Big wheels keep on turning!

As I mentioned in my last post, I am adding some mountain and road cycling into my training plan. I have been doing some mountain biking on the weekends but just this last Monday I picked up the first road bike I've owned since I was 16. I went back to the same place where I purchased Kelly's road bike and our mountain bikes to get my road bike. But before we get to that lets take a step back to the weeks prior.

Shortly after I decided that alter my stance on being a "one event" kind of guy, Kelly had found that there would be the Fayetteville-Cumberland County Metric Century Ride to raise funds for the Special Olympics. Now the exciting part of this was that the ride was six days after returning from almost a month long trip. The ride would also have a 12 and 30 mile course for those that weren't ready to brave the 62 mile route. Of course part of me wanted to just go all out but we decided that we would do the 30 mile route instead. Now to start gathering all the things and maybe a little info I would need for this newly added sport in my life

Since I was going to be gone for a little over three  weeks I planned on using as much of that time as possible to prepare what I could. I needed to get a bike, clip-in peddles, shoes, helmet, and some appropriate clothing (lots of spandex). This might seem like a pretty simple task for most but when you're 6' 5" it becomes a bit of a scavenger hunt.

To get the first think on the list I called Hawley's Bike World in Fayetteville and ordered a Contend 3 by Giant. This is Giants entry level road bike and fit the budget I set aside for the bike. If I ever get to the point that I need more bike I will worry about it then. For now I'll worry more about the engine powering the bike. Since they had the size I needed in stock I purchased it over the phone so it would be ready for me upon my return. I was also informed that I would get a free fitting when I came in and picked up my bike.

To try and find biking shoes I went to every bicycle or sports store in all three of the cities that I was traveling to and no one had anything close to my size. I wasn't really surprised since even my running shoes have to be ordered online. You know what they say, big feet.... lots of frustration in finding shoes! Road bike shoes come in European sizes and I guess there aren't a lot of bikers with size 51 shoes. I was able to find a pair made by Shimano in my size. The other piece of gear that I was a little worried about finding was a jersey. These need to be longer in the torso than a normal shirt and since my torso is a little longer than the average males I was afraid I would be wearing what appeared to be a midriff on my rides. Luckily for me and anyone that might see me cycling, Kelly found a cycling outfitter that sold tall men's cycling apparel.

I flew back Morning and drove to Hawley's to pick up my bike and have it fitted. This whole process went a lot quicker than I thought it would go and I also got some riding tips from the gentlemen who did the fitting. I was also able to pick up the rest of the gear I needed while I was there. Now armed with all the equipment I would need I just need to get in a couple training rides before my debut into cycling fame 5 days later.

Kelly and I did two training rides to help me practice riding and helpful little tasks like clipping in and out of your peddles. The first ride was a little over 7 miles long and we tried to find different challenges I would find out on the road. Things like turns, intersections, railroad tracks, and cars all add to the experience of cycling. My second ride was out on the back roads of Fort Bragg where Kelly does some of her training rides. This is also the same area where we would do some of our longer runs. This time we rode five miles out and then back. This ride let me really open it up and also experience a little taste of a cyclists other joy... hills! With two training rides in I was ready for Saturday morning.

 Since this was my first cycling event I wasn't really sure what to expect. We had waited to do same day registration because of some weather we had here locally. This did cause them to have to do a last minute adjustment to the route but nothing that was going to stop the event. The Fayetteville-Cumberland County Parks and Recreation did a great job setting up this event with the help of one of the local bicycle shops. There was quite the mix of different types bikes and riders at this event. This was a fund raiser that was meant to be a fun ride in support of a good cause and was not a timed event. The 30 mile course had one rest stop at the halfway point where some volunteers had water, Gatorade, bagels and some bananas. With this only my third ride and my first ride with this many cyclist I had something new to get used to. I'm not really sure how much of a fan I am of riding in a group. It reminded me of those large formation runs in the Army where it seems no one knows how to set a pace and stick with it. The slinky effect was really bad in the group we had settle in with and I was happy when we parted ways.

We finished the ride in under two hours and I remember thinking that part of me wished we had chose the longer course to ride. I am sure I would have regretted that at some point prior to mile 62 so it was probably good we went with the 30 mile course. I really was glad we did the 30 mile course the next day when I did my long training run for the half marathon I signed up for. I didn't really feel that sore from the ride but I remember as I was gutting out the 7 mile run that my legs just felt really, really tired and heavy. I guess this will be something I will have to let me body get used to as I start to incorporate more riding into my training plan. But since it is all about the miles, this last week I was able to log over 70 miles including both my riding and running!

I'm back at it again!

