December 11th: Looks Like I'm Stuck Indoors for a While

Well, I think we can say that we're into the dead of winter now. Wind chill was below 20 this morning. That's way too cold even to think of an outdoor run. Looks like it's going to stay cold for a while, too. So Work Out World is going to be my home away from home for the foreseeable future. I think the real loser here is the dog.

My workout went generally as planned this morning. After my normal warmup, I did core exercises first:

• Ab Coaster -- facing forward and then rotated each way, 12 each, 3 sets.
• Bicycle crunches, 3 sets.
• Horizontal leg lifts, 3 sets.

I have to say, I wasn't looking forward to this part of it. Even though I did a little core work yesterday, this was the first time I'd targeted my abs in close to a month. But I felt better for having done it. It was hard work, but I know it will help in the long run.

Then onto the belt. I knew I had only about a half-hour, so I kicked up the speed to a little faster than race pace and set the incline at 1 percent. That's a serious challenge for me! I tried to get a quick shot of the screen while I was running -- it came out clearer than I thought it would, but I cut off the distance, and I guess that's my finger in the way at the top. I kept going for a little more than a minute past this, getting to 3.5 miles in 31.30. I'm really hoping that combining the speed with the incline will pay some dividends. I'm not sure how much longer I could have kept up that pace.

I think I'll be back at WOW tomorrow. I'm not sure what my workout will entail. I do want to keep up the core work, but I also want to keep logging miles. Maybe a repeat of today. I guess we'll see. Friday is a likely off day -- it's Jackie and my annual Shop Till We Drop Day! Hey, maybe I'll have more stamina than last year. Then another long on Saturday or Sunday.

Total miles since starting the blog: 158.3

December 10th: Back to Strength Training

Today's main goal, aside from beating the snow this morning, was to start working some strength training back in. And I did beat the snow home, but in the 35 minutes between when I got home and headed out for work, it really started coming down.

I wanted to focus on core work today, because that's going to have the most benefit in my running. Planks, kettlebell squats and kettlebell jugglers, then core twists on the Cable Cross machine, with some butterflies mixed in. I did a little legs and arms at the end, including the curl machine I've mentioned a few times.

It was good to get back to it after too many down days of late. But, on the brightside, my office is all set up and I'm getting into the rhythm of the new commute. So I should be able to get back into my routine more easily.

And speaking of that, tomorrow I think will be a hybrid day. I'd like to work a little more arms, and I'll do core stuff, as always. But after that, I'm going to shoot for :30 on the treadmill.

Sunday, December 8th: A Long Run to Nowhere

After two rest days -- one planned, one not so much (beer beat Gatorade Friday night) -- I knew I needed to get that long run in today. The problem: the weather.

It wasn't actually snowing this morning, but it was well below my threshold for the temperature I'm willing to tolerate -- below freezing, with a wind chill around 27. NFW. So, off to WOW for treadmill work. I took this pic about an hour after my run.

I warmed up for five minutes on the elliptical with the notion that I would do some quick core work before I started running. But there was an empty treadmill next to one with a hot chick running, so I made a beeline. Wait, wait, I'm not a creep -- it was my wife.

I'll cut to the chase: 9.33 miles (15k) at exactly 1:30. I varied things between 6.2 and 6.4 miles per hour, with a couple of faster bursts because I did want to get the 5k intervals in at 30:00. I also had the incline at 0.5 and 1.0 percent at various points, though I did most of it flat.

The upside to the treadmill, aside from it forcing you to keep up your pace, is similar to doing long runs near home: I find it easier to push a little farther knowing that I can stop, as opposed to having a fixed goal and wondering if I'm going to make it. I got to 10k and thought, "OK, go for 7 miles." Then 7.5. Then 8, then 8.75, and then 9.33. If I'd set out to go that distance to start, I'm not sure I would have gotten there. The downside: Ohmygod is it boring. Especially with Sunday morning news-talk shows on all the TV screens.

