Sun Blocked and Steady 5.0 miles

5.00 miles (43:25 - 8:41/mile)
0.50 miles warm down walk

total: 5.5 miles

course: Cardinal Fitness

A lovely run on an early Sunday morning. While my pace was hardly excessive, I remained steady throughout.

The gym was almost empty. Kind of eery, but most runners likely enjoyed today's gorgeous sun. I opted to stay inside, avoiding the sun with a tightly pulled shade.

No Chariots Running with Me in 4.5 Miles

4.50 miles (38:50 - 8:38/mile)
0.75 miles

total: 5.25 miles

course: Cardinal Fitness

An excellent litttle run in my road to fitness. It felt good. I mostly ran at 8:41/mile. My stride feels most comfortable right now at 8:15 or so, but I held back.

The girl on the treadmill next to me was kicking out a slightly faster 8:34 pace for maybe six miles. The temptation of this red-blooded American male was to quicken my pace to something in the 7s, until she finished her workout. The risk was that she would run another five miles, beyond my ability to maintain my show-off pace, and the next day would be an ache-fest.

The psychology of a long run is complicated. I have long runs behind me; I know what 15 miles means. Tonight, and yesterday too, it felt long. Not that I was tired. I wasn't, and could have gone another three miles as far as 'tired' goes. I chose not to as I build my miles. Faster too. I'm burning fat, and building those blessed little capillaries. My mental endurance is weak. My lungs were cool. My legs, somewhat. But my mind? Not so much. In younger years, resilience of mind was a strength. I had plenty of fight. Eventually, distances like four or four miles will seem short.

I intended to listen to the Chariots of Fire (my movie review) soundtrack's (my CD review) long theme. It is 20:40, long enough to get me halfway through my run. It was not in my running playlist on my iPod and I didn't feel like fumbling through to find it elsewhere. Next time.

4.02 at Twilight and Runners on Twitter

4.02 miles run (34:42 - 8:38/mile)
0.70 miles warm down walk

total: 47.72
course: Cardinal Fitness

Easy going run. Needed it after a frustrating day with my computer bonking off for no apparent reason. Kept it steady for 3.5 miles, then lopped up a notch that last half.

It was really at Twilight. Just thought I'd toss in a nice pop reference to a movie I'll never see.
Not sure if you can see this, but here's a list of running-related members I follow on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/#/list/AnthonyTrendl/running

My general Twitter account (usually about running, writing, literature and philosophy)
http://twitter.com/AnthonyTrendl

3.5 Miles During Sunday Morning's Extra Hour

3.5 miles (30:10 - 8:37/mile)
0.5 miles warm down walk

total: 4.0 miles

course: Cardinal Fitness Glen Ellyn

A bright morning, fun music, and legs that are happier than they have been all week.

My weight is inching up after recovery from a bout of something or other, and after not running a few weeks.

Time to head off to Sunday school.

I Have Decided (and Hopefully Will Decide Regularly) to Run Early - 3.5 Miles

3.50 miles run (30:50 - 8:43/mile)
0.50 miles warm down walk

total: 4.0 miles

course: Cardinal Fitness Glen Ellyn

Getting up early is no trouble. Ready to run early is another problem.

I love writing in the morning. My mind is clear and things are quiet. I can lose myself for hours, and, making the change to run a challenge. This gym I've started with opens at 5:00 am, and the word on the street is if the guy is there, he'll let me in at 4:45 am. I have no excuse as far as opportunity goes; it is all about motivation and decision.

The decision to run first thing in the morning is not some grand, big thing. It is a daily thing. Two days, if you consider the choice to sleep early the night before, as well as what to do when I wake up.

Today, I left home at around 7:15. That's hardly early, but it is earlier than I usually run.

My thighs ache from Monday and Wednesday's run. I thought about upping my run to five miles, but, until the aching subsides, I'll hover under four. The general plan as I once swing back into this running thing is to go every other day until my legs feel OK, then add a mile here and there, add one day, then two, until I am at six days a week.

