Jeff’s Post – Wisconsin Follies!

We are wrapping up an eventful week in Wisconsin and will be leaving tomorrow for the 12+ hour road trip back to Maryland.  Running while traveling is always difficult so I’ve been fairly happy with my runs this week and I always love running in new places.  My running recap for the week – 6 miles in Ohio (after driving 8 hours), 6 miles in Waterford, WI (after driving 5 hours), 6 miles on Monday, 4 miles with Tamara on Tuesday – then we went to Lake Michigan for the day and I couldn’t resist running another 4 miles at the lake – just beautiful.  I got another 6 in yesterday and have decided to take a couple days off.  I’m still dealing with a nagging shin pain and I’m hoping the couple day rest will help.  Our vacations are over and I need to get super focused over the next couple months.  I basically have a race every month ending with Marine Corps in October.

This trip was really about visiting Tamara’s Dad and making sure that Samantha got to as many amusement parks, water parks and ice cream shops that we could find.  I think we accomplished all of those.  I even had my first ever Cream Puff from the Wisconsin State fair.

I’m writing this post while Tamara is out running and she just called me.  We always carry a cheap flip phone when we run and she has never called before (scared me a bit) but she just wanted me to check on a road she was running to see if it connects to the highway.  I tend to run more up and backs when I travel just to make sure I can find my way home.

I have shared a few pics below and will add more once we get home.  I also ran on the track for the first time last week and want to recap that over the next few weeks. I really enjoyed it and hope to get on the track more.

Have a great day and Happy Running!

Jeff’s Post – Friday Rewind!

Another long stretch in between blog posts.  I hate that but I see them picking up as we head towards the fall – I have quite a few races coming up.  We just got back from a whirlwind trip to Ocean City, MD.  It was nice to get away for a few days and I always love running at the beach.  I ran 9 miles on Monday (5 by myself and then 4 with Tamara), 6 on Tuesday and 7 on Wednesday.  I had some of the slowest runs of the summer but I’m  not beating myself up over it.  I know why they were slow – too much sun, food, drink and not enough sleep.  We have a trip to Wisconsin planned in a few weeks and I will start pushing the training right after that.  Last year I felt like I was in my best shape around July/August which was really too early.  I want to be there in September/October this year so I can go into Marine Corps strong and fit.  I also want to try to lose a few pounds by October. I ran both of my Marathons last year at around 168lbs, I want to run Marine Corps at around 160 if I can get there.  That is really too light for me but I think it will help and I’m willing to put up with the “you are too skinny” comments for a month or so.

A quick Tamara update – she is still around 🙂 but is nursing a sore knee and has just been super busy running Samantha around.  Samantha is in our local production of  The Wizard of Oz this year (she is a munchkin).  The kids have been working so hard and have been rehearsing for months.  All the rehearsals are over and they are in the final weekend of shows and they have done an amazing job.  So proud of Samantha!  I shared a few pics below.

6 Treadmill miles this morning – Have a great weekend and Happy Running!

Jeff’s Post – Running the Pain Away!

I just finished my morning treadmill run (6 miles) and for the first time in a while I didn’t feel a shin pain I’ve been dealing with for a couple weeks.  It felt more muscular (in the front of my leg but not like a shin splint) and started in one leg and then seemed to move to the other.  I’m not sure why I suddenly feel better but I’m thinking it may have been the 10 miles I ran on the treadmill yesterday morning.  My legs just felt really good after that, maybe I ran the pain away.  I’ve had a decent string of runs – starting with a 6 mile run with Tamara on Saturday, 11 early morning miles on Sunday (this run was slow and hilly but I loved watching the sun rise and just love being outside running while the rest of the world is waking up) and 8 treadmill miles on Monday.

We are heading to the beach for a few days next week.  I’m looking forward to some time away from work and a little beach time with Tamara, Samantha and my family.  It also means more running.  Can’t begin to explain how much I love running at the beach!  We have a trip to Wisconsin planned in early August and then I’m in full training mode.  I have the Annapolis 10 Miler in August, RnR Philly 1/2 in September (with Tamara), Army 10 Miler in October (with Tamara) and then I have Marine Corps at the end of October.

Tamara was running in the gym with me this morning and we had a couple funny moments.  The first was when Kacee decided to walk to the other side of the room and tripped over the cord of Tamara’s stand fan causing it to crash to the ground and fall apart (no one was injured 🙂 and the second is just the enjoyment I get watching Tamara’s reactions to what is going on with the Bachelorette.  We both have headphones plugged into the TV’s so I can’t hear what is going on but it is too funny to see her hands flying in the air and see her yelling at the TV.

Tamara took a pic of me during my 11 mile treadmill run yesterday so I thought I would share it.  I will try to sneak a video of her one day as she reacts to her show on the TV.

Have a great day and Happy Running!

Jeff’s Post – 6 Left Turns!

I just came back from a rare outdoor weekday morning run.  We have company staying in the basement and I could have gone downstairs to the gym but I tend to bang on my treadmill so I thought it would be a good opportunity to get outside and let the company sleep.  Tamara’s treadmill is much quieter and she was itching to watch the Bachelor so she opted to stay inside and get her reality TV fix.  I grabbed a small flashlight and headed out in the dark on a nice 10k loop.  I have a love/hate relationship with this loop because it is a bit hilly and challenging at times.  But one thing I love about it is that it basically has 6 left turns to get me home.  I tend to look at each turn as a separate segment and that helps me on both good and bad runs.  This morning was no exception.  I was pushing the pace a little and felt good through most of the segments but I won’t lie I was thrilled to see the last left turn.  I finished a muggy 6.2 miles in 46:38 which I was happy with.  I even saw a member of the local running club about 1/2 through my run which was nice.  I always like to see another runner out there!

