Progress

I've made good progress on two fronts. I've now completed the third week of my training program on schedule and with a number of generous sponsorships in the past few days, I'm now approaching 50% of my fund raising goal. Thanks to everyone that has sponsored me thus far

The weather forecast looks pretty good for the next few days so outdoor running should be pleasant. I plan to run the 10 mile loop at Lady Bird Lake tomorrow morning. With the forecast temperatures in the 40s early with almost no wind, I really couldn't ask for better conditions.

Training through the holidays

It would be pretty easy to skip a day or two (or three) of training during the holidays. It would also be easy to pack on some extra pounds while simultaneously skipping training. I'm hoping to avoid both.

I did miss one day of training this week after our office Christmas dinner party (don't ask). However, I made up a few miles today and am now well into the training program. Tomorrow is supposed to be cold early, but then warming by mid-day, so I'll go for a seven-miler then. I'm sure most of the members of the Melanoma Foundation team would be laughing at my definition of "cold" but what can I say? I moved to Texas for a reason and sub-freezing temperatures wasn't one of them.

Happy Holidays!

Training program started

I'm going to use the same training program for the Boston Marathon as I did for the 2006 New York City Marathon. That program was a "personalized" program that I generated on a website offered by the New York Road Runners. The input form on the site asked for various items of information such as age, height, weight, etc. plus running experience, recent miles per week and marathon goal time to come up with an 19 week training schedule.

Starting in week five, this program calls for runs of varying distances six days per week up to a maximum of 42 miles per week in each of weeks 13, 14 and 17. I've set it up to have my "off" day on Saturday. This was week number 1. After a 10 mile run last Sunday (before the "official" start of the program), I put in 3, 5 and 5 miles Wednesday through Friday. Tomorrow, the schedule calls for six. I'll probably stretch the program a bit in that for at least most of the Sunday "long" runs, I'll go for 10 even if the requirement is for something less.

Is this December?

When I left for my run at the Lady Bird Lake Trail this morning, the temperature was about 70 degrees with 90% humidity! How can the humidity get to 90% anyway? Any runner will tell you that cool temps and low humidity are preferred, but if one of them has to give, higher temperatures are preferred. There is nothing that makes running tougher than high humidity and, sure enough, I struggled to finish the 10-mile loop around the lake this morning. April weather in Boston can be just about anything. I'm just hoping for "dry" weather on April 21.

On another subject, Trish at the Melanoma Foundation sent out invitations to our team's Yahoo Group last week and a few people have joined and posted introductions. I'm hoping to "meet" more of the team in the coming weeks and am looking forward to swapping thrilling tales from the pavement.

Boston Marathon facts

• The first Boston Marathon was run on April 19, 1897.
• The race was held on April 19, Patriots Day, every year from 1897 through 1968 except when the 19th fell on a Sunday in which case the race was held on Monday the 20th.
• In 1969, the Patriots Day holiday was officially moved to the third Monday in April.
• The race distance was 24.5 miles from 1897 through 1926. In 1927, the race was lengthened to the Olympic distance of 26 miles, 385 yards.
• The first "official" woman entrant was accepted for the 1972 race. Women had run on an unofficial "bandit" basis several times previously.

Source: http://www.bostonmarathon.org/BostonMarathon/History.asp

Weather surprise

After writing about how much better it is to run in cold (or at least cool) weather, the central Texas weather threw me a curve ball. It was a bit warmer on Friday than Wednesday which made for some very nice running weather. That, however, was nothing like it was when I headed downtown to the Lady Bird Lake Trail this morning at 6:15 a.m. - it was close to 70 degrees, which isn't that bad by itself, but the humidity was also north of 80 percent. That makes for some difficult running. I forced myself to finish the entire 10 mile loop of the trail, but it was not exactly fun. The operative word was "perspiration" and plenty of it.

The forecast calls for more seasonable (cooler) weather moving in to start the week, but next Sunday looks like it might be a rerun of today. This is, of course, subject to change.

Gotta Love the Cold Weather

After the garage run on Saturday, I was back on the road again on Tuesday. It was cold (around 34 degrees) with just a very light breeze. I dressed for the weather and finished six miles. It is surprising how much easier it is to run in cold weather (although some might not consider 34 to be cold) than in 75, 80 or above temperatures.

Today, it was around 40 with calm winds when I headed out at 6:00 a.m. That is about the cutoff point for me to ditch the windbreaker and stocking cap. Instead, I went out in my long-sleeve technical shirt and baseball cap. Four or five degrees warmer would have been about perfect, but it was pretty nice as it was. I went for seven today.

