Bucket list updated - sub-freezing half marathon, check

Well, it wasn't really on my bucket list, but I retro-actively added it to the list while huddling under the stairs at the Misquamicut beach pavilion to get out of the wind this morning while waiting for the start of the Ocean's Run half marathon. Brutal 18 mph wind out of the north, with gusts into the 30 mph area, combined with a 16 degree starting temperature made this one a very intimidating challenge. Thanks to some great advice from my mountain climbing friend, Jim, I was very well-clothed and comfortable for nearly the entire race - except for the stretches that headed north, right into the teeth of the cold, cold wind. The wind chill during those gusts was definitely sub-zero - I had beard-cicles when the race was done, and my new merino wool buff that I used as a head and neck cover had iced over as well.

The great news is that apparently my dieting and training is working, because I broke my personal best by nearly two minutes even with the uncomfortable conditions, all of the extra clothing, and spare stuff filling my pockets. My time today was 1:51:22, beating out my old 1:52:18, but my watch measured 13.25 which would lead to a 1:50:02 time for 13.1 miles based on my 8:24 average pace.

Here were my splits:

1. 8:31.5
2. 8:19.4
3. 8:15.7
4. 8:14.9
5. 8:18.3
6. 8:22.0
7. 8:39.4
8. 8:33.6
9. 8:19.7
10. 8:30.7
11. 8:23.4
12. 8:33.8
13. 8:25.3
14. 1:54.3

Not very consistent, and not close to negative splits but I blame a lot of that on the wind - after mile 6 there were significant portions of the race with the wind in our faces, and the "hills" were also in this half of the race ("hills" is maybe an exaggeration as this was a very flat course).

The other good news is that today's distance puts me just about equal with my goal pace for the year. I'm at 175 miles and the goal pace would have me at 175.34. That's a pretty good feeling as well. With 28 more miles on the docket this week, I should be about 9 miles ahead of pace by next weekend.

Here's the progress to date.

• Jan (complete) - 68 running, 27 walking, 95 overall
• Feb (complete) - 84 running, 63 walking, 147 overall
• Mar (in progress) - 23 running, 8 walking, 31 overall
• Total (in progress) - 175 running, 98 walking, 273 overall

• Normal Pace (year to date) - 175.3 miles
• Normal Pace (month to date) - 13.7 miles
• Normal Pace (week) - 19.18 miles
• Normal Pace (day) - 2.74 miles

February concludes

February is done, and the charge continues. I destroyed my initial goal for Jan and Feb - I was originally hoping to get 120 miles under my belt, but I actually finished at 152 total miles running! And my February total of 84 miles exceeded the annual pace for those 28 days (77 miles). Six miles tonight, 4 miles Friday, and a half marathon Sunday will start my March off on the right foot. Also, if I complete those runs, I will be on pace for the year! That's a small weight off my shoulders.

Still working towards the Providence marathon in early May, so I should have no problem exceeded the pace for March and April assuming I'm injury-free and can stay motivated.

Here's the progress to date.

• Jan (complete) - 68 running, 27 walking, 95 overall
• Feb (complete) - 84 running, 63 walking, 147 overall
• Total (in progress) - 152 running, 90 walking, 242 overall

• Normal Pace (year to date) - 161.0 miles
• Normal Pace (month to date) - 76.7 miles
• Normal Pace (week) - 19.18 miles
• Normal Pace (day) - 2.74 miles

Continuing to catch up; longest treadmill run yet

After my 10 miles on the treadmill on Saturday and a 21 mile week, I picked up a couple miles on the annual pace and continued to exceed the monthly pace. As noted earlier, the marathon training plan weekly distances continue to grow until the taper weeks in late April. This week includes runs of 4, 5, 4, and 11 for 24 total miles and a gain of 5 miles over the normal weekly pace.

Here's the progress to date.

• Jan (complete) - 68 running, 27 walking, 95 overall
• Feb (in progress) - 56 running, 40 walking, 96 overall
• Total (in progress) - 124 running, 67 walking, 191 overall

• Normal Pace (year to date) - 137.0 miles
• Normal Pace (month to date) - 52.0 miles
• Normal Pace (week) - 19.18 miles
• Normal Pace (day) - 2.74 miles

100 miles down!

Following my marathon prep schedule, I ran 8 miles on Saturday and crossed the 100 mile barrier on day 42. Running that distance on the treadmill is less than fun or ideal, but winter arrived in full force on Thursday so I didn't have an option. At this point - through Feb 12 - I have completed 103 miles of running.

