14.3 miles in 2 days

Yesterday morning and this morning I was outside well before the sun came up. This morning I was out the door at 4:45AM and ran 10 miles. Two mornings in a row all I heard were crickets, trains and semi's off the interstate. The moon was bright both mornings and too many stars to count. Yesterday I watched the sunrise while I was running down a dark country road. Both mornings were so peaceful that I did not want to interrupt them with music. I am so grateful for the mornings that I have had running over the last 5 or 6 years. Every run tells a story. Each one has a beginning, a middle and an end - - - I am grateful for the stories told over the last 2 mornings. 5 miles tomorrow and then a couple of days rest before the big 20 miler! I am so thankful that I am not injured. 40 miles this week! The most I have ever run in one week!

14 miles yesterday

14 miles yesterday (Sunday)
6:00AM to 8:20AM (one 4 minute bathroom break at Lincoln Park)
Water?            (20 ounces through 7.5 miles then refilled)
NUUN?           (2)
GEL?              (30 minutes before, mile 5.5 and mile 9)
Hurt?              The aches traded places back and forth throughout the run but I AM HEALTHY!
Ice?                Yes
Bandaids         (2) - - - -the one on my left nipple was Ronald McDonald - - -freaked my son out when I                      took off my shirt after the run.
Music?            The lyrics from "Landslide" stuck with me . . "And I'm getting older too . . . "


14 miles seemed fairly anti-climactic considering I did 18 last Sunday. However, I do not take 14 miles for granted and am so very thankful that I am healthy enough to run and push myself. I had my first twinge of doubt yesterday and a little today.  . .  . This morning I went to the Y for spa day and stretched and sat in the Sauna. I am taking this training very slow and deliberate and it is going to pay off with no overuse injuries.

With no running today I feel tired and lazy. I weighed myself. I am at 176 pounds. I could be much slimmer if I would be as disciplined at my eating as I am with my training . . .

I am proud of myself for pushing through the pain. I have a spot for it somewhere deep inside that I put it when it rears its nagging head. There is a HUGE difference between aches/pains and injury. I know the difference. I can't expect to go longer than 5 miles and NOT feel it in my body somewhere.

3.7 miles with my son in the dark . .

Tanner woke up at 5:00AM yesterday and ran 3.7 miles with me. The dark, the crickets, the moon and the stray dog in the middle of Kellogg Street may be forever emblazoned in his memory! It was the coolest thing to run before most of the world woke up with my 13 year old boy. At first, he stayed close to me (obviously he still sees me as his protector!) but then he spread out. He spread out so much that I couldn't catch him the final quarter mile to our house! I am going to try some Hammer Gels (never had them before) and a new flavor of NUUN for my 14 mile run on Sunday. I watched a documentary about the guy who owns Patagonia and the other guy who used to own The North Face . .it is called "180 Degrees South." It inspired me so much that I am going to buy it. I have been listening to the soundtrack also . . . .I keep referring to Psalms 26:2 throughout this training - - "Test my heart and my mind O Lord" . . .so far he has!

7 miles this morning at 4:45AM

I got "outside" this morning at 4:45AM. It was dark. I heard crickets and trains. I looked up in our second story window and saw the nightlight in our hallway glowing through the blinds. It was HARD to hit the road this morning. My training actually called for 10 miles but I opted for a hard 7 miles. I RAN HARD. I feel like 7 HARD miles will do more benefit for me right now that 10 EASY miles. I found a website that talks about feeding your body enough carbs so that you don't "hit the wall."  Obviously nothing is guaranteed but there is a cool calculator that talks about how many CARBS you need 12 - 36 hours before the marathon. It is endurancecalculator.com. I was proud of myself this morning for getting up, for running hard the whole time, and so far not eating any crap! This has been quite a journey. 5 miles tomorrow morning before 6AM. I am going to "swing" by and pick up my son for the final two.

