10:39 am - New Year's Resolutions

• Finish the Marine Corps Marathon.
  
• Use fun words like tomfoolery more.
  
• Learn to play Claire De Lune or however it's spelled.
  
• Finish more music, because starting something sometimes isn't enough. Here are some things I will finish:
  
  
  
  • Bells Something
    
  • What About Tito?
    
  • Walking The Turtle
    
  • Thrash
    
  • Rock In A
    
  
  
• Embrace my evil side a little more.
  
• Join a racketball league.
  
• Join a pool league.
  
• Participate in a sport that could kill me (scuba or skydiving comes to mind).
  
• Drink less caffeine.
  

09:41 pm - It's on!!!

I started marathon training today. I bought some new running shoes. Yeah, I'm feeling good about this training. I feel that in a month or two I'll be able to start running some. This is good, this is good.

JK. I did do 2 miles of running today. It felt good. It's been a few months since I ran so I was worried about it not working right. It's all good.

2 miles at 4 mph on a treadmill

06:44 pm - Run

2.5 miles at 4.1 mph on treadmill

Note: don't eat peanuts before running

06:08 pm - Running

4.95 miles at between 3.5 and 5.5 mph (total time a little less than an hour) on treadmill. This was after racket ball and before lifting.

Last week was kinda a shake out week, where I wasn't really following the training schedule. I'm going to plan to scale back the miles a tiny bit in the next couple of weeks. It would be bad for me to overdue stuff and get a pesky injury like re-rolling my ankle.

08:42 pm - Running

3 miles in about 45 minutes on outer fence trail.

05:24 pm - Shoes

The other day I got my new running shoes. I got a pair of Mizuno Nirvanas. I bought them because they looked cool in the catalog. I bought them from Roadrunner Sports. When they shipped the shoes out they included a gym bag for free. Its a great size and I really like it.

I tried the shoes out for a run yesterday. It felt like there was a gentle breeze flowing over my feet as I ran. I really liked it. These will be the shoes I will wear as I cross the marathon finish line.

11:47 pm - Run

1.5 miles in around 30 minutes on trail

01:40 pm - Run

2 miles at 18.07 minutes on streets at parent's house

03:09 pm - Run

3 miles in 28:31 on BWI observation loop trail

06:07 pm - Run

3 miles in 33:58 on outer trail

02:36 pm - Run

About 4 miles in 43:57 on BWI trail

I think it was more than 4 miles. I went on a different trail and the mile markers changed. I decided to run by the clock for mile 2. I made that a 11:30 minute mile, which is longer than the other miles I've done. After the 11:30 I called it a mile and turned around.

I've got a new game for training: Guess which body part will hurt the most tomorrow? Last time it was my left upper thigh. I think it will be my right knee tomorrow. We'll see!

It isn't really a bad pain. It's more along the line of my body saying, "Hey Chris, let's talk. I see you're running again. That's good, that's good. Us body parts are always in favor of you doing some exercise. But we couldn't help but notice that you're running farther and more often than before. We also noticed it's Jan. What's up with that? We just want to remind you that you're 30. And about 20 odd pounds overweight. Again, we're in favor of the exercise. We're even kinda in favor of the marathon. We just want you to know that we'll be watching this training closely. We'll let you know if you do something that might annoy us."

06:34 pm - Run

3 miles at 33:48 on outer Goddard trail

Last time I ran nothing really hurt the next day. I'm gonna go with nothing hurting tomorrow.

12:30 pm - Always skip level 5

6 miles in 1:05:19 on BWI trail going away from the woods.

Running in the chilly rain isn't as bad as I thought it would be. I guess it isn't really all too cold yet. When I went out I couldn't decide if I wanted to do 5 or six miles today. When I got to the turn around point I decided I'd go the extra mile. I'm glad I did.

As for my game, I don't think anything is going to hurt tomorrow.

05:23 pm - Run

3 miles in about 30 minutes on Goddard trail

12:21 am - Run

I did 3 miles yesterday. About 30 minutes. Outer loop.

04:29 pm - Run

3 miles in around 30 minutes. Outer loop.

11:47 pm - oh yeah

Yesterday I did 3 miles on outer loop.

Running in the snow is pretty tiring. But lots of fun.

