At my last writing I was training for a marathon. Things were pretty good but I was experiencing pains that I didn't really want to talk about. As I continued on to a 20 mile run I started questioning whether I really needed to do a marathon. I realized that I was spending a lot of time and going through a lot of discomfort just to say that I ran 26.2 miles. Sure that sounds good. But in my heart of hearts I realized that I don't need to run a marathon to know who I am. I have done two half-marathons, a 17 mile trail race, a couple of 10 mile trail races and countless number of 5K and 10K races over the last 40 yrs+. That's really a lot of accomplishment for a guy who is pushing 67. So my first reaction was to just stop running on roads at all. I felt like I needed to save my knee's and other parts and that not running on hard surfaces was the answer. So I haven't run on anything but a trail for the last couple of months. Have I missed the roads? Heck Ya!! So I have done a lot of thinking. I have prayed. I have talked to my wife. And I have come up with the new plan. I realized that the main issue has not been the running itself but more about the hard surface for extended periods. So my new plan is to start running on the road again but training runs no more than 5 miles and races no longer than 10K. I will continue to run trails and am not really going to place any distance restrictions. I have a 10 mile race coming up in May and I would really like to do another 25K at Montana de Oro. Maybe by limiting my distance on the road I can work on speed and try to get my 5K and 10K race times down. In fact, my goal is to get my 10K under 60 min and my 5K under 27.

I've been away for a while, but that doesn't mean I haven't been training. Since the nine mile run I last reported on I have done a 17-mile, another 9-mile and this past Monday I did the longest run I ever have done, 20 miles. I am really feeling good about doing my marathon in February, especially since I have been sitting here tonight watching Running The Sahara where these three runners ran across the entire Sahara desert. As I watch they are on day 111 and about 30 miles from the finish at the Red Sea. It is incredible that they ran over two marathons a day for 111 days across the most forbidding landscape imaginable. So now it is over - 170 marathons without a day off! And I am worried about one little 26 mile run. I really think I can do this. I am just amazed though at what the human body can endure if the mental ducks are all in a row. Back to my training. Next week ends with a 5K or 8-10 miles, two week it's 8-9 miles, in three weeks another 5K or 8-10 miles then in four weeks 22-23 miles. Then a couple of short weeks before doing one last long run of 24-26 miles and then a couple of weeks of tapering to the marathon. That's a lot of miles! Although it doesn't seem like it after watching Running The Sahara. What I discovered doing the 20 mile run this week is that over 4 hours of running is not easy. Should I be surprised at that? The last 3-5 miles everything was definitely hurting but I found that I could get my self into a mental state that just allowed me to keep going regardless. Actually, it wasn't so much as 'getting myself into a mental state' as it was talking to God about the possibility that he could make it hurt just a little less. I spent quite a bit of time during the run talking to Him about how much I appreciated Him giving this old man the ability to enjoy something as much as I do running. I am so thankful that He has not only given me good health but He has kept me from any serious injuries that would preclude me continuing. I am blessed to be a runner

'Short' long run

So tomorrow I get to do 9 miles. It is no small thing for me to realize that in my training this is a 'short' long run. I can still remember when 9 miles was a long run period. Thank you God for giving me the strength and ability to do what I do

Today is a cross training.......

day in my marathon training program. So I decided to go for a hike in Hart Park. My wife and daughter were off on a girls day so it was just me. So I grabbed my hydration day pack, put a sandwich and something to drink in it and headed out. It was a sunny morning but not too warm as yet. I got to my favorite parking place by the sheriffs shooting range. There were quite a few cars there already, typical of a Saturday morning at Hart Park. I could tell that there were mountain bikers as well as hikers and runners. I come here all the time and have favorite routes that I run but today I decided to just take off walking and find some different trails. I headed up the hill that is the start of the Mr Toads Wild Run. This hill climbs for about 1 mile before it levels out and forks off to the left. I stayed straight ahead since I had never been that way before. The trail went through a series of ups and downs, typical of Hart Park in general. At one point I saw a coyote cross the trail ahead of me and trot off into the grass. I stopped to watch him, he stopped for a moment to see what I was going to do then continued off on his way. I wound around hillocks, down into gullies and back up, trying to work my way towards the highest peak, one I had ascended many times before. At about 4 miles I stopped and ate my lunch while enjoying the views. After leaving my lunch stop I was able to have a conversation with a mountain biker, Doc, who told me he was mapping all the trails in Hart Park and that they would be available for download soon. That was exciting news since it is very difficult to find your way around these acres and acres of hills and trails. I only hiked about 2.5 miles getting back to my car.

