Awesome Running Days

I just finished a run that's got me so amped that I wanted to share it here.

You know how in the summer I wasn't running nearly enough? (yes, I know it's still summer but the girls are back to school now so bear with me)

Well, since the girls went back to school I've had more time to do more things, including running. I just ran six miles and it's the ninth consecutive day I've gone on a run.

This run was particularly grand. I've been wanting to get my legs back and I think this week I've taken some major steps towards doing just that. On Monday I ran 10 miles and today I ran six miles in 53:45. That's at a sub-9 minute pace.

Here are my splits

Mile 1 - 9:16

Mile 2 - 8:54

Mile 3 - 8:48

Mile 4 - 8:54

Mile 5 - 8:55

Mile 6 - 8:56

It was just a run that started out sort of leisurely but my legs felt good, felt strong and I just went with that. I ran the first mile in 9:16 and wondered if that was too fast and was pretty sure I wasn't going to be able to hold that pace but as the miles went on, I got stronger and felt strong throughout. I think after four miles I felt a little spent but I pushed through that and had some nice bursts of speed in the last two miles, including the last quarter-mile or so, which was uphill.

These are the kinds of runs that motivate me to keep running, that drive me to pursue and the ones that I'll remember for days and weeks and months.

I'm so grateful I was able to experience that and that I now have the time to commit to running. And that's why I didn't sweat the summer too much. I enjoyed my time with the girls and now I'm enjoying my time and making the most of it.

Back In The Swing Of Things

Finally.

It only took eight days but finally I was able to run. I knocked out a six-miler on Monday. It wasn't exactly the distance I had planned for but I just couldn't stop at four, and then when I got closer to five I figured to just go for six. I wound up running for one hour and managed to get in 6.27 miles.

It was a bit liberating to just get on the treadmill and run. Yes, the 'mill. The only way to have gotten that run in was at the gym so I took my girls there, paid the six bucks it costs for the kids club and then hopped on the 'mill.

I felt good. My legs felt a bit heavy and I didn't feel quite as smooth as I normally do but I figured I'd have some setbacks. But they weren't major setbacks, just minor stuff.

I don't want to get ahead of myself and plan things but I do think that I will run again either Tuesday or Wednesday and then Thursday for sure. The girls are staying the night at their grandma's on Wednesday night so I will have a bit of time early Thursday morning. I may try and head out at 6 a.m. and will play it by ear and see how I'm feeling and just run.

Once school starts, I know I will increase my miles substantially so between now and then I just want to spend the time transitioning and getting back into the rhythm of things.

It's nice to feel like I will get into a rhythm here soon enough.

Hotness

Remember during the winter when I would brag write about the weather here in SoCal?

If you were a reader then, I'm sure you must. Especially if you live in a landlocked frozen wasteland of a state like... well, like many that aren't California.

Well, all that glitters isn't gold.

It's been very hot around here lately. As in, too hot to run unless you set out before 7 a.m., and preferably before 6 a.m. if you are doing anything longer than five or six miles.

On Sunday, I ran 11 miles. I left on the run at about 6:10 and it was already warm when I set out. Every time I stopped to take a drink or GU or something, the fatigue slapped me in the face. I didn't realize that I was so tired while I was running, but the sun really does a number on you when you do run.

I can't take advantage of the cool not-as-warm-but-getting-there mornings because I can't leave the girls alone here while I run so I haven't been running as much as I would like. It really does make for a strange and difficult schedule - run early or not at all.

(You're probably wondering why don't I just run at night, and while this is a valid point, two things prevent me from that - 1) I enjoy spending the evenings at home with Mrs. LB since she commutes and gets up early and I don't like to just leave her here on weekdays, and 2) I've never really enjoyed running in the evenings.

Anyway, that day above (which is Wednesday, today) doesn't seem too bad and I plan on taking advantage of it. The clouds make a big difference and we have had blazingly clear skies which makes it feel hotter than it is.

Anyway, I know I'm not getting much sympathy for all the times I boasted rejoiced in my good fortune during the winter. We have quite mild winters in SoCal and I'm grateful for that. But that comes with a price, and triple-digit temperatures don't always make for the greatest running conditions.

