Morning Constellations

Run: 4 miles
Time: 44:01
Temp: 78 anything with a 7 in the tens digit is welcome
Quality: 8/10

It seems like yesterday the blazing sun was up 24 hours a day and then today it decided to rest. Does summer disappear that quickly? I stepped out for my AM run and was greeted by an old friend, the constellation Orion. In the winter he makes the entire run with me, but he disappeared all summer. Maybe he's smarter than me because he only winters down her in the desert.

Garmin Envy

Run: 7 miles

Time: 74:21

Pace: 10:37 minute mile

Temp: 78 - I'll take anything in the 70's.

Quality 7/10

First, I'd like to congratulate Eric (NOT) on getting a Garmin 405 (I HATE YOU) GPS wristwatch to help him (AAAAAAAHHHHH) get real time (I HOPE THE SATELLITES BLOW UP) running data. Congrats bro (I'M BETTER LOOKING THAN YOU), we're looking forward to (oodles of useless) information on your (copycat) blog.

Brice and I logged 7 miles around the Fountain Lake in the center of town. I got someone to snap a photo of us at the end of our run (we wanted to look our best), but the guy took a picture of 80% sky and 20% people. Nice job... You get what you pay for.

Brice was cool enough to pull the pace back by a full minute per mile, THANK YOU. We started our run with the full moon over our heads. I guess summer will be exiting the valley soon. The run went well, the knee cooperated, and I walked with Brice after the run to warm down. I'm thinking that that will be a part of my routine moving forward. Also, I iced the knee for about 30 minutes right when I got home and everything seems to be moving smoothly. Next week we jump to 8. Keep your fingers crossed.

If you are reading this on Sunday, enjoy the day off. If you are reading this on Monday, then get back to work!

Crazy?

Run: 3.7mi
Time: 41:17
Pace: Just over 11 minute miles.
Temp: 78 it rained last night and the humidity was through the roof
Quality: 7/10

I'm totally slammed right now with work, so this will be a short one. The knee is doing very well right now. I did the shoes, insoles, slowed the pace, and I even had my Chiropractor (Matthew Teusink) do a little acupressure on the bad boy. Net result: I'm pain free for the moment.

I saw Brice doing his morning run and broke the news to him that I'd be backing off the pace. He seemed cool with it, but I'll double check with him later, as I totally respect that he's gunning for 10 minute mile pace.

Finally, I realized today that a couple of weeks ago I woke up one morning and randomly decided that I was going to do the RnR Marathon, and I never thought about asking my wife, Mary, if this commitment was cool with her. So I did that this morning and she replied with, "if you want to go and do something crazy like that, go for it." Thanks honey?.?.?.?

Now get back to work.

Girlfriend Named Katie

Run: 5.04 miles (as calculated by Eric's map suggestion on his blog)

Time: 59:26

Temp: 85 nasty, nasty, nasty.

Quality: 6/10

I'm still in negotiation with my knee, but it seems to be happier when I go slow. I've also promised it that I will shed about 10 more pounds in the near future, which forced me to forgo the mint chocolate chip ice cream that I craved last night while watching Phelps win the 200 Butterfly. Way to go Phelps. Anyway, my run was not as slow as the time above might have led you to believe. I made a stop during my run to visit my girlfriend, Katie. Here's her picture:

She's an 18-month old Bloodhound and I'm in love with her. Her owner is working hard to get her under control, as she regularly hops up on people, especially dog people. I've come home with lots of paw prints on my running shirts on many occaisions. So her owner asked if I'd help with her training. We made a rule that Katie can't get her puppy luvin until she sits like a good girl. This seemed to work for a bit, and her owner was very happy to see the progress. However, Katie gets so excited when I appear that she sits the moment she sees me. It doesen't matter if I'm a quarter of a mile away or ten feet away. If she sees me, her butt is on the sidewalk and she WILL NOT move until I arrive. We solved one problem and created another. Oh well.

Now get back to work!

Green Monkeys

Today's run: 4+ Miles in 47:26
Temp: Comfortable, probably 80
Run Quality: 6 out of 10
Note: Beauty of a sunrise, see above.

