Baloo is finding his Bare Necessities of life (Comments Welcome)

[Baloo in MI]

Thank you @NYC_MW and @lookingforsunshine! That is super kind of both of you. I want to make sure I am not breaking any rules, so I sent a message to the moderators. If they say ok, I will send the link - it goes directly to the charity - via direct message. If they say no, I will let you know that as well.

Either way - thank you. The offer means a lot!

 

[Baloo in MI]

So I am getting excited for my event tomorrow, well excited and anxious…. This event, the 8-hour mile-a-thon, has been sitting out there for awhile and as it has got closer I have been fixated on the fundraising end of the event and not so much that I am running for 8 hours!

But the weather is being cooperative with low 40’s to low 50’s and sunny skies expected. I have a few friends coming at different points to run a few miles with me and off course my family will be there. The trail is 1.5 miles long and circles a small lake, going in and out of the forest. It is very pretty and allows for my very own aid station that I will pass every 1.5 miles.

I have to be careful to go slow and stay on my intervals. It is actually just under an month to New York and the last thing I want to do is negatively effect that race. So, I am shooting for 35 miles and based on my math (which is ALWAYS suspect) I think I can keep an easy pace and still cover that distance.

I will share some pictures and results after the event. Hope everyone has a nice weekend!

 

[azrivest]

Good luck with your race!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Have fun!

 

[Baloo in MI]

Good luck with your race!

Thanks! It went really well.

 

[Baloo in MI]

Have fun!

Lots of fun was had!

 

[Baloo in MI]

Recap of my Mile-A-Thon. Well it was a beautiful day at the park, sunny, cool weather and the leaves are really changing now. I had family and friends come out to cheer me on and for a few of the laps (the course there is 1.5 miles long) different folks went with me. The plan was for an 8-hour run and then see how many miles I could cover in that time. My A-goal was 35 miles and my B-Goal was to get to 30. I was trying to balance not blowing my legs out so close to the New York Marathon, but still get in some good milage as part of my efforts at fundraising which was the purpose of the event. I think I succeeded.

I finished with 35.5 miles and although a little sore today, I am feeling pretty good. I met my fundraising goals so that is a huge relief! I was proud of the opportunity to run for Celiac Disease, as both my daughters have Celiac. But, wow; so much stress trying to reach the team goal. But I did it!


Most importantly though, I got to really spend time with my family. They all gave up their entire day and ran an aide station/social media/information campaign from a picnic table next to the course. So every 1.5 miles I got to come by to high-fives, cheers, food, drinks and the best dog in the world! Both my daughters and wife ran a lap with me, my wife did two. So nice. Outside vacation or a holiday, I can’t think of the last time we were all together like that for so long doing something together. Then we wrapped it up and went to a favorite restaurant for dinner with everyone and a few friends. I could not have asked for a better day.

So now it is time to focus on NYC and then Dopey!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Fabulous!

 

[Naomeri]

That looks like a great use of a Saturday! Well done!!

 

[WillRunForPizza]

That's a lot of miles! Way to go!

 

[Baloo in MI]

Week in review (week 15)
10/3: Rest Day.
10/4: 4 miles - completed 4.52 miles, very easy pace.
10/5: 4 miles - No run, work got in the way today…
10/6: 4 miles - completed 4.49 miles, going very easy.
10/7: Rest Day
10/8: NYCM Mile-a-thon event - Completed 35.5 miles today! Race Report completed above, was a great day!
10/9: OFF/Light Walk

Next Week - Week 16 for NVC/Dopey
10/10: Week 16: OFF
10/11: 4 miles - Easy pace
10/12: 4 miles - Hill work, with easy pace warm up and warm done
10/13: 4 miles - 2 miles marathon pace, with warm up and warm down miles
10/14: OFF
10/15: 7 miles (walk) - taking Kai to the park
10/16: 18 miles - Long run pace

Really good week, happy with the run-a-thon and happy with how good I feel today given I ran 36 miles yesterday. Still my plan for the next week is to be smart about how I approach runs, focus on my intervals and my nutrition plan. Two weeks to taper.

 

[avondale]

That was an awesome run-a-thon! Congratulations! It also looked like your family had fun with you.

 

[Baloo in MI]

That was an awesome run-a-thon! Congratulations! It also looked like your family had fun with you.

Thanks!

 

[lookingforsunshine]

Congrats! I just donated— hopefully not too late. Sounds like a fun day & challenge!

 

[Baloo in MI]

Congrats! I just donated— hopefully not too late. Sounds like a fun day & challenge!

It was a really good day! Thank you, not too late at all. I really appreciate it!

 

[Baloo in MI]

Week 16: NYC Marathon/Dopey Plan
10/10: No run
10/11: 4 miles - completed 4.51 miles. Planned slow pace and had to back off a couple times…
10/12: 4 miles - long walk today.
10/13: 4 miles - completed 4.75 miles. Tempo work. Easy first mile then picked up pace. Phone failed but was able to get last mile - 8:16.
10/14: No run
10/15: 18 miles- flipped days (tomorrow is Big John’s funeral), completed 17.70 miles. Felt pretty good. The NYC Marathon is getting real!
10/16: 7 miles (walk) - 9 miles walked. A dog of limitless energy…. If I could tap into that energy!

