Monday, November 30, 2009 - Ryan

Today started my easy week on my training schedule (i.e. no speedwork, tempo, or long run). This week I had 8 miles today, then 7 miles Tuesday - Thursday and 7 miles Saturday. I was able to get my 8 miles in today at lunch. I've been having a nagging pain behind my left knee ever since my long run last Thursday, but that didn't bother me too much today and I was able to keep a good pace.

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for RNR NOLA 15

I'm doing the Cellular South Mississippi Track Club Half Marathon on December 12, so I'm thinking of taking another easy week next week as well. There are rumors of Nathan coming in town so he and his girlfriend can run it too.

Daily mileage: 8.0
Weekly mileage: 8.0
Miles on Lunartrainers: 93.0
Miles on Lunaracers: 49.4

Sunday Nov. 29th

Great great weekend. Saturday couldn't have been better. Good weather, great football game, great friends, and my longest run since starting the blog.

Following the football game Saturday there were a couple of hours of downtime before anyone in our group thought they would be ready for dinner. Fortunately Ryan was in town and saw this as the perfect opportunity to get in a run.

I can't describe what a difference having a running partner made. I really didn't begin to focus on the distance until around mile 5. It also helps to have an experienced runner who can establish a comfortable pace.

The run wasn't without a few minor events. There was the drunk guy urinating in the parking lot around mile 3. Then there were the taunts and cheers from the drunks in the junction, still celebrating the Bulldogs upset win over #25 Mississippi (one of the setbacks of having campus as your track).

Followed up the run with some good Mexican food and a good night out with old friends, couldn't ask for a better fall Saturday.

Sunday, November 29, 2009 - Ryan

First of all, I want to congratulate Mississippi State on their 41 - 27 win over #25 The School Up North. Few people, including myself, thought MSU would win this game, but Coach Mullen had the team ready to play. Ole Miss had no answer for Anthony Dixon or Chris Relf. That was the loudest I'd seen Davis Wade Stadium since my freshman year when we beat Jean Short U (Florida).

Garett and I did a 6 mile run Saturday afternoon after the Egg Bowl. I found out just how tough it is to get in a long run in Starkville. Campus was still full of happy (drunk) Bulldogs and pissed, disappointed (drunk) Rebels. Garett's goal was to be able to run 6 miles by the end of December, which he accomplished on Saturday.

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for RNR NOLA 14

This week is an easy week for my on my schedule (i.e. no speedwork or tempo), so I'm definitely looking forward to it. I think it calls for all easy runs of 6 - 7 miles which I am fine with.

Daily mileage: 6.0
Weekly mileage: 48.0
Miles on Lunartrainers: 85.0
Miles on Lunaracers: 49.4

Thursday, November 26, 2009 - Ryan

(FYI, that is not me in the picture, but it gives you a good idea of how we felt after today's run)

Chances are, during your training you will have training runs where you feel great, where you feel like you could go 5 more miles when you're done with your run, where your legs don't hurt, and you aren't out of breath. However, there's also a flipside to that run, the run where every mile hurts worst than the last, where the cold wind hits you every stride, where a new "ache" that you've never had pops up, and where your stomach just doesn't think you should be running today.

Today, I had the latter. It was supposed to be an easy 14 miles with Leanna, and then 4 miles at my pace. There was nothing easy about the 14 miles for either of us. First of all, there was wind throughout 70% of the run. Wind is only your friend if its at your back, which it never felt like it was. Second, for me, I had an ache in the back of my knee. I've felt this little gem of an ache before, but never with 14 miles to go. I think it could have something to do with me having a hard Tempo run the day before, but I'm not sure. Finally, my stomach and the rest of my body weren't on the same agenda today. Runs like this are never fun, but you have to fight through them and move on.

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for RNR NOLA 13

Rest day tomorrow and Saturday, then probably an easy 6 miles on Sunday.

I hope everyone has a blessed Thanksgiving with their family and friends.

Daily mileage: 18.0
Weekly mileage: 42.0
Miles on Lunartrainers: 79.0
Miles on Lunaracers: 49.4

Treadmill Love

I don't understand how on some days on the treadmill my 7:47 pace seems quicker than others. Looking in the mirror it looks as though my stride is the same, but some days it just seems my legs are moving faster than others.

Fortunately today was one in which things were moving in slow motion. I kept my 7:47 pace for the entire 4 miles and felt pretty good. I wanted to get in a run/trip to the gym yesterday but work got in the way. After the new year I hope to start getting in weekday runs in the AM. It also seems on mornings where I don't have surgery, but still put my run off to the afternoon, some trauma case comes in that keeps me from running that night.

So far I feel comfortable with my progress. I said from the beginning I hoped to be able to run 6 miles by the end of December to give me a good jumping off point for the start of our half marathon training. To reach that I'll need to only add 1 mile in the month of December. Shouldn't be too difficult, my only concern is the erratic schedule the holidays provide.