Breakin' The Break

Well, I went long enough without it.

Running and I went without each other for too much time, so on Friday I corrected that.

I went on a run.

Yes, it was a few days earlier than I'd anticipated but I was starting to feel the effects of not running. I felt sluggish, felt tired, felt like I was coming down with something. So with the urging of Mrs. LB, I went on a run. I woke up around 5 a.m. on Friday and 30 minutes later I was out running again.

It was a great run. I felt good, as good as I could have wanted to considering I hadn't run for nearly two weeks.

The best part about this run was that I feel energized to run once more. My next race will be on June 4, the Fontana Days Half Marathon, and I can now start planning and training for that in earnest.

It's nice to be back.

Not A Fan

I guess not everyone is a fan of running, nor does everyone have respect for runners.

This story here questions whether those participating in today's NYC Marathon are athletes, but goes beyond that and really slams all marathoners, well, all but the top 500 who are the true athletes, the writer says.

This story kind of hit me from behind as I wasn't expecting something this unflattering so I haven't quite yet wrapped my mind around it, and I do think I want to write something more than this on the matter. But still felt the urge to post it today since today is the NYC Marathon.

Off now to run 13 miles. Not that the writer of that blog post would give a crap...

(thanks Morgan for the link)

Fueling On The Go

Last week I read a tip in Runner's World about consuming carbs during races.

The tip: 60-80g of carbs each hour will improve performance.

I was intrigued. So I tried it.

Now, I want to try it during the Long Beach Half Marathon. This makes sense to me, the reasoning behind eating as many carbs per hour as suggested, and I feel this could help me not only meet my goals in Long Beach but also help me just feel better during and after the race.

But I have a bit of a firm belief in this - nothing new on race day.

Nothing new. No new shoes. No new shirts. No new socks. No new gear. No new breakfast food. I don't like surprises and the last thing I want to do is to be surprised on race day. The last thing I want to happen is for something new to backfire on me and cause some sort of adverse reaction during a race. Of course, I put myself in a bad situation in San Francisco when I forgot my damn fuel belt and had to buy a new one and wear a new one on race day, but that's a bit of an extreme case where it beat the alternative of relying on the race to properly hydrate myself. I'm still mad at myself over that.

Anyway, nothing new on race day. I don't want to try this new 60-80 carbs/hr thing on race day for the first time. What if four GU packets in two hours makes me.... well, I'll let you use your imagination. I really don't want to find out the hard way how something works.

So I tried it out Sunday. We were running 10 miles, us Lopers, so I filled up two bottles on my fuel belt with Gatorade and grabbed three GU packets. Each bottle holds eight ounces of liquid (and there is roughly 14g carbs per eight ounces so it seemed to work out well). So my plan was to take two GUs and drink one entire bottle the first hour and then the other GU and the rest of the bottle the second hour. I figure we'd finish in about 1 hour 40-something minutes, so there'd be no time to get to the fourth GU packet.

My plan was to GU at 25 and 50 minutes, but we were at minute 24 something and I felt weird. I felt like a GU there would have been too early. It just didn't feel right. I was barely getting into a rhythm, barely breaking a sweat even and already I was going to GU? At minute 30, though, I forced myself to GU. I kinda made sure nobody saw me because it was pretty early even at that point (I don't think we were at Mile 3 yet, close but not quite there). I took the GU. I'd been drinking the Gatorade slowly before then.

I felt a little full. Like, my stomach was full full. I wondered if that many GU packets was wise.

At minute 50-something, I took the second GU packet. The whole first hour I felt strong. Very strong. I wanted to stretch my legs but we were going along at our usual 10:30 pace (okay, it was a little faster but still in the low 10s).

I took the last GU at around 1 hour 25 minutes. It felt way too early again but I wasn't regretting my decision by that point.

Towards the end, though, I definitely felt the effects. Here are the splits for the first six miles: 10:07, 10:50, 9:56, 9:47, 10:27, 10:07

The seventh mile featured a very long hill. I got stronger up this hill the higher I went and by the time I got to the top my legs wanted to open up. I contained myself though and when most of the rest of the group caught up I took off once more. The last three miles were disjointed as some of us wanted to run faster and others were fine with running at our usual pace.

