Minor Changes, Recent Training News, and the Asics Gel Nimbus

Yes, I will still be running a marathon this coming spring, but I have changed my mind on which one to do. Instead of doing the Gettysburg North South, I have decided to go with the Bob Potts Marathon May 20th. Hey, this gives me 3 extra weeks for training right off the bat. Love it! ....and the course is as flat as a pancake, well, my pancakes aren't too flat.

So far, the last 3 weeks for training have been extremely well. My longest run to date has been 7 miles with next weeks being 8. I'm not flying off the handle going to fast or anything. I am using my long runs just for that - long runs. I am doing pretty good with my other runs as well, ei. - tempo, fartlek, progressive tempo, track work outs, blah blah blah. The good news is that I have managed to drop a few pounds in the process, and I can feel my fitness getting better. I have managed to incorporate some weight training in there too. One crunch a week! Ill get better I know. Now it's time to go back in time 3 weeks, and make some tweaks. Should I keep going up in distance with my long runs, or go back? hmmmmmmmmm.
So, I have tried on just about every shoe that Asics has to offer for running, well, just about. I have decided to go with the Gel Nimbus 13. I did try out the 2160's but decided to go with these instead. I will let you know how they go in a few weeks from now.

2012 Spring Marathon Campaign Begins

Currently I am training for the 2012 Gettysburg North South Marathon. I am on the 6th week of a 30 week program. My long runs are great being only about 6-8 miles. Right now I am putting in some speed sessions and hill sessions. I have also been including some strength training, especially core training.
One of the greatest things that I have discovered is that the end of a race means the begginning of another one. A new chance. A fresh start to take another stab at it again. This time around, I plan to do it right. In the past, I admit to skipping out on my long runs thinking that it would be okay..........not. Lessons Learned. Each new day brings forth a new challenge. Will you accept it is the question. Will I wake up at 4am and do what I know I should be doing to be the best I can be, or will I just hit the snooze button over and over again until its too late.
This week's training has been fantastic. I will log around 25 miles. I am actually looking forward to next week, as I see the transformation occur.

Gettysburg Blue Gray Half Marathon Recap Part 2

...................So, with the race being postponed for an hour, we made it there OK on time. At 8:55, a lady sung the National Anthem, and at 9:00am the gun (cannon) went off. I started out on a great pace. I knew I wasn't going to have a record time of any sorts. My running has almost been non-existent. The hills were not bad at all, but they still were hills of course. The roads were actually very nice. No slippery spots. The only thing you had to watch for were snow clumps (big) falling out from the trees. A couple of racers got hit in the head.

I actually executed a run walk strategy to be honest after a few miles. I ran the last 4 miles though. I didn't do too bad for not really training. .......next year. BUT, it was the greatest race I have had yet. It was a combination of the weather, snow, camaraderie, and a bunch of other things. Ok, my time was.............2:33, and I was actually last place in my age division, but those two things don't really mean any thing to me.

The Gettysburg Blue Gray Half kick-started my 24 week marathon proram for the spring Gettysburg North South Marathon April 29. So it wasn't an ending to a rigorous training plan, it was the start of one, and that is why I wasn't upset. It was a good run. Next year I will race it. By the way, the North won again, so all the runners on the North side got a cool coffee cup with logo on it.

I am working on a little something to post here involving some pitures. Hopefully I can get it together before the end of the year. My post race week of runs has been very good so far.