Friday, October 29, 2010

One More Week

One week until the big race! I ran 8 miles today and managed to push myself pretty hard. I brought my pace down from a 9 minute mile to a 8.5 minute mile! And the best part? It felt really good to open it up a bit more. There were a couple of spots along my run that I was running uphill and head on into the wind, and I know that affected my performance. I know that I may have those things to deal with on race day, but it's still nice to start to feel and see the effects of my training.

On a side note, I really need to figure out something with my ear buds I use to listen to music. I fight with them a lot on my run, trying to keep them in my ears. I may just ditch them on race day unless I can figure out something during next week's short runs.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Where Is My Trash?

Running long distances is almost as much a mind game as it is a physical challenge. Finding ways to occupy your mind while running for long periods of time can be quite difficult. For me, I have found "little landmarks". And by little landmarks, I mean pieces of trash laying along the side of the road.

I have a basic loop that I run almost every time I'm outside. It gets modified slightly and repeated depending on the distance I need to cover that day. Along my route, I have found 6-pack carriers, combs, cigar tubes, beer cans, gatorade bottles (not mine, I promise) and various other "landmarks". So it's almost like a scavenger hunt when I go running. Can I check off all the items on my list? Or will I run right past without taking notice?

I'm not sure how I'll be able to handle my actual race day when I'm on completely different territory. Maybe I should just keep a mental list as I'm running and see how many items I can remember when I finish. I'll try to post them here after the half-marathon in 2 weeks!

On another note, I ended up running 5 miles today. I was only supposed to run 3, but I don't have a 3 mile loop mapped out yet. And since it is so nice outside today, I just had to run outside instead of on the treadmill. The warm sun and little to no wind made today a very good day to be running outside.

Friday, October 22, 2010

Two Weeks!

Only 2 more weeks until the Amish Half Marathon! I feel ready for it. I ran 12 miles today and felt good during the run. Now, two hours after finishing, I'm feeling a bit tired and slightly sick in the stomach. I didn't post this last week after finishing, but I think I had a case of hyponatremia set in. That's when your body is depleted of electrolytes. I got pretty sick. Today, I feel slightly sick, but nowhere close to what I felt last week. I've been pumping the electroyltes, just not enough I guess. I need to make sure I tank up before and after running.

Next week I'll drop back to 8 miles for my long run. That should seem easy compared to what I did today. I'm just amazed that I've been able to run these long distances. A year ago, I never would have guessed that I'd be running like I am today.

I've also noticed that as I'm increasing the mileage of my long runs, my feet are getting a few more blisters. Nothing too bad, and the ones I got last week have toughened up, so I'm sure the ones I got today will do the same. And since I'm only doing 8 miles next week, I shouldn't get any new ones. Now off to enjoy the weekend and my recovery days!

Monday, October 18, 2010

Double Digits

I have made it into double digits for my running distance. I ran 10 miles on Friday and it felt good! Aside from a slight hydration/electrolyte imbalance afterwards, I felt great. A lot of it is a mental thing. But knowing I have the ability to run 10 miles sure encourages me to keep going.

When I started this blog, I did so because I wanted to document the whole barefoot running experience. And I realize that I haven't written much about actually running barefoot. I think that's just because I don't think about it. It just seems natural. I don't have any problems with my feet (other than some muscle soreness), knees, legs or back. I've been focused on the thrill of running long distances and the fact that I can do it!

Running has lots of other benefits as well. Weight loss for one. I started exercising at the beginning of this year just with a goal of losing some weight and becoming healthier. I set a weight goal for myself. I reached that goal several months ago and have just kept going. Since the beginning of the year I have lost of total of 40 pounds (my goal was to lose 25)!

I'm grateful that God has given me the ability to do that and for my wife who has helped by supporting me in my running adventures and is cooking me healthy and yummy meals! Thanks, April, you're the best!

Another big week this week...less than 3 weeks until the half-marathon!

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Oops...I Did It Again...

Ok, so my 8 mile run turned into a 9 mile run. An interesting fact about Hershey, PA and Google Maps. Not all of the roads on Google Maps actually exist in the real world. Not a big deal, I just need to do a bit of verification of my long runs before I actually do them. Since I don't run on Thursdays, I can take some time over lunch to drive my route for the next day.

As far as my run last Friday, it felt really good. I was able to keep a slower pace (9 minute miles) and by the end of the run felt great. I have a few more weeks before my half marathon, 24 days to be exact, and I feel like I will be ready for it.

For my long run this week, I could do exactly what I did this past Friday, or I could do my 5 mile loop twice. Not sure yet what I'll do. I may just bump up my long runs between now and the half by an extra mile since I know I can do it and it will put me more on par for the half. If so, then it's 10 miles this Friday!

I've had a few people ask me about the weather and what I'll do if it's bad. As long as it's not blistery cold (I've run in 35 degree weather already), I'll keep running outside. I got some warmer weather gear that I'm sure I'll be able to test out soon enough. For now, I'm enjoying the nice fall weather I've been getting. Forecast for Friday: Chance of rain, high of 60. Sounds good to me.

Friday, October 8, 2010

Warm Up

Big 8 mile run today. Hopefully I won't miss my turn today.

I feel pretty good, hopefully I'm ready to go. Considering I did an 8.5 mile run/walk a couple of weeks ago, I should be able to handle this. It's supposed to be really nice today, but I'm running a little earlier, so it will probably still be in the 50's when I head out.

Today I want to try to back down my pace a little bit. I've been doing the shorter runs at a faster pace, hopefully I can hold back a little bit today to run the whole distance.