Quarterly Results - 2007 1st Quarter

The first quarter of 2007 is coming to a close. Here is how I am doing.

January - 39.80 miles - 15:26 a mile

February - 24.32 miles - 13:06 a mile

March - 35.73 miles - 11:27 a mile

So for the year I have run 99.85 miles. Pretty good. Of course that number will begin to jump significantly with the training. I like the progression of my time. Top be fair, the 15:26 a mile in January includes the marathon time. That is not a true representation of my time.

Looking forward to my April runs.

:-)Charlie

New Goals

I have re-evaluated my race schedule for the year, and made one important decision.

I have entered the Chicago Marathon! Yes, Sunday October 7, 2007, I will run 26.2 miles through the streets of Chicago. This year is the 30th Anniversary of the event, so they have opened the registration to 45,000! WOW! I will be one of them.

So here is how 2007 looks -

May 20 - Cellcom Green Bay Half Marathon
June 23 - Proud to Run 10K
August 12 - Chicago Distance Classic
October 7 - Chicago Marathon
November 22 - Turkey Trot

I think that's enough for 2007.

So now the training really begins. This time around I am looking for a training program. While I can train on my own. I found it hard to be motivated. I also think I could benefit from having running partners.

So now the running year starts for me.

Yesterday I ran 5K on the treadmill at the gym. I did a decent 36:06. Slower than I have been doing, but I felt good.

:-)Charlie

Today - 3.34

Today was a 3.34 mile run. I ran from home to the Andersonville area of Chicago. My legs were not 100% as I stood for 12 hours on Friday and Saturday at the Shamrock Shuffle Expo. I worked, so I was standing. Kelly knows what that kind of standing does to me.

I was very glad I didn't run yesterday's Shamrock Shuffle. It was a warm sunny day. After standing for the better part of 24 hours, I would have been in pain running.

I still felt it today, hence I did not run home, I took the bus. Better to save my legs for another day.

All is set for the Green Bay Half Marathon. I am registered, and will be running with my cousin Polly. Looking forward to it.

:-)Charlie

Flying!

Today was a really good long run. I ran 6.32 miles in 58:42. According to the race calculator, that is 9:17 a mile. It didn't feel like I was going that fast. And to be honest that is a little faster than I ever would run in a marathon...at least at this point.

I have been working on the treadmill increasing my speed. So I am glad to see it had picked up. Ideally in a marathon I would like to be running around 12:00 a mile. I will take what I can though.

My route today took my up to Evanston, IL - home of Northwestern University, and my birthplace. It is a lovely community, and I am enjoying running through it.

:-)Charlie

Ethembeni School

I want to take a few moments to talk about Ethembeni School.

Established in 1984, Ethembeni School serves 300 physically disabled and visually impaired children from all over Kwazulu-Natal, Kingdom of the Zulu (South Africa), educating them to reach their highest potential and to become independent and responsible citizens of the community.

The name Ethembeni means “Place of Hope” and the motto Phila Ufunde – Live and Learn. At Ethembeni 300 beautiful children live, learn, and give us joy and hope.

At Fleet Feet Sports we sell Balega socks, the best socks I have put on by the way. Balega sports charitiable efforts for this school. When I learned this, I started to do some research about the school. Most of you do not know in my younger college years I worked with disabled people. It is such an amazing experience to work with this population.

Our stores are selling bracelets and necklaces made by the kids. The money raised is to help the school buy a bus. While I think that is a great idea, I had a different idea.

It costs $1,000 to sponsor a child in the school for a year. The money pays for tuition, supplies, room and board, and medical services. Since I work in a running store, with runner, why not get everyone to dedicate a race to raising the money so a store could sponsor a child. My manager loved the idea, and took it to the general management. They loved the idea as well.

There is a change to the plan though. We get free registrations to various races in the area, so the money which would have gone to pay for a runner's registration will go into a fund, so each of the three stores can sponsor a child. We are also proposing a Balega day, where proceeds from the sales of socks on one day would go towards this fund.

I am very excited about this. Earlier I wrote about running with a noble purpose. I really see this effort as part of that. I am glad Fleet Feet Sports is going to participate.

For more information on the school go to - http://www.ethembenischool.org/

:-)Charlie

Being Mortal

Yesterday was sunny and 60 - of course I was going to run outside. My legs and ankles had felt stiff all day, but off I went. This morning I am in quite a bit of pain. Not sure what is going on, I knew I was tired from standing all weekend. So I am assuming that is what started this.

It all serves as a reminder of my foot/ankle pain. Of course I always know my foot issues are there, and will be the rest of my life. The pain though, is a nasty reminder to me, and I hate it.

