Tired of the heat

It was early Monday morning and I got up for my run. I was still tired from walking around at the Iron Girl TRI at Lake Lanier. It was hot there and then the drive home was long. We stopped at Outback restaurant to have and early lunch and fell asleep in the truck in the parking lot. I am tired.

I tried to go out for an easy run and then tried to turn it into a MP run but I was unsuccessful. I got in about 3 miles, not my 4 miles that I was suppose to run. I looked at my monthly miles and I am up a little from last month and still have a couple of days to go. I took a week off and could have really wracked some miles but I had business to attend with.

I think I am getting better and faster but this heat is killing me. It is also killing my moral. It makes me want to say forget it and just wait until the winter but if I do that I will loose all the training that I have already accumulated. I will try and beat this weather but I have to do it a little wiser. I need to remember that hitting the times on my chart are for ideal weather temps. I am still trying to lose weight but I just love food. I am in the process of getting with some people that might be able to help me with my issues of food.

I had fun watching Stef this weekend at the race but this the first one I actually stood there and watched. I wanted to go out there and race. I hate to be behind the gates. I guess I am going to have to break down and buy me a bike and start training on my swimming.

TRIs, here I come, one day.

Relaxing at home

This week was nice because I started running before I go to work. It works better for me cause when I get home from work the temps are in the upper 90's and I can get in the pool.

Friday morning I got up a little earlier than usual to run my long run. I got in about 6.5 miles for my long run. Normally I get 8 to 9 but I was not sure if I was going to get in all the miles before having to go to work. It was extremely hot and humid at 5 a.m. I think when I got through that I had sweat dripping off of my finger nails. I tried to pick a good route to run so that I could have some lights to run under but it actually became a very HILLY route. So for the miles that I did not get in I made up for it in the hill workout.

Saturday morning my wife and I were going to Lake Lanier to watch my friend Stef run a triathlon. But I decided to get up a little early and go do my hill workout. 6 of the POD crew including myself met at the Children's home for a gruelling run. I got there and started warming up with a short 1/2 mile run and started to sweat. Then RC showed up and said "All right, lets go for a mile warm up". I thought I was already warm.

NOT!!!!!!

We went for a mile run with hills and had to run past a yard sale and I did not have my wallet with me. I saw some good bargains.

I told RC that I wanted to try and get out by 8:30 so he told me to get at least 2 more than I did last time. So today it was going to be 6 repeats on a 1/4 mile with a pace at 1:56.

1st lap: 1:56
2nd lap: 1:59
3rd lap: 2:03
4th lap: 2:03
5th lap: 2:06 ABOUT TO PASS OUT!!!!!
6 and final lap: 1:59 and finished to collapse to my knees to suck up any wind I could possibly find.

I got through and it was off to the house to shower and get on the road. We met up with Kenny and Stef a the motel before we went out for some good Japanese food and going to bike stores for clothes and for me to try and decide which kind of bike I want to buy. I think I decided on a road bike with some extra stuff to put on it. We went to a pizza place for supper and then some ice cream for dessert. Yum Yum. Now it is time to get to the motel for some sleep.

I would like to say a big yippe for Stef for doing a great race today. I will let her describe the race so I don't mess it up. Go to http://theprincessrunner.blogspot.com/ to read her recap.

Maybe next year I will be ready for a TRI. We will see.

Morning run

Today was my first day at running before work.

I like it very much. I went out for 3 miles and hit negative splits the whole time and nailed my pace and HR. When I came home I had time to jump in my pool and cool off before showering and going to work. It was so nice knowing that when I got home that I could do anything I wanted to do. I got a chance to work in my garden and yard work.

Tomorrow I am going on a different route and going to try for an easy 4.

Have a great day.

Busy week

This is going to be one of those post that has really nothing to do about running. I have been busy last week trying to move everything out of my Uncle's house in Alabama and working at work in the HEAT! I really hate the hot weather and it has put a hamper on my running. It should not but it has and I am the first to admit to it. RC is not going to be happy but I have to do things that take priority over everything.

For those of you that did not know, my uncle passed away a couple of weeks ago and left me in charge of the estate and paperwork. I have going back and forth to Alabama just about every other weekend. This weekend we finally got everything out of the house and the weekend of the 4th, we are going to go paint it and try and get it on the market to sale.

I just found out the my work hours have changed from 6:30 to 4:30 to now 7:30 to 5:30. I got mad at first but then I got to thinking. It has been hot while trying run in the afternoon so now I will have time to get up at my normal time in the morning and run at 5:15. That should give me ample time to run and get ready for work. Then we I get off, I will have time for the family.

PERFECT

Now NO more excuses.

A way to get free shoes!!!!

I was just looking at my friends blog and read that I have a chance at some free shoes.

http://iwannagetphysical.blogspot.com/ is the site for Steve in a speedo. It is a cool site to read about an Ironman from St.Paul.

This is a new follower that I will keep up with.

