Sometimes It Is Just About The Finish!

Many times through my training schedules, I have either read or been told that the race is often more about the journey to the finish line than it is about the finish. Now I get what they are saying, and I have probably even muttered those words to people before, but sometimes its not about the journey.

Sometimes it is simply just about finishing.

This applies to a race, to a training run or just about anything you do. Just finish Baby!

Many times in my running career (yeah, I know that sounds weird but...) I have simply just wanted to quit, to just stop and go home. The mental battle is toughest thing about endurance sports in my opinion. If I can get those voices out of my head that tell me I am tired or that it is too hot, then I win! It is easier said than done.

People still ask me about Ironman and how hard it was. I used to say that it was the toughest day of my life, but now I answer them differently. Now my answer is this, that was the longest day ever. The reason it was so long was that it was a lonely day. I had a lot of time inside my own head. A lot of thoughts bouncing around (although now, I do not remember half of them). During an Ironman, you are thinking about the journey to the starting line, you are simply thinking about finishing. You are thinking about getting off that bike and how good it will feel to walk, then you are thinking about finishing that run. I do not remember a time thinking about the journey... until well after it was completed.

On Saturday, my wife and I lead a running group. As I was running with a guy, he said something about how running was a journey, which I do agree on 100%, but I also know that sometimes, you just have to finish. It's about getting through when you aren't sure if you can or if you even want to anymore.

You still have to finish to continue the journey!

Sorry about the song, but I love this video

It's Just The Way I Am!

Here recently I have been dreading my long runs and even some of my shorter runs. This time of year is always crazy busy for me being in retail and all, but I always sign up for the St Jude Marathon weekend, so I have to run. My plan has been calling for a Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday run, with Saturday being the long run. I have been fairly consistent in running during the week, but once the mileage got into double figures, man, have I been dreading it.

So, I have found the one thing that has helped me get out of this funk!

I change my route.

Simple huh? I have found that the easiest way to hit that dreaded run is to change the route entirely. I usually hate to drive somewhere to run because I think it is stupid, but on occasion, (like this weekend) I will drive myself over to the Greenline and run. It changes everything for me!

The Shelby Farms Greenline is a 6.5 mile urban trail connecting Midtown Memphis to Shelby Farms Park–the largest park of its kind in the country. Managed and operated by the nonprofit Shelby Farms Park Conservancy, the trail is an incredible community asset that provides new opportunities for recreation, exercise, togetherness, healthy activity, commuting and more. Now connected to Shelby Farms Park’s Wolf River Pedestrian Bridge, the Shelby Farms Greenline allows for miles of new trail routes. The paved trail currently runs from Tillman St. at Walnut Grove Rd. in Midtown to Farm Rd. at Mullins Station Rd. at Shelby Farms Park. There are access points at Tillman Street., Highland Street, High Point Terrace, Graham Street, Waring Road, Podesta Street, Sycamore View Road, and Farm Road at Shelby Farms Park. (I know these streets do not mean much to a lot of people, but it's cool). The trail has mile markers every half mile, which seems to really help. It also helps that there are always other runners or bikers on the Greenline. I think that my routes around my house get way to familiar and boring. So a new location is sometimes all I need to get refreshed and energized.

About two weeks ago I went to the Greenline for a 10 mile run. My plan was to run 2 miles, walk a minute and then run another two until I finished my 10 miles. So I started, it was a nice cool day with temps in the low 50s, I ran in shorts and my arm warmers. My goal was not about speed, but just finishing the 10 miles. After I hit the 2 mile marker, I thought to myself to go 3, then 4, then 5. I knew I have already hit runs of 8 and 9 miles, so I am not sure why I was so unconfident about this run, but I was! So at mile 5, I did walk a minute because I had to make some adjustments, but then I started running again for the next 5 miles. I covered 10 miles in 1:44 with a 10:24 pace. I was actually thrilled.

No, it was not nearly as fast as I had hoped, but I did finish it and I accomplished what I wanted to on my run. Sometimes you just need that extra encouragement to tell yourself you can do it. Even though I have run this distance and further in my triathlon career, and even though I just did this distance, I will still have these same thought sin my head as I prepare for this Saturday's run. I will still dread the pending 11 miler on Saturday morning, but I already have plans to hit the Greenline and hit my 11 miles under 1:55, and once I finish that, I can then start dreading the next long run, cause that is just the way I am!

Cheat Meal? I wish!!!

