Summer has begun, how about a run!

Saturday morning was my long run for the week. I have now started the build up this summer but I didn't want to build up the miles too quickly, so I only ran 16 Saturday. A total of 36 miles for the week. The goal was to run easy. It was a bit foggy and it looked like it could rain at any moment the entire run but it didn't. I ended up running quite well and averaged 8:56 for the run. I was a bit surprised by this but it was a pleasant surprise. It certainly didn't feel like sub 9 pace, more like 9:15.

Sunday I ended up going down to South Milwaukee for a group run put on by my friend Greg as a part of the Kids Marathon. About 10 or so kids showed up and a few parents as well. Greg and I ended up running a short 1 mile warm up and then did 4X400 at about 1:53 each. This was Greg's first run of the the year so he didn't want to take it too hard but he did quite well. Some of the kids ended up running up to 3 miles, my Melissa ran 2 miles.

I have been working quite a lot on the Kids Marathon over the past few weeks so I have not been able to Blog as much as I usually do. My apologies to my few loyal readers. I should be able to do better soon but in the mean time, we are finishing up the registration process. I will give an update on the kids marathon soon. Some very exciting news on it!

Today was the first week of my annual Volleyball league. I have been playing with my friend Terry for about 15 years now. We don't play as well as we used to but it is still fun. Just like last year, I take this day to go on my mid week longer run. No exception today. I ended up going 10 miles after the match. It felt really good as I ran 8:34 pace. It was a nice evening for a run. Good temps, partly cloudy, slight wind.

Summer has begun, how about a run!

What is Between an Easy Run and a Tempo Run?

My ankle still seems to be giving me some problems. It seems to be quite sore when I start and then after about 12 mile, it goes mostly (not completely) away. Then on and off during the day it is sore and not sore. I wish I knew what it was but I can still run so that is a positive.

Monday was 8 miles at 8:29 pace before Volleyball. I felt good and the pace was almost completely even the entire way. Then we ended up only winning 1 of 3 games at V-Ball. Should have won 2 but oh well, it was still fun.

Yesterday was a nice 5 miler with Mike. We ran not a Tempo but not an easy run either, well, at least for me, for Mike it was an easy run. First 3 miles we at an average of 8:13 then mile 4 was a 7:50. The last mile we picked it up and with a nice finish, we ended that mile at 6:54. That felt really good. As usual, we stopped a the the platform scale to weigh ourselves. I keep telling people I want to lose about 15 pounds to get that marathon time down and I always get the same look and responses. The ole why do you need to lose weight or where do you plan on losing it from. I am 6' 2" tall so I guess I can weigh more because I am tall, but I still want to be lighter. Right now I am going at 182. My goal would be to get to 170. I am the same height as I was in college when I was weighing 160 and running great. Just want to get those last few off now.

I do use the weight thing as an excuse (jokingly) as to why I run slower that some of the guys I run with. I say stuff like my weight/pace per mile is as fast as them. Hey, it sounds good!

Today is a planned 5 miler while the oldest is at Gymnastics. I hope the ankle is not an issue but I will see.

Volleyball has Started

Yesterday was my first Volleyball match of the year. The first match was 2 weeks ago but I completely forgot about it and missed it. Last week was rained out as the courts were soggy piles of sand. But I made it yesterday and we played against some young kids (18 to 22ish) that have talent but don’t play well as a team. We won 2 out of 3.

After V-Ball, I went on my run like I have after or before V-Ball for years now. I went to a 7 mile run and kept a good 8:27 pace. It is a nice place to run as about 1 mile away is a river with a river walk that goes for about 1.5 miles. So I run to there and past there and then back. A nice sized steep hill with 1 mile to go tests the run as well. I felt good even though V-Ball showed me that I am old to move like that diving in the sand all over. We still have fun.

Tonight is the first big final event planning meeting for the Kid’s Marathon. We will be finalizing the color of the shirt, what will be on it, and where the sponsors will be located. We will go over the budget and start planning everything we need for the final day. We will also start a list as to where we need volunteers and how many. I still have a few late registrations coming in so hopefully that finishes or they just won’t get a shirt. Latest count on entrants is just under 150 kids! I can’t wait for the final day as it is going to be very exciting for the kids and for all of us volunteering to see them finish! The date of the final mile is September 12 in the morning so I am praying for good weather. I am not exactly sure what we will do if the weather turns ugly. I suppose we will discuss that tonight. I also have a website started for information about the event. I will share that link with you soon and you can comment to me about what is good and not so good.