"Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying" - A Running Journal

[CheapRunnerMike]

I'm kinda the same way with beer...if there is beer in the fridge I will drink it. If it isn't there for a few days I don't miss it. I really go in cycles that way.

I wouldn't really worry about the missing run on Monday, you shouldn't chase that mileage in other workouts. Maybe add a couple of miles if you really want to, get your 6 in today instead of the 4 if that works, but just don't try to get today's 4 somewhere else. Missed runs will happen, it's just important to make sure it doesn't become a habit.

 

[FFigawi]

Don't stress over your diet or indulgences. Training is tough enough as it is without depriving yourself of some of what makes you happy.

 

[LSUlakes]

I'm kinda the same way with beer...if there is beer in the fridge I will drink it. If it isn't there for a few days I don't miss it. I really go in cycles that way.

I wouldn't really worry about the missing run on Monday, you shouldn't chase that mileage in other workouts. Maybe add a couple of miles if you really want to, get your 6 in today instead of the 4 if that works, but just don't try to get today's 4 somewhere else. Missed runs will happen, it's just important to make sure it doesn't become a habit.

I had originally thought about doing two 5 milers today, but not waking up for this first one kind of put the idea out. At some point this afternoon or tonight I'll get somewhere between 4-6 in depending on what time it is. My main focus is not letting a missed run not be a big deal. It needs to be a big deal so I don't get comfortable with missing runs. Like you are saying, its not a big deal if it happens once every 3 months, but once a week and its a problem.

Don't stress over your diet or indulgences. Training is tough enough as it is without depriving yourself of some of what makes you happy.

Training is tough and I usually dont get all worked up about diet as my weight used to be in a okay place. At this time I am way over racing weight and doing more of the same will only yield similar results. For the next few months I need to be more disciplined on what I eat/drink and then get back to the holding pattern. I'm carrying around 10 more pounds today than I was in early November. If my math is correct that would be the equivalent of you taking a gallon of water and a bottle, strapping it to your gut and going for a run. It would be much easier to do those runs without that weight. To get to my goal weight, I really need to buckle down. Thats why I'm beating myself up over it a bit. This method is only a short term plan, because it simply isnt sustainable over the years because I do enjoy a few beers and cajun cooking. lol


Thanks to both of you for the post and I hope that these little pitty parties will be posted less and more post about the progress I am making in the coming weeks.

 

[huggybuff]

I am still struggling with the early morning wake ups. I simply don't wake up to my alarm clock at 4:45 AM.

Have you tried 2 alarms yet? Use your regular alarm clock, then put your phone or tablet or another clock across the room so that you have to get out of bed to shut it off. Then turn on the lights (if you can without waking the wife) to try and get yourself moving. Put your running clothes out the
night before and you're almost out the door.

 

[LSUlakes]

Have you tried 2 alarms yet? Use your regular alarm clock, then put your phone or tablet or another clock across the room so that you have to get out of bed to shut it off. Then turn on the lights (if you can without waking the wife) to try and get yourself moving. Put your running clothes out the
night before and you're almost out the door.

I use two alarm clocks kinda... My phone which is on my nightstand, and my running watch which is usually on my wrist. Both vibrate and make noise. I set multiple alarms on each. The issue is will power, I am weak
I place my running stuff in our bathroom the night before as well. The only light I can turn on is in the bathroom that wouldn't wake DW. If I make it to the bathroom, I am definitely getting a run in, its just getting the feet out the bed thats the issue. lol. This morning I heard the alarm go off and thought alright I am awake. It was the fist alarm so I said lets slowly wake up and when the next one goes off its time to get out of the bed. nearly a hour later I get out of bed because I fell asleep and never heard another thing. I do not have this problem for weekend runs, but for the weekend I am not waking up any earlier than my usual 5:45 - 6:00 AM for work.

 

[huggybuff]

My phone which is on my nightstand, and my running watch which is usually on my wrist. Both vibrate and make noise. I set multiple alarms on each. The issue is will power, I am weak

Could you set your running watch to go off a few minutes before the phone alarm and keep your phone in the bathroom? Would it be either loud enough to wake you up in there or too loud and wake up the wife too?

 

[LSUlakes]

Could you set your running watch to go off a few minutes before the phone alarm and keep your phone in the bathroom? Would it be either loud enough to wake you up in there or too loud and wake up the wife too?

lol, this is how lazy / bad the situation is. I set 2 different alarms (Watch - W and phone - P) Lets say I want to wake up around 4:45 AM and start running by 5:15 AM. Below is the sequence of alarms:

P - 4:37
W - 4:42
P - 4:45
W - 4:50
P - 5:00

Somewhere between 4:37 and 4:45 I stop hearing alarms going off. I think most of that is just not getting enough sleep, or not going to bed early enough. This is a problem I havent found a solution to that will work at my home...

I dont think I would hear it in the bathroom, because I would rarely hear DD cry during the middle of the night when she was younger. I would wake up in the morning and tell DW, well that was a good night. She would then inform me that she was up every 1.5 hours.

 

[huggybuff]

Somewhere between 4:37 and 4:45 I stop hearing alarms going off. I think most of that is just not getting enough sleep, or not going to bed early enough. This is a problem I havent found a solution to that will work at my home...