As a runner that is wanting needing to lose about 10 lbs, I have really been focusing on my diet. Right now I am about 193 lbs, and I should be around 183, so I can either lose weight or I can focus on being a Clydesdale next year when I take on Brad D at Redman (might make it fair huh?) Just today in my Triathlete magazine it had an article that says when someone loses 10 lbs, they can expect  their marathon time to be 10 minutes faster!! (At least that is how I read it, I did not read the whole article, just the chart to the side) So that told me I was in the right mindset.

Dieting is hard.

Eating right is harder.

During the week I feel I do better than the weekend. My wife usually cooks fairly healthy meals for us, so I can only blame her for the 10 lbs I picked up. Just kidding. The weekend is usually where I stumble. (Sidenote: while laying here in bed typing this, she literally just offered me a piece of Belgium chocolate!  No lie!!) So anyways, as I was saying, the weekend is tough for me. It is easier to eat out, their are usually donuts at church, I work in the yard so I feel I can justify it, and I could go on and on.

So eating right is tough and I know about cheat meals. In fact, I support cheat meals, and maybe even cheat days, but I had a cheat weekend last weekend! My wife and kids were out of town, so I was a bachelor all weekend. And, I ate like a bachelor! I went to the store and here was what I bought (and I am not proud of this!) I bought steak sauce, Fruity Pebbles, Double Stuff Oreos, cream cheese (for a dip I love), tortilla chips, a 6 pack of Reese's peanut butter cups and a Dr. pepper 2 liter.

So this weekend I ate steak or cereal for meals and I had Oreos, Reese's, ice cream and chips and dip for snacks.

There, I feel better that it is out, so now that the food is gone, or close to being gone, I can get back on track!

My Taper on Paper...

It's my favorite time of the year, TAPER TIME! I have done all the long training that I am going to do and there is nothing left but to rest up and prepare for the race.I honestly hate the Taper time because I always start to worry if I did enough. Truth be told, I am not sure another long run at this time would do me any good. I had my last long run Friday, a 20 miler. It went really well and was a huge confidence boost for me. I finished it in 3:42, but here is the best thing. I felt great afterwards. I wasn't struggling, I wasn't in sheer agony either! I felt like I had another 6 miles in me for sure!

So I will take the next two weeks to let my body and mind rest, recover and prepare for the race, and here is how I am going to taper:

• I am cutting my mileage back by about 50-75% of what I have been doing. This week I will run 3, 5, 3 and 8 mile runs. The following week I will cut it back even more and run a 3, 3, 2 miler.
• I expect to feel some new pains that will worry me, but I need to remember that is part of it and not unnatural as my body is repairing itself.
• Sleep. I will not try to get excessive sleep, but I will try and make sure I am getting 8 hours of sleep a night.
• I will review the race course map and make sure I am familiar with what is coming up on the course.
• I plan on doing a lot more stretching during my taper and even some easy cross training, like swimming.
• Hydrating- I will definitely start incorporating more water during these next two weeks. I do not know what the weather will be like on Dec 1st yet, but either way, I want to make sure my body is well hydrated.

I am seriously looking forward to this race this year. I learned so much from running it last year, and I know I am more prepared. It is going to be a good time!!!

Ice, Ice Baby, Too cold!!!!!!

Ice Baths. Those two words are enough to make people cringe. They are enough to make people run for the hills, enough to make grown men cry, enough to...  sorry, but you get the picture. In other words, they are not fun.But are they beneficial?  Some say yes, some say nope, not at all. I have started hitting the ice baths after my long runs since I started my focus on the marathon, and I believe they do some good.
They make you faster! (not really, but maybe)

I know there are  many different ways of doing ice baths and that you may wonder if you are doing them correctly, but let me tell you this. There is not an incorrect way. I recommend the following way: I freeze old empty 2 liter coke bottles with water in the freezer, 3 or 4 should do you. This way you can refreeze the bottles and not have to spend money on  bags of ice or empty out all your ice trays from the fridge. Next,  I sit my butt in the tub and turn on the cold water and let it surround me. I add the frozen 2 liters as the water rises over my legs. I usually wrap myself in a towel with a skull cap on, because it does get cold pretty fast and I have even had the shivers, but I always feel great afterwards. I will usually stay in the water about 10 minutes or so. Next I let the water drain out while I am still sitting there in the water, that's just a personal preference (no need for details here!)

So what are the benefits of an ice bath?