02:15 pm - Week run update

Thursday was 3 miles on outer loop.
Today was 6 miles at the airport. 1 hour, 18 secs.

I was really happy with today's run. I want to be around 10 minute miles with these short runs*. I would like to finish the marathon somewhere around 5 hours. I'd like to be under 5 hours, but I also don't want to push myself too hard and get hurt. I think a 5 hour marathon is between 11 and 12 minute miles.

*I consider everything less than 10 miles a short run now. I know, it's kinda silly, but I have to be in that mentality to seriously believe I can do 26+ miles.

01:52 pm - Brrrrrrr

I slacked off last week and didn't do any of the little runs that I should have.

Today I did around 6 miles at the airport. I ran through the trail that goes into the woods, and the miles aren't marked all the way. I just ran out for 30 minutes, then turned around and ran back. I'm calling that 6 miles. It took 1 hour 7 mins and 30 secs. It was real windy, which is why I went through the woods. It was also real cold, but on the advice of a good friend I bundled up and stayed warm.

05:28 pm - Slacking

I haven't completely quit running. I just haven't posted in a while. Here's what I've done since last update.

2/28 - three miles (about 30 minutes)
3/6 - three miles (about 30 minutes)
3/12 - 6 miles (1 hour, 7 minutes, 29 seconds)
3/14 - 3 miles (between 30 and 40 minutes)

In my running I've developed pain. This is something I do not like. My right shin bothers me. My left hip seems to be wanting to bother me. The other day my left ankle reminded me that it got rolled a couple of years ago. I'm thinking part of the pain might be coming from playing racket ball. There is a lot of sudden starts and stops, plus I started hurting when I started playing again. I think I'm gonna take a break from racket ball for a week or two and see how I feel. Hopefully the pains aren't from running.

09:46 pm

Here's what I've done since last run update.

3/20 - 1.5 miles in 18 mins
3/23 - 3 miles in 30 mins
3/29 - 3 miles in 33 mins 28 secs
4/3 - 3 miles in 30 mins
4/6 - 2 miles in 19 mins 56 secs
4/7 - 3 miles in 30 mins
4/9 - 2 miles in 18 mins 49 secs

Next week is the Goddard Fun Run. This is a two mile race that I'm gonna take part in. The week after that is a 10k (6.2 miles) race that I'm gonna do. I'm not trying to win the races, I'm just trying to have fun and participate. I'd like to keep at least a 10 min/mile pace, but it isn't very important to me.

This past week was also the first week for marathon training. I feel comfortable with this.

05:30 pm - Back to training

Last week's runs:

4/10 - 2 miles in 18:05
4/12 - 2 miles in 18:01
4/16 - about 5 miles in about 50 minutes

The 4/12 was the Goddard Fun run. That's basically a two mile race around the Goddard Space Flight Center. It was a nice way to spend lunch. About 25-30 of my coworkers participated in the Fun Run. I think 6 of us are training for the Marine Corps Marathon, so this was a good way to get out and do some running.

My goal for the Fun Run was to beat my time from last year. That was 19 minutes and a few seconds. This year I did it in a second over 18 minutes. I was pleased.

I'm not gonna go into how I got shafted by one of my coworkers and got placed behind her in the official results. Darg.

05:05 pm - 10k

Today was the 10k race for NASA. At least I guess all the centers do it on the same day? Maybe today was just the Goddard race. Whichever way, I ran (and walked a little). This was my first 10k race. That's 6.2 miles for you Americans. My time was between 61 and 62 minutes. That means I was clocking in at a 10 minute/mile pace. This is what I want to do for the marathon.

I was happy with today's performance. I had a good time running with one of my coworkers.

I'm just a tad tired right now, but tonight is pool night. No rest for the wicked.

For those of you who are curious, I got beat (legit) by that girl today. I don't wanna talk about it.

05:35 pm - Run away

Here's what I did last week:

4/18 - 1.3 miles in 12 minutes
4/19 - 6.2 miles in 61 minutes 17 seconds
4/21 - 3 miles in 30 minutes 4 seconds

The 19th was the 10k race. I think I pushed too hard on the 21st, because I was hurting on that run. I also think pushing myself that close to a race wasn't the best thing to do.

08:53 am - Darg

I was gonna run 6 miles today. I woke up with a sore back and dehydrated. As I was getting ready I had bloody nose. Still wanted 6 miles.