If I say to you, "Don't think about Green Monkeys." What do you think about? Yep, Green Monkeys. Why do I bring this up? Because the book, Chi Running, has really helped me in ways that the author might not have predicted. In case you didn't know, my right knee is my nemesis. It's been surgically "repaired" and never quite recovered. It is my companion on many runs and talks, sometimes shouts, at me the entire time. Grrrrrrrrr. Prior to reading Chi Running I'd look for it to talk to me with each step, and when you are taking 3000 to 5000 steps you can create your own self fulfilling prophecy; however, I found that when I concentrated on the principles of Chi Running (form, breathing, cadence, etc) my mind had no time to think about the knee. And when I stopped thinking about the knee, it pretty much stopped talking to me. Bye, bye Green Monkeys. If you've not read Chi Running, pick it up. It's a "must read" for any runner.

With all that said, Chi Running can only do so much. I toinked my knee during my long run on Sunday, which sent me into a panic. I was thinking, "great, started a blog a week ago and now it's over." Not to mention the fact that I REALLY, REALLY wanted to do long runs again. Some of my favorite moments on the planet have happened at mile 10 and beyond. Runner's High, maybe, but it goes beyond that and those of you who have logged some serious miles know what I'm talking about. So in my state of panic I ran out and purchased new shoes and shoe inserts (Superfeet) to help my knee. As well, I dialed back my run today, doing approximately 11 minute miles. Net result of the new shoes, new inserts, slower pace, and thinking about the Chi form as opposed to the knee, the run went reasonably well.

Conclusions:

1. when I have too much coffee, I shouldn't blog.
2. for me to do the RnR marathon in January, I think I'll have to dial back my expectations for the finishing time. I'm looking to break 5 hours instead of 4. I promised my body that I'd be good to it in the hope that it would be good back to me. I will fulfill that promise.

Now I need to talk to Brice (my long run partner) about my new plan for the marathon. I may be going solo on my long runs. Doh!

Now get back to work.

Long Run???

So I did my first legit "long" run. Why is "long" in quotes? Because the run was only 7 miles, which is a distance that I used to laugh at if someone had told me it was "long." But here I am at 39 and I'm very willing to call it long. My text message to Eric went something like this: ran 7 today, felt like 14.

Here are the stats on the run:

81 degrees
7 miles
68:27
quality of run 6/10

I was lucky enough to run it with my new found running partner Brice Moorman. He's looking to do 4:30 at the Rock 'n' Roll and I'm hoping I can keep up with him at this point. He did 9 last weekend while I golfed...bad Mike. We did our run around the fountain (see picture), which is the focal point for our little community of Fountain Hills. Yep, the guys who founded this place sure were original when they named it.

But back to the "long" run. Brice told me that he had taken precautions to ensure that no chaffing occured, to which I laughed a little. Precautions??? For a 7 mile run??? you have to be kidding. Alas, he was correct and now I have painful reminders of my age and shape. I'll be more careful next week.

Soon I'll be posting what my long runs are going to look like for the remaining 23 weeks for the marathon.

Oh, one final note, Shannon officially killed my Timex Ironman watch. I tried to revive it, but it's not firing on all cylinders. Oh, Oh, I also got a new pair of shoes (Saucony Grid Stratos 2) and a hydration pack. Reviews will be forthcoming.

Now get back to work!

Quality Control

Again, it rained last night. Actually, the thunderstorm felt very end-of-the-earth biblical, which explains why this morning the temperature was 78 degrees and felt comfortable for the first time in...months. I love the desert after it rains, and I defy anyone to find a better smell than the desert after a rainstorm. I ran 3 miles today in 29:05 and thought I'd turn it into a Fartlek. I inserted two segments where I upped the tempo for about a half of a mile. This was a very disappointing experience when it became apparent to me that my "up-tempo" pace was about an 8 minute mile pace. LOLOLOLOL.

Quality Control:

I know Timex runs their Ironman watches through some form of quality control, but those little machines can't possibly simulate the torture that Shannon (my 2 1/2 year old daugther) can create. She got her paws on my watch the other morning and, well you can probably guess what happened. Long story short, the next morning I put my watch on my wrist and was greeted by a blank screen. Not good. I changed the battery to see if that helps, but I have a feeling that there are bigger issues that need to be addressed.

Now get back to work