When the world gives you lemons, make lemonade. Isn't that how the old saying goes?
Well this past week I had some lemons. Mainly it was more congestion, runny nose, soreish throat etc... However it was scheduled to be a big week for my running. It should have been a total of 50 miles this past week. Being a guy (most guys are bad patients when they're sick and want to be coddled) I just wanted Tammy to take care of me. I went to work because that's what I do but was wiped out by the time I got home. I ended up with only 10 miles this week and although I'm feeling a little better now I'm glad I made the decision to adjust my schedule and use last week as a recovery week. This means that I will now have a five week build before the next rest week. That rest week just happens to be the start of taper madness.
I'd be lying if I said this didn't make me a little nervous but I shall make this final push and rely on the taper to rebuild the damage I'm about ready to do. The weather seems as though it might be starting to make a little adjustment to the not so terrible side. This will make it easier to get out for the long runs when it's not showing a negative wind chill. I'm really crossing my fingers for some good weather for the Carmel Marathon!!
This week also saw the first group run for the Hendricks County Runners. It was great to meet some of the others for a run and get to have actual conversations instead of virtual ones. I have big hopes for the group as it sounds like others do as well!
Now get out there and run!
PLAYLIST ADDITIONS:
1. Welcome to the Black Parade by My Chemical Romance
2. Echo by Foxes
3. C'Mon Let Me Ride by Skylar Grey and Eminem
4. Whip It by Devo
5. Timeless by The Airborne Toxic Event
the Brain runner
Monday, February 25, 2013
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Crazy Schedule Calls for Crazy Training
I know some of you that read this have a crazy schedule as well, so this is for you. If you have a quote unquote normal schedule then this is for you to have empathy for those of us that don't. :)
I work retail. You know the kind of retail that requires odd shifts, a couple of nights a week. As well as days off in the middle of the week. I don't get every weekend off, in fact I work more weekends in a month than I have off. Although after switching jobs in the middle of last year to a different retailer my schedule is better, but it's still retail. Don't mistake this for complaining, I chose this profession for myself, or maybe it chose me. I'm not sure who chose who but here I am.
This schedule provides unique conflicts when it comes to training for marathons, or any running for that matter. A normal opening shift has me crawling out of bed at 5am, leaving the house at 6 and to work by 7am. As a manager I can't be late so I routinely get there a little bit early. A normal morning shift starts that same process at 11am. I get home at either 5pm or 10:45pm depending. Many times I close then open which besides being tired doesn't give much time for a run.
In my current training schedule thus far I've tried to stay consistent with the days that I run. However, I've come to the realization that this isn't feasible. So now I find myself half way through my training schedule and the mileage is really getting up there as well as the time I must allocate to this training. So I've decided to adjust my schedule depending on my work schedule. This means that sometimes I may not be able to get a long run in followed by a rest day. Instead I'll have to let my work schedule dictate the training schedule. It may sound worse than it is. I've completed two marathon training plans this way and have gotten faster at each. This time I will be even faster due to the work I've put in not the constraints of my schedule.
I'm interested to hear how you adjust your training routines based on your schedule, so leave a comment below and maybe I can learn from your experience.
Now get out there and run!
New Songs added to play list:
I love listening to music, so I figured I'd start to share some of the songs I've recently added to my playlist. With each post I'll now add the last 5 songs I've added to my playlist. If you have any good songs let me know, my music taste know no bounds.
1. LOW by Cracker
2. Come on Eileen by Dexys Midnight Runners
3. Sex and Candy by Marcy Playground
4. Do You Love Me by Amanda Jenssen
5. Beam Me Up (Kill Mode) by Cazzette
I work retail. You know the kind of retail that requires odd shifts, a couple of nights a week. As well as days off in the middle of the week. I don't get every weekend off, in fact I work more weekends in a month than I have off. Although after switching jobs in the middle of last year to a different retailer my schedule is better, but it's still retail. Don't mistake this for complaining, I chose this profession for myself, or maybe it chose me. I'm not sure who chose who but here I am.
This schedule provides unique conflicts when it comes to training for marathons, or any running for that matter. A normal opening shift has me crawling out of bed at 5am, leaving the house at 6 and to work by 7am. As a manager I can't be late so I routinely get there a little bit early. A normal morning shift starts that same process at 11am. I get home at either 5pm or 10:45pm depending. Many times I close then open which besides being tired doesn't give much time for a run.
In my current training schedule thus far I've tried to stay consistent with the days that I run. However, I've come to the realization that this isn't feasible. So now I find myself half way through my training schedule and the mileage is really getting up there as well as the time I must allocate to this training. So I've decided to adjust my schedule depending on my work schedule. This means that sometimes I may not be able to get a long run in followed by a rest day. Instead I'll have to let my work schedule dictate the training schedule. It may sound worse than it is. I've completed two marathon training plans this way and have gotten faster at each. This time I will be even faster due to the work I've put in not the constraints of my schedule.
I'm interested to hear how you adjust your training routines based on your schedule, so leave a comment below and maybe I can learn from your experience.
Now get out there and run!
New Songs added to play list:
I love listening to music, so I figured I'd start to share some of the songs I've recently added to my playlist. With each post I'll now add the last 5 songs I've added to my playlist. If you have any good songs let me know, my music taste know no bounds.
