Disney World here I come!

Best Father's Day ever! Thanks so much to my Mookie and my girls for getting me registered for the Disney World Marathon! I'm so excited! I don't deserve such a wonderful family, but hey, I'm glad they keep me around! Perfect end to the first week of my 30 week training, too!

Check it out:

Your registration is complete!
You will receive an email in the next few minutes confirming your registration.Purchased at: June 21, 2009 12:19 PMEvent Confirmation #: 29698640-062109122115
Want some company? Invite a friend to participate!Event Name: 2010 Walt Disney World® MarathonDate & Time: January 10, 2010 05:50 AMLocation: Walt Disney World® Resort (map)

First week of training is in the bag. Mostly hills, 28 miles total, all in good time, and a 5k PR for a tempo run....good omen!

I'll try to update the training each week.....

Red Cross 5k in Tampa

Raymond James Stadium (across from the race)

Me with my third place Ribbon and my girls....

The race was across from Raymond James Stadium and the Yankees spring training field....

Al Lopez Park in Tampa....not a bad place for a 5k....

So...today I ran the Red Cross 5k in Tampa...barely. I say barely because I had planned on getting up early and heading to Tampa to get some good quality warmups in......well, I managed to turn off the alarm and woke up in a panic at 5:55. The race started at 7 and it's almost an hour away. At first I figured I just screwed up and would have to miss it, but hey, I like a challenge....I grabbed my shoes and a shirt, poured a cup of coffee and sped East down I-4. I made it to Al Lopez Park (the race site) in about 40 minutes. I ran to the check in tent, pinned on my number, went to the bathroom, ran to the start line and I was good to go.....

I used my start fast strategy and it paid off as I am now the proud new owner of a 5k PR. 24:46 to be exact. And, as a bonus, I placed third in my age group! Pretty good running day.

Started the 30 week marathon plan last Monday so I only have to do 6 miles tomorrow!

Hills.....love 'em

Well, I've been running in Florida for awhile now and it's flat....it is almost impossible to find any hill to run on at all and most of my routes are very very flat....well, lately with all the traveling I've been doing, I've been trying to run more hills and I love it! I mean it is so much fun, the steeper the better.....got done running on a trail that went up and down Turkey Mountain in Tulsa and had a blast.....tomorrow I'm going to run down 71st street awhile which is a pretty rolling stretch of road.....good thing I like it because today started my 30 week (yes, 30 week) training for the Disney Marathon in January.....I'm going to be busting my butt for weeks....the first 14 weeks is the Hal Higdon personal best plan and then the last 16 weeks are going to be the Bart Yasso PR plan....both of which start with lots of hill running, so that's perfect!

Anyway, that's all for now.......got lots of work ahead, but I think I'm ready....I have the Red Cross 5k on Saturday in Tampa and I'll try to post after that.....

Training and Blog update

So, I've decided that there is just too many ways to stay connected using the internet....so, I am prioritizing, creating a hiearchy if you will......the blog will be for major training updates, race posts, goals etc.....

Twitter will be for just everyday blah blah blah, what am I doing right now, a way to communicate easily with Mookie, and generally just to pass the time.....

Facebook will be for casual, family, and day to day stuff.....

It'll all work out for the best.

So, training: I've been training very hard for the last 5 weeks......sometimes 4 or 5 workouts a day. I have been adding in hills, sprints, and plyos to my normal workouts. I've also been focusing on fat burning (after a disastrous attempt to reduce too many calories, thanks Mookie!)....right now I'm working towards a PR at the Red Cross 5k in Tampa on the 20th.......lots of speedwork and hard runs! After that I'm going to be doing premarathon training and triathlon training at the same time......hope that goes well........

Well, that's all for now....

Mayfaire Classic 5k in Lakeland

Running around lake Mirror at the start Me and Mookie self portrait
Big Ol party


Mookie and the girls getting their food on



Trying to kick






Ahhhhh....fireworks!

mmmmm...bratwurst!

I can beat that guy (and did)

So, yesterday was the big Mayfaire 5k (and art celebration) in Lakeland.....Mookie and the girls were there with me and so supportive as usual! We had so much fun! I gotta tell you, the fireworks after the race were incredible! One of the best fireworks shows I've ever seen...very impressive, and it wasn't at all crowded where we were either, had great seats right in front....they were very loud, but so cool....they had these little whistling whizzy things that were pretty cool....pics don't really do them justice, but trust me they were the shizzle!

So, bout the race.....first off, it was hot...really hot...race time was at 7pm, which has its advantages because you don't have to wake up so dang early! Also, I'm much more with it in the evening, which is my preferred running time anyway, (just can't do the morning thing!) Also, it's nice to get the race packet picked up, get your bib on, chip done, all that stuff.....we also got to do other stuff before the race....we went to IKEA and International Plaza in Tampa....but back to the race....

So, I wanted to PR, which would have been 24:57, but I set a second goal of beating last year's time (this was my first race to do twice, how cool is that...?)....last years time was 27:11 and this year was 26:50.....I swear I could have PR'd if it hadn't been 92 degrees, windy, and a tough hilly course.....but no sour grapes! My goal for next year is to place in the top 3 in my age group....which is going to mean a 20 minute 5k....well, that's going to be tough, but I can do it!

The race had over 1200 people this year which meant for some pretty crowded spots....I just love running races though, so fun to people watch. You got the dudes trying to keep from losing a lung, the walk-runners, the groups of friends, its all good.....I especially like how in the first part of a race everyone is all talking and happy and running like they could run forever......then at the end, you are in a group of people who aren't talking, just trying to hold on....it's fun to watch people drop back at the end, usually happens in some way or the other....I also love the 200 meter kick that I seem to be able to produce somehow, feels like I'm really flying even though I'm dying!

I'm guessing since it was so hot, I managed to run a positive split, which is bad by the way....I rarely do that in short distances, but I did 8:34, 8:41, 9:07, then 27 seconds for the .11......It was uphill, then down and flat, then uphill, then down and flat then up and up again, and the back part was against the wind.....how fun........I should have done 8:34, then 8, then sub 8.....but it gives me a good measuring stick....gives me a starting place.....

After the race I had a nice warm gatorade I had to wrestle from the volunteer's hand....she didn't want to give me a warm gatorade, just cold water. She actually shoved me to get me out of the finish area because she thought I wasn't moving fast enough, but actually, there were people in front of me who weren't moving......crazy lady, just trying to do here job, I guess.....she's lucky I didn't puke that warm gatorade on her shoes......Why wasn't the gatorade cold? Oh well, I sucked it down!

It is a pretty course that runs through downtown and around lakes Morton and Mirror, and it's definitely one big party and had some good food! I can't wait to do it again next year!

Mookie's blog has all the lowdown our day better than I can do, so go check it out!

Exhausting week in Arkansas, trying to recover by having fun!

My trip to Arkansas last week wore me out....I'm doing my best to recover before I go back for the next 3 weeks.....

Well, yesterday was just a very long day......But today I took the girls to lake Bonny for a little KFC picnic.....it was lots of fun and I was so happy to be spending time with them.....seems like they are growing up too fast. I don't want them to grow up :(

Anyway, last week running sucked.....fell off the wagon, ate bad, didn't run as much as I should....

This week coming up I plan on climbing back on the wagon and I'm going to ride it until the wheels fall off!

Anyway, had lots of stuff in my head of course, but not much ended up in the blog.....I'll let you know how next week goes.....

Talk to you soon I hope!