The last three miles: 8:27, 8:54, 8:48.

Not only did I feel stronger as the run went on but I felt like I had energy to burn at the end. I felt like I still had some in the tank.

Did I burn more calories than I took in? Who knows? I'm not a fan of the 100-calories-per-mile thing as it just seems illogical to me that such a rule would apply for both, say a 110-pound woman and a 220-pound man. So, it's tough to say really how many calories I burned versus how many I took in. And to be fair I ate some pretzels at the water stops as well and also had some water there. The water obviously did not affect the calorie/carbs intake but the pretzels did I'm sure.

While burning calories may be a concern during midweek runs or Sunday runs, performance is my main concern during races. Therefore, this 60-80g carbs/hr appeals to me even more now that I tried it successfully.

I might be the only runner on the LB Half course sucking down some GU at minute 25 but that's fine by me. It'll be my means to my end.

Easing Up

I ran seven miles a week ago Tuesday. Lately, I've been running Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday, but last week I did not run Wednesday. On Thursday, I went out and ran six miles and with 15 miles planned for Sunday I'd wanted to get in a short run on either Friday or Saturday.

I didn't run after all on those days. And after my 15-miler, I haven't run since.

No, I'm not injured. But I am listening to my body.

My heel discomfort has been back... it really never went away, just sort of lingered in the background. But since I've been running five days and cracking the 30-mile mark each week, the increased stress on the heel has not gone unnoticed. I feel like I walk normally but Mrs. LB constantly asks me if I'm okay and tells me that I'm limping. It's not really a limp but I do walk differently.

The constant pounding I put my feet through makes my heel flare up. It's not unbearable pain - it's really not even pain - but I do feel something in my heel.

So I've had to ease up a little bit. It's a reminder though that what's most important to me is not necessarily the goals I set or the number of days I run. It's just having the ability to run. Injuries are no fun and sitting on the sideline is not fun. I sat out a week in June because of this same heel issue and that week was not a fun one. And if, heaven forbid, something drastic were to happen, it would mean a prolonged period of time away from one of the things I love most.

I rest, take it easy and don't force anything. Sure, taking a complete rest might help put this behind me, and I'm talking about a full month off from running. While I can't do that right now, what I can do is to listen to my body take my foot off the gas pedal and go from there.

Slowing Down

It's tough to run five days a week.

That's what I've figured out over the last three weeks or so. I've been hitting it hard and have run about five times each week I believe. Last week was the first time in a month that I haven't run five times each week, and that was because of a Sunday obligation I couldn't get out of.

This week, it has felt like the walls around me are collapsing with regards to work. It's a busy week and I'm nowhere near done with one of the things I have to get done. So I had to scrap my Wednesday run.

I've been doing well to getting to the 30-mile mark each week, my target for weekly miles, but it seems that when I concentrate on running and do well there, I suffer elsewhere.

There just aren't enough hours in the day.

So I'm going to try to run 3-4 times a week and will hopefully get to 30 miles a week.

Wow, that sounds confident.

Anyway, I hope to have longer runs so I can still accumulate the mileage. On Tuesday I ran 7 and Thursday I hope to knock out another 5-6. Sunday the Lopers will run 9 and I'll try to get in 3 miles before then. If I can do that, I'll have 25 or so, and that would mean a Friday or Saturday run of about 4-5 miles would get me to 30. That run is optional I think. I don't know, maybe it shouldn't be.

Even though I have all this time in the mornings now, it feels as if I have a cart and need to pile as much on there as possible but when I make room for running, work suffers, or when I make room for grocery shopping or cooking (you know that necessary but boring around-the-house stuff) then everything else suffers.

This is all part of my F.O.S Evolution - Figuring Sh** Out. It's a fine balancing act now but hopefully soon it won't be so bad.

Top Of The Mountain

When I set out on my first run of 2010, a 10-miler on Jan. 1, I wasn't sure how many miles I would end up running. I thought 1,000 miles would be a good target to shoot for but wasn't sure if I would set myself up for failure by setting such a goal.

