March 6 12 miles

Well our 20 mile run on saturday was rained out so Angie and I were trying to make a decision on what to do. Angie suggested we run 14 on sunday and push our 22 mile run back. This worried me because we would be getting too close to the marathon date. Angie consulted with her mom's friend who is a Boston qualifier and she suggested we keep the 22 mile run as schedule and run nothing more that 20 the two weeks before the marathon. She also suggested that we run 10 this sunday. So Angie and I split the difference and decided to run 12 today. It was just Angie running through Devou and out Dixie highway. It is back to being cold out so I had to wear underarmor, tights, and a hat again because the windchill was in the 20's. I was not a fan of it being cold again. the run went pretty well and we finished in 1hr 56 mins, which Angie and I were pretty happy about. It wasn't the best run ever but it was nice to be moving at a good pace and get it knocked out. My right knee still hurts, which is typical and my left ankle is really becoming an issue. I just need to make it through two more long runs and I will be good. This weekend we are running in louisville for our 22. We might have to change the route a little though because of the flooding.

Feb. 27 18 miles

Ran this morning with Clara and Angie at 7:30. It was about 29 degrees out so i had to go back to wearing under armor and tights. I was not a fan of having to put my layers back on. I have been getting spoiled by running in shorts and long sleeves lately.  We started out near Angie's old apartment and headed into devou, then we headed straight down dixie highway and back to our cars for water and gu. Then back out again for the remaining four mile down and back dixie highway. I felt pretty good even though I didn't put in the mileage I would have liked to this week. Angie and I stuck together and a good pace while Clara ran ahead and then fell back at the end. I was surprised at how well Clara did for most of it. This is encouraging for the marathon since she plans on running all of it with us. I was not a huge fan of the route. It is very unusual for Angie to plan an out an back route, but I am sure it was easier then running the hill in to Cresent Springs. Angie and I finished running it in 3 hours and 4 minutes, which is a decent time. Clara finished a few minutes behind us. Overall, I felt like it was a good run. My knee is still hurting when I run and so is the arch of my foot but my hip flexors are starting to loosen up. Next week we hit 20 miles and then we have one long run to go before the marathon. I also registered for the marathon so there is no backing out now.

Feb. 19 12 miles

Today was just an easy run. I headed out about 8:00am and it was 33 degrees out. With all the warm days this week I have been used to wearing shorts so I opted for shorts, a tshirt, and a long sleeve tech shirt. I was a pleasant morning as usual in seneca with all the other runners. I ran the 12 miles in 1hr and 54 mins. I felt ok, I think I was probably dehydrated but it was nothing that I couldn't push through. I have to keep reminding myself the 12 miles is a long way even though it feels like an easy run. I need to prepare better. During my run I noticed that my left hip flexor is getting really weak and after the run it was really hard to lift my leg. I need to start stretching and working on making it stringer or these next few long runs are going to be miserable. I also still have the pain in my left arch but I took it easy this week hoping a little rest would help. It doesn't hurt as bad but its still there. I'll be using a bag of peas on it for the next few weeks. Other than that the run was just ok, not the best, but certainly not the worst. Next weekend is 18 miles which I am finally going to get to run with Angie and Clara.

Feb. 12 16 miles

I had a pretty good run this morning. I headed out the door at about 8:00 and it was 30 degrees out. I wore my tights, a tshirt, and a long sleeve tshirt because I was too afraid I would get hot on a 16 mile run. I was right, its not that I got too hot its that i was sweating and I wore a regular cotton tshirt. I know better than to do this because I have gotten spoiled by my tech shirts. Of course the cotton tshirt became heavy and damp and that drove me crazy. I did my run through seneca, which was amazing this saturday morning. It was filled with runners, everyone giving you a good morning head nod. There was also a race going on which I think added to the number of runners in the park. I love running in seneca on a saturday morning because of all the runners. There seems to be a mutual "I know how you feel" that you get from passing a fellow runner and giving a head nod. The run went pretty well, I was feeling good. I still have the nagging pain in my arch and the pain in my right knee, but I bought new shoes on sunday so I am hoping that helps. This was also the first run of this training session that I had to eat the gu. I stopped and bought and powerbar gel strawberry banana and also picked up a hammergel apple cinnamon. Last marathon training season I could only eat the powerbar gel , but people kept telling my to try the hammergel. I packed the hammergel with me and ate it at mile 12.5. As usual I began to gag. The taste of it is really good but it is too thick for me to eat. I looked ridiculous trying to get it down while other runners were passing me. I finally managed to eat half of it and decided that it was enough to get me through the next 4 miles. I guess I am going to stick with the powerbar gel from now on. Other than that the run was pretty good. I am glad to be to the point in my training where over half my long run feels easy. It wasn't until about mile 14 when I started to wish I was running with someone to keep me motivated. This shows I am making progress.

