LA Marathon Training Week #2 and Tweaking the Plan

Week #2 on my LA Marathon training plan is finished and it went fairly well despite a rather large food holiday right in the middle. 

Here's how this week looked: (Actual)

Week 2:
Monday: 3 miles (Rode 30 min on bike trainer)
Tuesday: 5 miles (nothing/rest)
Wednesday: 3 miles  (Rode 30 min on bike trainer)
Thursday: 30 Min Tempo (5K Turkey Trot)
Friday: Rest (rest)
Saturday: 11 miles long  (12.6 mi long)
Sunday: 5 miles (marathon pace)  (13.65 mi bike ride)

I had Craig Moss look over my training plan and we have decided to make some adjustments in the schedule. I will now have Tuesday's off and move Tuesday's miles to Wednesday. We'll see how that works out.

Here is what week #3 looks like:

Week 3:
Monday: 3 miles
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: 6 miles
Thursday: 6 mi, 4 x 1200
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 8 miles long
Sunday: 6 miles Marathon Pace

Today's weight: 208.0 , lost 2/10 of 1 lb last week. I'm OK with that considering all that I ate/drank the last 4 days.

2nd Annual Turkey Trot Tweet Up Race Report

A Few weeks ago, Linda and I decided we would run the Lake Balboa Turkey Trot again this year. On Wednesday when she went to sign us up, there were some issues which you can read about here. We decided not to run the Lake Balboa race but to try the Burbank YMCA's Turkey Trot instead. Some of our tweeps, Candice and Nadim were also doing this race.

I made my way to Burbank bright and early on a very cold morning here in Southern California and got registered. While I was waiting for Linda, I ran into an old high school friend that I haven't seen in 25 years. We chatted for a while about the last 25 years and about exercise, running and triathlon. Linda arrived and we met up with Candice, Nadim, Liana and Bob. We took a few pictures and headed off to the starting line.

Candice, Nadim, Linda, Me

Ms V and Me

After a beautiful rendition of the National Anthem, the race started. I decided that I would run with Linda and make this a fun run, even though she kept telling me to race and go my normal 5K pace. The course was an out and back to the south and then out and back to the north on a relatively flat street. Our first mile we ran a pace of 9:32. One 2 occasions, Linda blurted out "You have to go" really loudly and I got a few funny looks from people wondering "Is this guy bothering her?" Finally Linda gave in and Nadim and I ran with her the entire race.
We ran past the starting line and headed north to the second turn around. I was feeling good and we were running a 9:32 pace for mile 2. We slowed a bit on mile 3 as it had a little bit of an incline to it but still kept a pretty consistent pace. We made a charge for the finish line and finished in 30:32. We met up with Candice, Nadim, Liana and Bob, who ran a smoking 5k just 4 days after finishing Ironman Arizona! This was one of the most organized, small races I have ever seen. They had plenty of support on the course and at the finish line, chip timing and a nice long sleeved tech shirt...all for $35. What a deal. We will definitely be back for this race next year.

Bob, Me, Linda, Candice, Nadim after the race.

Now for the most important part of the day...breakfast. We met up over at Barney's Beanery and had a great breakfast with good food and lots of laughs. What better way to spend a Thanksgiving morning than with some great friends, a little running and food. Thanks again...it was lots of fun. Let's put it on the calendar for next year and maybe we can get Glenn to come out from behind the "Orange Curtain" and join us. :)

Me, Linda, Liana, Bob, Candice, Nadim @Barney's Beanery

LA Marathon Training Week #1 is in the books

Week #1 on my LA Marathon training plan is in the books. I modified the plan a bit, but I did get 5 days of workouts in this week, something I haven't done since mid-August.

Here's how this week looked: (Actual)

Week 1:
Monday: 3 miles (Rode 30 min on bike trainer)
Tuesday: 5 miles (nothing)
Wednesday: 3 miles  (Rode 30 min on bike trainer)
Thursday: 5 miles, 3 x Hill (5 Mi, 3x hill)
Friday: Rest (rest)
Saturday: 10 miles long  (11 mi long)
Sunday: 5 miles (marathon pace)  (3 mi marathon pace)

This morning my calves were so tight and sore that I decided to just do 3 miles. I will have to figure out how to run on Tuesdays, right now that is my busiest day of the week.