I just realized that it has been over two years since I've logged on here and jotted down my thoughts. To be quite honest it is probably because I've been a bit (totally) embarrassed by what wasn't going on. I will give a quick recap for those of you that might not be following closely to my day to day life. Of course if you want the full story there are over forty posts on this blog that will inform, inspire, and satisfy all your curiosities. Not back to my recap... smoked for 20 years, quit, got fat, realized that I didn't like that, started running, fell in love, began training for a marathon, had wrist surgery, ran marathon, had hernia surgery, tried to get back into running... and that is where this blog dies off. 

Well before I begin to fill you in on the last two years that is missing from this blog I want to admit something. I let those two surgeries kick my mental butt. It isn't what happened and I'm sure I could muster some virtual group hugs and cyber sympathy but the truth of the matter is that I let life (those uncontrollable things) knock me down. So the last two years have been a roller coaster of ups and downs in both my running and my weight. Now that we have that out of the way lets move one to the the present day and where we are taking this thing.

This blog started off to document Kelly and I training for a marathon but I've realized that for me this is a little bit more. I want to document, maybe a little more for me but also to share with you, part of my journey of both my physical fitness training but maybe a little bit of life also. I recently turned 40 and I hope that what I'm doing now will help me continue on my journey for many years to come. Sometimes I joke about the aches and pains that come with spending my whole adult life as a Soldier and Paratrooper in the Army are not the contribution of the years but of the miles we've put on our bodies. So with that in mind I want this blog to be about the journey, both the things that knock us off our training goals and also the things that drive us to continue on despite those set backs.

I decided that I'm nowhere near ready to give up and that I need to get back at it. With that being said I've signed up for a half marathon which will be on November 19th and just started my third week of a 12 week training plan to prepare for it. I will also be adding some additional activities which may or may not be against my prior claim of being a "one event type of guy". I recently purchased a mountain bike and will be looking at purchasing a road bike also. Kelly and I have decided to begin training for a cross state bicycle ride next year that will last over 7 days. I invite you to subscribe to this blog and join me in my journey and I'd love to read your thoughts in the comments below. 

Where this thing going? Oh that way!!!

I know I haven't been on here much and that's partly because I haven't decided which direction I want to take with this blog. I started it to document Kelly and my first Marathon training plan. As we all know (or you can go back and read about it) we completed our first Marathon last November in OBX.

We are now training up for other events but this time separately. Kelly has transitioned to Triathlons this year and I am going to try my hand in the Ultra world. Kelly is currently training for the Beach to Battleship Half Ironman in October and I am training for the Old Glory Trail Trot 50K in November.

http://www.beach2battleship.com/

http://www.oldglorytrailtrot.com/

So as we move forward (can't go back at this point) I hope that I can continue to share my experiences and lessons learned either so you can get a good chuckle at some of my training mishaps or that it will help you in your training and reaching your goals. If there is something that you'd like to see or read about here feel free to shoot me a message. But for now I'm going to waddle around on some sore legs from yesterdays 14 mile run.

It's been awhile.. time to get back to training!!!

Some of  you might have wondered what happened to this blog and with my training... well don't worry so have I. But it's time to get back to training and this time I am going to train for a 50K. I realized that I had an empty spot on the back window of my truck that another sticker would fill.

I wanted to make sure that I had plenty of time to train up for the event. My running has really been hit or miss since healing up from my hernia surgery. The doctor has cleared me and I'm ready to go. The 50K I found was the Old Glory Trail Trot on November 15th, 2014. This is a local race here in NC that benefits the Old Glory Legacy Foundation. Here is their mission direct from their page at http://www.oglfoundation.org/

THE OLD GLORY LEGACY FOUNDATION BRINGS SOLDIERS AND THEIR FAMILIES TOGETHER TO BUILD STRONG FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS AND LASTING MEMORIES THROUGH OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES.

Now I haven't finalized my training plan but I know that's something I need to get cracking on. Of course now I have too because of this blog (its on the internet so I has to be true). Over the next week I'll be making up a training plan (or more accurately... modifying someone else's plan). So for now I'll pass the link so any of you that are in the area can sign up also and train with me. http://www.oldglorytrailtrot.com/

I feel just a little lost...

So its been 25 days since we ran the OBX Marathon. Our first of hopefully many more to come. Since then I've ran another half marathon and signed up for several 10ks and a 50k in the next few months. I really didn't take much of a break after the marathon. Well I actually took three days off if you call that a break. I did take a week off the Turkey Trot Half Marathon I ran on the 23rd of November. Now that I've been back to running this weekend I feel a little lost.

For the last four or five months it seemed that my plan guided me from one run to the next. Now that I don't have a plan in front of my I'm not really sure what to make of it. At first it was kind of nice to be able to just run what you wanted to run at whatever pace you wanted to run at. But now part of me misses that structure I had.

