Blogging while cross-training

With my iPhone in hand, I figured there was no better way to pass a 30-minute cross-training session on a stationary bike than by updating my diary.

After my day off on Thursday I hit the gym at 5:15 Friday morning. Yeah, I managed to drag myself out of bed despite not crashing until midnight. I ran those 75 laps (5 miles) at marathon pace... Came in at 44:51. It was a little tougher than expected, but a crappy night of sleep will do that. Still, I was happy with my performance. Plus the new shoes are starting to break in. And the pain from my plantar fasciitis is really starting to fade - tell me again why I waited so long to get new shoes once the foot pain started.

Saturday morning brought my first long run in this program: 8 miles. I've never run my long runs slower than marathon pace. It just never made sense to me to practice at less intensity. I guess the football and baseball player in me is just too used to the "perform how you practice" mentality, so I've always gone all out. But I'm gonna stick to the program and try to run the long runs at 30-60 seconds slower than goal pace.

That was easy this first run as it was the furthest (or is it farthest?) I've run since the Indy Mini on 5/2. I put my feelers out Friday to my buddies who might be willing to join me for all or part of the run. I did get one brave soul to meet me at 6:30 at the lake for the whole shebang. He just signed up to run his first major race (the NY Marathon) and he's also running for charity. So he gets it. And it was great to have a partner to talk to during that first long run. He's a good minute pace faster than me, but he lowered his standards to tag along. (Thanks, Mike). Great weather: 60s and not too humid. Great scenery at the lake. Simply put, great run!

I was zonked afterwards, though, and took a half-conscious nap on the couch as I fought drifting of for a prolonged snooze... I can see this happening after every long run. But that's the nature of marathon training I presume, especially during the summer in the STL.

And then, somehow, I was dumb enough to work in the yard for two hours after lunch. I guess it needed to get done. I should have just stayed on that couch, but I managed to tear myself away from Executive Decision right after Steven Seagal bit it. Where are my priorities? A bad movie should always rank above household responsibilities, right? So I burned ~1,000 calories running and another 700 or so sweating my tail off in the 2 o'clock sun. Man, was I pounding the Powerade and water all day. I'm quickly learning that I'm going to have to eat and drink all day long to maintain a good weight during this program. And for this cross-train session, which is nearly over, I'm pretty sore. But I know this easy ride will help me recover.

And there it is... Timer's up. Not too bad.

So Week One is in the books. 24 miles. And I'm already at 44% ($440) of my goal for St. Jude. I guess I should have set a higher standard. But there's no harm in blowing that goal out of the water. Thank you all for your support!!!

With my cross-training session done, Week Two here I come.