Running With Jack

I find myself thinking that I am addicted to running marathons, I mean five days after running the Koberstadaedt Marathon I find myself going through withdraw, scouring the race calendars looking for my next fix. Forget post-marathon depression, I'm on a post-marathon adrenaline kick! Actually that is depressing because my wife is pulling back hard on the reins, i.e. "Don't you think you've run enough this year?"...silly question really...sigh :-(

On Wednesday night I showed up early at my running club trailhead so I could run 5K before the group run. One of my group showed up at the same time so we ran the 5K out and back together. Afterward I ran a 9K loop, the first 5K with the mid-pack group and the last part a bit slower with one of the ladies who was not having a good day.

Last night I went for a swim on the way home from work, the first time since the winter. I struggled through 700 meters and decided that was enough. I did finally start to get my form back on the last few laps, but felt very much out of my element.

Tonight I am running with my running companion from a couple Sunday's ago. I'm going to introduce her to my hilly route in Weingarten, I hope she likes hills, I did warn her and she didn't seem to be concerned. Maybe she will end up running me ragged, stay-tuned :-)

Posted by Jack at 7:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In an effort to rediscover swimming as a form of cross-training I stopped at the Faecherbad in Karlsruhe for a swim on the way home from work. I believe the last time I went swimming was the first week of January, so I wasn’t expecting much as I changed and headed towards the lap pool.

As I was walking through I bumped into my swim instructor from a year or two ago. To my amazement she said “You’re looking fit, have you lost some weight?” Hmmm, I don’t think so, but as it has been quite awhile since one of the female species paid a compliment, I accepted it with a smile.

Apparently my swelled head helped keep me afloat, I knocked out 500 meters freestyle like nothing. I then alternated breaststroke/freestyle every 100 meters for the remaining 500 meters. On the last lap I got a severe cramp in my right hamstring, I was in pain! I swam to the edge of the pool and tried to stretch it out. After a couple minutes I managed to finish my lap, but my leg is still a bit sore today.

The weather has been going nuts this week! We had a big storm over the weekend with rain, hail and near-hurricane winds. Yesterday we had snow, and it is supposed to warm back up to the mid-fifties by tomorrow – what’s up with that?

The initial weather report for Sunday’s marathon are a high of 9C/48F, but windy and rainy. I have no problem with the temperature, but I could do without wind and rain. The race course has a lot of mile long, open, unprotected, streets that can be downright miserable by stormy weather. However I’m not going to get too worked up about it, I’m not intending for this race to be a record-breaking race. There will be more opportune times to worry about speed later in the year.

Posted by Jack at 9:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Last night after work I stopped at the 25-meter swimming pool in Blankenloch for some laps. This was the first time that I went swimming for several months, but quickly fell found my pace and knocked out 600 meters freestyle, 400 breast stroke – not a bad beginning.

In the weight control (I hate the word diet) department I am also doing well. I have already brought my weight down from a post-vacation high of 77kg/170lbs. to a pre-race weight of 74kg/164lbs. My short term goal is to continue this trend and try to reach and maintain 70kg/155lbs. by the end of the year. It would be nice to start next years race season slim and trim :-)

Posted by Jack at 5:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Last night I sought relief from the heat and humidity as I headed home from work, namely I stopped at the pool for some laps. I have been slouching off with my swimming lately so it took awhile to find my groove, but I managed to knock out a 1000 meters of mixed breast/freestyle. The best though was escaping the heat for awhile.

This morning it is rainy and cool, but it is supposed to warm up considerable by the end of the day. In any case I want to run with my running club tonight.

I am cutting back with my mileage this week in anticipation of my marathon on Sunday. This will be my fifth marathon (or ultra) in five months. My goal is six in six months, but if August is as hot as July has been I will have no problem skipping a month. I am already signed up for a marathon in September (16th) in nearby (half hour) Karlsruhe. I also am a click away from signing up for a 50K or 50-miler three weeks after that. I want to see how the marathon goes on Sunday before I decide how the next few months will unfold.

Posted by Jack at 6:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

First a few race stat’s from Saturday’s 50-miler:

Finish time: 9:25:56
I was 41st out of 73 in my age group (M40 – this includes ages 40-49, I’m almost 48)
I was 94th out of 178 overall.

Average pace: 7:04/K (11:23/M)
Marathon time (26.2M): approx. 4:37:00

Last year I finished in 10:19:09, was 89/129 overall and 38/50 in my age group. That’s a pretty satisfying improvement don’t you think!

