Thursday, July 29, 2010

Training Log - SAN ANTONIO MARATHON 2010

Week #2


Training is going well, with no problems or nagging injuries to report. The weather has been awesome for July. Who can complain about highs in the 80’s and clouds with rain. I know it want last but I am not complaining. Training totals for this week were a total of 44.6 miles. My long run was on Sunday 7/25/2010 and it was for 12.2 miles. The miles seemed easy and I finally kept the pace down to help with the endurance. The run consisted of both city streets and the state park. I usually run in the state park towards the last part of my runs so I can take advantage of the water stops. I am starting to run earlier in the morning and from early reports the weather will be going back to hot by the end of next week. Early morning runs will be routine and no more being lazy and sleeping in, RATS!!!!

I also did hill repeats this week, did a total of 7.25 miles with 6 hill repeats on the big hill at the state park. Pace was decent, at a 9:25 per mile, but I did take it real easy on the way down hill. I also did a 9:07 tempo runs with rolling hills. I felt real good about this run due to weather conditions and the course I ran. The San Antonio marathon is primarily all uphill the last 6 miles and 385 yards. This year I am going to prepare myself for this last 6.2 miles and kick some butt. This will be my primary focus during this training program and hopefully will have success.



Week Two’s Training Schedule:

7/19 Monday – Easy Run 6.4 at 9:23 pace

7/20 Tuesday – Easy Run 7 at 9:09 pace

7/21 Wednesday – Hill Repeats 7.25 9:25 pace

7/22 Thursday – Easy Run 5.5 9:20 pace

7/23 Friday – Rest Day

7/24 Saturday – Tempo Run 6.2 9:07 pace

7/25 Sunday – Long Run 12.2 at 9:34 pace

Good Luck with your training and remember to have fun. See you next week.

Monday, July 19, 2010

Week 1 of 18 San Antonio Marathon 2010

Well the first week is over and all is well. This program is 18 weeks long and will hopefully provide me with a new PR time and a sub four marathon in San Antonio. I will be running in the Rock and Roll Marathon in San Antonio Texas in November. My training plan includes a Tempo Run, Hill Repeats or Yasso 800’s, and Long Runs each week. The hill repeats and Yasso 800’s will be alternating. My long runs will include 3 runs of 20 or more miles toward the end of the training program. This training plan will be hard to accomplish in the summer time but it does take at least 18 weeks to get prepared for 26 miles 385 yards.


This week’s training included the following:

Monday – 6.4 miles recovery run from Sunday’s long run took me 1 hour to complete the run.

Tuesday – 5.4 miles 51 minutes with a pace of 9:29. Legs felt like jello and very tired this day with the heat and humidity.

Wednesday – Yasso 800’s X 5 - 7 miles total with an overall pace of 8:37 per mile minute.

Thursday - Rest Day

Friday – Easy run at the State Park – 8 miles in 1:14:00 pace of 9:17.

Saturday – Tempo Run 5 miles 44:00 at a pace of 8:48.

Sunday – Long run 10 miles in 1:33:00.

Total miles this week were 42. I will up the mileage a little next week and my long run will be 11 to 12 miles. Good luck with your training and I will be back next week.

Monday, July 12, 2010

San Antonio Marathon Training Begins

First week of training has begun. I took a little rest the last three weeks and cut my mileage down quite a bit to help get some rest in my legs. This training plan is 18 weeks long and includes 3 runs that are either 20 miles or longer. My goal for this marathon will be 4 hours or less. I believe if I get my training runs in and watch my diet that this goal is obtainable. The weather is going to play a key role in the way the heat is setting in here in North Texas and the humidity is hanging around. I am not going to complain but I will have to be patient and remember that my times may be slower due to the weather.


I will be training this year in Newton Sir Isaac Trainers. I plan to race in a pair of Newton Gravitas as well. I love my Newton’s and know that I shouldn’t have any injuries due to my shoe choice. I plan to keep everyone up to date with my training with a weekly blog. This will include my mileage and any other adventures that I take in. I hope everyone enjoys the blog and please give me feedback, good or bad.

The marathon is November 14th, 2010 in San Antonio, Texas. The Rock n Roll Marathon put on by the Competitor Group is an awesome event and San Antonio is a beautiful and fun city. Hope everyone keeps up during my training and good luck with your goals in life. Take care and God Bless.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

NEW 5K PR and Marathon News

I ran in the Firemen’s 5K this month and finished with a PR of 23:03. I finished 9th in my age group out of a total of 26 runners. Yes I did wear my Newton’s and man do I love these shoes. The weather that morning was warm and muggy. At the start line I noticed that I was sweating pretty heavily and was a little worried about the weather. The first mile was completed in 7:20 and I was already soaked and wet with sweat. I figured that I wouldn’t be able to finish in 21:00 minutes so I just settled in to a 7:20sh pace and tried to get a PR. That is what I did so I was happy and proud with the run and hope to continue improving.




