Running 4 My Boys

UGH...Akron Marathon gets me again!

2009-11-19T10:07:00.001-08:00

So, all of my hard work and excitement for the Akron Marathon really brought me down. I finally had a "bad" race day. No excuses, I was aiming for sub 3:30 and came out with my first sub 4 hour marathon, 3:56:17.

My HR was 171 by mile 3 and honestly it was downhill from there. Plus, you know how runners are, stubborn, so instead of slowing down and adjusting I just kept pushing. I ran the first half in 1:45 and was JUST EXHAUSTED when I got there. Predictably it took me another 2:12 to run the 2nd half of the race.

Akron Marathon: http://connect.garmin.com/splits/15503198
10 miler at pace 3 weeks earlier: http://connect.garmin.com/splits/12544543

Other notables: headphones shorted out at mile 8, splattered a bunch of an opened GU packet all over myself at mile 15, but I still made my 1:10 plane for Disney with my family!

The HR issues scared me that day, I was up over 220 - three separate times and at another time I was over 200 for 3 consecutive minutes. Since my dad passed away at 44 I've been getting all of the tests done to make sure I'm good to go.

I'm still running and I'm still alive. I'm following more of a Maffetone method for now, looking to improve my aerobic fitness. http://www.markallenonline.com/heartrate.asp I think this will be a big help for me!

I'll post some more soon. Sorry this took forever, but I was in the dumps for a bit. I'm coming out of my shell again now! It helps to know so many great runners in the area!!!

Akron Marathon training just about complete, nothing left but to TAPER!

2009-09-15T09:42:00.000-07:00

I SURVIVED! That's exactly how I feel this week. I finished up the 16th week of Hal Higdon Advanced II Marathon Training and just have the 2 week taper left. I will make this short, if you put in the time and sweat, this program will make you faster.
Examples:
Exhibit A: Former PR for half marathon - 1:49, NEW PR - 1:38:26
Exhibit B: Ran the hilly, 9 mile Potato Stomp this past Saturday and ran in 1:04:55 (7:13 pace)

I've NEVER been this fast and I love it. However, there's still work to be done and I'm not finished. I plan on going sub 3:30 at Akron next Saturday and that is another step in my goal. I hope to jump back into training in October and start aiminig for 7:17 goal pace for a Feb. or spring marathon. That will get me to 3:10 and qualify me for Boston.

It has been hard work and I hope to meet my goals. The past 16 weeks have reminded me of something simple though. I LOVE running and competing.

Training is Paying Off!

2009-08-24T11:30:00.000-07:00

13 weeks of Hal Higdon Advanced II is in the books. WOW! It's tiring, but I'm definitely getting stronger. I was unable to make the Erie Half due to my b-day present being tickets to Mary Poppins with my wife. (The show was AWESOME, and any date with my wife is a good one!)
Thus, I found a half marathon for Wooster on Aug. 22nd. Heart and Soul 1/2. I punched up the McMillan calculator to see what I should be able to run a 1/2 in if I want to run a 3:30 marathon. The calculator says 1:39 and some change, a 7:36 pace, so that was my goal. My PR was 1:49:36 so either way I was getting a PR. Course was pretty up and down and through 8 miles it didn't look like I was going to crack 1:40. I hit the burners around mile 10 and I believe I ran the last 5k in 21 minutes! Chip time was 1:38:26, over 11 minute PR. I was so jacked about it! It was weird being in Wooster, alone, and so excited. Oh well, this race is a small step in the longer journey of qualifying for Boston.
I still woke up and knocked out 20 the next morning. Training is really going well. I have to say, if not for the extensive running community in this area I don't know if I'd be as motivated. This summer I've shared ideas with lots of runners and went and watched the BT50K where I was able to pick some brains of some of my favorite runners.
Akron is looking like this: probably going out with 3:40 pace team (see you there E-speed), I believe I'll be able to finish strong and in the 3:30's.
I plan on hopping right back into training a few weeks later and gunning for a 3:10 marathon in February on a much flatter course.