It was a good week. I did miss my run on Wednesday, that is the second week that has happened. Work issues, frustrating, but can’t change it. I also had to flip my long run from Sunday to Saturday due to a family event. My long run went very well outside some early GI issues…. Lucky I was going through MSU and it was game day and port-a-potties were already set up! I felt really good, maintained intended pace throughout. I wore my intended outfit, including new shoes to start breaking them in, for the NYC Marathon. My big question now is my fueling. I have been usaing short bloks, but if there was a negative to the long run it was those shto bloks, I am just sick of them. They can be hard to eat and in the much longer run I kind get tired of chewing them so long. I am thinking about trying a fruit stick that we got at Costco. I really like them, easy to eat and provide good energy. I have one last long run this Sunday and may try them there and see how they go.

This next week is the last week before I start my taper for NYC. I am getting more and more nervous about this marathon. I have started reading everything I can about the course and watching YouTube videos trying to pick up any knowledge that will help me on race day. I think this is gong to be an incredible experience but also a pretty big challenge. With 6 WDW Marathons, and other repeat races it has been awhile since I was completely new to a race. Heck, I have never even been to New York!

Week 17: NYC Marathon/Dopey Plan
10/17: No Run
10/18: 4 miles - Tempo run
10/19: 4 miles - Hill Repeats at Hawk Island
10/20: 4 miles - Easy Pace
10/21: No run
10/22: 5 miles - Warm up, 3 miles at marathon pace, cool down
10/23: 20 miles - Easy Pace (and nutrition experiment)

 

[NYC_MW]

This next week is the last week before I start my taper for NYC. I am getting more and more nervous about this marathon. I have started reading everything I can about the course and watching YouTube videos trying to pick up any knowledge that will help me on race day. I think this is gong to be an incredible experience but also a pretty big challenge. With 6 WDW Marathons, and other repeat races it has been awhile since I was completely new to a race. Heck, I have never even been to New York!

It's a great race! We love us our runners so there will be tons of people cheering you on, especially the 2 miles along 5th Ave. Just be mentally prepared for lots of bridges (and the accompanying up and downslopes): Queensboro at mile 15 and as you start off on the Verrazzano are some of the tougher ones. There also tends to be a long wait between when you have to get to the start and when you actually get to run, so bring throwaway clothes and maybe a throwaway book?

I'll definitely be out supporting other folks around mile 19.5, before you head from Manhattan to the Bronx, so PM me if there's anything you might need then.

 

[Baloo in MI]

It's a great race! We love us our runners so there will be tons of people cheering you on, especially the 2 miles along 5th Ave. Just be mentally prepared for lots of bridges (and the accompanying up and downslopes): Queensboro at mile 15 and as you start off on the Verrazzano are some of the tougher ones. There also tends to be a long wait between when you have to get to the start and when you actually get to run, so bring throwaway clothes and maybe a throwaway book?

I'll definitely be out supporting other folks around mile 19.5, before you head from Manhattan to the Bronx, so PM me if there's anything you might need then.

Look for me, I will be the old bald guy contemplating life choices and probably doing horrible math trying to figure how far I have to go and how much longer will it be!

Seriously though, a high five would be awesome. I will post a picture of my outfit for reference. I mean there is only like 54,999 other runners…

Support like this is why these boards are so awesome, thank you!

 

[Baloo in MI]

Week 17: NYC & Dopey Plan
10/17: Rest Day
10/18: 4 miles - completed 4.51 miles, Tempo run. Easy first mile, tempo for 2 & 3 and then easy pace for 4. 10:25, 8:40, 8:19, & 9:51.
10/19: 4 miles - completed 4.52 miles, hill work. Cemetery hills felt good.
10/20: 4 miles - completed 5.07 miles. Went easy today.
10/21: Rest Day
10/22: 5 miles - completed 5.04 miles. Went with Kai, lots and lots of stopping but had a nice time.
10/23: 20 miles - completed 15.53 miles. Struggled to get up this morning, but once up had a good run. Decided to cut the mileage down. Good pacing, averaging 11:40 for my easy pace and ran the last three miles in 9:58 pace, which is right on marathon pace. But noticed my left hip was a little sore so backed off on total planned mileage.

Pretty happy with this week. Work has been very heavy and will remain so until I leave for New York. Feels like this has sapped some of my energy, but I still felt pretty good about each run this week. On a side note I have continued to keep up with the pushup challenge. 65 push ups a day, every day this month. It is really interesting how quickly the body adapts. At the beginning of the month I could barley get 10 straight done without a lot of effort. This morning I did 35 straight. I am think I need to simply expand this effort to some other exercises and keep going in November. I am just horrible about cross training though…

I did try the fruit sticks as opposed to shot bloks. They were much easier to chew and the new flavors were a very welcome change. So positives are that they are easy to get at and open on the run, easy to chew, and taste really good. But the negative seems to be they dried up in my mouth later in the run. I would have to eat with water. I would need to carry eight/ten of them for a marathon. That and 15 miles is not 26, still wondering if they would hold up for the full distance. I really should have used them during the mile-a-thon. I know I should not be doing something new during the race but I am so sick of shot bloks. I was hoping the fruit sticks would be a clear substitute. Maybe a combo of both?

Next week begins my first of two weeks of tapering. In a perfect situation I would go with three weeks of taper, but I am trying to balance my efforts for the NYC Marathon and also Dopey. I know I will need some rest time after NYC so I narrowed the taper for NYC to 2 weeks and the rest post marathon to one week. I will be continuing with 5 “runs” a week during the taper but will substitute some runs for walks and of course the long run on Sunday will be greatly reduced.

Week 18: NYC & Dopey Plan, Week 1 of Taper.
10/24: Rest Day
10/25: 4 miles - walk
10/26: 4 miles - Hill work
10/27: 4 miles - walk
10/28: Rest Day
10/29: 6 miles - marathon pace work
10/30: 6 miles - easy pace

 

[lookingforsunshine]

fruit sticks

Are these like fruit leathers?