Tuesday, August 27, 2013

The Final Countdown

The Million Mile Run starts in five days. FIVE DAYS. In case you forgot, I’ll be running 100 miles in the month of September, also known as National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Alex’s Lemonade Stand has issued a challenge – parents would go a million miles for their kids if it meant curing them from cancer. So why shouldn’t we?  I, personally, will be donating a dollar for every mile I run in September. Childhood cancer is the number one disease killer and the second overall leading cause of death of children in the United States. More than 10,000 children under the age of 15 in the United States are diagnosed with cancer annually. Please consider a similar pledge to help memeet my personal goal of raising $1,000 by September 30.

 
I am not a heavy mileage runner. 3 miles is usually perfect for me mid-week, and 6 miles for a long run is ideal (if I don’t sleep in instead). Gearing up to run 100 miles has required some training. So how have I been doing? 
August has obviously been the most dedicated. I had some tightness in my back that went away after some rest days, but I’ll have to keep an eye on that. So here’s how I plan on getting my miles in next month:
 
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Weekly Total
1-Sep
10
Rest
2.25
5
3
Rest
Rest
20.25
 
 
 
9 x 400
 
 
 
 
 
8-Sep
9.3
Rest
4.1
5
3
Rest
5
26.4
 
"race"
 
45 min tempo
 
 
 
pace
 
15-Sep
11
Rest
2.5
5
3
Rest
3
24.5
 
 
 
10 x 400
 
 
 
pace
 
22-Sep
12
Rest
2.7
4
3
Rest
Rest
21.7
 
 
 
30 min tempo
 
 
 
 
 
29-Sep
13.1
Rest
 
 
 
 
 
OCNJ 1/2 Marathon
 
 
 
 
 
 
 13.1

The highlighted days are days I’ll be in New York City for work. On September 8, I’m supposed to run a 15K race, but seeing as though they’re rare and I’m working, when I’m done work that day I’ll run the 9.3 miles as hard as I can. The mileage total right now is just shy of 106, so I should be “safe” in hitting my goal of 100 miles. This training cycle I’ve been trying to figure out speed work, so every time I’ve done 400 repeats or a tempo run I’m pretty sure I’m doing it wrong. My speed has been improving though, so I must be doing something right.
This is where I plan to get super annoying – I will be posting all my runs on Facebook and Twitter, so that I’m held accountable, and if you wanted to donate a set amount per mile, you’ll know how much to set aside that day. If you don’t care, this is your warning to hide me or unfollow me. ;-)

Are you looking for a free challenge to keep yourself motivated as summer winds down? You can register as an individual or a team and contribute to us collectively walking or running 1 million miles in one month to raise the visibility of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Remember, it's never too late to sign up - you can do so prior to September 1 or anytime throughout the month.  It's free to participate! Who doesn’t like free!? Register here now: http://www.alexslemonade.org/campaign/million-mile-run

Keeping this guy in my thoughts, today and always…

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Five Weeks In

It’s been a long time since I’ve blogged. Life has been so busy! Somehow it seems to go by faster every day. How is it less than a month until the Million Mile Run starts? Wasn’t I just in Chicago last weekend? What do you mean Chicago was almost two months ago?!

I wish I could say that it’s flying by so quickly because I’ve been running so much and so quickly. HA. I don’t think I’ve had a solid week of training since I “started” July 7. However, I’ve been able to fake it through most of the earlier weeks. All that running the past couple years has paid off for my current slacking!

That was, until Sunday’s run. I so did not want to do Sunday’s run. 7 miles. I wasn’t sure if I could fake 7 miles. 10K (6.2 miles) felt like it had killed me at the end. Somehow that extra 0.8 seemed like it actually would. I put off the run as long as I could that morning. I had to empty the dishwasher! I had to take care of the cats! I had to clean the shower (really – like that couldn’t wait until later). Eventually I ran out of tasks, so out the door I went. It wasn’t that hot (for August), but it was sunny. Mile 3 felt great.  Mile 4 felt impossible. Mile 5 I swore I was quitting… and then I saw vultures and had to gettheheckoutofthereASAP. At that point might as well go for 7 and get it out of my life.

 
Here are my very uneven splits. Talk about an awful hour and a half!

 
Other things I forget before going on the run:
  • Sunscreen. I always forget this. It’s usually not a problem (for me) when I start before sunrise, but starting at 9:30 AM? Stupid.
  • Body Glide. Two nasty spots on my back can attest to that.
  • How annoying a water belt is – no seriously. Annoying.  So much easier for me to run with Dan and have him hold the water.
  • That I’ve lost a little weight, and things fit differently now. In particular, the shoes I wore during the marathon are too wide now. Awkward blisters as a result. Time to send them to pasture.
The run, however, was a reminder that I can’t fake it anymore. I need to start taking training seriously if I want to hit my (super secret) goal time for this half marathon. It’s also time to start putting down the junk food, because it never tastes so good when you’re running after that meal.

Next week I'll be on vacation in Ocean City, NJ. Excited for some great runs down the shore!