I got out to the trail. My muscles were tight and wouldn't loosen up. Maybe if I run on them they'll loosen up. A half mile later I realize they weren't gonna loosen up right now. I walked back to the car. One mile in about 35 minutes. Ug.

My forearms are tight writing this entry. I'm gonna take a nice HOT shower and hope that loosens things up.

09:33 am - Runs

Here's what I did since the last time.

4/24 - 3 miles in 36 mins 57 secs
4/26 - 3 miles in 35 mins 44 secs
4/28 - 6 miles in 72 mins 19 secs

I was really happy with the 6 mile run. The pace is a little slower than I really want, but we were able to run the full six miles without taking a walk break. I also didn't hurt any after the run, which I was a little worried about.

This puts my total miles for April at 41.5 miles. Not bad, if I do say so myself.

09:21 pm - All that and then some

Here's this week's runs:

5/1 - 3.85 in 42:52
5/3 - 3.85 in 44:12
5/5 - 3.85 in 41:36
5/7 - 8 in 1:29:30

This week was supposed to be seven miles. There was a slight miscalculation on how many loops we needed to do around the pond. Oops. Even so, I was really happy with the eight mile run. It was a good time. :)

08:37 pm - flee

The runs are almost far enough to be considered long runs. Maybe next week...

5/9 - 4 miles in 46:27
5/12 - 4 miles in 46:00
5/14 - 9 miles in 1:37:54

I'm happy with the progress so far. Being able to run nine miles is pretty freaking cool.

03:02 pm - Double digits - ug

Today was 10 miles. It was the hardest run I've ever done. I don't know if it was eating too much, overheating, dehydration, or what. I just know it hurt. But we made it, so the pain is ok.

5/16 - 4 miles in 44:18
5/18 - 4 miles in 42:23
5/21 - 10 miles in 1:55:50

05:09 pm - Running

The long runs are starting to get long. We're learning a lot. For instance, I learned the my super hero suit is great for running.

We also did a loop around the BWI airport last weekend. The trail was hard because it was in the sun, but it's pretty cool that we ran around an airport.

5/23 - 3 miles in 40:34 (started out way to fast and my muscles locked up on me)
5/25 - 4 miles in 42:15
5/28 - 11ish miles in 2:05:37

10:25 pm - That's it?

Today our long run was only 6 miles. With both felt that it was really short. I think that's a great sign.

5/30 - 4 miles in 45:18 at Goddard
6/1 - 4 miles at my neighborhood (forgot watch)
6/3 - 6 miles in 1:04:53 on WB&A trail

07:36 pm - I got beat by a girl

So last weekend I went to Vegas. That meant that I couldn't run with my girlfriend for marathon training. It sucked, but we got by. I decided to run Thursday after work, she ran Sun morning. We did 12 miles on the same course. I came in at 2 hours and 44 minutes. She clocked in exactly a half hour quicker than me. I will say that I was trying some sports gels for the first time and it kinda ran havoc with my stomach, so my time includes three bathroom breaks. But that is no excuse! I got beat hands down by a girl.

Really, I'm ok with that. I just wish it wasn't by so much time. It isn't because I want to be faster than her. I just don't want to hold her back while we're running. I'm glad that she is a good sport about it and doesn't make fun of me. She motivates me to run faster. So that's exactly what I'm doing. Today I ran four miles in a little under 38 minutes. That's fast enough to keep up with her.

Here's what I did last week:
6/6 - 4.25 miles at Severn Wildlife Refuge in 42 mins 45 secs
6/9 - 12 miles in 2 hours 44 mins and 11 secs at Goddard

06:07 pm - Must run more.....

I just realized that I haven't posted a running post this month. Fear not! I'm still running. Loosing motivation, can't see the light at the end of October, but still running.

I was having a conversation with my awesome girlfriend about running after the marathon. We both said it would be nice to run a little, but not too much. Maybe 8 or 10 miles every other week or so. A little bit latter I thought about how 8 or 10 miles now seems pretty much like a no-effort for us. That's just freakin' cool.

Let me also go on the record as saying that running in the heat sucks.

