Run 17

It was a slow run. Really slow. I ran hard, but it's been snowing all day. Not a huge surprise in Iowa in January, right? True. But the freezing rain and 35 degree temps through me for a loop about 48 hours ago. A lot of spinning my tires. I ran hard, but didn't really go anywhere. Good thing I'm not going by time. Got my miles in!

5.83mi

Distance

54:00

Duration

09:15

Avg Pace

747

kCal

Miles left - 1060.8
Time spent - 14:54:55
Calories burned - 13694

Run 16/Week 4 Recap

A long run today in the cold. My beard was freezing to my balaklava, my sunglasses were fogging up, and I had to look out for patches of ice. It was a good time! I have felt like I've been faster lately and I feel mentally energized after I'm done. I've had a lot to process on my runs the last few times. My grandma died on Thursday night, so I've been working through those emotions and the physical act of running seems to compliment those processes. I feel much better after a few days. I know I'll get hit with grief again as I realize the loss at different points, but I'm much more at peace. I've had a lot of time leading up to her death to say goodbye and grieve, so this time is not nearly as hard for me.

10.33mi

Distance

1:23:34

Duration

08:05

Avg Pace

1325

kCal

Miles left - 1066.5
Time spent - 14:00:55
Calories burned - 12947

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A long run at the end of the week is always good ego boost when doing a recap. I'm going to stop doing the weekly run count and weekly time count because, well, those numbers are a little boring and the time is hard to calculate at this point.

Started - 1094.3
Ended - 1066.5
Ran - 27.8
YTD miles - 98.5

Run 15

Running is a great way for me to clear my mind. A lot to clear out today.

5.83mi

Distance

48:20

Duration

08:17

Avg Pace

751

kCal

Miles left - 1076.9
Time spent - 12:37:21
Calories burned - 11622

Run 14

I don't run with music, which surprises many people who know me. I pretty much always have music on, at the very least, in my head. I find that running, however, I get a chance to clear my mind. It's a palate cleanser, if you will. Being a Christian, I really enjoy the chance to be outside and pray. Running is like a moving meditation for me, with a chance to choose what my thoughts will be. This is especially helpful when I run in the morning.

5.83mi

Distance

48:20

Duration

08:17

Avg Pace

750

kCal

Miles left - 1082.7
Time spent - 11:49:01
Calories burned - 10871

Run 13

This is, probably, the coldest run I've ever done. At the very least, it's the coldest of the year so far. I believe when I left it was 1 degree above zero (-17 Celsius) when I left with some pretty good wind gusts. I'm not sure what the wind chill was. I was actually doing great until the last mile or so, when the wind picked up and pretty much took the air right out of me. Still, though, I finished faster than I ever have for this route. Sub-8:00 miles! For me, that's really good for a short run and I think that's a first for this distance!

5.83mi

Distance

45:49

Duration

07:51

Avg Pace

758

kCal

Miles left - 1088.5
Time spent - 11:00:41
Calories burned - 10121

Run 12/Week 3 Recap

Yes. You are seeing this right. I went for a 2nd run today and the 1st all year above freezing. I got a call from a friend asking if I had some time to run tonight. I got a nice little nap in and felt like I had something left in the tank, so I said, "Yes!" It was good to run with him. I always feel there's a great sense of accomplishment when I run with people. Like being on a team and winning a game together. It's a good sense of community, even if it's just with 1 other person. We sprinted at the end and I lost by a foot or two, but was okay with that. Haha!

5.83mi

Distance

48:30

Duration

08:19

Avg Pace

749

kCal

Miles left - 1094.3
Time spent - 10:14:52
Calories burned - 9363

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Because I did 2 runs today, I'll almost definitely take tomorrow and Sunday off. Almost definitely... So here is the recap for the week.

Started -1117.3
Ended - 1094.3
Ran - 23
YTD miles - 70.7

Weekly runs - 4
Weekly time - 3:14:55

Run 11

Friday mornings are hard to get up and run because I work late on Thursdays. However, I don't work most Fridays, so I have a chance to nap! Once it gets warmer, I'll run during the day with Maren in her running stroller. I cut a little short this morning but, of course, by time I finished I thought that I could have done the extra half mile. Once I get out there, I usually find that it's just as easy to do a little extra once I've gotten up, dressed, and started the run. I guess I'll just keep that in mind for the future.

5.35mi

Distance

46:07

Duration

08:37

Avg Pace

683

kCal

Miles left - 1101.1
Time spent - 9:26:22
Calories burned - 8614

Day 10

Nice to be outside for a run today!

5.83mi

Distance

50:00

Duration

08:34

Avg Pace

744

kCal

Miles left - 1106.5

Time spent - 8:40:15

Calories burned - 7931

Run 9

My first indoor run for quite some time. Honestly, I hated it. I did have someone working out next to me, but it was not a fun run for me. I really just like to run, a lot of the time, because it gets me outside. When I'm inside, though, I feel like I'm running on a hamster wheel.

