested tempo pace is 9:34-9:59. Remember Bayshore? Most of miles were right there. I comfortable with that too.

My daughter runs too. I am so darn proud of her. And the boy plays hockey. I'll have to dig up some pics of the other two.

I'm back

Training for the Chicago Marathon begins this week. Since I last posted to this blog I have:
-resumed running
-completed a 25k (15.5 miles)
-set a PR at a 1/2 marathon

Not bad.

I want to run Chicago because:
-it's hard
-I want to do better than last time
-I want to prove to myself that the first time wasn't a fluke
-I won;t run without a goal and I like BIG goals

I've been thinking about sandbags lately. I'll write more about this later.

I haven't been in the water since July. I haven't gone for a ride since July. I haven't gone for a run for over two weeks.

um...