1. Reduces Tissue Breakdown and Swelling- Whether scientific studies support the ice bath immersion or not, many professional athletes swear that it helps to prevent muscle injury and strain, and also aids in faster recovery. Ice bath immersion produces a lasting effect in deep tissues, which consecutively helps in cooling larger muscle groups.
2. Flushes Out Harmful Metabolic Waste- Ice bath immersion is not only effective in suppressing swelling; but also aid in flushing harmful substance from the muscles, such as lactic acid. Ice bath immersion increases blood flow in the body.
3. Decrease Metabolic Activity- According to recent scientific studies, ice bath immersion is also effective in reducing metabolic activity in athletes. It reduces metabolic activity by constricting the blood vessels, which in turn minimizes tissue breakdown and inflammation. On the other hand, cold water immersion which is also referred to as water therapy is popularly used to reduce muscle soreness and exercise  recovery.
4. Improves Healing process- With increase in blood circulation after performing intensive exercises, ice bath immersion is a standard routine among professional athletes as it enhances the healing process.

See how much help he is getting?

One of the main questions people have about ice baths is how long to wait until they take a shower. Many say that a warm shower too soon can negate the effect of the ice bath. Some say you should wait up to 30 after the ice bath before you shower, some say to let your body return to its natural body temperatures first. Now, I am no doctor, nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn Express, but I usually go ahead with a warm shower afterwards, that works for me. Just be careful that there is nothing numb so that you can't gauge the temperature of the water before you get in.

For me, I love the ice bath, it always makes me feel better and I am not sure why I do not do them more often. I seem to only ice bath on runs over 10 miles and usually only in the late fall or winter during marathon training.

Blame It On The...

I like to run in the mornings. I might not like the getting up part, but once I am out there running, I love it. With the temps dropping here in Mempho, it takes me even longer to get out of my nice warm bed (I like it cold at night), but I eventually get up and get dressed, usually about 10-15 minutes later than I had planned.

Once my alarm goes off, I usually hit the snooze at least once. I plan for that the night before. So if I want to get up at 6, I set my alarm for 5:51.  (Who came up with a 9 minute snooze alarm anyways?) I normally  set my running gear out the night before, So I can find it easily and quietly, and go downstairs, so I do not wake my wife. I try to be quiet, no matter what she claims. (I hate it whenever I wake up before my alarm clock goes off, even if it is just 5 minutes early! Alarm clocks can't win!)

Once downstairs, I head to the bathroom to get dressed and "take care of business". (and for the entirety of this post, I will refer to going to bathroom as taking care of business, just so there is no confusion). This is also a factor into the alarm setting decision. So, depending on how bad I ate the day before, I might have to "take care of business" once or twice before going out, cause nothing is worse than having to ":take care of business" out on a run.

So as I am getting dressed this morning and about to head out for my run, I come out of the bathroom and my son is sitting there at the kitchen table. Way early for him to be up! He turned 13 on Saturday, so he recently got into the "showering everyday" before school phase, which is a good thing, but it is weird for me. The kids are usually just waking up when I return from my runs, but right now, my marathon plan calls for a 4, 5, 4 and a 12 miler this week, so I really do not have to get up as early to complete the 4-5-4 runs during the weekdays cause I am that fast! You see I normally take my boys to school in the morning. This way my youngest gets to sleep later and Mom can get prepared for her day with said youngest one! So if people are up when I leave to go running during the week, then I feel pressured while running and I am more tempted to cut it short, which is not good for marathon training.

Now, I do not blame my son for this at all. I blame my DVR me for not getting up when I am suppose to and getting my butt out there. I blame myself for not planning better with what I eat the night before and I blame a mouse that has been running along my roof driving my dog crazy (future post). I also blame the weather and not knowing what I need to wear in the mornings. I blame it on the rain...See, there are a lot of factors involved here!

It is tough to work training around family as to not interrupt the flow of everyday family life and I do my best to train when it least effects everyone, so it looks like I will still need to get up earlier than I thought, that will just mean more time for coffee before I take my boys to school in the morning.

P.S Stay tuned to Daily Training's 2nd Ever Giveaway!  It will be cool, trust me.

Marathon Training Plan...

I started my marathon training this morning.  Well, I should back up a bit, I planned out my marathon training last week and I started it today. I am hopping into the middle of a plan due to NashVegas last weekend, but since I was already doing 11 to 13 mile runs, it should not be that big of a deal to start midway.

