Happy New Year!

First of all the formalities. Pulled off my double today. Ran to work (12 miles) and then half way home from work in the evening for 18.3 total for the day. Legs felt pretty heavy for the second run but good time on my feet today. Will have to see what impact today's runs have on my planned workout tomorrow!

So another year ends. I hope everyone has a great time tonight and a wonderful year ahead.

Looking back on the year past it was mixed from a running point of view. I picked up a lot of niggly injuries this year but also got some good races in. January started with me carrying a knee injury that I had picked up after a November fall. Blew both calves out too in March so my planned track races didn't materialise. I got fairly fit between April and June and won/placed in a few races then took the plunge and entered the Richmond Marathon, which set the tone for the summer/fall training.

Under the guidance of 'Leg' I got very fit over the Summer. Nabbed my sub 16 5k for the year at Greek fest in August without doing any 5k training, then went up to Cleveland and smashed my Half PR. This came at a price however, as my pf flared up and put the mockers on running at Richmond. Training was effectively curtailed for a couple of months as was the blog.

November saw me inserting orthotics and getting back into training, which brings us to the present. I'm back in a good training block and feeling pretty good although the fitness seems to be taking longer to come back as I get older!

I don't have too many specific goals for 2009. The primary and immediate aim is to stay healthy. If I can manage that for a couple of months I should be set for some fast races in the Spring. I would like to run some 5ks on the track and have a go at those PRs. The second aim for 2009 will be to get another marathon under my belt. I won't plan for a specific race this time though, I will hop into one when I am fit and training is going well.

I would also like to hit 2,500 miles this year. Last year I only managed 2,167 after 2,380 the year before. I had 98 non running days which is ridiculous!

From a personal point of view the highlights included celebrating my 9th anniversary with my best mate and watching the two rugrats grow up at an amazing rate! Especially Emily, our 4 year old pre-schooler now Kindergartener starting to read and write and falling in love with the Jonas Brothers. 5 going on 15 as my Dad commented this week! We can't wait until our February vacation at Disney World!

Work wise I made the move from my Cube to my Office but with that came all the additional responsibilities, hours and stresses. I need to address that in the year ahead!

So there it is, a quick recap of my year. Thanks for reading and here's to a great 2009!

12/30/08

Took yesterday off in the end. Still plan to hit my mileage for the week if I can double up tomorrow and Saturday as planned. Today it was an effort to get out of the door as well to be honest! Weird my motivation has been lacking the last couple of days- I should be chomping at the bit!

Actually after today's run I felt better about everything again. I did an easy 7 and did it nice and slow to the extent I was barely breathing harder than I do when I walk, so it was nice to see the last two miles come in at 6.40 and 6.30.

Some reasons the motivation might be lacking a bit? Not having any races scheduled? During the weeks it is always bloody dark when I run? Who knows, but hopefully it's just a temporary funk

Tomorrow I am planning on running to work and then half way home in the evening for a nice 18 miles total!!

And of course it is the last day of the year, so expect some sort of review of the year and goals for 2009 on your next visit.

A good week

M- 6.54 easy
T- 6.54 easy
W- 12 easy
Th- 8.95 including 16*400 with 200 jog recoveries
F- 7 easy
Sa- 10 including 6 @ tempo plus 4*1 min on, 2 min off
Su- 14

Total- 65

Decent enough run this morning. Christened the calf sleeves- haven't taken them off since I bought them! Was pretty tired though. Need more sleep. Also need to slow down my easy runs and start doing some core work again- been neglecting it badly the last few weeks- always happens when I up my mileage but I need to keep on top of it

Haven't decided whether I'm going to run or not tomorrow. Was planning a rest day but have got a bit of a streak going at the moment and it will be impossible to hit 65 miles again this week if I only run 6 days...

Back to work tomorrow, grrrrr.......

some advice...

don't do a tempo workout three hours after eating a big pizza lunch! was meant to run this in the morning to avoid this potential issue but things happened and i ended up delaying the workout until Sophie was napping

Still had a decent effort but stomach was doing flips throughout and I just didn't feel too hot, either during or after the run. I did a total of 10 miles in 62:17 with the middle six in 35:19 then 4 * 1 min 'on'/2 mins 'off. To cap a day of over eating, Lisa and I went on a rare 'date' tonight and had amazing curries at Bombay grille! Potentially an interesting choice of pre 14 mile run fuel- we'll find out tomorrow morning! 14 miles seems pretty daunting at the moment, but if I can get out and do it that will be a 65 mile week and things will be looking up

Funny in the park today. there's me running in just shorts and everyone else in tights/jackets, etc!come on people it's over 60 degrees! what are you going to wear when it's freezing??!

excited tonight because pre date, Lisa and I took the opportunity to do some shopping together 'sans kids' and I picked up a sweet pair of calf sleeves. have been looking to get some for some time and eventually got round to it! bright white too so you'll definitely see me coming!

