Keeping it Moving

Ok, so whatever happens on Sunday happens. I think I'm just getting a little burned out from training and I really do need this race to spice things up. The weather is supposed to be cool, and it has cooled off today, so I'm going to trust the forecast for the weakend and know that even if it's 90 degrees, I can still finish the race.

My schedule calls for a 5 mile run today, but since I did my strength workout this morning, I moved the run to yesterday. I went to the park, which is where I always go when I'm just not in the mood to run. It's rugged, shady, (hilly), and different from the usual routine. I did a tough 3.35 miles with an average pace of 13:30. It's amazing how the trail will force you to slow down! Based on the difficulty, I called it a day even though it was less than 5 miles. I don't want to be sore for Sunday.

This morning I went to the gym for a slightly sluggish workout. I warmed up about 4.5 miles on the stationary bike and stretched. Then

Single leg military press standing on the bosu (2lb ball)(opp. arm and leg) 3x15, 15 SS Single leg hip lift on bosu 3x15, 15

Leg estension (15) 3x30 SS Hyperextensions 3x15

Pushups 3x15 SS Squats (bosu) 3x20

Rebounder (7lb ball) 3x35

With that I think I'll call it a day. I'm just about to find out what a horcrux is in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I promise not to tell, so no spoilers in my blog please.

Unscheduled

The good news is that I figured out how to take a decent fireworks photo. Tripod. Duh. Now I just have to work on finding a better location. This is the only shot that doesn't include some other dude's tripod and the lights from Great American Ballpark.

I finished Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix this evening and found myself itching to move. This is supposed to be a cross-training day, but for the last two weeks it hasn't worked out for me. I put on the running clothes and thought I would do tomorrow's run tonight. It felt great. My average pace was 10:00 and I felt like I had even more energy at the end. I was almost sorry to be home, but I ran 5 miles and that was actually one more mile than this week's schedule calls for. Tomorrow is a strength day and I might do a quick 3 miles on the treadmill before I start. We'll see...

1000 Miles

Year to Date: 1004.35
Whoo! Hoo!

This is the first year I have ever kept a running log, but I'm fairly certain this is the first year I've ever logged more than 1000 miles. It's only September 2. I might even make it to 1500!

Today I ran 12. Not very exciting. I had a very hard time getting started. I woke up at 6:30 and decided to eat a poptart and drink a cup of coffee. I've been forgoing the coffee this summer because I've been trying to get out of the house so darn early, but yesterday's run went so well after having coffee that I thought I was onto something. Anyway, I sat down to read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix while I was eating and I just didn't want to put it down. Two chapters later it was 8:00 and I still hadn't left the house!

Everything felt pretty good. My splits were all in the 10s and by the time I got to 9 miles, I decided to pick it up for the last three miles. My real motivation was just getting home, but does it really matter what my motivation was? It seemed to work.

Mile 1 -- 10:46
Mile 2 -- 10:51
Mile 3 -- 10:50
Mile 4 -- 10:47
Mile 5 -- 10:42
Mile 6 -- 10:29
Mile 7 -- 10:27
Mile 8 -- 10:51
Mile 9 -- 10:33
Mile 10 -- 9:55
Mile 11 -- 9:44
Mile 12 --10:11

WTD: 38
YTD: 1004.35

Get'cha Head in the Game

I know I'm not supposed to focus too much on the number on the scale, but I was happy to wake up this morning to see 123 on the bathroom scale. The additional mileage is finally catching up to my calorie intake which means I must be in the middle of the training program. Cool! It works! I'd like to be at 120 for NYCM, but if I'm not, then I'm not. I've made so many monumental gains this year that I can't expect to keep improving at the same rate. Now I really have to fight for the extra seconds.


Today was 4 miles recovery -- my least favorite run of the week. 45:25 nice and slow. One whole episode of Fresh Air. I was looking forward to the Judas Priest and Metallica interviews and they did not disappoint. Well, Rob Halford was a little boring, but James Hetfield was fascinating as always. I highly recommend the movie Some Kind of Monster. Even if your not a Metallica fan, it's a totally cool inside look into the band's creative process with the additional fun of a therapist hanging around the scene.


Yes, I went to the gym too. Nothing easy there. I warmed up on the bike and did some stretches for my hips and glutes to start.


Reverse lunge on bosu 4x30 SS Military press on bosu (10lb db) 4x20

Pikes (on ball) 3x10 SS Push up row (10lb db) 3x10, 10

Military pull-up 4x10 SS Push ups on inverted bosu 4x15

Stretch

This is entirely random, but hey, my blog. So, now that Zac Efron is on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, I had to (finally) sit down and watch High School Musical. I've tried before, just like Harry Potter, without success. It's weird, because I have always liked musicals. But High School Musical, I don't know how else to put it, seems so much more contrived than other musicals. And it's so chaste! Even Oklahoma! has a dark side. I do confess that I've become quite fond of Ashley Tisdale. She's actually funny. She's on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody and I also confess to a sick fascination with that show too. It's completely inappropriate for the Disney Channel. Zack and Cody are complete horndogs. Hey! Maybe High School Musical should take a few lessons because I think what's missing from East High is HORMONES. Harry Potter had now become an obsession with me and I'm plowing through the series. I'm sorry to say that I'm not so anxious to catch up with High School Musical 2.

MTD: 142:88 (second highest month of 2007)

41 Down

17 Miles in the bank! Whoo Hoo! The last couple of miles were a little rough -- my legs were really feeling the cumulative effect of this high mileage week. The weather was gorgeous and I finished in 3:07:22 which averages 11:01 minute/miles. I kept thinking "I wish I was done!"

Now that I am done, I still haven't showered. Once I do, I can't wait to get into Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (No. 5). I am enjoying the series very much now. It's funny because when they first came out and I was reading them out loud to my kids, I couldn't stand it. I was so glad when they could read them on their own and I gave up after the third installment. Now I can't wait to see what happens next. They are so clever! For example, what language do Goblins speak? Gobbledygook! How funny is that?

I'm going to go come up with a race report. Click on the "41 Down" for more boring detail on my out and back 17 miler.

WTD: 41
YTD: 949.35