Big Day on Saturday

This Saturday is going to be a huge day for me. I am doing 20 miles. Completing it will be a huge boost for my confidence. Once I complete this, I feel that I will know that I can do the marathon. All of my training after this Saturday is to help improve time and to better condition my body for the journey.

I am really wanting to lose another 15 lbs before the race. I have lost almost 20 so far. These longer runs, and walking home from work are really helping with that.

I am still walking home from work just about every day. I am resting the rest of this week before my 20 miler this Saturday. Next week will also be a light week (3 miles per day), and I won't walk home. Or if I am hurting then I will just walk home from work.

6.75 miles: Wednesday, July 12

Today I ran with Chad for the first time. We ran 1.75 miles together. I didn't want to run farther for two reasons. One, this was the first time that I had run since I hurt my knee last week. I don't want to push it and hurt it again. Two, this was Chad's first time to run. I think that he could have gone farther, but I don't want him to get hurt and have to drop out as my running partner.

Then I walked to work (about 2.5 miles), and I will also walk home another (2-3 miles depending on which way I go).

3 miles: Tuesday, July 11

I walked home again today (3 miles). I know walking isn't the same as running, but it does help me shed a few pounds. Every little that I can lower my weight, then it will just be that much easier on my race day. I think that I am finally starting to drop weight again.

Monday, July 10

I didn't run today, but I did walk home from work. That was about 3 miles.

1.7 Miles: Wednesday, July 5

Today I only did 1.7 miles. I got out about 3/4 of a mile, and my left knee started really hurting. I really wanted to keep running, but I don't want to hurt myself more. I just walked home.

I was going to run 1.7 miles, and then meet up with Chad at his home. We were going to run about 3 miles, and then I wanted to run an additional 3 miles after Chad went home. I showed up late at Chad's pad, because I had to walk back instead of run. Sorry Chad if you were waiting for me.

My knee doesn't hurt to walk, but it did hurt to run. I'm a little nervous about this. It is my first injury on my road to the Marathon.

I am going to take IB Profen. As I have worked with my doctor in the past, we found out that sometimes my knees hurt, but it is only inflammation from exercise. Taking the IB Profen helped in the past, and that is what the doctor recommends. We did a whole bunch of x-rays when I've had this problem in the past, and there is nothing wrong with my knees. So the plan is to rest, and hope that the pain goes away so that I can run the rest of the week. I will probably not run tomorrow, but I may go for a walk if I have time (we are going to a wedding, so it is going to be a busy day).

7.4 miles: Tuesday, July 4

Today I ran 7.4 miles, and I felt really strong at the end of it. I'm excited that I am getting stronger. It was a little crazy, because Provo was getting ready for the parade, and I had to change my route. It was also a little hard dodging all of the people who refused to share the sidewalk, but I am grateful for all of the people that were willing to give up 6 inches of sidewalk for me. Thank you for sharing! It helps to avoid sprained ankles that can come from running on the uneven ground.

3.2 Miles: Wednesday, June 29

I ran 3.2 miles, but I walked part of it. I'm waking up at 5am, and my body is not happy. At night, I went with the Young Women (provide priesthood support in case of an emergency) to hike the Y. This time it was a lot easier, and it was much nicer in the evening instead of in the heat of the day.

1.7 Miles: Monday, June 26

I ran a short 1.7 miles this morning, but I did it at a fast pace.  I'm trying to get Mel to run with me this evening, too.

 

Hiked the Y: Saturday, June 24

Melissa and I and the Allen family (Chris, Mandi, and their baby Benjamin) hiked the Y in the hot afternoon sun.  It wasn't a running workout, but it was good exercise for my legs.  Now that school is over for the summer, I can really concentrate on training hard.  Marathon, here I come.

Getting Ready for Finals

I'm sorry that I haven't posted for a while.  I've been busy finishing up this last semester taking exams and working on a major project.  Now I am mostly done.  I have finished the project.  We built instruments to measure the force of a model rocket engine, and we just have to write up the report.  Tomorrow I am going to try and run 14 miles, but I am not sure if it is going to happen, because I have to meet with my group.  I am going to try and do it in the evening.  That is always harder for me.  Starting next week I am hoping to really get going on daily training.

11.4 miles: Saturday, June 3

Today I ran 11.4 miles, and it hurt. I felt great being able to accomplish it. I got a little lost, and that is why I didn't make it 12 miles. I thought that I had, but when I got home and calculated my new unplanned lost route I was about a half mile short of my goal today. All in all, it was a great training day.

