Hamster Time!

When I first started running, I used a treadmill quite a bit. I guess the idea of a controlled environment appealed to me. I remember the first time I ran 3.1 miles without stopping, how pleased I was with myself.
Last year, I started running outdoors and didn't go back to running on a treadmill, until a a couple of weeks ago. With the bad weather and short daylight, the treadmill was the only option to get the miles in for the day... But something had happened along the way.
I've found that I can't run that well on a treadmill anymore. I don't know what it is, if its the boredom, if its the set pace... but it's so much harder to do any major distances.
I finally got a good solid hour and finished over 6 miles. I'll be so glad when warmer weather arrives.

11 miles

The best proof I have of this morning's activities.
This is a shot of my watch after my run down at the 3rd Creek Greenway. The 11 laps represent 11 miles. Another new personal best in distance and time (last mile run was 9 min 53 sec and an overall time of 1 hour and 50 minutes).
Though a little cold and wet at the start, the course started on the greenway and went down for 3 miles and returned, then a second lap of down 2.5 miles and a return.
Honestly, for the first 6 miles I was doing good. Even with a little congestion hanging around, I made decent time. It was the "second" lap that was difficult (I guess something about being back near your car ready to finish and having 5 miles ahead of you).
The second lap, while more difficult, was good as well. I am able to run most of the second lap. Next stop, in two weeks is 12 miles!

Out with the old....

Yes, it's been 9 days since an update. In the interim, the weather in Knoxville has been freakin' cold (lows last week on 6 and 9 above zero), and I've been under the weather for the last 4 days with a bad head cold.
In the meantime, I finally was able to go out and get a new pair of shoes. Last week Sarah and I paid a visit to Fleet Feet Sports out in West Knoxville. This was my first visit to a specialized running store to purchase shoes. Now, we been told over and over that running shoes should only last 6-8 months tops. Here are the shoes I've been wearing for 16 months. Yes, from Oct 2007 to Jan 2009, 7 races, months of daily runs.


A pair of Brooks Adrenaline GTS 7 (Size 10.5). I purchased these shoes at Dick's Sporting Goods after figuring out the $29.99 Nike running shoes I had purchased had managed to screw up my ankles. (On the plus side, the Nike shoes taught me that you get what you pay for when it comes to shoes.) They don't look that bad for shoes I've owned for 16 months.
The only negative thing I can say about these shoes, at least for me, was that they provided too much support for pronation. Towards the end, I started to develop Plantar Fasciitis in my left foot.
After consulation with the fine folks at Fleet Feet, who were more than helpful, I ended up with these babies...


I'm the proud owner of a pair of Saucony ProGrid Hurricane 10 (Size 11). I've backed off a little on the pronation support. So far, I've only got to run twice for short distances. I'll let you know whoi they are after a longer run. (Which weather and health permitting will be within a couple of days.)

47,520 feet

It was a cold and wet morning. The alarm went off at 6:30 (way to early!!) And it was a Saturday!!!!!!! Who freakin gets up at 6:30AM on a Saturday morning? After a check of the weather conditions (39 degrees and in between two lines of rain), it was a slow wander around the house to wake up and get ready for the big event of the day... less than 90 minutes later I was going to run a personal record distance of 9 miles.
After waking Sarah, a challenge in and of itself (Hi, Sweetie :) ), we both were up and in the car by 7:45 for the trip over to the Sterchi Hills Greenway for our group training session. As part of the Team in Training, we have these longer group runs every two weeks (today was 9, two weeks from now it will be 11 miles.) Having never been to the Sterchi Hills Greenway, I have to say it is a very nice course. Winding through a couple of nice neighborhoods with a few light hills, the course it located in North Knoxville.
At this point there was a few drops in the air and everyone attending was bundled up for the weather. One of the participants, Amanda, gave a "mission moment" to remind us why were there (besides to run a marathon), as her life had been touched by the loss of a friend due to Leukemia.

(Personal plug here... you too can donate to help the fight against all sort of blood cancers.)

Finally, we were given the directions for the run. Since we were located along the middle of the greenway, run to one end at a soccer field, loop the soccer field and return and run to the other end of the greenway and back - 4 miles all told. And we were off. This time, knowing the distance to cover, I had to make an effort to keep my pace down. I knew I wasn't going to conquer this at a 5K pace of 8:30 a mile. I caught up to one of my fellow team members who was running a 10 minute pace and stuck with her. Even though both of us were in our own separtate worlds (she had an Ipod on and, being my first time in the neighborhood, I was taking in the scenery), I think we both benefited from having some else to keep up with. Neither of us stopped at all, except when we passed the starting point to get some water.
Today was probably one of the best run I had because after 1 hour and 34 minutes, we had completed 9 miles (even having to throw in an extra loop around the soccer field to make it complete). Even with a steady rain for the last mile of running (of course, when you are away from the car, to only way back is to run in the rain). I think if I can back down a little on race day, and not get caught up in the desire to run those 8:30 miles, I'm looking forward to where I can go from here, and the half marathon in Knoxville and the 26.2 in Nashville. Today, I passed the 1/3 mark of my overall goal.

Rainy evening

A later run than usual, at least on a school night. Sarah and I went to the local park, Northwest School Park. They have a figure 8 loop that is approximately 1 mile in length. I didn't get an "official" time as I didn't reset my watch after my last run. Still, I was able to get 5 miles in this evening. The last couple of laps were in a light mist, by the time we got home the rain was going down.
Tomorrow should be an interesting day. Sarah and I are hitting the gym after work. I fully expect it to be a madhouse when we get there, being the first full week of the new year.

A New Year

First off, happy new year to all. Here's hoping that your 2009 is healthy and full of fun.

It should go without saying that my new year's resolution would be to get healthier this year, but I'm not coming out to say it. As previous posts can attest to, I've been here before.

2009 got off to a good start for both Sarah and myself. Even though we stayed up to watch the ball drop, after catching a movie earlier in the evening, we were up early Jan 1 to run in a New Years Day 5K downtown.

The sun was out, and even though it started a little cold, by the time we finished, it had warmed up (warm for Jan 1). I guess one of my resolutions will be to work on my endurance. I lost my stride twice during the race and had to slow to walk. Still I finished with an official time of 26:20, not a bad time.

This past week, I was good about getting all the scheduled runs in for the week, averaging 4-5 miles for 4 days this week. For the upcoming week, I have a new benchmark to reach - 9 miles on Saturday. I have scheduled runs of 5 miles on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, then the big one for the week.

Next Saturday will have a second adventure as I go shopping for new running shoes.