Here is what week #2 looks like:

Week 2:
Monday: 3 miles
Tuesday: 5 miles
Wednesday: 3 miles
Thursday: 30 min tempo  (Turkey Trot 5K)
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 11 miles long
Sunday: 5 miles

As for weight, I stuck to my Weight Watchers points for the week, I will weigh in tomorrow morning and am hoping to see a smaller number on the scale.

**update**
Today's weight: 208.2 , lost 1 lb last week.

LA Marathon Training Starts Today

Today starts week #1 of my 18 week training plan (Higdon Adv 1) for the LA Marathon. It's been 3 weeks since the Rock n Roll LA Half Marathon and I kept to my word and took some time off. I was also sick twice in that 3 week period, so that helped me take some time to rest.

Now I am ready to get serious and get back to training. I am also on a mission to drop 15 lbs by the time I start the LA Marathon.

Starting Weight: 209.2 lbs
Goal Weight: 195 lbs

Week 1:
Monday: 3 miles
Tuesday: 5 miles
Wednesday: 3 miles
Thursday: 5 miles, 3 x Hill
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 10 miles long
Sunday: 5 miles (marathon pace)

I will be swapping out a 30-45 min bike workout in place of the Mon/ Wed 3mile this week and possibly a 20 mile bike ride in place of Sunday's 5 miler, depending on the weather.

I will be back with Craig Moss and the Mt Gleason Runners starting this coming Saturday, something I have been looking forward to for a while.

Giving Back

Last Saturday I had the opportunity to volunteer at a 5K trail race put on by, Heather, one of our fellow runners from A Runner's Circle. It was the first time her company, Green Running Events, put on a race. I arrived early and met up with Melissa and worked with Dino on getting the start and finish lines signs hung up. Heather asked us to work the finish line and go talk to the people doing the timekeeping to see what they wanted us to do. We were asked to pull the tags off of everyone's bib as they crossed the finish line and put them on a string in order. OK, easy enough.

After a few announcements and the National Anthem, the race started. We took our places behind the finish line and waited for the first runner to come in.

Waiting for the first runner to cross the finish line.

 The first runner crossed the line in the 16-17 minute range and we got started pulling the tags off the bibs and keeping them in order. I was an easy task, but as more and more runners crossed the line, it took lots of concentration to keep the runners in order and grab the tags. I'm glad there were two of us working the finish line.

The youngest runner of the day.

After about an hour, the last 3 runners/walkers came in and a few minutes later, the awards ceremony started. Very cool medals (see below) were given three deep in all age groups.

Medals made from recycled bike parts.

After the awards, we cleaned up and about 15 of us headed off for breakfast. I had a lot of fun working the race and I was really glad I was able to give back to the running community. Look for this race next year to be even bigger and better.

Pictures from the event can be found here MAK Photography
and
A Runner's Circle

A New Year, New Challenges

A New Year

A few weeks ago, I celebrated my 43rd birthday and with the exception of birthdays 1-8, 21, 30(interesting story there)and 40...I like to keep them very low key. As I do every year around my birthday, I like to reflect on the last year, the highlights, the low lights and everything in between. This last year was loaded with highlights and very few low lights. First of all, I celebrated my 15th year of marriage, I ran my first marathon(Race Report), I completed 3 triathlons in one season, ran a half marathon dressed as Elvis with my running partner(Race Report), paced friends to new PR's, made new friends and strengthened relationships with old friends. All in all...it was a very good year and a lot of it is thanks to running/triathlons. Five years ago, I could never imagine running a marathon, let alone a 5K and I didn't even know what triathlon was all about. I would have never imagined doing what I did at 12:46am on November 1, 2010...

New Challenges

Over the last few months, I have been contemplating my 2011 race schedule and decided to step it up a notch. If everything goes as planned, I will run the LA Marathon once again in March, the Disneyland Half marathon in September, and hopefully, fingers crossed, the Marine Corp Marathon in Washington, DC in late October. After reading Linda's and Penny's MCM race reports, I really want to do this race...badly. Oh yeah...getting back to November 1, 2010...I took what I consider to be the biggest step of my triathlon/running life....I signed up (and got into) the Vineman 70.3 (1/2 Ironman) race on July 17, 2011. I must admit that I am a bit scared...but give me 8 months to prepare and I will be ready. Training for 2 marathons and a 1/2 Ironman should give me plenty to write about. Another goal for 2011 is to drop below 200 lbs. I have been fluctuating between 202 and 210 for the last year and I must focus to get below 200 lbs and stay there.

I want to say "Thank You" to all of you that made my 43rd year...a fantastic year.