Recovery

Still pushing through this knee issue. Getting my speed back up for my shorter runs. No longer than six miles so far and averaging just over an 8 minute pace. Slowly coming back to form. That's a good thing. Got the bike fixed too so, going to start throwing some cross training in there as well. Weather is starting to cool down a little. Gotta love that. Now if we can just eliminate the mosquitoes.

Where have you ran?

I was thinking, there's a lot of talk about running the 50 marathons in all 50 states. I admire anyone who can do that. Me, i'm not so sure I'll ever reach that total. So, I am going to start keeping track of every state and country I have run in. So, let's see, so far I have run in two countries outside of the USA (Turkey and Panama), and 14 states (Ohio, California, Texas, NJ, Georgia, Mississippi, Tenn, Arkansas, Louisiana, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Oklahoma, and now I can add Maryland). Not all have been races but, I have enojoyed my runs in all these area. Taking in the local sights as I run. Where all have you run?

Rebuilding

Hit a couple three milers this week. Running outside, hot and humid. Got it in 23:47 today. Not to bad.

Switching Gears

Ok, deciding to get back into the game a little more slowly. Going to switch training and work towards the half marathon instead of the full. Still getting over the El Scorcho ordeal. I figure a slow road to recovery is better than going all out and trying to pick up to far ahead of where I am actually at.

Training

Ok, getting back into the swing of things. I've run a couple six milers and five milers since the El Scorcho Tres. My knee seems to be doing ok. Picked up some new shoes. Asics Gel 1140. Love them. I have had a lot of trouble with getting enough cushoning for my forefoot. I found my shoe. Now I just need to get back to some good runs and getting my times down. I cancelled the Columbus Marathon for this year. Will shoot for it next year. I am going to run the Wynne Marathon. Hey, $25 for a full marathon. You can't beat it. Got Barrett Burns training with me, starting next week. He's going to run the marathon with me. Maybe we can convince Eric Rivera to run it with us. Deb, and some of the guys are talking about running the half. We should have a good turn out from the hometown boys. Will keep you posted on the training process. Plan on getting outside more often, and throwing some cross training in there as well.

El Scorcho

Well, things didn't work out like I hoped they would. I only completed 19 miles of the 31 miles ahead of me. I was working on mile 12 when my knee didn't want to cooperate. Stop in my pit stop and grabbed my brace and went on to complete mile 15.5. As I came across the Start/Finish line, I felt like I was done. Frustrated, I went back to the pits. I changed shoes and decided to give it another try. BIG MISTAKE!!! I don't remember going through the turn around point. I was having cold sweats and my right calf was cramping badly. As I crossed the line, for almost 19 miles, I wasn't sure what to do. Jimmy and Paul came and convinced me to call it a night. Live to run another day so to say. I have never been in a race where I couldn't finish it. This was a major let down for me. But, I can only blame myself. Poor training leading up to it, poor nutrition habits. One thing for sure, it won't happen again. Once I figure out what is going on with my knee, I'll be back in the game. Jimmy and Hollee did well. AJ did outstanding considering he pulled a groin muscle in a baseball game the night before. They all finished the half with no problems. Deb and Amy were there and kept me going for what I could do. without them, it would have been a long night. I've decided to work on the marathons I have scheduled for the near future. No more ultras. Next year I'm going to run the half with the rest of my running partners.

EL SCORCHO TRES

Well, the day has come. We are in Ft Worth, waiting for our midnight race. No getting out of it. Have to get out there and knock it out. Just got word that AJ pulled a groin muscle in his softball game last night. But, he says it's nothing a few beers can't take care of. He's still going to try and gut out the 15 1/2 miles. Jimmy and Hollee are all set to go. The weather is calling for the 70s with low humidity. Hoping the rain holds off though. Well, it is time to try and grab a nap before we head out to Trinity Park. Got my pit crew (Deb and Amy) all psyched up. Got all the water, electrlytes, and snacks set to go. I'll let you know how it goes whenever I wake up tomorrow.