easier

none of the regular stiffness or soreness starting out - still not feeling super strong but at least i felt less weak this time LOLOLOL

the routine feels good - the relentless slog towards my goal feels awesome - after the weekend run, it'll be a month i have in - after next tuesdays run i'll officially be a 1/4 of the way to the marathon - sleep eat stretch and rest rest rest

it is coming

yup ok that was 8 k

interesting run today - took the railbed i discovered yesterday out of town - sweet sandy track - saves climbing that stupid hill by going Arrrround it :))
an extra 1/2 k took me to a road i was willing to guess was the road i was looking for yesterday - first k was an awesome wide well drained well ditched road - then it changed - it became a very narrow twisty brush clogged stick strewn bog - more of the track was puddle than was dry - quite a slog - and it started uphill somewhere in there too -

just when the road turned decent again, i ran smack into the golf course - covered in mud and branches and leaves and SWEAT i jogged among the country clubbers til i found my way out - i also found a woods road that was my ultimate object - so next time i'll go the other directon and see if it comes out where i think it does

all down hill from the pines to town - pretty tired when i made the little climb into town - exhausted

checked the schedule and i need an 14.4 km run for this weekend - gulp!

that wasn't 8k

sposed to be an 8k run this am - i plotted a course through a woods trail i found on google earth - trouble is, stuff on planet earth aint in xactly the same place as it is on google earth

took the wrong trail - an abandoned rail bed - led straight baack in town - the surface is wonderful for running on - soft and sandy - it felt like a dream and it comes in town on one of those lovely railroad grades - just enough down hill to make you feel like flying - sweet - measured it on google and it was only a 5 k run

so tomorrow ill try to find the 8k trail again - one of the great things about running is exploring your community - yeehaw

on the weekend jony and i did an 18 + km hike in economy - a great workout - there was also some rock clambering and swimming and waterfall climbing - yeehaw - a ful day of exercise fresh air and - bonus - rained all day - we were purfied no doubt - yeehaw

havent been sleeping or eating enough - still

ps - did a 360 leap over a big puddle today - just felt like it -

sorrry ass

i did not want to get out of bed and i did not want to go for a run this morning - but i had lots to do and so i got started - tried a new route today which involves just running down king and back along queeen sort of ish

king is **the** street to run along in the morning for a view of the harbour and the water and - the basin is just gorgeous and so are the yards now with roses and shrubs - i saw a gorgeous clematis just screaming with blooms today - stopped at corner of queen and warwick to watch the excavator working

as always a little tough to start but soon was loving it out there - man i hope i have the guts to keep this up -it is so much fun and happyness-instilling

tired though - not sleeping enough - might take tomorrow off? saturday is 18 km hike - 3 waterfalls - yay :P

11.39 km explore

ok - yeah it's been a week - i hope you don't think i took the whole week off - just about - I might not have had the strength to get back on track if i hadn't noticed the Pudge gloating a bit - damn

Friday was sposd to be a rest day - Saturday wasn't - got too tied up in not getting my work done - no more of that foolishness - typing all fucking weekend - grrrrrr - the Pudge won that battle but the war is far from over

sunday i made it to soccer practice and rob i guess didn't feel like drilling the boys, so we pretty much scrimmaged the whole time - good run for me baby

then again didnt manage to get out for run monday or tuesday - slept in both days and The Pudge said, "that's ok run later today" - fucker - ended up too busy both times- so this morning i was up and out there

an eleven km jaunt - out the shore road - then up a woods track i found on google earth - talked to a few people but no one knew for sure if it went all the way through - the woods road is pretty much straight up hill - for comparison say - it would be very similar to running up the Beaver at Ski Wentworth (i speak from authority as lockyer and i used to race up the beaver in steel-toed boots with a bale of hay on our shoulder - those were the days :P)

the hill slowed me down but didnt stop me - it comes out at a little lake (what the newfs would call a pond) it used to be a rock quarrry i guess - after that it was pretty much all down hill to town - but still a long hard slog - felt good if a little exhausting -

so here it is wednesday of week three and i just finished week 2 - plan to run a couple five ks thursdya friday and take saturday off (if you call an 18k hike a rest ) and then sunday is either soccer or a run - only 8 km this weeek so tha's ok - and hopefully ill be back on track

the hardest thing about this i have said all along is going to be resting enough, eating enough and keeping going day in day out - so many little things could trip a fella up - the goal here is just to go the distance - go the distance, then if i make it to the vally harvest , the post marathon goal will be to keep running all winter - but right now - go the distance :P

thursday pumper

a five k - did the wharf and the climb up prince william and 3rd - quite a work out but i think i am getting stronger - once again finshed very strong and felt pumped much of the day - this running stuff is working out

rest and run

yesterday was a "rest" day - two naps!!