Steppin' Out: 3.0 miles inside

3.0 miles run
0.85 miles warmdown walk

total: 3.85 miles

course: Cardinal Fitness, Schaumburg

Had a busy day, a good thing, and decided to see how useful my new gym membership is. Grabbed an hour, and kicked out a few miles. My legs still hurt from Monday, but I need to get the steps in. More steps, more miles, more fitness.

Getting the hang of this gym business takes forethought: bring stuff to shower, including a towel. I had a towel I use during the workout, but a second towel would have been nice.

Steppin' Out (great old tune)

Please Tread on Me: 3.0 Miles on Treadmill at New Gym

3.0 miles
0.2 miles walk warmdown

total: 3.2 miles

Fast post: First run in long while, and first run at new gym. Great deal at Cardinal Fitness. October special more.

Felt OK, probably too fast as I tweaked the speed. Cool treadmills.

Gotta get to a meeting but wanted to posted before I forgot.

Following the Chicago Marathon? Links for you.

http://www.chicagomarathon.com/

Live Broadcast Information


Searchable Race Results (add your friends here, tracking them all in one place)

Interactive Course Map

A Long Rain, A Short Run, A Fine Time

41:03 (9:40/mile?)
4.25 miles?

total: 4.25 miles

52°F | °C
Current: Showers
Wind: S at 5 mph
Humidity: 92%

Not sure how far. Ran an easy 40 minutes in the humid aftermath of a day long rain.

Good running partners make good runs. Friends Mark and Jody came along, or rather, I joined them. We ran Jody's course at an easy lope, and enjoyed conversation along the way. Mark dropped off so to get the dogs, and when we came round again, the exuberant adult puppies were there to overwhelmingly greet us.

Time for some Hamburger Helper. Trying the Philly Cheesesteak kind. It expired in January, but, come on, who is kidding who?

(Buy some. If you buy enough stuff from Amazon, I can get some new ones!)

Hamburger Helper Philly Cheesesteak, 6.5-Ounce Boxes (Pack of 12)

T-shirt Tales: How I Received My Runner's World T-shirt

Yesterday, I received an envelope with November's Runner's World and an RW t-shirt. As it happens, my subscription has lapsed, and they have been chasing me with e-mails and letters. All this for a twenty buck subscription? No worries. The Ryan Hall cover story was interesting, and I'd get to the rest next week.

My name was spelled correctly on the package. How odd, and amazing, I thought. For every subscription, I use codes so I can follow the direct mail path. Runners World is Anthony R Trendt. 'r' = runners world. For Poets & Writers Magazine, I use 'Anthony P Trendl' and so on. My real middle initial is neither, so I know who each sells my name too. (For curious minds: Poets and Writers sold mine to the most, and as a result, I get lots of mail from environmental groups.)

This morning, I grabbed the October issue with the the very cool Zola Budd profile, and realized I had only received that a week or two ago. Wow. I have November's already? Weird.

Then I remembered. It all made sense.

See the letters to the editor section for a brilliantly written comment on the Andrew Wheating profile. I thought the article neglected mentioning Jim, one of running's more consistent milers of the 1980s and 90s, and whose 1500 time in the 1984 Olympics remains the best run by an American in an Olympic final. Couldn't let this error continue. I didn't get to mention that's he's a fine coach too.

and

Haile Gebrselassie and Donut Dave

Is there a new running convert online? Millions, I hope, are newly entranced after watching Haile Gebrselassie win the 2009 Berlin Marathon. No world record this year, but still an amazing gallop.

I am a big fan of Haile, but I am as big of a fan of local runner.

One guy a little slower than Ethiopia's marathon phenom, and a little closer to home is old friend David Dane. Always opinionated, and completely passionate about life, he's been chasing weight loss for a couple of years. He's done pretty well, but lately, has seen some weight gain. He is still under his old weight of 250 lbs, but presently at 190, with 30 lbs yet to lose.

Dave's found himself in a quandary. Food tastes good. Pastries, good burgers, a cold beer -- all are delicious, but all are calorie hogs. Through sheer discipline, he has fought off most of these beasts, but occasionally gets hit with a sucker punch by the dreaded donut monster.

