Not Motivated!

I got on the treadmill today, but just wasn't motivated. I ran at a decent pace, but stopped after completing every mile. I was going to run 3 miles, but as I stopped so often I ran an extra mile. I rated today's run @ 3.75 out of 5.

Well, I have over 2700 miles on the treadmill that I bought in mid 2006. I also have 1773 miles run in 2007 alone (c'mon! They weren't all on the treadmill!)

Still haven't found my Nike+ iPod chip. I really miss recording those stats (that's the Einstein runner in me).

MAKE SURE that you visit Susan's blog and boost her up for her marathon tomorrow! She is a great lady running for a very worthy cause! Encourage her for tomorrow! You can go here to see her blog!
http://irunformylife.blogspot.com/

I Have Been Quiet Recently...

I have been quiet recently. I have just been busy.

Nothing new or exciting recently. The running is going great including a 3 1/2 mile tempo run this morning. I brought it in 30:18 minutes.

Last week, I ran 27.46 miles. The week before that I ran 28.10 miles.

I have misplaced my Nike+iPod chip this morning. I do so hope I find it.

I worked on my laptop this weekend. I upgraded the memory and replaced the 80GB hard drive with a 250GB hard drive. Then I made it a dual boot machine with both Windows Vista Home Basic (isn't that just really WinXP SP3?) and Windows XP Professional. I have reloaded it with my working software. Just for other build geeks out there, the WinXP Pro side is faster than the Vista side.

I have also finished my SageTV build - I got rid of TIVO and replaced it with something much better. It is on a dedicated computer. I can watch TV or recordings from any computer in my home network. It is cool. I cannot get it to act as a server on the internet. It uses port 31099. It can find the software but cannot access the port. Any geek ideas out there for that?

Finally...
I have not made my mind up about a marathon as of yet...

Its a shoe in!

Me, Me, Me!
I ran 23.85 miles last week.

Friday, I washed my truck and banged my left elbow into it. All that day it was very painful and did swell up (my elbow not the truck). It was bad again on Saturday. Now, the swelling is going down and there is not much pain. Bummer...

Friday night I felt fine, but after being in bed for a while I felt a lot of lower gastroenteric discomfort. Up several times. I used to have a cast iron stomach, but since the recent stomach thing I have to be really careful. Tends to really throw the run scheduling off. Bummer...

I had a great run today. I ran a tempo run and was actually able to at 8:30 pace for 2 miles. It was a first for for me. I rated today's run at 4.5 out of 5.

Saturday - Ryan Shay Memorial Run
It was a tragic thing during the Olympic Trials in NYC on November 3rd. Ryan Shay fell at the 5.5 mile mark and did not get back up. Please schedule a run on Saturday to honor his memory. Run 5.5 miles if possible. Any length would be would be a wonderful tribute. If you are doing a longer run then run 5.5 miles in his memory.

I first heard about it on Akshaye's blog, then on the most recent Phedippidations podcast.

Such a simple to show solidarity in our running community.


How do you buy shoes?
It is time for shoes again. I have been reading about buying shoes. As I run my recent tempo runs, I am wondering what to buy. I am about 210 pounds. I know that I over pronate. I also run a lot of back-country trails.

I've used all kinds of online shoe estimators. But I still don't know what to buy.

I'd like some ideas. I want to be sure that what I buy will work for me. How do you go out and buy shoes?

Finally
I haven't decided yet on whether to run a marathon yet...

I, Too, Have Been Tagged!

My friend, Peter, tagged me. What a guy! I am contemplating ways of balancing the books...

5 things about me.

1. I love to build computers. I do it at my work. I do it at home. It is an obsession, much more than a hobby. To assemble several seperate pieces (hardware, firmware, software) into a whole is a marvelous thing to me. I just built a Home Theatre PC for my basement entertainment theatre. Then I redesigned it and built it again!

2. I love to cook. Homemade pasta is far better than anything that can be bought at a store. I love to bake bread. Bread is not the best of foods for a runner, though (even with whole wheat flour, healthier oils and additives, and reduced fat butter substitutes). I debate a lot with friends about the glycemic index and natural, unprocessed foods. That could be an entirely seperate tag item.

3. I "run" through a lot of shoes. I need new running shoes again (yes, I do stretch their usable life much more than I should). The over pronation is obvious this time - A lot of heel wear and outside of the foot wear.

