What can I say? I love to run. I've run 4 full marathons and 6 halfs. But I love God more and I'm determined to run this race of life for Him to receive the ultimate prize of Heaven. I'd like to share my thoughts with you. You can agree or disagree. Comment or don't. You can read or not read. But it's here if you want it. Enjoy! .

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Morning or Night....Which is Right?

8:43AM


I did 16 miles on Sunday. Hadn't done that much since the Disney marathon. It went great. Even better than my 14. I had some great podcasts and tunes to listen to so that helped. But I ran the whole time and felt great the whole time. I love it when runs go that way. I'll do 14 this Sunday as I start to slightly taper for the half-marathon in a little over 2 weeks.

I'm still not back to where I want to be with my running. I think it's because I've just been so busy lately. Besides teaching school (which has been very busy in itself with a lot of extra activities) and working up at our church, I've also been helping coach my son's basketball team. I'm now head-coaching his baseball team which just started. I've been taking my other son to his basketball practices. We've been remodeling our basement and painting our upstairs hallway and baby's room so our house is crazy. And to top it all off, we're preparing for the birth of our 3rd son in 6 weeks. So needless to say, it's been a little crazy. We're managing and I'm happy, but my time is just limited and I have been more tired at nights and in the mornings then I've ever been. I know I'm not getting enough sleep, but there's not a whole lot I can do about it. And I know when this baby comes that I won't be getting any more sleep, only less. By the way, I don't mean all this as a pity-party for Albert....just statin' the facts.

So I used to always run at night except for my Sunday morning long run. I had tried running in the morning but I just didn't like getting up any earlier. I was already getting up at 5 so I hated to move it into the 4's. But like I said above, I've recently been so tired at nights. There have been many nights when after our boys go to bed around 7:30-8, I would crash then as well. Some nights I have looked forward to going to bed that early because of how tired I felt. So I've started running some mornings now. I usually like it once I get started. I think it's a great way to start off the day. But it's the getting started that I still haven't worked out. It's so easy when that alarm goes off to lay the head back down. I often use the excuse that I'll run tonight instead. Sometimes I do and sometimes I don't. So I haven't decided which one I like better yet. I guess it just depends on how I feel. Here are some pros and cons:

MORNING
Pros - no/little traffic, quiet, get it done for the day, no extra shower (would shower anyways before school), everyone else asleep so not missing family time
Cons - waking up even earlier, colder in morning ( I know this will change), too easy to go back to bed

EVENING
Pros - Don't have to get up earlier, a little warmer, tend to sleep better
Cons - often too tired, traffic sometimes an issue, means a 2nd shower for the day, miss time with my wife (boys already in bed)


So I guess I'll keep playing with it until I figure out a good routine. It may take a while. The good news is I can take a couple days off and still feel great running. I have no pains or injury right now so running typically feels really good right now whenever I do it.

Feel free to comment on which you prefer. Would love to hear some other opinions.

Keep runnin',
Albert

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Maybe I Should've Kept the Treadmill

8:33PM


Today's weather was perfect. I could've run in shorts and a t-shirt. I chose running pants and a t-shirt because there was a slight breeze, but it felt great. I ran 6 today and yesterday. I'm going to try 14 in the morning again. I haven't checked the weather yet, but it'll probably be cool in the morning again. We've had some extrememly cold mornings this week. One day it was 9 degrees in the morning.

If you look at my running this week, you can see that I took a large break. This was simply because of the weather and the fact that this was an extremely busy week. I had so much to do at school this week and I was swamped. Therefore when I finally got home and had dinner, I was very tired. But the weather was not ideal for running either. It was very cold this week and we had a pretty severe snow storm on Wednesday and Thursday so I could've have run unless I ran on ice the whole time and I didn't want to risk it. These are the days that I wish I had my treadmill back. We sold it on Craigslist about 2 months ago. I rarely used it. I hated running on it. I really can't stand treadmill running. I would do it if I had to but it was torture. Well, not torture but close. But I think this was a week where I would've run on it to get some runs in instead of taking 4 days off. Oh well, I didn't lose anything. The runs yesterday and today felt great. And the treadmill just took up space. We're remodeling our basement and some stuff just has to go.

Well I'm heading to bed. Gotta get up around 4:30 to run. Hope everyone had a good week.

Keep runnin',
Albert

Friday, February 4, 2011

Who's This Tom King Anyways?

2:13 PM


<------I chickened out. I was supposed to run early this morning. I got up but then I made the mistake of going outside to see what the temp was like. It was sooooo cold. I should've just put on my clothes and started running. But I chickened out. I justified that it was too cold and I'd wait until this afternoon or tonight. I wish I'd just done it and gotten it overwith. It's supposed to rain this afternoon anyways. And I knew that. But now I have to run tonight because I didn't run yesterday. I wish it would just warm up a little bit. It would make it so much easier.

So last time I told you that I signed up for a half-marathon. I've added it to my race list and my timer above. It's called the Tom King Classic Half Marathon and it's on March 12 at 8:30AM. (That'll be a bit easier than the 5:30 Disney start.) I'm not sure who Tom King is. I've been told that he comes to the race wearing a shirt that says "I am Tom King". Sounds like a humble man. I think he owns a bunch (or maybe just one) of car dealerships so he sponsors the race. Obviously he owns Gupton Dodge based on the race banner there. Supposedly it's a very flat race and you get to run along the Cumberland River on the greenway which is a very nice path. You also get to start along side the Titans stadium and finish on the 50 yard line. I love that part. I've wished for years that the Country Music Marathon which finishes right outside the stadium would finish inside instead. It will be neat to enter the stadium on ground level and see the tunnel which I've never seen. I'm also excited to have a race on the list to prepare for. That'll help in my motivation (which I'm obviously having some issues with). It will also fulfill one of my 2011 goals to participate in a half marathon besides Disney. Plus, I love doing new races. This will be my last big race before baby boy comes in early April.

So, I am excited. It's just a little over a month away so it'll come up quick. I've already planned my long runs accordingly. I'll do 14 this Sunday. I will do it. If I don't check the temp. first.....

Keep runnin'
Albert