jokach's marathon training blog

So much for getting a mid week blog post in, I just didn't have time.. but hope is on the horizon. I was fortunate enough to be sent to a time management course this week at work, which is something I seriously needed. I kind of found that outside of running and working, I didn't feel like I was actually doing anything .. because my day was just so full of doing things that just weren't important (just time wasters, like TV, internet, twitter, etc) .. my hope is that since I have a task today of "writing in my blog", that the program will work for me. I seriously suggest taking a time management workshop if you (like me) are struggling to manage your day and wish there were like 4-6 more hours in a day, I feel so much better after only one day...

Anyway, running this week has been pretty good, the weather finally stabilized to around the temperatures they are supposed to be. I ended up in the rain on Tuesday morning, I should have known better than to assume that because it wasn't raining when I went out, that it wasn't going to rain (even though they forecast it). Thankfully it wasn't a downpour (like in Cincinnati), but still enough rain to add a level of difficult to the run.

I really had a killer speed workout on Thursday, I mean, it was one of those workouts where when you were done, you were worn out, but you wanted more (i guess its hard to explain). I made it up as a mix of 200m sprints with some 400m sprints, then did some 100m sprints towards the end .. I guess you can say it was like a fartlek run of sorts, but I kept the workout to around 45 minutes, which was plenty enough for me.

So tomorrow is my long run, i'm hoping for 22 miles in as soon as I get up .. so I expect it to be early. I hadn't yet received my new Garmin watch, which i was hoping to use, but its expected to be delivered tomorrow, so we can use it Sunday. I expect to pick up another pair of running shoes this weekend also, the pair I have is pretty worn out, plus i'd like to have an older pair to use when we goto the beach next weekend ...

Ahh yes .. beach-side runs next weekend in Wildwood. The family is heading down on Friday next week after my long run and spending the entire holiday weekend until Monday afternoon when we get back. There is nothing like running on the boardwalk at the shore with the ocean off to your side .. I can't wait. The only downside is that I will probably not eat the best for a few days, but i've been pretty good, so a few days of "non-clean" eating isn't going to kill me ..

Well, off to rest ...

It seems that i've been absent from both blogging and tweeting the past two weeks or so, but things are just crazy busy right now. Despite being busy, I was still able to knock out a decent week of training, and still feel ready for more. My 22 miler yesterday was in almost perfect conditions, except for the rather gusty wind. The temps were about 60* for a start with bright sunshine. It is so much easier to get out early and run these days with the sun now coming up before 6am ... I guess i'm thankful that the weather turned for the better though because all week it was VERY unseasonable .. I mean it was downright freezing! My hope it that its all behind us now..

The most memorable part of my run on Saturday was the realization of how fast trains actually move. There is one part of the course I was running that took me over a series of railroad tracks. I crossed them at the exact moment when the train signal started to go off and I can see the train the distance ... I seriously picked up my pace. It was not more than 30 seconds later, the train was crossing the road already. I always thought that the train signals give much more notice than they do when a train is coming, but I found out otherwise ...

So I broke down and bought myself a new Garmin Forerunner 301 running watch today .. my old late model Garmin was starting to act up on me finally and I found a pretty good deal on a newer model. Its not the best Garmin watch out available these days, but it meets my needs. My hope is the added features it has that my old one didn't will help me train a little smarter. I hadn't been able to use a heart-rate monitor with it since I lost the chest strap when I moved back in 2008 .. this one will let me connect to the computer, track calories and all kinds of other things, so I can't wait for it to get here this week.

As for today, I'm working with the old motto of "quality of quantity" .. I always get so worked up on running a lot of miless each week, but I forget that I need to make sure i'm getting quality in my training instead of just doing mile (like speed, hills, etc). Instead of heading out for 12 miles of just rolling hills, I did my killer hill course right around my house. I've found that living where I do now offers me the ability to run some serious hills if I go one direction, rolling hills if I go another, and almost flat if I go the other. I'm never at a loss for a good course. Regardless, it almost kicked my butt on the way up, but the downhills were nice at the end .. I also mixed up my speed work this past Thursday by just changing the way I do it. I got so into a normal routine, that it just didn't challenge me anymore, but this week? I've been challenged, seriously challenged..

Lastly, I've decided to take up yet another hobby to fill up the remainder of my busy days ... golf. I used to play years ago, but gave it up because I sucked at it. I spent my afternoon trying to get my swing back by practicing over at the park with practice balls ... I can actually feel the effect in my ab muscles though, who would've thought, a new form of cross-training, right?

Hopefully i'll get a chance to write more this week, but we'll see ...

It sure has not felt at all like May so far this week with average temperatures in the upper 30's and low 40's the last couple days. On Monday, it was actually 31* when I headed out .. just unbelievable. Just when I thought I could put away the hat and gloves for the season, I had to pull them back out again ... the weather is supposed to warm up again for the weekend, so I hope that we're out of the worst of it for now.

I've managed to kick it back into training mode once again as i'm just 4 1/2 weeks away from the next marathon. As I've written before, i'm looking for the next one to be more than anything else, because its just a small town local marathon, none of the big city glitz and glamor... It does offer me the chance to finish with a good time because based on what i've seen, it doesn't appear too hilly since it follows along a river, but I'm not going to stop training on hills. I fell for that once already.