I went for an easy swim last night, covering around 700 meters before I grew lazy and wimped out. It was raining outside, so naturally the pool was full of kids that killed my nerves – at least I stayed off the couch :-)

My legs feel really good this morning, I want to run a small loop with my running club tonight. Hopefully I can keep my ego at bay and remain humble about my race. I’ve already received a couple congratulatory e-mails from a couple running club friends. Oh, I also called Walter a couple nights ago, he is the one from my running club who DNFed the race on Saturday due to knee problems. He is feeling better but has sworn off any longer races for the rest of the year. He hopes his knees will improve so he can run the race next year, he’s a fighter I think he’ll be there!

This weekend (Sunday) I am volunteering at my running clubs (LT TSV Graben) 5K/10K race, the Asparagus Lauf (run). I will be manning one of the water points and trying to spur the runners on! I’m looking forward to it, this will be my first time volunteering :-) Here's a copy of the poster for the race, isn't the running asparagus cool ;-)

Posted by Jack at 6:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

It was over 90°F outside when I stopped at the pool for some laps after work yesterday. Nothing like a 1000 meter swim in the comparatively cool waters of a pool to refresh you.

The tapering this week is beginning to work its magic, despite an extra hectic week at work. All the little aches and soreness from the hard weeks of training are disappearing and my energy level is recharging. A week from tomorrow (Saturday) is my 50-mile race and I am looking forward to the challenge.

I am going to keep the mileage down up until the race, probably just a 10-mile run this weekend and a couple 5-mile runs during the week. Hopefully this will leave me fresh for race day. Have a nice weekend.

Posted by Jack at 10:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

After work last night it was 33C/91F outside so I decided to stop at the swimming pool in the neighboring town of Blankenloch for some laps. I got off to a slow start, for some reason my neck and shoulders were really sore, my theory is that it is the new office air conditioner – it blows almost directly over my desk. I ended up swimming around 1000 meters in 45 minutes, a bit slower even for me.

Tonight I want to run with my running club, hopefully it won’t be as hot as it has been the last two days, I’m not adjusted to this sudden temperature change we've had.

For the weekend I am going to run a hilly 2-1/2 hour long run on Saturday morning and/or a half-marathon on Monday (a holiday in Germany). It will probably depend on what my wife has planned, if she wants to study on Monday the I’ll race.

Have a great week!

Posted by Jack at 6:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I had to finish up a task at work yesterday so left my office an hour later than normal. This ended up being to my advantage as I arrived at the Blankenloch swimming pool and found it almost empty. I was able to knock out my 1000 meters of swimming in the 25-meter long pool without running (swimming) over kids or playing roller derby with other swimmers. I felt so good afterward that I did an extra 100 meters just for fun.

My hamstring seems to be almost normal again, really the only time it bothers now is when I sit for extended periods of time. I have been taking a walk during lunch time with a coworker, his slower walking pace seems to be just right in keeping my hamstring loose.

Tomorrow morning I am going on a long run. I have 32K/20M on the schedule but I’m a bit leery of going the entire distance considering the hamstring pain I had this week. I have decided to run shorter loops over my hilly running route and quit early if the hamstring seems to act up again.

Posted by Jack at 6:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I stopped at the swimming pool on the way home from work last night and knocked out a kilometer of laps in the 25 meter pool in Blankenloch (the next town south of where we live). It was several weeks since I was swimming last, but I quickly fell into a groove and had a good workout. I think my freestyle is slowly improving despite not ever having a freestyle swim course.

My wife took the train to Mannheim yesterday (40 minute ride) and talked to the firm that is offering the technical writing course that she has decided to take and returned totally motivated to do this. The school has stated that 80% of the last few classes found jobs within a few months of completing the course, so hopefully my wife will have the same luck.

I was talking to my wife last night about race plans for May. Last year I ran a 50K in May as a preparatory workout for my 50-mile run in June. I have narrowed it down to two possibilities, the same 50K that I ran last year, or the Mannheim Marathon.

My wife favors the Mannheim marathon because it wouldn’t require an overnight stay, and being on a Saturday evening, she wouldn’t have to work the next day. It may also be possible that we can take the train, which would eliminate the need (and expense) of finding a parking place. The minus point (for me) is that the marathon is a city marathon = asphalt. I ran the Mannheim marathon in 1995 as my first marathon, the streets are brutal on the quads.

The 50K race is farther away (3-1/2 hours) and due to its early starting time either requires that we lose a lot of sleep or stay overnight the night before the race. The race is also on a Thursday holiday, which means my wife has school the next day (Friday). The plus point is that the run is almost 100% forest trail or gravel/dirt paths and has lots of nice hills and scenery to keep me occupied.

In either case I mentioned that my wife doesn’t have to go with me to the race, she can stay home and relax. But my wife seems to think that I might overdo it and not be able to safely drive home, so for her this option is not an option.

Anyway, we still have time before I have to sign up for either race, so I’ll wait and see how the next several weeks develop. My training will remain the same in either case, my main objective being the 50-miler in June.

