Monday, May 9, 2011

Good new, Bad news

Good news:
  • I exceeded my expectations on my 18 miler.
  • Felt good most of the way.
  • Negative split (1:14, 1:13)
  • only one very small blister
  • Got some decent pics along the way.
Bad news:
  • It rained the last 5 miles.
  • When it wasn't raining, it was windy.
  • Spent 2 1/2 hours running on Mothers Day.

As you can see, the good outweighed the bad during my 18 miler on Sunday, but taking time to run 18 miles on a day that should be devoted to my wife has me feeling guilty. However, my awesome wife understands that putting in the miles and time for a marathon is important to me and I love her even more for that. 
Anyway, here's some pics I took along the way. 

2:26:54. 8:10min/mile pace.


Mile 5-6. overcast and windy.

Mile 7-8. straight into the wind

Mile 13-14. Lightly raining now. A park my daughter likes.
 
Mile 15-16. raining harder. winding hill heading home.

Mile 16-17. Home stretch.
It's hard to tell, but I was trying to take pics of some of the hillier area's (except the park), but the pics don't show how hilly it really was. Also, the last few pics don't really show how rainy it really was on Sunday. In any case, I have my first (of 2) 20 mile run this coming weekend and hope that my last few long runs weren't a fluke.

I'll use the next 3 weeks to decide what my goals for Grandma's Marathon will be. I will categorize them in an A, B,C format. A: Best race ever, perfect conditions, exceeded expectations. B: Good race, meet secondary goal C: survive, but had fun. I will share finish time goals after the next 3 weeks.

Later



7 comments:

  1. I'm training for my first marathon. Which plan did you use? Is it an advanced plan that you have 3 twenty mile runs?

    Kudos to your wife...and my husband for dealing with all the runs!

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  2. The training plan that I'm doing is actually the one that's on the Grandma's Marathon website. It has me running more days (6 days a week), but similar overall mileage to most beginner training plans. This plan actually has two 20 mile runs over a 3 week portion of the training. I've really liked the plan so far because I could do most of the weekday runs during my lunch break at work. An understanding spouse is also very beneficial.

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  3. Wow, amazing job! What is your goal time for Grandmas?
    LOL I know that park!!! My daughter likes it as well, and that route is definitely hilly if you are running along Galaxy/Zoo area (we live near Blackhawk). I have ran down Cliff to Johnny Cake and then turned onto McAndrews and came back up the monster hill on Pilot Knob...whew makes my legs ache thinking of that hill.

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  4. Amazing job AND you took pictures too! I'm always really bad about taking pics along the way! I have to hand it to you, you're much more structured that I could ever dream of being. I would do an entire run in the rain if I could. Really. It's a natural coolant :)

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  5. Way to go! It sounds like you are using the same training plan our group did in preparing for the Fargo Marathon. I like having two 20 mile runs instead of just one. It really helps build confidence. Best of luck at Grandma's!

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  6. Congrats on the good run man. Isn't it funny how pictures never do it justice! I just looked at some pics from OKC Memorial and it looks wet, but not nearly as wet as it was running it. Can't wait to see what you have in mind for Grandma's.

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