Thor's Running Journal

We're in an age of running where there are so many things that can be measured, tracked, and scrutinized in a way much more easily easily than previous generations. Distances. Times. Paces. I won't pretend to be above all that and just run because I love running so much. I like the numbers too. So here are a few.  Distance:  2,179 miles (about the length of the Appalachian trail) Time: 300 hrs (I was 17mins off after my morning run. I took care of that this afternoon ) Elv. Gain  27,450 ft Races: I ran 5 races including 2 marathons and set PRs for the 5k, 10k, and Marathon distances Bayshore Marathon, Traverse City, MI 3:57:47 Vaulkslauf 10k, Frankenmuth, MI - 3rd in Age Division; 44:06 7 Bridges 7 Brews, Sault St. Marie, MI - 1st in Age, Masters Division Winner 20:32  Detroit Free Press Marathon, Detroit, MI  - 3:21:33 Gobbler Gallop 5k , Saginaw, MI-  20:10 Favorite Runs: Running on vacation was the best....Freeport, IL, HOLY HILL (literally and figurativ...

Like most people, when it is a rainy day, my instinct is to avoid walking or running through puddles on the sidewalks. This works for a while. I'll note where the grass looks slightly less soggy and take a step or two off to the side in an effort to preserve dry feet. But this is is a lost cause because at some point I make a miscalculation or just don't notice how the light is reflecting off the sidewalk in a way that indicates the difference between concrete and water. My shoe gets submerged enough to become uncomfortable and dodging puddles doesn't really make to much of a difference after that. When it is warm out, hitting the deep puddles after this point can be sorta playful, but there was nothing fun about the polar puddles today as the rain continued to drive into the rest of my body.  Cold. Dark. Early. Wet. Wind plowing it all right at my face.  A pretty unpleasant combination of elements, but memorable.  Not all runs are memorable. Usually the easy runs are los...

  I woke up today and felt almost normal. At least I woke up at my normal just before 5am time. I checked my breathing and aches. All seemed a touch off, but good enough. The plan called for 8 easy effort miles, but I didn't feel married to the plan. I just wanted to get out of the house and see what running felt like back in my usual rhythm of life. I know the danger of "oh I'll try tomorrow". Not that there isn't a time and place for that, there certainly is, but trying is important even if the trial ends with not getting further than down the block. Anyway, easy effort miles are the one time I really take "running by feel" serious. Oh, I certainly feel during harder runs and tough workouts, but those runs I use the metrics of my watches GPS, timer, pace data, and the works. A casual 8 miles might sound like a rather brash or conceded thing to say, but it took 2 years of running  a total of 3,700 miles to reach the point I could say "just a casua...

 Fever. Aches. Stuffy.  The works. This is a forced rest. Just when I wanted to start building for the next marathon, I get knocked down and and out. There's no way that I could reasonably get one foot in front of the other right now. Hopefully tomorrow will be better. There is some consolation that the illness is happening now rather than deeper into the training cycle. I'm also grateful this is really the first illness I've had in the past year. I'll get back up soon enough. Just a very unexpected twist to the plot.

Two full days of no running is the recipe for starting tomorrow's training cycle with fresh legs and a fresh mind. I'm ready for it. Even dare I say excited about what the next several months will bring. I am curious how this time around will be different than previous cycles. What challenges will present themselves? What ways will I be able to perseveree? It's all part of a grand story unfolding one day at a time.  This week will likely resemble the past month with easy mileage (6mi, 6 mi, Rest, 6mi, 6mi,6mi, 8mi). I'll switch my watch from just recording time on my feet to actual miles. It is a peculiar time to get going again because of the holiday. I'm feeling very relaxed about getting out the door and the lack of urgency these next few days may work against me when I need to go back to work and haul kids off to school.  I guess for now I'll just take it as it comes.  I took Strava off my phone. It will sync as usual, but I am going to see what is like to t...

  I woke up and went for a walk this morning to rest my legs before Monday's build for the Glass City Marathon on April 27. It is colder walking than running and I looked longingly at the road with some temptation to turn over my legs, but I know it is best to rest. There will be plenty of miles ahead.  Going into this cycle, having completed a previous build with intensity I feel a bit nervous, but also have a working knowledge of what my body can tolerate and am tuned to the process better than I could have been before. Like knowledge gained from a race that transfers to the next race, this knowledge of the training I expect will transfer through the next 18 weeks. There is trepidation and excitement. Pressure to perform and reach my targets coupled with confidence that my worth is not measured by the success (or failure) to reach the goals.  While I certainly have time-based goals, my bigger goal is to keep this fun and interesting. I need to keep in mind I don't HAVE ...

 Today marked 50 consecutive days of running. Doing 50 days of anything is rather remarkable, but 50 days of running feels like a real feat of consistency. Last year I ran had 57 day streak, but this time around I went faster and further than before. I could likely go on with more days, but I am going to start a marathon training cycle and it only is sensible to think about some of the bigger goals associated with that and rest up a day or two rather than waste my legs.  Frankly, running daily turned out to be easier than you might expect. There weren't questions about "if" I would run a given day although there were instances where I questioned "when" I would run. For the most part it became routine. I just plugged it into the start of my day before I took too much time to think about it.  Some days I gave myself a mileage goal, but for the most part, I would run by time. For instance, I have 40 minutes to run or today I'll have an hour. A few instances I w...

This month marks my second running anniversary. From a mere thought and idea to today I've logged more than 3000 miles, run 3 marathons, clocked more than 290 hours, I won 3rd place in a 10k and the masters division of a 5k (because I'm fast-ish and there weren't a lot of runners). It's felt ridiculous to have this kind of trajectory. It is also a bit of a testimony to doing seemingly impossible things not just physically, but mentally as well.  I did not like running. I was not a runner.  I had some athleticism, but running felt like something for other people. Not for me.  But seeing my teenage son growing up and love cross country, I thought maybe it will provide a moment of bonding between father and son even if I am many paces behind him.  And I bought some running shoes.  Objects dedicated to the task.  Cheap ones I scoured around for an app to tell me what to do.  I found one with a friendly voice that simply told me when to walk and when to run...