Training Update: 267 Days Left

Another great run on the treadmill down, and another step closer to my goal of running my first marathon!

Today I am home with my 15 month old son Noah. He finally laid down for his afternoon nap so I sat down on the computer. Only to suddenly become possessed with the running spirit.

I put on my shorts and shoes and hit the treadmill considering I can't quite leave the little guy alone at home. I always run with a 3% incline on the treadmill. I think that it will help me adjust to outdoor running more quickly when spring rolls around. I planned on running a minimum of 6.25 miles to maintain my new current distance. But when I got there I still had a little "umph" left so I powered on and ended up running 7.1 miles today.

I am very happy with my progress as of now. I am nearly back to where I was over the summer (8 miles). Before I slacked off for 4 months and fell out of shape. But the part that I am happiest with is that not only am I going further each run. I am maintaining my average speed. Actually I am going faster almost every time! As of right now my potential seems to be only limited by time. I know I will hit a wall later on in my training but I am glad I don't feel anywhere close to it right now.

So, here's the stats:

Today's Run: 7.1 Miles
Time : 58:45

Total miles run this year: 35.25

I have 267 days to go and I am starting to realize how hard this will be, but up for the challenge! 

Training Update: 279 Days Remaining

Today was the kind of day I hope for during my training.

I had been lazy the last few days and didn't hit the treadmill like I should have. I have been consistently ahead of my own schedule though so i figured a few days off wouldn't hurt. And i am happy to say they didn't, They may have even helped.

My last run i managed to go 4.5 miles (my goal was 4.3) and i was happy with that. Today i set out to match or surpass that goal, maybe even push it up to 5 miles. Well i wont lie, those first miles were pretty rough...but after i got in the swing of things, i was unstoppable.

I hit the 5 mile mark and thought to myself "eh, I like this song, I'll just keep going until its over." And then I liked the next song too, and I didn't end up stopping until i was at 5.5 miles. A full mile further than my previous run!

My legs are a little sore, but nothing out of the ordinary. I am very pleased with how fast i am able to increase my distance without over exerting my body. I will soon be reaching my old peak distance of 8 miles, and then surpassing it.

The biggest hurdle in the coming weeks will be finding the time to run 2-3 times a week. With runs that will be longer than an hour, just finding the free time will be hard with everything else i have going. But, I will just have to make time because I am NOT backing down from this goal.

279 days to go and I feel better than ever.

Total mileage for 2013:   16.4

Training Update: Steady Climb

Another day, another run.

I have been away from the blog for a little while but that doesn't mean I haven't been training. I have run twice on the treadmill since my last post. The first run was a few days back. I ran 4 miles at a slightly elevated speed than my normal run. I was happy with this due to the fact i was only shooting for 3.5 when i started.

Last night just before bed I mustered up the motivation to run again. I kind of got into the album i was listening too and ran faster than i had planned. I ended up running a little less than half my full distance of 4.3 miles at a speed of 8 MPH. But then that always lurking pain in my knee started to show up so I slowed it back down and finished out my run the slow (6.5) and steady way.

I think that is the biggest challenge for me when I run indoors. Keeping my pace. I am always playing little number games in my head and just want to get my distance over with faster. Probably out of boredom. When I run outside I dont do this as much. Sure I push myself, sometimes a little too hard. But it's just not the same. So here hoping for some warmer days in the near future!

285 days until the Detroit Marathon and I am still going strong!

Mileage in 2013: 11.85

Training Log: 291 Days To Go

All of yesterday I was trying to get on the treadmill to get a good run in. I didn't get that chance until just after midnight.

With a kid, chores and a working wife it can be tough to make the time to run, even a short distance some days. But I did make it work and I am proud of the progress I made as well.

I started off just shooting for 3.1 miles (or 5K) at 7MPH but when I got there I still had a little bit left in me so i pushed on to 3.5 miles. So far I seem to be climbing in mileage faster than my last little bout of training. Maybe my body remembers how to do this stuff a little more than I gave it credit for.

I still have a lot of work to do before I can claim the title of a marathon runner, but as of now i see myself getting closer and closer every time my foot hits the ground.

291 days to go, and I still feel good about my goal.

Mileage for 2013: 3.5 miles