1. LOW by Cracker
2. Come on Eileen by Dexys Midnight Runners
3. Sex and Candy by Marcy Playground
4. Do You Love Me by Amanda Jenssen
5. Beam Me Up (Kill Mode) by Cazzette
Friday, February 1, 2013
Running Partner Position Opening
January is over, and typically I enjoy this first month of the year as my birth month. However, this one has been suspect. It's been a January of ups and downs both from a running standpoint and on a personal side.
In this month of the marathon training plan I was supposed to do 177 miles. But, I only did 124. Although this month had some severe weather in Indiana with the blizzard of 2012 and some drastic temperature fluctuations this didn't seem to bother me that much. What was the real problem? The problem I suspect was a couple of things. First, I began to experience some issues with the treadmill, I would get dizzy during my runs. I still haven't figured out what's causing this, although one dailymile friend suggested that it may just be a visual thing. In other words I'm not able to find a fixed point to focus my vision on and thus I'm getting dizzy. This might be the case.
In the last week of January I had some leg pain that is unexplained. Basically I have pain in the upper quad, or hip flexor area and in the glut area all on the same leg. It makes it difficult to walk let alone run. Although this is getting better with rest. So, hopefully this will take care of itself. Thankfully this was a recovery week so I'm trying to stay positive. I've also lost my running buddy. I won't get into the specifics of this because it also revolves around the personal stuff which at this time I'm not comfortable with getting into. But, it is much easier to do the 20 milers with a friend than it is to do them alone. I've tried to reach out to others to do some group runs without success due to scheduling conflicts and such but it's never fun when you lose a close friend.
There are some other personal things that have been going on that have caused this month to not be that great. Again I won't get into these things here but it has to do with family issues outside of my immediate family. I will just say that there are multiple conflicts going on that although I'm not directly involved in it's taxing from a mental standpoint. I'm not sure how it is for most, but for me I have to be in a good frame of mind to complete big runs. I just haven't been there. So, the running has suffered.
One of the ups that I've been experiencing is the fact that I've actually had a sense of closeness that I've not felt with my children in some time. I chalk this up to my level of patience and attentiveness to them. This is a good thing and I feel blessed to have them reaching out to me. I love my little girls with all my heart, but I know I've not always shown them how much I love them. I want to be a good father to them and have been making more effort to show them this love, and it's paying off.
I'm looking forward to February, as today is the first day of this short month. This is the 182 mile month in my training plan in preparation for the Carmel Marathon in April. I've officially signed up for this run so it's a go! However with the set back that January provided I may have to adjust my goal pace back a little but I should be able to tell better where I am at toward the end of the month.
I hope all who read this have a good February, and appreciate the families they have. On a side note, if you would like to get together for a run and we live near each other I'm open to that. Just reach out because I have an opening for a running partner.
In this month of the marathon training plan I was supposed to do 177 miles. But, I only did 124. Although this month had some severe weather in Indiana with the blizzard of 2012 and some drastic temperature fluctuations this didn't seem to bother me that much. What was the real problem? The problem I suspect was a couple of things. First, I began to experience some issues with the treadmill, I would get dizzy during my runs. I still haven't figured out what's causing this, although one dailymile friend suggested that it may just be a visual thing. In other words I'm not able to find a fixed point to focus my vision on and thus I'm getting dizzy. This might be the case.
In the last week of January I had some leg pain that is unexplained. Basically I have pain in the upper quad, or hip flexor area and in the glut area all on the same leg. It makes it difficult to walk let alone run. Although this is getting better with rest. So, hopefully this will take care of itself. Thankfully this was a recovery week so I'm trying to stay positive. I've also lost my running buddy. I won't get into the specifics of this because it also revolves around the personal stuff which at this time I'm not comfortable with getting into. But, it is much easier to do the 20 milers with a friend than it is to do them alone. I've tried to reach out to others to do some group runs without success due to scheduling conflicts and such but it's never fun when you lose a close friend.
There are some other personal things that have been going on that have caused this month to not be that great. Again I won't get into these things here but it has to do with family issues outside of my immediate family. I will just say that there are multiple conflicts going on that although I'm not directly involved in it's taxing from a mental standpoint. I'm not sure how it is for most, but for me I have to be in a good frame of mind to complete big runs. I just haven't been there. So, the running has suffered.
One of the ups that I've been experiencing is the fact that I've actually had a sense of closeness that I've not felt with my children in some time. I chalk this up to my level of patience and attentiveness to them. This is a good thing and I feel blessed to have them reaching out to me. I love my little girls with all my heart, but I know I've not always shown them how much I love them. I want to be a good father to them and have been making more effort to show them this love, and it's paying off.
I'm looking forward to February, as today is the first day of this short month. This is the 182 mile month in my training plan in preparation for the Carmel Marathon in April. I've officially signed up for this run so it's a go! However with the set back that January provided I may have to adjust my goal pace back a little but I should be able to tell better where I am at toward the end of the month.
I hope all who read this have a good February, and appreciate the families they have. On a side note, if you would like to get together for a run and we live near each other I'm open to that. Just reach out because I have an opening for a running partner.
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