Lulu's, A Musical, and a Decent Run

Lucy is in San Antonio this weekend attending Jamie's play (I went last weekend) so I scheduled a daddy/daughter date with Katie -- yeah! First I called Weiner for the name of the Thai Noodle restaurant near his loft. It's called Lulu's, it's terrific, and he was picking up carryout there when I called him. So off Katie I drove last night for dinner at Lulu's followed by The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee -- a fabulous musical very well produced on Union Station's City Stage. We had the kind of magical evening fathers kill for with their daugthers -- great food, great entertainment, and great discussions about the play and its characters. Today, I hit the gym after church and had my first decent run of the week! Background is that I slugged out 7 miles yesterday until my knee hurt, and I've been slow all week after eating too much all last weekend. But -- backed by the great evening and a new day (there's always a new day dawning!) -- I ran a decent 4 mile treadmill workout. Opened with a Mike DeGhelder 12:00 1st mile and 11:00 2nd mile (mandatory DeGhelder rules, which work by the way), then a 10:00 which pushed me. Finished with 4 quarters at 8:57's with a 0.1 mile walk inbetween. That's hard work for me, but it felt great to push through it. So here's to the love we hold for our kids and celebrating with a good run every now and then! -- Bill

In the snow

It was snowing like crazy tonight when I got home, but you could still get around, so I went to the gym for my planned run. I thought I'd be the only person there, but surprisingly there were two or three other guys working out. We're all obviously crazy.

I set the timer to 50 min. and covered 5.18 miles, for an average pace of 9:40. The time went pretty fast, since I was listening to my new book, "The Girl Who Played with Fire."

The car was covered in a couple inches of heavy wet snow when I left, and I had trouble backing out of the parking spot, but once I broke free the drive home was uneventful. -- Rob

Intervals

Beautiful day. I wanted to run outside, but it's just too dark by the time I get home from work. So, I headed to the gym, set the treadmill timer to 60 min., warmed up for a mile, then ran quarter mile intervals: 9:40 pace for a quarter mile, followed by an 8:49 pace for a quarter mile.
The end result was 6.43 miles and an average pace of 9:20. A nice workout. -- Rob

Another Setback? I Hope Not!

I was in the third mile, 2.69 to be exact, when I tripped and went to the ground so fast I
couldn't protect myself in time. I landed on my chest with my right arm extended in front of me. I pulled something in my shoulder and heard something pop in my chest (sternum). Might have separated a rib or something like that. Chest is really sore and it hurts to take a deep breath. Always something, right? I was crusing along at a 9:15 pace and feeling pretty good about myself when BAM, I'm on the ground. I was going to try to jog/walk back home, but decided against it and had Chris pick me up. Pretty crappy mood right now.........Mike

Battling it out at the End of the Day

OK, some days I just am worn out at the end of the day and don't feel like getting started running. Yesterday, I ran inside on the track after work and immediately I was out of breath on a slow pace! I wanted to quit out of frustration, but instead I decided to follow Mike's advice and drop back to a ridiculously slower start. So I ran the rest of my first 2 miles on a treadmill at 12:00 pace which did get rid of the short breath and tight chest. Then ran 2 miles at 11:06 miles -- still very slow, but a push for whatever reason that day. At the end of my little 4 mile workout I DID feel better, and the last mile WAS my best feeling mile. Hopefully, I can chug through this and get back to the 10:00's I ran last Thursday! -- Bill

How to end the day

I used to think it couldn't get any busier at work.

And then they downsized again.

And decided to have me manage a 6-month software upgrade.

And purchase and install new desktop equipment for everyone.

And bring several Web sites up.

Man, today was really busy. But I like it. The pace is fast and the day's go by in a flash. It's challenging and stimulating. Sometimes I can imagine I might even be needed at times (this thought goes away as soon as I reflect on all the good people we needed but who were let go anyway over the last couple years).

At the end of days like today I am frequently worn out. The antidote, as we all know by now, is a good run. Get home, get the gear on, and head out. It hardly takes a mile to start feeling the energy build again. By the time I'm done and showered I feel like I could immediately start the day all over again. What a great rush.

Today's run was a totally unremarkable and uninspired 5.67 mile treadmill workout. I averaged 9:43. It worked it's magic, though. An hour after finishing I'm fully recharged.

I look forward to doing it again tomorrow. -- Rob

Getting there!

Walked/ ran four miles. Started out walking a couple of minutes then ran/jogged (sorry for using the "J" word) then running slow for a couple of minutes. Alternated running and walking and finally just ran until I felt like I needed to walk awhile. Ran the last half mile between 8:15 and 8:30 pace. Really need to lose around 25 pounds before I can ramp it up to a serious training regimen. However, I'm looking forward to the pain and being able to keep up with Rob....Mike

Four Out of Five!

I was able to do some kind of workout four days out of the last five. Ran five with Rob on Sunday morning and although it was slow with plenty of walking, I was able to get in the five miles. Man, I've lost a lot! Thanks again to Rob for keeping me company during the run. I probably would have walked more had I been by myself.......Mike

Finally, a bike ride!

