Week of March 30th to April 5th

Lots going on this week. Logan and Maddie are looking forward to Spring Break, which starts next week. We will be traveling to Ohio University for the weekend. I am running the half marathon on Sunday morning. It will be good to see the campus again. I still consider Athens a home away from home. Logan will then be continuing on to Florida for the week.

I am feeling the effects from the Green Jewel 50K still. A few twinges in my legs remain.

I am getting a little anxious about the Pittsburgh Marathon. This usually happens as a race gets close. One month to go and I want to race now. Only a few more key workouts remain.

Here is a blast from the past photo with the infamous Coach Buck shouting the commands "Uh...Ready Ready Go!" - Thanks to Marc Morrison for the photo - There is no way a sane coach would have people run on this stretch of road these days. We used to always run on the road and just avoid the traffic.


Fall of 1982 - Coach Buck, Tom Geiger, Marc Morrison, Craig Kisinger, Dave Pelyhes, John Chaney, Bob Koch, Greg Mengal



Training Schedule
Mon: 6 miles easy
Tue: 2 mile warm up / 6x1000m repeats / 4x400m repeats / cool down
Wed: 9 mile group run
Thu: 8 miles
Fri: 6 miles w/striders
Sat: 5 easy
Sun: Athens Half Marathon

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Week of March 23rd to 29th

Feeling good after the 50K. I am glad I did the 23 mile workout within the 31 mile run. I will probably use the relax - race - maintain strategy at Pittsburgh. The week ahead should be fun as my schedule below shows. Vertical Runner is having the annual Boston Preview run on Sunday. Once again I will take my normal weekend workout and wrap it within that run.

Training Schedule
Mon: off day
Tue: 8 easy
Wed: 9 group run
Thu: 2 mile warmup + 6x1000 meters w/ 2min rest between + 4x400 meters + 2 mile cool down
Fri: 10 easy miles
Sat: 12 easy miles
Sun: 2 easy + 4 tempo + 10 easy + 4 tempo + 2 cool down (Boston Preview Run)

I am about 90% sure that I will run the Athens Half Marathon on April 5th. Hopefully my and my kids schedules sync up so I can go down to OU that weekend.

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Green Jewel 50K

Very happy with my effort during this workout. Basically met my goals. Matt and I stopped at each aid station for a minute plus I hit the bathroom once. Course was more difficult than I expected. A few good downhill stretches, but it always seemed to be going uphill. A few tough climbs along the way.

8 miles easy for a warm up + 8 miles marathon pace + 1 mile tempo + 5 miles marathon pace + 1 mile tempo + 8 miles cool down.

Click here for the PDF of our day. It includes the map, elevation, and pace chart. You can see the aid station spikes at miles 5 / 10 / 15 / 19/ and 24.

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March 16th to 22nd

A good week behind me. Ran a nice even paced race at Malachi. Time was 3 seconds slower than last year...but everyone else seemed to be 15 to 25 seconds slower...so maybe I ran better?? Felt in control and steady. No real kicking speed, but no kidding. All marathon paced stuff to date. Nice to see everyone again.

Pittsburgh has been overwhelmed with entrants so they are going to put a cap on the race. Glad we got in when we did.

Kudos to Akron and Cleveland State for getting in the NCAA tourney. Will be fun to watch.

Shuttle goes up tonight. We had passes to see the launch from NASA last month before all of the delays. Hope all goes well.

Green Jewel 50K is on Saturday. 23 miles of a planned workout..then going to either chill or stay steady to the end.

Mon: Rest Day
Tue: 2 mile w/u + 8 mile tempo + 2 mile c/d
Wed: 9 miles group run
Thu: 4 miles easy
Fri: 5 miles easy
Sat: 50K (31 miles) - 8 miles easy + 8 miles MP + 1 mile T + 4 miles MP + 1 mile T + 1 mile MP + finish it out.
Sun: 12 miles easy. Probably crawl on the trails.

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Training Recap March 9th

First time in two years I hit 100 miles for the week. Very happy. Back down the intensity this week but keep up the mileage. Mile repeats on Tuesday then a race on Saturday. No expectations there.

Schedule
Mon: 7 miles easy
Tue: 3 x 1 mile then 3 x 1000 meter
Wed: 13 miles
Thu: 10 miles
Fri: 8 miles
Sat: 5 mile race / 12 miles total
Sun: 22 steady miles

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Love this commercial

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How to be a Good Wife

Hard to believe this was in a text book.

HOW TO BE A GOOD WIFE

Home Economics High School Text Book, 1954

Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal, on time. This is a way of letting him know that you have been thinking about him and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they come home and the prospect of a good meal are part of the warm welcome needed.

Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so that you'll be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your makeup, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh-looking. He has just been with a lot of work-weary people. Be a little gay and a little more interesting. His boring day may need a lift.

Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the home just before your husband arrives, gather up schoolbooks, toys, paper, etc. Then run a dust cloth over the tables. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift, too.

Prepare the children. Take a few minutes to wash the children's hands and faces (if they are small), comb their hair, and if necessary change their clothes. They are little treasures and he would like to see them playing the part.

Minimize all noise. At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of the washer, dryer, dishwasher, or vacuum. Try to encourage the children to be quiet. Be happy to see him. Greet him with a warm smile and be glad he is home.

Some don'ts: Don't greet him with problems or complaints. Don't complain if he is late for dinner. Count this as minor compared with what he might have gone through that day. Make him comfortable. Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or suggest he lie down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him. Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soft, soothing and pleasant voice. Allow him to relax and unwind.

Listen to him. You may have a dozen things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first.

Make the evening his. Never complain if he does not take you out to dinner or to other places of entertainment. Instead, try to understand his world of strain and pressure, his need to be home and relax.

The Goal: Try to make your home a place of peace and order where your husband can renew himself in body and spirit.

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No Sleep Friday / Training Update

Friday night was Maddie's 11th birthday party. We had 11 friends (11 years old...11 friends) over for a party at Amazone. The laser tag was pretty lame but everyone had fun at the arcade and playground. We then went back to the house for the sleepover. I now know that 11 year old girls are loud. They all try to talk over each other! Around 2:30am I made the rounds and turned off the televisions. I had to get up 2 hours later and meet Matt for my marathon pace workout. Fat Chance!!
Training Update
Good week in the bank. Struggled on Saturday with the marathon pace workout - no surprise there with 2 hours of sleep. Another peak week ahead. I may try for 100. Let's see how it goes.

Mon: 8 miles easy
Tue: Tempo - 2 mile warmup / 5+4+3+2+1 miles tempo with 5+4+3+2+1 min recovery between / 2 mile cool down
Wed: 13 group miles
Thu: 6 easy miles
Fri: 10 miles
Sat: 2 mile warmup + 4 tempo miles + 10 easy miles + 4 tempo miles + 2 cooldown
Sun: 12 easy miles

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