Recently, he's flirted with running. He and I have walked a little, but his knees have argued with him when it came time to pick it up. He avoided it, then ran a mile here and there without much in the results column. As you might expect, running felt discouraging, especially as he remembers the days of yore when running was graceful. I understand completely that feeling.

Just the other day, he enjoyed a good four mile run. He clipped a 51:37 (12:54/mile), or a 47:37 (11:54/mile) if accounting for the roughly four minutes lost at the street light. Well done, Mr. Dane.

Readers of this blog who know the struggle of trying to lose a pound or two, why not drop by David's blog? Comment and encourage him. Mostly, he writes about the process of staring his weight in the eye and telling it who's boss. He sometimes delves into politics, but 98% of his posts are pure struggle. He is an every day trying to make it out alive. Just like me.

Best Run of the Year (so far) - 5.5 Miles

5.5 miles (47:06 - 8:34/mile)
.5 miles walk

total: 6.0

62°F °C
Current: Clear
Wind: E at 0 mph
Humidity: 82%
course: Springbrook Prairie

finish
70°F °C
Current: Clear
Wind: S at 0 mph
Humidity: 54%

Nice run, among my most relaxed in months. My stride was easy and long, my pace steady. The first mile was in 8:41, and picked up from there.

It is especially nice as I had a week off. First, I ran too hard at the Spivey Club workout, and paid for it the next 2-3 days. My fault. Next, a friend, a beginning runner, passed away and hit me off kilter. Allergies and life otherwise took hold. Next thing I knew, zero miles for over a week. I hoped to struggle through 9:15s today. 8:33.8 is an accomplishment, and I never pressed.

Felt bad for a bigger guy, high school football player sized. I passed him, easing on by at the two mile marker on down a hill. My stride is longer than others my height, and going downhill, this helps. I think he took it as a challenge, and chugged past me as we went up a hill. Down the next hill, I slipped by. I tried to hold my pace, and he wore himself out I think. I thought I heard him trying to give it a go as we went up a longer hill, but his 'get up and go got up and went'. By the time I was stuck at the 4.0 mile stop light, he was nowhere to be found.

The picture I took at around the 5.25 mile mark, after I ran. Slight uphill, not as steep as it might look. Got down low, and then put a hue onto the shot to give it a sepia-like look. Bad cell phone picture meets Photoshop.

Eddie Izzard is a Stud - 43 Marathons in 51 Days (see the video)

Eddie Izzard is a stud.

Let's be clear. This is the same Eddie Izzard who dresses up like a woman. Still a stud.

He ran 43 marathons in 51 days. Not bad at age 47, with just five weeks of training. He's raising money for Comic Relief.

http://www.eddieizzard.com/



Comedian Eddie Izzard celebrates after finishing his 43rd marathon in 51 days, raising money for Sport Relief.. Follow us on twitter at http://twitter.com/itn_news
Category: News & Politics

Tags: eddie izzard trafagar square sport relief charity marathon

The Tofu Cometh

Monday Check-in

136.0 lbs. (down)
52 - Pulse (same)

Status
My weight continues to slip down ahead of schedule. Today, I'm 1.68 lbs ahead of the game. I'm where I want to be on October 14. That's encouraging because my miles are down and I ate lots of tasty, greasy food. Losing weight is more than a few extra laps around the yard, or eating nothing but granola.

Just the same, the extra laps are helping both in the immediate calorie department and in the building of strength which in turn is burning calories even when I'm less active.

A new thing on the diet, or, rather, will be, is tofu. I might hate it, but I picked some up hoping to replace some of meat eating. I love red meat, and doubt I'll retire the grill, but this will reduce some of the fats and other naughty foods.

On the running side of things, the week was a mix of long miles or nothing. Two relaxed long runs and one hard track workout. Miles piled on. My long runs will remain to unfocused on purpose. My goal is to gain a base, but to remain healthy. When the serious training begins, I need to have all basics covered: weight optimal, knees sturdy, Achilles strong, and aerobic strength deep. Everything the next couple of months is setting up for that.