18 Miles on Sunday

I have got to admit . . .I have not been a very devoted writer lately. I ran 18 miles on Sunday morning. I left at 5:55AM and returned at around 8:55AM. Almost 3 hours on my feet! After 20 minutes of ice, a banana, another Gatorade and laying on the hard ground while my kids stretched my legs . . .life was back to normal. It was, as it is every time I run, life altering. I ran through Heritage Days (where grownups dress up and pretend they are living in the 1800's!) . . .the smell of woodsmoke and dew. I feel pretty confident about 26.2 now. After about mile 13 I once again kind of went into a trance. I had 20 ounces of water/nuun and filled up again at mile 10. It was not enough. I need to make sure that I fill up around mile 8, 16 and 20 something. I had GUs at mile 5.5, 10 and 14. It was steamy on Sunday morning and I could feel the heat trying to escape my body. Yesterday was "spa" day at the YMCA so I stretched and sat in the sauna. Today I ran 4.3 miles - -hard. The first 1/4 mile my left ankle (high up) was a little cranky. Feels like a little tendonitis. I ran strong the whole time. I am going to whoop this test.

Hydration Plan . .

From what I have been reading . . . . .If I drink 20 ounces of Water/NUUN every 8 miles I should be good.

I'm still here . . .only 38 days away!

I haven't had time to write lately. I have ran 3 miles on Monday, 4miles on Tuesday, 9 miles on Wednesday, took Thursday off and ran 4 miles this morning. The 9 mile run started at about 4:15AM because I had a 6:30AM appointment. Nothing appears to be too "out of whack" with my body right now. Periodically I get a "searing" pain in my left butt cheek. Seems like a deep bruise that periodically gets shocked! However when I run it is not too bothersome. Mapped out my 18 mile run for Sunday. Most people don't know that I am training for this marathon. I really only talk about it with people who ask or those closest to me . . .Maybe I will talk more about it when I have actually ran 26.2 miles. And then again, maybe I won't.

Quick Update

Back from the Northwoods. I ran 3 miles on Friday up there with my son. I ran 12 miles on Saturday. I drove 8 hours home yesterday. I got up and ran 2.6 miles this morning. This morning was kind of a "wasted" run but I needed to get back into the routine of waking up before the sun came up to run. It was hard. I am so grateful that I am this far into my training and have not suffered any real set backs. Even though I am eating like crap (though today I am starting to get back on track), I think I am in really good shape. I actually sprinted (or felt like it) for miles 11 and 12 in Wisconsin. It might have had something to do with being in the middle of bear country but regardless . . .I took gels at mile 4 and at mile 9. I looked at this week's schedule and it looks like I go 4 tomorrow, then 9, then 5 and then an 18 miler this weekend! I re-read UltraMarathon Man over the weekend and am reading "Born to Run" again. My "prize" for myself this weekend in Wisconsin was a COOL pair of The North Face shorts. They are mesh and cover most of my knees . .just the way I LIKE my running shorts! My little girl starts kindergarten tomorrow and I am dreading it . . . .

Running in the Northwoods tomorrow . . .

We are leaving tomorrow morning EARLY for a long, long weekend in the Northwoods of Wisconsin before our kids start school on Tuesday. We are headed 8 hours of north of where we live smack in the middle of black bears, pine trees and supper clubs! They call them "fishing lodges" and "supper clubs." We love it up there. . . .I have 4 miles tomorrow (which I am going to run with my son) and 12 miles on Saturday. I am basically skipping a 4 mile and 8 mile run this week because I was sick and had no other choice. It is already getting into the 40's in Northern Wisconsin so I am looking forward to not battling the heat. My knee doesn't hurt today however I think that I have slight case of shin splints. . . .

Since the "buzz" of my long run has somewhat worn off, I have came to this realization: I have even MORE respect for the distance (26.2) than I have ever had. With my only goal being to just finish . . .one of two things will happen: I will either finish or I won't finish. After slipping into somewhat of a "running coma" yesterday during my run I have realized that ALOT can happen in 26.2 miles. Some of it good. Some of it bad. However, I WILL COME PREPARED.