When I woke up this morning, it was raining. I did not want to get out of bed, but I was also ready to start running again. I had only logged one mile since last weekend, so I knew I had plenty of time to recover. I also know that I have eaten like crap this past week. Whatever I wanted, I ate. I drank Dr. Peppers instead of water, I ate OREOS (double stuffed of course) and even went to Baskin Robbins! (They have this chocolate chip cookie dough sundae that is amazing!) And I stuffed myself on my wife's chili this weekend!  Chili dogs are great football food!

So anyways, I wake up this morning to rain. Now part of me says "screw it" get out there and run in the rain. Seems like most of my bigger distance races have been out in the rain, so why not. Channel my inner badassness and get out there. Which I almost did! But I thought it was only a 4 mile run today, so I could do this at they gym on the dreadmill. last thing I want is to get a cold and get sick, so the dreadmill won out.

But, I did get it done. It wasn't pretty at all though. It was awkward, like I had never run on one before. My ankle was hurting, my stomach was not cooperating (that's got to be the chili dogs, but they were soo good), and I really did not want to be on a treadmill. And it was also slow, but I got it done, and that is the important thing. Now I hope the rains move on out and I can get outside again soon.

My marathon plan has me running 4 days a week averaging between 30-35 miles a week. My longest run will be 20 miles and basically consists of Monday being short, Wednesday being medium, Thursday short and Saturday long. I also have some other road races thrown in the mix, so I should be good and ready come December. Plus I am working in some core work ( I know I say this a lot), but I really mean it. The goal to beat is 6:08:27. I am looking for somewhere closer to 5 hours or under!

Week in Review

For me, it is always hard to get back into the swing of things after vacation. I was able to do some running and swimming on vacation, but I was on vacation, so I wanted to relax a bit, but I also did not want to take any steps backwards from my training, so this week was important to me. I only have about 50 something days left before my Half Ironman triathlon, so I think I know where I need to be at this point.

Monday- Travel day back from Florida (it seems like it was so much longer than a week ago)

Tuesday- Nothing- I got called in to work at 2AM due to a burglary, so it messed up any thoughts on working out.

Wednesday- 23 mile ride on the trainer. I am still seeing positive results from using the trainer during the week.

Thursday- 1500 swim followed by a 4 mile run. This was not a speed set, but I vowed earlier to not make it a treadmill run and I kept that vow. Made the run better, even thought it rained on me.

Friday- rest day- I really thought about adding some workouts to Friday, but I knew I had a big weekend coming up so I stuck to the plan.

Saturday- 40 mile ride. It rained on us as well, and I hate riding in the rain. Come to think of it, all a majority of my bigger races have had rain on the bike segment. I also finished out the day doing yard work on Saturday.

Sunday- 10 mile run at 4PM. We went to church that morning, there was no way I was going to get up early enough to knock off 10 miles, then we had to drop our older boys off at church camp, which took about 3 hours round trip, then we were suppose to meet some friends at their house to cook spaghetti for a homeless group (we do this once a month), so in order to get my run in, I ran to their house which was exactly 10 miles away!  It worked out beautifully!

This weekend really gave me a good confidence boost, as far as mentally knowing I can do the distances. I still have plenty of time to work on things to prepare even more. My goal is to beat my previous HIM time of 7:35. I know these are different courses (IM Branson vs. NashVegas 70.3), and the bike shouldn't be so hilly, but the distance is the same. So, I really expect to have a better time.

Thankfully this is a recovery week, cause I am sore after this weekend, but I am ready to hit it hard and fast this week. Coming soon is a post on my new Tri Team I joined and another post I am working on called "20 things you will never hear me say" Thanks for reading!!!

St Jude Heroes need your help...

Last year was the first year I ran the St Jude Marathon, and I admit it was purely because I wanted to run a marathon in preparation for my journey to becoming an Ironman, it was purely selfish reasons. Once I made the turn and ran through the campus of St Jude's, everything changed. It was no longer about me, but about those children and parents, lining up along the route cheering us on. Some of those kids are fighting for their life and yet they were telling us runners that we were the Heroes. They were so wrong. Everyone of those families were so much more of a hero than could ever be. It was truly an emotional scene for a non emotional guy! I knew that I would have to finish no matter what, and I knew at that point that I would run this race again.



Look at those gorgeous blue eyes!

