The first hour...

Hi all! My apologies for the big gaps in entries, just a whole lot of school work to get through. I gave three presentations this week as end of term projects. All were worth the hours of effort as I did incredibly well on all. As for the marathon training, my weekly runs were MIA this last week leading up to our team 7 mile run around the campus neighborhoods. Lots of little hills on this run, good to finally practice them. 7.15 miles took me 1:00:56 to complete, and for the first time I didn't have to run extra as I stuck to the mapped out run instead of "getting lost" on the route. It's tough to run such elaborate routes after never running them before, but I will soon know every square inch of Eugene on foot. This 7 miler was the first time I have ever run for an hour straight. Not so bad if I do say so myself. We also had Oregon State's nutritionist give a presentation on pre-, during, and post-race nutrition. There was some very good info there for race planning. There is definitely a strategy that needs to be in place so you can do your best both during and after the race. My goal is to totally optimize my recovery after the marathon...minimal soreness. We'll see how that goes! Thanks so much to all of you out there supporting both Erica and I during this endeavor. You are providing true help to those in need, so Thank You!

Weekly PR's...

Hi everyone! This Saturday was my longest run ever, as we did a group 5 miles with the Team-in-Training. I ended up taking a small detour that probably added about 1/4 mile to the run, but you know me, I can get lost anywhere. I ended up finishing the run in 41:56 (~8:23 splits). It was tough during the first half of the run, but got easier near the end. I even had enough at the end to practice a kick sprint to finish my run. It's pretty exciting to do this type of training when my entire athletic career has consisted of sprints or running at a goal with intent to score. Reminding myself to relax and enjoy the run takes some getting used to. I'm getting better at slowing myself down though, especially when I start to feel a little extra fatigue from running too fast. I just slow down my pace for about 2-3 minutes and that usually does the trick. Each time that I post here, it is pretty likely that I have just recently completed a new PR for distance, as my previous "long run" had been a couple of 5K's done for fun. So, stay tuned for more PR's...

If the shoe fits...

Well, it's official, I've now got running shoes that will be a major pertner in my upcoming marathon training. I went to the Eugene Running Company here in Eugene, OR and they were nice enought to do a gait analysis in order to find just the right shoe to train in. As it turns out, I was set up with the very shoes that I thought would be a good pair anyway. My first run is going to be tomorrow, where I simply run at any desired pace for 30-40 minutes. You know, just to begin building my body's capacity to run for an extended period. I am very excited to train with Saturday group, though it seems I may be the only male out there for awhile! I'll check back in later and keep a training log on this site to update my progress...

_BM

Portland Marathon 2007

Oh boy, I've done it now. I recently signed on with Team-In-Training to run the 2007 Portland Marathon in an effort to raise funds for lymphoma research. This is very exciting for me as the longest distance I've run thus far is a few 5K's enteered and run for fun with friends. I'm confident in my ability to train smart and consistently with the help of my TNT coaches. I'll be ready by October 7, but stay tuned! I will be updating this space with my running progress, as well as any other topics I find interesting during long run ponderings. Wish me luck as I will have a gait analysis done and a shoe consultation done to find just the right pair for a 230lb. marathoner! Remember, life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage, so get out there and expand your life!

- BM