February recap

28 days in February.

127.5 miles logged over 21 days of running

Average run of 6 miles

1 angry pig

Great Month!

I’m heading towards Chicago full steam ahead. My mileage is in the mid 30’s and other than an agry pig I’m feeling healthy. I decided to go slower in my weekly increases to avoid injury. To be honest I’m a little nervous about hitting the 40’s. The goal by the end of the summer is 60ish, but to achieve that I have to hit 45-50 without falling apart. Something I have yet to accomplish. For March I plan to continue the structured workouts and focus more on the long runs. Maybe two 14 milers? For someone who is training for a marathon, I really hate long runs.

Miles trained today: 11

Days till Chicago: 223

date night

A run couldn’t count as a date could it? We didn’t talk much, a few comments here and there. We ran side by side the entire time. I think at times it pissed him off that he couldn’t pull ahead (that much by the structured workouts paying off). I hadn’t expected company on tonight’s run. Sometimes there is a vibe that he releases indicating that he has no intention of running. I was surprised when he changed and even more so when he was out on the roads with me. There was just a quiet rhythm between us tonight that is not always there when we run together. It was nice, and I’ll count it as a date.

Miles trained today: 6

Days till Chicago: 225

not now, please no

It’s starting. My pigs are revolting. This is the 3^rd time in as many years. It always happens when the mileage grows. My concern is this isn’t a spring marathon; I have over 200 days to go. If the pigs are pissed off now in February where will they stand in September? I’m trying to be nice, pedis more often, comfy shoes when food shopping. It started with a blister during the NYC Half. If I had taken time to relax after we would be good. Instead the mileage continues to climb and now I have a very angry pig. Good news, my running isn’t bothered. Bad news, this road leads to noting that looks pretty in open toed shoes. The unthinkable has yet to happen, I haven’t lost a nail. If that happens I walk away, no more marathons…EVER.

Miles trained today: 5

Days till Chicago: 226

I'll have to do it now

I thought I was going to get away without any workouts this week. My weekly e-mail didn’t get sent until late on Sunday and with no response I was starting to get excited. Don’t get me wrong, I know the workouts are important and will get me closer to my goal in Chicago. But I really enjoy the lazy runner route and you know that without Bob telling me what to do I am NOT going to do it on my own! Too bad the e-mail came in today and what was also too bad was the fact I slept through my morning run. Leaving no excuse for tonight. 4x1m at 9:50 pace with a 4 min rest, not completely tragic but not what I had envisioned as my evening plan. I’ve been doing these timed workouts on the treadmill lately. The rest of my runs have been outdoors since the mutiny, but I have a lot of trouble staying on target on the roads alone. Joe refuses to have anything to do with these workouts and Wednesday nights are still a few weeks away. I’m always amazed at how quickly I can power through them though. I had been dreading this run since 10am this morning and knew that it was getting bad when I found myself at work late. One of my surefire ways to sabotage a run is to stay at work until it’s too late to run. Dinner plans aren’t until 8:30 and although I didn’t want to run I wasn’t staying at work that late J I’m sitting here now, sweaty but feeling accomplished. What feels better is to look back at my log and see that each week I’m a little faster with a little bit of a shorter rest. The best part is the structured workouts are done for the week! YAHOO!

Miles trained today: 6

Days till Chicago: 228

perfect day, perfect run

This could have been ugly. We were running late in the day, the whole way there I was trying to think of a good enough reason to skip. It was warm, but standing waiting for Joe it felt cooler than expected. Off we went down the middle of the Blvd. It was a little tricky dodging mud puddles; Joe did some whining about getting his new shoes dirty. Now lets see here, you bought sneakers to run outside in and are upset that they are getting dirty, whatever. I was pretty surprised to see how quickly we reached the bottom of the Blvd. On the way back we made it up that slight uphill with some good speed. I was tempted to look at my watch to get an idea of the pace but I decided against it. Things felt good and that was enough. I knew heading down Cole that we were making good time. I was keeping up with Joe and the arms were pumping. It was such a nice day to be out, it felt like spring. Finally we had beaten the winter, I was wondering how we could replicate this at 4:45 tomorrow am. Even running into the wind down Elmgrove was nice. Again I had to fight the temptation to check my watch. Alright, home stretch, we picked it up. When we reached the car and I finally checked my watch I was amazed. We ran 6 miles in less than an hour, unheard of for us. I checked it again, 59:50. I don’t know how this was possible but I’ll take it. Don’t expect a repeat!

Miles trained today: 6

Days till the Chicago Marathon: 230

the gummy bear that saved my life

Things were going along fine until just past 6 miles. I knew I should have brought some Gu, I didn’t know it would get this bad. Hunger took hold, ravenous hunger. I tried to ignore it, focus on my run; it wouldn’t go away. Joe made a joke and I almost attacked him. I started to scan the roadside for a rogue apple. We had 5 miles left to go, I wasn’t going to survive. We had to cut the run short and even then it was another mile or so to the car. This was going to get ugly. Then the skies parted and there was the sound of angels singing, Melissa had come to save my life. A gummy bear, several gummy bears! They tasted better than Thanksgiving dinner; I could feel my life force coming back. I would live to run again, next time with Gu.

Miles trained today: 8.5

Days till Chicago: 231

I am a runner, who likes it

I run. I run marathons (makes me smile to write this). This means that I have to run a lot. Ok, a lot is a relative term. Granted there are many who run many more miles than I do. Congrats, you people are the crazy ones. I just run most days of the week. Not all, just most. Yes I complain about it, and yes I run in the rain (only reluctantly). I run in cold and heat as well as snow. Indeed, I do beat myself up over track work and other workouts that make a plain old run look as appealing as a chocolate shake. Running websites, books, movies, stores and magazines make my heart flutter a little. I'm slightly obsessive about my running log and yes I keep them from year to year and do go back to see what happened 2 years ago (today was a day off in 2008). I understand what it feels like to loose your self on the roads. I also get what it feels like to have to roads beat you up and have to limp back home. I've cried when I had to give up a marathon, I've also cried when I finished one. I have many running friends who get it and more friends who don't, I love you all the same. I'm lucky enough to have a running spouse who puts up with my obsessions and is along for most of the runs to protect me from barking dogs and crazed paperboys. My dogs run, well only one counts as a training partner, the other is a sprinter at heart who really enjoys running from hydrant to hydrant sniffing. I guess I like it. I have to remind my self of this on days like today where I thought my pick-ups were going to kill me.

Miles trained today: 5

Days till the Chicago Marathon: 233