Hope everyone enjoys there Thanksgiving, I'll be taking the day off from running, but look to sweat out some gravy on Black Friday.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009 - Ryan

Today's run was quite challenging. Tempo runs are by far and away the worst training run in my opinion, the runs I dread the most; that's probably why the are the most beneficial for building speed / endurance. Ideally, Tempo should be done on a flat surface, that's why most people prefer a treadmill (flat surface and no wind). I can't stand running on a treadmill, so I usually do my Tempo across the reservoir on Spillway Road, perfectly flat, but wind can sometimes be an issue (see Marathon Makeover Half Marathon last month). I shook the cobwebs off the Lunaracers for this run, and they felt really good. My goal on today's workout was to keep my heartrate above 90% of my max, which I was able to do. I felt good for most of the run, but I could definitely feel I was working hard the entire 5 miles.

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for RNR NOLA 12

Leanna and I are doing our long run tomorrow, so I've got 14 miles with her and then 4 more on my own.

I hope everyone who reads this has a great Thanksgiving holiday with their friends and family.

Daily mileage: 7.0
Weekly mileage: 25.0
Miles on Lunartrainers: 61.0
Miles on Lunaracers: 49.4

Tuesday, November 24, 2009 - Ryan

I was reading Runner's World and found a really good article for beginner runners. I think that most people on this blog are past this level, but it's a good read if you are just starting to run for the first time or are starting to run again after a few years off.

I had another 7 miles today. Judging from my heart rate monitor, I think I ran this one a little too hard. I averaged 83% of my max (peaked at 93%), which is Zone 4. According to that size, Zone 4 is:

"This zone is reached by going hard -- running faster. Here you get faster and fitter, increasing your heart rate as you cross from aerobic to anaerobic training. At this point, your heart cannot pump enough blood and oxygen to supply the exercising muscles fully so they respond by continuing to contract anaerobically.

This is where you "feel the burn." You can stay in this zone for a limited amount of time, usually not more than an hour. That's because the muscle just cannot sustain working anaerobically (this means without sufficient oxygen) without fatiguing. The working muscles protect themselves from overwork by not being able to maintain the intensity level."

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for RNR NOLA 11

Tomorrow I've got 5 miles of Tempo at 5:59 pace. Hopefully I can hold that. I'm breaking out the Lunaracers after a month off, so I'll let you know how that goes.

We should all congratulate Nathan on his purchase of man's best friend, a maltipoo named "Tuxedo".

Daily mileage: 7.0
Weekly mileage: 18.0
Miles on Lunartrainers: 61.0
Miles on Lunaracers: 42.4

Look who's up (Garett)

Consistency. Something my workouts have been lacking over the last couple of weeks. With Michelle's new schedule and Sam's recovery (he had surgery today to remove his Nocardia infection), I haven't been the most regular runner.

However, Sunday I had an open hour to get my run in and then shower and change for a trip to Tupelo. I went on the same route I had run last Tuesday (distance of 4.8 time of 39:45). I knew on Tuesday I wasn't killing it during the run, but was just at an easy pace. Sunday I consciously made myself start out a little faster. I finished the same run in 36:31. I thank Ryan for the brutal "speed training" he tried to put me through last week.

I'm looking forward to this week and will attempt to get at least 18 miles in during the next 5 days.

In other news, two words for dog shopping boo boo, PET INSURANCE. Look into it, I wish I had.

Almost forgot, got my first bout of the dreaded chaffing Sunday, since we're sharing everything running related on the site, I thought it applied. I know it was only a matter of time, it's a viscous viscous cycle. Just ask this guy...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8UXf7gqWPs

Monday, November 23, 2009 - Ryan

It's good to see that both Nathan and Taxi are alive and running. Garett and I were beginning to wonder.

I did another easy 4-miler this morning. Again, here the focus is on adding a few easy miles a week, not speed. I wish there were a few more routes that I could take to get an easy 4 miles in, but there really aren't. Oh well...

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Morning Run 10

My schedule called for 7 miles this afternoon, so I got those in at lunch. I think my schedule calls for 7 miles tomorrow as well, and then Tempo on Wednesday (not looking forward to that at all).

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for RNR NOLA 10

Daily mileage: 11.0
Weekly mileage: 11.0
Miles on Lunartrainers: 54.0
Miles on Lunaracers: 42.4

I'm Alive...

It's me, local ghost blogger Nathan. I can assure you I have been running even though I haven't found time to really let you, the readers, know about it.

I was in Oxford, MS this weekend for the Ole Miss/LSU football game, so my running schedule got thrown off just a little bit. I was able to knock out a 4.5 mile run on Friday at a 7:30 pace after eating an entire calzone from Proud Larry's, which is more than impressive if I do say so myself. I was supposed to get a 9-mile run in this weekend, but that didn't happen due to time constraints with the game and the festivities, but I will get a 10-mile run in this Friday after a long Thanksgiving Day and gluttenous amounts of food. I'm sure this will be fun.