• Jan (complete) - 68 running, 27 walking, 95 overall
• Feb (in progress) - 35 running, 25 walking, 60 overall
• Total (in progress) - 103 running, 52 walking, 155 overall

• Normal Pace (year) - 117.8 miles
• Normal Pace (month) - 32.8 miles

Only 14 miles off-pace for the year and ahead of pace for the month, and my self-propelled pace (running + walking) continues to far exceed the normal pace distances. If my marathon training continues, I should stay well ahead of pace until my tapering in late April, as every week until then exceeds 20 miles (19.2 per week is enough to keep me above pace). The problem with the marathon training is the weather and the long weekend runs - I have to do 10 miles this weekend, and with the amount of snow we picked up I don't think outdoor running will be an option. Sure, I could do it, but with no sidewalks cleared it becomes an exercise of running on the road with massive walls of snow to block any potential bailout when cars aren't paying attention or are too close for comfort. Maybe things will clear up by the time I'm doing the mid-teen distances... we'll see. For now, it'll be a lot of Narcos, maybe a return to Penny Dreadful, and other Netflix and On Demand series...

My first marathon

No, I didn't run it yet, but I'm working towards the Providence Marathon in May. Mapped out my training plan - I used their half-marathon training plan back when I ran my PB so I figured I'd start there. Week 4 starts today.

Continuing to ramp up on the mileage - I'm at 84 miles through Feb 5 (with 3 more to be added tonight). January finished at 68 miles - not too shabby - so that means I'm sitting at 16 miles through 5 days of Feb - ahead of the 13.5 mile pace if I was doing 2.7 each day!

Add in my walking miles and fuggedaboudit - I'm doing 3+ miles with the dog 4 or 5 times a week lately - I've already walked 15 miles with him in Feb and over 42 miles this year, for a self-propelled total of 126 miles in 36 days (3.5 miles per day on average).

• Jan (complete) - 68 running, 27 walking, 95 overall
• Feb (in progress) - 16 running, 15 walking, 31 overall
• Total (in progress) - 84 running, 42 walking, 126 overall

Moving right along

It's January 31 and I'm sitting at 68 miles run through last night. If I was on pace, I'd be at 81 miles, or 83.7 by the end of the day today. Add in my walking miles and I'm well over - 92 total miles.

It's not too bad so far, but I'll admit that the treadmill is a bit boring. Did 6 miles the other day while in Hershey - no TV, so that was a drag. I finished Better Call Saul season 1 on Netflix and have moved on to Narcos for my running entertainment. Can't wait until March / April when it stays lighter later and warms up for some consistent outside running. Snow rolling in today through overnight...

Happy with my progress so far - in my last post, I indicated that I'd be happy coming out of Feb at 120 miles, and I'm more than half way to that total and running further in each session. Health permitting, I should be able to exceed that 120 mile target fairly easily.

On we go!

Magnitude sinking in...

The magnitude of this goal is slowly revealing itself... 2.7 miles per day is required to hit 1000 miles in a year. Here I am, on Jan 19, and I'm sitting on 35 miles (1.8 miles per day on average). I'm not even averaging 2 miles per day even though I've been running 4 mile clips pretty consistently, and each day that I don't hit 2.7 miles is beginning to weigh on me...

Of course, my hope is to tread water during the winter months where treadmill running is the norm - and where running more than 5 or 6 miles is mind-numbing at best (nothing against Better Call Saul, but I can't binge while on the treadmill even though it's proving to be pretty darn good). Then, as the weather improves, I'll stretch out for some longer runs, perhaps train for some half- or full-marathons, and make up for some of the low mileage during the winter months.

It's going to be tough, no doubt. I need 83 1/3 miles per month, so if I can come out of Jan and Feb at 120 total miles - 46 2/3 short of the monthly target - I should be able to make up those missing miles with 3 months of 100 miles. It's going to take dedication and consistency... but I knew that heading into this. Here's my running log to date:

• Jan 1 - 3 miles
• Jan 3 - 3 miles (6 total)
• Jan 6 - 3 miles (9 total)
• Jan 9 - 4 miles (13 total)
• Jan 11 - 4 miles (17 total)
• Jan 12 - 3 miles (20 total)
• Jan 14 - 4 miles (24 total)
• Jan 15 - 4 miles (28 total)
• Jan 16 - 4 miles (32 total)
• Jan 18 - 3 outdoor miles (35 total)

If I really need to bend the rules (my rules, after all), I can do what a co-worker is doing and count any mileage where I'm propelling myself - walks, dog-walks, family hikes, etc. If I include those items, I could already add another 10 miles to my total (for a total of 2.4 miles per day on average). I hope to not have to go that route as it defeats part of the purpose of the goal - not to belittle walking, but I'm hoping to achieve several side-goals as a result of this effort, including weight loss, running pace improvement, new racing distances, etc. and I don't think walking will impact those as effectively as running will...

More to come!