6 days on....1 off

June 19: 1 week to the official start of my 18 week training prep for the MCM. I figured I would go ahead and get a jump on things by starting to get my life in sync with the 6 days of workouts per week. I went to the gym on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Each day I did between 10 and 11 miles on the bike (the hill program on level 8 is actually quite challenging), followed by some lifting of weights. I decided that if I was going to start preparing for this race properly I might as well start to develop some upper body strength to go with the running. By no means am I trying to get to the point where you would see me with a shaved chest in the next Abercrombie & Fitch catalog, but just a little definition would help. Also, a lot of the stuff I have read about running indicated that lifting in moderation will actually benefit the runs. After lifting this week my arms felt like they were going to fall off. The pain was nuts, but that's what happens when you do no resistance training for a year and a half.

About 2 months ago I started to do some push ups, dips, and elevated push ups every night about...just to try to get some strength. After this week I felt like they had done nothing for me, even though I'm sure they helped. I had some good runs this week as well, and all but the long run were with a fellow Henrico officer.

1. 5 miles 46:26 - AVG HR - 189
2. 5.5 miles 52:40 - AVG HR - 186
3. 7 miles 1:10:13 - AVG HR - 176

My first "Long" Run

June 18: Did 7 miles today in the middle of the blistering heat (mid 90's). Big mistake. It killed me as I wrapped it up in 1 hour and 13 minutes. I ran out of water with about a mile and half to go....better planning next time. I also got a Polar heart rate monitor (father's day gift) to assist in the training. Great tool and I'm just starting to use it....however my heart was going nuts during this run. Like anything else you do in life you learn from mistakes......I'm learning.

Gifts...

June 17: Got a great birthday gift today from Duck....a racing running bottle. This will help as the runs go past 5 miles. Now Ill just work on building up the arm strength to carry this thing for 26.2 miles.

FIRST to Finish

June 16: After looking at several training programs I have decided to go with the FIRST program. 3 days of running, 3 days of cross training per week. There is a big emphasis on establishing pace and staying on course. I'm not sure my knees could take (or at least enjoy) 6 days of running every week so I think this program will work well for me. Ramsey used a similar program in preparing for the 2005 Richmond Marathon with success.

http://www.furman.edu/first/fmtp.htm

June 15: First run in the new shoes (after a couple miles of walking to help break them in). Did 5.2 miles in 51 minutes in 90 degree heat....so I was pretty pleased. Shoes felt great.

New Kicks

June 14: After a couple of runs on the old Nikes it became very clear that a new pair should be one of the 1st orders of business in this training. I ended up going with a pair of Asics Gel Nimbus. Ive never owned a pair of Asics before, but these looked and felt right on my foot. We will see how they do.

Running for a Cause

June 11: Today I decided to actually commit to this goal of completing the 2006 MCM. So I got all pumped up, logged onto the internet only to find that registration had closed and that the race had over 34,000 runners. To say it was a let down would be an understatement. However, in a very positive turn of events I found that various charitable organizations sponsor runners and that I could still put to run on behalf of one of them. I found an organization, Friends 4 Michael, that is dedicated to brain cancer research. Since brain cancer has a direct impact on my life through Jen's family I thought this would be the perfect choice. I submitted an application and was accepted! Now I will get to run the marathon and hopefully raise a sizeable amount of funds for this worthy organization.

From the Friends 4 Michael website (see link on right):

The mission of The Friends4Michael Foundation is to support children like Michael and their families, to keep alive the memory of Michael and his spirit, to increase awareness of the devastating effects of brain tumors on afflicted children and their families and to continue to fight for a cure for this horrible disease.

The foundation gives assistance, including financial, to children afflicted with brain tumors and their families, or to funds which support their fights. The foundation provides support for directed charities which assist seriously ill children afflicted with brain tumors. We provide grants to organizations conducting promising research on cures for brain tumors. We also provide scholarships to deserving high school students who demonstrate the qualities and abilities which Michael possessed.

Keeping alive Michael's memory and spirit.

Starting Slowly

June 7: Today was the first run since I began to flirt with idea of the MCM. Just three miles, nothing crazy. I usually stay in decent shape, so 3 miles was a slow start.....but I figured I've have plenty of time to build up to some nice loooooooooong runs.

The Motivation

June 6, 2006:
I received an email from my best friend, Ramsey Duck telling me he was headed to D.C. to run the Marine Corps Marathon in October. The email also had some guilt laden text to peer pressure me into running it as well. Duck is a "seasoned" marathon-er (2 under his belt) and frequently competes in triathlons, so I figured I would take up his challenge and see how I'd do. And the training begins.....(Ramsey is pictured above, after the 2005 Richmond Marathon. Ramsey before his training is seen below).