But bottom line is that it felt good to get a solid long run in, even if it wasn't that far. It restored a little bit of faith that I can get the distance up in time for the marathon. Some of that doubt was erased. And perhaps my other runs will be a little more successful now that I've pushed myself further and my stamina will presumably be higher. Consistency will be the key.

Unfortunately on that front, it looks like tomorrow will have to be an off day, too. Our office moved over the weekend, and I'll need to get in early to get my boxes unpacked and my desk set up. So Tuesday I'll get back at it. I think it's time to start working strength training back in.

Miles since starting the blog: 154.8

December 5th: Foggy Skies and Wobbly Legs

It’s confirmed: I have lost some fitness since running the half in October.

I was really hoping to go for 6 miles today. But my legs just didn’t have it in them, and I knew it after 2 miles. My aeration was fine -- it wasn’t an overall lack of stamina. But the legs just didn’t want to go.

Not helping things, I overdressed for the weather this morning. It was 51 degrees and pretty soupy out there. Down by the water, you could just about make out Keyport’s lights through the fog. (It’s actually gotten thicker since then, too.) I had my cold-weather gear on, and it was just too warm.

Oddly, even though I was feeling fatigued by mile 2, my pace picked up -- a lot. 1st mile was 9:17 -- OK, in the range of race pace. 2nd was 9:41 -- come on, Andrew, pick it up! And I did. Mile 3: 9:03. Mile 4: 8:37, and stayed on that pace till I stopped at 4.6 miles.

I realize that I’ve been hitting it pretty hard this week after, essentially, three weeks off. So I guess I should have expected to hit the wall at some point. But over four days, I’ve still done well less than a single marathon. Am I really going to get there? Especially training in the dead of winter? What happens if I have another setback? As we get closer and closer to the four-month mark, those questions are really starting to weigh on me.

I was sort of thinking about doing the Run One Challenge for December -- do at least a mile each day. (Yeah, I know I skipped December 1st.) But I need a rest day. My legs are jelly, and I still want to try for a long this weekend.

Total miles since starting the blog: 145.5 

December 4th: Recovery Run

So I slept a little bit this morning, until about 6:30. That ruled out the gym, and the legs felt OK, so I decided on a recovery run after yesterday's mad dash.

Not much to report here, other than my legs actually feeling better for having run. I really need to incorporate more of these into my routine. 2.5 miles at around a 9:20 pace. I definitely could have gone longer, but I opted to cut it short and save the wear and tear for the rest of the week.

Tomorrow I'm thinking of a mid-range pace run, while the weather is still good. Then Friday will likely be an off day because it's moving day at work. Saturday I may get in a long -- after the layoff, I'm not sure how far I can go, but I'll shoot for 9 miles. And then we'll have to see about Sunday.

I got a slightly better shot of Nessie out there in Keyport Harbor -- it was closer to Cliffwood Beach this morning.

Total miles since starting the blog: 140.9

December 3rd: Grudging, but Fast

Apparently, Mother Nature wants to see just how cold it has to be before I turn tail and head back inside. Yesterday, it was 39 degrees when I started out. Today it was 38. But again, no wind -- though it was a bit dank. I have to say, I was a bit tired this a.m., and a bit cranky because the dog put another hole in the loveseat last night. All the ingredients were there for skipping the run. But I grudgingly went anyway.

As I've said before, sometimes I really don't know what kind of run it's going to be until I get going. Today my plan was to increase distance a little bit and try to be in the vicinity of race pace. That's not exactly how it turned out. The first two miles were about there, adding in 10 or 15 seconds for a photo. (More on that in a minute.) Mile 3 was fast -- 8:42. And then mile 4 was ridiculous -- 8:17. Although I was hoping for 5, by 4.5 I was right by home, and I was pretty bushed, so I cut it short at 4.6. My overall pace was 8:50. Anytime I'm sub-9:00, that's fast. I'm not really sure what to attribute that to, because if it were a "let's just get this over with" pace, I would have stopped at 3.11. And it's not like I had a ton of spring in my legs, either, since I ran yesterday.