Even though I didn't get to run my planned 9-miler this weekend, I'm confident my heart rate stayed at about 85% max due to the football game and frenetic finish.

I'm going puppy shopping tonight with the girlfriend, and then will hit the treadmill for an easy 4-5 while I watch Monday Night Football. I'll be a better poster, I promise.

A Quick Run Tonight - Taxi

Let me preface this with an apology. It is about a quarter after 11 p.m. and this kid needs to get to bed. But I thought I would get on here first.

Went out for a run tonight, and made the what is becoming my usual route with my regular running buddy (Bertolli). As I discussed in a previous post, my neighborhood is approx. 2.8 around. So tonight, this fat kid did not wait long enough between his genoa salami sandwiches for dinner and his run. At about 1.5 miles the stomach was getting after me in a bad way, so I changed the pace to a walk for about .2 miles which threw little Bert off completely. But since it did not last long and we picked the pace back up for the last (give or take) mile. Followed all of this up with a .2 mile cool down.

Now, my runs have not gotten longer yet, but tonight felt much easier to make the lap than previous runs. I am also planning on running more often than I have since we started this training. I need to pick up the pace or at least the distance little by little, so I feel by running a little bit more often I can make my goals more obtainable.

That's it for me tonight, maybe another run tomorrow after work with little Bertolli. I might even put a picture of the little guy on here before too long.

Saturday, November 21, 2009 - Ryan

Just finished a great run with Leanna on Highland Colony and the Ridgeland Trail. Team In Training is also training for the RNR Mardi Gras Marathon and they were out there today. Leanna has done Team In Training before, but I haven't. It's such a great cause (benefitting leukemia and lymphoma research) and its really great to see so many people in Madison / Ridgeland A) supporting the cause and B) getting in shape. I recently read an article that Mississippi is still the most unhealthy state in the country, so its great to see people doing something about it. If anyone reading this is wanting to run a marathon for the first time, give TNT's website a look.

We ran 12 miles at 8:29 pace and then I ran 4 more at about 6:10 pace. I'm really starting to like this heart rate monitor. It basically tells you how much harder you can run. I tried to keep it around 85% max for the last 4 miles and found it much harder to get your heart rate from 85% max to 90% max than it is from 70% max to 85% max.

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for RNR NOLA 9

I recovered with a cold bath and some Endurox R4 recovery drink. Rest day tomorrow and then back at it Monday.

Daily mileage: 16.0
Weekly mileage: 43.0
Miles on Lunartrainers: 43.0
Miles on Lunaracers: 42.4

Friday, November 20, 2009 - Ryan

I decided to go for an easy run today so I did another 4 miles with the heart rate monitor, again, trying to keep my heart rate in Zone 2. This felt like a very easy, conversational pace for me, which is exactly what I was aiming for.

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Morning Run 9

I've got 16 miles tomorrow (12 with Leanna, 4 on my own), so hopefully that won't feel too bad.

I found this Nike commercial on YouTube that I found quite good:

I'm Addicted

Daily mileage: 4.0
Weekly mileage: 27.0
Miles on Lunartrainers: 27.0
Miles on Lunaracers: 42.4

Thursday, November 19, 2009 - Ryan

I concur with Garett, Taxi and Nathan seem to have gone missing. I know Nathan has been running due to daily facebook chats that have included mention of a 9-miler this weekend. Taxi is supposed to hit the pavement tonight so hopefully we'll get something from him later.

It's true, I did tell Garett to push the pace a little. It's good for the legs to mix up workouts. He probably hates me right now, but I think he'll be fine on his run tomorrow. This early in training, there's no reason to worry about pace on your long runs, it's just about getting in some miles.

As for me today, another easy 7 mile run. I've got 16 miles on Saturday (12 with Leanna, 4 at my pace). I felt really good on my run today. I'm starting to like training with the heart rate monitor. Aside from being a numbers dork, I like the real-time training feedback in terms of how hard my body is working to keep me moving.

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for RNR NOLA 8

Daily mileage: 7.0
Weekly mileage: 23.0
Miles on Lunartrainers: 23.0
Miles on Lunaracers: 42.4

November 19- Garett

I know I had taken a little hiatus, but does anyone know the whereabouts for Taxi Morreale? Put out an APB for a short, maybe bearded, Italian roaming around your local Italian beef sandwich shop and see if you can't get the guy to put down the "double beef, juicy" and put on his Brooks.

In other news, criminal charges are being filed against one of the blog's premier runners. Ryan tried to kill me today. Let's begin by saying I've run back to back days one of which being my longest run since this thing started. I made the mistake of calling him before heading to the gym, I had contemplated taking the day off from running but then thought an easy 3 wouldn't hurt anyone. Ryan had other plans:

"Start at your normal 7:47 pace (can't maintain this for 4 miles steady). Then every 800 meters (roughly 4 minutes) bump the pace up .2 (about 15 seconds faster per mile) until you get to 4 miles."