I ran 16.3 miles today . . .(why would I put .3? Because the .3 gets me closer to 26.2)

I have never ran 16.3  miles on a Tuesday before. I have never ran 16 miles on any day! I left my house at 5:00AM . . .I returned at 7:40AM. This morning was a quiet victory for me. I never really hurt HOWEVER late this afternoon and right now I am walking like an old Owen. I got home from my run, tore my shirt off, and in a look of confusion my 5 year old daughter said, "Dad, WHY do you have bandaids on your boobs?" I guess that is a fair question . . .

My left knee hurts right now and I am not sure if it is the beginning of runner's knee or just further inflammation from where I hit it on Sunday with the STUPID axe handle. Also, my right shin hurts. I told you I was an old Owen . . .always wanting to talk about my health like an 80 year old.

Drank 16 ounces of water the first 8 miles (with NUUN tablet)
Drank 20 ounces of water the second 8 miles (with NUUN tablet)
Was really thirsty at the end of my run.

Had GU at mile 5, 9 and 13.

Went to the bathroom twice . .I will leave it at that.

16 miles tomorrow morning . .

I am going to run 16 miles tomorrow morning before work. I have never typed that sentence before. I am a little nervous. I ran 3 miles this morning just to see if I still remembered how to run. I have been drinking water all day. My plan is to do two 8 mile loops. I want to drink 20 ounces of water (with a NUUN tablet) each 8 miles. I have to get this run in because we are leaving for the North Woods on Thursday. I am looking forward to "me" tomorrow.

One more day of rest

Instead of running 16 miles today, I walked 3 miles with my wife this morning. My sickness lingers in my head and still makes me dizzy - - -I am being smart by not starting to run too soon. It is driving me crazy. I have not run since Wednesday and feel completely out of shape. I miss "me" and God struggling and sweating on the road in the early morning. I have realized that when it comes to running I do the best "I can" with what "I have." It is not any different than me trying to be a good man. We are a sum of our victories, scars, wounds and losses . . . Tomorrow I am going to run 4 easy miles and then try to conquer atleast 10 miles on Tuesday. I believe that 16 miles is out of the question right now given my weak state.  

Wiped out

I skipped my 4 mile run on Thursday because my body was begging me not to run. I was going to make it up on Friday. However, at 4AM on Friday I got the stomach flu. I was in bed the whole day on Friday. It is Saturday now and I am not sure what to do about my 16 miler scheduled for tomorrow. I WANT to run but know that that would be STUPID. I have such a busy week that I am not sure where I can fit a 16 mile run in my schedule. I may do 5 miles tomorrow and try to fit in the 16 miler Tuesday morning at 4:00AM. I NEVER GET THE FLU. All of the books warn that when you start really pushing your body your defenses go down . . ..

I GOT SCARED OF MY OWN SHADOW TODAY . . .

. . . .NOT COOL! 4 miles yesterday. 8 miles today. I hit the road yesterday at 4:45AM . .today it was 5:00AM. This morning was the first morning that I actually had to drag myself out the door. Probably because I have a new pair of shoes (and this always happens) but I have several body parts that aren't very happy with me right now . . .my left IT BAND and my right achilles tendon. Running typically gives me abundant energy to feed off throughout the day. With this heat it has had the reverse effect. At 5:00AM this morning it was already 85 degrees!  I jumped about 3 feet off the ground today when I came upon my shadow . . .I do not run because of who I am, I run because of who I want to be.

Daddy Needed a New Pair of Shoes . . .

I "miled out" my shoes over the weekend - - 500 miles. I bought the exact same pair just the "new" color that recently came out. They are Mizuno Wave Nirvana 7's. They are worth the money. I always swore that I would always run in Asics (and I still like them) but these Mizuno's feel good. These will be the shoes that will help me accomplish some more "firsts" in my life. I went to the Y this morning for "spa" day. I stretched for about 20 minutes and then sat in the sauna for 10 minutes. Yesterday afternoon I sat in a pool for almost 4 hours. 4 mile run tomorrow and I feel fresh and ready to tackle another week of training.