There have been a number of barges in Keyport Harbor lately. I don't know if they're dredging the channel or replenishing some sand or both -- or something else entirely. But this odd-looking thing has been anchored out in the middle -- maybe someone knows what it is.

Also, it looks like they're doing some repairs on the seawall walkway. The one concrete slab that wobbled a bit when I hit it seems to have been replaced, and there's at least some temporary fencing where the railing was washed out. Maybe it will be "open" by the spring.

Between the layoff after I banged up the MTSNBN and the two weeks owing to the Great Acid Reflux Incident, I think I've lost a bit of fitness. As I said, I was pretty bushed after 4 miles, and my legs are good and sore now. I'm kind of torn for tomorrow. I do want to continue to log miles, but injuries happen on dead legs. And there's always the gym or even the "home gym" to do some strength training instead. I guess I'll see how I feel in the morning.

Total miles since starting the blog: 138.4

December 2nd: Where the #$%* Have I Been?

I've been lying low the past two weeks, I know. I have a lot to discuss.

The evening after my most recent entry, I was at home, bending over to pick something up, and -- POW! -- I experienced a huge chest pain. Scary big. It persisted all night, improved somewhat over the course of the next day, and then got worse the following morning.

Rationally, I knew this wasn't the big one. First off, I Googled the symptoms, and pain that gets worse when you bend over is usually due to acid reflux. Obviously, I'm in the best shape of my adult life, so the odds of something scary are really low. And yeah, I've been under a bit of stress of late, but that's just life, you know? Nonetheless, it's frightening. And beyond that, it was outright uncomfortable, so exercise simply wasn't happening.

The doctor prescribed high-strength Prilosec. It took a few days to kick in, but things are generally better now. I'm not really sure what to do about the anxiety and stress, but that's a longer-term issue -- and exercise is as good a cure as anything. But I do have to say, setbacks like this really plant a lot of doubt in my brain about whether I'll realistically be able to 26.2.

One of the things about Prilosec is that you're supposed to take it "before a meal." So basically, take it on an empty stomach, then eat something. I'm not really accustomed to eating first thing -- usually just a glass of fiber and a cup of coffee. Over the past week or so with the Prilosec, a meal has meant a Clif bar and maybe a banana. But I tried something fun this morning. My friend and sometime running partner Dan and I, along with my son, brewed beer this weekend, and I took home some of the spent grains for baking. But for my breakfast, I mixed about a cup of them with some chia seeds and a little bit of milk, and microwaved it, then added a touch of agave. It was very good! I know you don't always have cracked, parboiled barley grains sitting around, but if you have a chance to try it, I recommend it.

I probably could have gotten out there a few days ago, but the combination of the holiday rush, the cold weather and simple inertia (again, doubt creeping in) kept me from any workouts. Until today. I figured the best thing to do after such a layoff would be a pretty light run, just to get my body back into exercise mode. A slow-ish 5K was just what I needed.

It was 39 degrees when I got out there -- before daylight -- but there was no wind to speak of, so it really wasn't too bad. Plus side: I got a couple of really pretty shots looking southeast.

The first mile was slow, but that was mostly due to two pit-stops by the dog and a quick stop to get the photo above. The rest of the run went at a reasonable clip. But really, I wasn't very concerned about speed -- I just wanted to get a few miles under my belt and get my body back into exercise mode. I did 3.5 miles in 33:34. This shot on the left I got just after I'd stopped and was walking it off -- looking away from my house down my street.

I'm really hoping to get some more miles in this week, even if it means no strength work. I feel like I really need to start getting mileage in, because after the New Year, the training starts in earnest, and I don't want to be starting from scratch. So if the winds are low again tomorrow morning, I'll get another quickie in. Maybe later this week I can do a long -- that'd be nice.

Total miles since starting the blog: 133.7