Week 6 Oct 19 - 26

Monday and Tuesday were run nights and after swimming on Sunday (which I pushed it a little too hard) my legs were a little weak and wobbly. I gutted it out for two miles and then went into the weight room. I have started to work on the abdominal machines, of which there are three, just to get a little more work in. I have been doing a total of 13,500 lbs every night after my runs. I won't really see the results of this work until I get some of the extra padding off my midsection. Tomorrow night is a rest day which I think I could use right about now. I need to rest my calves for a day. Thursday is a another lighter run day and I have moved my swim day to friday because the pool is a mess on Wednesdays with all the water aerobics and swimming lessons.

Week 5- Oct 12 - 18, 2008

Last day of week 5 and you know what that means.... long run. So this afternoon Carrie and I went to Bradley Lake Park, she walked with Rainey (our dog) and I ran. 3.25 miles with zero pain thank you very much! I was amazed how a day of rest could make such a difference in my strength and endurance. All week I have been running at the Y and hurting the whole time, I took Friday off and did nothing. Then today I felt like I could have ran all day. Hopefully that trend continues. This next week will start with a day in the pool and then the runs are only 2 miles according to my running plan. The plan backs off the mileage just a bit this week and then increases again the next week. Next weeks long run is 3.75 miles and the weather is supposed to be nice again so I will run at Bradley Lake Park.

Week 5- Oct 12 - 18, 2008

I am in the middle of week 5, getting ready to go the pool, and I figured I would fill you in on my progress for the week. Monday and Tuesday were both running days, 2.5 miles no walking. Actually I walk two laps to WU and then 2 laps to CD. But I was very surprised at how well I did. It hurt towards the end of the run but the next morning I felt great! The track at the YMCA is 1/6 mile so it gets a little monotonous running 15-20 laps, but it beats running in the rain or along a dark road with all the cars flying by. I will continue to do my "long" runs at Bradley Lake Park unless the weather gets real bad. On the way home tonight from work I saw a old friend running along our road and the cars were just missing him. Too dangerous for me!!! I've been knocked off my bike by idiots in their cars. Tonights swim will be 1 mile but I am going to break it up into sections with a kickboard, paddles, and unassisted swimming. That should help to pass the time a little. I like to swim 100 yds intervals on the 3 minutes. That gives me about 1.5 minute to rest, my heartrate stays elevated but I have enough energy to push it on the next set. I sure that doesn't impress some of the great swimmers out there but it's OK for an out of shape old guy like me!

Week 5- Oct 12 - 18, 2008

No more walking with the runs from this point forward. I can do that! Yesterday I started week 5 in the pool. I am mixing the swim day up a bit, and improving my stroke by including hand paddles to strengthen and correct my stroke and using fins to improve my kick. I have swam competitively since I was 8 ( including a 30 year hiatus) and have never concentrated on my freestyle kick. So I figured if I am going to spend an hour in the pool I might as well get the most out of it. So the workout goes something like this... 400 yards Free to warm up, 4 x 100 yds Free with paddles, 4 x 100 yds kickboard with fins and 4 x 100 yards Free. Monday and Tuesday will be running and then back in the pool on Wednesday, Thursday will be running and rest on Friday before the next "long" run on Saturday. So far so good the pain is at a minimum anymore, thank goodness. I wasn't even sore after Saturdays run which surprised me waking up Sunday morning.

Week 4 Oct 5 - 12, 2008

WooHoo! Three miles of steady running! I couldn't have done that 5 weeks ago. This was my first "long run" day since starting my journey towards 26.2 and it wasn't too bad. I averaged a 9:30/mile pace so as I continue to train and build on my mileage and endurance if I can stick with a 9:00-9:30/mile pace I won't have any problem making my goal of a 5 hour marathon. A 9:00/mile would put me at a sub 4 hour marathon! I have been swimming on my cross training days and it's been a great way to continue my cardio workouts and give my dogs a break at the same time, so I am thinking about working towards an Olympic Triathalon after I finish the Marathon in May 2009. There are several triathalons in the area in mid to late summer. That would give me 8 weeks to tie all the events together. I will have had plenty of water and run time in before the marathon and starting in January I will start to ride as I get ready for the Chilly Hilly Ride in March. I realize that I may not set any world speed records in the triathalon but it will be a great goal to keep me in the gym.

Week 4 Oct 5 - 12, 2008

Tip of the day: Don't walk 18 holes of golf and think you should do a full running workout! Don't ask me how I know that.

My son is home for 4 days before shipping out to Iraq and had two requests of me. One is to play golf and the other was to eat a big juicy steak! Today we took care of the first item. And when I play golf I walk. Keep in mind that 18 holes of golf on the average course is 4 miles of up and down hills in grass, pulling or pushing a 30 lb golf cart. So I had my workout on the course, after the game we went out to lunch and had deep fried pickles and buffalo chicken wings...YUK! I haven't had that kind of food for 4 weeks and it doesn't agree with me anymore. That's a good thing! After getting home and chilling out for an hour or so I decided to go to the YMCA and get my run workout in. Ouch! I could tell that my legs had already done their workout for the day. Because they were screaming at me from the beginning. But I gutted it out for 2.5 miles, just like the Sunday workout. Tomorrow we will take care of zac's second request. Last nights workout was a cross-training night and decided to go to pool. It's supposed to be one of the best aerobic workouts with no impact. It felt great to be in the pool again and I was able to swim a mile (66 laps) but it took me 50 minutes. It was a great workout, and one that I will using more and more often on recovery days.