While I didn't make it a goal to run 1,000 miles - or any amount of miles, really - I accomplished that on Wednesday. With more than three months left in the year, I crossed the thousand-mile mark and now sit on 1,002 miles for the year.

The last miles to get me to 1,000 were tough but appropriate. I ran up Mt. Rubidoux and it was fitting that the first two miles, all uphill, were the last ones I needed to get to the magic number. And it was fitting too that I was able to go back to Mt. Rubidoux, which for so many weeks served as an apt sparring partner, throwing challenges along the way each and every time I went up there.

Of course, I hadn't run there in a while and the first mile I felt it. I didn't exactly glide up there but then again neither was I trudging up... too much. I may have plodded a little bit.

Getting to 1,000 miles is grand but what I like best about it is that it means I've been consistently hitting the road (and 'mill) throughout the year. I've stayed healthy (mostly) because I've been somewhat conservative, I've played it safe and have kept my long-term goals in mind over short-term ones. I did a series of races in the spring when I wanted to tackle another marathon, but I knew what was best for me was to wait a few months after Surf City to run Marathon No. 2, which I did.

I'm not burned out with running, don't dread runs, still get intimidated sometimes by certain distances (which is healthy, keeps me grounded and focused) and still look forward to getting out there and finishing runs. After each and every run, I feel like it's an accomplishment, whether it's a four-miler up Mt. Rubidoux or a solo 12-miler.

I don't want to set myself up for failure but I think I can get in at least another 300 miles and I could actually get closer to another 400 since we'll see our mileage continually climbing with the Lopers. Plus I have two half marathons and possibly a 15K coming up in the final three months of the year, so I will log plenty of miles yet.

Whatever happens, this is another accomplishment I can be happy about. It's too bad nobody gives you a medal for this though, but oh well. You can't hang all of your accomplisments on the wall I suppose.

On The Verge

I like me some dailymile.

The site is a great way to keep track of your running stats. Actually, any stats, be they running, walking, cycling, swimming, whatever.

I am a runner so I log my running stats. And the stats say that I've run quite a few miles this year.

I'm planning on running 4-5 miles today, but somewhere early in the run I will cross the 1,000-mile mark for 2010.

I'll be back later today to let you know how it went.

What Restful Rest?

Fresh off Monday's motivational post, I got nothing.

Rest days suck. I rested on Monday and felt out of it most of the day. I got some stuff done around the house, went and had some work done on the truck, got some writing done, but mostly just felt off. I was tired in the afternoon. How does that happen? How does resting equate to being tired?

I won't have too many rest days this week. I'm running (or at least planning on running) Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. I might have to run long on Saturday to open up my Sunday morning but haven't figured it out.

I hope to have energy on the rest of the days. Energy to string together some cohesive and perhaps interesting thoughts.

For now, I'm struggling to keep my synapses firing properly.

Lone Wolf LB?

One more thing... one of my new favorite groups, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, is going to open a tour very close to me, in Pomona on Wednesday. I'm going - yay me! But unfortunately I'm going alone. BRMC is a very underrated band, which means not many have heard of them, which means it was either go alone or not go at all.

Once the show starts I'm sure it won't matter much, but I don't know, part of me thinks it will be weird. Oh well. I'm going to see band I've become quite fond of in a short amount of time and I'm excited that it will be very close and not like a 90-minute drive away.

Anatomy Of My Six-Mile Run

**The last two days I've set out for four-mile runs. Each turned into six-mile runs. Here's a bit of insight into why Tuesday's run went longer than intended.**


It's 4:45. Stupid alarm. Ugh. I think I'm just going to lay here. I don't have to get up, do I? Ah well, my wife's up, getting ready for work. No sense in lying here. I'm getting up already.

(After Mrs. LB departs for work at 5:30, I have about an hour to fight off sleep work until the girls get up.)

Good morning girls! What do you guys want for breakfast? How about some cereal? Okay, it's almost 7 so you have to hurry up and start getting dressed.

Alright, let's go brush teeth and brush hair. Let's see... ponytails for you both! Ah well, we don't have a lot of time. We'll do braids another day.

(I drop off the girls at school at around 7:40, go back home and then...)

