Jeff’s Post – My Baltimore Marathon Recap Video!

I finally took some time today to put together a recap video from Baltimore – Enjoy!  Thanks to mom and Tamara for all the pictures and videos! I had an ok running weekend.  I wanted to get a long run in on Saturday but knew Friday that the weather wasn’t going to cooperate so I squeezed in 14.5 on Friday night and another 6 treadmill miles on Sunday.  I’m going to be running another 26.2 soon and I really wanted to get another long run in, guess we will see if I have time.

Congrats to all those who ran Marine Corps today.  It was so much fun to follow all of the twitter updates.  I love social media and love that it allows those who are not there to still feel a part of what is going on.

Hope everyone had a good running/racing weekend.  Run on!!

 

 

Tamara’s Post – Pouring Rain & My DVR = Awesome Treadmill Run!

I wasn’t very excited about hopping on the treadmill this morning – I am missing outside runs and thought perhaps I would hold off and get an outside run in tomorrow… Ok, I hopped on and decided to run 3 or 4 miles and get in more mileage tomorrow. It was pouring outside – I don’t mind running in the rain – just not a downpour! I realized I still hadn’t watched the Little Fockers movie I DVR’d – I turned it on and ran…and ran…Ben Stiller makes me smile, so it took my mind off the miles. It was a surprisingly easy run. I’m still worried about my knee a bit, so I started at a 9:00 pace and slowly increased each mile to end my 8th mile at a 8:15 pace. Yeah! Felt good – no, felt great! So glad I got a good run in…I’m now ready to watch my soon-to-be 7 year old play with her friends at her birthday party this afternoon! You can keep on coming down rain – I got my run in – and you didn’t stop me…love my treadmill…and my DVR! 🙂

Jeff’s Post – Running > Biking!

The bottom of my foot was still bothering me yesterday so I decided to spend about an hour on the bike trainer (I also lifted weights).  I like throwing the bike in every once in a while but I enjoy running so much more.  I never have an issue running inside on the treadmill but riding the bike on the trainer bores me.  I love riding the bike outside – the trainer not so much!  I also tend to recover slower after long bike rides.

Bike Trainer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So this morning it was back on the treadmill.  I have a great adventure planned in about 18 days and maintaining my running fitness without injury is my goal.  I decided to break in a pair of new shoes.  I think I have a running shoe problem.  I have boxes of them and I’ve been sitting on a new pair of Brooks Ghost 4’s for a few months.  I thought the extra cushioning would be good for my foot and I also thought I may take these shoes on my new adventure.  The shoes felt great and I ran 8 miles – everything felt good – Yeah!

I think I have a Shoe Problem

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Soundtrack today, Bon Jovi live at Madison Squared Garden.  I’m a huge Bon Jovi fan and it has been a while since I’ve watched this concert DVD.  It took me back to the trip Tamara and I took to New York earlier this year.  We went to see Bon Jovi at Madison Squared Garden and we had an amazing run around Central Park.  I love visiting New York and can’t wait to go back.

Runners Dinner at Bon Jovi Concert!

Have a great day – If it is a nice day go outside for a walk or run – you will be happy that you did!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Central Park Run

Jeff’s Post – Run On!!

I really had no specific running plans after the marathon last Saturday.  I decided I would just run when I felt good and see where things went from there.  I’m very happy with the past week.  The marathon was Saturday and I took Sunday and Monday off.  I was excited to get back on the treadmill on Tuesday and ran 7 miles, Wed 8 miles, Thursday 4 miles, Friday 4 miles, Saturday 6 outside miles with Tamara and today I ran 13.1 outside miles.

I really enjoyed running outside this weekend.  Loved the sunrise run with Tamara on Saturday and I felt really good on my 13.1 mile run this morning (although the bottom of my foot feels a little bruised – I live on a gravel road and I’m thinking I might have stepped on a larger rock running in yesterday).

I’m hoping to ramp up the mileage this week (assuming the foot feels ok) and would like to get a 20 mile run in on Saturday (we will see).  We have some upcoming races that I will share soon and I want to make sure I’m in top shape for those!

Hope everyone had a great running weekend – Run On!!

