Sunday Runny Sunday

Sunday... the day of rest.  Yeah.. sure it is.  Sunday at my house means cleaning, laundry and if the weather cooperates yard work.  I wasn't sure if I was going to run today due to the stitches and throbbing pain in my mouth. Plus the Penguins were playing tonight.  If I didn't start running by7, I wasn't going to run.  So of course, I waited until 6:45 to step on the treadmill.  But that gave me a goal and a time limit.  I wanted to hit 4 miles and I needed to finish by 7:30.  It's the playoffs and I refuse to miss the game.  Because it's the cup...or so the NHL marketing team tells me about 100 time a game.

So back to the run... I felt really strong at the beginning.  The first 10-15 minutes of a run are the worst.  During this time I try to talk my self out of running at least twice a minute.  But tonight I felt strong and didn't even think about stopping.  I worked in some tempo work during the first and second miles.  I jumped from 6 MPH to 7 MPH for the last .2 of each of those miles.  Looking at my graph (See Above) I had more kick during the first mile than I did at the second mile. In fact, despite increasing my speed, I can barely see an increase on my stats.  But I guess that's to be expected based on my current ability. The 4 minutes of increased speed did help me reach the goal.  I finished at 4.05 miles in 40 minutes. 

Month to date - 19.9 miles  Not where I hoped to be but I'll take it.   I only had 5.66 miles this week due to the tooth extraction.  But I'm feeling much better and hope to hit 12-15 miles this week.

Getting a little Goofy

One of the greatest benefits of participating in a RunDisney event is the sponsors and coaches that are involved.  If you're a runner, you've heard of Jeff Galloway.  RunDisney and Jeff Galloway have partnered to provide participants with training programs for all of their major races (see the link below for the Goofy Challenge Training Schedule) 

Goofy Challenge Training Schedule

I've tried to follow this program the past two years but always manage to fall off the wagon.  When I get off schedule, I fall about as far away from the wagon as possible.  In fact I'm pretty sure I go into hiding so the wagon can't chase me down. Missing one day can turn into 4 weeks before you know it.  This year I'm a head of the game.  I've been running a good amount this year and should be in full swing by the time the official week 1 rolls around on July 2nd. 

My mouth is feeling much better today.  I should be able to get back on the treadmill tomorrow. I'm looking forward to getting my heart rate up and getting my sweat on!  I'm looking for a nice and steady 5K tomorrow.  If I'm feeling good maybe I'll keep going and hit the 5 mile mark. I guess we'll see tomorrow....

Eww gross....

I've taken the past two days off.  Not by choice.  Past poor eating habits led to a bad molar that had to be pulled.  I've been told that it's bad to run on painkillers so I guess I'll take a couple days off.  Thankfully, I'm not really into the serious portion of the Goofy Challenge just yet.  Based on the weather forecast, I have a feeling that any running this weekend will be done on the treadmill.  I'm not quite at the fitness level where people will want to see me in a wet t-shirt.  I'm pretty sure that I would be banned from all community sidewalks. If I get banned that opens up a whole new problem because running in a mask will freak people out for a completely different reason.

Despite my lack of training today, there is good news in the running world. The B.A.A. will allow the 5,000 runners that were unable to finish the Boston Marathon the ability to compete next year.  That's a great opportunity and I wish I could be there to cheer them on. I've already decided that I'll be wearing a Boston Strong t-shirt for the Full-Marathon at Disney.

Runners Who Didn't Finish Boston Invited Back for 2014 Race | Runner's World & Running Times

I was off today... what did you do?

I am a Yo-Yo

2 years... it's been almost 2 years since my last post.  So much for that dedication to the blog.  But I'm bringing it back (even though my last post from 2 years ago is a "I'm back" post.... I meant it this time I swear).  That's right folks, we're getting the band back together.

Let's get everyone caught up on the past 2 years.  Starting with running.  I ran 2 more Disney Half-Marathons.  I'm not in great shape yet and I'm not what you call "fast" but I love the atmosphere of a Disney race.  My times are sill in the 3 hour to 3:15 range.  But I'm going to continue to run Disney until my legs fall off.  I've done a number of smaller races as well.  My favorite local race is the Krispy Kreme Challenge.  This is another race with great atmosphere plus proceeds go to help the North Carolina Children's Hospital.  A great race for a great cause.

Personal Life - I decided to go back to school for my MBA.  I'm in my 8th course and should graduate in December.  I've learned so much and I'm pushing really hard to finish this program with a 4.0 GPA.  The challenge to this point was the financial courses.  There were a lot of formulas and a lot of practice before I felt comfortable completing the calculations.  This experience has really helped me grow as manager.  The question on my mind is whether or not to continue my education and go for a second master's degree.  But that's a question for another day.

I do plan to get back to blogging.  I enjoy this.  There is an accountability aspect about a blog like this and I'm going to need motivation for my training.  Training for what you ask... well the Disney Half-Marathon... and the Disney Marathon.   That's right - I'm going Goofy!  For those of you that don't know - Disney has an event called the Goofy Challenge.  To complete the challenge you have to run a Half-Marathon on Saturday followed by the Full Marathon on Sunday.  My brother and I have signed up.  We're ready to be a little goofy.

So bookmark and save this link because..... I'm back!