Another bump in the road...

Well we got the results back from my MRI... yep, I have a torn TFCC in my wrist. What the &!@$ is a TFCC you ask? The Triangular fibrocartilage complex (TFCC) is formed by the triangular fibrocartilage discus (TFC), the radioulnar ligaments (RUL’s) and the ulnocarpal ligaments (UCL’s). Don't worry, I thought the same thing when I read that for the first time also. Tomorrow I'll hopefully be able to sit down with my physical therapist and ask a few questions (which means a million questions). I also have to have some x-rays of my wrists prior to sitting down with the Ortho doctor. Looks like surgery will be in my near future. The bright side of all this as my Physical Therapist put it... at least you can still run. Well that's exactly what I did and what I will continue to do. Today we ran 3 miles around the neighborhood. Did a pretty easy pace starting off and then worked the pace up as we went. The run is just what my calves needed from the abuse I put them through this weekend. So my weight lifting is on hold for awhile but I can still run. Good thing I didn't decide to start a weight lifting blog.

Welcome to Week Four!

It is now 103 Days will the OBX Marathon and 40 Days till the Harrisburg Half Marathon (but who's counting). This week we have added a 10K race in place of a 6 mile pace run. We might feel it a bit more on Sundays 11 mile LSD run. Today we switched up our leg workout by alternating timed sets of Air Squats and Step-Ups. Then a quick Abs workout to finish things off. My calves are still thanking me for this weekends activities. I hope to have eliminated all heel striking prior to OBX. I would love to hear from other runners out there that are planning to run OBX and what they are doing to train. If your thinking OBX might be calling you... you still have 15 weeks to train up for it. I'll go ahead and leave the link here for you.

http://www.obxmarathon.org/

Week 3 of training is complete!

This week we made some modifications to the "plan". The total mileage for the week was the same... just how we got there was a little different. Thursday is when it seemed to fall apart. By fall apart I simply mean we didn't follow the plan. Thursday was supposed to be 3 mile run day... ended up being a day off. Friday was supposed to be a day off... ended up staying a day off. Now all of a sudden we were at the weekend with 14 miles to make up over the two days. Saturday morning started off with the Fort Bragg Family 5K... well that made up for 3 of those miles, now we had 11 miles left. We quickly came up with a strategy to make up the needed miles without putting either of us in the hospital... or even worse.... the couch. I had ordered a pair of training shoes from Newton Running. The Sir Isaac Newtons! The shoe is designed to promote a proper forefoot landing while running. Well here I am with these new shoes... a need to get some more miles in... sounds like a Saturday evening run. We decide to hit the mean streets of the Riverbrook Subdivision for another 3 miles. Right from the get go I could feel how much easier it was to tell if I was doing a proper forefoot strike. It made it feel weird to either heel strike or land with a mid foot strike. What I wasn't ready for was the fact that by the first half a mile my calves were on fire. That wonderful feeling pretty much stayed the rest of the way... At that point I wished I was wearing my beloved compression socks. With the run in the bag and another 3 miles knocked out it was time for a couple things... first a shower and then to put on my compression socks. I was expecting to wake up last night to my own screams of pain and anguish. Luckily for me I woke up after a good nights sleep with the sound of my alarm clock and sore calves. It was now day two of the weekend and we still had 8 miles to get in. Since we already had to go on post so that I could get my MRI on my wrist (possible torn ligament from weight lifting) we figured we would get our miles in on Pope Army Airfield. There is a 6.5 mile loop around the airfield that is mostly sidewalks. We started off at the Pope Gym did the loop and then added another 1.5 miles to get in our 8 miles. This was are LSD (Long Slow Distance) run so we set a goal of running a 10:00 minute mile pace. Our overall average ended up being 9:50 minutes per mile. Another week closer to OBX and we are still on track.   

It's never too late, but now's a good time!

