marathon training (week four)

useless fact disclaimer...four is my lucky number. so, now you know. it feels good to be on week four of training. i was a little worried (mostly in the way your mom used to worry about you driving through parklands at night because deer are always around there and assuming you're speeding like a punk kid type of way) about any type of pain coming back in my legs. awesome to say...pain is nowhere to be found.

the week kicked off with me doing my four mile run instead of the scheduled three. i really missed my original four mile route, so i did it tuesday. it felt great and i ran it in a pretty good time. the rest of my week went pretty good, too. besides the cold weather (it's illinois, people!) i really felt great all week.

the nine miles today was just as you might think a nine mile run would be when it's five degrees out with a bit of a wind from the northeast. it was the type of run where all of a sudden you're caught thinking, "i'm not going to make it. i'm going to freeze to death out here and no one will find me...ever." now, one might say, "well, tony...shouldn't you feel a little safer since you have a road ID?" and my response would be, "yes, if i would've remembered to take it off my old pair of shoes and put it on my new ones, but i didn't so that automatically means if i die out here from cold no one will know who i am." (obviously, i run out in the wilderness where civilization is nowhere to be found.)



one thing i learned/re-learned this week in regards to running: people in cars are not your friend. while running, consider all vehicles heat seeking missiles directed at you. be prepared to hop off the road into a freezing cold snowy mud mix while almost falling but still managing to keep pace while turning around to give a nice, "hey thanks for keeping me on my toes, Jesus loves You" wave.



week four numbers:


starting weight: 179


monday - rest
tuesday - 4 miler / 32:24 (8:06 miles)
wednesday - 3 miles / 23:10 (7:44) (sidenote...this is the fastest i've ever done three. should be faster.)
thursday - 3 miles / 24:54 (8:18)
friday - rest (stretched my legs every other hour...my hamstrings are WAY tight)
saturday - 30 minutes of strength training & a one mile (resistance 8) on a stationery bike
sunday - 9 miles / 01:19:47 (8:52)
total mileage for the week: 19 miles


ending weight: 178.4

total weight loss/gain: -0.6