and today was a wake up and run you lazy bastard day- awesome - i find some mornings i just want to lie in and be depressed but once i get up and running that all goes away - starting off todays run was a slog - it's funny the series of kinks and aches you have to work out - if you just keep going she does start to feel good

jus a 5k ru this am - along the railbed but i went in from the pleasant st. entrance this time so i would be sure of where i was - that dog i was so scared of is in a cage and only barks once and then wags his tail :P

the lupines and other flowers are still awesome and coming home, the endorphins really kicked and i was charging - even after the run - i felt great - i know the pudge is quaking - skip g is growing in power.... 66 runs to go :P
1/12 of the way there..

that is 10K - yeehaw

after council i got dressed and ran to the ferry wharf - i was careful to go real slow - i was just focussed on going the distance - and go the distance i did

I dragged The Pudge 10k tonight and now he is worried - he sees Super G can do this - from now on the increases are only a couple k a week - the trick is to rest and recover and just keep putting along - this could very well be the hardest run of the whole 18 weeks - im thinking it is only going to get easier

the running that is - of course the hard part is going to be fitting it in - 4 runs a week with that fourth taking at least an hour maybe 2, by the end, more than 3. big foucs now on rest, on recovery, on stretching, sleepng and eating

beautiful run to the ferry wharf BTW - lupines all along and some wild roses not to mention the whole basin stretching out before you - at the ferry parking lot i started jumping over the concrete barrier - leap right, left, right, leap left, right, left, leap right, left, right, leap left... idiot - i was winded big time by the end - awesome work out -

and then when i turned around to run the 5 k back, i discovered i had been enjoying a tailwind the whole way oout - i was thinking how great it was going - heading home was a little harder - saw a half dozen other runners - yes virginia, digby is different than alberton LOL

had an ice bath when i got home - i couldnt stay in it for two minutes - i thuoght i was going to die - the second time i got in i decided a tub full of cold water was dangerous and i pulled the plug beofre i coould talk myself into ggetting back in - i figured out in my head that if i did pass out in there - and i was feeling like it was a definite possibilty - that i would die of hypothermia - that was the pudge talking - next time, il try to make three minutes before i freak out - going to bed now big time

(havent run 10 k in at least a year, since before i moved to PEI)

HMCS Halifax RUN NS for Children's Wish

Interviewed the boys today who are running from Yarmouth to Halifax - there is another crew running from Sydney to Halifax - they will meet on the flight deck on Friday to count up the money they raised.

Great to talk to these guys and to talk to them about running - well, you know -i am a listener by trade and i wish i could say inclination - it is good training for me though - just keeping my mouth shut - so i listened and never let on i have little experience with "hurriedly and continuously putting one foot in front of the other."

they were finding the two legs of 5 k per day a little long - i didnt say a word. i think what they are doing is great - and maybe it will inspire some other people to put one foot in front of the other more often. I was inspired by these "ordinary" guys just jumping into this thing and giving her hell. yeehaw

easy ouch easy toe

when i got up this morning the toe was feeeling better and by the end of the day, getting back close to normal - good enough that i felt comfortable dressing for soccer practice - ended up in the killer line up again - damn burpees ! damn crunches in the rain ! damn sprints! what colossal muddy fun! yeehaw

also got to even up the teams for king of the hill - am i too old or just too soft? stuff like that definitely makes me want to work harder

now that the mysterious swelling toe has just as mysteriously cured itself (if i was god, all problems would solve themselves this way - you just put up with it for a bit and then presto - everything 's good again) so now that it is mostly healed i have to figure out how to fit in the 10k i missed - im thinkning if i feel ok in the morning, i should run out to the ferry wharf in the gut and back - then take off tuesday which was supposed to be a 4.5 jog - no biggee and then im back on track...

addendum - if i was god people would not sell crap like i just ate and call it a donair - there are still some things i miss in hali and good fake meat is one of them - my strategy especially early in this war with the Pudge is to keep the gas tank full while i build up the strength for the final battle - round about the time im running 30 +Km a week, it won't matter what i eat - the Pudge is going down

id really like to go to bed -only slept 47 hours this week - 16 short or two days worth goddamn it - this is the one weakness the Pudge may be able to exploit - we must focus our defenses on horizontally until we have that gap secured - cant sleep yet - still 2 f'in stories to write... better get to it :P

mystery toe

it was a little sore yesterday but i thought that was from a blister and no big deal- this morning when i woke up the first toe on my left foot is swollen stiff - it is huge and the swelling is all across the top of the foot - tonight i cant walk but have to hobble - fuck - otherwise i am feeling great and i was really looking forward to the 10k run but it is right out of the question unless a whole lot of swelling disappears over night - where did it fucking come from?