7/2 - 7 miles in 1:16:57 on BWI Trail
7/4 - 4 miles in 46:54 in my neighborhood
7/8 - 16 miles in 3:19:20 at Goddard
7/10 - 3.14 miles in 32:04 at Goddard
7/13 - 3.14 miles in 41:25 at Goddard
7/15 - 8 miles in 1:36:51 on BWI Trail
7/18 - 3.14 miles in 40:48 at Goddard

09:27 pm - it's getting long...

Been a while since updating. Here's what I got.

6/12 - 4 miles at Goddard in 37:54
6/14 - 4 miles at Goddard in 38:24
6/16 - 4 miles at Goddard in 40:51
6/18 - 6 miles at Sligo Creek Trail in about 66 minutes
6/20 - 4 miles at Goddard in 45:37
6/22 - 4 miles at Goddard in 39:54
6/24 - 14 miles at Rook Creek Park in 2:48:31 (over half a marathon)
6/27 - attempted 4 miles, DNF
6/29 - 3 miles at Goddard in 33:50 (was going for 4)

12:56 pm - I almost died on 20 miles

Last weekend we did 20 miles. OMG, that was hard. I've been so tired this week that I couldn't even update my journal. So here's what I've got:

7/20 - 3.14 miles at Goddard in 28:39
7/23 - 18 miles on Mount Vernon Trail in 3:43:14 (my birthday)
7/30 - 9 miles at Waldorf in 2:23:25
8/6 - 20 miles on Mount Vernon Trail in 4:36:55 (I think I might have died, not sure)
8/10 - 1.5 miles at Goddard in about 16 minutes
8/12 - 9.5 miles at Goddard in 1:58:28

09:09 am - need sleep

I'm looking forward to the marathon being finished. I'm having a good time running, getting good exercise and all that jazz. But I'm tired. Always tired. I didn't really slow down my social life to take into account all the running I'm doing and that's taking a toll on my energy.

Last weekend a good friend got married. Everyone was in town, so naturally I was up late Sat night having a great time. Sun morning olga_ukraine and I got up after about 4 hours sleep and ran 20 miles. That was really difficult.

This weekend some good friends came over to play poker and Apples to Apples. It was a great time. olga_ukraine, Chris, neebs and a few other non-journal people were there. A little after midnight Jose Cuervo showed up and started to party with us. Good times. But then the next day I had to get up and run 10 miles with olga_ukraine. It was a good run, but afterwards I crashed hard.

So I'm just saying that I'll be really happy when the marathon is over and I can run when I want to, not just for training. I'd also like to get back into weights, which is something I quit when the running miles started getting double digits. My body just couldn't recover fast enough with both exercises.

10:35 am - motivation low...

Things are not looking good for our hero right now. At least in the running department. All other departments are looking great. But running is getting bad.

I'm loosing motivation fast. I'm ready for the marathon to be done and over. I'm not looking forward to the long runs anymore. Ug.

Enough bitching. I've only got two months to go. And I've really only got three long runs then the marathon. This is within my reach.

I think (hope) my biggest problem is the heat. A few weeks ago I hurt my left knee. I think I overextended it. Friday and today I went running and it felt fine. I didn't even feel the idea of it hurting. Friday's run was good. I wanted to do four miles and that's what I did. Today's run wasn't so good. I wanted to do ten and fell short at six. Today's problem was the heat. I was roasting by mile four. After six I rested a bit then got in my car to drive home. I was swerving like a drunk man all the way home. It's been about forty minutes and a shower since I got home and I'm still sweating like a champ. I need to take another shower already. So I'm glad I didn't do the other four miles (kinda).

I am a little worried that I'm loosing some endurance. It's been two weeks since my last real long run. But I'm hopeful that as the weather cools off I'll be able to run easier.

8/15 - 3.14 miles at Goddard in 36:27
8/18 - 4 miles at parent's house in 43:01
8/20 - 6 miles on BWI trail in 1:14:??

09:27 pm - I want to be interviewed

I'm watching a tape of the 1987 Marine Corps Marathon. It's pretty freakin' cool. A guy with a HUGE mustache just won the wheelchair race. They're giving him an interview right now. When I finish the marathon I want someone to interview me (that's your hint drmellow). Listening to this guy is pretty cool. You can tell that his mind is here and there. I guess 26.2 miles can do that to ya.

06:16 pm - That's a lot of running...

This weekend olga_ukraine and I ran 26 miles. Yep, we're crazy. Maybe a little silly. Definitely not that bright. But we are dedicated. That's gotta count for something.