This year I've been kind of brutal with my body. Tearing a calf muscle, pulling a hamstring, a TFCC tear in my wrist, and all those many miles. 1020 so far this year... but who's counting? So now is the time that I should be figuring out a good rest cycle to help my body heal up a bit. But somehow I signed up for a 50k shortly after the new year.

A 50 kilometer run would equal roughly 31.0686 miles according to the google machine. That's about 5ish miles longer than that marathon I ran in November that I didn't come close to my time "goal" on. What would cause a human being to sign up for such a thing? A good deal! That's right the NC Fat Ass 50k held on the All American Trail on Fort Bragg, NC on the 25th of January is free! I fat ass event is a race that isn't sponsored, or timed, or even supported by anyone other than a few volunteers. Race times are recorded by the participants on the honor system.

I don't know about you, but that just seemed like the perfect opportunity to enter the Ultra Marathon World. Part of me hopes that by getting my old body accustomed to running longer than 26.2 miles it will make a marathon seem like cake. Well I've got 50 days to get by butt into shape. Time to get unlost and get a training plan on track.

Sixteen weeks and 26.2 miles

The day has finally come for the Outer Banks Marathon. An event that we have been training for what seems like an eternity. Its hard to believe that its over... well at least this one. There were friends of ours running several of the races this weekend. A few of them ran multiple races. But what's a 8K one day followed by a Half Marathon the next? My hats off to them! Fayetteville Running Club and the Fort Bragg Chapter of Team RWB were in full force. We did run into another Team RWB runner from the DC Chapter.

The morning air was a bit chilly but at only 48 degrees is seemed worse than it was. Maybe it was the cool breeze coming off the ocean. Either way the skies were clear and we were ready to run. The course started off in Kitty Hawk, NC heading south along the Inter-Coastal Waterway side of the Outer Banks. The locals were out in full force cheering us on as we ran through their neighborhoods. From there we ran down to Kill Devil Hills, NC and around the Wright Brothers Memorial. So after that the adventure began. We found ourselves running on a dirt trail through the woods for about the next 3 miles or so. It felt like an eternity. I'm not sure if it was the hills and dirt or that I just wasn't expecting it. Either way we made it and found ourselves back on pavement.

The rest of the course was a mix of residential and open road. Other than the miles and the wind the next challenge would be the "Bridge". To make matters worse the bridge is strategically located at mile 22 of the course.

If I hadn't been so tired from the previous miles it really wouldn't be that big of a deal. Between the hills several of the races in Fayetteville and the hills in our Wednesday night run I would like to think I don't do to bad on hills. I feel no shame is saying I walked a step or two on that bridge. Once the decent from the bridge was done it was only a few short miles to the finish. Kelly made it to the finish at a smoking 4:01:47!!!

I'm glad we had some friends there to capture forever the look on her face. I know I am proud of her. I came in about 21 minutes later at 4:22:10. My only small complaint is that according to Garmin the course was a quarter mile long. It's hard to believe that its actually over. We have spent the good part of the last four months training and preparing for this day. Our first Marathon is in the bag. Guess it's time to start planning the next adventure. Maybe a Ultra Marathon?!?! After all it's all about the miles!!!!!

We have arrived in OBX!

After a short four hour drive from Raeford to Kill Devil Hill, NC we are here and all checked in at the hotel. This is one day that being a Gold Hilton Honors member came in handy. They upgraded our room to one that faces the ocean.

We still have two days till the race so there is plenty of time to cause some trouble. Tomorrow we are supposed to run two miles. This will be our last training run before the big race. We drove part of the course today on the way to packet pick-up.

The Expo for the race was full of different vendors just waiting to share their goods with us for a slight fee. There was one running shoe store that had some killer prices. We picked up a pair of Merrell Running shoes for Kelly for over 50% off. Now starts the waiting game... I so ready to get this going!!!!

Time to taper!

First off I'd like to give a big congratulations to all the runners who completed their first Half and Full Marathons over the weekend. As fall is finally in full swing so is the race season. Kelly and I had the privilege to help at the City of Oaks Marathon in Raleigh, NC yesterday. Team Red, White, and Blue were out in full force manning one of the water stations on the course. I'm sure Kelly was more helpful than me since she handed out water and I just offered a few words of encouragement. FRC was also in full force out on the course both with runners and supporters. It was inspiring to see they people give everything to push their bodies across that finish line. I can only hope that next week my first Marathon is more on the inspiring side and less on the going to make it on YouTube video of funny marathon finishes side.

Today starts week 16 of our journey to OBX. Last night we ran 8 miles in the neighborhood to finish off the previous 15 weeks of training. This week we have three shorter distance run before we tackle the training run of all training runs. Well that is until I get a wild hair somewhere and attempt a longer distance. I'm sure after next Sunday, Kelly and I will have plenty of lessons learned and things we would do differently next time. As of right now I hope I can take full advantage of this taper and physically and mentally prepare for OBX.