Garmin's on. Phone's set to a playlist. Stretch. Four miles. Let's do this.

Damn. I hate the first mile. Why does it take me a mile to get into my runs? I'm going slow, but whatever. I'm not trying to run fast. I just need to get my miles in.

Oh, a 10:06 first mile. Hmmm... well, this is a comfortable pace, probably slower than my normal comfortable pace, probably not. Who knows? I wonder if I can run like this for 10 miles, 12 miles, 18 miles or so consistently. Then I could be a pace leader. I probably need a lot more practice though, and actually try and run my runs at this pace.

Damn uphill. It don't even look like that much of an uphill but 10:26 second mile... that's a mix of an uphill run and my comfortable early pace.

Alright, you're at two miles, let's turn around and head back the way we came. I think I should run down to the light though. That will get me to three and a half... but then I'd be close to like five or so... well, let's just head out there anyway.

Oooh, I'm liking this downhill. I'm probably not at a 10-minute pace anymore. Screw it, I'm not going to slow down. Work on your form. Straighten out your back. Keep your legs moving.

Look at that! 9:09 for the third mile! This isn't too fast, is it? No. But you're only going four? No, not anymore. Screw it. I'm running to the light. Which way should I take to get home? If I go back the way I came, I could get up to six miles. Do I want to go for six?

Let's just go in that direction.

Dang, look at that, 8:41 for that last mile. Love it when I can get under nine.

Alright, don't try and run all out. No need for that. But if you can get six, then all you have to do is get to 12 or 14 by Friday, so that's like six and four or four and six or whatever. You gonna run Saturday? Don't know if I should... maybe I'll take two days off, run tomorrow (Wednesday) and Thursday and then run Sunday again.

Woo hoo! Check it out, an 8:32 fifth mile! Okay, let's run past home. No reason to not get six at this point. Just go up the street, come back, go around the side street and go the back way home. That should get you to six.

Hmmm... don't think this last mile will be under nine minutes. Whatever. I feel good though, still feel good. Should I go for seven?

Nah, just cruise it home. Almost to six so you should be a little past six by the time you get home.

Okay, let's see that sixth mile... crap! 8:51! Six miles done, and the last three at under nine minutes. Okay, well, I guess I was feeling good after all.


* Some of the "screw it"s were actually a bit more colorful words but they've been edited out because I'm family-friendly that way :)
* This is actually common, I do talk to myself a lot like this during my runs. It might mean that I'm crazy but I guess I need the constant stimulation to keep my mind going

They Call It Fuel For A Reason

Eating is important. News flash, I know. But it is and I figured I'd share that with you.

I know this to be true because of what happened on Sunday. On Saturday, Mrs. LB went out for lunch and I was stuffed, so much so that I only snacked briefly the rest of the day. After work on Saturday night, I stopped by at Del Taco and got me some burritos. When I woke up Sunday morning, I didn't feel that hungry. It felt like I'd just eaten, and given that I'd eaten about five hours before I actually just had.

Instead of my usual Clif Bar and water, I opted to skip the Clif bar and drank some Gatorade before heading out to run with the Lopers.

We were only running five miles, and since I'd run 10 the day before I was rather happy with that. The weather was nice as the sun was not out, and our small-but-hearty group got off to a good start. But I didn't feel right. I thought it may have been the 10 miles I'd run the day before, or the four hours of sleep I'd gotten the night before or a combination of the two.

Now, since it was our first five-mile run this Loper season, it was also the first time the water station was out. We have water stations set up along the course during the Loper season, and this one was well-received. I didn't have my fuel belt and was thirsty, but more than that I was hungry. Man, was I starved! And I was lucky too. The water stations always have water (duh) but they don't always have food. This time, though, the table was well-stocked with trail mix.

I grabbed an empty water cup and scooped it full of trail mix. I inhaled that. I grabbed more and sucked that down too. My group was starting to walk away from the table and I was double-fisting the trail mix. So I grabbed one last cupful of it and carried it with me. I lagged behind but ate while the group took off up ahead.