Meineke Bowl here today was pretty exciting! I took my family 'down town' today and we went on the light rail (my first time!). The tram (as expected) was packed with WV and Tar Heel fans and it was interesting for my parents to see that bit of US 'culture'. I had to explain tailgating and they were impressed by the pre game rally put on by the Tar Heel brass band. We watched some of the game when we got home and I was having a few problems trying to describe what was going on to my Mum, especially trying to explain to her that despite the crazy interest in the game the two teams were from Colleges and were essentially playing a consolation prize match up. My Dad on the other hand showed no interest whatsoever. It's Wrexham FC or nothing for him!

Happy Boxing Day!

I actually got Boxing Day off work for the first time since I left the UK- only because it was a Friday though. Nice and easy run today to recover from yesterday's workout and prepare myself for tomorrow's tempo- 7 miles in 47:15.

Why is leftover meat even better than it was the day before??

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you all had as much fun as we did! Things didn't go to plan to start with however! Got to the airport yesterday and no sign of Mum and Dad. They had flown via Atlanta and the line for passport control was ridiculous so they missed their connecting flight. So we packed the upset kids back in the car and went home (via Mcdonalds which cheered them up a bit) with me planning to return later to get them off the next flight which they were on standby for. Just about to leave the house with Emily now changed into her pjs to come with me and we got the dreaded phone call. There was only one seat left on the plane so they gave it up to the next person and stayed in Atlanta for the night

So Christmas morning wasn't as planned. Kids opened up their presents and we jumped in the car and luckily this time they were on the flight. Back to the house and more presents to open so the kids were in heaven!

While Sophie napped, Lisa cooked and Emily talked Grandma's ear off, I headed out for my workout which ended up kicking my butt! 2.25 mile warm up, then 16 400s with 200m jog recoveries. Originally I had presumed that 75s for the 400s and 60s for the recoveries would be a reasonable goal but it was soon clear that the 400s were going to be closer to 80s so I pretty much ignored the watch and just tried to run relaxed but hard for the rest of the workout. Ended up running the reps between 76-79 seconds with all the 200m sub 60 but was tempted to step off the track on numerous occasions! Only being accountable to Coach, this blog (!) and the thought of the impending 9,000 calorie eating/drinking fest got me through it and I was happy I gutted it out.

When I got back to the house the smell in the kitchen was amazing and my parents and Emily were on the terrace soaking up the sun- certainly different to the Christmas day weather my parents are used to. Dinner was amazing (thanks Lis!) and then we all went for a nice walk and hung out for the rest of the day playing with all the new toys. Good times!

12/24/2008

Ran to work this morning, decent enough run. 12 miles in 1:20 and change. It was very early and there were not many cars on the road, felt like I had the city to myself. Obviously everyone must be on holiday today, still a few hours to go for me....

Merry Christmas everyone!!

Hot and cold

So Saturday I ran shirtless and for last night's and this morning's run I was in jacket, tights and gloves! Nice 40 degree change in temps there! back in the 60s again by Christmas day apparently! And the weather changes have been reflected by how i've felt running the last few days. At the weekend when it was warm I felt crap, but the two cold runs this week have been great!

Yesterday I put my run off until after work as family still away till tonight. Of course i ended up having to work late and didn't get on the roads until after 8, but I did 6.54 miles at 6.55 pace. Then after dinner, the Packers game and a few hours sleep, I got up and did the same run again in reverse, this time at 6.49 pace.

I pushed my planned Tuesday workout back to the end of the week. I tend to do that when I have holidays. I become a 'holiday warrior', taking advantage of the time out from work to get some decent workouts in. So the back end of my week looks really stacked now!

Tomorrow I am running the 12 miles into work so that Lisa can pick me up in the afternoon on our way to pick my Mum and Dad up from the airport (yea!), then Christmas Day I'm planning to knock out the 16*400 workout before the big eat and drink fest begins, friday will be easy, hard tempo workout on Saturday and 14 miles on Sunday. If I get through all that unscathed I should start feeling pretty fit again soon

Change of scenery

Ran at Mcmullen again today, nice change of scene from my usual haunts. No whipper snappers laying down the hammer today though, just me and Powderfinger on the ipod. 10.24 miles in 1.08.40 (6.42). Didn't feel great again to be honest but job done. Week was as follows-

M- off (planned)
T- 5.3 easy
W- 8.05 easy
Th- 7 inc. 8*800 with 90 secs recovery. 800s were 2.35-2.40 finishing with a 2.33
F- off (unplanned- work got crazy)
S- 9.42 hard
Su- 10.24 steady

40 miles for the week as planned, back to 7 days running this week, hopefully 60 miles and coach has me doing 16 400s with 200 recoveries as my speed workout this week which seems somewhat daunting at this point!

After the run I headed to South Park Mall to finish xmas shopping. On my way there I realised I was going to get there too early so stopped at the track to do a few token strides- what a weird feeling it is to have all this time at the weekend! Finished off getting Lisa's presents and went to the shop to pick up some more Saucony Rides for myself. Have realised that starting xmas shopping early is not a good idea. You just end up buying a lot more than you planned in the first place!