Still I ran 3.6 miles. Today - rest!

:-)Charlie

Hill and Speed

Today I hit the gym. I hopped on the treadmill for hill and speed work. My overall goal is to improve times at my races this year. I think by cranking thiings up a bit I can. My goal was torun 30 minutes. I did 2.81 miles. Not bad.

I ran on a 2.0 incline. In this instance it means the largest hill I woudl run would be at a 2% incline. I felt good with my run.

Working towards a long run goal of a 6 mile run. Can do it!

:-)Charlie

Cross Train

Today was a cross train day. I have to say I felt really good afterwards. Because it was my first one in a long time, I did not push myself. I did 5 minutes on the elipitcal, then I used the weight machines for about 30 minutes, then I ran for 15 minutes.

After the workout I felt very energized and ready to go.

:-)Charlie

Two Simple Miles

Yesterday I hit the treadmill for a quick 2-mile run. It was a good one. My time was 24:09. Pretty good. Today I head back to the gym to cross train. I have not lifted a weight in months. The idea today is to take it slow and easy.

Last night I had dinner with a friend. I like broccoli. We had Thai(not a fave of mine, but I was a good sport). I had a BBQ Pork with broccoli. They gave me a ton of broccoli. It was tasty. Always good to get some veggies into the system.

:-)Charlie

No Mood

Hello all. Sorry for not posting this week. To be honest there was nothing to post. I either have not been able to run, or was not in the mood. My goal is to start fresh tomorrow.

One thing to chat about...distance. Here is something to know.

5K =3.1 miles
8K = 4.97 miles
10K = 6.2 miles
Half marathon = 13.1 miles
Marathon= 26.2 miles

It could be no one has explained that to some of you, and I want you to know. Why? It seems to be a pet peeve of many runners when we talk about a race, and someone gets the distance wrong, or just calls it a marathon.

Charlie: Yeah...I have a 5K this weekend.
Dude: Yeah? How is long is the marathon?

You may giggle, but I get that, and so do many of my fellow runners. No matter how many times we try to explain, it goes in one ear, and out the other to some. So now you know.

:-)Charlie

A Noble Purpose

Running with a noble purpose. This is something Steve Runner talks about on his Phedippidations podcast. This is when you run for a cause. Frequently at various races around the country you see Teams in Training. These people are raising money to fight Leukemia & Lymphoma.

There is a segment of the running community which does not care for the charity runners. I am not one of those people. I firmly believe in charity running. In the past I have raised money for the AIDS Foundation of Chicago and CARE. I believe that if you receive a benefit from running, raising money is simply passing it forward.

I agree with Steve Runner, we should run with a noble purpose. It doesn’t have to be a grand gesture. It can be collecting a few dollars from friends for a charity. If you don‘t want to raise money, raise awareness. Put the name of a charity and its website on your running shirt. Every little bit helps.

I would like to share some charities I am very fond of, and maybe you would like to adopt them as yours. Also if you have a charity you are fond of, please feel free to share it here.

CARE – www.care.org
AIDS Foundation of Chicago – www.aidschicago.org
Grameen Bank – www.grameen-info.org
Heifer International – www.heifer.org
Half the Sky – www.halfthesky.org
Hagar International – www.hagarproject.org
Health Equity Project – www.healthequityproject.org
Marathon Kids – www.marathonkids.com

There are many more I support. The point is there plenty of worthy charities and organizations who could benefit from your noble purpose.

Charlie

Not My Day

Today was not my day. I had issues all day. Everything came to a head when I ran outside. It was sunny and in the 40s. I was going along, and then it happened....I tripped on the sidewalk and fell. My left knee has a scrape, but I think I will live. I have never fallen during a run. Of course no one bothered to ask if I was ok. Grrrrr.

I did manage to run 4.5 miles. That is pretty good. It was a slow and plodding run. I was not happy with the way I ran, but was happy that I ran.

In the land of good news....my cousin Polly is busy training for the half marathon we are doing in May. Yesterday she sent me a training plan, and I told her I thought it would work for her. I think she will beat me...lol.

:-)Charlie

Lessons Learned

It is obvious I am making some very bad choices as far as nutrition is concerned. I am making them based on emotions. This morning I ran 2 miles at the gym and did the rare thing of weighing myself – 204. No that is not the end of the world, nor am I depressed about it. That number tells me that I have gained some weight, and it is time to take better control of my eating.

This will be a tough weekend for me. I am going to family party -lots of food and drink. I will have to watch what I am taking in, because I doubt there will be much running time. We will see.