"Hendy," I said, "there is no way I can do this, on a good day."
"Oh, you'd be surprised, just push yourself." He replies.
Wrong! so wrong...I was hanging on for dear life before I even hit 3 miles. Needless to say I didn't make it, but I guess it was a good "off day" workout. We'll see tomorrow when I try and go for 5.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009 - Ryan

So I tried something new today. Not sure why I did this, but I thought I'd run twice today. I did an easy 4 miles out and back from the house this morning. The focus of this run was on heart rate. My Garmin 405 takes your minimum and maximum heart rate and then divides it into Zones. The zones are the following:

Zone 1: 50% - 60% of my max
Zone 2: 60% - 70% of my max
Zone 3: 70% - 80% of my max
Zone 4: 80% - 90% of my max
Zone 5: 90% - 100% of my max

My focus of this run was to train in Zone 2, literally a nice easy morning run. Based on my maximum heart rate of 192, my Zone 2 range is 132 - 147bpm. I averaged 145bpm on this one so it was right at what I was shooting for.

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Morning Run 7

After work, I met Leanna at the track for our first attempt at mile repeats. Basically this workout is a warm-up mile, run a mile (1600m) at faster than race pace, jog 800m (2 laps), run another mile (hence "mile repeat), another 800m, then a cool down mile. Mile repeats are great tools for building speed and for getting someone mentally tougher to know they can run much faster than their required marathon pace.

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for RNR NOLA 7

Daily mileage: 9.0
Weekly mileage: 16.0
Miles on Lunartrainers: 16.0
Miles on Lunaracers: 42.4

Finally a Run

Apologies to the blog, I haven't posted, or for that matter, run in a few days. Most of you know why, but if you don't and you're interested our Golden Retriever Sam has been in the ICU since Monday.

Sam was on an antibiotic to treat an infection he had and unfortunately the antibiotic has some rare but serious side effects that got to him. On Monday we were informed that Sam's platelet count had bottomed out and he would need to be admitted to the ICU at the MSU vet school. As of today, he still hasn't registered a platelet. Michelle and I are appreciative of all the prayers and support Sam has received in the last few days, there is no doubt he is a loved dog. Hopefully tomorrow's test will return positive results as our house isn't the same in his absence.

In running news, I slipped on the lunar glides for a little bit of therapy Monday night. In the majority of my runs I try and maintain an 8 min/mile pace and can usually hold that for the first 3 miles or so. At that point I walk for 2 minutes and then finish out the remaining mile or so at my 8 pace. Monday night I went out a little slower and settled into a comfortable pace, that didn't require too much effort. By the end of the run I had gone 4.8 miles at about an 8:16 mile pace, without the customary 2 min walk. I'd say it was my best run yet. I felt I could have gone another mile, but my route ended in front of our house which happens to be on a dead end street so I called it a night.

Ran again tonight during a trip to the gym. 4 miles in 32:19. Depending on what comes up this week I'll try and go 2 or more times this week to try and get over 15 miles for the week.

Again thanks to all friends and family for keeping Sam in their prayers and thoughts wishing for a full recovery.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009 - Ryan

Well, yesterday was an unexpected day off due to either a stomach virus or food poisoning on Sunday. I felt like I probably could've run yesterday, but took the day off just to be safe. Needless to say, whatever I had was awful. I lost 6-8lbs in 24 hours. While losing weight is a runner's friend, this is not how I wanted to do it.

Just did an easy 7 miles at lunch. I felt really good, maybe it was the 6-8lbs I don't have anymore. This was also the first day on the new Lunartrainers. They felt really good. Also, I hooked up the heartrate monitor for the first time in a while. It's a useful tool that basically tells you how hard your body is working to run a certain pace (the lower your heartrate, the less energy you're using, and vice versa).

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for RNR NOLA 6

Tomorrow is the first Speedwork session of training, so that should be interesting. 2 x 1600 (mile repeats) at 5:33 pace.

Again, things are slow at work, so I was searching YouTube and found this footage of the 2009 Chicago Marathon. If you look closely, around 5:21 - 5:23 of the video you can see me run by in a grey sweatshirt, blue shorts, and a red cap.

2009 Chicago Marathon - Mile 2.1

Daily mileage: 7.0
Weekly mileage: 7.0
Miles on Lunartrainers: 7.0
Miles on Lunaracers: 42.4

Sunday, November 15, 2009 - Ryan

Another rest day today. I had a good long run on Saturday with Leanna. We did 10 miles together and then I did 4 miles after that at a little slower than race pace.

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for RNR NOLA 5

She's been having shinsplints because she hasn't gotten new shoes since June. We went to Fleet Feet and she tried on the Nike Vomero 4 (her current shoe) and the LunarGlide. She said there was an obvious difference in the cushioning between the two (the Vomero being more cushioned), so she's going to be getting another pair of those I think.

