It is hot as hell out there. Not summer blackout hot--that happens in July around here--but even 80 degrees feels like the friggin Sahara.
To give you an idea, after the run (during which I had water), I drank a liter of water, drank a bottle of chocolate milk (I swear it works better than Gatorade after a run), had a bagel, and STILL managed to come back home a pound lighter than when I left.
On top of that, I went running with my friend who has a marathon PR pace of 7:50 min/mile, and normally trains at speeds faster than that. (My training pace is 8:40, 8:30 on a GREAT day.) So I tried desparately to keep up. And failed. Yeah, real nice ego boost during my first week fo training.
Good news is that next weekend I'll be in Boston (my sister will be there for a conference) and will be able to put in some time along the Charles. In my head, the trails up and down the Charles are Rodeo Drive for runners. (During college I was actually intimidated to run along the Charles with the 1000s of phenonmenal Boston runners.) The sights are beautiful: the view from the Longfellow Bridge, the sailboats in the back bay, the views of MIT, the smoots, my alma mater, etc. On top of that, there is the storied history of running in Boston. It's inspiring. Hopefully, this will help shake off the painful run I had today.
Also, my wife went with me today. Unfortunately, she got to see me tired and grumpy after a disappointing run. But the great thing is that I got to share something with her that I seldom am able to.
6.30.2007
Week One
Coming into the end of the first week of training for MY FIRST MARATHON EVER! Of course, this is the same week that I've been super-social and had an event or gone out for drinks everyday this week after work. Waking up early to run + staying out late to drink = really tired. When Friday morning came around and I didn't have to wake up at 5:45 am I was so happy.
The running wasn't too bad. I'm not at my peak levels yet, but that's ok, I'm just starting and I'm still getting used to running in the early morning--which is growing on me. The first time I went out in the morning it was painful. I was saying "wtf" for the whole run. Now, I'm getting used to it, but I still feel "creaky" in the morning. I know most people like to run in the morning because they've just rested and their muscles are relaxed, they're "fresh." Well, not mine. Fresh is the last word I would use to discribe myself in the morning. My muscles and joints are rusty and stiff from sleeping and the last thing I want to do is shock them into awakeness by running. I feel like this may take a very long time to get used to.
Today I'm taking a break from the early morning run and instead, I'm heading out for an 8-mile run with a friend (while my wife walks with my friend's wife). Its a beautiful weekend here in the city, so it should be pretty nice.
The running wasn't too bad. I'm not at my peak levels yet, but that's ok, I'm just starting and I'm still getting used to running in the early morning--which is growing on me. The first time I went out in the morning it was painful. I was saying "wtf" for the whole run. Now, I'm getting used to it, but I still feel "creaky" in the morning. I know most people like to run in the morning because they've just rested and their muscles are relaxed, they're "fresh." Well, not mine. Fresh is the last word I would use to discribe myself in the morning. My muscles and joints are rusty and stiff from sleeping and the last thing I want to do is shock them into awakeness by running. I feel like this may take a very long time to get used to.
Today I'm taking a break from the early morning run and instead, I'm heading out for an 8-mile run with a friend (while my wife walks with my friend's wife). Its a beautiful weekend here in the city, so it should be pretty nice.
6.24.2007
Good news and bad news
Good news first: went out yesterday for 8 miles on the Hudson River Park/West Street/West Side Highway (aren't they all the same?). Anywho...I normally hate this route because it's rather boring and straight, plus it gets really hot. But despite that I did pretty darn well: I finished at an 8:38 min pace. My best half-marathon pace is 8:40, so I figure this is a great spot to be in before I start officially training for Baltimore.
And now the bad news: I have become web illiterate. More specifically, I have become HTML, CSS, Java and whatever-language-is-out-there-now illiterate. Back in high school I made my own webpage from HTML, but nowadays I can't even figure out how to insert a linked picture into a page. Sigh. So that RBF Member button over to the left is supposed to be linked to Running Blog Family...and God knows I've tried to figure out how to link that sucker back to the website...but alas, there is only so much I am willing to try before I just let it be. So the button is there, and one day it may be linked.
**Bonus Section**
Now for some so-so news: I'm still trying to figure out how to post my training schedule for Baltimore. I've been able get a jpeg version of the spreadsheet on here, but it's not legible. So I'll try again later this week when I have more time.
6.20.2007
Blog frustrations
Finally complied a training plan for Baltimore thanks to the folks at Runner's World. Now I have to figure out how to post it here. Looks like I have to find an FTP provider, set up an account, upload the file, and then link the file here. That may take a while...I hope to have the training plan up before the race.
On a separate note: went for a run this morning. I'm not normally a morning runner, mostly because in the past it hasn't go over well. I struggled through 4 miles, but completed without stopping (although my bowels suggested stops a few times). Overall it went well, which is good. I'll probably start by doing my short runs in the morning, maybe moving other runs to the morning.
On a separate note: went for a run this morning. I'm not normally a morning runner, mostly because in the past it hasn't go over well. I struggled through 4 miles, but completed without stopping (although my bowels suggested stops a few times). Overall it went well, which is good. I'll probably start by doing my short runs in the morning, maybe moving other runs to the morning.