What did we do after running 26 miles. We didn't take a nap. Nope, we're hard core. We went to the Renaissance Festival and walked around for a few (more) hours.

10:09 pm - Foot ain't broken

Today I went to the doctor's office to have some blood work done. I still have blood and it's red, so everything on that front is good. While I was there I told the doc that my foot hurt. She asked why, so I told her it probably had something to do with me running 80+ miles last month. She agreed that there might be something to my theory so she looked at my foot. She poked and pinched and asked if I would be annoyed if she told me I shouldn't run anymore.

Ummm....yeah!
Duh...

She said she didn't know and that I needed to get an X-ray (after she asked what my insurance provider was). So I went down the road and got my foot zapped. Then I took the pictures back to my original doctor for her to look at. Yeah, this was during work time (I ended up staying pretty late tonight).

My original doc handed me over to the foot doctor in her office. Another 20 buck co-pay later and she said that the X-rays looked good and that it wasn't broken. She poked and pinched a little and decided that I walk funny and that it was probably just a sore ligament or something like that.

She said I was good to run the marathon and if I was having any more problems go see her and she would see what she could do to help me through the race. I felt like such a sport's star when she said, "I can give you a shot the Wednesday before the race to get you through it".

Funny thing though, I think part of me was a little disappointed. How hard core would it have been for me to say I ran a marathon with a fractured foot (probably against doctor's orders). But I like the way this worked out, so it's all good.

09:10 pm - That's one can of whoop-ass for here

Last night I ended up playing nine ball for the team. I played a 3, so it was a race to see who could get 25 points first.

I ended up feeling bad for the guy. He would put the balls right next to the pocket, then curse himself when I stepped up and sank them. Of course I didn't feel bad enough to go easy with him. That would just be silly.

I ended up winning 25-6. I was happy with that score.

I also ran a 10k race with the people from work yesterday at lunch time. olga_ukraine and I ended up running together. We did pretty good (for us at least). I ended up finishing in front of all my coworkers, which I was really happy about. Someone tried to sprint ahead and beat me right at the finish line, but I was having no part of that. Especially when I saw the huge smile on her face as she started to speed up. I think I ended up finishing about a second before her, which was good enough for me.

Nine Ball
344 - 330 (points)
8 - 6 (games)

Eight Ball
42 - 52 (games)
10 -13 (matches)

Some day I'll write a separate post with my running stuff...

11:31 am - that's impressive

In 24 hours I'll be running the marathon. I'm kinda excited.

Last week olga_ukraine and I went to DuPont Circle and saw the spectacular that was the High Heel Race. This is the annual two block race for the area's drag queens. It was interesting, to say the least.

The night started with us going downtown and grabbing dinner. The restaurants on the race streets were packed, so I talked olga_ukraine into going to Hank's Oyster Bar and Restaurant (a little off the race course). Dinner was great. I recommend the place if you're in the area.

Before the race was a flaming parade. There was no fire involved. The queens walked up and down the street letting all us straight people gawk and the queers. The outfits were, um, interesting. Princess Die was there. So were a couple of Condeleza Rices with security. The Fanta 'girls' and some candy 'girls' were also in attendance. The best performers were a group of cheerleaders that walked up and down the street dancing to songs like ,"Ain't no other man" by that Agulera girl. It was interesting.

The race finally started about an hour after schedule. Those girls really trucked. In high heels. I was impressed.

04:12 pm - movie soundtrack

I'm making a movie of the marathon. I need a song for the main menu. Right now I've got Born To Run by Bruce the Boss. I like the tempo and the running theme. The lyrics don't really fit all that well. Does anyone have any suggestions for good songs that would fit a running theme?

06:23 pm - marathon pics

I've posted some pics from the marathon on my web site. Some of the pics were taken by spectators and some were from one of the runners from work. The runner that took the pics was the one that finished with the fastest time for our group.

I'm still waiting for some pics from the professional company that was out there. When I get them I'll throw them up too.

http://pics.chriscohoon.com/main.php

10:16 pm - even more marathon pics

I got my CD of marathon pics from the professional company that was out there taking pics. This should be the last of the pics that I get.

http://pics.chriscohoon.com//main.php?g2_itemId=108&g2_page=9