Tamara’s Post – No Other Place I Would Rather Be…

Jeff and I hit the road around 6:30am…it was still dark and we carried flashlights. It didn’t take long until the glow of the sun was visible on the horizon. A large barn appeared only as a dark outline against the ever stretching pink and orange sky. One by one the stars disappeared, the moon grew fainter. We ran. We talked. It was a great morning for a run and as I remarked to Jeff about a mile into our almost 7 mile run – there was no other place I would have rather been.

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Hey Tamara – Runner’s World Just Contacted Me!

So Tamara and I were having one of those days at work yesterday and I decided to lighten the mood a bit.  I couldn’t do this in person (cause I would start laughing) so when she was out at an appointment I sent her a text message telling her that Runner’s World contacted me.  I tell her that they want to feature me in an article on late blooming runners.  I sit there anxiously waiting for the congratulatory text to come back.  “Bing” there is it – I have a new text and I quote (well, mostly quote because I don’t want the blog to be given a mature rating 🙂 )“U r kidding – I’m late blooming tell them that” – ok that made me laugh.  I proceed to tell her that they will be at one of our upcoming races and I will probably do it then – Next text “R u kidding”.  I decide to keep it going a little longer and tell her that they want to use my picture from the Baltimore 10 miler and I’m trying to figure out how to get a release for the picture. – Next text from Tamara “U r serious bout making a living out of running huh – Good thing I’m your trainer – I get a big cut”.  That’s my Tamara :).  I couldn’t go any longer and decided to tell her I was kidding.  I’m sure she knew but we both got a good laugh.

So – Runner’s World if you are reading this I’m available and can be reached at Jeff@werrunners.com …..but Tamara and I are a team and “werrunners” so you really need to feature both of us!

5 days post marathon and another short 4 miles on the treadmill this morning.  Tamara and I are hoping to get an 8-10 mile run in tomorrow.  Yeah! – Love running outside with Tamara!

 

Have a great day and go for a run if you get a chance!!

 

Tamara’s Post – Love This Feeling!

When I woke up this morning after about 5 1/2 hours of sleep, I knew I needed a good run to make me feel better and to wake me up. Something only a runner would understand. I got on the treadmill around 4:50am and got my 5 miles in before most people are out of bed! I love the feeling of heading to work after a good run…love knowing I did something good for myself before I begin sinking in piles of work. I am now refreshed…I am now awake!!! What a great feeling! I love being a runner!!!

Jeff’s Post – 26.2 Done – What’s Next?????

I didn’t start running to run a marathon and a marathon was never one of those things on my bucket list.  I started running to improve my level of fitness and very early on fell in love with the joy of running.  The marathon was just a natural progression that allowed me to push my mind and body further than I ever thought I could – An amazing feeling by the way.

So what is next? – I have some things planned and will share them soon.  My initial goal is to maintain and improve my marathon level of fitness.  I want to be stronger, I want to run faster, I want to run further.  I want to continue to strengthen my mind and body – So stay tuned! – Thank you for being a part of my journey – it motivates me!

8 Treadmill miles this morning – Really feeling good 3 days post marathon.

Have a great day and go for a run if you can!

Tweeting and Facebooking Post Race!!

Post Marathon Thoughts!

It is starting to sink in a little that I’m a Marathoner (you can read my Marathon recap here).  Post Marathon, I continue to analyze my performance on Saturday.  I’m happy with my 3:58 time but really thought I could run a 3:30 (probably crazy for my first Marathon but that is what I was thinking).   Those who know me know that I’m always looking to improve and this is just a natural progression to improve my performance for the next one. :).  I’m also sharing my thoughts in hopes that it might help others who are running their first Marathon.

Post Marathon Meal at Cheesecake Factory!