Yes, lack of sleep is going to trump any alarm tricks at a certain point. As far as putting the phone in the bathroom, I was just trying to think of a way to get you on your feet in the morning. I'm single so I can make my alarms as loud as I want.

 

[LSUlakes]

Yes, lack of sleep is going to trump any alarm tricks at a certain point. As far as putting the phone in the bathroom, I was just trying to think of a way to get you on your feet in the morning. I'm single so I can make my alarms as loud as I want.

Thanks for helpful suggestions. It now looks like my decision to not wake up early is going to earn me a appointment with the treadmill around 10 PM tonight! At least tomorrow is a rest day.

 

[surfde22]

I dont think I would hear it in the bathroom, because I would rarely hear DD cry during the middle of the night when she was younger. I would wake up in the morning and tell DW, well that was a good night. She would then inform me that she was up every 1.5 hours.

Sounds just like my house now. I'll get back from my early morning run and comment on how DS seems to be back to sleeping all night just to be informed by DW that she woke up 5 times during the night. I've learned to stop commenting and just agree with her on how many times he woke up at night. "Oh yeah, he totally woke me up all those times too."

 

[LSUlakes]

Got my run in last night... at 10:15 PM and ran 5 miles which took 45 minutes for an average pace around 9 minutes/mile. Got in bed around midnight and sleeping sometime before 1 AM. For some reason, I do not feel that tired. I may get a few miles in today, but it wont be much if it happens at all. Good news on the scale this morning! I hit a new low for 2017 at 221.9. Like running, weight loss is something that takes a long time to get results, but can be undone in a fraction of the time it took to achieve it.

 

[CheapRunnerMike]

Good work Jerry, keep plugging away

 

[LSUlakes]

So I couldnt help myself yesterday. My running friend called me and started giving me a hard time about missing runs and the slow miles (relative here, the guy runs a sub 3 hour marathon without training) and he was up on me by 0.9 miles for the week. So I got home and laced up the shoes for a few miles. The weather was amazing anyway. Since I have been taking the miles easy I decided to push a little for two of the miles, but not to much since I still have today and tomorrow long run.
Mile 1 - 8:12 (Warm Up)
Mile 2 - 7:53 (Push)
Mile 3 - 8:22 (Recovery)
Mile 4 - 7:47 (Push)
Mile .36 - 8:56 (Cool Down)
Ave = 8:08

Felt much better after the run and legs are feeling fresh today. So far this month I am at 42.63 miles and my weigh in this morning showed another 0.5 lbs drop for 221.4. MUST HAVE A GOOD EATING WEEKEND!!!!!!

 

[FFigawi]

MUST HAVE A GOOD EATING WEEKEND!!!!!!

*IPA not included

 

[CheapRunnerMike]

Seeing the snow on the East Coast and the cold we have here in Southwestern Ontario, I can't blame you for taking advantage of beautiful running weather. Whenever your attitude is that good towards running you NEED to get out! Good work Jerry.

And I'll second the IPA...to quote @Keels, "I mean, this is America."

 

[LSUlakes]

And I'll second the IPA...to quote @Keels, "I mean, this is America."

I am missing where this is coming from. lol I'm going to have to seek it out.

 

[LSUlakes]

Weekend Running Report:

Friday afternoon after work I got home with enough sunlight to mow the lawn. Then decided to go for a run and watch the eclipse (or whatever it was, more like a dimmer moon) and ended up with 3.2 miles with a average pace of 8:31.
Saturday was long run day and the morning started nice and early since a little dog decided she needed to go potty at 4:45 AM. I got a early start for what was a warm (for February) and humid run. Started the run for 6:30 AM and it was already nearing 70. I had a good run for the first 10 miles but I think the warmer weather got to me. Also, they have water fountains all along my route, but they all seemed to be broken which complicated things. I had my fuel belt, but I was hoping for more water than what I had access to. Ended the day with 15 miles total at a average pace of 8:58. I am getting close to switching gears from endurance to speed, and some of that transition may start this week.

 

[roxymama]

I ran past so many water fountains yesterday, but they are all shut off for the winter Just looking forward to water fountain weather again because I much prefer carrying as little as possible.

Congrats on the 15 miles!

 

[ZellyB]

I also had trouble with water this weekend. I had planned to grab some from a water fountain in a park we run through, but like @roxymama they had shut it off for the winter. Boo!

Still great job on the 15-miler!

 

[LSUlakes]

So yesterday I was looking over the last couple of weeks of running and noticed that I have put myself in a situation where I had enough time to "train" for a marathon in March. Now it wouldn't have been a PR type run, but I would have been able to say I ran a marathon in 2017. After passing the idea along to my running friend, he made some excellent points. The short version is to stop with crazy goals, and to concentrate on my 5k and 10k races this spring for a chance to PR. He said that running a marathon with such little training would only be a set back in my long term plans. At that point I let the idea die.
Also during that conversation I asked him what he suggest I do for prep for the races and summer. Short version (kinda) run 6 days a week and try to make those runs around a hour each with exception to the long run of 2 hours and get a hard workout (speed work) in there as well. I knew speed work was needed and was thinking about the extra running day, just not so soon. He told me I need to get to averaging about 50 miles per week this summer. Needless to say I will be revising my running plan thats posted on page one during the day today.
Ran 7 miles last night on the treadmill in a little over a hour for a sub 9 min/mile pace. Weigh in this morning is near a 2 week low, coming in at 221.2.