For some reasons it seemed that physically I started a downward spiral at age 30. My metabolism seemed to slow down, I found out I had Obstructive Sleep Apnea, physical fitness slipped on my priority list, and at age 35 I hurt my back on an Airborne Operation. From age 30 to 36 my weight and physical fitness level went on a rollercoaster ride. At age 36 I decided that 20 years of smoking was probably a little much and that I needed to quit. I went from a solid pack a day to zip. Well the side effect of that was my weight jumped from 240lbs to 265lbs. Let's just say that it wasn't a good 25lbs that I had acquired. November of last year is when Kelly and I made a choice... we were going to take back control of our lives. A friend of mine posted on Facebook today, and I quote "If you want to change your body, then exercise. However if you want to change your life, become a runner". On November 3rd, 2012, Kelly and I decided to become runners. You might be asking yourself... why is he going on about all this. Well I'm going to tell you. Today we ran the Fort Bragg MWR Family 5K, which I ran in 21:19. This set a new Personal Record (PR) for me. Also, another friend of mine took a picture of me while running today which closely resembled another picture I have of me on that November 3rd 5K. So as it was...all the planets aligned and it was meant to be that we talk about a few steps in the journey of my life. This is my life, and as far as I know the only one I'm going to get. I've made it this far, why not see if I can get a few more miles out of this bod of mine. I know most people who are reading this know me, but if you or someone you knows needs a little kick in the pants... It's never too late, but now's a good time!

Tuesday nights alright for Running!

So no poop, there I was... wearing my short shorts, a bright orange shirt, my Garmin Forerunner 310X, and my Merrells. It was 2100hrs (9pm for those of us who don't like math) and off we went for our 3 mile run. One would think that at such a late hour it wouldn't feel so hot... but it did. Tuesday's runs are always a nice break. After all the miles over the weekend and then Monday's Leg Workout it's nice to just shake things out with a shorter jaunt. I've been noticing that my legs aren't as sore as they should be which tells me it's time to shake things up a little bit in the strength training department. Legs and Abs are the only the body parts I'm working out while I wait to have my MRI on my wrist. Even with this little set back in my training I don't want it to effect my running. I'm sure it will effect my beach appeal but I'm not really to worried about it. Kelly's crazy about me and I notice her checking me out all the time. So back to the running... I played around with my pace a little bit. The first mile I just did an easy warm up, and then ramped it up a little for the second. The third and final mile I kicked it in trying to keep my "5K Race Pace" for the whole mile. This Saturday, Fort Bragg MWR is hosting their monthly "Free Family 5K" on post. It is a timed, but not chipped event. We are going to run it and I am hoping to get a "PR" (Personal Record). This will probably be one of the last 5K's I run before the Marathon. If you live around the Fort Bragg area I strongly suggest you come out to Hendrick Stadium at 8am on Saturday, July 27th. Well it's time to call it a night. Go run!!! I'm going to bed!!!

It's Monday and I got a package in the mail!

So after a nice trip to visit family in SC we got back home to a couple packages waiting at the front door. Kelly got a new pair of running shoes she had ordered and I got the Level 1 Training System from www.Born2Run.com. Eric Orton the author of "The Cool Impossible", and coach of Christopher McDougall, author of "Born to Run", developed a system to first strengthen the feet and then to condition the other supporting muscles used during running. The Training System includes a training wedge, two poles, and a DVD. Since today was an off day from running and "Leg Day" for strength training, I decided to try some of the foot strengthening exercises in between leg exercises. I did come to a realization that my feet need a lot of work. This has been caused by a lifetime of wearing shoes that do the work of my feet. Eric covers a detailed training progression in his book. The DVD just showed proper form for the exercises. This will be a regular topic of discussion here and I suggest something you add to your training program. Strength training will make or break a training program. Now there is a million options for strength training from lifting weights, crossfit, or body weight exercises. These will help prevent injuries and increase your performance. If weight loss is your goal then adding strength training will help your body be more efficient at burning fat. I will be adding those foot strengthening exercising to my routine. My next steps toward my marathon and a lifetime of natural running. 