Posted by Jack at 7:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Last night I stopped at the pool in Blankenloch for some laps. I was kind of tired from all the running lately plus a busy work week, so figured I would just do a relaxing swim. It ended up being one of my best swim sessions for a long time! I mean I relaxed, was able to concentrate on my form and knocked out 1100 meters in less time than it normally takes me to do a 1000 when I’m trying to train hard. I also felt much better after the swim, no aching shoulder muscles like I usually have, I guess form is everything.

Happy Valentines Day to anyone that celebrates it!

Posted by Jack at 8:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Last night I stopped at the pool in the neighboring town of Blankenloch for some laps. I have been really slacking off with swimming, it was only my second time at the pool this year. Last time it turned into a combat swimming session as the pool was overcrowded and almost impassable. This time it was just the opposite, there were a couple mothers with there kids in the kiddy pool and the main pool was empty, EMPTY, can you believe it, I sure couldn’t. I dived right in and got down to business, I knew it was just a matter of time before the hoards showed up. Surprisingly there were only about 10 people in the pool by the time I finished my 1000 meters. Anyway I think I set a new personal speed record and probably could have given any 90-year swimmers a good race ;-)

I am feeling totally regenerated this morning, I think the relaxed run on Monday mixed with a little more sleep and better eating have helped to clear the cobwebs a little. I am looking forward to a good training run this evening.

I was pestering, I mean encouraging, Sandra to pick up running again this morning. Her husband already vetoed running with my running club because they have other commitments on the nights the club runs. So on to plan B, I talked with my wife last night about whether I should offer to run with Sandra once or twice a week. Logistically this is no problem, Blankenloch is only a 5K run away, I would only need to alter my running route a bit. The only thing that I want to make sure about is that my wife doesn’t have any negative vibes about me running with a pretty young lass. My wife is not usually the jealous type, but I don’t want to leave anything to chance. Of course Sandra’s husband would need to be okay with this too, not that I am a wolf any anything - I guess I’m just weird about things like this.

I seem to have a lot of nervous energy today, I guess that’s why I am bloggering on like a fool. Today is my wife’s job interview and I hope so much that it goes well for her, she is one of the hardest working women that I know and probably overqualified for the office job she is applying for. I’ll certainly be saying a prayer when its time for her interview, we’ll see what happens.

Posted by Jack at 7:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Summary of last night’s training:

1000 meter swimming (500 breast/500 crawl)
11K/6.8M run with running club (5:54/K or 9:30/M pace)
50 jumping jacks
60 push-ups
40 sit-ups
40 squats (body weight)
cool-down

Posted by Jack at 7:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you have ever tried to lose weight you know that it is not easy. I have fought this problem off and on since I was about five years old. I know very few (if any) people who lose weight slowly, steadily and according to plan. I usually do good for a few days then binge, get frustrated, binge, feel guilty, binge, and end up having to start all over again. Dieting is all about burning more calories than you take in. For me this is a delicate balance and when I mix this with an over gluttonous appetite, I have a very tiny fuse before blowing up an entire weeks dieting efforts in a matter of hours.

Okay I binged and I’m frustrated, but I am putting myself in the corner and facing the Diet Monster and his companions Miss Frustration and Dr. Guilt. I’m breaking the cycle that has cost me so much frustration in my life. Rather than straying frustrated, guilty and beating myself with more calories I’m drawing the line and daring the Diet Monster to cross it. The only way I (and you) can beat the Diet Monster is to fight like an alley cat backed into the corner. If you slip up and indulge, don’t drop back and lick your wounds, rather jump in the middle and fight back - run, walk, swim, bike, or just drop down and do some pushups!

My weight this morning 74kg/163.5 lbs., up 1kg/2.2 lbs. from Tuesday, DOWN 1 lb. from yesterday!

Last night I stopped at the pool and swam my laps, 1000 meters plus an extra 100 for the Diet Monster, take that whack!

Posted by Jack at 8:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Last night I stopped at the pool on the way home from work and swam a 1000 meters, alternating breast and crawl strokes. I felt a little run down from a lack of energy as I started out, but once I got in the groove it was fine.

When I got home my wife had dinner ready: a pasta dish consisting of elbow noodles, cooked together with chopped up low fat ham slices, parsley, and an egg or two. Oh, and a green salad with low fat dressing on the side. As I am always starving after going swimming I added a slice of the filling German potato bread with some honey.

I started having hunger attacks around 8 p.m., so went upstairs in the shed and lifted some free weights and rode my wife’s stationary bike for a few minutes. This seemed to get rid of the hunger pains (it’s all in the mind). Actually I think it froze my hunger sensors, as it was only 8C/46F in the shed and I didn’t have my jacket with me.