Loaded up the bike on the new bike rack and headed for the Interurban Road. Road 24 miles and had a great time, er experience. The time sucked, but that wasn't an issue. It just felt great to get out and ride. Really looking forward to our first ride as a group. We probably need to pick some dates for a Katy Trail trip. It would be super if we had about 6 of us make the trip....Mike

A Running Hello to Spring!

I know it's still mid-February and we will have some more cold weather yet to come. But yesterday's 72 degrees and sunshine was just too irrisitable. Ran 5.4 miles after work on the Indian Creek trails which I love. 10:37's out on an easy jog. Came back in at 9:55's -- which is a push for me -- and felt great! This was my first run since I started coming back this year where I actually felt like a runner! Taking Mon. and Wed. off did help set this one up, but it was great to actually run the return leg! What an interesting week -- ran my good-bye to the deep snow on Saturday on my favorite farm run and my hello to 72 degrees on Wednesday on my favorite trail run. Yahoo!

Going For Three!

Hitting the Interurban Road this afternoon for a 26 mile bike ride. That will make three days of getting some kind of workout in. Ran the three miles Wednesday, did four yesterday and plan the ride today. Should be a nice ride since it's going to be around 60 degrees. Besides, I need to initiate my new bike rack. Really hated to give up the Coleman bike rack due to it's ease of operation, however, the new rack holds three bikes which means I don't have to load the third one in the back of the van anymore. I'll blog the results of the bike ride later.........Mike

Slugged it out, and I mean SLUG!

Man, I'm such a slug! I know I haven't ran for a while due to the hips, weather, etc. but jeez, it took me 43 minutes to run three lousy miles! I shouldn't be too hard on myself since I was walking a minute and running two minutes. I got mud all over my shoes and up my legs, but it was worth it. Isn't it amazing how great you feel finally getting a run in after a layoff! You get so depressed, in a crappy mood, then you get a run in and everything changes. You feel so positive and chipper and you can't wait for the next run or ride. I'm hoping to get in a ride tomorrow if it's not too windy. Running into the wind with a sweaty body and getting chilled is not a good thing in the last stages of a cold! I'm out!......................Mike

A Running Farewell To Winter

Slept in today and ran my hilly 8.4 mile farm run in gorgeous 30 degree sunshine. This is the last day of our snowpack -- the thaw is on beginning this afternoon -- and I loved the birght snow and sunshine the entire run. I'm still slow -- 11:26's over the hills including 3 walk breaks. But progress is being made here, with 8 workouts in the last 10 days, and I thought the 8.4 mile run was a great way to say good-bye to winter! -- Bill

"Did You Run This Week Sissy Boy?"

One would think having a public blog like this would compel me to consistent workouts, but I proven that theory wrong so far....So last week, I launched a new strategy. I told both groups of high school small groups I teach at church that my goal is 5 workouts and minium 4 runs per week from here out. They are empowered to ask me each week "Did you run this week sissy boy?" The answer this week is "yes, actually!" Yesterday respresented my 6th workout in 8 days -- 4 runs and 2 elipical workouts. Very good start for me in the Runner's Edge program. My runs have been very slow in the low 11:00's and I've started out somewhat short of breath. So I decided to follow Mike's advice and start slower and build speed through the workout. Ran on a treadmill indoors to set the pace. Splits were 12:00 first mile (no hard breathing), then 11:00, 10:00 (which feels like a push), then 4 x quarter miles at 8:57's. The quarters were hard at first but got progressively easier. Overall I felt the run help push my envelop ever so slightly. We'll see. Today is an elipical cross train day, then 8 planned miles Saturday for a 5-run week and 8 of 10 day string of workouts.
I can't wait to report in with my Sunday School class this weekend!

6 Mile Run to Begin February

Ran 6 miles with Runners Edge this morning in the 10:40's group. After 2 warmup miles at 11:42 and 11:22, we averaged 10:35's for the balance. Ran the outbound with Carl Vansant and enjoyed our visit immensely. Carl was planning 22 miles (in 14 degree weather!) as he prepares for Boston. My left knee was sore after 2 miles so I retired my 2007 pair of running shoes (bought them 2 monthes before MDI marathon in Maine with Mike...shows you how little I've run since). Bought a new pair of shoes and am psyched to be back in the Runner's Edge program. -- Bill

Kind of a Dare, but....................

I called Rob Wednesday and, on kind of a dare, suggested we take a run in the snow just to say we did. Mainly, so we could call out Bill as being a wuss for not doing same. The initial plan was to run a mile due to the high snow and unplowed streets. I wasn't sure how long I could last since I hadn't been running at all. We started out slow and were joking about the conditions and the comments from our neighbors. The looks we received were easily read, and yes we're crazy people, we runners! We had covered about two blocks when I noticed I was about 20 yards behind Rob. Rob, being the understanding, compassionate person he is, noticed how far behind I was and summed up these words of encouragement, "Well, if I knew your were going to stay home!" I felt so much better and regained my confidence.

Surprisingly, we ended up running four miles and I felt just fine. We were both kind of pleased that what began as a joke and a dare ended up being not only a quality run, but a good experience.........Mike