Running Dads

At the beginning of the month I decided that I needed to make sure I ran 30k each week in order to stay on track for Around the Bay. I decided to just make it 120k per month. It didn’t matter how I did it, but I figured that if I ran that much I’d be doing enough to prepare for the race.

I planned it so that my long runs got longer each week and that I would have 16k left to do. I managed to find excuses to not run for the last 5 days and all of a sudden it was Jan 31st and I was 16k short of my goal.

For some reason this was really bothering me so at 11pm on Tuesday night I put on my shoes and went out for that last run. I feel very happy right now. I’m glad I met the goal.

February will be challenging. It is shorter, so I’ll have less time to reach the 120 goal and I’m going to be in Mexico for a week. I will try to run during that time, but I know I won’t be able to get in a really long run. I’ll have to push hard in the next couple of weeks to build a cushion to get me over that week. It might be good to have a rest week anyways.

My other February goal is to really work on my core. I’m going to do 500 push-ups, 1000 squats, 1000 sit-ups and 50 minutes of planking. Wish me luck.

I went for a 14k run on the weekend. It was good. My time was decent despite the fact that I had to run through ice, snow and slush most of the time.

I made a classic mistake after my great run. I went to a friend’s house, watched football and ate nachos, doritoes and brownies. Then I was too full to eat a healthy dinner. After dinner (while watching MORE football) I drank two beers.

The running is good, but I can’t get into the habit of following it with bad food. I won’t lose weight or get in shape that way.

Not a great week, but an OK week. I had one 12k run on a cold night and I was better about my core work. Diet was medium. Some days good, some days bad.

I’ve run 65 k so far this month. I”m slightly behind the pace I need to be on for 120 for the month. A big push this week should get me back on track.

I don’t know if it was the cold, but after my run this week I had some bad chafing. I’ll need to find a solution to that quickly.

Posting each and every run gets a bit boring. This time around, I’m just trying to run at least 130km each month. I figure if I can do that, it won’t really matter whether it was done in long runs or short runs. Just the effort to run that distance will get me ready for running around the bay.

After a few runs last weekend, I had some foot pain most of the week. I was pretty nervous about it and spent time on google and reddit trying to diagnose (who needs a doctor?). I started to think it was a fractured metatarsal (broken foot) or hopefully just strained. Whatever it was, I did the smart thing and stayed off it for several days and iced it twice a day.

It seems to have worked. By the weekend the pain was gone and I was able to go for a 5k run and a 13k run on the weekend. The lesson here is, it is better to take a few days off than to push through the injury and be forced to take a month or more off.

Distance: 5 miles (treadmill)
Time 45 min

We’re back at it in 2012. Michael has already recapped our training plans and progress so I don’t need to re-state them. I’m excited about the 120k/month. I think it’s a very manageable (January) goal. Ultimate is Wed/Thu evenings so I’ll probably end up doing Tuesday/Friday/Sunday runs.

Yesterday was reaaaally cold. I cancelled my gym membership in early December but of course they make you pre-pay one month, and you need to give them one months notice, and they can’t start counting days until the end of a payment cycle, so somehow I’ve ended up with a gym membership until the middle of March. I doubt I’ll go often but with it so cold yesterday I hit the gym and was reminded why I cancelled my membership. The hardest part of the run was the boredom. It didn’t help that half the TVs were very fuzzy (and this is supposed to be the ‘nice’ gym in Guelph).

Race registration is complete. There’s no turning back now.

Distance 11k
TIme: Not the point

The tradition of starting off the year with a long(ish) run continued in London this year. We went out for what I thought would be 10k, but we ended up going a bit further than that. I’m pretty tired right now. My legs are sore. We really pushed it over the last kilometer.

2012 is here. Time to start getting serious about Around the Bay.

Distance: 10k
Time: is an illusion

I put on my shoes and jacked and headed out for a 10k run in a light snow storm. It was the longest run I’ve done in a while. It went pretty well, slower than I’d have liked, but that’s fine for now. Training will begin in earnest next month and I’ll start being more concerned with performance. Right now I just want to get out and get moving again.

Distance 5k
Time 28 min
Temp 4 C

I was out of excuses, so I had to start running again. I went out for a short run on Monday evening. I felt ok, but I clearly have some work to do. After some good work in November, I’m failing the mirror test again. Eleanor got me a new belt for Christmas and I’m on the largest notch. This needs to get fixed ASAP.

After some hemming and hawing, I’ve decided to commit to running Around the Bay again this year. It was a lot of fun when I did it two years ago and I think I need it as motivation to keep moving through the winter.

It is a 30k run at the end of March so the clock is ticking on my training.

Distance 8.5k
Time: ???

I met up with a friend on Thursday night and went for my first run in a while. We happened to pick one of the first cold days of the year for our little jog. It was a bit chilly at first but once we got moving I felt fine.

Overall, it was an OK run. I felt great through the first 5 or 6k. I got a little tired and it was difficult to keep up towards the end. My knee hurts a bit this morning, but hopefully it isn’t something that will last.

I’m still doing my push-ups and crunches each morning. It’s going well.

My goal was to do push-ups every morning in November. So far so good.

Nothing further to report.