 This little girls name is Hayli and she is one year old. Hayli has acute myeloid leukemia. This is who I am running for, not just her, but thousands of families like her that utilize St Jude Hospital. The great thing about St Jude, is that no family ever has to pay for the treatment while they are patients of St Jude. Everyone know how expensive health care costs are today and I can;t imagine what some of those treatments cost, so imagine the relief of knowing a family can get the best care for their child free of charge!




I'm raising funds as a St. Jude Hero to support St. Jude's lifesaving mission of finding cures and saving children. I need your support to help me reach my fundraising goal for the kids of St. Jude. I have set my goal amount at $500, but I would love nothing more than to surpass that goal. I am asking my readers to consider donating. $5, $10 whatever you can donate will all go to St Jude. If you are not able to donate, then I ask you to keep those kids in your prayers and to also send thoughts of a good race to me so that I may finish strong for these children.

If you are led to donate, please follow this link. St Jude Heroes Donation Page .

That's What She Said!

Why aren;t you faster? That was the question posed to me by my bride on Friday night. That was the question that punched me in the gut and got me all kinds of defensive!

Here is how it came about. My wife was reading the RoadRunner magazine. It is the monthly newsletter/magazine that come out from the Memphis Runner's Track Club that I am a member of. In the magazine was an article about a woman that ran her first marathon in 4 hours and something. My first marathon was 6 hours and something. SO that led to an awkward conversation, that started out with this conversation:

Wife: I don't understand this..
Me: huh?
Wife: This woman did her very first marathon in 4 hours something...
Me: OK?
Wife: Well, I mean, it was her first race and you have been running for a long time..
Me: What are you saying?
Wife: Well..
Me: What?
Wife: It's just...
Me: Say it...  What aren't I faster?
Wife: Well, yeah?

At least that is the way I remember the conversation. My thought reaction was to get defensive. 'Did she do a half Ironman 45 days before the marathon? Does she have a job? Does she have a husband and kids? Is she 40 years old??? All valid questions in my mind. And the answers didn't matter to me really, because no answer was going to unhurt my feelings.

Now, I know my wife did not mean to upset me or make me feel bad about my times or in any way be anything but supportive of me, but it is how I took it. I know she had some of the same frustrations with my marathon time as I did. My wife is my biggest supporter and this is not a talk bad about my wife type of post, but it still bugged me. All I could think about was, "Why am I not faster?" Further reading the article talked about how this lady had run over 900 miles that year in preparation for the marathon. Running has always been my biggest obstacle in triathlons, and I have been working on it, and seeing some of that hard work pay off already.

So the rest of the night, I walked around reminding her of the headway I have made this year. I gently reminded her of how I have 4 PR's alone this year. I gently reminded her that I was 5th on a 5K and that I am a Master's Champion at that race!  Master's Champion!!!

So Saturday morning, my plan called for a 16.9 Mile ride and a 2.86 mile run. Let me say I had plenty of fuel for this ride/run. I got up Saturday morning and jumped on my bike and rode on the trainer hard. My legs were burning, but it didn't matter. After 17 miles, I jumped off my bike, grabbed my shoes and hit the road. I ran 3 miles at an 8:11 pace. It hurt, my legs were heavy, but it was very satisfying to hold a decent pace. My PR 5k pace was 7:50, so I was thrilled.

So I took an honest question and used it as fuel for my next workout. So I need to thank my wife for giving me something to think on and ask myself.

Every Day I'm Shufflin...

...or at least that is how it feels when it come to my daily runs. After having such a huge month on October (113 miles) I have had a tough November. Like this morning for example, I did not want to run. After the first mile, I considered calling it quits. After the second mile I really thought about calling it quits and after the 3rd mile, I stopped. Flat out stopped.

I am 15 days out from my first marathon and I really don't want to go out and run, but I need too. I have decided that I am going to do something, even if I do not feel like it. I have to get out there.

I went to see a buddy of mine who is a triathlete guru. He is fast and has won his AG in many races. he always gives me a kick in the but and it usually helps gets my head back in training mode. One thing we talked about was run cadence. I have never even thought about run cadence, so I had alot to learn. Basically, I see that my run cadence should be 90 and I should keep my heartrate around 150 for my marathon. The 90 cadence has something to do with higher turnover and it helps you land correctly on your foot as best I understand it.

Well, I tried to find my cadence and let me say this, it's not easy counting your cadence while running. that was alot harder than I figured it would be. On my first correct count, my cadence was 84, so I worked on trying to speed it up to 90. It took some doing and it felt unnatural to me and my HR stayed around 154 give or take, so I felt like I was within the correct range. All other research I see on run cadence goes both ways, some say to count it, others say to let your natural stride come into play. I think it is a little to late to try and change anything for my marathon though, but it does give me something else to while plugging along the road.

