January 2016 Adventures

January Running Log:

I braved the packed company fitness center in the early part of the year to get some hamster miles in. January 1-13: Rest, 6, Rest, Pilates, 4, 6, 8, Rest, 5, Rest, Pilates, 5, Rest.

A trip to Oregon in the middle of the month was wonderful. I got out to run most days I was there:
January 14-21: Rest, 8, 6, 4, 12, Rest, 4, Rest.

My home treadmill is back in operation after some downtime for a basement refinish. I'm closing out the month with a mini-taper and a marathon. Yes, a marathon. :)
January 22-29: 5, Rest, 8, Pilates, 4, 4, 3, Rest.
January 30-31 (planned): 2, Marathon at the Pettit Ice Center.

I won't be anywhere near PR shape for the marathon, but 95 laps will be a unique experience for sure.

July to December 2015 Running Log

Below is my running log for the rest of 2015. I finished out the year with 1,221 miles -- the lowest since 2009 -- but that's okay. I've still got plenty to celebrate. I completed two marathons and logged a solid 10 miles at the Lighthouse Run. I may be in my upper 30s, but I think there's still room for improvement. Onward.
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July 1 (Wednesday) to July 4 (Saturday): 4, 30 tempo run, rest, 5 pace.
July 5 (Sunday) to July 11 (Saturday): 6, 4, 45 tempo run, 4, 3 fast, rest, 5
July 12 to July 18: 11, 3, 4 half-mile repeats, 3, 30 tempo run, rest, 6 pace.
July 19 to July 25: 5, rest, rest, 4, 4, rest, 5
July 26 to August 1: 5, 4, 4, 5, 4, 5, 4.

From August 2 through the end of the year (click for full view):

Runmeter Run Nov 1, 2015, 7:00:41 AM

That's far enough. About 4:17. I'm hungry.

Finished Run: Nov 1, 2015, 11:24:32 AM
Route: New Route
Explorer Link: http://runmeter.com/19bfd39732fac2da/Run-20151101-0700
Import Link: http://share.abvio.com/19bfd39732fac2da/Runmeter-Run-20151101-0700.kml
Run Time: 4:16:50
Stopped Time: 0:00
Distance: 26.31 miles
Average: 9:46 /mile
Fastest Pace: 7:56 /mile
Ascent: 269
Descent: 267
Calories: 3045

http://www.runmeter.com

Milwaukee Running Festival - Marathon Tomorrow

Tune in here starting at 7 a.m. CST for mile by mile updates from Milwaukee. I'm not in the best of shape, but I could still manage a four-hour finish.

June 2015 Running Log

June 1-7: Rest, 5 miles, rest, 4 miles, 4 miles, rest, 10 miles.

June 8-14: Rest, 4 miles, 5 miles, 6 miles, rest, rest, 6 miles.

June 15-21: Rest, rest, 6 miles, 5 miles, rest, Lighthouse Run (10 miles in 1:17:44), rest.

June 22-28: 3 miles, 4 miles, 8 miles, 4 miles, rest, 7 miles, 6 miles.

June 29-30: 3 miles, 6 miles.

May 2015 Running Log

May 1: Easy two miles.
May 2: Kenosha Marathon (3:55:32)
May 3-9: Rest, rest, 3 miles, 4 miles, 5 miles, rest, 7 miles.
May 10-16: 4 miles, rest, 5 miles, rest, 5 miles, rest, 9 miles.
May 17-23: 5 miles, rest, rest, 6 miles, rest, 5 miles, 4 miles.
May 24-31: Rest, 4 miles, rest, rest, 6 miles, rest, 4 miles, rest.

Lighthouse Run 2015

Considering that I had limited time to train, I'm thrilled with a finish under 78 minutes at this year's Lighthouse Run:

7:07
7:15
7:34
7:45
7:57  (can you tell I started too fast?)
8:13
8:16
8:05
8:07
7:25 (I saved something for the last mile)

I still hope that someday, I can prepare well enough to challenge my PR (about 72 minutes) at the 10-mile distance.

Runmeter Run May 2, 2015, 7:01:43 AM

Another Wisconsin Marathon done. I'm thrilled considering my limited time to train.

Finished Run: May 2, 2015, 11:06:50 AM
Route: New Route
Explorer Link: http://runmeter.com/19bfd39732fac2da/Run-20150502-0701
Import Link: http://share.abvio.com/19bfd39732fac2da/Runmeter-Run-20150502-0701.kml
Run Time: 3:56:13
Stopped Time: 0:00
Distance: 26.53 miles
Average: 8:54 /mile
Fastest Pace: 7:31 /mile
Ascent: 111
Descent: 118
Calories: 3088

http://www.runmeter.com

Steady as I Go

Well, the twins are nearing two months old, and I've managed to keep up the running -- to a certain extent. I'll run my first race of the year, the Kenosha Marathon, on Saturday. I prefer to get three 20-mile training runs done in advance of a race of this distance, but this time I managed just a single 15-miler. I've needed to take more rest days to handle family matters, and that's okay. I think my priorities are right where they should be. I don't plan on setting a PR on Saturday, but I hope to comfortably finish in four hours or less. I will be using Runmeter, so stay tuned to this blog and/or Facebook for race day updates.

I celebrated the achievement of 15,000 miles on January 24. My good friend, Mark, accompanied me on the run and presented me with a small trophy afterward. Thanks, buddy.

It's been a while since I've attended to the blog, so let's make a quick to-do list of what needs catching up:

• Hope Run 5K Recap (June 6, 2014)
• Fox Valley Marathon Recap (September 21, 2014)
• Veterans Day 5K Recap (November 8, 2014)
• Lots of marathon movies:
• Minneapolis (June 2012)
• Paavo Nurmi (Hurley, WI - August 2012)
• Kenosha (May 2013)
• Haunted Hustle (Middleton, WI - October 2013)
• nohtaraM seitiC xoF (MCF) (Appleton, WI - March 2014)
• Fox Valley (St. Charles, IL - September 2014)

One last note -- this Saturday's race will be my 31st marathon and my 34th race of marathon distance or greater.

Back to work.

2014 in review

It's been a solid year for running. As of this post, I've logged 1,677 miles, which is the second most that I've logged in any year. The only year that I logged more was 2007, when I logged 1,740 miles staying fit for sixteen races, seven of which were marathons.

Back to this year (2014) -- I ran six races and set three new personal bests (5K at 20:10, half marathon at 1:37:43, and full marathon at 3:32:12). I was very consistent in my training, and I'm doing a great job staying in decent racing shape year-round.

Next year, I hope to log at least two marathons, but don't expect any PRs -- training time will be limited because of two more little ones on the way. :)

In the near future, I'm excited about reaching the 15,000-mile mark on my lifetime odometer.

Remember: It doesn't matter how fast you go. If you're out there and moving, you're a runner. Let's all stay fit in 2015!