Week 4 Oct 5 - 12, 2008

I survived last week and was able to get a decent workout in, despite my schedule. Friday I had to drive down to Portland, OR. after work for a class on Saturday. Since I was in classes after work on Wednesday and Thursday nights and I would be in class all day Saturday then have to drive home afterwards, I knew that friday night was my only opportunity to get something in. So as soon as I got to the Hotel I changed into my running shorts and shoes and found the excercise room. I ran at 5 and 6 mph for 30 minutes which I wasn't sure I was ready for at the time but felt really good. After church today I went over to the YMCA to get my week 4 started and ran around the indoor track for 2.5 miles. 1 lap WU, 3 laps run, 1 lap walk, 4 laps run, 1 lap walk, 3 laps run, 2 laps CD. Then went into the weight room and did my normal circuit on the Precor Machines for 30 minutes. I am trying to get my weight down to 195 by Thanksgiving so the weight work should help with that. I would love to have 15-20 less lbs on my knees while running, especially since by then I will be in week 3 of the 16 week Marathon Training schedule. (lots of running!)

Week 3- Sept 28 - Oct 4, 2008

Week three has been a challenge in that I have prior commitments Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Tuesday thru Thursday are out, but I am going to try get a good run in Friday while I am down in Portland for a class and then I will squeeze a run in on Saturday after I get back into town. I am actually glad to have a couple of days to recover from my runs on Sunday and Monday. Sundays run was great...my pace had improved to low 9's for my three mile run. Then on Monday I ran again because I knew that I wouldn't be able to the rest of the week, and it damn near killed me. Every step hurt, so I gutted it out for 30 minutes and ran 2.4 miles. My pace was understandably slower. So now after resting my legs for a few days I should be able to hammer it for a good 45 minutes on Friday. I will let you know how it works out.

Week 2- Sept 21-27, 2008

Well I am knee deep in week two. This has been a rough week. Shin splints kept me on the elliptical machine Monday, Tuesday was weight day and last night was the first night that I have ran. I did a 5 minute warmup walk around the YMCA 1/6 mile indoor track, then 4 intervals of 1/3 mile run and 1/6 mile walk, then 1 lap cool down. After completing this I could barely walk from the shin splints, I decided to try stretching my calves to help with the pain and after 5 minutes of runners stretches the pain was completely gone! I am now a stretching believer. When I got home last night I put some ice on my shins for about 20 minutes and the when I woke this morning there was zero pain...first time in two weeks that I didn't hurt. Tonight is weight day so I will give the shins a day to rest, before hitting again on Friday. The program is really pretty easy right now and I am looking forward to 4 or 5 weeks down the road when I can continuously run for 3-4 miles. I guess I can't expect to sit around for 20 years and then think that I should be able to run like a kid after only a couple of weeks. I registered for the Tacoma City Marathon this morning so I can't chicken out now. Or at least if I do it will cost me $60. Early registration saves you $50 over the day of race registration so I figured that I might as well do it early. Until next time....

Week 1- Sept 14-20, 2008

The first week of my 26 week training program was pretty easy. 30 minutes on the treadmill; consisting of warm-up walk 5 minutes, run 1 minute/walk 2 minutes intervals then 3 minutes cool down. I did this f our time last week. I barely broke a sweat but the training program explicitly stated not to jump ahead even if I felt I could. Since my entire workout wardrobe consisted of cotton t-shirts and cotton socks, I made some purchases of several perfomance material shirts and some running socks. It's amazing what the right clothing can do for your comfort when working out. Next week it ramps up a little but is still very easy.

Why Marathon?

Sept 22, 2008- I am a slightly overweight 42 year old auto mechanic. I am very goal oriented and want to improve my health and give myself a positive goal to aspire to. Two and half years ago (2006) I decided to do the Columbia Tower stair climb in Seattle. It was 69 flights of stairs and I trained for it for 3 months, by the time I ran the event I had lost 40 lbs. And climbed in :12:38. After that until now I have been somewhat sedintary. I took up Bicycle riding for a couple of years and did the Chilly Hilly bike ride and the McClinchy Mile in 2007. But after a serious crash on my bike and several near misses with passing cars I put up the bike and did not continue with any fitness related activities until last week. I had gained back 30 lbs of the weight that I had lost and the first time that I saw 220 on the scale I decided to take up some sort of fitness related activity. Running looked promising because I have more control of where I train and do not have to be on the road with other vehicles. The rub here is that I haven't ran since high school and my Army days. I started with a good pair of shoes and with the help of Fleet Feet in Bonney Lake I was fitted with a pair Etonics. They took the time to video tape my gait and make sure I had shoes to make running as pain free as possible. I have decided to make the Tacoma Marathon my goal which happens in May 2009. I have 30 weeks to make the transition from the couch to the finish line. I am following the 10K training schedule (10 weeks) and the picking up the Marathon training schedule (16 weeks) I decided to BLOG it for the accountability that it will require. Even if nobody ever reads these posts I will have the expectations for myself to enter my daily/weekly experiences here. Follow me here and see if I can do it.