It's a wrap on week deuce!

So this mornings 9 mile LSD run brought an end to week 2. We went back to the Costal Carolina University's campus to run again. The weather couldn't have cooperated more with us. During the entire run it was overcast with a light breeze and 75 degrees. My attempt at pacing this week was a lot better. I managed to keep a 9:53 minute mile pace. I really never thought that keeping a slower pace than my goal race pace would be such a challenge. There will always be that part of me that wants to just step it out and see what I'm made of... And then there is the other somewhat wiser part that tells me ill never make it 26.2 miles at a sprint. This week we logged in 25 miles. Next week the miles actually drop back some to allow for recovery. Don't worry folks, the following week it ramps right back up. So I was just thinking earlier that I've kind of been just touching on topics as they come up. I welcome any and all comments and/or question. Or I can just ramble on from day to day... Either way I'm going to blog away as the miles go. Just thought I'd open it up a little... As long as this doesn't turn into Dr Phil or Dear Abby. So who else is out there training up for a race? I know Kelly and I aren't the only ones... Or are we?

Visiting family and getting our run on!

Kelly, Mike Jr. and myself are in Conway, SC visiting my Grandma, Aunt, and cousin and her family. Just a nice weekend visit with family. Conway is only about a two hour drive from our humble abode in Raeford. Not sure why we let life get the best of us and not visit more. Today the "Plan" called for a five mile run. It's a good thing this trip came up so we can talk a little about finding run routes while traveling. Luckily I had my family who is familiar with the area here to bounce some run route idea off of them. There were a few I found online that wouldn't have been good to run. A couple could have been downright dangerous. Now I'm no stranger to danger... but I'd rather not dodge crazed "are we almost to Myrtle Beach" drivers in bumper to bumper traffic. We did end up finding a couple routes on the USATF website at the Coastal Carolina University Campus. They have a beautiful campus here in Conway, SC. School is out for the summer so other than a few people showing up for some summer camps we had the place to ourselves. We were able to run around the campus for five fun filled miles. My goal was to run at a 9 minute mile pace... and for once I was actually able to keep my goal pace. Well it averaged out to 8:59 minute a mile pace. Let's just call that close enough. I seem to have a problem with setting a goal pace and keeping with it. The ones I seem to have a hard time with is my LSD (Long, Slow, Distance) runs. Guess we will see what happens tomorrow. Below I've put a couple websites that I have found that were helpful in finding run routes.

1. WalkJogRun - This is probably one of my favorite run route websites. Not only do they have a run route finder, they also have a run route creator and a smart phone app. http://www.walkjogrun.net/

2. USATF - Another great source for finding run routes. This is the website I found the route we ran this morning. http://www.usatf.org/routes/search/

3. Runners World - Not only a good route finding tool, but a great resource for runners of all skill levels. http://rw.runnersworld.com/route/routefinder.html

Switching up the plan a bit for an event!

Here it is another day closer to November 8th. That means there is 113 more days till the OBX Marathon. So according to the "Plan" today should have been an off day, but we decided to switch it up a little so that we could run the 503d MP BN (ABN) Reunion 5K. Since yesterday called for a 3 Mile run we just took yesterday off and ran today. Which worked out in my favor since I ended up bringing home some hardware. Didn't know they had a category for fastest Alumni... But they did and I guess that makes me the fastest "Old Dude" out there. It was great seeing some good friends and always a joy to be around our Nation's finest Paratroopers. I should be packing up right now for our trip to Conway, SC to visit family... but I seem to be typing. This weekend should be interesting because we not only will have to juggle our training runs while visiting family... but also finding run routes in a new area. Thank God for the Internet and IPhone apps. Saturday calls for a 5 mile run and then a 9 mile run on Sunday. Well we just might have to talk about some good resources for runners who travel this weekend. Until then...