69 to go

that's the meat of week one - 3 runs at 4.5 k - well it was more like 6, 2 and 4.5 but same diff :D

today's was a work out - after running out to the end of the wharf and back (it's a big wharf) i ran straight up prince william street to 3rd - quite a mofo of a climb! running up third takes you to the water towers and the highest part of digby then it's all down hill from there - thank fuck

i was worried that this third run of the week was going to be too much but after the water towers it was fun - in a masochistic sort of way - feels good to have those three under the belt - 17 more sets of three to go - yeehaw

of course the real clincher, the thing id be real worried about if i was allowing myself to worry ( i hear anorexics don't worry and, well..., i'm kinda skinny :P) if i was allowoing my self to worry i'd be worried about this 10 k run scheduled for saturday - luckily i have tday and tomorrow and those two nights to rest up

12 km done and a whole lot more to go - gonna almost double that on saturday - christ - my sneakers stink :P

70 more to go

up and out for my second run this am - i took some time to stretch my hamstring before and that did make things easier... to start.. just an easy run... just a couple k... just to be out... gettting my heart rate up and pounding the legs a little... went for a little walk after just to stretch things out, flush thngs out

best thing about this run is i found a spot down the end of birch street to do chin ups - at the boat shop

first of 73

takes 18 weeks to train for a marathon - 4 runs a week plus x-training and stretching - sleeping and EATING

was out for my first training run this morning - 71 more to go before the BIG ONE.

explored a railbed trail i had mapped out on google earth - who knew: google earth doesnt show huge salivating dogs with spiked collars and red eyes rolling back in their heads - i couldnt turn up the street i wanted to and so end up running 6 km instad of 4.5 - perfect morning for it - overcast and damp - the railbed is lined with lupines, all in full bloom now

feels really good today - tired sure and probaly feel like shit tomorrow but today was fun
maybe tomorrow ill only do 3 k to make up for doing too much today

ruff ruff rrooooaarrrrr

(my right leg was tight and weak today - here's hoping what it needs is the yummy stretch of a daily run :P

Sleeepy day

It rained Sunday I mean really rained - I did a lot of sleeping but stil only brought my hours for this week to 57 - 6 hours short of my goal - almost an hour a night short (or as i prefer to look at it: one afternoon nap a day )

cleaned up the pad which makes me feel great psychologically - soccer was cancelled so now cardio yesterday - shoot - but i did go through the whole "work out by man alone" routine and so i have started - so many times i have started - going at it slow this time and hoping i will stick with it for months and months - depending of course on $ i might like to join the gym after a month or so

eating real well - made a yummy fish stew on the weekend - also back on the wraps and the smoothies - goota keep the fue tank full if im going have the energy to vanquish the Pudge :P
feeling good lewis

saturday scheming

wet and drizzle ol day - spent the morning working and this afternoon i did some scheming - my running resolution was to run a 10k - well i got looking at the race schedule and there aren't any that im interested in - and then i remembered andrea is talking about running the valley marathon - checked the calendar - exactly 18 weeks away - training starts monday - today i used Google Earth to measure a bunch of runs - saving exotic new runs as rewards for reaching new distances is for me a great motivator - i measured out runs around bear river and out to the point prim lighthouse...

this is going to be killer - what it will do is give my life more of a backbone structure than i have had for a while - maybe get me kicking in other ways too - this is going to be killer...

got a great idea how to proceed with hand walking project - i was reading about a technique for mastering the one arm push up - do one perfect rep and then a couple hours later do another perfect rep - adding more per day as able - this way you learn good solid technique and control - so my plan now is to start working the push ups from different angles - especially inclined - when im strong enough, ill start doing one wall-handstand push up and then eventually just pure handstand push ups and then walking - i neeed to work out a strict time table if iam going to do this this year - here we go!!!!

friday morning drizzle

what could more invigorating than an early morn jog in the rain?!?
started with a nice bunch of wake up stretches and then jumped out of bed and ran up that god damn hill. the azaleas and other flowers at the big yellow house on the first landing are worth it but there is no reward for making it to the top other than making it to the top - still a lung stripping leg sapping exercise but i think it mugh be getting easier. i can't believe now that i ran up North Mountain on the Cabot Trail - now it takes everythin i got to run up Convent Hill in Digby - it is a'coming - one step at a time baby

the rain felt awesome - george sheehan said sweat cleanses you from places soap will never reach but when you add to that a spring rain scrubbing your outsides... - well let's just say im feeling pretty purified today :P

more stretches at home and more SU/PU (24/12 and climbing)
a good breakfast. only 5.5hrs sleep last night - im at 41 hours after 5 days so i guess i need 11 hours lieing in the next two days to make 63 - sounds good to me. feeling good lewis.

stretch

lots of sleep again last night and took the time to do a good bunch of stretches when i woke up - feeling good lewis