1/2 Marathon Training - Day 81

This was our first actual experience with interval training. We chose the 2.5 mile route, and the idea was to run a fast pace for 1/4mile, slow jog/walk for 1/4, fast pace again for 1/4, etc. As soon as we started Angela shot off like a rocket. I tried to keep up but was humbled pretty quick. I tried to remind her that we had to do this a few more times... didn't help... she pretty much humbled me every single time... that is until the last segment. I had a little bit left, but she somehow knew how to push herself right to the limit... she'd pushed herself to the point she was basically done on the last fast segment. End result was we walked or did a really slow jog for 1/2 of the total distance, and ran a pretty quick pace for the other half. The one time I looked at my heart rate it was up over 180bpm. Total time to finish the 2.5mi was 26min 33sec for the 2.5mi, which comes out to a 10:37mile.

1/2 Marathon Training - Day 80

Angela ran 4.0mi Wed night knowing she'd probably miss Thursday's run due to other commitments. So yesterday I set out to run 5 miles solo. Two laps around our 2.5mi course. It's been a while since I've felt that good running, and I was keeping a decent pace. Then about halfway through I could tell I was having a blood sugar crash. I can honestly say I've never had one of those while running... of course, I've only really been running on a regular basis four about two and a half months... but anyway... I'm pretty sure it was due to the donuts and cake I had at work today (coworker's birthday + Veterans Day)... maybe I should rethink those the next time (duh!) I decided to push on committed to getting my 5 miles. Only problem was I started getting tunnel vision, light headed and stumbling a bit... it was time to turn around! I alternated a lot of walking and jogging on the way back to the house. Once back at the house the watch told me I had gone a total of 3.75mi in 42min 47 sec (11:25mi)... shame, because I was doing so much better than that initially. Oh well.

NASCAR & 1/2 Marathon Training - Day 77

Tons of stuff going on this weekend... Angela & I were in Krum TX (~50mi North of Fort Worth) Saturday mid-day for a pot-luck style get together at the farm where we get our raw milk. Lots of people, and lots of food... and WODERFUL milk! From there we headed home for a very short time before heading to Granbury TX (~40mi Southwest of Fort Worth) to visit my Grandmother for her birthday. It was a good time and we had a good visit with the grand parents :-)

Sunday was NASCAR day... Yeah Baby! The 2nd 2010 race in Texas, the 34th race of the 2010 season and the 8th race in the 2010 Chase for the Championship! My friend Jeff & I attend both races each year here in Texas. This time though we were joined by my dad... it was his first NASCAR experience. I definitely enjoyed having him there, and was honored to share the experience. Plus, it was a really cool and interesting race!


So, with everything going on this weekend we didn't exactly focus on running. Today though it was time to get back to some sort of responsibility :-| Angela had a soccer game so she was covered... me... I had to act responsible (sigh...) So, with all great intentions, I set out to run... I wound up doing "only" 3 miles. I have no idea what my time was because my running watch died about 1 mile into the run... I expected it though since I got a low battery warning when I turned it on. But I wasn't going to wait for it to charge up before hand... I was already running pretty late. I managed to do the 3 miles with only 2 short walks so it wasn't too bad.

1/2 Marathon Training - Day 73

5 miles Thursday... wasn't looking forward to it... but it got done. Halfway through we decided to make a detour into the house to blow our noses... it was cold, so we had a little longer "break" than normal during this run. Total time: 59min 43sec (11:57mi... maybe we shouldn't take such a long break during the half marathon :-)

1/2 Marathon Training - Day 72

Raining last night when we shoulda been running. Angela & I decided to do it tonight instead. She felt good, I was struggling... ugh! We managed a 32min 9sec time for the 3 miles which wasn't too bad (10:43mi).

Happy Halloween! Goal Change Again, and Birthday Presents

Ok, so it's been a while. A lots gone on. A week or so ago just after Angela & I signed up for the 10k, I got a call from the race director... weird. She told me for "logistical reasons" they had to cancel the 10k... GREAT! She gave us the option of moving to the 5k (tempting, let me tell ya!) or the 1/2 Marathon. Well... being that I was on the spot and had to make a decision all I could think of was Angela would hate me if I chose the 5k... so 1/2 Marathon it is (sarcastic "yea!"... just kidding). So, I need to revamp the schedule again ;-)

We both ran 3 miles on Friday the 22nd, but at different times. Mark-32min 42sec (10:54mi) Angela-33min 58sec (11:19mi)

Last weekend my birthday present came due :-) Angela treated me to a weekend of fast driving! I participated in a "High Performance Driving Event" with The Drivers Edge on the 1.7mile road course race track in Cresson Texas. For anyone that's interested in driving their car fast in a controlled and relatively safe environment, this is the way to do it! 2 days and eight 25-minute sessions on the track with an instructor in your passenger seat giving you real-time feedback. I learned so much and got to where I was pushing my car father than I ever thought possible. The really cool thing is, I know there's a lot more in it once I work on my technique... Can't wait to do it again!!!

Here's some video of me on the last run on the last day:



Angela was out of town last week on business. She was pretty busy and didn't get a chance to run. Me... I was just lazy. Today though, we finally got out and did 6 miles while the neighborhood kids were just starting to do their trick-or-treating. With all the rest we had, and the fact that we walked quite a few times, and stopped to talk to some of the neighbors ;-) it didn't seem too bad at all. Total time was 1hr 11min 12sec (11:52mi)

New Schedule... and a Change in Goals ;-)

Ok, so if you've been following us at all you'll notice that the 1/2 Marathon Training Schedule looks a bit different... Well, that's because its now a 10k Training Schedule. My practical side took over and I decided I was going to do the 10k instead of a half marathon (we're registered so it's a done deal now!)... plus Angela wanted to incorporate some weight training in there as well (I love that girl!!!). So here's the deal... we'll keep our long runs on Sundays (same day as race day), they'll just be a bit shorter now. Mondays and Saturdays are rest days. Friday is the short run day followed by a little bit of weight training. Wed & Thur are weight training days as well (we plan for one of these days each week to be legs in order to work on our joints to hopefully avoid knee injuries). And Tuesday is interval training day. This will be alternating 1/4mi sprints (x5) & 1/4mi walks (x6) for a total of 2.75mi. This is to hopefully build up some speed... it could happen ;-)

Ok... sounds good in theory... lets see what happens!

Oh yeah... we did our 5mi run tonight. We had 4 or 5 short little walks in there but still managed a decent pace. M-55min 19sec (11:04mi) A-55min 42sec (11:08mi)