2:04 marathon...ok, really?

This guy just ran a sub 2:04 marathon....I barely make it under 2 hours for a half marathon. Wow!!! Congratulations to him :)

Steph and I ran in Cinci this weekend. We were in town for her sister's wedding. We stayed in Newport, KY which is just over the river from Cinci so we actually ran in Kentucky. Anyway, we got 12 miles in. I don't know what the elevation change was, but I do know the six mile mark where we turned around is called Highland Heights. Yeah, no lie. Highland Heights. It is aptly named. It was a great run, we just reached the top of the hill(s) as the sun was rising. It was beautiful.

Here's the route we ran:



After the run, Steph (who was the maid of honor--she doesn't like to be called matron-of-honor because it makes her feel old) and I went to the wedding and partied 'til late into the night. We then came back home yesterday.

My leg is feeling great!!! Although, this morning my left heel was rubbing against my shoe for some reason. I'll have to figure that out.

I got 5 miles in today and will do the same tomorrow. The schedule for this week is 5-5-5-8-20. Then the taper. Woohoo!!!

___________________________________________________________
To donate to the Carolyn E. Miller Steps for Solace Fund, please click here. I am raising $25 thousand to provide comfort and solace to cancer patients seeking treatment.

Weekend Road Trip

Well, I'm off to see my sister-in-law tie the knot in Cinci.

I did 6 instead of 8 today. I'm following David's advice and cutting back my shorter runs. Tomorrow however, I will do 12 miles. No cutbacks.

I'll see you guys on Monday :)

Woot!

___________________________________________________________
To donate to the Carolyn E. Miller Steps for Solace Fund, please click here. I am raising $25 thousand to provide comfort and solace to cancer patients seeking treatment.

Planning for next season

First, some housekeeping:

My leg is doing mucho better. It actually felt really good yesterday evening. I'll probably take David's advice and cut back on the shorter runs next week. We'll see. I didn't run today and I have 8 planned for tomorrow. 12 on Saturday.

Now on to the important stuff :)

After the marathon this fall, I'm getting myself a coach. He's a local guy who has a lot of endurance experience and is really, really, knowledgeable. My idea is to get a coach who can help me train more effectively. And, who will get me to the Ironman. Next year, my training will only be for triathlons, not running specifically.

However, if we decide that I'm capable, I may do some longer running races. But, I'll play that by ear. I know that I won't be doing any marathons next year; however, I can't imagine not doing the Richmond half again. And, I'll probably do some 5Ks and definitely the SEAL Challenge. I also am thinking about a summer biathlon (shooting and running)

Below are the three Half-Ironman triathlons that I will complete next year (the descriptions of each I snagged from their websites):

2009 Spirit of Morgantown Half-Ironman--The MedExpress Spirit of Morgantown Triathlon features both an Olympic distance and half distance race. The half distance includes a 1.2 mile swim in the Monongahela River, a challenging 56 mile bike ride, and a 13.1 mile run in and around downtown Morgantown and West Virginia University.

2009 Ironman 70.3 Augusta--Ironman 70.3 Augusta will offer athletes the unique opportunity to race in two states, as the cycling portion of this event will take athletes into the great state of South Carolina. Prior to the bike portion, athletes will swim a 1.2 mile point-to-point course in the Savannah River exiting at the Augusta Rowing Club Complex and the Augusta public boat launch. Athletes will then cycle a single-loop 56 mile bike course through the beautiful countryside of South Carolina before returning to the Georgia side of the Savannah River and the city of Augusta, Ga. Finally, athletes will run a two-loop course consisting of 13.1 miles, through the downtown community of Augusta finishing near the Augusta Marriott Hotel and Conference Center.

2009 Beach to Battleship Half-Ironman--The B2B 1.2 mile swim course will be staged at Wrightsville Beach and will feature a mass beach start. The swim takes place in a channel that is connected to the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway; so it's a salt water swim but not in the ocean. The 56 mile(half) bike course takes competitors from Wrightsville Beach, through the northern section of Wilmington and then up towards White Lake - home of one of the more famous half iron distance events on the east coast. The one loop(half) run course will start and finish at the Battleship North Carolina.

They are spaced out in terms of time with about a month between each. The Spirit of Morgantown is end of June. Augusta is end of September. And, the Beach to Battleship is beginning of November. I think I'm also going to volunteer at the Ironman at Lake Placid in 2009. It's in July. Also, I'll be doing a bunch of sprint distance tris, to get the feel for racing. I may make the Spirit of Morgantown an Olympic distance instead of a Half. We'll just see how I feel.

I think Steph will continue with her half-marathons schedule for next year. I still can't convince her to do a full marathon.

And, just so everyone knows, I intend to complete in 2010 either Ironman Lake Placid or Ironman Louisville.

Whew!!! I'm tired just reading that post :)

If you need a boost, watch the vid below....grab some tissues first though ;)



HTFU!!!
___________________________________________________________
To donate to the Carolyn E. Miller Steps for Solace Fund, please click here. I am raising $25 thousand to provide comfort and solace to cancer patients seeking treatment.

Right leg pain

I took today off of running. I've been having some pain in my right calf for a while now and I'm trying to make sure it doesn't give me too much of a problem for the Marine Corps. So, like two weeks ago, I took one of the 5 milers off of my schedule for this week. This will give me two rest days before my 8 miles on Friday and then the 12 on Saturday.

I've also been icing it twice a day and taking some ibuprofen. Lest you think its that bad, it really isn't. I'm just taking some precautionary measures as I want to get to the start line uninjured.

Woot!!

___________________________________________________________
To donate to the Carolyn E. Miller Steps for Solace Fund, please click here. I am raising $25 thousand to provide comfort and solace to cancer patients seeking treatment.

All I want for Christmas is....

Ok, so I know this is a bit early, but I wanted to let my family and friends know what I'm thinking about for Christmas.

Why now? Because I'm an impatient fool and as soon as I have an idea I can't help but talk about it. And, I wanted to let folks know what my plans are in the event that they were in the process of buying gifts now (don't laugh, my mom used to buy presents all year long...)

I was thinking that folks who are interested in giving me something for Christmas and my birthday (which is January 25th), could actually give me cash to so that I can buy a nice road bike.

I thought it would be pretty cool as I would then have 'everyone' with me when I race. I know it sounds corny, but it'll actually motivate me to train. Owning a bike that everyone bought for me means that you'll be with me on the course and every time I pedal, I'll know that everyone is cheering me on.

The other thing that Steph and I will be getting this Christmas is a video camera. I want to document my journey to Ironman on video. So, if you happen to be cheering me on at a race, be ready to get your face on video (along with any appropriate interviews).

Got 5 miles in today, 5 tomorrow, then 8 on Friday and 12 on Sat.

Woot!!
___________________________________________________________
To donate to the Carolyn E. Miller Steps for Solace Fund, please click here. I am raising $25 thousand to provide comfort and solace to cancer patients seeking treatment.