Training Day 10 and a little bit of reading

Day 10 draws to an end with FRC's weekly Rite Aid run. Once again I took a wrong turn and went for a little longer run than planned. Not only that but I also started at a little to fast of a pace. This humidity is crazy and it's kicking my butt. The run did put me over 500 miles for the year. I am still lacking some miles from my calf injury earlier this year. Once the mileage starts building up during this marathon training plan I'll catch up in a hurry. So over the last few months I have been doing a bit of reading and wanted to share a few of the titles that I suggest for a good read. Some of them deal with Marathon training but others deal with becoming a better and stronger runner. They do not appear in any order and I've just put a little about the book. I don't want to spoil the read for you. Hope you enjoy and get as much of them as I did.

Born to Run by Christopher McDougall - This book really got me interested in improving my running efficiency. I was hoping the book would go a little more into the bio mechanics of how we were "born to run", but later I read the book by his coach, Eric Ortan, and that filled in the gaps this book left.

Danny Dreyer does a great job in his book on helping to fix many of the issues we face as runner by improper running techniques. He goes into the whole eastern "CHI" thing a little too much for me. But it was still an informative book.

A great book for someone wanting to train up for their first Marathon. Jeff Galloway recommends the Run, Walk, Run method for completing the 26.2 mile race. I have tried his method on 10 mile runs and was able to keep a great pace. Not sure if I'll incorporate it for my Marathon but its still a good book.



This is the book that answered all my questions that I had when I finished reading born to run. Eric goes in great detail how to fix improper running form and gives some detailed training advice. This will be one I'll be rereading several times. Hopefully some of his methods can help with some of my running flaws.

This book and Hal Higdon's training plans are what Kelly and I are basing our Marathon Training Plan from. His book covers training guidance for beginners and experienced runners alike. A must read.

This was my latest read and I will definitely be going into this one some more. Dabby Abshire is the cofounder of Newton Running and has really done a great job in this book in laying down a path to more efficient and "natural" running. Another book I will be using to help me improve my technique.

 

 





Day 9 and training from Jordan Lake State Park

So here we are at Jordan Lake State Park and I have to say we have had perfect weather. The water was a little cool from all the rain we have been getting lately. It was nice to get out this morning and put a few miles in on a completely new course. I kind of wish the "planned" run was a little longer than 3 miles. But, you've got to stick to the plan... Or so "they" say. To change things up a bit I ran with my Merrell Bare Access 2's. They are a zero drop minimalist shoe with some padding along the entire foot. Most days I run with a shoe that has a 4mm drop. One day I hope to completely transition all my run to minimalist running. We ran a mile and a half out and then back. The route from our campsite was a blacktop road that curved with small rolling hills. As I ran along this road with the early morning sun peaking over the tree tops a young deer lept onto the road and began to run with me.... Ok so I saw a deer cross the road. So maybe I'm not quite there yet... But I can dream. So all and all a great morning run. What made the run even better was the post run dip in the lake. Nothing like dropping the shoes and going straight in. The cool water felt so good on my legs. Now if only I had my own lake in either my front or back yard. But I guess thats why they call this a vacation. I think getting a change of scenery can always help liven things up. After months of the same "scenery" while in Afghanistan I sure was ready to get my feet running in the good ol' USA! Time to go cook up some hobo packs. Which by the way are not only a good camping food but also great fuel for the machine (depending on what you put in them).

Day 8

Today is a scheduled day of no running. We did however wake up, get a light breakfast, and then work out legs and abs. We started with Air Squats, then followed with lunges. I have been trying to keep my air squats as deep and explosive as possible. This has really helped with tackling hills on my runs. For our Ab workout, I did 100 sit-ups followed by oblique crunches and White Russians. Of course the beverage would have been a little more enjoyable on a morning like this... but does nothing to help my  accomplish my goals. Later today we will be leaving to go camping at Lake Jordan State Park. We plan on doing some cross training while there by doing some swimming. Tomorrows run will be an easy 3 miler around the park. I am so looking forward to getting away and doing some much needed relaxing. I did get a new piece of equipment for an early birthday present I plan on doing a good test on. I just might have to do a full review on it. I'm sure by now your at the edge of  your seat waiting to hear what this equipment is.... its a hammock!!!! With that I better get off here and help Kelly pack.