Im back!!!

I want to start off by first saying a huge "Thank you!" to my wife Kelly. It has been 18 days since my surgery and she hasn't killed me. For the first two weeks after surgery she did everything from help me shower to tie my shoes. Today was actually the first day since the surgery that I did both on my own. But lets not get a head of ourselves.

I woke up from surgery with a big surprise of being in a cast and being told by my surgeon, "It was worse than we thought". To add insult to injury, I was also told I couldn't run for at least two weeks. I will paraphrase the next two weeks... no running, shower with a trash bag over my arm, can't seem to figure out how to be left handed, go to work in slipper because they don't haves laces... did I miss anything? I finally had my post op appointment on Tuesday to find out just how bad it was. I didn't just tear the ligament...it was a complete rupture that had to be repaired. I also found out that I had a good deal of arthritis that had to be cleaned up. So instead of a cute little incision that I was expecting... I got to see this when the nurse cut off the cast.

The good new is that The doc said I could start running as long as I gave it another 24 hours and kept my new brace on all the time. This new brace is a two piece plastic form fitted contraption that keeps me from attempting to do anything dumb with my right hand. Kelly came up with the idea of wearing a warm up sleeve on under the brace to keep the plastic from rubbing my skin. This also gave me a washable option since they just gave me something that resembled a mix between an old sock and an ace wrap. Not something that was going to hold up to daily running and washing. Internet shopping and overnight delivery brought me two pairs of warm up sleeves. Yes, that's four sleeves with thumb holes and moisture wicking goodness.

Tonight was my second run since my surgery and it feels so good to be back out pounding pavement. My first run back was a three mile run immediately followed by a five mile cool down on Wednesday night (I was told three miles was a good distance  for my first run back). I could feel each and every bit of those 8 miles the next day. I never claimed to be the brightest bulb on the tree. Tonight I ran five miles around the neighborhood. Kelly is out running the Tuna 200 relay with our Running Club Team so I had to figure out how to tie my shoes all by myself. Right now Kelly is running her second leg of the relay which is 9 miles long.

Now I have to figure out how to get back on track for OBX. I already missed one of the two 20 mile runs in our training program. The last one is supposed to be this Sunday. Do I suck it up and go for the 20 even though I had a two week hiatus from running? Do I not and start the plans tapering next week? Either way I need to be prepared to run 26.2 miles on November 10th... possibly with my brace on.   

About to be left handed for awhile!

Today is the last day in the ninth month of the this year. Today is also a Monday, the first day of week thirteen of our training plan. What I hadn't planned on was that today is the day I will be having my little repair done to my wrist. Here in about ten minutes we will begin our journey to the surgery center where hopefully magic will happen. Although I can't wait to get healed up and get back in the gym, I am just hoping this doesn't have to much of an impact on my training. As of the last time I met with the surgeon, she said I could still train for the Marathon as long as I took a week off after the surgery. Hopefully after getting "opened" up she will feel the same way.

My attempt at being left handed should be quite comical.. well for Kelly at least. I bet typing with one hand will nice and slow. I really can't think of one thing that I use just my left hand for... its either my right or both.

Well Kelly just said we need to get going. So here it goes...

Just one of the side effects

So it's been about 11 months now since me and Kelly began running as a "hobby". Ok, so it had more to do with one of the side effects we suffered from quitting smoking... weight gain. Either way we have put in a few miles since then and seen some pleasant side effects. Another thing we have been trying to do is eat a little healthier. Neither of us have any plans to eat bark and leaves, but we would like to think we have been improving our daily diet. A big step was trying to cut out as much processed sugar out of our diet. We also try and make as much of our meals from scratch as possible. This always is a challenge with both of our jobs and our training schedule. I figure as long as little by little we improve our intake and continue to increase our energy expenditure something amazing will come of it all... right?

This brings us to today's little adventure. Friday after work we met up at the South Post Commissary on Fort Bragg to do our weekly grocery shopping. With fall finally approaching I saw one of my favorite seasonal beverages... Apple Cider!!! I grabbed a gallon jug of the fruity swill but before I set it in the cart I took a glance at the ingredients to make sure there wasn't any added sugar. Apples... check... Potassium sorbate... what? Sodium benzoate... Huh? For some reason now I needed to know what magically ingredients were added to cider that I so craved. Oh, just some preservatives that are commonly added to beverages and other food items. That can't be so bad.. or can it? I should have stopped reading there and remained happily ignorant. But no one ever said I was the brightest bulb on the tree (yes I know it isn't Christmas time yet). 