This weekend I am heading to my folks house for Thanksgiving. Being in retail really puts a damper on Thanksgiving Day (be nice to the retail workers if you go out on Black Friday). while at their house, I am planning on running on a trail I used to run in college. I am hoping this while help me get that thrill back and enjoy the run!

Lastly, here is a video going around the internet showing how fast an elite marathoner runs. Ryan Hall is featured in the video. Enjoy!

Was Def Lepard Right?

Def Leppard had a song titled Rock of Ages back in the late 80s, early 90s. One of the lines in this song said its "better to burnout than fade away..." I wonder about that. Today I was suppose to do an 8 mile run. I am a month out from my marathon and on a recovery week, so I have not been taxing my body that much, but for the life of me, I could not get up for this run. So, I didn't do it.

I am coming off my biggest run month ever. I did 113 miles in October. I averaged between 30-40 miles running during all my months of triathlon training, so I know I was overloading myself jumping to 100+ miles. I have felt good. I mean, I have been tired, like I am suppose to be, but overall I felt really good. So, I am hoping this is just a short funk. I know I still have miles to run and I am suppose to do a 22 miler next week before I start slowing down for my race on Dec 3.

Anyways, I don't know what is up. Maybe it is my body's way of telling me I am tired, or my brain is saying "slow down bro!" Either way I am hoping that since I am in a recovery week, I will be back on track by Tuesday when I am scheduled to run again.

Let me know if you have any "burn out remedies"!

400 Miles and other Ramblings...

This morning, on my run I went over the 400 mile mark! Not all in one day, that would be some kind of record, but through October 20, 2011. This has already eclipsed my yearly running total from 2010. I am knee deep in my marathon training, so I expect me to hit over 550 miles by the year end. My monthly total for October is right at 75 miles, which is by far my biggest monthly total. This makes me happy in a strange way, and yet it excites me to see how many miles I can get.

So here are my other ramblings and thoughts:

• I wish that just once, I got a burger that looked like the burgers they offer on TV.
• My training is going well, I am averaging 30-40 miles a week and my longest run is 16.5 miles.
• Big Bang Theory is a very funny show.
• I am ready for Daylight Savings to get here. I am tired of getting up and running in the dark.
• Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle wiggle, wiggle yeah...
• My wife is running her first 5K this Saturday, I get to be the cheerleader this time!!!
• I think I am kinda fly for a white guy! (heard it on the radio today)
• I kinda want to see the new FootLoose. Sorry Kevin Bacon
• I am not worried so much about zombies, becasue I know that iPhones are going to band together and take over the world if we continue to sit here and do nothing about it.
• The "Good Mood" food guy from ARBY's is annoying!
• Guns N Roses is coming to town and I am really on the fence about wanting to go, I mean, I know it won't be the same as I remember, but it's still GNR!

That's about all I got tonight!  Thanks for reading!

My 16 Mile Run Was A Bit Short...

Today, in my quest to conquer my first marathon, I had scheduled a 16 mile run. My plan is one I took from Breakaway Running and it seemed doable, so that has been my guide. So I was prepared for this to be my longest run to date, and I had the perfect route planned.

Here in Memphis, we have what is called the "Memphis Greenline" at Shelby Farms. Basically, it is an old railroad track that they redid and made it into a walking/biking path. I am not sure what the total mileage is on the entire Greenline, but I had a straight shot of 6.6 miles one way, then turned around for another 6.6 miles. It is pretty awesome too. You run through the woods, over the Wolf River and it is mostly shaded, so it made for the perfect place to do my long runs. My plan was to do the 13 miles and then do another 3 on the same route.

Well, it didn't happen. I only made it 13.4 miles. I could think of a lot of excuses, but the main thing for me was not the right nutrition. I only had a small bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios for breakfast and that was it. After breakfast, I went to my oldest boys football game, came home and then went to the Greenline. So that whole day I had one little bowl of cereal and the Gatorade I brought in my fuel belt.

I know better than to do that too. The last 2 miles of my run was a struggle. My best half marathon is 1:55, and today I finished my total run in about 2:40, so I know I can do better. Thankfully I still have some time to prepare for this race, cause right now I would not even come close to hitting my goal.

For e to be so excited about going for my run, I was totally unprepared!

Thanks for Reading!