1 week down... 17 weeks to go!!!

Today's 8 mile run brought an end to our first week of training. All and all it was a great run. The weather actually played along with us and I felt really good the whole way. What I was really disappointed about is my pace. Now here is the crazy part. I wasn't disappointed that I ran it to slow... I was disappointed that I failed to keep my pace at the goal pace I had set out to run. Now there are a couple goals of a LSD (Long, Slow, Distance) run. First is to get your body used to running both the distance but more importantly the time spent pounding pavement. The other is to get your body used to burning fat stores instead of glycogen. Most trainers say you should run your LSD runs at about a 2 minute per mile slower pace than your goal pace for the marathon. I want to be able to run a sub four hour marathon so I need to run at a 9 minute mile pace. So with that in mind I should run my LSD runs at an 11 minute mile pace. I tried that and I think it hurt me more to run at that pace so I set my goal to run all my LSD runs at a 10 minute mile pace. Today I ran an overall pace of 9:05 minute mile pace. Not really sure how much of an effect that will have on the two goals of my LSD run, but I need to learn to set a pace and keep it. My fear is that come the day of all days... RACE DAY, I will start off at too fast of a pace and I'll burn myself out and not be able to finish in my goal time. I thought that after four months of mostly running on a treadmill in Afghanistan that I would be able to set a pace and keep it. What I found was that running on a treadmill did nothing to help me with pace setting but only to turn off my brain and run. Kelly on the other hand set the same time goal as me and ran a 9:54 minute mile. That is only 6 seconds off of her goal pace. I guess I should have ran with her. Of course that would help with running the pace... just not setting and keeping my own pace. I did some more testing with fueling up mid run today. At 45 minutes into the run I took one GU gel. Most long runs I would take fuel according to the miles. This time I did it by minutes instead of miles. I think that is one change I am going to make to my fuel plan. This way no matter what distance I am and no matter what pace I am running I will be providing my bod the much needed calories it needs. One additional thing I really need to start researching is electrolyte/salt replacement. Saying that I am a heavy sweater is an understatement. To make matters worse I seem to be a salty sweater. So I guess I have some studying to do. So in recap, set a good pace for YOU, listen to your wife, and make sure you give yourself the much needed nutrition/hydration it needs.

5 mile Saturday!

Today starts the first weekend of our training plan. After our Friday off of running I was glad to lace up my running shoes and hit the pavement. Our run route of choice today was our neighborhood. Two laps around the subdivision was exactly five miles. We managed to avoid the rain but with all the humidity in the air I looked like I survived a tropical storm. What didn't help todays activity was this thing called a "cheat day". A poor excuse for a steak sandwich for lunch just sat at the bottom of my gut the whole run. I guess I should be glad it stayed put the whole run. We are trying to eat healthy Sunday through Friday and then go a little crazy on Saturdays. I think I will be a little more careful in the future with my food choices. Cheat days are supposed to be fun and exciting. The pizza I had topped full of greasy meaty goodness made up for my earlier failure at lunch. The true test will be tomorrow morning. Sundays are our scheduled LSD runs... and just in case your wondering... that stands for Long, Slow, Distance. Week ones LSD run is a 8 mile run. We are going to go to the Cape Fear River Trail and meet up with some other running friends in the morning. The CFRT is a 4 mile paved trail that goes between Clark Park in the south end and the Jordan Soccer Complex to the north. On the north end of the trail there is 3 nice hills that are always a joy to traverse. This is why we plan on starting at the south end so the hills are in the middle of our run and not at the end. I plan on playing around with fuel gels on tomorrows run. So far of the gels I've tried I think I like the GU brand. They seem to digest with no drama while running. Mid race fueling is one thing that I need do some more research on. Well my alarm is going to go off in about 6 hours. Goodnight and I'll see you on the trail tomorrow.

