Initial Entry

Seems everyone has a blog these days. So I decided to go for it, and start one of my own.

46 days to go until the Cincinnati Flying Pig. So a quick review of my training thus far, including memorable moments and how I got here.

I've done this twice. Last year I completed my first marathon in Cleveland (4 hours, 2 minutes, 2 seconds). Tough way to finish. But my goal was to finish. As I approached the final 5k I thought I had a shot at a sub-4:00, but it wasn't meant to be.

After going through the 16 weeks of training and running my first marathon, I slipped into a bit of a funk. I call it a kind of depression. Not 'I'm going to kill myself' depression. I think a sort of depression that comes from losing structure and inevitably some meaning. When it was over, there wasn't much to run for. At least not something as important as a first marathon.

So I waffled around and decided that getting ready for another marathon in 11 weeks was the challenge I was seeking. I "crammed" and ran Baltimore. On a perfect day, the planets aligned and I PR'ed with a 3:39:37.

All along, I had picked Cincinnati, but now I run for a new purpose....Boston. Can I do it? Who knows. But one thing is for sure. I'm going to give it my best shot. My training has been good thus far. Running two previous marathons showed me what works for me, so I fine-tuned my training plan by adding a week, tweaking some mileage and incorporating a "slow and low" week. That was last week. Perhaps that's why I decided to dive into blogging. I don't know. But here are the highs and lows of my training so far.....

Target Time for BQ: Sub 3:16

Training begins officially on January 9, 2007.
Week 1: 4 days, 21 miles....base building.

Week 2: 4 days, 22 miles...Temps were seasonably warm last week. Now it's back to reality. Wind chills dip to zero once. It couldn't get much worse, right? Wrong. More reality will follow.

Week 3: 4 days, 21.35 miles...First time ever incorporating actual speedwork. Four Yasso 800's produce a best of 3:19. Long way to go.

Week 4: 4 days, 20.1 miles.....Five Yasso's; down to a 3:11 best.

Week 5: Bitter cold. Battle a wind chill of -15. 4 days, 18.25 miles, still base building, and got my Yasso down to a best of 3:09.

Week 6: 4 days, 26 miles. Mileage going up, Yasso's going down. Bad week. I'll come back. One day with a -18 wind chill. Coldest I've ever run in.

Week 7: 4 days, 28.75 miles. Long run o4f 1o miles in an ice storm. Fun.

Week 8: 4 days, 31.75 miles. Yasso's becoming more consistent. Feeling like my VO2 is at an all time best. Really feeling good.

Week 9: 4 days, 26.25 miles. Yasso's down to an all time best 3:07. Feel like I might be getting sick.

Week 10: Did get sick. Down week anyway, coupled with a missed day and no speedwork. 3 days, 15 miles. Time to step it up. Three tough weeks ahead to a taper.

That brings me to today. The first day of spring. March 21, 2007. I started out week 11 with a good 5 miler. Maybe I felt guilty about last week; even though I think in the long run it will help. But I ran it in 38:17. A BQ time over that distance would be 37:25. I feel like I've got a shot. Rest of the week: 9 on Thursday, 8 Yasso's on Friday and an 18 miler on Sunday.

I also referee ice hockey all winter long and built in around these weeks is plenty of ice time. I believe that it is the ice skating that is a perfect complement to my training and helps. That is why I think I can get away without weekly mileage totals over 40. I do build to a high week of 41 in the next few weeks, but like I said earlier, I've worked at tweaking my plan to suit my needs and what I believe my body needs.

Thanks for reading. I hope to have more on a weekly basis.