Sodium benzoate found in beverages are at levels that are below those considered dangerous for consumption. Oh that makes me feel so much better. Solid potassium sorbate (which is rarely encountered in food) is a skin, eye and respiratory irritant. But what about the form found in Cider? Now I'm sure that neither of these preservatives will cause me to grow a third nipple or catch the gout, but it does make you think a little about all the added goodies that the experts put in our food.

Well Today I was going to do something about it. Today is the day I was going to give Apple Cider its freedom from all that is unnatural. I decided to attempt to make my own apple cider. My google machine hummed to life and soon I had all the knowledge I needed to create my autumn swill.

With the help of Kelly's high powered food preparing device I was able to finish the first step of my project. I used a three bags of different types of Apples and began to grind away. Already this was beginning to be a pricey endeavor. This was about nine dollars of some of the commissary's best apples. Soon I had a large bowl full of what looked like soupy apples sauce. Now I began to strain away the sweet juices that would make at least a gallon of cider (or so I thought). After two different sized strainers I was finished...

 

 

 

 

What?!?!?! is that all my labors and nine bucks of apples made? I will say that it tasted so much better than what I could have purchased in the store. I also have a huge bowl of home made apple sauce that is just one of the side effects.

    

Who put that wall there?!?!?!

So it's been a while but I'm back. Once again I was out and about traveling on business last week. Another week spent finding new and exciting locations near my hotel to run. But that's not really what we are here for, now are we? This last week the mileage did increase yet again. We ran 5 miles on Tuesday, 8 on Wednesday, 5 on Thursday, 8 on Saturday and then 18 miles on Sunday. Sunday was a first for a couple things for me. First off it was the longest I've run so far in my short existence on earth and also the first time I hit a major...

Sunday mornings run started off great. The weather actually was playing along for once. It was cool, overcast, with a very slight mist in the air... Perfect for getting in some miles. Off we went... then at around the 12 mile mark there it was...ARGH!!!! For the next six miles I questioned many things to include everything from what was I doing to what did I do differently this last week. Was I getting enough sleep, enough water, enough fuel... was I increasing the mileage to fast???? Why was I able to run 17 miles last Sunday strong and still feel like I could have run farther? Or was it a combination of all of it? The remainder of the day I sat around sore without much motivation to do much.

The Monday morning came and to my surprise... I wasn't near as sore as I thought I would be. What evil voodoo had befallen me to reek such havoc on my training? So after a little thought and reflection this is what I've come up with.

1. It happens. It's not a common thing but there is just going to be some runs that suck... try to prevent it, but deal with it when it does happen.

2. What you do, don't do, eat, don't eat, drink, or don't drink will effect your performance either positively or negatively. Some of this will be in our control and some won't.

3. Everyone of us will hit a wall at some point... it's what we do after that abrupt collision that is important.

I have spent the majority of my adult life involved is some sort of physical fitness activity. I have never really experienced the physical and emotional event like I did for those last 6 miles. But I will say that I am glad I got a taste of it on a training run and not during a race. I am sure there might be a couple other walls in my future and hopefully I will be a little more prepared to not only try and prevent it but also to be able to push through it when it does happen.

No we weren't lost!?!?!?!

What exactly were two runners doing walking down State Route 22 in Southern Pines this morning? Now that seems like a fairly silly question to be asking... one, aren't they runners? and two, how did they get there? Well my friends you are about to find out. But before we get two carried away, don't you want to hear about my week?

Now I know this might come as a surprise to some of you, but once again I was out gallivanting about the country in service to Uncle Sam. This little trip led me to the home of Country Music. My Tuesday run ended up being on the treadmill at the hotel. This was the first time I had been back on a treadmill since returning from the "Stan". Although I can stomach running on a treadmill, I wouldn't say that it's my first choice. So off I went (not going anywhere at all) for four miles of fun. As with most treadmill runs there isn't really much to talk about... so I won't. Lucky for me, my schedule Wednesday morning was pretty open and I was able to get my 8 miles in on the open road. One downside to staying at a hotel right near an airport is there is limited routes you can run. I was able to figure out a route with the help of the WalkJogRun App. What I wasn't mentally or spiritually prepared for was all the hills that just so happened to be along my route. I should have known better since I lived in that part of the country for a few years. But there I was screaming, "Why, God, Why!?!?!?!". Ok, so that might be a slight exaggeration but you get the picture. My work schedule on Thursday once again forced me back into the small closet of a gym at the hotel and back on the treadmill. This time I was going to put those four miles to good use and practiced my reverse splits. That is one thing a treadmill makes easier... either keep up or get thrown off.