I've been away for a while,......

not from running by any means, but from my blog. Sometimes I feel like writing, sometimes I just can't wait to get to my keyboard and write and sometimes that's just the last thing I want to do and before I know it several days have gone by. So running is my passion, there, I've said it! I run so I can eat, but I also run because I can. God has been very good to me and allowed me to keep running well in to my 60's relatively injury free. When I was in college I had a shin splint. About 10 years ago while training for a marathon I injured my Achilles tendon. I have fallen while trail running several times and bruised my ribs on one of them. That's it - not bad considering I have been running a lot since my 30's. I do have some arthritis in my left knee which flares up now and then but I am having a blast. Some of you may know that I have finally decided to run a marathon. In fact, I will probably run two marathons on the same day - my first and my last. So, you ask, how is my training going. I am running three days a week, two short runs and a long run. I do yoga and Spin classes in between and throw in a little swimming when I can. I am doing my long runs on Mondays instead of the traditional Sunday so that I can spend Sunday with my wife and my church. So, Monday I was scheduled to do between 15 and 16 miles. I plotted out a course for 15.6 miles and did my checklist. Shirt, shorts, shoes - check. Garmin, Gymboss, iPod, hydration pack - check. Fanny pack, wallet, phone - check. Put em on, strap em on, load em up and out the door at 7:40 a.m. Set GymBoss for 2 min run/1 min walk intervals. As I head out through the neighborhood my legs feel a bit stiff, my ankle creaks a couple of times, my knee twinges and by the end of mile 1 I am settling into it. It's a nice cool morning, so even though I am in shorts and t-shirt I included my skull cap to keep my bald head warm. Down White Lane, right on to Old River, right on Stockdale until I get to Cal State University where I get on to the bike path. Warming up so I take off my skull cap and stuff it into my fanny pack. Lot of runners, walkers and bikers using the bike path this morning, most of whom give a friendly wave or at least a head bob as we pass. Turning on Mohawk I am still feeling really good. I am thinking, I could do this all day long! I am cruisin', feeling strong and powerful when I get to California. I stop at the intersection and push the button for the cross-walk. The car on my left is waiting behind the cross-walk and when the pedestrian light goes on I step into the intersection. I take two steps and the car on the left decides to go through without even looking to his right. Uh-oh, car/pedestrian collision occurs. Fortunately I run into him instead of the other way around. I give him the ol' whats up gesture, he apologizes profusely and drives away. No harm done, let's go. Everything was good until about mile 12 when suddenly my left knee starts hurting. I walk a bit, run a bit and work through it and am able to finish off strong. Dang, I don't feel like I just ran 15.6 miles. Woo hoo! Tomorrow, recovery run.

I'll say it again, it is much easier......

to run when the weather is cool. I took off today at about noon from a ranch where I visit in Paso Robles, in the heart of the beautiful Central Coast wine country. The temp was in the 60 deg range. It was misting lightly so I figured I might get rained on. I wore a tech t-shirt and my long running pants, strapped on my 4-bottle hydration belt with my phone, i.d. and insurance cards tucked safely inside and down the road I went. The first 5.2 miles was down Creston Rd, two lanes with a decent shoulder but very fast traffic. I decided to do 3 min run/1 min walk intervals so my GymBoss timer was set accordingly. I really cruised along this section and reached the intersection with Hwy 41 where I turned right. Relatively level still with just some gentle rolling hills. 2 miles along Hwy 41 then right on Cripple Creek Rd, then about a mile to El Pomar Rd where I hung a left. To this point it was mostly level. El Pomar Rd though has some pretty good hills for the next 3 miles. Some were gentle, and then there were some that were a little more challenging. At about 3 miles I turned right on to S El Pomar Rd. I knew that the hills would not be as significant from this point on so I changed from 3 and 1's to 7 and 1's. I was still feeling really strong so I figured I could take it all the way in. It was about 1 1/2 miles up to Creston Rd, right on Creston and then another 1 1/2 back to the ranch. I was really cookin' along. I checked my half-marathon split at 2:33, not bad considering my PR is 2:15. I pulled in to the ranch feeling really good, although my legs definitely felt used I had no pain issues with my normal trouble spots, left knee, groin or piriformis muscles. My only issue is that I realized that even if I was able to hold that pace (11:39 per mile) that a marathon would be almost 6 hours. Bummer. But I will soldier on!

When I run......

I have a hard time wanting to keep going. What? Could that be true? Yes, sometimes it is. It's interesting because I really love to run. I can get into a groove where I feel like I can just go forever. Then I get to a point, generally towards the end of a longer run, that my body just wants to stop. It has nothing to do with my breathing hard or my heart beating too fast. That doesn't happen. It's just that my body wants to stop. I can usually push through it just fine and I am always glad I did because one thing I hate is to not finish what I started. This concerns me because my longest run ever is about 16 1/2 miles and I am wanting to do a marathon, 26.2 miles. I battle with myself all the time, how am I going to continue to increase my long runs when I have such a hard time every time I get up to 9 or 10 miles. One thing I know, I am not going to blame it on my age or tell myself I can't do it. I can do it. Now I just have to convince myself that I want it bad enough.