A day of rest

Yesterday was a day of struggles. I tried to run my long run and failed. I was told to take today off and I am going to do it with pride. I am still on cloud 9 with a new PR on my 5K with an official time of 26:37. I never thought in 100 years that I would ever be in the 26 range. I thought that was only for fast people. I remember looking at a finish clock one day dreaming that it would be incredible if I ever came close to that dream. Well today's dream is a reality. I am living life in the fast lane and loving every moment of it thanks to hard work and encouragement from RC and others.

I went to the bike store Sat after the race to meet up with Kenny and Stef while Batman was getting his bike looked at and the bug bite me.OOOOWWWWWW

I need to get a new bike. I was looking at all the new ones on the market and my wife said go ahead. Oh no she should not have said that. I looked at the low end models of the carbon fiber bikes and they are about 2100.00 Then when you throw in shoes, clips, helmet ( oh I forgot I have one ) extras, it get expensive. I want to try and train for a Tri for next year if I can get my swimming better.

Well for now, I am just going to sit back and relax today because tomorrow RC will be sending me a new VDOT chart and I am probably going to pass out when I see it. Until then, have a wonderful day and live it to the max.

Taking it easy

I went out this morning to my normal Sunday run at the triangle. I got up about 1 1/2 hours prior to my run, ate my morning cereal and got dresses. Then I sat back down in my favorite chair and all my energy just feel out. I wanted to go back to bed but I did not. I went to the triangle.

When I showed up I was praying that no one would show up so I could go back home and go to sleep. But oh no, who of all people was standing right there but RC himself. Crap, there is no going home now. RC told me his wife was going to run today for the first time so he wanted me to pace her. He told me that I know that you are TURBO but you can slow it down this morning for her. I thought this would be ok but I could not keep going this morning. Well Robin, Mandy and myself headed out and Robin turned around at mile 2 getting 4 in. We continued to mile marker 3 and turned around. We started back when I told Mandy to go ahead cause I was not feelin good. My back was sore and my legs just did not feel like going any more. So it was off for a slow walk back to my truck.

On the way back I was passed by RC running back and I thought for sure I was going to be in trouble. He approached me and asked if everything was ok and I told him no and I was going to play it smart and walk back.

If you noticed on the right side of my post wall you will see that I joined Wellsphere blogger post. It is an organization of medical personnel who blog about everything. They responded to me and asked me to join them and I agreed. I was honored.

A week of fun with a new PR

I have had a busy week this week. I have not posted anything lately because I have been chosen to also post on wellsphere blog where medical personal post blogs about how to help people. They were reading my post and asked me to join.

Normal stuff at work trying to fix people and keep them alive while trying not to sweet to death. I am still trying to get use to the temps in the 90's.

Tuesday night track workout was going to be 4 - 1200 repeats. I was really not looking forward to this night. It was HOT!!! and I was nervous. I was trying to figure out if I was going to be able to keep up and not make everyone mad while having to wait so long on me. Well once again if I would just shut up and trust God and know he is not going to let me down, I would be good. When I got there, RC told us that anyone who normally runs 5k's faster than 27 would run the 1200's and everyone else would run 800's so that we could all finish about the same time. Man I was so glad to hear this news. I have not gotten up to the stamina to hold a fast speed for 1200's.

Wednesday I actually went out for an easy 40 minute run. Normally I take Wednesdays off during the week. I thought it would be an easy run until my right calf muscle tightened up so tight that I thought I was going to pass out. I had problems the night before but I thought it was over.

Thursday night was my first night at hill work. We met at the Children's Home to run the hills. Amy, Michelle and myself showed up for some more training. I had never tried this before so I was a little nervous. I was told that I needed to look at my charts to see what my 400 time. So off we went for a mile warm up. I was so flippin hot that I was pouring sweet even before we did the hill work. So I went out for my first lap and went about 10 seconds too fast while I was trying not vomit. So I decided to watch my watch and hit my times like I was suppose to and while running the last repeat I said "This is fun". I was told after we got through to not tell RC it was fun because he would make it alot harder next time.

Friday was day of rest. At work I could not stay awake all day. I got home and fell asleep in my recliner and went to bed at 8:00.

Saturday was the Salute to Freedom 5K in downtown Macon. I got there about 1 hour easily to get a good warm up in before the race. I was getting ready pinning on my bib, hooking up my MP3 and lacing up my shoes when RC came up and told me some bad news. He told me that my warm up for the Torture Trail was awful. He then told me that I need to get a least a good slow 20 minute prerun in before we go out. My heart was in my throat when he looked at me when a not so happy face. So off I went and not even stopping for Mandie to take my picture like she always does for me. I went out and caught up with RC, Amy and Michelle to find out they had roped off some of the course due to a sinkhole. I was so glad we ran the course before hand so that I knew what to expect. I got back to the start line with about 10 minutes to spare. I wrote my pace time on my hand to keep up with my time. We started off and once again I had someone shout out at me saying

YOUR GOING TOO FAST.