4. I have a Jeep. It is a 1993 Jeep Wrangler. I call it the Mighty YJ. It is the reason that I cannot retire. That's because I am constantly modifying it. I do take it out on organized Jeep trail runs almost weekend. I go with a friend, though. It does clash with running. I shoot movies during and edit them and put them on Photobucket after the run. I often would rather run a trail rather than drive it (but that, too, could be a seperate tag item)...

5. GPS and mapping. I love to map things. I do it all of the time. I have map files that go back several years. I map my half-marathons. I map my neighborhood runs. I map my trail runs. I map runs that aren't trail and aren't neighborhood runs! I map bike runs. I map Jeep trail runs. It is so much fun!

If there were a 6 it would be my inner debate about running a marathon. I have a lot of blogging friends. I appreciate each and every opinion I received. Wow! Great people! Thank you so much!

OK, now for the rules -
Here are the Rules:
• Link to your tagger, and post these rules on your blog.
• Share 5 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
• I cheated and removed the 2 final rules. Why? Just to be stubborn!

To Marathon or not to Marathon...

I have been thinking a lot on attempting a marathon.

Many things have contributed to this crazy pattern of thinking and mostly because of you, my fellow bloggers, and all that you have accomplished (especially recently).

My friend, Tom, ran marathons in his high school years. He set a record that stood for ten years. He is telling me that it is a lot of work and very physically debilitating. He is not actively discouraging me but he is also not actively encouraging me either.

My boss, Jim, is a triathlete. I beleive he is a year younger than I am (I am 54). Last month, he took first place in his age group in the last triathlon that he participated in. He did not discourage me, but we had a good talk of how a marathon can cost as much as you can gain. I definitely got the idea that he was actively discouraging me.

I listened to the current Phedippidations Podcast, #121 - Things to do before you die. He definitely pushed the marathon idea (at least once in a runner's lifetime).

I saw the NOVA last week on the Marathon Challenge. It was a moving portrayal of how a marathon can affect the participants. I enjoyed it and felt emotional about it.

I read the account of Lisa in NY. This account of a first marathon also moved me.

I read Maddy's account of her first marathon. I was moved by what she contended with and her elation afterwards.

A lot of you contributed to this crazy notion of mine (Susan, Petra, Shirley, & Peter) and I want to thank you for all of those accounts.

I have a feeling that I may be discussing this a lot with you, my friends, in the near future.

Mind you, I am not convinced. I am experienced with half-marathons. I still remember my first one of those!

Let me know what you think, please...
- - - - - - - - - -

I guess that what I would like to know is your motivation to acheive like you have. Maybe then, just maybe, I could seriously start to consider what decision I should make.

Team Elijah...

Everyone that has a "Pray for Elijah" band, please wear it today. If you don't have a band, please think of him today.

Elijah Talley is a boy with neuroblastoma. He is fighting a battle with that cancer. Today is a war front with medicine on his side as he goes through a stem cell transplant.

Think of that young man as he goes through his transplant today. We are all hoping that he will kick his neuroblastoma in the butt!

Say a prayer for this courageous young man!

You can read about him at this site -
Elijah Talley

Back to it!

The New York Olympic Marathon Trials
Like everyone else I am shocked at the sudden death of Ryan Shay. What a tragedy to his family and the sport. I am still wondering what happened but the immediate autopsy results were inconclusive.

Where Have I been?
Sorry for my absence as of late. Two weeks ago I had a bad stomach thing go on. My stomach felt the need to violently empty itself. There was little or no control while this happened. I suspect Dove chocolate that was not good. I am sorry to be so graphic, but it was during one of those bouts that I did something to my back.

I ended up not running for 6 days. By the time I felt good enough to run, I was still having problems with my back (comes and goes). I've cut my mileage back and will continue so until I feel better.

So for the week of October 21st, I ran 9.10 miles. For the week of October 28th, I ran 20.80 miles. I am getting back to it but I am still dealing with this nagging back pain!

The worst part for me is I will probably not make my goal of 2,000 mile run in 2007!

Just a quick catch up! My glucose levels ended up well into the normal range during my last blood test.

Winter Training
I am just wondering what everyone will be doing to train during the Winter months. I live in Denver, so I am sure that I will do a lot of treadmill running (like I don't already). I am also looking at a Spring half-marathon to set my traing sights for.

I certainly hope that my next post will be more upbeat!