I almost forgot. My friend Chad is wanting to run with me 3 times a week. Between him and Melissa, I will have a lot of help staying on my training schedule.

Training Progress

My training week goes from Saturday through Friday. I have a graph here that shows my planned training mile per week up until the marathon and in pink my actually training miles. As you can see, I did not do as well as I planned. The good thing is that I ran 23.85 miles this training week. The bad thing is that I was suppose to run 34. I am also a little frustrated with my weight. I lost 17 lbs from the beginning of the year, but I have recently put on another 6 as I have increased training. I am fairly confident that this is muscle weight. That is good, but I liked it better when the number on the scale was going down. With the extra muscle, I am hopeful that my metabolism will pick up, and before too long the number on the scale will be going down again.

1.75 Miles: Friday, June 2

Today I was suppose to run 4 miles, but I did not. This is really not the way to get ready for a marathon, but at least I am doing something. I really enjoyed this evening. I conned Melissa into coming with me. She also said that I could get her to come with me 3 times a week for this 1.75 mile run. I think that we are going to do it in the evenings. I have noticed that I run much better early in the morning than in the evening. That makes me happy, because the marathon starts at 7:00am. Thank you Melissa for running with me!

5.4 Miles: Wednesday, May 31

Today I was suppose to run 8 miles, but I wasn't feeling so hot. I just ran 5.4 miles. Well, to be more accurate, I walked 5.4 miles. I am happy that I at least got out of the house and put on some miles.

8.5 Miles: Monday, May 29

Today I ran about 8.5 miles. I'm not exactly sure the exact mileage, because I got a little lost, but I do know that it was slightly longer than my 8.3 mile route. I felt stronger today. I am excited to be building up mileage. I was stronger today than on Saturday. Tommorrow I am scheduled to ran 8 miles again. I am a little worried about running it without a rest day, but I have to start building up if I am ever going to make it 26.2 miles. I found one flaw about running with a Camelbak, and that is drinking all of the water can really fill your bladder. I had to stop off at Albertson's for a quick rest stop.

8.3 miles: Saturday, May 27

Today I ran 8.3 miles. It was hard at first, but around mile 4 my body went numb and I felt like I could go on forever. I hit "the zone." It was actually really nice. I am extremely grateful for the camelbak. It really helps me to stay hydrated so that my muscles can keep me moving. Next week is going to be a really challenging week. I am really starting to put on the miles. On the plus side, if I end up joing the marines, a 3 mile run will hardly seem like anything at all.

Training Graph

For those of you who are watching how my progress is coming along, I will start updating a graph showing my planned weekly milage vs my actual weekly mileage. Sometimes planning my training is much more fun than actually doing my training. If anyone out there would like some help working out a training regimine that fits your schedule, then let me know. I would love to help you get going and provide lots of support and encouragement.

Wednesday, May 24

I didn't go running again last night, but I did run again today. It was just a quick 1.7 mile run, but at least I got out. It was mostly a speed run. The cold water bath after I ran yesterday really helped me to recover quicker. I didn't have time to do it today after my run, and my legs already feel a little bit more tired. I'm will to accept that the cold water bath may be a placebo effect, but hey it makes me feel better so I'm going to stick to it. Next week I am going to stretch my earlier morning speed workout to 3 miles. If I do that and I don't have time to run in the evening, then at least I've got 3 miles a day. If I do that for 5 days, then I have 15 miles plus my 10 miler on Saturday. 25 miles per week is not great, but at least my body will be getting used to all that pounding. Melissa and I really need to get a hotel reservation pretty soon for the race. September 23 is starting to feel a lot closer for me.

The picture is a picture of the type of new shoes (New Balance) that I got. Thank you again!

New Shoes

I want to thank a very generous person who wishes to remain anonymous for donating money to buy me new running shoes. My old ones got a hole in them that was giving me blisters. I went to a running shoe specialty store and got the perfect new pair of New Balance. I have never had a shoe fit me better. Mega thanks to my secret supporter.

Tuesday, May 23

This morning I ran a quick 1.8 miles. After I ran I soaked in the tub in cold water. It is suppose to help your legs to keep from cramping and from getting sore as much. I do think that it is helping to not feel as tired after my run, but getting in the cold water is NOT very fun. I'm not sure that I will have time to go running again today, but I need to find the time. I have to start building up the miles.