6.0mi

Distance

50:18

Duration

08:23

Avg Pace

834

kCal

Miles left - 1111.3
Time spent - 7:50:15
Calories burned - 7187

Run 8/Week 2 Recap

Goodness! It was windy today! At least it wasn't so slushy and icy today as it was yesterday.

5.83mi

Distance

48:56

Duration

08:23

Avg Pace

751

kCal

Miles left - 1117.3
Time spent - 6:59:57
Calories burned - 6353

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It was a harder week than last week. Weather fluctuated a bunch, so it was hard to know what to wear or expect. Also, my toes started to hurt bit, but that was fixed by relacing my shoes. I was able to say "Thank you" to my first donor, Armando, which was fun to do!

Started - 1139.9
Ended  - 1117.3
Ran      - 22.6 (just over what I need for each week)
Total miles ran - 47.7

Weekly runs - 4
Weekly time - 3:20:51

Run 7

This run was, actually, pretty annoying. It's unreasonably hot for this time of year, just below freezing during the run, so the snow has all melted, leaving big slush puddles and ice all over. I had to slow my pace down (although I'm surprised at how fast I actually did go - it felt much slower) just to make sure that I wouldn't trip or slip. Oh well! I guess when you dedicate yourself to something like this, you won't always be running on blue skies and dry ground. I'll chalk it up to a life lesson. I hope it's not too icy tomorrow, though.

5.83mi

Distance

51:11

Duration

08:46

Avg Pace

744

kCal

Miles left - 1123.2
Time spent - 6:11:01
Calories burned - 5602

Run 6

Fairly warm for this time of day at this time of year. I think it was 25 degree when I left, but it was fairly humid, so I cooled down pretty fast.

5.83mi

Distance

49:57

Duration

08:33

Avg Pace

744

kCal

Miles left - 1129
Time spent - 5:20:50
Calories burned - 4858

Run 5

I had to keep myself from running yesterday, which is weird, I suppose. However, if I'm going to keep up my running all year, I'll need to show some self-restraint and discipline. I follow a blog called "The Art of Manliness" and they just did a great article about discipline called "What's Your 20 Mile March?" It's a great article, I think. Today was good. It's going to be a warmer day today, but this morning the wind chill was about 12 degrees due to some strong southern winds.

5.82mi

Distance

51:47

Duration

08:53

Avg Pace

755

kCal

Miles left - 1134.8
Time spent - 4:30:53
Calories burned - 4114

Run 4/Week 1 Recap

Had a good little group run today. Warming up a little bit, so I found it pretty easy to get in the groove. Had a good time running and talking with Ryan and Nathan!

9.0mi

Distance

1:17:26

Duration

8:36

Avg Pace

1149

kCal

Miles left - 1139.6
Time spent - 3:39:06
Calories burned - 3359
Partners - Nathan, Ryan

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This week, being the first week, I'm feeling really good. I'm learning that if I think of this year as a series of short runs, rather than look at the total mileage, then I don't get intimidated. It's just one run at a time. I am going to do these every Saturday, I think, whether I run or not just so that I can keep some semblance of order. This week was shorter than most will be and I didn't have a hard time reaching my weekly total that I need to reach my goal for what I would need to get the total miles in by December 31, 2013. That feels good. If I push it, maybe my last 26.2 miles can be the marathon I want to do at the end of summer! That would feel pretty awesome! Here are my weekly numbers:

Started - 1165
Ended  - 1139.9
Ran      - 25.1

Weekly runs - 4
Weekly time - 3:39:06

Run 3

A nice morning run starting a little before 6. I actually saw someone else running at around 6:30 or so. Nice to know I'm not the only crazy person doing a morning, winter run!

5.35mi

Distance

47:15

Duration

08:49

Avg Pace

743

kCal

Miles left - 1148.6
Time spent - 2:21:40
Calories burned - 2210

Run 2

A little warmer than yesterday (about 20 degrees when I started) with a light snow. Was actually a really beautiful run!

5.35mi

Distance

49:15

Duration

09:12

Avg Pace

710

kCal

Miles left - 1153.9
Time spent - 1:34:25
Calories burned - 1467

Ready, Get Set, Go!

This blog will not be anything crazy to look at. It's really just me logging miles. I want to hold myself accountable for the miles I run and will try my hardest to update as regularly as I can. I'll be using the tables generated by MapMyRun, which is a great resource for athletes. Today, I met Ryan, who I'm sure I'll be running with fairly regularly. Today, the weather was cold. I believe when we left it was approximately 5 degrees above zero. So, here begins a year which I'm sure will be both exhausting and rewarding. I'm so glad  I decided to use my running to help people get clean water!

5.73mi

Distance

46:10

Duration

08:03

Avg Pace

757

kCal

Miles left to run - 1159.3 (don't judge me for counting the the tenths - haha!)
Total time - 46:10
Total calories - 757 (just to keep an interesting statistic)
Partners - Ryan (just for posterity - I'm not always in this alone)

Please, please, please check out Charity: Water for some good information on why, exactly, I'm doing what I'm doing.