May 14-May 20

This has been a much better week for me compared to last week. I am finally in a bit of a routine for the most part. I have been taking a SPIN class every Friday for the past 3 weeks, so that has been a GREAT change for me. Not to mention, that the SPIN class gives me a well needed break on the pounding of my body.

I miissed a couple of runs this week and got out of sorts on a couple of days, but nevertheless, a very good week!

Here are this weeks results:

Monday: Unable to Run
Tuesday: 4.8 mi/38:10/L1-20:08/L2-18:01
Wednesday: 10.8 mi/1:26:55/L1-44:29/L2-41:55
Thursday: 6.1 mi/47:42
Friday: SPIN
Saturday: 9 mi/1:27:36/with Allen
Sunday: Unable to Run
Mileage: 30.7

Saturday was a good restful run with my friend Allen. It was nice just catching up with him seeing that we haven't run together in about 2 weeks. When we run together, the time just seems to fly by and we really just do a lot of catching up! Allen and I were just discussing on our run, how long we have been knowing one another. The cool thing is, we met through TEAM in TRAINING! I was actually his mentor and helped him complete his very first marathon (Big Sur). We did just about ALL of our training runs together and once the race was over, we decided to continue running with one another. And as you know how they say it, the rest is history. We have been running together ever since. It is just nice to have someone to talk with while running, especially for long periods of time as we do. Thanks Allen for being a good friend!

Well, as you can see, I have not been sticking exactly to my originally planned schedule. I got to thinking, why am I doing all of this running? I am not even training for anything. I guess, I just wanted to stay in tip-top shape and not lose the speed that I had gained. Well, I have now decided to run the original schedule when I can and if I am unable to, no biggie. I will just continue to run it as much as I can and this way in the fall when I start training for the New York Marathon (if I get in that is), I can pick up with my normal routine and it not be so hard to get into.

Oh well, until next week, I hope everyone has a WONDERFUL week of running and try to do something different this week with your running. Don't run the same ol route that you normally run or the same ol allotted time that you normally run, go out and take a SPIN class or just plain go for a run and not even time it or use your running watch. Just do it to enjoy it!

I am preaching to the choir, if you know what I mean!

KEEP RUNNING!!
LJ

May 7-May 13

Another week of good running! Of course, I missed a couple of runs again. That being said, it was not too bad!

Here are the results for this week:

Monday: Unable to Run
Tuesday: 11.3 mi/L1-44:53/L2-43:47
Wednesday: Unable to Run
Thursday: 11 mi/L1-45:22/L2-47:50
Friday: SPIN
Saturday: 7 mi/1:02:45
Sunday: Unable to Run
Mileage: 29.3

I really had a good week of running! To top it off, I was able to run with my brother(BJ) on Saturday for a good hour. It was so awesome to be able to run with him. My wife and I went to Alabama for Friday and Saturday. Normally, BJ and I always go and play some golf, but this weekend we decided to go for a run instead. It was so awesome. Although, we did not say much while running, seeing that we both had our iPods on, it was still a GREAT run! It was good just to be able to run with him. I must say, I was very impressed with the shape that he is in. I, for the most part, ran behind him and not ahead of him(way to go BJ). It was truly a TREAT for me.

All in all it was not a bad week, inspite of me missing my usual Monday and Wednesday run. As I get closer to the end of May, I am hoping to run a good bit more as I will not be able to run much the first 10 days or so of June. I am headed to Bosnia in June to teach conversational English with 7 other people. I am pretty excited and nervous at the same time, as this willl be my first trip out of the country. Wish me luck!

Till next week, KEEP RUNNING!
LJ

April 30-May 6

Well, this week has been a fair week for me as far as my running goes. I did not get in nearly as much running as I had hoped to get in. I guess it has been a rather busy week. My wife and I celebrated her birthday on Wednesday and I was unable to get a run in that day. I guess I could have, but I opted to play golf instead. Normally, I can do both, but time just did not allow it this time. That being said, I was unable to get a 1.5 hour run in at all this week, mostly because of laziness. Of course, on Tuesday, I was on my way, but I felt that it was a little too hot to risk it. The temperatures have definitely warmed up in the ATL this week.

Here are this weeks results:

Monday: Unable to Run
Tuesday: 7.8 mi/1:00:59/out-30:43/in-30:16
Wednesday: Unable to Run
Thursday: Unable to Run
Friday: SPIN
Saturday: 13.2 mi/1:47:49
Sunday: Unable to Run
Mileage= 21 mi

My Saturday was a really nice run. It was my first long run by myself in sometime. The weather was over cast and it was very cool. Nice running weather. I felt like I should have run longer, but I opted not to seeing that that is not the schedule.
I have started something new for Friday's. I took a SPIN class this past Friday and enjoyed it so much, I am going to make it a weekly thing.

On Sunday, I opted to play some golf instead of going for a run. As you can see, I did not get many miles in this week. I am hoping for a much better upcoming week! Hopefully, everyone has had a more productive running week. If not, be like me and make up for it this week!

KEEP RUNNING!
LJ

April 23-April 29

Once again, another GREAT week of running! I continue to be amazed with the shape that I am in after over 2 months since my last marathon(Gasparilla). This has been a good week being back on the road. The coolest thing was that I only missed one of my regular scheduled runs. My Tuesday run was cut a little short due to a surprise visit by my brother from Alabama. Great reason to cut back. I never miss an opportunity to see family!