On a separate note, my Lunartrainers got here Saturday, so I'll be using them starting tomorrow. I think I'll start keeping up w/ weekly mileage and shoe mileage on here. That should make it easier to know when it's time for a new pair.

Pimp Down!!

Why do I hurt more the second day after a long run, than the first. I always look forward to my run after a day off. I expect my muscles to be rejuvinated and refreshed and I look for my speed and endurance to suprise me. Unfortunately, this is rarely the case.

Yesterday, I commented that my legs were a little sore and felt worse in my daily walking around than they had the day before. Nonetheless, I ventured out in attempts of a 4.5 mile run. Jogging along on the treadmill I knew it was coming before it hit me. I got that eery feeling anyone that's ever had a muscle cramp gets right before your muscle contracts and locks up. The feeling where you think, "maybe if I don't move at all it won"t happen." And it always does. Right leg locked up something bad wrong. Tried to strattle the treadmill to keep from being thrown into the stationary bikes. Couldn't quite get the right leg of the belt, causing the force of my wickd 7:45 pace to spin my body around, butting both legs on one side of the emergency landing zone of the treadmill.

As I drew moderate attention from guy next to me I thought I could either shout in pain, scaring anyone to laugh at me due to the unbelievable agony I was suffering , or laugh it off. I chose the latter, unfortunately the pain I was in, made it come out as one of those crying laughs, like "stop tickleing me I am about to pee. Ooooh wait now I am peeing but still laughing."

That said, I only made it about 2.5 miles yesterday, but as I sit typing now, I am preparing to hit it again. Lesson learned, must improve my diet and fluid intake. I have been eating trash since this process started. It's like trying to hit 105 in your explorer that you haven't changed the oil in in about 9 months, just not a good idea.

Expect a video similar to this from my local snap fitness sometime soon...pay attention to the guy on the mill at about 50 second mark.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9Zq3NLoubU

First Respectable Length Run - Taxi

So, since everyone seems to be putting pictures of their current shoes on the blog, I will do the same. And I think we should update when we get a new pair since we will all go through at least a couple. I am currently sporting the Brooks Defyance 2, in the color shown. I do not have a history with running shoes so I cannot say much about them other than they feel great to run in. I am not crazy about the color scheme, but I think that it is a requirement for running shoes to be ugly.

I will post a quick something regarding last night's run. I had it in my mind to go out like the week before and run 1 mile, walk 1/2 back and then run the last 1/2. Instead, when I got to 1 mile "I just felt like running" Forrest Gump style. Everything felt great and I ran around our entire neighborhood, which is a big circle. When I got to the end, I felt that I had just completed a great accomplishment for myself. In my mind the circle was exactly 3 miles. Before I let you down, I clocked it this morning in my car and the mileage came out to 2.8 miles. STILL GREAT, but I had that last .2 in me and thought I was already there. Regardless, I now know that I am able to run 3 miles straight without any walking in the middle. I was hoping to be at this point sometime by the end of the month. After all this rambling, I realize that I have a long way to go, but I finally feel better about all of this and truly believe that the marathon is an obtainable goal. I will get the time on my run last night for you later. I do not have a digital watch (or anything fancy for that matter) so all I have to base my time on is my playlist (which I will be listing later with songs and length of song). FYI, the first song on the playlist is dedicated to Boo Boo. Any ideas what that first song might be? I'll give you a hint...I have never felt closer to death in my life, and I didn't even spill my sweet tea!

Thursday, November 12, 2009 - Ryan

Another 7 miles today. I opted to avoid the Ridgeland running trail and tried something different. There aren't many "scenic" routes around here, so I just ran down Highland Colony, into Cypress Lake, and then back. The last 2-3 miles felt really good. I think my Garmin briefly shut off, so the time on the 5th mile is probably 30 seconds fast. Either way, it was a good run. In terms of intensity / speed, this has been one of my best training weeks in a while.

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for RNR NOLA 4

Work was slow again yesterday, so I found this little gem on Hulu. It's a great documentary about marathon running that I think everyone who reads this should take the time to watch.

Spirit of the Marathon

It's almost 2 hours long, but is all about 5 different people training for the Chicago Marathon. It's a great portrayal of the different views / training programs people have, from elite runners to first timers.

Hopefully my new Lunartrainers will get here tomorrow so I can break them in on Saturday. The schedule calls for 14 miles, so I'm going to run the first 10 with Leanna and the last 4 at my pace (not race pace, but probably 6:40ish).

Wednesday, November 11, 2009 - Ryan

Ryan Hall - Half Marathon Tempo Runs

Just finished my first tempo run for RNR NOLA training. I will say, tempo runs are the runs I dread the most. Simply put, tempo runs are basically a shorter run at / faster than race pace. They are meant to improve your lactace threshold pace (how fast you can run before the lactate (lactic acid) level in your muscles and blood increases rapidly). The higher your lactate threshold, the longer and faster you can run. Mentally, tempo runs let you know how fast you can run. This becomes very beneficial during races when you know that, if you had to, you could run faster because you have in training.