We rounded one block and I instantly felt better. I'd finished the trail mix, it hadn't yet fully settled into my stomach, and I felt like a new runner. We were at about Mile 3 at this point and I suddenly had energy. Instead of wondering if I could make it to the end intact, I felt as if I could run six or seven or eight miles if need be. At one point I sprinted up ahead of the group to cover us as we were running across a street with no stop sign. As I ran and increased my speed, I felt a burst of energy and contemplated running fast the whole way in. I stayed with our awesome group though and finished strong.

I've known for a while that I don't need sleep to run. I got about five hours of sleep before Surf City and probably less before San Francisco but did great, felt great anyway. I ran the Run Through Redlands Half Marathon on a Sunday morning, having gotten home Saturday night well after midnight.

Food, though, seems to be a necessity I can't really do without. So even if I feel full from having eaten late the night before, I'm not going to let that lull me into a false sense of security and won't make that same mistake twice.

August In My Rear-view

August is over. September is upon us. I'm not quite sure how I feel about this. September usually turns into mid-November in the blink of an eye, and that's not a great thought either.

Anyway, I don't want to get all philosophical but I did want to recap the month in which I turned 35. Aw crap, did I have to remind myself about that?

I ran 101 miles on August, my highest total since May. In June, I ran only 88 miles which of course was due to my heel discomfort. In July I ran 99. Had I known I was that close to 100, I would have just ran another mile. Oh well. Thus far, June and July are the only months this year that I have not reached triple-digits.

My best August run? Hmmm... I'm tempted to say it was Tuesday's run but that's probably because it was the last one and the one I remember the clearest. I had a lot of really good runs but I think the run I had when I was in Arizona, when I ran to the Glen Canyon Dam, and a six-mile run I had up Mt. Rubidoux a week ago with a fellow Loper, stand out above the rest.

The longest run I had in August? A 12.09 run in early August. I actually only cracked double-digits twice. This was planned I suppose. I wanted to take a bit of a break after the San Francisco Marathon, so I wasn't exactly trying to hit double-digit miles every weekend. September will be a different story because I am training for a half marathon (officially now) and will have to hit double-digit miles every weekend. Of course, that's something I am looking forward to, getting to 10, 12, 15 miles.

My best week? That would be last week, the last full week of August when I reached 30 miles. I hit 30 miles twice in the last two months - the week of the marathon and a week in June when I ran 20 miles. In May, I had four weeks of at least 30 miles. I hope September also brings such mileage, but more importantly I hope I feel as good as I did last week throughout this month.

All in all, it was a strong month of both recovery, (sort of) rest and getting back into the swing of things. Everything I'd hoped for when I planned to take a (sort of) rest a few months ago.

Finding Time

Running takes up a lot of my time.

The more I progressed as a runner, the more time it took up. And when I got into the Lopers and into marathon running, the time commitment grew even more.

I bring this to light because one of my awesome blog readers commented on here recently with the following statement/question:

"My family, besides my husband, is so UN-supportive of this marathon thing it makes me sad and distant. The question I get the most is "why"? I want to say, "because I can and you can't" but I really have had no comeback. Same when we ran the Mud Run on vacation...why would you want to do something like that on vacation?

"How much has running interrupted your daily routine? Do you cancel or change plans because you have a long run planned the following morning? I like that I am disciplined enough to get a run in at 4:30am and then put in a full day of work, but I hate making (excuses) for NOT doing activities because of running. How do you balance this?"

I have quite a few thoughts on the first part, the un-supportive family, but I will answer that in a separate post. For now, I want to tackle her questions about the routine and discipline.

Now, I think I am in a unique situation. I work from home - most of the time anyway - so I have the flexibility many don't. I can (and do) plan runs at 8 a.m. on weekdays for instance. I can (and do) spend 60-90 minutes at the gym on a Thursday. Now that Kennedy and Yvie are both in school, I've started filling up my mornings with runs and cardio and resistance training.

So I definitely take advantage of my schedule to run and work out and have for a while. I think it often, that if I would have had a 9-to-5 job these last four years, I'd still weigh 300 pounds and I wouldn't be running marathons.

I definitely have a lot of respect for runners who work a full-time job and carve out time to knock out mid-week 6-mile runs, 10-mile runs, whatever kinds of runs.

