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This week was the highest mileage week of my training for the Hamptons Marathon on September 27th. Nearly 50 miles was the goal for the week. A week that I certainly went into with plenty of apprehension.

My goal for the LSD that I ran today was 4 hours or 24 miles whichever came first. As I expected the 4 hours came first however I wasn’t to far from 24. I ended the run at 23.2 miles and the time was 3:54:20. That would be just a shade under 10:30 pace.

For the week I am quite pleased and confident with my progress. I believe I have a very good shot at getting close to or even doing better than my PR of 4:37. At this point I am really looking forward to the marathon.

In addition to the run going so well it was also very scenic. I even thought of titling my entry as “Mutaul of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom”. Yesterday’s run there were 3 deer that bounded onto the trail I was running and than quickly disappeared into the woods. Today I saw two trophy bucks just off to the side of the trail I was running. Also today there were three wild turkey hens with their brood on the trail. Being a country boy I savored the sightings for the entire run and certainly shared what I saw with my family.

The marathon is 5 weeks away. This next week I will take it easy and keep things slow and simple. Than the following week I will get the mileage up again to near 40 miles one last time. That week will be followed but what is called taper time. Those last 3 weeks a runner winds down a bit and allows the body to recover. So for now it’s going to be one week at a time and that will be doing my best to focus on sticking close to the schedule.

During my run today I listened to a song on my I pod that gives me inspiration. It’s a song by Alan Jackson and that is the reason for today’s title “To do what I do”. I relate it to my running. It’s basically about him going through rough times and becoming a singer. It’s near the end of the song that I change the lyrics a bit to fit into how I feel about my running. Here is my version:

So I hope the critics and skeptics alike
All came down to the finish line on this day
And they’ll see firsthand that I have survived
And what doesn’t kill you makes you more alive
And I am one of the fortunate few
To do what I do

There’s so much joy that running can bring
So I count my blessings when I step up to the line
Cause they’re so many people who would give anything
To do what I do.

Have a wonderful week.

Posted by Tim at 02:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

This last week went along with not much fanfare at all. The runs were pleasant. The runs were quite realxed, very calming.

I stepped the mileage back to just over 30 miles for the week. That should have allowed my body to recover from the prior couple of weeks that were a bit more difficult as I increased my mileage into the 40’s. Basically kept things simple.

Now this week will be a very big week for me. I will run my longest run since I ran Grandmas Marathon back in June. I hope to get a minimum of a 22 miles LSD run on Saturday or Sunday. I really would like to stretch that 24 if I feel like I can without much difficulty. If all goes well it will certainly make those nagging little concerns a whole lot less nagging.

Until next week, enjoy the days

Posted by Tim at 08:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Going into this week I felt I needed to have a good week to be able to build momentum and boost morale. I got exactly what I wanted. It was a very good week.

My midweek run was scheduled to be 9 miles. I felt so good when I got the 9miles I stretched it to 10. I gave the last mile everything I could. The mile split was 8:51 which for in my world is excellent. In my world 9:30 is a good split so a sub 9:00 is a feat I rarely have seen. Since have this little superstition thing that I like to end my runs to include the last tenths of the run I am training for I continued on to end the run at 10.2.

Today was a day that I looked forward to and to be honest there was some concern. The schedule called for a 20 mile run. When I did 18 awhile back I struggled to get to the 18. When I did I stopped. I wasn’t sure if the run was going to be like my midweek run a few days back or the 18 miler a few weeks back. Happy to write that today was also very good.

My run pretty much went flawlessly through the entire run. I woke up on time. I wasn’t rushed at all. The weather was pretty much perfect, just maybe a touch on the warm side. I didn’t need to make any nature stops. I never once had the feeling of why the heck am I out here doing this.

The route I ran was probably the best training route I have ever done. The route had everything from easy to difficult stretches and everything in between. The first 5 miles was pretty much flat a few minor ups and downs. Just after mile 6 there was a fairly steep uphill and than a gradual incline before leveling off at which point I took a road that looped back to the top of the steep hill. Than it was down the steep hill. After that the next 4 miles were pretty much flat. The next 5 miles was ups and downs. I knew going in this was going to be the most difficult part of the route. There wasn’t a level spot to be found over the 5 miles and there were more ups than downs. The final 2.5 miles was flat flat flat. I certainly enjoyed the route that’s for sure.

Finally I ran a very comfortable pace and was very pleased to see it was a bit better than 10:00 pace overall. At mile 15 was 2 ½ minutes ahead of a 10 minute pace and feeling very good. At mile 17 I knew I could get the run done under the 10:00 minute pace of 3:20 even if I backed done a bit. I chose to take a drink break at 17 and would do so again at miles 18 & 19. I made it 20 in good form. Than like the other day I slowed the pace down to cool down a bit and get to that .2 number. I never felt overly fatigued throughout the run.

So all in all it was a good good good week. I’ll step back just a bit on my long run at the end of the week. In two weeks I’ll try to extend out a bit farther by going for somewhere around 22 to 24 miles. Without a doubt mo is on my side.

Have a great week.

Posted by Tim at 10:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

This year my running just keeps going on and on. I have been preparing for events from the 1st of the year and will continue on until the end of September. Back in January I was preparing for what is called the Frozen Half Marathon in St. Paul, Mn. Shortly after that I prepared for Grandmas marathon in Duluth, MN. After a week layoff following Grandmas I began training for the Hamptons Marathon which is in New York on Long Island. After the Hamptons Marathon there will be a bit a layoff.

For the week training went just fine. This week was a step back week so I kept it simple and backed down on the miles a bit.

Rather than talk about my training I have something else this week. During the last week I supposedly became wiser because I aged a year. I received a gift that I want to share because it pretty much sums up why I do run as much as I do. The gift was from my daughter in law and I appreciate it very much. She added some words to a piece that she saw on the internet while looking for some running stuff for me.

I Run Because

I love not just the finish line but:
The trip along the way-it makes me feel free- Sometimes I’ve
got energy to burn and sometimes I need energy- Because
stopping would hurt so much more than a blister or broken
toenail- Because walking takes too long and I have things I
need to get done- My personal best is just that: mine-
Because it’s a good kind of sore- There’s no better way to
explore a city or enjoy the spring flowers, the fall leaves and
the winter’s snow- “I just felt like runnin”- Because there’s
no drug like adrenaline- Because the pavement doesn’t
complain when you pound it- Because I know I’m only
competing against myself- Because I have set goals and
will continue to work hard to accomplish them- Because
I know I can face whatever road lies ahead- Because I am
not satisfied with status quo- My true self shines through
when I run- Because I know I can and will- Because it
allows me to wind down- Because it’s great exercise- Because
I feel a sense of pride when I finish- Because I have an
awesome support team- Because of Debbie, Andy, Denise,
Kara, Anand, Mira, Sean and Kyle- Because it’s inspiring-
Because while others can’t, I can

And Because I’ll never know how far I can go unless I try.
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I’ll be running, see you next week.

Posted by Tim at 09:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)