Stay tuned, I'm training hard. I really would love to hit Boston, if I don't in Feb. I may just have to start running further instead! : )

...and the training continues!

2009-08-03T07:56:00.000-07:00

10 of 18 weeks in the books for this guy! I will say this, 18 weeks of Hal Higdon is a GRIND!
All of the runs are going well, my favorite workout is the 800's and my least favorite are the hills. I've hit all my times on the pace runs (8 min/mile) but my HR is still relatively high and I'm actually having to start thinking about dropping to the 3:40 pace team at Akron. I really was hoping to be at the 3:30 level, but with 8 weeks to go it's time to start being real with myself. I knew 3:30 would be a REALLY aggressive jump from my best marathon (4:00:08) but a 20 minute improvement is still really good.
Keep in mind, I've got the 3 pronged attack mentality. Big improvement at Akron, Nov. 1st get under 3:30 at Elyria Inland Trail, then hit it hard until Feb and go for a 3:10 at Last Chance Boston in Columbus.
It's good to have aggressive goals huh? Shoot for the stars and if you miss just get to the clouds...LOL
This past weekend was the best, I showed up at the Burning River 100 miler (Boston Store) and cheered on runners while chatting it up with some local runners that I really look up to, and also got to meet some really great new people to. There are so many great runners in this area, I'm proud to know some of them! A lot of 100 mile finishers in the area as well...makes me think... : )

Then Sunday morning I met Janet (Daisy Duc) for 19 miles around our old stomping grounds: Mantua, Garrettsville, Hiram. We took the trail from Garrettsville to Mantua for 7, then took a VERY hilly track back to Garrettsville for the remainer of the 12 miles. I think we had over 3K feet of ascent in the run. Great times. Janet really pushes me, and I can use that on my Sunday long runs, it's really easy to slack on those, luckily Janet doesn't slack! : ) Thanks again Janet!
Here's a link to the run: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/10408576

The Training Must Go On!

2009-07-16T07:50:00.000-07:00

I'm now into the 8th week of Hal Higdon's Advanced II marathon training and let me say this, running 6 days a week becomes a real grind. I really enjoy running, but a program like this forces you to narrow your focus and that's something I've needed for a while.
The hardest part of training is having a family, a job, and running around life events in general.
From July 2nd -12th the family and I took one of the best vacations I think we've ever had. We visited some friends (our newly adopted family) up in R.I. I was really excited for this trip because I've always wanted to visit the New England region and I was NOT disappointed. We spent a lot of time at the beach, went to a game at Fenway, and just had some phenomenal moments all around! There are memories from that trip that will last a lifetime!
Another great thing about the trip is that my friend Gareth is a runner (just qualified for Boston in his 1st ever marathon!!!) and running with him for a few weekends really pushed me. Their house sits right on a 14 mile paved bike/run path in Rhode Island. I believe it runs from Providence to Bristol, really great feature to the house! : )
I'm training to run a 8 min/mile at Akron so Gareth pushed me on my pace runs a bit and it really helped my confidence. Saturday July 4th I was scheduled for a 7 mile pace run, needless to say I blew it out of the water. My HR was very high, but knowing what I'm capable of was priceless! I ran the 7 miles at a 7:36 pace, my last mile was at 7:09! I'm well aware that this isn't the way to run pace runs, but to open up the throttle like that was so exciting! Here's a link to the run, during the hottest time of the day too 75-78 degrees!!!
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/invitation/email/accept.mb?senderPk.pkValue=289750&unitSystemPkValue=2&episodePk.pkValue=8590745

Vacation came to a close, we got back home Sunday the 12th and I've battled an upper respiratory infection since : ( I've skipped my last 2 "rest" runs, just making sure I get my pace, tempo, and long runs in. My times have suffered due to being sick. I wonder if most runners run through the sickness, I think it helps but do not have any evidence to support that. I think runners just think they can overcome anything and I'm no different.

