Saturday, June 27, 2009

Marathon Man - Another day in the park.

Just wrapped up another week, with my longest run yet - 88 minutes.  I did three laps around William Land Park.   It's really amazing to me that I've come this far. Can I quit now?

A few weeks ago I ran a 5K in Granite Bay and I just signed up for a 10K on July 4th here in Elk Grove. Both runs were selected because they match the time/distance requirements of the day I ran. That is two weeks ago, I was supposed to run 40 minutes, which is about how long the 5K took. Next Saturday, I'm supposed to run 6 miles, which is just shy of 10k. That's as good a metric as any to show how much the training is picking up.

Starting Monday I run distance instead of time. Maybe that will be the incentive to pick up the tempo. I've been moving really slow, with my effort on maintaining consistency.

If you're just joining us, this is all about me running the CowTown Marathon this October as a fund raiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Details can be found here.  You can make donations here.

Posted via email from Lee's posterous

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Marathon Man - It's official, I'm a runner.

The week started with a  5K run in Granite Bay. I finished and I didn't come in last!  My goal for the run was to see how it all worked. As I've mentioned before, it's easy for me to lose my pace when I'm running with other people. I thought this would be a good test of that process. Also, I wanted to get a sense of the overhead of a group run. Checkin, etc. It was all easy. I started towards the back of the pack (and stayed there. :-) ) 

I ran a 5K, rather than a 10K because it fit my training schedule for that day. I'm glad I did it and I'll get some other organized runs in between now and October. By then it'll be second nature.

This was supposed to be a light week, but I just finished my longest run so far - 80 minutes or about 5 miles as the crow walks - this morning. It went well. I do fine as long as I keep to my snail's pace.

On Wednesday I had my first 'couldn't do it.' I was supposed to be out an hour, but only made 45 minutes. Not sure why. I'm happy to let it go and see if it becomes a pattern before I worry about.

As always, thanks for your support. On the fund raising side of things (this is, after all, a fund raiser) I'm doing ok. Only a couple of hundred dollars to go. 

If you're just joining us, this is all about me running the CowTown Marathon this October as a fund raiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Details can be found here.  You can make donations here.

Posted via email from Lee's posterous

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Marathon Man - And The Beat Goes On.

This will be a brief update. Not a lot to report.

I've just finished a 70 minute run, the longest yet and a 250 minute week, also the longest so far.

The running has gone well. I'm usually slogging along for the first 10 minutes, but then I hit the groove and all is well.

Next week will be a bit easier. I'm running a 5K tomorrow and the rest of the week is an 'easy' week.

Thanks again for all the support. It really helps.

If you're just joining us, this is all about me running the CowTown Marathon this October as a fund raiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Details can be found here.  You can make donations here.

Posted via email from Lee's posterous

Saturday, June 06, 2009

Marathon Man - a new Discovery (Park)

I'm five weeks into training for the CowTown marathon on Oct. 4 and it's been a good week. The training, as expected is ratcheting up this month. By the end I should have gone from a 40 minute long run to an 85 minute long run. (Each week has a few shorter runs - now the 40 minute runs are the short runs! and one or two longer runs. This morning I ran an hour for the first time.)

I ran in Fair Oaks on Wednesday night and managed to invite myself over to some friends for a shower and dinner after. That was a nice end to a hilly run.

Last night the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society received a donation in my name that took me to 80% of my fund raising goal. I wasn't sure how the fund raising was going to fare and it's been a bit of a relief to receive the support that I have.

Today's run started in Old Sacramento (a weird mix of historical park and tourist kitsch). We ran along the Sacramento River to Discovery Park, where the American River ends, and then through the park a bit. And back. It was great weather and a smooth run. And it isn't a part of Sacramento where I've spent much time.

Before and after the run today we got some pointers on proper walking and running. The goal is to avoid wasted effort which, while trivial when walking to your car in the parking lot, can become injury threats if maintained for 26.2 miles. I appreciated the pointers.

Again, if you're just joining us, this is all about me running the CowTown Marathon this October as a fund raiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Details can be found here. You can make donations here.

Posted via email from Lee's posterous