23 miles

Yesterday we did a 23 mile group training run on the rail trail. It was very cold when we started at 6am and it never really warmed up. I had a little cramping in my leg and walked the last 4 miles with Shannon. We were both struggling a bit at that point. I did complete the full 23 miles. My legs are feeling better today. I am trying to decide if I want to do any training today or just take it easy. That is the furthest I have ever run before. Only 3 more miles to go to hit the marathon distance. In a month and a half we will be running a marathon. I started training for this August 1st so it has been a long journey. I have worn out 2 pairs of shoes since I started running about a year and a half ago. I currently own 2 pairs of shoes that I rotate on my runs. I would have never believed that I would have 2 pairs of running shoes. Basically I have one pair for shorter runs and the other for my longer runs. The first pair is lighter and with less cushioning the second pair is a bit heavier and has more cushioning. 5 hours and 23 miles is a lot of repetitions of your feet striking the ground. I may not be fast but I am out there putting in the miles.

It's all who you know

So a year ago I was just getting into running after years of coasting along physically. I weighed more than I had ever weighed in my life. I decided I need a change. My friend Laura told me about this group she was training with. They used the Galloway method of running. Basically you run a minute and walk a minute. It is supposed to be easier on your body. I decided to give it a try. My first time out we did 6 miles. I was struggling towards the end. Laura offered to go get the car and pick me up. No self respecting guy is going to go for that. So a year later I am training for a marathon. I have completed a half marathon done 4 triathlons and many 5k's and even a 15k race. It has been a very busy year. I have lost a lot of weight and feel much better. The thing that really makes that past year memorable is all the people I have meet. Monday evening I decided to go for a run in the neighborhood. Tami had already done her training run so I was on my own. I took the dog for the first 2 miles and then dropped him off and did my last 3 miles alone. Somewhere along the way I was thinking this was the first run in months that I had done by myself. I have met so many people training for races that I have had people to run, ride and swim with. I enjoyed my run but I was thinking about everyone who encouraged and inspired me along the way. I have also done my share of encouragement, so it goes both ways. I have a group of people I run the bridges with on Thursday evenings. I really enjoy doing this plus it is great exercise. So Saturday morning Tami and I will be out before the sun comes up to go for our training run.

The 26.2 Marathon with Donna is in February.

Eleven

Day 11

Tami and I and Miles went for a walk/run last night. We ended up doing our 3 mile loop through the neighborhood. At around the 2 mile mark we saw some lightning and it started to mist lightly. We decided to carry on. At about 2 1/4 miles it started to rain harder. We started running and the rain kept getting harder the closer we got to the house. The temperature was quite nice. By the time we got home we were all quite wet. 
This is where the shoes spent the night. The fan was blowing on them all night. They were dry by the morning. I am still working on this weekends laundry along with the wet clothes and towels. Rain during the winter in Florida typical means cooler weather. It will warm up nicely and then rain and then it will be cold for a few days. The rain is good but I sure like the warmer temperatures.

I got a new phone

Well, the wait is finally over. I finished my 2 year contract and broke down and bought a new phone. I have been wanting one of these since they came out. Yesterday I bought one. I hooked it up to my computer (Mac) and it synced all my contacts, calendars and book marks. so now I can carry all that stuff around with me. Last night at the woodturning meeting I was able to pull out my phone and check my calendar for dates. I have really been wanting to be able to do that. After the meeting I came home and Miles and I went for a walk. We walked 3.12 miles and I have a map showing the route we took. This is the coolest thing ever! I did download some games I have a driving game and a motorcycle riding game. Of course now I have to fight the kids off for my I phone. I really like having the internet in my pocket. I can send emails surf the web, look at the weather radar. I can't believe I waited so long to get this. 

Longest Run so far

This morning I did my longest training run to date. We ran 6.74 miles. It took us about 90 minutes. We ran along the St Johns River this morning and then over the Main Street bridge and into San Marco. Then we turned on River Road and ran down towards the river. We ran back over the Acosta Bridge and into Riverside, and back to the Yates YMCA. It was pretty cold this morning. I bought some new running pants last night and got to wear them this morning. They helped keep me pretty warm. I looked at some gloves last night but decided not to get them. I was sure wishing for them this morning. Well maybe next time. 

Working out

You got those shoes now wear them...

I have been training for my half marathon. Saturday we did our group run. We ran/walked 5 miles. We ran along the St. Johns River, then over the Main Street Bridge. Then we ran along the river in front of the landing and down to the Yates YMCA. This took us over the bridge thingy to cross over the railroad tracks, but underneath the Acosta Bridge. We stopped for a drink of water and then continued to the Fuller Warren bridge. We circled around and ran back to the "Y" had another water stop and then ran over the Acosta Bridge. After crossing the bridge we ran back to the starting point. It was a nice run, the weather could have been a little nicer. We had a few rain showers and there was wind. I was afraid my hat was going to blow off while crossing the bridges. 

Sunday morning I went to a spinning class. It was a good work out. The class was almost full. Class lasted a little over an hour with some stretching exercises at the end. The music was good and there were several songs I had not heard before. The instructor set a good pace and kept everyone moving. 

My running shoes and Biking shoes both got the workout this weekend I am putting some miles on each. I ran 11 miles this week. The spinning classes are like going 10-12 miles so I figure I rode 22 miles this week. I also spent some time in the pool, so it was a very busy week for the exercise. Now to take it easy for the rest of the day.

Busy day

Today was another busy day. I went running early this morning with my training group. We did 4 miles today. We ran down in the Ortega area. It was a beautiful morning. The course took us across the Ortega River. We even got stopped by boat traffic. After I ran this morning I drove over to Woodcraft where I was teaching a bowl turning class. The class went well and my students made some pretty good bowls. I turned a small zebra wood bowl. For dinner tonight we went to Woody's Bar-b-Que. normally I like this place a lot. Tonight the iced tea was terrible. The french fries were over cooked, they were crunchy. I gave them to the kids so that wasn't such a bad thing. And the service was pretty slow. After dinner we came home and just watched some TV and played on the computer. Just a nice evening. 

Halloween and such

So for Halloween we walked around our neighborhood a bit, and then we went over to my brothers house. They have been working on it for a week. They moved all the furniture and put black plastic up on all the walls. You can see it was painted as well. Then there were the decorations. They started out in the yard and continued through the house and through the yard back to the front. The kids got their candy on the back porch. There were several people in costumes joining in on the fun. It is the best haunted house I have ever seen. 
 Here is another picture of Our Dog Miles

I can imagine miles saying how did I get myself into this. 

This is Tami, Samantha, Ethan, Chloe and Miles All dressed up and about to head out to get some candy.

ear-o-dynamic

So the other day the kids and I were taking Miles for a walk and it was windy. Miles had his ears folded back tight against his head. One of the kids said he looked aerodynamic, then the other one said no ear- o- dynamic. I wished I would have taken a picture of it. But I did think it was a great play on words.