I'm signed up for the Erie Half marathon this Sunday and I'm 50/50 on whether or not I'm going to run it. I'm feeling better today, but if I don't feel at least 90% by Sat. morning I'm going to just do my training run. My PR for a half marathon is 1:49:36 and I KNOW I am capable of breaking 1:44 right now.
If I run I plan on going out and getting HR to around 165 for 2 miles, then try to push low 170's until mile 10 or 11, then redline it for the last few miles. Very interested to see what happens, so I have to get feeling better!

Excited to see where the rest of training takes me!

Training is getting Intense!

2009-07-01T10:18:00.000-07:00

5 complete weeks into Hal Higdon Advanced II and things are going really well. Just being back on a good schedule is very rewarding. My goal of 8 min/miles at Akron is still on the table since I've nailed all of the runs thus far. Could I run a 3:30 marathon right now, nope. Am I a lot closer to a 3:30 marathon, YES! I've done well on all the pace runs, and I even see my heart rate dropping on my easy runs, making the easy runs even a bit faster. I ran the back 14 miles of the Akron course and it was a blast. You also remember how much uphill is going on back there too!
Last night was my 2nd trip to the track for 800's and I'm really digging them. I was scheduled to do 5 - 800 intervals, however, I wanted to see how many sub 3:30 800's I could do in a row. I set my Garmin for 8 intervals thinking I'd miss on either the 6th - 8th one. Instead, I ran all 8 in under 3:30 and my 8th one I completed in 3:18 and it was my fastest one!!!
This program is really tiring, 6 days a week wears on you, especially with all of the family things we've had going on. Tomorrow we leave for Rhode Island and I'm really excited to change the scenery for a few days. Plus, I get to run with my friend Gareth and he's training for a 3:10 fall marathon. It will be good to run with someone faster.
Here's to more healthy running.

Running for a Cause

2009-06-15T07:31:00.001-07:00

Just recently I'd been asked to run for a cause when I run the Akron Marathon. I've never really done that in the previous 5 marathons, it was all about personal challenges and goals. This cause that I'm running for hits close to home and I wanted to mention it today because it's just very emotional.

I grew up in Garrettsville, OH (and proud of it). A fellow classmate that was a few years older than me in high school has a daughter, Melana (8 yrs old / 3rd grade), that was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor in her brain stem in February. Here is a post from their Care Page blog (http://www.carepages.com/carepages/MelanaMatson):

Finding Out...
Posted Feb 4, 2009 11:35am
Melana is my friend Heather's eight year old daughter. She is in the 3rd grade at Garfield Elementary in Garrettsville. Just last Thursday they found out that Melana has an inoperable brain tumor in her brain stem. At this point they have told Melana that her brain is "sick". This is a very rare and serious cancer. Right now, the plan is for her to have 6 weeks of radiation at the Cleveland Clinic 5 days each week. It will begin Monday Feb. 9th. She has to be under full anesthesia for this each time. With the steroids Melana has been experiencing some relief from the original symptoms of difficulty walking etc., but now she has very dramatic mood swings and a ravenous appetite! Please join us in praying first and foremost for a miracle for this little girl! Heather said that the first doctor to read her scan asked about 30 others to review it as well, but they all came to the same conclusion. Secondly, with having to travel an hour 1 way everyday for these next several weeks (as well as the many others stresses on them right now) , we'd ask for strength for Heather and John . Heather asked too that we pray for Melana to be able to experience joy and just to "be happy". She said she has never seemed to be able to have that sort of childhood because of the various diagnoses over the years and different medicines that came with that. She did say that finding this out was of course such a shock, but it very well could explain some of the issues Melana has always struggled with. Please pray!

Having 7 and 5 year old sons that I am extremely close to makes this all to real. I can't even tell you how emotional this makes me. It's difficult to type. I will be posting more in the future, but I do hope that I can raise some amount that can help this girl and her family.

Thanks in advance.