Some Thoughts:

• I WENT OUT TOO FAST!  – Classic Rookie Mistake – At one point when I was running with the 3:20 pace group for a few miles I actually thought to myself that I could qualify for Boston (Crazy).  Nice to have goals but I shouldn’t have been thinking about Boston during my first Marathon.
• I think I ate breakfast too early.  The race start was 8:00am and I ate at the same time I normally would on a 6:30am training run – I got hungry when I was running!
• Not sure why but for some reason I could never get in a zone like I did on my long training runs.  Most of my long runs were by myself outside – just me and my iPod.  I wanted to run in a bigger race and found some of the noise and all of the people distracting at times.  At one point the TV station helicopter constantly hovering overhead bothered me.  I also took an old bib and wrote my name on the front.  I loved all of the cheering for “Jeff” for a while but it wasn’t as motivating as I thought it would be when I was struggling – I ended up taking it off mid race.  Note to new runners – If you do this use an old bib or duct tape – you might want to get rid of your name at some point .
• I did a speed run a week earlier (10 miles @ 7:30-7:40 pace) and I’m not 100% sure I was fully recovered from that.  I should have done the speed work earlier in my training and made that last run an easy run.
• I didn’t train on enough hills – My mostly treadmill runs didn’t help me with the hills!  I thought about adding incline to the treadmill while I was training but made a decision not to use it because I was worried about injury.  I was really paranoid about injury the few weeks leading up to the Marathon – I had worked way too hard to get injured right before the race.
• I walked too much in the city on Friday – My legs felt tired when I went to bed Friday night.  I actually went to bed a little concerned that my legs were bothering me.
• I think I was reading too much about what to do towards the end of my training.  I felt like during my taper weeks I changed almost everything I was doing (diet, types of runs, distance).  I ran my best training run (22 miles) when I was averaging around 55 miles per week.  During my last two weeks I was down to around 35 miles per week.  I just feel better when I run more!

Hope this info is helpful to some – it was just helpful for me to write it down!  I had my first post race run this morning 7 miles on the treadmill.  The run felt great – had to make myself stop at 7 miles!

Have a great day and go for a run if you get a chance!

Tamara’s Post – 5K (Diaper Derby)…Done! Marathon Cheerleader…Done!

Congratulations to Jeff on finishing his first marathon!  I know he wishes he had felt better and finished faster…but regardless of his time, his parents and I are extremely proud of his accomplishment! I was so happy to be there for him on race morning and throughout the race, but I should have planned it out a bit better – it would have been nice to run more of it with him. I was glad I ran the 5K and as I began the first mile that was uphill, I pushed the whining out of my head – I was only running 3 miles and Jeff was running 26.2! So I ran as hard as I could and finished in 23:40. I wished I started closer to the front – there were alot of people in front of me in the beginning that ran quite a slower pace – and they were in my way – look out, I’m coming through – I bet I passed a few hundred people going up that hill! Thanks to Advil for taking my knee pain away! I ran splits of 7:56, 7:36, and 7:04! Yeah!! But only good enough for 4th in my age group – la, la, la – it doesn’t matter – I was there to support Jeff – completing the 5K was a bonus! I was thrilled that I got to run with Jeff for a few minutes at the halfway point – but immediately knew he wasn’t doing so well. He is so mentally strong that I didn’t give it another thought and fell out to start my ill-fated trek across the city to find mile 18…which I never found…after getting in a not so great area alone I abandoned my grand plan and finally found my way back to the course. I had another plan now – run up to mile 24 or so and run the last few miles with Jeff. It was a great idea! I was so inspired and motivated by the 100s of runners making their way to the finish – it didn’t matter if they were walking, running, smiling, or frowning – they were all out there – they were all on their way to get their well-deserved medal! I was so happy to see Jeff around 23.5 miles! He didn’t look as strong as he normally does and I knew he just wanted to finish at this point. I loved running with him, as irritating as I was at times – I just wanted him to know I was there for him and how excited I was for him. I had mixed feelings as I zoomed off the course right after the 26 mile mark – I know race officials hate it when you cross the finish of a race you are not in – but I really wanted to see Jeff cross the finish! With the thousands of runners and spectators there it was easy to see how quickly we lost each other – ugh – I was so sad! I couldn’t even congratulate him! I walked around for what seemed like an hour – finally I spotted Jeff walking toward me. I will never forget that moment – you’d have thought we hadn’t seen each other in months! I was so proud of him and so happy for him!! Just like that – it is over – and now he can forever say that he has run a marathon! Wonder what his next goal will be?! 🙂