Have a great day and Happy Running!

 

Jeff’s Post – I’m Being Chased!

We are in the midst of a crazy heat wave in Southern Maryland so Tamara and I got up early again this morning to try to beat the heat.  We had a short 5 mile run planned which I was ok with given the heat and my tired legs.  We took off out the driveway and decided to run a reverse route of a loop we have run many times.  Almost instantly I was ahead of Tamara.  It wasn’t planned but just happened.  Our rule is to not slow down for the other just run how we are feeling (Just had a flashback of the Rock n Roll ½ Marathon in DC this year where Tamara flew by me at mile 12!).  About a mile in I had a pretty decent lead in our race of two :).  I looked back a few times to both check on Tamara and to see how close she was to me.  It was strange but the whole time I was feeling a little bit of pressure to keep my lead (yes I wanted to win).  I also thought a couple times that this is really good training for me to stay focused and keep pushing.  It reminded me of the one and only 5k race I won last year.  I passed a runner for the lead about 2 miles in and it was a strange feeling to be the front runner.  I won’t win many 5ks but I really did love the feeling of being chased this morning.  It kept me focused and made me push myself to run faster than I would have.  Thanks for the chase Tamara!

Jeff’s Post – Strength From My Right!

I get strength to push through runs from a bunch of different places.  It could be music, emotion, passing another runner or a goal I have set for myself.  Today I got strength from my right.  Tamara and I have treadmills about 8 feet apart and this morning when I was struggling on a normal run I took a few peeks over at her and it helped push me to the finish.  As we do with our outside runs we normally don’t talk much.  She is blasting the volume on her latest reality show and I’m typically watching the news or a concert with my ear buds in.  No need for conversation just having that person running beside/with you will push you when you need it.

Hope everyone had a safe and happy 4th.  I started the day with an early morning 8 mile run and then we spent the day at a picnic in the neighborhood I grew up in.  It was hot hot hot but we had a great day.  I have shared a few pics below.

Have a great running day!

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Jeff’s Post – It’s My Birthday!

Today is my birthday and I began my birthday celebration with a nice leisurely 5 mile run with Tamara.  As I get older my birthdays are less about getting old and more about being thankful for the things in my life.  I’m so very thankful for my wonderful family and Tamara’s incredible love and support.  I’m also thankful and feel fortunate every day that I’m able to go out and run.  I often wish I discovered the joy of running earlier in my life but also realize it found me at a time that I needed it most.  Running – the gift that keeps on giving!

Running also allows me to eat cake on occasion and Samantha made sure we celebrated some cake before we left for our trip!

Have a great day!

 

Jeff’s Post – A Slight Hitch in my Giddy Up!

I feel like this is a broken record but Tamara and I continue to plug away on house stuff.  We were up Friday night past midnight painting (that makes me a little grumpy btw) but we are finally getting there.  I’m still wishing I had time to post more and will soon and Tamara will be posting again (one she finishes rearranging the kitchen!).

Now for your enjoyment a running recap of the past week :).  I started Monday off with a ½ marathon on the treadmill.  Some people think I’m nuts for doing this but after running on the treadmill so much I need to find things that challenge me and right now that is challenging me.  This was actually my second Monday in a row doing this.  I followed it up with a fast 6 miles on Tuesday, 8 on Wednesday.  When I went to bed Wednesday night I was thinking I wanted to try for another 13 on Thursday and that is whata I did but at around mile 12 I felt a pain in my left calf.  I thought it was a cramp and pushed through the final mile but I was definitely feeling some pain that day.  Friday was a planned day off for me and I was relieved that my leg was feeling better but not 100%.  I wanted another 50 miles for the week and only needed 10 over the weekend but my leg was hurting a little on Saturday so I decided another day off was best.  This morning I woke up before the sunrise and headed out for a 10 mile run.  I was a little nervous not knowing how my leg would react but by mile 3 I knew I was good.  The run this morning was so enjoyable.  The weather was perfect, watching the sunrise was amazing and it was so early that it was just me and the open road.  I ended up having my second best 10 mile time ever coming in just a little over 1:14.  The only thing missing was Tamara who was in the gym running while I was out on the road.

I’m thankful for another good running week and will definitely pay attention to my leg this week but I want to keep pushing it.  It won’t happen for a little while but I really want to run a ½ marathon a day for one week and I want to run a marathon on the treadmill sometime this year.

Hope you have a great week – keep pushing and run smart!

Jeff’s Post – Making Strides!

After months and months of work around the house I finally feel like we are making strides.  The basement is about 90% finished (pics coming soon!) and today we moved all of the remaining furniture that was sitting in the garage down to the basement.  Now we can fit two cars in the garage again – Yeah!

One of the things I’m most proud of is that during all this chaos I did a good job of staying focused on running.  In fact, running helped me stay focused on all the things that were going on around me.  One of the many many things that I love about running.

Last week I had my first 50 mile week in months.  I started off strong running a 1/2 marathon on the treadmill Monday and Tamara and I finished strong with 6 hot miles today.

Tamara and I are committed to picking up the blog posts and hope you continue to stay with us as we share our journey. Stay tuned as we gear up for a great summer – we can’t wait to share!

Have a great running day!

Wordless Wednesday – Look What the Cat Dragged In!