A perfect (or as close as you can get) 16 miles..6 for my wife

What a beautiful day to run!!!!!! I got to the trail about 7:30 this morning and it was around 50 degrees. I had to not only wear the long sleeve shirt, but I also had to wear cotton gloves....it was freezing :) Anyway, it turned into one of the best run days I've had yet. I'm not really sore either. On top of all that, Steph ran 6 miles!!!!! That's the farthest she's ever run...woohoo!!!!!!! What a wonderful day for us. Winnie will get in her 1 mile this afternoon when Steph takes her for a walk. So, in total today, we did 23 miles :) For the week, as a family, we have run 50 miles, not including Winnie's 7 doggy miles. That is so cool.

Next week I up my long run to 18 miles. I could have probably done 18 this week I think. Anyway, 18 next week and 20 the following week. My schedule this week will be 5-8-5-18.

Binky, I'll take you up on the water and waving offer the week I do my 20. I'm going to run from Fairmont to Morgantown.

Cheers!!!

Weight:160 lbs
Exercise:Jason running 16 miles, Steph running 6 miles, Winnie wiggling 1 mile
Weather:BEAUTIFUL!!!!! 50 degrees.

Nice 8 miles

I'm sitting in a cottage at the Aspen Institute Wye Woods on the shore of the Wye River as I right this, so forgive me if I stray a little as the scenery here is phenomenal. For those of you who follow politics, this is the location of the Wye River Peace Accords. This is the 4th or 5th time I've been here and I love to come back. It's so peaceful. I have a two day meting here and then I'm back home in time for the WVU-USF game.

I ran 8 miles today in the cool early morning. It went great. No problems. I'm really looking forward to Saturday. The weather is supposed to only get into the low seventies which means my long run should be pretty nice.

I'll do 5 tomorrow along the coast of the Chesapeake Bay and I can't wait. It'll be so cool :)

Cheers!!!

Weight:160lbs
Exercise:Running 8 miles
Weather:Cool, 72 degrees

Burrr....getting cold

This morning I had to break out the long-sleeve shirt. It was a tad cold. But, nonetheless, I got in 5 miles. Steph ran 3. My knees are feeling fine so things look to be going pretty well.

I go to the Dr. today. We have a Sports Medicine Center at WVU and I made an appointment to meet with a Dr. to make sure everything is ok before the marathon in November. Also, I haven't had a physical in I couldn't tell you how long, so I'm getting one of those too (ahem...turn your head and cough please). Here's to hoping I get a woman doctor.....ok I know that's sexist, but if I'm going to have a physical, I might as well get some enjoyment out of it :) Uhmmm.....ignore that last statement Steph....someone else was typing that.

Anyway, tomorrow is 8 and then 5 on Thursday and 16 again on Saturday.

Cheers!!!

Weight: 160lbs
Exercise:Jason 5 miles, Steph 3 miles
Weather: Cool, 52 degrees, foggy.

16 miles for me, 5 for my wife, and 1 for our dog

So I did my 16 miles today. Everything went great. I'm a little sore and I took a teeny, weeny nap after I got back, but other than that it went well. My knees are giving me a little problem, but the leg issue that I had earlier in the week seems to have worked itself out. Steph did 5 miles today as well. And, of course, Winnie got her 1 in. So, as a family, we did 22 miles today. Wooohoo!!!

Next week is same as this week, 5-8-5-16. Actually, as I think about it, the next 3 weeks I will run greater than a half-marathon each weekend. I guess I've run greater than a half-marathon 4 times now, so I'll end up adding three more to that for a grand total of 7 half-marathons or greater before the marathon. Woohoo!!!

Cheers!!!

PS. Thanks to David, I think I'm going to get the Garmin 205. I know, I know...I'm a gadget whore.

Weight:160lbs
Exercise:Jason 16 miles, Steph 5 miles, Winnie 1 mile
Weather: Cool, overcast, 62 degrees

Trail Behavior

As I was running my 5 miles today, I noticed the weird behavior that people exhibit while they are walking along the trail. Most folks are quite friendly and will acknowledge you by saying hello or waving. But others are almost anti-social. I should say that I ALWAYS wave to everyone whether they return it or not.

Now, it's pretty rare that someone else is running on the trail at the same time I am. So when I see another runner, I always wave. Some return my wave, other don't. The ones that don't are mostly folks who are really concentrating on running so I usually don't pay too much attention to them. But, the walkers are a completely different story. I've had people not wave, not say hello.....I even had a woman get over in the grass to avoid me. I don't think I look menacing or anything so it kind of weirds me out when people do that sort of stuff.