My workout called for a warm-up mile, 4m @ 5:56 pace, and a cool down mile. I went out too fast on my first mile, and paid for it on my last mile. I dont think I've ever run 4 miles at a sub-6:00 average pace, so this was a first for me.

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for RNR NOLA 3

Here is a link to a good article on tempo runs:

Tempo Article

I won the eBay auction for my Lunartrainers. $49.50 including shipping. Looking forward to getting those and tracking the miles I put on them. I'm thinking I can get 300 - 350 miles out of them.

While bored at work, I found this humorous Nike running commercial:

I Am Not a Runner

I'm Nathan

Hello world, my name is Nathan and I have been suckered into this running thing by the other three clowns who own and operate this blog. Do I run, yes. Do I like to, yes. Do I have time to tell you about it, yes, but I don't really want to, but I will for the good of the order.

I have been a runner since about 12th grade. I started running because when I looked at my stomach it reminded me of the wave pool at Waterland and I didn't like that. So, one day I went outside and ran about 1/2 a mile. I hated it, and vowed to never do it again, but since I have an addictive personality, I went out the next day and ran another 1/2 mile. This would continue for the better part of the semester. Before I knew it, I had shed approximately 50 pounds and decided it was something I not only enjoyed, but was addicted to.

Addicted you ask, yes, addicted. A true addiction too. It was so bad that I would actually turn down going out to run if I hadn't had the opportunity to get one in yet. Yea, I was a gigantic loser, although not literally gigantic anymore...since I started running.

My competitive running career is not great, or illustrious like some others on this blog, however I have competed in 4 1/2 marathons, and several 5 & 10k's. No records have been broken or anything like that, but I've maintained an average pace in the 1/2 marathons of about 7:30/mile on all but one. On that one, I ran with my current girlfriend who was participating in her first ever race. Not her first ever half, her first ever race. Before we trained together for the St. Jude 1/2 marathon she had never run, so I promised I would run this one with her all the way until the finish. We actually did better than I expected and ran the 1/2 at about a 9 minute pace throughout. In my opinion, not too bad of a pace for someone who had never run a competitive race and who had run 13.1 miles just once...race day.

I'm excited about the adventure ahead in training for Chicago and I plan to take it very serious. I'm working toward running a 1/2 marathon in Jackson during December or January and an additional 1/2 in Nashville this coming April. I'd love to throw in a few more races as time goes on.

I'm going to lean heavily on Hendy for advice on training and preparation as he is the seasoned veteran of the group, but will also look toward Taxi and Garett for additional motivation as we look to conquer this beast together.

The road will be long, but fun, and I'm glad to be a part of this group.

Mid Wk plans

Looks like I get to force a run in today. I have a case that starts at 5 p.m. in Columbus and a couple of hours of downtime before then, so I'm about to head to the gym and then try and run about 4.

Yesterday I got 4 in in 31:48. I'll shoot for 4 today, but could accept 3-3.5, because tomorrow I will go for 4.5-5. Short runs on Thursday and Friday and a long one on Sunday (5) should be a good week.

I must admit I'm struggling a little to find a good route for my outdoor runs. I need to pick up a Garmin or Timex w/GPS. Basically now when I run outside I go for time and attempt to maintain my 8min./mile pace. I hope I'm not getting shortchanged on my distances. Last Wednesday I was out for 41 minutes and ran for 37 of those, so I'm assuming in the 41 minutes I went at least 4.5 miles, hopefully when I am able to clock off that run I won't be dissapointed.

In other shoes I own the ugliest running shoes known to man. You might not think they look that bad in a picture, but when worn with navy blue shorts or something that doesn't match it only enhacnes the ugly...They are anything but neutral in appearance.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009 - Ryan

Day 2 of RNR Mardi Gras Marathon training called for the same workout as yesterday, an Easy Run: 7 miles @ 7:07/min pace. Looking at the SmartCoach training schedule from Runner's World, each week contains 3 Easy Runs (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday), 1 Speedwork / Tempo (Wednesday) and one Long Run (Saturday). I did the same route today due to it's convenience, but I'll be hitting Spillway Road tomorrow for my Tempo. There were no Garmin or gum issues today, so the run was pretty smooth.

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for RNR NOLA 2

I'm taking recovery / rest days much more seriously this time around. I really didn't recover that well when training for 2009 Chicago. This time, I'm putting more focus into resting not only on off days, but trying to recover better on the days I run (i.e. cold bath after each run, eating correctly after each run, etc.). I'm hoping this will not only make me recover faster / stronger, but also enable me to train harder.

The auction for my shoes on eBay ends today so hopefully I'll be able to pick them up for under $50 including shipping (brand new they are $100).