TGIF

So we've made it to the second rest day of the training week before we launch into some longer miles this weekend. It should be arms and abs in the gym today, but since I just found out I might have a torn ligament in my wrist... We will just call it a full day off. This is a good time to discuss how important rest and recovery is. This training injury will hopefully not impact my running at all but will have a big impact on my lifting. Could this have been avoided by incorporating more down time??? Was it an issue of improper form??? Either way I am in brace and will have to schedule an MRI on Monday. Best case I take a few weeks off from lifting... Worse case is surgery with months of recovery and physical therapy. Of course any injury is a big pain... In more ways than one, but it seems this year has been one injury after another. My body has gone through a lot in the last year. I quit smoking after 20 years... put on an extra 25 pounds of fat... joined the Fayetteville Running Club.. lost 40 pounds... and got myself a little closer to my physical fitness goals. During that time I had a bad sprain in my left baby cow (calf), a pulled hamstring, and now this wrist injury. When is a guy going to get a break. Well one thing these injuries have made me think a lot about is making sure I'm taking care of business outside of the gym and off the run routes. Rest, recovery, hydration, and the biggest of all challenges... a proper diet. Today's bad new also came with some good news. I saw a dietiacian who performed a Lunar iDXA Body Composition Analysis on me. I was concerned that I was beginning to lose to much weight since I dropped below my goal weight of 240. A side effect of running 30 miles a week. Good news is that I am at a good weight for my height and build. It was crazy to see the results and find out the bottom line of your body makeup. Today I weighed in at 228lbs with 32lbs of fat, 10 lbs of bone, and 186lbs of lean muscle. My bodyfat percentage was at 14.7%. Another thing this test told me is my bone density is at the top of the chart for my age and gender. Guess drinking that milk helped. I understand the average runner isn't going to go out at get scanned... I wouldn't have myself if it wasn't for it being available. But this validation of the last six months of hard worked helped ease the pain a bit of not knowing what's the deal is with my wrist. Well if your still with me at this point and I haven't bored you to tears... Listen to your body. Push yourself, but not till you break. I guess I'll be reading up on how to properly fuel and feed instead of pumping iron for awhile. Fingers crossed I don't have to get cut on.

And on the 4th Day.... Mike and Kelly ran!!!

Today was a short refreshing run. The "Plan" called for three miles and I was happy to oblige. Luckily the wonderful weather we have been in having here in sunny North Carolina held off long enough for us to get our miles in. Just because the run was short doesn't mean this blog entry has to be. Let's talk about shoes... not about brands or the thickness of padding or lack there of, but about the need to replace them. I am in no way an expert BUT... I know I'm wearing the soles out faster and faster as I increase my mileage. I've been doing a fair amount of reading on the subject and since you can believe just about everything you read on the Internet (like this blog), I figure there are way to many opinions. One online article that I read that kind of caught my attention basically said that you should let your body tell you when it's time to change. There are so many factors that can come into play from the type of shoe, size and gait of the runner, the running surface, and of course the amount of miles. Some runners can get 600 miles out of a pair of shoes, where is a fellow like me seems to burn through a pair in about 300 miles. I do notice a huge difference when I do switch out which tells me that I fall into the same category that a lot of us runners who are without sponsors.... we don't replace our shoes often enough. The other topic that was brought up was allowing a shoe to rest for 24 to 48 hours between runs. The theory is that the foam in the sole takes that long to recover from being between you and the pavement for X number of miles. Now I'm not telling you to run out and buy another pair of running shoes... but if you'd like to donate to the Mike Running Shoes Foundation... So with some of that deployment money I went out on a limb and ordered two pairs of running shoes to replace my wore out pair. I have marked the pairs "1" and "2" and hopefully I can remember to switch them out on every other run. Hopefully this will not only allow my shoes to last a bit longer but also keep me injury free as we go along this journey towards OBX.