Feb. 4 15 miles

I ran 15 miles in seneca on a friday because it was suppose to snow on saturday. I wanted to get my long run in and not have to worry about the snow. I went about 8:30am and it was about 22 degrees out. I wore tights, underarmor, a tshirt, hat, and gloves. For breakfast I had an english muffin and a little bit of coffee. It was a pretty good run overall. When I first started out I was getting the nagging cramp in my side before mile 2 and I thought the run was going to be doomed, but it disappeared after a while. I ran through seneca park trying to remember where Angie and I had run when we did out 22 miles last spring. I did pretty well until I had turned around to come back and followed seneca loop too far. I ended up and little lost and looked like an idiot to the only other runners I had seen all day. Finally I got back to my route and made it home. I ran the 15 miles in 2h 26min which was a much better pace than Angie and I had last week. I feel comfortable with where I am in my training and it turned out to be a really good run overall. I usually have a rough time doing these long runs by myself, but I felt good. Now I just need to get a few good runs in during the week. I have also picked up swimming laps and I think that is helping to take some of the stress of my legs. I had a few ouchy biotches while running. My knees are starting to feel the impact of the long runs which happened last year and I also have a pain in my left arch that has me slightly worried. Guess its time to break out the bag of peas. Angie and Clara ran 14 miles on saturday and Angie said she felt good also, which is awesome. I think Clara is struggling a little but I hope she makes it through.

Jan. 29 13 Miles

Angie and I met up and ran 13 miles about 3:30pm. She had marriage class all day so we had to do a late afternoon run. It was pretty warm out when we started, about 38 degree and neither one of us had underarmor on. I just wore pants, tshirt, and long sleeve tshirt. By the end of the run I could have used something a little warmer. We started out at Angie's parents house and headed toward Devou park. The snow was mostly melted and it was a pretty nice run. Both of us were feeling ok. I think Angie had a little IT band issue going on and I have decided I need new shoes. My feet were killing me by the end of the run. It was nothing special just the usual training run. It took us 2 hours and 16min to complete which was a little disappointing to each of us. I think our time has each of us a little worried, but we are chalking it up to a bad day. Afterward I didn't feel so well. I think is was because I only had coffee cake and a pretzel all day. Not so good.

Jan. 21 11 miles

Angie and I ran late this afternoon after she got off work at 4:00. We decided to go ahead and knock out the long run for the weekend so we could go to the wine bar on Saturday night and not have to worry about fitting a run in. I also had been hydrating all day with plan of doing a run anyway. It was freezing at 4pm on Friday. I think the temperature was somewhere around 9 degrees. I wore my tights, underarmor, long sleeve tshirt, hat, and gloves. The run went pretty well. I felt good for not running a whole lot lately. We did a nice route around Thomas More trying to avoid main roads because the sidewalks were still covered in snow. It turned out to be challenging with all the snow and we did spend some time running on all the snow covered sidewalks which really wore me out. I felt really good up until the last half mile or so. at this point we were on turkeyfoot road and couldn't get to the sidewalks and there wasn't a bike lane. things were a little scary with cars zooming by but we made it and I kept up. After we finished I was freezing cold and it was just getting dark. It took me another two hours, a warm shower, hot tea, and laying in front of the fire place before i finally felt normal again. Overall it was a good run.