Enough AllReady

Man, I just wish I would get sick and get it over with. For like the last 2 weeks I feel like Im on the verge of getting sick, and then nothing. But I still dont feel 100%.

I did get a couple of runs in this weekend, and felt pretty good. I temporarly lost my running shoes and had to go back to an older pair. I didnt realize til afterwards how bad my old shoes had become. They have now been sent to the garage for lawn duty, no more running for them.

Germ Fest

We got home sunday from DC and found out our daughter who was staying with grandma, was sick. She had a sore throat and an upset stomach. Well she puke in the car on the way home. Fun Fun.

So we get her to the doctor and get some antibiotics for her throat and she seem fine on monday. Monday afternoon the baby sitter calls and say my youngest is sick, thank god he didnt puke in the car, but ended up getting sick later that night at home.

So Im guesing my oldest is next, god I hope not.

I tried to run on monday, but was still really tired from the trip and only got 2 miles in. I was feeling a little run down yesterday, so I didnt run. Im feeling alot better today, so barring me being on the puke patrol tonight I should get 3-4 miles in.

I'M Back

Well we had a blast in DC. There is so much history and so much to see there. I got to ride the subway for the first time in my life and got to see the presidental motorcade speed past us outside our hotel.

I didnt have my running stuff with us, so I havent run in 4 days. We did end up walking like 20 miles, so I got that going for me. Im going to run tonight, but my legs are still pretty tired from the trip, so Im not sure how much Im going to do.

As soon as I sign up for a flickr account Ill get some pictures up here.

Off to D.C.

Well tonight we leave for Washington D.C for a mini vacation slash educational trip with out oldest son. He is really looking forward to it and so am I. Since we are only going for the weekend, we are only taking carry on's so no room for running shoes :(

My daughter had soccer last night, and I usually just stand around and watch, but I decided to get my run in instead. They have a paved path that is a quarter mile, and I ran around that more times that I could count. I knew I would be able to keep track so I brought my Garmin ForeRunner with me. It had me at 4.58 miles and 42:11. Not blazing fast, but not bad for running in a circle. It felt kind of odd running outside, lately most of my runs have been on the treadmill, and I was having a hard time keeping a steady pace.

Im still trying to decide on my race schedule for 2007, I need to find a few 10k's to throw in the mix.

Trying Hard

Im really trying hard to make sure I do my runs. I had alot going on last night and wasnt going to be able to do my scheduled run, so I brought my running duds into work and put in 3 miles on the treadmill.

One good thing (well there a many) about my job is that the building Im in use to be a health club. They converted it in our office building, but left a couple of raquetball courts, some weight and exersize equipment and the locker room.

The treadmill isnt to bad, and being able to take a shower afterwards is really nice.

Im going to try to get another three in tonight, but we need to pack for Washington D.C tonight, so Im going to going to be short on time.

Shortly I plan to list my race schedule for next year. Im pretty happy with my training so far. It should be fun.

My Shoes

Yesterday was a day off of running, so nothing to report on that front.

I do want to mention the shoes I am current using. I bought them at a running store about a month ago and Im really liking them. They have alot of cushion in the toe and give me a lot of stability in the heal.

Once I start running on the trails Im going to need a real trail shoe, but for this winter this should be fine.

My shoes are "Saucony Grid Trigon 4"

Here is a pic.

Good Weekend

Well I finally did get sick last week. On Thursday and Friday I was dead tired and had a sore throat. I didnt run at all on thos days and pretty much just laid around both nights. I felt really good on Saturday and did a 3 mile run. On sunday my legs still felt good and so I did 5 miler.

This week Im really going to try and hit the running hard and watching my food intake, and well see if I lose any weight. Last week was a bust. Too many treats at work, man am I week.

I did swim a 1/4 mile on sunday also, I need to do this alot more. It was really good exersize and didnt involve any pounding on my legs.

Not getting sick

Im not getting sick. Im not getting sick. I get saying that to myself, hoping I am right. The weather here has gone from last weekend golfing to possible snow today. You gotta love Michigan, the only place you can get sun burned and frost bite in the same week. I have felt kind of out of it all week, not sick , not well. I have been pumping vitamins and drinking alot of water to try to fend it off.

I took yesterday off of running, because my legs needed a rest. At this point of my training, my cardio is fine, it the pounding on my legs that I need to ease into.

The Tigers won again last night and lead the A's 2-0 in the series and are coming home for three games. I just hope they dont let us down like they almost always seem to do.

Im planning a nice easy 3 miler tonight and the same on friday, saturday off and 5 on sunday. Wish me luck.

Chugging along

Well training is chugging along pretty well, Im still planning on doing a long slow buildup. My current schedule is two days running one day rest. Rinse. Repeat.

I got a nice 3 mile run in last night on the treadmill, as I was watching my once lowly Detroit Tigers beat the A's. Who woulda thunk it was possible after losing 119 games two years ago, Not me. Now if we could just have a little of that rub off on the lions. Who I still think are the best 0-5 team in the leauge. So we got that going for us.

I was searching the web after my run last night. I was looking for good trail races in Michigan for the year leading up to my 50 miler in sept\oct of next year. I found a trail marathon in may, a few 1/2 marathons, and 33.5 mile race in kalamazoo. Also the 50 miler I plan on doing has a training run 16-25 miles a month or so before the race. Im thinking it would be good to do that, as it is run on the same course as the marathon.

A Runner's Body

One thing I lack on my quest for my ultra is a runners body. Over the years the runner's body I once had (long and lanky), has become long and lumpy. I am currently 6'3" and about 230 pounds. People look at me funny when I say I need to lose weight, because I dont look fat. I know for a fact I would look better and feel alot better at 200 lbs. I dont want to carry this extra weight around with me on my runs.

So over the next month or so I will be really watching what I eat. Between that and the mileage increases hopefully the weight will start to come off. The hardest part of this will be at work, there are treats almost everyday. Evil Evil Treats.

My biggest downfall is drinking soda's. They contain alot of empty calories that I just dont need, so today I have a big bottle of water at my desk instead. Yummy.

Up to Now

This isnt my first attempt at an ultra marathon, nor will it probably be the last. Last year about this time I started training for the 2006 North Country Trail 50 miler. I was up to a point where I was running about 5-6 miles a day and 10-12 one day on the weekend.
Then murphy's law hit and I hyper-extended my knee.
I tried to give it a few weeks rest and start running again, but it still hurt like hell. So I gave it another month, or that was my plan. It turned into six months.
The good news is that the pain is gone now, and I am slowly starting the milage build up.

Welcome

Welcome to my blog. Hopefully this will help keep me motivated on my long run to running my first 50 mile race. More to come soon...