As far as canceling plans or changing up my social life... well, since I have children I don't have much of a social life. Now, I do work on Saturday nights a lot, at least from March through November, so a lot of times I am getting 5-6 hours of sleep on Saturday and then running 10-plus miles on Sunday morning. I can actually get a lot done on little sleep that way. I know it's not the healthiest thing in the world but I have to adjust.

I think the biggest thing that I've had to be disciplined about is alcohol. I don't drink much anymore but have had that problem arise too. On New Year's Eve, for instance, I'd decided that I was going to run 10 miles the next day, on Jan. 1, but actually went to a New Year's Eve party. We'd hardly ever had the chance to go out on Dec. 31 but we did, and of course there was alcohol. I had said beforehand that I would not drink because I didn't want to miss my run but in the end I gave in and drank some beers. I had about two or three I think, but always made it a point to keep at least some beer in my bottle, so I would be able to say 'Oh, I'm still working on this one.'

I've been there, where if you aren't holding a beer in your hand, you get one thrust in there whether you want one or not. I did not want to let myself go and get plastered and miss my run. I know a missed run doesn't seem like a big deal but to me it's more than that, it's a reflection of my own discipline and commitment.

I guess what it boils down to is that. I like to think that I'm disciplined enough to put running ahead of a lot of things. I suppose that's why runners tend to gravitate towards one another, because there are few people who are willing to get out of bed at 4:30 a.m. to go on a run, who are willing to bypass open bars and nights out on the town because it will disrupt the next morning's run, who are willing to plan vacations around races. And when one of us comes across another person crazy enough to do the same, it's only natural to create a bond.

Of course, I don't think it's necessarily good to stifle yourself all the time either. It's just a matter of moderation, like most things.

Time To Run/Work/Rest

It took a week and a few days but I think I've adjusted to this kindergarten thing.

Kennedy, as you may recall, started school recently and has given me one of the best gifts of all - time. I have time now to do things that I couldn't do before, such as work at home quietly and uninterrupted, and run outdoors.

I was a bit tentative the first full week so I played it safe. I worked more than I ran, did things around the house more than things outside of it. But this week has been different. More liberating. I've ran, I've worked, I've cooked, I've.... not done laundry. Well, it can't all be perfect.

I ran 4.5 miles on Tuesday and 6.2 miles on Wednesday, all outside. I'm actually planning a trip to the gym on Thursday and will hopefully run on the 'mill, but that's mostly because of the heat outside and because I'll already be there (for core, resistance training, yay) so might as well take advantage.

Before the week, I'd wanted to get to 30 miles and I might just do it. I've been wanting to do that for a week or two now but this week I think I'll get there. I've got almost 11 under my belt, after Thursday I hope to have 15. With 10 on Saturday and 5 on Sunday, I'll get there.

That's time well spent.

Tease

So, just wanted to fill you in on something. I have a guest post coming up on Monday from a special person. It's a pretty cool post so if you can come back here then, please do so.

The one and only Mrs. LB has written a guest post for your reading pleasure and I'll have it on Monday. It's pretty good. Can't really disclose more than that so make sure you come back then.

Climbing... Or Not

Hmmm...

I sat here for about 10 minutes trying to think of some profound post and that's about as far as I got.

It's the dog days of summer I suppose. I'm trying to get back to running 30 miles a week and I thought I could do it this week but it looks like it will be tough, especially since Mrs. LB is going out of town on business and I'm going to have to figure out how to run 10 miles on Saturday with the girls. Might have to get them up early and head to my mom's, and then run from there. Not that fun but it's either that or no 10-miler... or no run at all.

I ran six miles on Wednesday, will try for five on Thursday, have four planned for Sunday so between Friday and Saturday need to compile 15 more. Not sure if it's worth the headache to try and figure out how to get those runs in just to get to 30.

I was busy on Monday and so rested, but starting the week off with even 3-4 miles is a positive and one I need to take advantage of.

So, nothing profound from me today. Maybe I'll share a picture...


Mrs. LB and I ate lunch at Boudin the day after the San Francisco Marathon. It was pretty stinking good, perhaps made better by having had the smell imprinted in my nose from having run past that place in the very early stages of the race. I ate that whole stinking thing too.