It’s finally official I signed up for the Rock and Roll Marathon San Antonio in November. Starting July 12th I will begin my 18 week training program. I promise that a weekly blog will be done so if anyone is interested they can follow my training with this blog. I hope to have an in depth detail of my training to include mileage, heart rate monitoring, and weight loss. I will also include cycling and weight training during this time. I hope to keep it interesting and meet other runners that will be running the RNR San Antonio. Well that is it for now, keep up the training and I will be back with another post soon.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Great Month and A Sad Month

Once again I am behind on my blog but hope to be writing this thing once a week.  Last month a very close person to me passed away.  My Great Uncle E. K. Crosby (Uncle Sonny) passed away on February 19th.  I went to see him on the 18th to see how he was doing in the nursing home.  He recently took ill and had to be moved to the nursing home so he could go through re-hab.  However he never made it out of the nursing home and went to see the lord and the rest of his family.  My Uncle Sonny left behind a wonderful wife, Aunt Joyce, and two children, Ken Crosby and Kim Crosby.  He will be missed but we know that he is in heaven in good hands now.  I will miss you Uncle Sonny, thanks for all of the fishing trips and hunting trips.

February also was the month that I set a new PR in the marathon.  I raced in the Cowtown Marathon and set a PR with a time of 4:23:38.  I broke my origianl PR by 8 minutes.  Race morning was great, we had a temperature of 34 degrees and no wind.  By the time I had finished the marathon the temp's had reached into the 50's.  Due to my injuries in December when I lost 3 weeks of running I wasn't really expecting a PR.  I do know that the time missed was evident when I hit the 22 mile marker.  I was able to struggle back but really wished I had not been injured during my training.  The long runs are really important and that was evident during the marathon.  I kept a pretty even consistent pace up until the 20 mile marker when I realized that my body was getting tired.  I will continue to keep up with my base miles and weekly long runs.  I am planning on running the Rock and Roll Marathon in San Antonio in November.  This training will start the second week in July.  My schedule for this year will also include the German Fest Bike Ride in Muenster (April)  45 miles, the Firemans 5K in May, Hotter n Hell 100 in Wichita Falls, Texas (August) and the marathon in November.

I will be back next week with another training update, going to get a run in.  Take care and have fun.  Chris thanks for your service in the Marine's, you are an inspiration to all.  God Bless and Take Care.





Monday, February 15, 2010

Learning from my Training

Well it is less than two weeks until my second marathon, Cowtown 2/27/2010. I feel confident that I can finish the marathon and hopefully have a PR when finished. My first marathon, Rock and Roll San Antonio 2008, was ran in 4 hours and 31 minutes. I was training to run a sub 4 hour marathon but was injured during the Christmas break and wasn't able to continue running until the second week in January. I missed three crucial weeks of training and three long runs. I was also not able to do any exercising during this time.

Lessons learned is that the experts that write the books and training logs are just that experts. I have to admit that I am pretty hard headed and very competitive. I hate to lose, and nobody remembers who finishes second. But during the time I was injured I had a chance to reflect on my running and why I run 6 to 7 days a week. First of all I run to keep in shape and help keep the weight off that I have lost over the last two years. It also helps with my job as a firefighter/paramedic. But the most important item was that I enjoy running and it makes me happy. I know that I will probally never win a marathon on paper, but every marathon I finish is a victory for me. I feel good about myself when I accomplish something that most people will never attempt in their lifetime. I also think about people that will never be able to run do to health problems and think about how they feel. Yes running 26.2 miles (26 miles and 385 yards) is challenging but when you cross the finish line it is rewarding. The training is worth all the time that is committed and you start thinking of what can I do next.

What will I do next: well I want to complete the Hotter - N - Hell 100 mile bike ride in August (Wichita Falls, TX), a triathlon this summer, and the Rock and Roll Marathon (San Antonio or Las Vegas). Next year I would like to train for and complete a 50K Ultramarathon (31 miles).

Yes running is addicting but I enjoy the outdoors and adrenaline that I feel when running. Some people think I am crazy or have some negative comments, knees will go bad, hip injuries, and soo on, but that comes from people who don't understand. I have battled a weight problem my entire life, but now I have confidence in myself and I am happy. I would like to think my wife Kristi and my two daughters Jessica and Katelin, for the support and understanding of my training and my addiction to something that I truelly love. I Love Yall more than anything though.

God Bless and Take Care

P.S. - If some one from Team in Training ask you for a donation please help out and support the ATHLETE. This is a great organizaion and the money goes to a great cause. Look it up on the web if you are not sure.

Friday, January 29, 2010

Well it has been a long time since I last made an update. I would like to use this blog as a journal of my training for 2010. I am still training for Cowtown but only to finish now. Right before Christmas I hurt my sciatic nerve some how and was down on my back for three long weeks. My training suffered and now I am trying to just get my cardio back to finish the marathon.

Training is back and going well so far. I am back to 14 miles on my long runs and hope to do 14-16 miles this weekend. I am also cross training on my rest day and seems to be helping. My legs feel good and I am confident that I can finish my second marathon. Plans for this year include the Fireman's 5K in May, the Hotter N Hell 100 in Wichita Falls, TX, and I would like to run the Las Vegas Rock N Roll Marathon in December. I am also planning on doing a triathlon sometime this summer as well.

I hope to post another blog soon and hope the best for everyone out there training for their next event. Just remember to keep one foot in front of the other and get off the couch.