2 Weeks of Hal Higdon Advanced II Down, 16 to Go!

2009-06-09T05:53:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd give an update on my Akron Marathon training. I've completed 2 weeks and I've ran about 30 miles or so each week. The biggest difference in this training and my previous training is the specialty stuff. I used to just go out and log miles and when I felt like it I'd do something regarding speed, usually on the dreadmill. This program has me doing something for speed on Tuesdays and then at least one other day a week. Tuesdays rotate between hill workouts, tempo runs, and 800's. Thursday is always a tempo run or a run at "pace" (my goal marathon pace of 8 min/mile). So far so good, I've nailed all my runs and I've even seen a lower HR on my long runs on Sundays. My friend that did this before me claims that you start seeing results in 4 - 6 weeks in regards to lowering your HR on your runs. It's really exciting, it's also very tiring! I've went to working 4 - 10 hour days and will be having 3 day weekends all summer. Thus, I've been getting up before 5 a.m. to hit the runs on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday's.

The very best part of this training is that my friend Chad is following the exact same training program and we're both running Akron Marathon together. We talk nearly everyday and discuss the day's run and what are thoughts are. That has been supreme motivation, because you have to go hard on those runs because you don't want to sound like the guy that may have slacked off. Plus, we're somewhat competitive and September 26th will be for bragging rights I'm sure!

Anyways, I hope everyone is in full swing and training for a fall marathon. Good health to all.

Miscellaneous Family Stuff

2009-05-28T11:19:00.000-07:00

Most of my friends know that my wife was peer pressured enough to sign up for a race, and of course with her love of Disney it was a no brainer. The Disney Half Marathon! Well, the cool thing that comes with running is the shoe shopping. Ironically Fleet Feet in Northfield had the Mizuno Run with Us truck last week and I was curious and Tina needs some kicks!
http://www.mizunousa.com/news.nsf/get/87FB26D6CDE977C9852574190052BF9E?OpenDocument
We got there, got our names on the list and waited. The reps were really great and the truck/lab was really sweet. I believe they took about 8 different pieces of data using an oversized copier and camera / computer contraption. I enjoyed it. Tina thought it was cool too. I was fitted for the Mizuno Wave Inspire and I LOVED them, very light, felt like adequate support. I just liked them a lot. However, I'm not in need of a new pair of shoes yet so I was out of luck. Tina on the other hand tried a couple of shoes on and thought they were "o.k.". Tina was fitted for the same Mizuno shoe as her sis, and sis had foot trouble in them. Thus, Tina headed in the store and spoke with the owner, Heather. Tina tried on the comparable Asics, Brooks, and Pearl shoes. Tina settled on the Pearl, they are bright green and really cool. I think they improved her mile time by about 1 minute : ) I LOVE running shoe stores!

The Boys

The biggest breakthrough of May was the fact that my youngest boy Tyler (5)learned to ride his bike without training wheels! BIG excitement. Well, he can ride well but he's a slow starter, terrible at stopping, and LOVES to crash...or at least it seems that way. At any rate, Ty is doing well, goes to the track and lugs along while I run! Took him to Headwaters trail this past weekend and he failed miserably on gravel, another aggressive approach by dad.
Hunter (7) on the other hand is an accomplished pro on his Trek MT60! He's done 10 mile rides while I run, but mostly does 3-6 mile rides while I run. I took him to West Branch for some mountain biking and we hit the snow mobile trails. It was way too beginner for him and it was still too muddy. I think we're going to go back this weekend or next week and raise the bar a little. I'm very proud of him, he really is a trooper on his bike. He's Lance Armstrong without the blood doping...
Happy trails, hope everyone else is enjoying the great weather with their families as well!!!

I'll post some pics of the boys and bikes along with Tina's shoes later.

Hal Higdon Advanced II Marathon Training

2009-05-26T07:54:00.000-07:00

Well, Memorial Day weekend is over and Fall Marathon training is underway! It is LESS than 18 weeks until the Akron Marathon, to my family its the same day we leave for Disney so they tell me I have to run this one real fast!

I began Hal Higdon's training program on Memorial Day and I am VERY excited to be following a program again. It will be even better since I'm using the Garmin 305 and watching my HR (heart rate) as well.

http://www.halhigdon.com/marathon/advanced2/advancedII.htm Link to program.

