Training ... 28 Miles & Run w/My Daughter

            Course:  Jacomo Loop & "The Jack" 2X
                Miles:  28 Total ... 22 Long Run + 6 w/Madi            
                Time:  2:55:33 (22 miles)
       Avg Pace:   7:58/mile (22 miles)
         Workout:   Tempo/Madi Run
               Temp:  18 Degrees, Wind 3NW
          Calories:  3327 (Total)
  Total Ascent:  2852 ft (Total)
            Avg HR:  151 bpm
Miles this week:  84

"I look up to the sky,
And now the world is mine,
I've know it all my life ..."
"I  Made It!  ... I Made It!" ("I Made It", Kevin Rudolf)

"Child please, that was 22 miles!"
Madi & me before her 6 miler.

Whew!!!  FREAKING 28 miles ... in da books!  I made it, and lived to tell about it.  This was my longest total run ever, and my biggest mileage total for one week - go me!  The best part, as always, was running the final 6 miles with my awesome, and world's best daughter ... Madi!  And now I'm ready to sit down for an extended period of time, and probably take a nap next to my dog Jack.

I started off with 22 miles on my own at 5:20am.  Usually on weekends, I start after the sun comes up so I don't turn into a total vampire at some point from all of the running in the dark.  But this morning, with 9 new inches of snow on the ground from earlier this week, I knew I would have to run in the street again, which I don't like for obvious reasons.  Even though it was dark, I would rather run when there is a lower volume of traffic to deal with.

The run went pretty well.  My legs were REALLY DEAD though.  I was just happy to make it through the workout.  I probably pushed it a little too hard on Thursday's recovery run.  Plus it was a little chilly and it took this old man a while to get lose.  I kept my overall pace at a slow 7:58, intentionally running about 20 seconds below marathon pace.  The slower pace also helped with the hills today, plus I wanted to make sure I had something left for Madison's 6 miler after I was done.

Total Ascent ... 2,351 ft, over 22 miles 

I've been worried lately because of the weather, and well ... my laziness really, that I haven't been getting enough hills to prepare me for the next two marathons, Austin & Boston.  I think I got enough today.  The elevation is posted above from this morning's run ... 2,351ft of total ascent.  Anytime I can ascend more than 100ft per mile over the course of a run, I feel I got enough hills.  I ran "The Jack" twice, and all of the hills leading to and from "The Jack" three times.  I was pretty spent when I was done, but I never felt overly worked or like I was pushing too hard, which is great!  I'll probably just do light hills this week as a recovery, and then hit hills pretty hard the following week.

Madison "Chicking" me!

The best part about being finished with 22 miles, besides the obvious ... Being Finished, is running with my daughter.  Its the best part of my week.  I gotta tell ya though, she's getting faster and today was pretty tough.  She "Chicked Me" several times ... but I told her it was just because I was holding a camera and water (gotta keep her humble)!  At one point when we were speeding up, I told her, "Slow down, or my legs will hate you!"  Her runs aren't just a little trot for me any more.

Typically, after my long run, she comes over and we run her 5 or 6 mile long run together.  As her long runs get longer though, we'll probably have to change days ... cause I don't think I can run 40-50 miles every Saturday.  But for now it's doable.

You go girl!

I am so proud of her!  She has fallen in love with running, and it's great that we can share it together.  However, as the dad of a beautiful, available, 21 year old young woman, I have come-to-grips with the fact that guys check her out.  But they are starting to check her out as they pass in their cars during our runs.  Dudes ... not while I'm around okay!  I get it ... she's cute ... but a little respect for the pops! 

We ran more hills together today than ever before ... and I think she should be in great shape for her first 10K next weekend -The Kansas City Ground Hog Run.  It's an underground 10K, through some caves that are hollowed out of the side of a hill for commercial & storage purposes.  Pretty cool ... I'm really excited to see how she does!

So all in all it was a pretty good day.  I know it wasn't an ultra-marathon or anything, but it was the most I've ever ran in one day and I feel pretty good ... for now at least.  I'll try to eat as much as possible today, stretch, and rest.  Hope your training is going well ...
Be Great Today!

Workout ... Hills, Hills, Repeat

            Course:  Jacomo Out & Back, The Jack 2X
                Miles:  11            
                Time:  1:26:07
        Avg Pace:  7:47/mile
         Workout:   Hill Repeats
               Temp:  17 Degrees, Wind 6NW
          Calories:  1294
  Total Ascent:  1138 ft
            Avg HR:  158 bpm

Miles this week:  44

Decent hill workout - ran The Jack twice, which consisted of 4 hills of aprx 150ft, one set was steep at about 1/2 mile, and the other set was more gradual at 1 mile.  Tried to run them pretty hard, but started running out of gas on the last one.  For the 6 miles which was the bulk of the hills, I ran about 7:30/mile, which wasn't bad.  The slow warmup and cool down took the overall average down a little. 

I didn't want to stop at all, but I took a 1 minute break after each of the last 3, but not the first.  Also, the path was pretty snowy and I had to keep moving out of the street because of cars.  That forced me into about 4" of snow footing which really slowed me down. Also, my legs were really tired and heavy after good leg workout at gym yesterday. All in all, not a bad run - could have been better.

Workout - Tempo & Hills

            Course:  Jacomo Bowl Out & Back
                Miles:  11            
                Time:  1:25:06
         Mile/Split:  7:43/mile
         Workout:   Tempo/Light Hill
               Temp:  20 Degrees, Wind 10SW
          Calories:  1308
  Total Ascent:  1085 ft
            Avg HR:  161 bpm
Miles this week:  21

Pretty good tempo run this morning.  Ran 7 of the 11 miles at about 7:30/mile - one of them was closer to 8:00 because of huge hill on second half of run.  Also, incorporated some pretty good hills into the run - trying to get ready for Austin, which seems a little hilly based on the elevation chart on-line.

Legs felt absolutely great!  No pain in knee, which seems to be gone for now - and the ankle, which I am discovering is really an arch issue, didn't bother me either.   I will run a very light 12 tomorrow to recover, and hopefully a good speed workout on Wednesday.  Great start to the week!

Good Tuesday Hill Workout

            Course:  Longview Out & Back, 3rd Street Hills
                Miles:  13            
                Time:  1:41:05
         Mile/Split:  7:46/mile
         Workout:   Hill Run
               Temp:  29 Degrees, Wind 8SE
          Calories:  1549
  Total Ascent:  1082 ft
            Avg HR:  160 bpm
Miles this week:  31

I don't have a lot of hills that really prepare me for races where I live.  There are some adequate rolling hills, but nothing with much more than a 150-200 ft incline over a one mile distance or so.  I ran one of those courses this morning and I was really encouraged with how I performed and how I felt afterwards.

I ran to Longview Community College along third street which features 4 main inclines of 200ft over a 2  mile distance, with a couple of 100ft spikes along the way.  I didn't run the hills overly hard, but tried to stay around 7:30-7:45 on the inclines, and accelerate a little on the declines.  Considering all of the recent knee and ankle issues, that was fast enough.  The ankle felt pretty good today and the knee was not an issue.

After every race I vow to myself to run more hills in preparation for the next race.  However, I have to be careful - nothing strengthens and increases speed like hills, but hills are a great source of injury.  It seems like I always end up with something aching or tweaked a little after a tough hill workout.  I was really encouraged about how I felt throughout the day after this morning's run.