What is your weirdest trail moment?

Weight:160lbs
Exercise:Jason running 5 miles, Steph running 3 miles, Winnie waddling 1 mile.
Weather:Little warm, 78 degrees. Sunny.

8 miles

Did 8 miles this afternoon. Felt pretty good, but my leg is hurting a little. It kind of feels like my soleus issue again, but I hope not. I have run two days in a row, so tomorrow is a rest day. Hopefully that will clear up the problem. Thursday is 5 miles and then I have 16 on Saturday.

I have to say that I've reached a point in the training where I'm getting a little bored. I may try and change up my running routes a little. Maybe that'll liven things up a bit. Any advice?

Steph ran today as well. I don't know how far, but I think she did 4. So the family did 12 total today...woohoo!!!!

Weight: 160lbs
Exercise:Jason running 8 miles, Steph running 4 miles
Weather:Little warm, Sunny, 75 degrees

Whew...back home

I finally got back home last night around 8:30pm or so. What a trip!!!! After my business meetings and other worrisome crap, I saw Auburn lose to Mississippi State. While the game wasn't that great, I did get to see this "War Eagle" thing that all Auburnites seem to cherish and worship. I have to say, it was pretty cool watching an eagle fly around the stadium prior to the game.



Anyway, before the game I got 10 miles in. So, last week ended up at 5-8-5-10 for a total of 28 miles. I am going for 5-8-5-16 this week. Steph and I ran this evening so I got my first 5 in and she ran 3 miles. Depending on how tomorrow goes, I may do my 8 tomorrow. If not, I'll do them on Wednesday.

Well, I'm back home (and a little tired) and looking forward to upping my long runs.

Cheers!!!

Weight:160lbs
Exercise:Jason running 5 miles, Steph running 3 miles
Weather:Beautiful, cool 70 degrees.

Good 8 miles

So today was 8 miles. I did it in the afternoon as I had an all day meeting and wasn't able to get it in this morning. It was great. We've had a break from the heat and today's run was done in about 72 degrees with no humidity. It was wonderful.

Tomorrow I do 5 miles and then hop on a flight to Auburn, Alabama. I'll be back home on Sunday. I think I'm going to only do 10 miles on Saturday instead of my scheduled 16. I think I need a break week. So this week I'll get in 28 instead of 34. Next week, I'll be doing 5-8-5-16 again.

The real concern I have as the marathon gets closer is a trip I have scheduled to Cologne Germany the middle of October. I think I'll just be beginning my taper and I don't want to mess too much with my training at that point. I guess I'll worry about that as it gets closer. I guess I can always do my long run in Germany. That'll be pretty cool I think.

Cheers and talk to you guys on Sunday.

Weight: 161 lbs
Exercise:Running 8 miles
Weather:Beautiful, 72 degrees

A little reflection

A few short weeks ago, I was soooo happy to have run 5 miles on my long run. I had no idea what it felt like to run that far. Moreover, I had no idea if I could continue to up my long runs. I thought that 5 miles was the toughest thing. Well, fast-forward to today and I ran 5 miles as my SHORT run. That's right today marks the first week that all my short runs from now on will be 5 miles. That first 5 mile long run was a killer and I thought (briefly) that I'd never be doing 5 miles for short runs. Well, here I am. What's even more disturbing is that I find myself saying near the end of my long runs that all I have left is five miles. HUH??? All I have left is five miles??? Where did that attitude come from? Who would have thought I'd be praying for just five miles to go. Ha!!!

Here's to kicking 5 miles in the ass!!!

Weight: 161lbs
Exercise:Running 5 miles
Weather:Humid, warm, 74 degrees

PS. My schedule this week is 5-8-5-16.

16 miles is long (understatement of the year)

So I did 16 miles today and it was a little rough. I'm still recovering from the mucus attack I suffered from earlier this week (which is why I'm running instead of SCUBA'ing this weekend). And, today's run was much warmer than usual. So, a little after the 15 mile marker, I began to cramp up really bad. I had to walk for about a 1/4 mile to loosen up and then began running again to finish the run.

Man, I am way sore. I never would have thought that going from 14 miles to 16 miles would be such an issue. I have a question, if you guys could give me your thoughts. Should I be stretching during my run? I'm currently not and I've noticed that towards the end of my longer runs I begin to get tight. Last week wasn't that bad, but this week...whew!!! Any advice would be helpful.