I've chosen 8 min/miles for my goal pace at Akron, it is a VERY aggressive goal. My best marathon is 4 hours, so I'm looking to get a minute faster per mile. I'm sure I can do it. I went out Saturday and ran 7.22 miles at an 8:16 pace so there is hope.
I'll post once in a while to give my thoughts on the training and what seems to be hard and what seems to be working. I hope to run a couple of halfs this summer to gauge my improvements. Tentatively planning to do Presque Isle Half on July 19th and the Spirit of Columbus Half on August 30th. That will better show me what pace I should choose for Akron. I won't complain if I get faster than 8 min/mile : )

All there is to do for the next 18 weeks is the training, the prayers, and the vitamins! -Hulk Hogan...

Seriously, I'm excited, I've got a plan, and one of my best friends is doing the same program and we started the same day! He's running Akron with me and we have very comparable marathon times. We both hop to see the other side of the marathon, the fast side!

Cleveland Half Marathon

2009-05-18T06:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my sister in law completed her first ever half marathon, 2:18:10. I was fortunate enough to pace her, although she didn't need much pacing since she pushed the pace the entire time. This was really fun and for those of you that don't know I'll give you a short backround before I give you the race day recap.
Lisa came to me last year and said she would like to start running. We decided to start at the Ravenna Stadium track, mostly because with my two boys and her daughter we'd have them fenced in to play while we ran! :) We began by running one lap and walking one lap. It's so funny to think about those days because she'd be red faced after a few laps and for some reason coughing up smoke...hmmm. When we could get a sitter we'd hit the trail for longer runs of 2 or 3 miles. Eventually we were going to Sunny Lake Park in Aurora and running laps (1.75 miles per lap). Lisa completed the Winking Lizard Shot in the Dark last July with a friend for her first ever race. We continued running through the fall and we had a lot of fun, and she gained a lot of confidence and endurance. This winter she signed up and joined Fit Chicks at theh Ravenna RAC and then signed up for the Cleveland Half. She trained hard, overcame a lot, and went out there and kicked some ass!

RACE DAY REPORT

We were off to Cleveland around 5:45 a.m. I had my usual bladder issue of race morning. I think I pee about 5 times in 2 hours before EVERY race I've ever done. Oh well. We got parked and I needed to go again and Lisa needed to go as well. We had a hell of a time getting over to the port o potties with all the people! It was great to see so many people out there! Lisa and I saw some HUGE lines at the port o potties and Lisa then OFFICIALLY became a runner! We peed in a vacant parking area....sorry Lisa, but runners pee EVERYWHERE so now you're officially a runner!
We got to the start, Lisa's goal was under 2:30 so we stood around the 5 hour pace team. I got to see multiple friends and that always pumps me up. Lisa had on her HR monitor, our iPods, and then I turned on my Garmin...except for one thing. My Garmin battery was DEAD...I fully charged it Friday night and I believe one of my lovely children may have played with it...AHHHHHHHH. I was VERY upset.
The race began and when you're back by the 5 hour pace team, the race doesn't start for you until another 5 minutes I think. Lisa and I took off and we were on our way to greatness. The first couple miles we focused on Lisa's HR monitor and got her in her zone. Lisa commented that the bums must really love the marathon because of all the new clothes they can get! That made me laugh.
We crossed the Detroit bridge and headed to the West Side. Does anyone else think that Great Lakes Brewery should have an aid station with Christmas Ale set up? Since my Garmin wasn't working I was just going by the time on my Nike+ as to our pace. Did I mention how f'ing pissed I was that my Garmin was charged? Anyways, at mile 3 we were well under 33 minutes which we thought might be her race pace. I asked about her HR but it was within the respectable zone still. We walked through the mile 3 aid station and ate the deliciousness called Shot Blocks. I had strawberry and it made my heart twitter...so good. We took off and headed for our next aid station (between 6 and 7). Mile 5 we caught up with some of Lisa's fellow fit chicks. They were looking pretty strong and we chatted a bit with them. Lisa and I both could use another bathroom break and the lines at the port o potties were very long, we spotted a McDonald's and ducked in there for a quick pee. (Can you say overhydrated?) We continued our quest and walked through the aid station before mile 7. I was really astonished at our pace. Through the 10K Lisa had kept a 10:55 pace. I thought this was kind of fast but her HR said otherwise, so we kept it up. What I didn't know is that Lisa had put on her Supergirl cape that morning because the best was yet to come. We planned on walking the aid station after 10 miles and then finishing the last 3 miles real strong. After that 7th mile I wish I had the Garmin, because Lisa put the pedal down and didn't let up. 7-10 went really well, we walked our aid station and headed back out. Seriously, miles 10-12 were uphill and Lisa didn't back down, her HR was irrelevant I suppose and it was 175-180 at times. There was one more water station somewhere after 12 miles and Lisa eyeballed it but I told her it wasn't worth it. Just lengthen the strides and finish strong. Well, since she's a half a foot taller than me I had to bust it to keep up with her strides! She finished fast and completed it in 2:18:10!!! Which means the last 6.9 miles of the race she ran at 10:11 per mile, compared with the 10:55 per mile the first 6.2.
Had my Garmin been going I'd have more data...have I mentioned I'm still pissed about that?

