Daily Mile Extreme!

Todays schedule called for strength training. I have a very spartan, but totally massive, weight gym in my basement. Yes of course, everything is situated around the Goddesses stuff but it WILL work you out.

 Today I did Machine benches, Olympic Benches, Lat Pulls, Dead-lifts, Delt Raises, Decline bench Sit-ups, Triceps Press-downs and EZ Bar Curls. It felt good to get back in to the weight room again.

Now I just wonder how sore I will be on tomorrows long run. I hope I can shake it off and get at least eight miles in. I enclosed some pics and my workout board and overall time. It felt great.

Ready To Rock & Roll

It's time to Rock 'N Roll now! I've got nine weeks to the Ogden Half marathon in Wheeling, WV (my home town) and it's time to get serious. I went to the gym and hit the treadmill this am. I warmed up a mile and then ran 4 half mile repeats at 8.5 mile pace. A mile cool down and I had just a little over 4 miles total including the recoveries. No time to mess around anymore.

I included a picture of some of my gear spread out on my dining room floor. Maybe tomorrow I'll get a shot of all my shoes. That might be a nice thing for the group. What kind of gear do you use during your many runs? I'd be interested to see. Have a great day and power on.

Felt Good Today...Shoulda Run

Today was a scheduled day off. I didn't sleep in cause I was fresh and ready to run. But rests are scheduled for a reason. I did some sit-ups yesterday. All the push-up and sit-up challenges have inspired me. I've got to get back into some core work. Basically I've just run this year. But the racing season is right around the corner so it's time to get serious. Tomorrow after my intervals, I'm gonna pump some iron.

The Terminator - Relentless

I woke up to 23* and 6* wind chill and thought maybe it's time to visit the gym for the first time in a long while. It's not that I was wimping out, hell I run with a headlamp in the dark at 6:00 am lot's of times. But today I just didn't feel like fighting another cold day. I ran 60 minutes on a relentless treadmill and covered 6.5 miles.


Two things I rediscovered at the gym (it's been weeks.)
#1. People want to talk to you at the gym. I'm there to work and people want to talk. I don't mind socializing before or after my workout, I always do, but when I start the belt I don't want bothered. I hope that doesn't sound mean but I'm training for a half marathon in May and I don't want to look like an ass out there. I got work to do. (I do love the old people on the 'mills walking 2 miles an hour. I really honestly do. They could be home soaking their dentures but they are here working out. They are the same older people who refuse to ride the damn scooters at the grocery store while all the fat people fight over them. God bless the ones who at least try.)

#2. A treadmill is the Terminator. If you set it on a 9 minute mile pace, the damn thing goes at 9 minute miles. On the roads I forget that I speed up when I feel good and slow down for a drink of water. The belt doesn't care. It really is great for pace work. It's damn boring! But it will work you with no conscience at all. It will hurt you and not care. I like that about the treadmill.

Ok, I've wasted enough of your time. Corey and crew are actually running races and improving humanity and I am yammering on about dentures and blabbermouths. I enjoyed myself today though. I hope you do too.

In The Still Of The Night

I ran a very easy 3 miles in 29:31 in anticipation of a hard ten mile effort tomorrow. It was very cold this morning at 6:00 am and still very dark of course. The temp was 21 degrees with a rather substantial wind chill. Since my fall (not a really a bad one but still) I'm a bit tentative to "open up" and fire off into the night with only a headlamp for illumination. And my mile I cover to get to the trail head is all broken sidewalk so I have to be tip toeing all the way. Enough excuses, I got up at 5:00 am and ran into the night while millions of people slept under warm covers. My friends reading this will smile because they know of what I speak. You all do the same and more.

To Corey and all my pals racing today, good luck! Our racing season hasn't started yet so I will keep track of our website and check in for results. I love race reports so please give 'em up! I can't wait to hear from you all. Y'all be careful out there.

Tired Tired Tired!

Took a recovery day today. I slept 9 hours the night before last. Then took a nap yesterday afternoon that lasted from 5:00 pm until 9 or 10:00 pm. That is not normal. Then I went to bed and slept the whole night, right through the alarm, and got up at 6:30 am which made me miss my morning run. Something strange is happening. I also woke with a bad cold and a stuffy nose.

I really hope I'm just tired and not getting sick. When I run every other day, I feel great but that volume won't get me ready for a half marathon I don't think. When I run 5 or 6 days a week I start to grow increasingly tired. I need to eat better and push through this, Maybe more after work runs so I can catch up on sleep. We are gonna have to experiment here.

The "Goddess" Earns Her Title

The "Goddess" decided that she wanted to buy me a grill. A monstrous, stainless behemoth that breathes fire and cooks steaks by remote control. I don't know why she decided to do this but I ran a quick 5 miler ( about 42 mins) and went shopping.

I don't cook on the Grill. If I did I would cook a burger and call it a day. The Goddess will have steaks, burgers, zucchini and squash roasting. Maybe add some olive oil covered green onions and fry up some green tomatoes and then toss some veggies on the side burner. I cook hockey pucks.

I love the "Goddess". Wonderful woman. But I'm already wondering (you know what I'm gonna say)... was that grill really for me?

Anyway, I ran a hell of a five miler. Just busted it. What a great day off!

Something Didn't Feel Just Right

Took a day off today. I woke up in a pool of sweat at 3:30 this morning and then suffered with bouts of chills followed by the sweats. I managed to fall back to sleep and then had horrible, scary nightmare type dreams until 6:00 am when I got up and was sick. Elevated heart rate, blah blah blah. I decided it might not be a day for a solo run in the dark. I drank strong coffee, mostly to make the dreams go away,

I'll see how I feel after work. If I can, I'll hit the gym and get my short little 3 in for the day. I hope you all feel well.

Figured The Combination Today

I ran 4 miles around Fork Ridge trail today in a blistering (for me) 33:54. But I figured out the combination. Even on my short runs I had been overdressing, carrying my I-Phone and taking walk breaks as I adjusted my i-pod or took pictures or fiddled with my water bottle. Today I did the "naked run." Before the Goddess reads this and starts gathering bail money I'll explain. I left everything home but my Ironman watch, I under dressed and I decided to run hard. When I got winded I shortened my stride, looked at the deer playing in the creek and and let myself relax for a little. But I kept running.

I found that I could float up hills, cruise down easy descents and, at times hammer the straights. It might have been my best run all year. There is something to be said about distractions on longer runs. I have lots of my friends that run every run with music and I will probably take my gear with me on my long weekend runs. But for now, I've learned a lesson. A run, at least a short one is to run. If I want to hear music, I'll go to a concert.

Happy In The Sack

Even though today was a scheduled day off, I automatically woke up at 5:00 am. I realized that I didn't have to get up so I laid back and listened to a distant storm roll in.

 My room was lit with faint lightening and the sound of thunder was like big waves pounding on the beach. I snuggled with pooch (he hates even small storms) and fell back to sleep. It's nice to have a guilt free day of rest. Have a nice Monday everyone.