Let's get back to this story of those two weary runners. In our continual attempt at keeping the routes fresh and new, we decided to drive the 45 minutes from our house to the Reservoir Park in Southern Pines. There is a two mile trail that goes around... yep you guessed it, a Reservoir. Off this said trail there is multiple other offshoot trails that goes who knows where. I am sure there is someone that does know this jewel of information. I would even go out on a limb and say they have said information available on the world wide web. Well, lets just say this adventurous duo didn't really plan out a route. So off they went this way and that... down one trail till it dead ended, and then back to another offshoot. This time there were a few twists and turns and what appeared to be a loop trail. Well before they knew it their 8 miles was finished... what they didn't know was that the journey was long from over.

To make sure our hero's of the story didn't over do it, they began to walk thinking the loop they were sure to be on would finally intersect... it never did and they soon found themselves at a trail head nowhere near Reservoir Park and their vehicle. The city of Southern Pines was nice enough to place a map at the trail head which showed the way back. Option one was to retrace the trail they way they had come or to follow the road back to Reservoir Park. Option two seemed like the shorter distance so off they went. Its funny what strange things you happen on while wondering aimlessly down the road. As we passed a church parking lot there stood a fairly large woman with her arms raised to the sky screaming in some foreign language or speaking in tongues. That's stuff you just can't make up. Well our travelers did finally make their way back to Reservoir Park and their vehicle. Who would have thought there would be a three and a half mile cool down walk at the end of the 8 mile run. All in all it was a great run on some good trails. Next time I think we will plan our route out a bit more. Good thing tomorrow is a 17 mile day!!!

Halfway there!!!!

So with the completion of the 13.1 miles of the Harrisburg Half Marathon we arrived at the halfway point of our journey to OBX. It seems a little crazy to think of it as the halfway. I am pretty excited about both Kelly and my results. Going up north to race in weather that was about 10 degrees cooler and 10 percent less humidity helped. All and all it was an amazing weekend. A great race and a good mini vacation. Friday nights murder mystery dinner on the riverboat was a really good time and a good reason to get all dressed up

Saturday probably wasn't a good day for our training... we visited Hershey, Pennsylvania. Now, I'm not the biggest fan of chocolate but they were literally giving it away. We did have a good time in addition to having way more chocolate than is good for any living creature. They have things for kids of all ages. I actually learned a lot, both about how chocolate is made and about the man that made it famous. I never knew that Milton Hershey was such a philanthropist. This world would be a much better place if we had a few more men like him.

Now let's talk about the race. I can't even begin to give this event enough credit. The course was along the Susquehanna River in downtown Harrisburg, PA. The course started and finished on City Island, a small island in the middle of the river. The rest of the course was either on multi use trails along the river or on a frontage road near the river. The early fall weather in Pennsylvania was perfect for running. It was 66 degrees with 73% humidity when we started off at 8am on Sunday morning.

I think the cooler weather really helped my performance in this event (note that this is the third time I mention the weather... can you tell I'm from Ohio?). My overall time was 1:46:06 which was a 8:03 minute mile pace. As this was the first Half Marathon I ever raced it was a PR for me. Out of 1,034 participants I placed 167th and 132nd out of 460 males. In my age category I was 29th out of 72. Overall I was very glad in performance. I still wonder if I could have pushed it a little more. The overall winner ran at a 5:30 pace so I don't think I could have kept up with him.

I would recommend a destination race as a great vacation any day. Our weekend in Harrisburg was relaxing, fun and just happened to include a Half Marathon. There are so many great locations in this country I am hoping to see as we plan many more mini vacations around our future races.

 

Hopefully just a small bump in the road...

I had my appointment today with Dr. Barrie at the Fayetteville Ortho Clinic to find out what needs to be done to fix my wrist. After reviewing my MRI and X-Ray results and trying to make my wrist do things I don't think it's supposed to do, to include a very loud pop, the good doctor informed me that not only do I have a TFCC tear but is disconnected from the head of the Ulna.

They scheduled me for surgery on September 30th. The procedure is an outpatient surgery which should only take around an hour for her to "tack" the TFCC back to my ulna and repair whatever else she finds in there that is messed up. I will have to wear a brace and splint that will completely immobilize my forearm, wrist, and hand for 6 weeks. Guess what just happens to be six weeks after my surgery... OBX. She said that if I take some time off right after the surgery to let the incision site heal a bit before I start running. Hopefully worse case I should only have to take a week off running. Even a bigger hopefully this doesn't impact the big day six weeks later. But what this does do is put me out of the running for our October event... the Tuna 200 mile relay.

I ask the doctor about when I would be able to start lifting again and she told me that I would be able to get back to lifting sooner if I had broken my arm... I guess I won't even be able to do something as simple as a push-up for about six months.

So on a good note we ran our four miles tonight around the neighborhood. I set my Garmin to view the current time while I ran. I wanted to see what kind of pace I kept without checking my pace as I ran. I was actually very surprised that I kept a pretty even pace for the entire run. My average pace ended being a 8:19 minute mile pace.     