At any rate, I'll be putting pics up later and I have nothing but great things to say about Lisa. I'm sure her hip hurt, I know her foot hurt, and she didn't say a darn word about any of it during the race. Very determined, very strong. I hope she entertains the thought of a full marathon someday!

All of my friends did SO well at the race, the weather was very kind! Christa P and DJ Moose did their best time ever. My friend Eric ran his first half and did it in 1:56! Nate Read finished his first marathon in 4:38 (I bet against him and a beer). My friend Stacy ran her first half and finished in 2:11, her goal was under 2:30 as well!!!

Thanks to all the volunteers and people that make a marathon special. I wish everyday was race day.
Until Akron I guess I'll just be training!

Surviving international incidents and random accidents

2009-05-13T06:04:00.000-07:00

This has been a fun and interesting week already and I had to blog about it. Let me first start by defining "international incident". A certain runner friend of mine defines this as having the urge to do #2 while running. I'm not sure how many people deal with this because some of my friends are robots that don't even stop to pee on a 20 mile run.

Anyways, I'm a very regular guy, especially since going vegetarian. Every morning without exception I take care of #2 within the first 15 minutes of waking up, then I'm set for the day. It's really a great situation. However, every once in a while when I wake up I don't feel the urge to go so I try to cheat the system and take off on my morning run. Well, Tuesday I take off and get about 1.5 miles away and I have to go ASAP! It's one of those deals where you get cold sweats and start to panic. I was VERY fortunate for this international incident though. Ravenna has built a new playground (very nice btw) and there are facilities there. Luckily the doors were unlocked (at 5:15 a.m.?) but there were no lights. So I had to "feel" my way around the gross bathroom and find the toilet, being a germ freak, this didn't sit well with me. What did sit well was taking care of my business in a civilized manner, since there have been plenty of times I've went cowboy with these incidents. Trust me, when you are desperate you will go anywhere to avoid depositing into your shorts!

The other issue was this morning. The kids LOVE to play and leave stuff on the steps. WELL, wouldn't you know on my way downstairs today I step on Ty's frog carrier, feet go above my head, I land on steps and slide rest of way down. Luckily again my head, neck, right elbow, and back broke my fall...UGH. My right elbow hurts so bad now, I was still recovering from a weekend flip cup incident...

Moral of the story, I need to be more careful about taking care of business before my runs and be safer during the week before a race!

Weekend prior to Cleveland Half

2009-05-08T10:40:00.000-07:00

Well, my first distance race since last year's Akron Marathon. I'm very proud to be running with my sister in law Lisa in the Cleveland Half Marathon! Time doesn't matter, we're running together and she's getting her first ever piece of hardware!

