Been sick - workouts on hold

If I've heard it once, I've heard it a thousand times. "Know your body and cut back when you are tired." Well, I've been sick for four days, two bad and two blah. As is my usual custom, I usually can my workouts on days like that, but now I'm thinking about some extended time off with limited workouts. I'll keep you posted (or not).

From an awareness standpoint, one thing that concerns me is people who are trying to find celiac but misspell it - you know, words like:

• seeliac
• seeliack
• seleac
• sealiac
• sealiack
• ceeleac
• ceeliac

I think search engines might pick up and correct come of these, but not all. Any thoughts?

Motivation, anyone?

Well - after the marathon, I usually go through a quick period of "post marathon blues" where it just seems a little harder to get up in the morning, get motivated, etc. Every year, I seem to think I'm going to plan my workouts for after the marathon, and every year, it seems I don't.

This year was a little bit better because my kids are so active now I really can't go into a shell for a week or two - they have too much stuff planned. So I think that's good.

Plus - the MS 150 training rides have started. I joined a local team and the ConocoPhillips training series. I promptly made my first dumb mistake in the ride. No - not that we rolled when it was about 40 degrees out - but that I thought the ride would take two hours when it really took three. I ate just one banana at the pit stop and then couldn't figure why my legs were so tired for the last bit. Live and learn.

Nineteen Houstons!

I wasn't real hopeful for a good time this year with all the "catch as catch can" training I'd done over the last two months. Those of you who know me know I skipped lots of workouts for illness and work. I went into the expo and pulled pacer tags for 5 hours, 5:15 and 5:30, figuring that I would do my typical "fly and die" and gut out a finish around 5:30. My plan was to run 10:45s until I couldn't, then run as much as I could on the way in, taking off my pace tags as my estimated finish time matched the later times.

But something happened on race day and I'm not sure what. Maybe it was the good weather, maybe it was the race atmosphere, but I just ran well within myself and started popping off 10 minute miles. Over and over and over. Before I knew it, I had covered 16 miles at that pace. Then I ran two 10:45s. Then I switched over to a four/one run/walk ratio. I cruised across in 4:54:15, ecstatic.

Did I learn anything? My body seems to react to something different every year now. This year, I think it reacted to not having enough mileage trained at marathon goal pace. I think I need to:

• lose weight
• put in more speed work (to not only get faster, but to also have more chance to run an even pace for the whole distance. The farthest I've made it without walking is probably 22 miles - a nut I would love to crack. I think at this slow end, I'm really "in between" my running gears.)
  
• put in more base mileage
  

So I think maybe the FIRST running program (see earlier posts) might really work for me. If I can keep those 10 minute miles through 26 miles instead of just 16, I can knock half an hour off my time.
I've also already signed up for number 20.

My treadmill exploded!

Remember last year how lightning struck nearby and a few things stopped working, including my treadmill? It was like losing an old friend, so I called the local treadmill repair shop for an appointment. The nice lady on the other end politely asked if the treadmill was plugged in and turned on. "I tried that already." I said as I quickly plugged the treadmill back in and bent down on my knees to flip the switch in the back. When I did, the treadmill belt shot forward about 4 feet, landing me flat on my stomach and shooting me back off the treadmill into my scale and some other stuff piled there. I politely told the lady good-bye and told her it looked like it was running.

My family, hearing a yelp and some crashing, had shown up at this point. I proudly announced that my treadmill was working. I put the kill switch back in and (on the sides of the treadmill this time), flipped the reset switch.

The fireworks started. Literally -- sparks were shooting out from the area under the foot guard about a foot from my face. I asked my wife to unplug it (she says I yelled) and get the fire extinguisher. Smoke was coming out between the belt and foot guard, but it stopped. The house smelled of ozone for a good five hours after that.

I called the nice lady at the the treadmill repair place back and made an appointment. It's a good thing it's taper time for the marathon.