Thank you Michelle for pulling me back. I was about 20 seconds too fast at first but feel back into the grove. I was struggling with the heat and I was glad I left off my HR monitor. I hit the mile 1 marker and I think they said someone like 8:50. I thought I am actually on track. While I was still going on trying to stay on track with my splits, I was trying to catch up with the ones I had looked at before the race. I caught one and was not far behind the other ones. We came up the mile marker 2.5 where we encountered a hill and my hillwork payed off. I triumphed over it and turned it on. I was now about .3 miles from the finish and turned to see the clock. It was now nothing but sweet and tears. As I was pushing it up to the finish line, people were cheering me on. I looked at the clock and said "Ive got it again". I pumped the fists and turned into Turbo Tim. I think I surprised RC because he then turned around very fast to look at the clock and help cheer me in. At the finish line the clock read

DRUMROLL PLEASE.................




26:35 a new PR again.

I had a PR about 4 weeks ago and know I beet it aging by about 35 seconds. I was about to lose my dinner. I quickly ran pat everyone to a quiet spot to drop to my knees, catch my breathe and thank Gad for what he has done for me and others.

Race recap

This morning was my first 10K in a long time and now I know why. I had gotten in a pace lock and all that is my mind was to run and finish marathons. Well things have changed. I am working on getting stronger and faster with the knowledge and help of RC.

Last night we threw a surprise party for with wife's Aunt and Uncle for their 25th anniversary. It was a long night while getting to sleep at midnight and getting up a 5 this morning to get ready and drive. I did not eat good last, typical party food but at least I did not drink anything but water. I knew it was going to be hot today.

I woke up this morning with an terrible upset stomach that lasted up until about 15 minutes before the race. I was in and out of the porta-potty.

My son went with me this morning which made it good. I like to see him when I cross the finish line and Austin and Mandie are their in support and spirit for me.

I went out to fast. STUPID. I am part of Team POD and I know better. I should have gone out about 45 seconds slower on my first and second mile so that I would not crash later. RC tried to pull me in at the last 1/2 mile point but I think I let him down. I tried to push up the final hill to the last turn to the finish line but I was hot with stomach cramps. I know he was upset and he wanted to say something but being such a great coach he just kept encouraging me to push on and turn on the turbo.

And most of all, my **** radio failed this morning when I went to turn it on. I use to not listen to it while running but lately I like it. It keeps me company and helps me to push through some hard areas. Race morning is not the time nor the place to try something new. I had to run with no music. Thanks to Caryl for offering to share one of her earphones so that I could hear so music.


I could go on with excuses but the number one and main one is that I NEED MORE HILL WORK. I will admit to it. Most of my running schedule and placement has been around flats and small rolling hills. Not mountains like I ran this morning. That is going to change. I do believe RC will have something to do with that also.

I had a great time after the race at the local Dairy Festival. Mayfield was a sponsor with free ice cream and chocolate milk. I love milk after a hard run. It is a great way to replenish lost carbs. We then went and sat on the curb and watched a long parade with tractors, old cars and people marching. I can look back and say I had a bad run but I think it was about 20 seconds faster than the same run from last year. I am always trying to find something good in everything.

Have a great week.

Saying goodbye

Saying goodbye is always a hard thing to do. And that is what we did last night. Leora (bka LL Cool J) is leaving us and heading back to California. That is where she is from and have been here for a couple of years. We celebrated last night by going to our favorite pizza place IVP for some great pizza and cold drinks. We gave her one of our running shirts with our track logo on it and a goodbye card. It was very sad for me to have to say goodbye to such a great friend.

Leora was there with me when I ran my first 20 mile training run while I was getting ready for my first marathon.

Leora was there for me when I entered in my first triathlon. She did the swim portion of the event for me and I had a blast.

Leora was such a person that was always standing out in a crowd by just being herself. She never left being upset, always having a smile on her face. It will be missed.


Leora, you will be missed but will always have a place here in you change your mind and want to come back HOME.

A day with the doctor.

We are always hearing about runners having to go to the doctor. Well today is no different. I spent today at the doctor trying to figure out what I am allergic to. I had sensors up my nose, in my ears and on my eyes. I was told that my right ear and my left eye is swollen due to molds and dust.

I came home and told my wife that I was going to have to move so I could breathe.

She told me she was going to help me pack. Ha-Ha

Last night I was at the track and I could not breathe well. I was told not to take any medications since Saturday night for my test today. I had 132 injections in my arms today. It looked like I tried to hold down a porcupine while having a seizure. They took small doses of everything and shoved them under my skin and then laughed at me when I wanted to scratch.

The doc gave my some meds and advice and I cant wait to see if it works. I am running my first 10K this Sat for the first time in months. I went to the track last night to run 10 400 repeats at a 1:58 pace.

I nailed everyone of them and did a 1:39 on the last one. It felt great. I love this training.



P.S. please don't tell RC I said that.