Training day 3 and the weekly Rite Aid FRC Run

Oh how time flies... it's hard to believe that we already finished day 3 of our training plan. Just think, we still have 122 days until OBX. I guess that's what the cool kids are calling the Outer Banks Marathon. Today was back day in the gym and then we met up at the Rite Aid in Fayetteville for the weekly Fayetteville Running Club Run there. For those of you that haven't made it out for this run let me paint you a little picture.... the course is a little over a five mile, through a nice neighborhood, up and down some "nice" hills, and then back to Rite Aid. There is several other versions of this route one could possibly take. Let's say that someone just came back from Afghanistan and the last time they ran the routes it was winter and dark out when he used to run the routes. This person might say... take the wrong turn... and maybe end up running a little longer than planned. If any of you are worried at this point he is ok. He only ended up running six miles instead of the planned route. When all was said and done it was a good run. Kelly also enjoyed the run, but I think she was digging it so much because of the after effects of working out legs with me on Monday. Air squats and lunges have a way of doing that. Tomorrow should be another exciting day in Marathon Training land. The "Plan" calls for a three mile run and I've got Shoulders and Traps in the gym. On that note it's time for bed.

Is it day 2 already????

A gentle ringing breaks the silence of slumber for two weary runners.... Oh wait that's my alarm! Time to get up and get on the road. Today the "plan" calls for a three mile run. Since we haven't landed any sponsors as of yet and must keep a day job it looks like an early morning run today. Someone isn't a morning person... But we'll keep that our little secret. This will be one interesting challenge we hope to successfully juggle. Training for a Marathon and the rest of life. We snap a little pre-run pic and then off we go. Luckily our subdivision offers a decent run route as long as you only plan on doing a few miles. Got our three miles in and felt yesterday's leg workout along the way. I have been using body weight leg exercises to help keep my legs strong and hopefully prevent injury while not bulking up like I would if I used weighted exercises. The downside is Tuesdays run is always a joy, but I will say over time it gets better. Later today I'll hit the gym for a chest workout but for now it's time to shower, eat some breakfast, and get to work. 

Day 1 of the next 18 Weeks

Welcome! Today is the beginning of several things and the continuation of others. Not only is this the first post on my attempt at a blog, but also day 1 of Marathon Training. Not going to bad since today being a Monday was a day off running. But before I get ahead of myself lets go back a little in time. My wife Kelly and I had just quit smoking (again) and in an desperate attempt at not falling off the wagon we decided to start running together and then joined a running club. Being an 18 year veteran of the Army, I have logged some miles over the years and Kelly had run on and off since running in high school, we figured that seemed to be the way to go to keep us from starting smoking again. Well let's just say that we are both hooked. It has now been a year since either of us has smoked and we are ready to start the next adventure... training up to run 26.2 miles or as some refer to as a Marathon. Which brings us to this blog and what we are doing here. I will admit this is more for me than for anyone else. Hopefully I can share some lessons learned either of what to do or what not to do. But at the end of the day this is my way of recording the journey from now till... well I guess we will just have to see. The training plan we will be using is modified from Hal Higdon's Intermediate Marathon Training Guide.

http://www.halhigdon.com/training/51139/Marathon-Intermediate-1-Training-Program 

We have signed up for the Harrisburg Half Marathon on September 8th (9 weeks away) and the Outer Banks Marathon on November 10th (18 weeks away). These two races mark both the halfway and end of this next little adventure or as I refer to it... 2013 the year of the Marathon.

So on to today's training. We did a short leg and abs workout and then took the bikes for a little 5 mile spin around the neighborhood. Seems a little strange to have day 1 of a Marathon Training Plan to not include running, but lets roll with it.