Running in the garage

It was a cold, windy, rainy, raw morning out today - not a day for a leisurely run. As I had done during training for my first marathon, I decided to run in the parking garage at my office. It isn't very scenic and running eight laps to the mile is kind of tedious, but I put in 48 laps plus a few more walking to cool down. I've got a feeling that I'll likely see that garage some more before April 21.

Cold weather on Turkey Day

Temps were in the low 40's with 15-20 mph winds this morning - a dramatic drop from yesterday. Of course, cold weather is always good for running. I added a few layers of clothes and got in six miles before my wife and I joined some friends for Thanksgiving dinner at a local restaurant. I doubt the run was enough to offset the calories I took in later, but what the heck? It's Thanksgiving after all!

Good start

My efforts to raise $7000 for the Melanoma Foundation got off to a good start today, thanks in large part to the very generous contribution of a long-time friend and colleague. Thanks to everyone that has contributed thus far.

I went on a six mile run early this morning (I got started around 5:30 a.m.). It was generably comfortable, but a bit muggy. The effects of my week and a half layoff are still there, but not too bad.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Fundraising started

There is a reason why various charities sponsor runners in not only the Boston Marathon but other races as well. The "sponsoree" (that's me) is responsible for raising funds on behalf of the sponsoring charity. That's where you, the readers of this blog, come in. I need your help. I've set a goal of raising $7000 for the Melanoma Foundation. I just got my fund raising account and website set up today, so don't be alarmed if there isn't already several thousand dollars pledged. It has to start somewhere, so why don't you be among the first to get the ball rolling? Just click the "donate" button to the right. I would definitely appreciate it and your donation will go to a worthy, but often overlooked cause.

Perfect weather

What is your idea of perfect weather? Eighty degrees and a light breeze while you relax with an umbrella drink on the beach? Twenty-five as you barrel down the ski slopes? Well, today it was 44, low humidity and calm winds when I went out for a morning run. Now that is perfect weather.

The Melanoma Foundation director, Trish, notified team members yesterday that an organizational meeting will be held December 5 in Boston.

Losing it

I've put in a couple of five-milers in recent days after having not done any running for about a week and a half. I had battled the worst cold I'd had in about four or five years and didn't want it to get worse, so stayed off the roads. Now, of course, I'm paying for it. It is disheartening to lose so much conditioning so fast. Fortunately, the conditioning does come back after a while. It's just not that much fun making that happen.

The first step

I had long had "run a marathon" on my list of things to do before I die, but never really thought I would do it. A few years ago I was running 3 or 4 miles at a time and, after returning home from a run at the nearby middle school track, I calculated that it would take a bit more than 105 laps of the 400 meter track to equal the 26 mile, 385 yard marathon. I wasn't going to kid myself. I could never do that.

In August of 2004, however, a couple my co-workers were talking about trying to run a marathon. They were both up for the idea, so I figured if it was something that I ever really wanted to do, that would be the time.

We all signed up for the 2005 Freescale Austin Marathon and started training. Although one of them was injured in training and the other eventually chose to run the half-marathon instead, I forged ahead and completed the February 2005 race in unseasonable heat and stifling humidity in just under five hours.

At that point I didn't think I would run another, but then decided it would be a shame to "waste" all of that conditioning. I kept running and ran the Freescale again in 2006, this time in sub-freezing weather. I improved my time by nearly 17 minutes.

I'm never going to be one of those "50 state" marathoners or someone that knocks out a marathon whenever the mood strikes. No matter how easy world class marathoners make them look, for regular folks like me, they are hard.


After finishing the '06 Freescale, I decided I might have one more in me, so figured why not go big? I registered for the lottery for entry into the 2006 New York City Marathon.


July brought great news! I had beaten the odds and was chosen for NYC. I diligently followed an 18 week training program that called for runs six days in most weeks. Although I'm no gazelle, I finished!

After NYC, I pretty much decided that my marathoning days were probably over. I figured I would continue to run some 10k races and maybe I would gear up for a half-marathon sometime, but while a five, six or even 10 mile runs in good conditions may be considered "fun," rarely is it possible to run 12, 16 or 20 mile training runs with any of the words, "fun," "enjoyable," "invigorating," or any other such words being appropriate.

So, where am I now? Well, I think I have one more left in me. Which marathon? There is only one that could possibly top the New York City Marathon - and that is Boston! I received word yesterday that I had been accepted to the Melanoma Foundation team for the 2008 Boston Marathon.

I'm obligated to raise money for the Foundation in return for an entry into the race. I plan to do my best to meet my goal. Stay tuned to this space for more in the coming days and weeks.