Hopefully by kicking it up and continuing to eat well, I can still lose a few more pounds as well .. I actually traded in eating breakfast cereal all the time for eating lowfat ice cream. Its a fair trade as far as I am concerned, as long as it doesn't put any pounds on. I haven't had any real cheat meals in quite some time ... although I have this craving for chicken wings. I haven't had GOOD chicken wings since I moved to the area I live in now almost 2 years ago, just haven't been able to find good ones. I guess this means a cheat meal is on the horizon...

I did take time to put together my running summary so far this year and just passed the 1000 mile mark this past week:

Total miles run in 2010: 1014.65
Total minutes spent running: 249 hours

Thats a lot of miles, and a lot of time running .. and its not even really summer yet, nor am I really a "great" runner, but I enjoy it, thats all that matters.

Well I'm off to rest, I have a long day tomorrow ...

It sure didn't feel like May out there this morning for my final recovery run of the week .. the winds are unbelievable, it made it feel like March (we're talking 44*, 35* wind chill), it was a real struggle, but turned out pretty good as the last part of my run was away from the wind (thank heavens)..

So I found myself at Subway this morning after I got myself cleaned up from my run to try out their new breakfast menu. The good people at Subway were nice enough to provide me a with a complimentary gift card to try out their new breakfast sandwiches, and let me tell you, they are good. I tried a couple of them, the egg and cheese, the Western egg and cheese and the steak egg and cheese, all on English muffins with Swiss cheese. I've never been a big "breakfast sandwich" guy because I'm used of seeing those dried out, fat-filled sandwiches you get at like Burger King, McDonalds or Wawa that sit under a heat lamp for way too many hours ... but these are definitely not like that, they're made fresh just like their footlongs and you can get your choice of toppings (although I kept it simple). The best part was that with breakfast sandwiches anywhere else, you generally get whole eggs only, but I was able to get these sandwiches with egg whites (just like an egg white omelet) ... probably the best thing is that after checking out the calories and fat content, all are under 200 calories and around 4 grams of fat and they actually fill you up. This is excellent for a runner like me who watches what they eat everyday ...

Do you want to try out Subways breakfast for free? There are a couple ways that you too can get a gift card from the folks at Subway to try out breakfast, here's all you have to do:

1. Follow @SUBWAYFreshBuzz on Twitter if you have an account, they have drawings almost every day.
2. Become a fan of Subways Facebook page at http://facebook.com/SUBWAY if you're on Facebook, they also have giveaways available there
3. Leave a brief comment on this post about why you love (or think you'd love) Subways new breakfast to enter my websites drawing (please use your real email address so I can contact you if you've won, your email address is not displayed publicly on this website)

Its that easy.... For the third option, I'll randomly select 3 winners on Sunday 5/16/10 and those chosen will receive a $10 gift card courtesy of Subway, I guarantee you won't be disappointed with the sandwiches, they exceeded my expectations(its really worth a comment, right?)

Anyway, I've wrapped up my recovery week and I think my legs are pretty well back to normal now .. this was the lowest mileage week i've had since early January, that's pretty scary. I did need the rest though in a lot of ways. I am dealing with a sinus infection right now though, I ended up at the doctor yesterday as i've felt this whole thing brewing up in my face for the last week and a half. I didn't write about it last week prior to the race, but I was afraid the symptoms were going to kick in for the marathon last weekend, but it held off and ended up getting worse as the week went on .... the good news is that i've got some medicine for it now, and even after one day, I am feeling better than any other day this week, so things can only get better.

So its taken me 3 days to get back out on the road again for a short easy jog after completing the Flying Pig marathon this past Sunday. I don't quite remember being beat up this bad after running a marathon, but I guess there is a first time for everything. I still wonder how I got this beat up when I thought I was so ready for it. I guess you can never really be ready for the unexpected (rain, hills, etc). I'm not going to spend time asking why or making excuses, I have yet another marathon in just over 5 weeks...

I was able to get some of my race pictures from Sunday that I thought i'd share ... I've never been photogenic at any point in my life. I wanted to get my pictures from my Blackberry, but Verizon has yet to get me my replacement, maybe tomorrow, but anyway, here are the pics from the race...

In one of the heavy downpours



Still raining, but dealing with it



Just came out of the rain (note how wet my shirt still was)



I wonder why I had that doofy look on my face? Maybe I was happy it actually wasn't raining for a change (look at those leg muscles, eh?)



Finally, the finish "swine"



Well, thats about it, not too much more to say about Cincinnati and the Flying Pig. Its time to finish up my recovery week with a few more light jogs this weekend and then start to ramp backup up again to finish off the spring marathon season .. My next marathon is a really small local marathon called the "1/2 Sauer 1/2 Kraut Marathon" down in Wyomissing, PA .. its really looks like a fun time, with only a couple hundred runners and the course doesn't seem too bad (thats what i said about the Pig though). I think its just a nice way to wrap up the spring plus there's good local food afterward and free beer.

I have enjoyed the past few days though catching up on the things that normal "non-runner" people do ... like eating, sleeping later and staying up past 9pm (thats so creepy for a guy my age). But, its short-lived, so i'll enjoy it while I can...