Michigan, Please Come Get Your Man

Sore

My 18 miler Sunday left me sore with tight calves and legs in general.  I took Monday off but went for a 5 miler yesterday at lunch around Millbend loop from my office.  My legs seemed to loosen up after a couple of miles into it which was a good thing.  After cleaning up, I headed over to Lukes Locker to pickup my race packet for Thursday morning's 5 miler.  It's gonna be racing weather tomorrow morning with lows expected near 40.   I'm just not sure if my legs are up for an all out race.  I need to try and listen to my body; put a bib number and/or a chip on me and it always seems to end up in an all out effort.  Given the timing of the event in relation to my upcoming Goofy Challenge that may not be the smartest plan.  An injury now would really set my training back.
After the run tomorrow and the post race pancake breakfast, it'll be another race to get home, get the dogs packed, and hit the roads to spend the holiday weekend with my mom.  At least Thursday morning traffic will be a breeze compared to the nightmare traffic that will hit I-10 today into tonight.
I wish everyone a happy and safe Thanksgiving holiday.

No More, NO LES!!

My weekend mileage plan was to run 16 miles yesterday morning at 5:30 starting at Lukes Locker with a couple of other Goofy Challenge runners.  Well, I woke up at 4:30 and it was raining lightly so I opted to sleep in.  The rain continued all day and then the @#$% LSU Ole Miss football game outcome put my run off until today. 
I started out at 9:30 with 55 degree temps and sunny weather.  Awesome weather for a training run.  I ran out further than I should have so the 16 miles turned into 18.33.  My left leg, mostly in the hip area, was hurting near the end of the run.  I took an ice bath when I got back home and took it easy the rest of the day.
I have a 5 mile race Thanksgiving morning and then hope to get a long run in this weekend as well.  Hopefully my legs will cooperate.

Help Me Make a Difference!

Please help me make a difference in the lives of people with lung disease. On March 21st, I will be participating in the Citizens Bank Caesar Rodney Half Marathon. This race benefits the American Lung Association of Delaware. My goal is to complete the 13.1 mile run, but also to help raise money to fight lung disease and promote healthy lungs.

Your donation would be so greatly appreciated. Please help me help others! thank you.

Dees States I Run

I'm not sure what causes this...may be a full moon or something in the air but it happened again this morning.  For whatever reason, it dawned on me that I should check to see if they had Saturday/Sunday 1/2's in the DC/DE area.  I knew that the National Marathon had a half and was sometime in March.  A quick check at Half Marathons.net and before I knew it I was signed up for the National 1/2 Marathon in DC on March 20th and the Caesar Rodney Half Marathon in Wilmington, DE on March 21st.  Well not quite signed up as registration hasn't opened yet for the DE event but hotel is booked so I'm practically there!
Airfare on Continental (to BWI) was right under $225, both races have host hotels with decent rates, I'll take the Metro into DC and then rent a car Saturday at BWI to drive to DE.  I'm heading up a day earlier than I normally would to sightsee in DC as I haven't been there since the late 80s.  Wow, time flies.
Going back to my October, CT/MA trip, this will be my 4th consecutive running trip where I'll be running 2 events on the same trip.  January will have me doing the 1/2 on Saturday and then the full on Sunday in DisneyWorld, this DC/DE trip in March followed my a late May Sunday/Monday race weekend in Cheyenne, Wyoming and Boulder, Colorado.
For some reason, I was dreading my hill run all day yesterday.  I did get out in what felt like the middle of the night at 7:00pm and got in a decent 4 mile run on Flintridge.  I really should start running at lunchtime weekdays now that it gets dark so early.
Earlier this fall, I ran consecutive "W" states merely coincidental and now I'll be running my first "D" state and DC and will be wrapping up the "D"s all in the same weekend.  I guess you run enough of these and patterns pop up everywhere.

USRA Half Marathon Series

I received an email today for one of the races in a new half marathon series. This series along with the 131marathon series recently announced adds around 20 half marathons for 2010.  USRA hopes to have 20-25 events by 2011.  It's great to see the half marathon distance getting the attention that it deserves.  I may have to end up doing some state repeats as Iowa is the only state where these new events are being held that I have not yet run.
I hope to get a run in tonight.  My hip doesn't quite feel right but it's not intense pain.  I think I just need to get out the door and get my training started again.

Meb doing the Late Show Top Ten

I just saw this; just a week late.  Funny stuff!!!

Rocky Raccoon 25k

I ran my 2nd 25k Saturday morning on the trails in Huntsville State Park.  I ran my first 25k on the same course at the Hogs Hunt race earlier this year.  I'm happy to report that I got my 2nd 25k PR this year as I improved by time unofficially by about a minute and a half.  2 PR's at a new distance for me in the same year is pretty cool; even cooler is that running right under a 9:30 pace there is still plenty of room for future PRs, especially if I run a 25k on the road.

I let my HR soar today; according to the garmin data download, my max HR was 174 with an average HR of 160.  Both of those numbers were off the charts (and not in a good way). 
 
I saw a couple falls while on the course Saturday and heard of others comparing post race stories.  I still have not fallen on a trail race or even training run.  I'm convinced that my running gait is made for off road.  While I look goofy with my high step on the road, I have no issue with roots on the trails.

I just realized today that the 25k distance is quite a bit further than the half distance that I'm used to racing.  Where I would normally be in the clubhouse at 13.1 miles, I wasn't quite at 85% of the 25 distance Saturday morning.  That extra 15% is pretty significant.  My 2 25k's have gone pretty similiar to my 4 marathon distance events.  I run out of gas before the end of these races.  The last time that I ran 15.5 miles was for the Hogs Hunt event back in May.  I'm thinking I need to get in at least one (probably more) long runs before my Disney challenge in January.

I had some nice lawn mowing recovery this afternoon followed by road/driveway sweeping.  Gotta love that cross training!

Pre-formance

Drinking my Cytomax Pre-formance energy drink before my slow short run tonight.  I almost caught another cramp in my left calf again during the night.  That would be the 3rd one in 3 weeks.  I haven't changed my diet or anything recently and haven't had these kinds of night cramps in years prior to this round.  I have been running with water for hydration more than sports drinks the past couple of months.  I'm going to try more sports drinks to see if that helps.