My 2 miles on the treadmill was good. I ran it in 24:00:92. That is a good pace for me. If only I could run outside. We are in single digits in Chicago, and there is lots of snow. That’s poor footing for this running weather wimp.

My goal for the next week is to increase my mileage running, and to make better eating choices.

Charlie

Running From the Reaper

Nigel in the UK is a 40something runner who shares his long runs with people in podcast and blog form. It is very cool, and I hope you will give him a listen.


http://runningfromthereaper.blogspot.com/

:-)Charlie

What's Cooking Tonight?

Happy Valentine's Day to those who celebrate it. I typically don't. I know...I know...I'm a Scrooge.

Ok...on to food!

Breakfast - bagel with light cream cheese and a banana!

Office - For Valentine's Day a co-worker made little muffins and places them on our desks. I ate it. It like coffee cake.

Lunch - PB Sandwich.

Dinner - I am making spaghetti with veggies! I have some nice forzen veggies (carrots, broccoli and cauliflower in a nice sauce...I think it will be great!

I realized in looking at the week, vegetables were sorely lacking. So here I am correcting that.

No chocolate bon bons though.

:-)Charlie

Uphill Running

Yesterday I hit the treadmill in the middle of blizzard like conditions in Chicago. My goal was to run 3 miles, and I did. I used the hill program on the treadmill and cranked it up to a 4% incline. At 5 m.p.h. that was a tough run, but I felt really good at the end. I ran the 3 miles in 36:12:89. That's a good run for me.

Foodwise:

Breakfast - bagel with light cream cheese

Meeting at work - 3 mini-donuts

Lunch - Ceasar Salad with Chicken, two pieces of bread.

Dinner - P.B. Sandwich (was not that hungry)

Today we are digging out of the snow.

Charlie

Food for Yesterday

I mentioned yesterday what I had for breakfast. Here is how the rest of my food day went.

Lunch - Roast beef sub, with lettuce and extra tomato, baked chips and an oatmeal cookie, with water.

The store had a running event last night, so I did have two brownie bites.

Not a great day, but not a bad day. I will talk more about how today is going foodwise later.

Charlie

Short Runs and Food

While I have had a goal to do 5+ mile runs the last week or so, I have not been able to do it. I am actually doing more 3 mile runs. Cold and snow have kept me on the treadmill. I would really llike to head outdoors at some point.

I think boredom keeps me from the longer runs on the treadmill. It's tough to keep yourself going on a treadmill. How people do long runs of 10+ miles on those things consistantly amazes me. I have done it, but not on a regular basis. BORING!

The last few weeks I have not made good eating choices. My emtions have been all over the place, and my food choices have shown that. I am going back to something I did last year when things got out of hand. I wrote what I was eating, and sharing it with the readers here. This keeps me honest and aware of what I am doing, plus it makes me accountable by putting it here.

I started this yesterday.

Sunday: Breakfast - oatmeal, banana, bagel and light cream cheese. Lunch - yogurt. Dinner - Buffalo Chili, and a piece of cornbread.

Monday: Breakfast - Apple/Rasin bagel with light cream cheese.

I will do my best to keep this going during the week. As I said I need to do this.

:-)Charlie

Hit the Treadmill Tomorrow

I have not run this week, and that is actually ok. My heels have appreciated my letting them fully heal from the marathon.

Tomorrow I am shooting for a 5 mile run on the treadmill. NO WAY will I run out in this Arctic weather....brrrrr.

Tonight I am heading to a shoe seminar. Will learn all about the 2007 running shoes. I will be happy to share info if anyone is interested.

:-)Charlie

2007-2008 Race Schedule

I have thought about what I want to run this year, and I have come up with a tentative schedule for the year.

Saturday, March 17 – St. Paddy’s 5K


Sunday, May 20 – Cellcom Green Bay Half Marathon


Saturday, June 23 – Proud to Run 5K/10K


Sunday, August 12 – Chicago Distance Classic – Half Marathon


Sunday, September 30 – Mooathon Half Marathon (Tentative)


Thursday, November 22 – Turkey Trot


Sunday, January 13 – Rock n’ Roll Phoenix Marathon


The Sept. 30th race is tentative. If I can save enough money to do it I will. The race is in Ireland. I decided to head back to AZ next year for the simple reason I have some unfinished business with the race. I want to set a better time for myself. This race schedule is going to help me in that quest.

My heels are better now, so I think I can run more now. I have been tentative since the marathon...because frankly I hurt. Now I think I am ready to get going.

Looks like a good year ahead.

:-)Charlie