Relishing My Break

Marathons are addicting. I've loved everything about my first two marathons, from the excitement of the start line to the overwhelming sense of accomplishment at the finish. The pain after the race - which I liken to having gotten hit by a truck - is not pleasant but that fades away and so to does the memory of it.

I want to keep marathons a pleasant experience. The training is grueling - there's just no way around it. From the constant double-digit mileage runs to the 18-, 20- and 22-mile runs to cap off training, preparing for a marathon is the hard part.

One of the best things I did was to decide against running another marathon this year, even though both Long Beach (on Oct. 17) and Las Vegas (Dec. 5) were tempting.

Today I ran 12 miles, my longest distance since San Francisco. Had I decided to run the full at Long Beach I would have needed to run 18. I don't think I had another six miles in me, so I would have already been hating my decision.

I know it is a long time from now until Feb. 6, date of the Surf City Marathon. But I am excited about training, excited about the race and excited about the three races I have planned from now 'til then (Long Beach Half on Oct. 17, Mission Inn Half on Nov. 14 and the Loper Classic 15K on Dec. 5). My next 18-mile run will be on Dec. 19, and I know I will be pumped for that one.

When I think about marathons, I want to feel excited. I want to feel it is a big event that I am just itching to participate in. I don't want it to feel like a chore. I don't want to have to run 18-milers, I want to anticipate with excitement my 18-milers.

So while running another marathon this year probably would have been fun, putting one off until Feb. 6 is the best thing for me - the excitement is guaranteed.

Muddy Bits

Not a whole lot of time today to dedicate to my blog. Tuesday is my busy work day and I didn't have much planned ahead of time, but I did want to give you a few brief tidbits nevertheless.

* I ran eight miles Saturday, two on Sunday but none since then. I won't get a chance to run until Wednesday morning. I'm hoping to run Wednesday through Sunday for a total of about 25 miles. We'll see how my heel feels, though. It's been acting up a little the last few days.

* My next race won't be until Oct. 17 (Long Beach Half Marathon) so technically I'm not training for a race right now. However, I will definitely want to hit training hard by the end of this month, particularly speedwork. I want to get faster and will want to run a strong race that day so I'm looking forward to getting settled into a routine that includes some speedwork.

* Monday was, of course, my birthday. Yay. Thanks for all the well-wishes. I hope to make age 35 memorable. I ran two marathons at age 34 and I hope to run three marathons at age 35 - Surf City (Feb. 6), LA (March 20) and another one, possibly Salt Lake or San Diego or something else next summer.

* Lastly, here's a sneak peek at Wednesday's post:



No, it's not about swimming or water safety, but rather a memorable day for my beloved Kennedy.

High Above

After the San Francisco Marathon, I went home and went right back into reality. I had a boatload of work waiting for me, and two vibrant, energetic girls to tend to. Needless to say, my running time was limited.

Now, since I had just run a marathon, I wasn't quite feeling upset about my lack of running time. But of course I got antsy and was itching for a run by the weekend, and then of course I never got one in.

My first post-SF marathon run was not until Tuesday, a full nine days after the marathon. That's okay, though, since I had said I wanted to rest after the marathon. Rest time is over. I jumped back into the fray with a six-miler on Tuesday.

It wasn't just any ordinary six-mile run, though. See, I'm in Arizona right now and won't be home until later in the week. I got up at 4:40 on Tuesday morning and by 5 a.m. I was outside and doing what I love to do.

Remember a year ago, when I wrote about my run to the dam? Well, I decided to go for it again, as we're vacationing in the same town. I set out to run the three miles it takes to get from our hotel to the dam, which could give me a full six miles as well as a great start to the day.

When I started, the sun had not quite come out. It was already in the 70s or 80s, it felt rather warm, but by the time I got to the dam, the sun was out.

I ran over a bridge that goes over the Colorado River.


The view was superb, although at times when I looked down towards the river and the massively steep drop, I felt a little fear.

On the other side of the bridge was the Glen Canyon Dam, and beyond that Lake Powell.


And what did the bridge that I ran over look like?

You can't even see the bottom there, can you?