To add to the cramping thing, my damn Ipod caused me trouble about 5 miles in. The stupid thing started playing the same group of songs over and over. Every so often, it will start doing this crap. So, in an effort to correct it, I ended up resetting it, which, in turn, reset the timer, so I have no idea of my time for the run. I figure it was around 3 hours, but I'm not exactly sure. Anyone had the above experience with your Ipod? If you have, how do you fix it?

Lastly, it was so warm and I was sweating so much, that I actually had dried salt on my face after the run. I got home and cooled down in anticipation of the WVU-Marshall game. So, as I was sitting around, I noticed this gritty crap on my face....yep it was salt. Don't ask how I know :) Anyway, 16 miles is down the tubes for this week. Next week, my schedule is 5-8-5-16. Ohh and I get to do my second 16 miler at Auburn University. So I'll have a little different scenery.

Steph did her 5 miles and Winnie did her mile. So the family ran 22 miles today!!! And I broke into the 30s for my weekly mileage...woohoo!!!!

Weight: 160lbs
Exercise: Jason, running 16 miles today, 4 miles on Thursday.
Stephanie, running 5 miles.
Winnie, wiggling 1 mile.
Weather: 80 degrees, warm, humid.

How much can one man's nose run?

So, my nose has decided that it is his turn to run. That's right, allergies have hit me in a major way. I feel like crap!!!!

On Monday, I thought I was coming down with a cold, but I since have determined that it is allergies. I never used to have any problems with allergies. Then, something happened this year and man it's like the flood gates opened. The problem is that the allergies give me a headache as well. The only drug that works is Benadryl.

Nonetheless, I did my 7 mile run this morning. You should have seen the slimy trail I left behind (yeah I know TMI). Anyway, I struggled through it and then promptly popped me some meds. The run was pretty good actually. I felt pretty good through it.

Unless things work themselves out, I may be canceling my SCUBA this weekend. As you know, SCUBA involves pressure and as my sinuses are causing me problems, there is a chance I won't be able to equalize the pressure in my ears when I'm underwater. That mean lots of pain. So, if that's the case, I won't be diving. If I don't dive, I'll definitely shoot for my 16 miles this weekend.

Aghhhhh!!!!!! I hate allergies!!!!

Weight: 161lbs
Exercise: Running 7 miles
Weather: Foggy, 71 degrees.

Running and Italian Food

Steph and I went to the 29th Annual WV Italian Heritage Festival yesterday. In case you don't know, she is waaaayyyyy Italian. I would tell you her last name, but even I can't pronounce it right. Needless to say, while we were at the festival we had some Italian delicacies. Primarily, we woofed down a nice big sausage sandwich with peppers, mozzarella, and gravy (that's what Italians call sauce....yeah I don't know.....my wife is crazy). Anyway, after the sausagey goodness, we then waited in line for Frittis. These things are fried dough that are then covered in sugar and they taste wonderful. We grabbed four of them that we brought home.

Once we got home, we decided to order Chinese food. Can you guess what's coming?

Uhmm, yeah so when we went out for our run today, it was rough. I did 4 miles and Steph did about 3. Both of us were dragging, but we got through :)

This week I have planned to be a rest week. I won't do a long run as I have two days of SCUBA this weekend. And we all know what happened to me the last time I had a long run and SCUBA'ed. So, no long run this week. I'll do 4-7-4-7. Then back on schedule for next week. I have built into my training 3 weeks that I can mess with. They kind of serve as buffers for unplanned things. So this is the first of those I'll be using.

Hope everyone has a good week and enjoys the Labor Day holiday!!!

Weight: 163lbs
Exercise: Jason Running 4 miles, Steph Running 3 miles
Weather: Cool, Foggy 73 degrees

14 miles for me and 5 for my wife!!!!!

So our family ran a total of 19 miles today. Woohoo for us!!!!!!! I should probably add in Winnie's walk too...her legs are only six inches long so she probably walked a mile this morning as well. So let's say we ran 20 :)

Steph ran 5. That's the longest she has ever run in her life. I'm so happy for her. And proud. I ran 14 and it felt great. I finished in 2:43:45 which I'm happy with. My pace seems to slow down the longer the distance. I'm assuming that's natural. Anyway, both of our runs were done in the cool morning breeze which added to the joy of the run. It was great. Ohhh, I almost forgot. Lemon-Sublime GU is awesome!!!!!!

Now we are off to watch WVU demolish Western Michigan. The game starts at 3:30pm, but we have to get some tailgating in, so we're leaving here around noon or so. See you soon!!!

Let's go Mountaineers!!!!!!!

Weight: 161 lbs
Exercise: Jason running 14 miles, Steph running 5 miles
Weather:Beautiful. Sunny, Cool 65 degrees.