6.17.2007
Runnerssphere
Way back in the day...meaning April, when I started this blog...I thought there were only a handful of running blogs out there. As is too often the case, I was wrong.
I took this morning to play around with the site layout, add some links, get some site counter action, see about getting my stats on the page. And in this persuit of gadgits, widgets, and gizmos for the blog I stumble across Running Blog Family. This just blows my mind. Ok, maybe more like sends a warm breeze over my mind. Not only is it an organized community of running bloggers, but they have all sorts of resources like training trackers, feeds to other running blogs, etc, etc. I don't have time to digest it all this morning, but this is huge. I'll definitely be adding more bells and whistles.
I also realize, that despite being young and hip and with it, I know nothing about the world of blogging.
I took this morning to play around with the site layout, add some links, get some site counter action, see about getting my stats on the page. And in this persuit of gadgits, widgets, and gizmos for the blog I stumble across Running Blog Family. This just blows my mind. Ok, maybe more like sends a warm breeze over my mind. Not only is it an organized community of running bloggers, but they have all sorts of resources like training trackers, feeds to other running blogs, etc, etc. I don't have time to digest it all this morning, but this is huge. I'll definitely be adding more bells and whistles.
I also realize, that despite being young and hip and with it, I know nothing about the world of blogging.
6.16.2007
Refocus
Ok, so I've come to terms with it: Fairfield is off the plans for this year. And didn't get into New York...so that's off too. Oh yeah, and it turns out that DC filled up BEFORE the lottery for the NY Marathon was called. Hmmm. So there go all my plans for 2007. Love it.
No NY or DC this year means I have to find another race to be MY FIRST MARATHON EVER (as it should always be referred to as). So I'm defaulting to Plan C: Baltimore. I've heard great things about the city, I'm a big fan of Chef Duff, and I always see Baltimore Marathon t-shirts at races. Based on that expert analysis of the race, I signed up this week.
Now it's officially on: the 2007 Baltimore Marathon on October 13 will be MY FIRST MARATHON EVER. So excited.
But wait...oh crap...that means I have to start training for a marathon. Hmmm. Perhaps I should get on that.
(Also...on the housekeeping front...adding a couple things on the right today since I finally have the time)
No NY or DC this year means I have to find another race to be MY FIRST MARATHON EVER (as it should always be referred to as). So I'm defaulting to Plan C: Baltimore. I've heard great things about the city, I'm a big fan of Chef Duff, and I always see Baltimore Marathon t-shirts at races. Based on that expert analysis of the race, I signed up this week.
Now it's officially on: the 2007 Baltimore Marathon on October 13 will be MY FIRST MARATHON EVER. So excited.
But wait...oh crap...that means I have to start training for a marathon. Hmmm. Perhaps I should get on that.
(Also...on the housekeeping front...adding a couple things on the right today since I finally have the time)
6.09.2007
No more Fairfield
So it's been a while since I last posted. Between being on "vacation" in Miami and traveling to LA for work I've been able to run three times in the past two weeks. And since I haven't been able to break 4 miles on any of my runs I've decided to not do the Fairfield Half-Marathon.
This particularly sucks because this is the second year that I had to skip this race. This time last year I was working insane hours at work and hardly had time to sleep, let alone train for a race. I guess the timing of the race is bad too, since I usually do a late spring race and this race is in mid-June.
In light of this I'm going to try things a little differently for my 2008 races. I'll be running either NY or DC this fall as my first marathon (woo hoo!!!!). Then in January I want to run the Austin half marathon, 1) because it is a downhill course race, 2) we have a friend that lives close to Austin who has been asking us to visit her since forever, 3) it will be a warm winter race. With a race so early in the year I will be able to prepare for a the San Francisco Marathon (late July) and then Fairfield (late June) can just be part of my training for SF. To round off the year I'll find a fall race sometime in October or November (I'm taking suggestions). Of course, these are my ambitions now, we'll see what surprises lie in store between now and then.
So, for now I'm eagerly awaiting for 12 noon on June 12 which is when they pull the names for the NY Marathon. If I'm pulled, then I'll be touring the 5 boroughs. If not, then it's off to DC.
This particularly sucks because this is the second year that I had to skip this race. This time last year I was working insane hours at work and hardly had time to sleep, let alone train for a race. I guess the timing of the race is bad too, since I usually do a late spring race and this race is in mid-June.
In light of this I'm going to try things a little differently for my 2008 races. I'll be running either NY or DC this fall as my first marathon (woo hoo!!!!). Then in January I want to run the Austin half marathon, 1) because it is a downhill course race, 2) we have a friend that lives close to Austin who has been asking us to visit her since forever, 3) it will be a warm winter race. With a race so early in the year I will be able to prepare for a the San Francisco Marathon (late July) and then Fairfield (late June) can just be part of my training for SF. To round off the year I'll find a fall race sometime in October or November (I'm taking suggestions). Of course, these are my ambitions now, we'll see what surprises lie in store between now and then.
So, for now I'm eagerly awaiting for 12 noon on June 12 which is when they pull the names for the NY Marathon. If I'm pulled, then I'll be touring the 5 boroughs. If not, then it's off to DC.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)