Has it really been 8 weeks?

Today marks the end of the 8th week or our 18 week Marathon training plan. It's hard to believe that we are still a week shy of the halfway point and the Harrisburg Half Marathon. In these last eight weeks we have ran over 240 miles and burned an estimated 47,000 calories (not that I'd put much faith in calorie estimation). That puts us 55 days into our 125 day journey to OBX. That is 70 days and only God and Hal Higdon knows how many miles until we race our first Marathon. The day we run the Outer Banks Marathon we still will have 26.2 miles or 46.1648 kilometers or 138,336 feet (depending on your favorite unit of measure).

With all of todays high tech training tools available to an athlete there is one that is easily overlooked... The Donut of Misery!!! This is a tool I commonly use while deployed in far away third world countries that I seem to frequent to help me chart my stay. A couple easy changes and BAM!! A perfect training tool to help keep you aware of where you are in your timeline to your goal or event.

I guess we should talk about today's little jaunt. The "plan" called for a 15 mile run and who am I to break from the plan. We chose to do two laps around the Pope Army Airfield flight line and then some. Our attempt to get an early start wasn't as successful as we had hoped. I had set the alarm for 5am but then by the time we ate breakfast, packed everything up, and drove to Pope it was already after 630am and the sun was beginning to creep above the horizon. The 100% humidity was pretty evident right from the get go. Even with a hydration vest with a .75L Camelback I could never seem to take in enough water to make up for how much I was sweating due to the humidity. Once I was finished and back at the Pope Park where we started and finished the run, I continued to hydrate and drank a protein shake. I could tell I was going to feel the after effects of this run.

Now back at the house, showered, fed, and typing away I can feel the after effects of the run. We are both relaxing in our compression socks (yes, Kelly finally broke down and got a pair) and looking forward to Labor Day... a day to celebrate and take a small break from running. I think my body is telling me I need to rest.  

 

Back from my travels

Well it's been two long weeks and I'm finally back from my travels abroad. Spent some time in beautiful eastern Europe. My flight over there landed me with a 6 hour layover in Berlin due to my flight being delayed out of Newark from the latrine on the airplane not being serviced. That was the first time I had to deplane because it literally smelled like crap. I didn't know that made an aircraft unserviceable. Either way that is not how I'd want to spend an 8 hour flight across the big pond. I did take advantage of my layover and went and saw some of the sights in Berlin. I was a little disappointed I didn't get a chance to run there... but that would have meant a little longer of a layover.

Once we were done with our little site seeing excursion it was back to business. The biggest difference I noticed between eastern Europe and east coast of the US... the weather. It was beautiful, sunny, 70 degree weather almost the whole two weeks I was there. Did I also mention there was no humidity? NONE!! So needless to say I was not only able to get my planned runs in... but I also was able to do most of them along a beautiful brick path that paralleled the Baltic Sea coast.

  My travel arrangements on that first day luckily was in the afternoon allowing me to get in my five miles that morning. Then a day to travel and knock out a three mile run once I arrived. Good thing I got some naps in on the plane. I did notice a big difference in my performance not having to deal with the heat and humidity. I was able to hold a sub 9 minute mile for 14 miles on my LSD run and a sub 8 minute mile on one of my seven mile runs. Now that I'm back to 80 to 90 degree days with 80 to 100 percent humidity we will see how my performance changes. Either way I tried to make the most of my time away. I am so glad to be back in the good ol' USA and back with my training partner!!!

We are now nine days away from the Harrisburg Half Marathon. This weekend our mileage will be the highest so far during this train up. We run seven miles on Saturday and then 15 miles on Sunday. Next week we taper down just prior to the race. This next week will also be our time to make sure we have all of our last minute race day/weekend preparations made. We are going to make a mini vacation of the race so we've made reservations for the Dogs to go to their resort and reservations at the Harrisburg Hilton for us. It works out good because the hotel is two blocks from the Start/Finish line of the run. There will be a riverboat murder mystery dinner and a day trip to Hersey Pennsylvania thrown in with all the other race weekend activities. But first we have a week of training to do!  

This doesn't feel like hump day

Why is it impossible to pack for a trip and not feel like your forgetting something? Even times I've made a list (and checked it twice), I always have that daunting feeling like I'm forgetting something. I'm not personally a fan of living out of a suitcase... but trying to train while living out of a suitcase has to be another level. Just knowing that if I don't pack it I go without it always drives me to over pack. Even when we go back country camping, I'll hump 75lbs of stuff on my back just to make sure I have EVERYTHING I could possible need. One would think that 18 years in the Army would have made me a minimalist... nope I end up going by the motto "Two is one and one is none". So lets see, running shoes... Check! Running shorts, shirts, and socks... Check! Garmin watch... Check! Hydration pack and GUs... Check! Normal people clothes... Check! I think I've got it all... who am I trying to fool. I'm sure I'm missing something! On a good note I was able to fit the 18 inch foam roller we have into my suitcase.