Monday, November 9th, 2009 – Ryan

Today starts my training for the Rock n' Roll New Orleans Marathon. I found a 16-week training program on Runner's World similar to the one I used for the 2009 Chicago Marathon. It’s quite easy to use, just input a previous race time, how many miles you want to train per week, and an “intensity level” and it spits out a program. For 2009 Chicago, I set the training program to “hard” intensity, but for New Orleans I’m setting it on “moderate”. The first week isn’t too bad, 41 total miles. Looks like the most difficult week is 59 miles, which is close to the most I ran during Chicago training.

The program is split into easy runs, speedwork / tempo runs, and long runs. My program has me running 5 days a week whereas Leanna’s has her running 4 days a week. Today was 7 miles @ 7:07/min pace for me. However, we had several malfunctions that were almost catastrophic. First of all, I accidentally spit my gum out. For those of you that know me, I can't run without gum. Running without gum is my kryptonite. With about 2 miles to go I lost said gum during a routine exhale. Then, the Garmin beeps twice, letting me know the battery was low. I had to hustle home because I didn't want my workout to be lost if the battery died. Needless to say I made it.

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for RNR NOLA 1

My First Week

I will start this off by saying, "I am not a runner". Not today at least. But I hope to become one over the course of the next year. The farthest that I have ever run was an 8K in downtown Chicago call the Shamrock Shuffle. Good time, barely trained...thus barely survived. My goals for the next year are obviously lofty ones, but I hope with the help and support of Garett and John (Hendy) we can all reach those goals.

As for my first week, I went for 2 runs. Both seems to be very eventful (probably more than planned).

Run #1 about 1.5 miles: last Tuesday night I decided to lace up the new shoes and take Bertolli (my dog) for a little jog. If any of you know my little bundle of joy that is my mutt, then you know how much energy he has...A LOT! I thought that it would be good for him to get out and get rid of some of that energy. Needless to say, most of the walk was spent stopping to "use the restroom" (not me, Bert) and stopping to smell, well EVERYTHING. I am going to continue to take Bert for the runs, I just hope he starts to get used to it. I did however make the beginner's mistake of NOT stretching after the run, and I paid the price for that for a couple of days.

Run #2 about 1.25 miles: Saturday night the entire family went out for a jog around our neighborhood. My wife, Emily, took Bertolli this time, I think she likes yelling at him more than I do. As for myself, I pushed the jogging stroller (which took me much longer than I care to admit to put together) with Miss Addison in it. I have to set this up a little bit. The stroller's front wheel swivels for easier turning and what not, so that is the position that I had it in when we started. At the beginning of the run, SOMEHOW, the wheel locked into place and then all together locked up. DISASTER! AC was fine, but the handle bars caught me straight in the stomach, which is not all together that small of a region these days. It caught me off guard and did not feel good. After a minute or so of constant cussing, to which my wife called me white trash, I gathered myself together and finished the run. This time however I did stretch afterwards and have felt great ever since. I have realized quickly that this is going to be a longer journey than I expected, which was crazy long to begin with. But I look forward to the journey and keeping you peeps posted along the way.

Sunday, November 11, 2009 - Ryan

It's another rest day for me. I had my last run before Leanna and I start training for the Rock n' Roll Mardi Gras Marathon in New Orleans. I did a good 15-miler Saturday morning.

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Run #13

I wish there were a few more routes to run around here, but running from the house and on the trail is definitely the most convenient, plus there's usually Team in Training or Fleet Feet water to "borrow".

After the run, I tried an ice bath for recovery and I must say, as painful as they are, they definitely work. My legs feel fine this morning, which is not normal after running 15 miles the day before.

I think it's time for a new pair of Lunar Trainers, so I'm looking on eBay for those. If you're lucky, you can find running shoes up to 50% off on the internet, so definitely look around before buying in the store.

According to my RnR NOLA training program, I've got 7 miles @ 7:07 pace tomorrow.

Saturday's RUn

So many mistakes made before my run on Saturday.

1.Ate a big Mac, fries, and washed it down with a root beer an hour before run. I should preface how stupid this was by saying that I have not had a fast food hamburger in almost 14 months (aside from an eating competition). I hate fast food, but when dealt with no other options I always go with a grilled chicken. So on an inactive day this would have been a decision to regret, much less one in which I plan on running

2.Did not scout my route very well before the run. I was in Fairhope for the weekend and noticed during the day a sidewalk that started about 800 yards before my Sister's neighborhood and seemed like it had the stuff to get me down my run. The 800 yards of having to run in the road would be a small setback compared to the beautiful weather and scenery.

Wrong, I failed to notice how narrow the road was, leaving my only option to run in the ditch next to the road (un-mowed grass made it increasingly difficult to determine whether or not my next step would be; on an ant hill, in a hole, or on a snake). The time on the sidewalk was euphoric but short lived. My dream sidewalk ran out after about 1 mile and I was returned to ditch running in an attempt to keep from being run over. Also, what is the need to honk at someone (not the polite tap, but the fear of God inspiring lay on the horn) who you don't know and who is very clearly not a threat or disturbance to your driving? I often thought of how likely it is that many of my friends (namely boo boo) probably practice this same art of driver to runner communication.