Here are this week's results:

Monday: 8 mi/1:02:46/out-31:06/in-31:39
Tuesday: 6.4 mi/50:57/out-25:56/in-25:01
Wednesday: 8 mi/1:00:53/out-30:03/in-30:50
Thursday: Unable to Run
Friday: REST
Saturday: 11 mi/1:44:30 w/Allen
Sunday: 4.5 mi/35:30
Mileage=37.9 m

Yep, a GREAT week of running! I am a bit disappointed in the miles that I ran on Saturday seeing that I ran nearly the same time as I did last week. Most of that is due to my running with someone and running at their pace. For the next two weeks I will be running solo on the weekend, so I am sure that I will get more miles in for the amount of time I will be running. Running with someone has been very helpful for me, as it seems to slow me down so that I will not go out too fast. That being said, it also slows me down a little too much at times.

I will be using the same schedule as last week this week!

KEEP RUNNING!
LJ

April 16-April 22

Well, here we go, back to running by time. My first run of the week was the same route that I ran when I started the Arthur Lydiard Training program. Guess what? I ran a whole mile longer in the same 1 hour period. AWESOME! By the time I got to my usual turn-around-point, my watch said only 27:20, which meant that I needed to run another 2 minutes and 40 seconds.
The last time I ran this route, when I got to the turn-around-point, it was 3.5 miles, this time it was 4 miles. I guess I am not that surprised, especially after running a PR in Tampa and seeing how well I have been doing in ALL of my last 4 or 5 runs.

Here are this weeks results:

Monday: 8 mi/1:01:42/out-30:40/in-31:02
Tuesday: 10.5 mi/1:28:27/out-44:10/in-44:17
Wednesday: Unable to Run
Thursday: 10.5 mi/1:32:36/out-45:22/in-47:13-in
Friday: REST
Saturday: 12 mi/1:51:34 w/Allen
Sunday: Unable to Run
Mileage=41 mi

I must say, it felt pretty darn good to be running long miles again. I enjoyed each of my runs this week. That being said, I did feel some soreness this week before each of my runs and I also felt a little tired. Once I started running though, I was good to go!

As you can see, I missed my Wednesday run and also my 30 minute Sunday run due to conflicts, but hopefully next week, I can get all of my runs in. On Sunday I skipped my run to go play a little golf, so I still got some good exercise in and I gave my legs a little rest. Saturday's run was with my friend Allen, so I am not real sure how far we ran because we just went out and ran. I am basing the time on previous runs with Allen. All in all, not a bad week at all. I will use the same schedule this week, hope everyone has had a WONDERFUL week and enjoying this BEAUTIFUL weather! Have a GREAT week!

Keep Running,
LJ

April 9-April 15

Finally, I am back into my normal running routine. I would not say that it is actually the usual, but I am getting close. I was able to run 4 times this week which is GREAT compared to my last 2 weeks. It is a bit frustrating for me as the weather continues to change for the better (warm temp.), then out of nowhere COLD again. That is a bit unnerving to me because I am ready for the warm weather. That being said, I know that it is much easier for me to go out and run in the warmer temperatures than the colder ones. All in all it has been a great week of running. One thing I definitely noticed this week is that I have developed some pretty good speed. As you will see from my posted times, the 4.5 milers that I ran got faster and faster through out the week and my 10 miler wasn't bad either.

Here are the results from this week:

Monday: 4.5 mi/35:04
Tuesday: 4.5 mi/34:16
Wednesday: Unable to Run
Thursday: 4.5 mi/33:18
Friday: REST
Saturday: 10 mi/1:18:24/out-39:21/back-39:03
Sunday: Unable to Run
Mileage: 23.5

Sunday, the weather was horrible in the ATL, very windy, COLD, rainy! No running for me, otherwise I would have been able to get in nearly 30 miles. Definitely, a much better week!

This week, I am planning to get back to the Arthur Lydiard way of training. I will be running by time again.

Here is the schedule for this week:
Monday: 1 hour run
Tuesday: 1.5 hour run
Wednesday: 1 hour run
Thursday: 1.5 hour run
Friday: REST
Saturday: 2 hour run
Sunday: 30 minute run


KEEP RUNNING!
LJ

April 2-April 8

Whew! What a Spring Break! It seems like I just went on Spring break yesterday. I can not believe that it is already over.

I have absolutely nothing to report this week as far as my running goes. Why? Because I did absolutely 0 running this week.

Honestly, I spent this week installing a new Pergo laminate floor in the living room of our home. This is part of the reason my spring break has flown by. I was so busy that I really just did not have the time to run. One day, Wednesday, I actually had planned to run, but I just could not muster the strength to do it.

On Friday evening, my wife and I took a road trip to Montgomery, AL. We spent the weekend with my brother and his wife and 5 lovely children. What a GREAT time!

Once again, I had the opportunity to actually get up and run with my brother(BJ), but I just could not muster up the strength to do it(part of that was because I played golf the previous day and I was playing again that same day).

Oh well, hopefully, no, not hopefully, I will definitely return to the gym as well as the pavement on Monday! Look for more next week.

KEEP RUNNING, unlike me this week!
LJ