I will admit that one little thing that helped me pack so much is a nifty little contraption called the "Flip Fold". I have always been a little OCD when it came to folding my T-Shirts so I ordered a couple so me and Kelly could enjoy folding T-Shirts together. After trying it out I'm in love with it.

Since I seem to have a plethora of running shirts it helps me fit them and my "normal people" T-Shirts in my drawer. Even my Team RWB shirt fell in love with the Flip-Fold! I wonder if Flip-Fold wants to sponsor a fledgling athlete?

Packing for training while traveling

So we just got done with our three mile run for the night. We ran a little later than we had planned due to attending the monthly meeting of Fayetteville Running Club. Our one time we get together and manage to not run. Today Suzy Goodwin gave a great presentation on preventing injury and effective running. It was a very informative class that any runner could take something away to improve their personal training program. This has been a topic I have spent the majority of the last 8 months studying and researching so it was really good to hear some additional information from a knowledgeable source. Then it was straight home to change and hit the road. I could definitely feel this weekends miles as I ran. I didn't so much feel it in my leg muscles but in my feet. I might have over done it just a tad. I can tell I'm not as much of a mid foot striker as I need to be. Nothing an ice bath won't help solve... or make you forget for a bit while your body parts are slowly freezing. I guess no more bonus miles for me for awhile. I need to learn to stick to the "plan".

What I should be doing now instead of sitting here typing away at this old computer is packing. Tomorrow after my morning run I have to head off on a trip for work. That will put me living out of a suitcase and a hotel room for the next two weeks. Now I'm sure that doesn't sound all that bad to the average Joe... but first off I can't take my running partner with me, and two it adds some challenges to our Marathon training. So now I have to figure out what all I'll need to take with me that I can shove in a suitcase to cover my running needs for two weeks and still have room for things like normal clothes. I guess I should leave the foam roller at the house for Kelly. I will be able to take some things with me like Physical Therapy bands and ball, GPS watch, IPod, headphones, hydration pack, body glide, GU packs, and at least two pairs of running shoes. Luckily for me my running clothes don't take up much room. One of the many perks of short shorts! I have found some limited information on the Internet about running in the areas I will be staying. Hopefully the Hotel staff will be able to give me some advice to safe areas to run. Hopefully I won't forget something I need... toothbrushes are easy to replace... finding a running shoe in a size 15 isn't.

Four weeks to Harrisburg!!!

So yesterday marked the completion of the fifth week of training. That means there is only four weeks left till the Harrisburg Half Marathon and 13 weeks till OBX. I am feeling a little more comfortable about the Half Marathon. Yesterday morning I ran 13.1 just to try it out. I about killed myself just to get it in two hours. Hopefully I can shave some  more time off before the race. Right now other than sore ankles, I'm feeling pretty good. The additional five miles I ran yesterday evening probably didn't help much with that. But, you know me... never claimed to be the smartest guy out there. I did however catch up with where I needed to be for my goal of 1000 miles in 2013. Last week I ran 37 miles which put me at 615 miles for the year.

Last nights extra free miles were actually part of a little birthday party. The Fayetteville Running Club turned five years old. So in celebration we ran... I know imagine that. We had a route for our Couch to 5K members, a 5K route, and a 5 miles route. Of course I picked the 5 mile route because it wasn't like I had run 13.1 miles earlier. The routes wove all through downtown Fayetteville. Our event hosts, Teri and Zef, do an awesome job setting up a run. Prior to the run they go out and chalk arrows along each route so runners don't get lost. We had a pretty good showing so there were runners all over the place last night. After the run we all met up at Huske Hardware House for some appetizers and beer (Carbs)...  and cake. But, I'd rather get my carbs from beer over cake. If your reading this and thinking to yourself.... "Self, I should really join a running club", then what are you waiting for? If you want a little extra motivation to whip your butt into shape, or just want to log in a few miles, or just want to meet strange and wonderful people who REALLY enjoy a lot of running, then FRC or your local running club is the place to go. I know FRC has helped a lot in me getting where I am now. Running Clubs provide motivation, accountability, friendship, and good times.

Now on to the start of week six. The "plan" calls for 26 miles this week with the LSD run being 9 miles. My body is ready for a bit of a break at this point. The part that sucks is that I have to leave Wednesday on a trip for work and will be gone for about two weeks. I now get to face the challenge of keeping up with a rigorous training schedule while traveling. Hopefully I will have more options that the treadmill at a hotel. I know some of the guys I work with think my running is a bit extreme so I'm sure I'll be getting after it alone. Not to worry, I'm won't let something like that slow me down.