OK, I'm getting tired of this...

Another week has gone by and I don't seem to be recovering from my cold. I'm starting to think I have a sinus infection and maybe I should see a doctor. I attempted a run today and made it 2 miles before deciding I probably wasn't up for running. Heartrate wasn't too bad so my fitness isn't disappearing as fast as I thought it might, so that was encouraging. Sydney and Owen are still sick also and haven't been sleeping very well, so that makes it hard for any of us to get better. Vicious cycle. Of course it seems that everyone with kids goes through the exact same thing so I can't feel too sorry for myself. Sunday's 5k isn't looking too likely but I'm still hopeful.

Also, I still haven't followed up on the gasoline-in-my-diesel-engine thing. Chicken I guess.

Better than not running

I made it out for a 5.2 mile run today - not that my cold is much better. Well, maybe a little better. After the Portland Marathon my legs took what seemed like forever to recover, then I caught a cold that dragged on. By the time I got back into my running routine, it felt like I'd lost all of my fitness and I spent a good chunk of my Tokyo Marathon training just getting back to where I was before Portland. I'm trying to prevent that from happening again, and am having some luck so far. My legs recovered much faster this time, and even though I caught a cold again I've managed to get a few runs in here and there without going for long stretches of not running at all. Today's pace was 8:35 which was good, although the heartrate was on the high side. Probably should have run slower but I was just so glad to be out running again that I pushed it too much. Spring seems to be here all of a sudden, and it was so nice to be running in shorts outside again. Makes me realize what a drag it was to run in the cold and rain all winter, so I'm looking forward to nicer conditions for this next marathon training cycle.

Other than the run, yardwork is on the agenda for today. We picked up two apple trees and a peach tree yesterday so we have to get those planted. Our neighbors probably think we're insane because we've removed 3 big trees since we moved in two years ago. It's not that we are anti-tree but two of them had been planted too close to the house and the other was a fig tree that made a complete mess of the backyard. So we're now getting around to replacing them (with better positioning this time) but it will be years before they're decent size. Chrissy swears we're never moving again, so maybe we'll be here to see them grow up.

Back At It

My cold has abated enough that I ventured out today for a measly 3 miles, but it felt pretty good actually. About a year ago I decided never to run slower than 10 minute miles and after Tokyo I made a similar decision never to run slower than 9 minute miles. Today's pace of 8:40 felt pretty easy. I suppose there are those out there that would say that it's somewhat arbitrary to make a decision like that but it's my way of trying to continually lower my average pace. Since I'm shooting for 3:30 in the July marathon (Foot Traffic Flat Marathon) I need to get to the point where 8:00/mile isn't much of a strain. Otherwise I'll have a pretty challenging time maintaining that for the whole marathon. I plan to go to my first track workout this coming Tuesday - I've been putting it off because the workout I want to join is put on by a group of people I don't know. I'm sure it will be fine once I go a few times but the anticipation of that first time is intimidating me.

In non-running news, a gas station attendant put regular gasoline in our diesel Jetta last week. It was supposed to be biodiesel, which is why we got the Jetta in the first place, but somehow he ended up putting regular gas in there. Gasoline + Diesel engine = bad news/tow truck/large repair bill. I now have the enviable task of trying to get the service station to pay the bill.

Today's mileage: 3 miles, 26:00, 8:40/mile, avg HR 141

Itching to Run

I ran the Tokyo Marathon on February 18th and because I set a new PR I continued to be excited about running through a few weeks of recovery and light running. But then I had a few days where I was sort of dreading the beginning of my next marathon training period which was scheduled to start this week. THEN, I caught a cold late last week and have ended up not running much at all, and all of a sudden I'm itching to get to my training just when my body's not really up for it. I've read that if your cold is in your head (congestion, etc.) that it's okay to continue running, but if it's in your chest (which is where mine is right now) that you shouldn't run. So I took today off, but I imagine I'll run tomorrow if I've shown any sign of improvement by then. I did run a 5k this past Sunday while I was sick, and was encouraged to improve my PR by 21 seconds to 21:19. I'm hoping I can knock that down even further in a few weeks. The next big race I'm training for (other than the July marathon) is the Eugene Half Marathon on April 29. I love that town so I'm looking forward to the trip down there.

Inaugural Blog Post

After reading so many blogs over the past few years, it feels extremely odd to be entering the first post on my own blog. I suppose it will become less weird the more I do it. Anyway, I find it fascinating to read the blogs of so many fellow runners so I thought I'd give it a try myself.

I ran track and cross country in high school (middle to back of the pack if I recall correctly) and pretty much stopped running the minute I stepped off the track at the end of the final meet my senior year. About six years ago my wife got me back into running and we worked back up to a few 5k and 10k runs and I kept that up for a few years intermittently. Then in 2005 I started running again and it somehow managed to stick this time. With the help of a good friend (AZ) from college who serves as an online training partner and advisor, I managed to run my first marathon last October (Portland) and my second one last month (Tokyo), both of which I'm sure will be subjects of future postings.

This blog I expect will be primarily about my running, although I imagine that my wife (Chrissy) and kids (Sydney and Owen) will make guest appearances, especially since Chrissy is now training for her first marathon.