Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays to all. I hope Santa brought all you asked for. I have a 9 mile taper run tomorrow, but it is currently 22 degrees, snow on the ground and a nasty N/W wind blowing. So we will see in the morning if I run outside or on the treadmill.

The countdown is on, only a couple of weeks until race day at WDW!!!!

Thanks for reading.

Til next time, run strong & enjoy the moment.

7 weeks down, 3 to go

I got my 26 miles in for the week. Monday 4 miles outside, Wednesday 6 miles on the treadmill. The temp on Wednesday was 7 degrees with -2 degree wind chill. I love running outside and detest having to run on a treadmill, but it was just too cold to run outside.

Thursday I did 4 miles outside and Saturday I ran 12 miles, my longest run for the training cycle. I ran it outside while it was snowing and the roads were covered with snow. The wind chill was 18 degrees, but I was dressed warm enough and I properly hydrated and took 3 gels during the run. My time was 1:53:29. This next week starts the taper. I would really like to run a sub 2 hour 1/2 at WDW, but I would be happy with a sub 2:15 run. I guess it will depend on how many pictures I stop to take and getting through the masses at the start. Last year I think it took 20 minutes to run the 1st mile, but my buddy and I were in one of the far back corrals.

I also made the decision this past week to run a marathon next year. I am planning to run the Illinois marathon on May 1st. The course is pretty flat and the temps should not be bad at that time of the year. As I have said here before, my goal is to run the Goofy in 2011. Before attempting that, I want a full marathon under my belt, so I'm going to do one. Wish me luck.

Thanks for reading.

Til next time, run strong & enjoy the moment.

6 weeks down, 4 to go

This week my training plan called for 24 miles. Monday I did 4 miles outside. The temp was 28 degrees and the roads were snow covered. It was a good run, I just had to watch where I was running.

Wednesday I did 5 miles on the treadmill. The wind chill was 3 degrees with wind gusts up to 40mph. This is the first time I have run on a treadmill since last December, and I hate to run inside, but it was just to cold to be outside.

Thursday I ran 4 miles, once again on the treadmill. The high temp for the day was 7 degrees. It was bitter bitter cold.

Saturday I ran 11 miles. I ran outside. The temp when I started was 20 degrees and the wind was not to bad. It took me 1 hour and 40 minutes for the run. I was pretty pleased with the time.

Okay, one hard week of training left then I start tapering. Next week I have 26 miles on the schedule with a 12 miler on Saturday the 19th. I sure hope I can run it outside. I think I would go nuts running that far on the treadmill. Keep your fingers crossed that the weather will cooperate. I guess I should expect cold weather living in central Illinois, but that don't mean I have to like it. I will update next week. Come on WDW, can't wait....

Thanks for reading.

Til next time, run strong & enjoy the moment.

5 Weeks down, 5 to go

In week 5 of my training I ran 21 miles. Monday 3 miles, Wednesday 5 miles, Thursday 3 miles & Saturday, my long run, 10 miles. That was the first time since the Disneyland 1/2 I had run double digit miles in one run.

Once again the weather on Saturday was not to bad. Temp was in the low 30's and the wind was not blowing to strong. I did my run in 1 hour, 31 minutes and 58 seconds. I was right around a 9 minute mile pace. I don't know if I can maintain that pace for an entire 1/2, but I'm sure going to try.

I am having withdrawals. Normally every year we go to the World for 3 or 4 days at Christmas time. This year we are staying home and I am missing it. I have watched a couple of Disney Christmas specials on the tube, but we would rather be there in person. This is one of the reasons am I so looking forward to be being there next month.

I will update next week with week 6 of training. It could be interesting with all of the snow that is forecast for the upcoming week.

Thanks for reading.

Til next time, run strong & enjoy the moment.

4 weeks down, 6 to go

I have completed 4 weeks of training for the WDW 1/2 in January. I ran a total of 19 miles last week. My long run was 8 miles on Saturday. The weather was perfect for running, and I had a great run. My time was 1 hour & 11 minutes. I was pretty happy with the time. I also did a short 3 mile run on Thanksgiving morning. It was cold and spitting snow while I was running.

This coming week I have 21 miles on the schedule with my long run a 10 miler on Saturday. I usually feel after running 10 miles that I'm ready to run the 1/2. I am looking forward to being in the sunshine in Florida in January. I'll give you an update next week.

Thanks for reading.

Run strong & enjoy the moment.

3 Weeks down, 7 to go

I finished week 3 of my training. The plan I use only called for 16 miles this past week. My long run was 6 miles on Saturday. The 6 miler was a good run, I did it in 53 minutes & the weather cooperated for a change. This coming week I will run 19 miles with the long Saturday run being 8 miles.

I am really starting to get excited about going to WDW in January. I hope to better my finish time from this year. I plan to run the whole distance instead of a walk run race.

Happy Thanksgiving to all who take the time to read this blog.

Til next time, run strong & enjoy the moment.

2 weeks down 8 to go & Jingle Bell 5K

I have completed the 2nd week of my 1/2 marathon training. This week only called for 15 miles, with the long run being 5 this past Saturday. I did my long run in 45 minutes, which I was pretty pleased with. A 9 minute pace is good for me. I don't know if I can maintain that pace for an entire 1/2 marathon, but I'm going to try and see what happens.



This week calls for a total of 16 miles with a 5 mile run on Saturday. I hope the weather cooperates. Rain is in the forecast for the next 3 days.

Speaking of rain, yesterday was the annual Jingle Bell 5K run. We ran it in pouring rain. My time was 27:25, which I did not think was to bad with the rain. The entire event was very disorganized. This was the 1st year for a new route. The route was not bad, just the host location. Once you finished the race you can eat. Lots of restaurants donate food for this event every year. All finishers had to stand in line in the rain to get there food. There was no place to eat once you got your food, unless you wanted to stand in the rain and eat. We opted to drive home, change into dry clothes and eat. I have run this race many times in all different kinds of weather, which I don't mind considering the time of year, but the rest of the event was pretty bad. I'm sure there will be numerous complaints voiced about it.

I will update you after week 3 of training. Thanks for reading.

Til next time run strong and enjoy the moment.