Otherwise, a successful trip. I haven't purchased a garmin but clocked off my run at 4.4 miles.

Good day

Friday, November 6, 2009 - Ryan

Decided to sleep in yesterday morning, so I got in an 8 miles at lunch.

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Run #12

I did an easier run on Wednesday, so I decided to pick up the pace a little on this one. The run went great until I got back to the office and discovered someone had stolen my t-shirt. Luckily, I had an extra shirt in my gym bag.

Today is a rest day. I usually try to run 5 days a week and take Friday and Sunday off. This schedule seems to work well for me, but some people prefer to run 4 days. It took me a while to realize that my body needed rest days, but once I started training for 2009 Chicago, I quickly found out that constant days of running does a number on your legs. Rest and recovery are critical to successful, injury-free training. I had always thought I could push through the pain signals my body was sending me, and I probably could've, but I didn't have to. Training programs, when followed correctly, are quite accurate, and they call for multiple rest days.

I'm thinking an easy 12 miles or so tomorrow and then Leanna and I start training for the Mardi Gras Marathon on February 28th together.

Thursday, November 5, 2009 - Ryan

Looks like we might have a fourth joining us in the Windy City for 10/10/10. Nathan Best is a high school friend of mine and a friend of Garett's since elementary. We'll let him introduce himself.

Here's my workout from yesterday morning.

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Run #11

Easy 7 miles (out and back) from the house. Morning is definitely the best time to run; nice and quiet and cool temperatures. However, waking up at 6:00am on a consistent basis is miserable. That's why I like to incorporate a lunch time run a few days during the week. Lunch time running mixes things up, and makes the day go by faster. I officially start training for my next marathon on Monday so I'm taking it pretty easy this week. I'm running the Mardi Gras Marathon (Feb. 28) with my girlfriend in order to get her qualified for the Boston Marathon. She's a much more experienced runner than me, so hopefully with her experience and me pacing her we'll be able to get her qualified.

Sounds like a good run Gary Boy. As much as you love a TV and the random conversation of the person next to you on the treadmill, keep running outside.

Introduction-Garett

Here we go. I guess I would describe myself as an occasional runner. Longest distance to date 8 miles (run almost 2 years ago), while training for a half marathon that I never ran (to go along with a triathlon I trained for and never ran).
So I would say that my biggest problem would be sticking with the training long enough to get to a race. In the coming months I will be leaning heavily on the support of Taxi and Hendy to make it to the finish line on 10/10/10. It might truly require a team effort to keep me motivated for almost a year.

Great run yesterday. Decided I wasn't going on a specific route or running for a set distance or time, would just try and keep my 8 min/mile pace as long as I could. Things started out beautifully. 77 degrees, sun shining, ipod thumping, in my own world...until I started to hear voices. Female voices. I realized a couple of young ladies were closing in on me. I might not be fast and I'm by no means a chauvinist, but I am competitive. So, being taken over by a couple of what sounded like sorority girls out for a brisk started to bother me. I tried to justify that the only way the caught me was that they were probably only running 1 mile, surely they weren't putting out my kind of distance at this pace.

Subconsciously I must have picked up my pace by a fraction, because they didn't pass me, and took a while to get even with me. But I never expected what came next. What I thought was a couple of Chi O's out for a jog turned out to be some type of cross country team. Before I knew it I was completely surrounded: Two in front, one on the right, two on the left, and what sounded like a couple on my six.

I couldn't break pace and let them go, they weren't going fast enough to pass me, and I wasn't going to make the obvious break out and kick it up a gear. So I ran with them. I can't imagine how this looked to cars and pedestrians passing by. Seven, might have been, high school girls running around one late twenties male. I envision they looked like some sort of Charlie's Angels secret service keeping my fans and admirers at bay. When realistically I probably looked like some perv trying to keep up with some high school girls.

It was a nice change of pace and lasted about 5 minutes before they went left and I went right. But I hope not all my runs are like this, I might begin to get a reputation.

Introductions - Ryan

I swore up and down I'd never run a marathon. What joy could someone possibly get out of running 26.2 miles as fast as you can? I'd been running for about a year when a friend said he could get me into the Chicago Marathon for free (Run for Autism charity runner), so I thought I'd give it a try. I'd done a few half marathons and thought those were absolutely miserable, so I really couldn't imagine this being any fun at all. The marathon training program I chose for the 2009 Chicago Marathon was miserable in the Mississippi summer heat. Needless to say, I did my training, ran the race, and now I'm going back in 2010. Not only is the race experience unbelievable, but the feeling of satisfaction you get from completing a marathon is like none other.

That brings me to the other two participants on the blog, Garett and Taxi. I'll let them introduce themselves.

We'll chronicle our different training programs for the race, me in Madison, MS, Garett in Starkville, MS, and Taxi in Chicago. Hopefully you'll get some enjoyment out of it.