Phase 2 begins

We finally made it to the second phase of this marathon training.

Today was the first chance to run for distance instead of time. My time for a two mile run this afternoon was 29:50. So, I guess I trimmed 10 seconds off of my pace for the 5k. I guess we'll just have to see how I do tomorrow(Wednesday).

Tomorrow is another 2 mile run, but we're supposed to run it at a faster pace. Maybe this time I'll actually see some real time shaved off.

Also, we've registered for a 5k on Saturday. I'm really hoping to have a new PR for it. I've really come a long way since the last one we ran, but it just doesn't seem like I'm moving any faster. Am I really walking just as fast as I jog?

It was a big jump...

Owwww. I'm hurting.

I think I overdid it on Tuesday. After running, I decided it was time to mow the lawn and that might have been a little too much for me. My legs and knees were so tired and today I'm sore. I haven't been sore from running in a long time.

Regardless of the pain, I'm running today. I'm really worried about Evan and I falling behind. I really plan to be in marathon shape by February and I don't want to see my procrastinations piling up on me.

I guess Evan and I will just shift the running for this week a day over.

My best excuse yet

I seem to be stuck on this one-post-a-week habit. This past week I have a really good excuse for: I'm going to be a dad.

My wife told me about the new baby on Saturday and that's the reason I haven't done much running or posting. I ended up skipping running from Monday to yesterday with baby-related events. It really showed when I finally did get out last night.

Evan and I are finally to the end of Phase I where we're running for 30 complete minutes. I did not make it. I think the week off plus the stress of finding out about the baby, plus the fact that it was kinda late when I got home, made it a hard day for a run. It was kind of like I couldn't focus. I'm pretty sure I could run all the way, but I just kept taking time to walk a little. I guess my head was too clouded with stuff.

I still felt pretty good when I was done and had the energy to cut the grass. So, I'm just going to chalk that one up to a lack of focus.

New shoes hurt...

Evan and I went and got some new shoes on Saturday. I've been excited about trying them out all weekend. Finally, Monday got here and those shoes hurt so bad.

The guy at the Trak Shak said that Evan and I needed heavy support so we bought the shoes that he pointed out. I'm guessing that our feet were fighting back against all that support. One weird thing was that my right foot was hurting while my left foot felt fine. I don't know what that means. Hopefully, we'll soon break the new shoes in and be comfortable while running again.

As far as the actual running goes, yesterday was our 20 minute interval beginning. We actually didn't make it the whole 20 minutes due to the painful event going on with our feet. We did run for 15 minutes and then rested for 2. Then we ran until our scheduled break and took it as well. So, I guess it was kind of an easy day for us. I'm pretty sure we'll make it all the way next time. I'm thinking our feet will feel fine by then.

Sport for life?

Evan and I had a great run yesterday. We're up to 15 minute intervals and we can keep a decent pace, but still keep a conversation going. After the run, we don't hurt anywhere near as much as we used to. It's very encouraging to see all this progress.

I'm still reflecting on my goal of running a whole mile. A couple of months ago, I thought I'd never be back in the kind of shape to do that. It's something I think about pretty regularly throughout the day.

I've decided that running will probably be my sport for life. I've set the goal of one day making it to the Boston Marathon and I feel this is entirely possible. As I keep running, I'll get closer to making the qualifying time. As I get older, the qualifying time will drop. Somewhere in there, I'll eventually make it. I may be 90-years-old when I make it, but I will get there eventually.

Gooooooaaaaalllll!!!

Ok, so I passed a minor goal of mine.

When I first started this running stuff, I really wanted to get back to where I could stay running for a whole mile. Yesterday, Evan and I definitely did that. It wasn't the fastest mile anyone has ever run, but it was a mile nonetheless so I'm pretty happy about it.

This week, we started running our 15 minute intervals, which really means we walked for two minutes, ran for 15, walked another 2, then ran for 11 minutes. I know it might seem kind of cheap to take our first rest on the front end, but we have to warm up sometime. Also, when we get to our full 30 minute week, I won't count the warm up as part of the 30 minutes.

We missed a 5k run this weekend, but only because of the storms. That was kind of a let down, because I think we're ready to improve on our 5k PR. The last one was run in 45:36. I think we may be able to shave some time off of it, because I believe we can actually run the whole thing.

Still going

It's a lot harder to post stuff when things aren't going very well.

Last week, I didn't get much running after a weekend of hurt knees. I ran on Friday and it felt great. It was the only day that I got to run in the whole "8 minutes" week. It felt good enough that we went ahead and moved up to the "10 minutes" week, yesterday.

This is the strange thing, running 10 minute intervals was really easy. I'm not hurting today and I don't expect any trouble tomorrow. I actually feel like I'm ready for running the whole 30 minutes.

Another big deal is that I weighed this morning and I'm now down 12 lbs. That is a new record for me as I've been at 300 lbs for forever and now I'm back down to 288. I've noticed that the weight really drops off as Evan and I are getting into the harder runs. This just makes me want to run more and keep up eating right.

There's a 5k this weekend that we should run. It's only a little ways away from where I live, so it won't be too much of a deal to go. Hopefully, we can greatly improve on our personal record.