This weekend there's a large group of us going for a run on Sunday from my house. We'll get on the Portage Bike - Hike trail around 9 a.m. and go for a nice, easy, slow run. I believe some of us are heading all the way to Kent and back. This will be my first trip to Kent on the trail since they paved it into Kent. I LOVE running with the new Garmin 305, although, it doesn't lie about my distance and pace like my Nike iPod use to do. However, I appreciate its honesty.
It's fun to be getting prepped for marathon training again.
May 25th - me and Hal Higdon! LOL

Anyone else down for a slow run this Sunday feel free.

May is Here

2009-05-01T06:08:00.000-07:00

I'm excited for the improved weather of May that is on its way. Since I'm a morning person I'm also excited about the earlier sunrises so I can get out there and get my miles in the morning.

I'm hoping to get some good runs in this weekend. Tonight I'm going for 12-14 miles on the trail between Mantua and Garrettsville with my sister in law, this will be her first double digit effort. Should be perfect, cool maybe a little rain.

2 weeks away from her first half marathon, looking forward to running with someone to help them achieve a goal!

Also, lots of friends doing marathons this weekend. Pittsburgh and Cincinnati Flying Pig (I consider my favorite).

The Commish of my fantasy football league is heading to Cincy to break 4 hours! Good luck Chad!

Coming back to life

2009-04-23T09:10:00.000-07:00

WOW! The 5 marathons and 1 ultra marathon seem like years ago, instead of 1 year ago when I was in the midst of the training. Last year at this time I was 2 weeks out of running the Flying Pig Marathon...a great marathon to run.

So after Akron (Sept 2008) I took a few months to run less and gather myself, emotionally/physically/mentally/spiritually. Running had consumed my life and I needed to put it in the proper priority level. There was a lot of good that came out of the break. I revisited my eating habits, my training habits, the amount of effort I put into family time and intersts, and we even settled on a church that we've turned into a nice family routine. I left my job at National City to pursue another opportunity at Akron Children's Hospital. It was truly an eventful winter.

The good news is that over the winter I still made it to the gym consistently, running the treadmill (BORING) and lifting weights. One of my Christmas presents from some friends was the book Skinny Bitch. I had already read Fast Food Nation and SB took me over the edge. I decided in January to give vegetarianism a try for a week or two. The books really changed my perspective about eating. I'm happy to say I've stayed vegetarian and the change has been really positive. My energy levels have been higher and I just generally feel better. My weight pretty much hovers around 158/160 now (I'm 5'6") and prior to vegetarian I was 165/170 range (sometimes higher). I'm really excited to start marathon training again as a vegetarian, I really think it will help.
FYI- I've got a book on hold at the library The China Study, should be another good read about nutrition.

Ah the marathon. So here is what my thoughts are for the year. I only wanted to do races that I've thoroughly enjoyed in the past this year. So, I did St. Malachi, freaking blast! Anytime the wife and I can have 2 or 3 beers before noon is a phenomenal time! I am running the Cleveland half with my sister in law, this will be her first half ever!!!! BOO YEAH! Then I plan on jumping on the Hal Higdon Advanced II training program Monday May 25th to get ready for Akron. Goal Time: 3:30
I also plan on doing the Winking Lizard 2 person relay, I'm hoping my FAVORITE runner in the whole world will be my partner, Tina Adkins. YEP, the wife gets the label as runner now. She is officially signed up for the Walt Disney World Half Marathon 2010. I'm so excited for her.

Well, just wanted to catch up. I just purchased the Garmin 305 to aid my training. My buddy Paul Waling used it combined with Hal's program and all he did was run a 3:09 at the California International marathon. He's going to be my unpaid coach this summer, unless cupcakes are money, then he's getting paid!

Don't call it a comeback...

2008-10-16T10:12:00.001-07:00

Sorry, I got lost in the maze of life for a bit and stepped away from the blog and whatnot...

I'm coming back, I'm mentally stronger and maybe even a bit more determined.

Stay Tuned!