Week of Feb.8-14

Increased mileage to 50 miles this week in my first time reaching the milestone in my preparation for the Louisville Marathon. Wednesday and Thursday were my key days with Wednesday getting in 20 total miles on the treadmill in two separate runs (ran 12 miles early in the morning, then ran another 8 miles when the kids took a nap), then ran hill sprints with Cassey, Cathryn and Eric at the Fischers house in Campbellsburg on Thursday. Very good back-to-back days. Here was the week:

Monday -- 6 miles with two relays inside with HCHS track team
Tuesday -- 8 miles outside in snow
Wednesday -- 12 miles on treadmill/8 miles on treadmill = 20 miles
Thursday -- 6 miles with 15 x hill sprints (5x200, 5x150, 5x100) outside in snow
Friday -- 6 miles with two relays inside with HCHS track team
Saturday -- 4 miles easy on treadmill
Sunday -- Off
Total -- 50 miles

Week of Feb. 1-Feb. 7

I increased my mileage by 11 in my second week back to training, getting up to 45 for the week. I also started to add more intense running into the training plan -- Monday I ran five strides at about 90-percent effort after a steady run, Tuesday I ran two miles at goal marathon pace during an 8-miler, Friday I ran a fast relay with my high school/middle school runners, and Saturday I ran a tempo in the cold weather. Here is the breakdown:

Monday -- 5 miles, plus 5x100
Tuesday -- 8 miles with 2 miles at 6:30-pace
Wednesday -- 16 miles on treadmill
Thursday -- 6 miles at site of Renaissance 24-Hour Race
Friday -- 4 miles, plus indoor relay with high school runners of about 2 miles of hard running
Saturday -- warmup, 42-minute tempo on snowy roads = 6 miles
Sunday -- Off
Total -- 45 miles

Week of Jan. 25-Jan. 31

In my first week back to training, in preparation for the Louisville Marathon on April 24, I ran 34 miles with mostly easy to steady runs. I felt relatively good considering it was my first week back to training. Here is what I did:

Monday -- 4 miles in the morning / 4 miles in the afternoon = 8 miles
Tuesday -- Off
Wednesday -- 7 miles
Thursday -- 4 miles in the morning / 5 miles in the afternoon = 9 miles
Friday -- 3 miles in the morning / 3 miles in the afternoon = 6 miles
Saturday -- 4 miles with 25-minute tempo in the snow
Sunday -- Off
Total -- 34 miles

I'm back...

Well, since my last post my life has been crazy. But in a good way. I now have a son -- Cruz who was born on April 27 -- to go along with my now 2-year-old daughter Emma. And I've started to coach the Henry County cross-country and track teams as an assistant. It's been a blast. I've been busy, busy, busy.

For some reason, I thought about this blog and decided to come back to it. (It took me about a million guesses to finally remember my password!) So, as for running, the intent of starting this blog, I signed up for the Louisville Marathon on April 24 and then will shift my attention to getting ready for the Louisville Ironman, which I have also signed up for and is on Aug. 29. Also, I'm putting on a 24-hour race in Eminence, the Highlands Renaissance 24-Hour Race, on March 13-14 and I plan on competing in the Papa John's 10-Miler on April 3 as a tune-up race for the marathon.

I will hopefully use this blog as a training log of sorts, and not neglect it like I've been known to do. I'm ready to get back on the roads again, and I'll let you know how it goes.

Hoping to start running soon

After numerous setbacks since the Louisville Marathon Oct. 19, I'm crossing my fingers in hope that I can start back running soon. I've run very inconsistently since the marathon and have not run a step in at least two weeks. My back is giving me the most problems right now — bulging disc — which I'm trying to rest and then strengthen over the next few weeks so I can start back running pain free.

If everything goes the way I hope, I'll be back running again the week of Jan. 26, which will give me two more weeks off and 10 weeks of training before a possible marathon race. If I get in decent shape, I'll run the Rodes City Run 10K road race as a tune-up March 21, and run the Ohio River Road Runners Club Marathon April 5. That's a big "if" though. I would like to get in another marathon before the new baby, which is due in late April, early May. Before the Louisville Marathon I didn't get in very good training the two months leading up to the race and still ran a personal record of 2:58, so I think with 10 solid weeks I can go faster and possibly get closer to the 2:50 barrier — my next big marathon goal.

Hopefully I'll have good news in a couple of weeks.

Trying to start back

Since the Louisville Marathon Oct. 19, I've had some health issues that have backtracked my training and racing. My back has been giving me some problems along with some severe headaches and a few other more minimal issues I've encountered. I had an MRI on my head and lower back and they showed that I probably have a cyst on my brain along with some other more complicated problems, and my back has a few bulging discs, one that is pitching my nerve, and I might have some other problem that is a little more serious that I'm not that familiar with. I'm going to see a neurosurgeon this Friday. As you can tell, I'm a little banged up.

With that said, I recently bought a treadmill (which I've been wanting for a long time) and I'm going to start back running and continue running until a doctor tells me I shouldn't, which they have yet to do. But I am cutting my mileage, not running as many days per week and doing most of my running on the treadmill, which to me seems like less strain on my back with the even surface and no twists and turns. I'm not sure what (if any) races I'm going to attempt yet but they will most likely be low-key races around the area. If I get in good training and a few longer runs, I might attempt a marathon in early spring. I'm not sure about that, though. I guess I will just have to wait and see how it all unfolds.

Getting back on the roads

Okay, so I took three weeks off after the Louisville Marathon Oct. 19 and now it's time to get back on the roads. I'm excited to get back to training but I haven't decided on what races to do yet. Right now, I'm thinking about the Otter Creek Trail Marathon Dec. 14 but that's just five weeks away so I'm not sure yet. I might opt to do the 8-mile race or the 16-mile race but would really like to run the marathon if my training is going okay the next few weeks.

I was thinking (actually I already decided) to run the Rocky Raccoon 100-mile race in Texas this February, but after a few days decided not to attempt it for money reasons. With the situation I'm in with trying to sell my Shelbyville house, I don't have the cash to spend on a weekend trip to Texas and a $120 race fee. I guess I'll just have to save those 100-milers for later when I'm more financially stable. If only they had a 100-miler in Kentucky?

Also, I was thinking about running Boston this year since I qualified again — and a few guys I know are running it — but my wife is pregnant with our second child which is due in late April. So that's out of the question.

I'll just see how my training is going and then pick a race to focus on. I'll just see how it goes.