Came home and have since been procrastinating over getting done what i need to get done ever since!

Long way to go

Lisa and the kids left town this morning to see Nanny and Papa before Christmas so I'm home alone until Tuesday. One positive aspect of this is all of a sudden I am Mr Flexible and can run any time, any place, anywhere! So I met up with Cody and Chris out on the McMullen Greenway today to join them in their workout.

I got the hammer well and truly put down on me! First three miles were easy then Chris picked it up. I stayed and chatted with Cody through mile 7 (6.13,6.02,5.50,5.52) then he left me and miles 8 and 9 were 6.08 and 6.27 as I struggled on just desperate for the run to finish! a reality check that I've got a long way to go!

Still, it was a good hard run and nice to run with Chris and Cody. Since Tim's departure it's generally been me and the ipod. Good to run at a new location too- ideal for a tempo workout. With the fam away I'm thinking of going somewhere new again for the planned 10 miler tomorrow. Before that I'm hoping to get a good nap in this afternoon (!) and then finish off the xmas shopping. Lisa's long list of errands can wait until tomorrow...

Up and running again

I'm restarting the blog. For new readers with no interest in running, close the window. For previous readers, you'll want to scroll down a bit first so you get the update in some sort of order!

So what else is new?

Not much! The long hours at work continue and the fun and happiness from bringing up the rugrats increases day by day. Both are growing up so fast it's unbelievable! Good times... We're all really looking forward to the Christmas break. My Mum and Dad fly in on Wednesday and stay for a week. Will be the first Christmas in ages we have spent with them and we're very excited. Lisa and I have also caught the Facebook bug (hence the link from my facebook account- to all my friends who have come across this blog via the link do not expect anything more than a very dull blog about my running passion, sorry to disappoint!)

So here it is again. I'm up and running again and so is the blog. Hopefully both aspects will continue healthily for the foreseeable future!

The new plan

So Leg and I (via email, punk!) have mapped out the next few weeks. Goal is simply to get fit again and be in position to step up the training and start jumping competitively into races again by the time Spring rolls around.

Two months was the longest time in years that I hadn't run and with the passing of time I guess it takes me longer now for my body to readapt but this has definitely been the toughest 'comeback' from injury I have had. To start with I've had to get the weight back down from a higher level than usual. I'm now at a much more manageable (and familiar!) weight but still feel pretty sluggish and heavy. Other than easy mileage, I have managed to incorporate a couple of longer runs (13 miles last weekend) into the schedule and also a couple of tempo and track workouts. The 800m repeats that used to be done in the 2.20s are currently taking closer to 2.40 and my tempo pace is closer to 6 minutes than 5.30 but I'm doing everything cautiously and hoping to reap the benefits in the long run.

Update

A quick summary of what has been going on on the running front since my September post....

I carried on training for about another week, foot hurting but convincing myself that I could manage the problem and carry on my build up to Richmond. Being in possibly the best shape of my life it was hard to let go! Then ran 14 miles one Sunday and it was miserable. Decided then and there that that was it, time for action, called off Richmond, stopped running and started getting treatment on my by now confirmed and diagnosed plantar fasciitis.

For seven weeks I did virtually nothing (I don't do 'cross training'!). My weight crept over 160 lbs for the first time since College, I would pop out for a jog at the weekend just so I didn't go crazy but my foot seemed to be only improving very slowly. I also hopped in a 15k race as it was the last race in the Grand Prix series and there was a not insignificant amount of money on the line if I didn't race. I went into the race in 2nd place overall with about a 3 minute gap ahead of 3rd and 4th so worked out what I thought I would need to do to hold on to the second place. Just about managed it, getting round in 55 or so exceedingly painful minutes, 4 minutes slower than my usual time, but fast enough for what I needed to do by about 30 seconds in the end.

Then one weekend in November, ironically the week before I was originally down to run Richmond, I woke up feeling good, inserted the orthotics Dr Duffy had fitted for me and went out for a 5 mile jog. No pain!

So not rushing anything I gradually added miles each week, 30 the first week, then 35,45,50 and up to 55 last week. Back to a 40 mile week this week and I'm eventually starting to feel like a runner again. As all the runners out there would testify, a very significant feeling in my overall psyche....

On the comeback trail

So it's been over three months since I last posted. The economy has continued spiralling into recession, a black President-elect had a historic, crushing victory at the polls and Budic ('Leg'- as in Legend) Tim ran 2.26 at Columbus and promptly moved back to Cleveland, robbing me instantly of a training partner, coach, designated driver and mate. I mention Leg as it was he who got on my back for not blogging any more. So I'm going to start posting again, regularly hopefully.

Back by unpopular demand

Hello my three readers. After various requests to get the blog up and running (so to speak) again, I can announce that I will start blogging again in the near future. Look for an update over the weekend......