This morning the scales were still stuck on 75 kg./166 lbs., which was no surprise, I know I have to be patient. From my experience it is better to lose weight slowly, particularly when I am exercising frequently.

Tomorrow afternoon is my 11.8K/7.3M mountain run in Neckargemund, near Heidelberg Germany. If you have ever seen pictures of the Heidelberg Castle, it is the same mountain range. I'm hoping the rain will hold off tomorrow so I can get some pictures.

Posted by Jack at 7:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Yesterday I stopped at the pool and swam a 1000 meters, alternating crawl and breast stroke every 100 meters. The pool was reasonably empty, so it was a pleasure to swim, no bumping heads or terminating little kids.

Today I will probably run with my running club at 5 p.m., if I can wait that long :-)

Tomorrow morning I am meeting my friend John at the 10K race. I plan on running with him again, so it won’t be a speed race (for me), unless John has been training in secret and surprises me ;-) I paced his first 10K race about three weeks ago, we finished in around 58:30, about 12 minutes slower than my best 10K race, so this will be a “recovery” race for me :-)

I let you know how it goes, have a nice weekend everyone.

Posted by Jack at 8:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I stopped at the pool last night on the way home from work and swam 1200 meters, half with the breast stroke, half freestyle (crawl). The pool was not as busy as normal so I guess I was more relaxed, the swimming came easier than usual. For anyone new to my blog, I am a relatively new swimmer, having only one swim course (breast stroke) under my belt from last winter. I more or less taught myself some resemblance of the freestyle. I wanted to take a crawl/freestyle course this year, but the courses are few and fill up almost immediately (first come, first serve, no waiting lists). So basically I’m not fast, but I get the job done.

The Diet

I continue to half-heartedly try to lose the last 7 kilograms/15 pounds that would leave me at my dream weight of 67 68 kg/150 lbs. I was down to 73 kg/161 lbs. for about five minutes this summer, but have been fluttering around 75 kg/166 lbs. for most of the rest of the year. Following my marathon in September and the vacation right after this I shot up to 78 kg/172 lbs. and it has taken me until this week to bring it back down again. This morning I was 74.5 kg/165 lbs. and hope to drop another pound or two by the middle of next week. My goal is to still be under 75 kg/166 lbs. the days following my 50K race in ten days.

For the rest of the year I want to decrease running slightly and add more crosstraining, including weight lifting. I hope that, together with a serious diet plan, that I can lose make a serious dent in my weight loss. Pretty ambitious during the holiday season, right!

Posted by Jack at 6:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I got off work a little later last night, so was a bit rushed when I stopped at the pool on the way home. The problem was that I also needed to stop at the store on the way home and they close at 6:30 p.m. So I knocked out 600 meters of laps before I ran out of time. Somehow this was enough anyway, it has been awhile since I went swimming and I was out of the groove.

I hope I get off work in time tonight to run with my running club at 6 p.m. - if not then I'll just do it solo. It has been getting dark before 8 p.m. so I may need my flashlight if it gets too late, also not a problem. Happy running!

Posted by Jack at 8:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The Swim

Last night I stopped at the swimming pool on the way home from work. It was fairly busy, but I managed to get in a 1000 meters of laps before feeling crowded. I alternated breaststroke and freestyle every 100 meters, mostly so I didn’t drive everyone nuts as I seemed to have a hard time swimming straight when doing the freestyle. I still am a very weak swimmer. I probably could finish a sprint tri if I really wanted to, but I would prefer to wait until my swimming improves. The pool is closed for renovations for the next 3 weeks, so I have to find another place to swim next week.

The Diet

What diet? I’ve gained 3 lbs. since my tapering started. I would like to think it is just water, but it probably has more to do with the fresh pastries that I have been shamefully stuffing into my mouth almost every morning at work. I usually go through the pastry phase as the weather cools down and autumn set in. Unfortunately this cycle started early this year, at 6 a.m. this morning it was only 12C/54F and yesterday it only reached 16C/61F – this is August, right??

Anyway, I made sure to bring some fresh fruit with me to work this morning, I only have to stay away from the cafeteria until the danish are sold out :-)

The Taper

I feel pretty much recovered from my PR-breaking half-marathon on Sunday. I have a total of 42K/26M on the training schedule for this week. Compared to the 95K/60M weeks that I was putting in prior to tapering this seems like a warm-up. I woke up this morning feeling in dire need of a long run.

Posted by Jack at 8:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Last night I stopped at the swimming pool on the way home from work and swam 1100 meters. The tapering is already paying off, I was more relaxed and was able to swim more efficiently (e.g. the lifeguards didn’t try to rescue me when I did the freestyle ;-)

Tonight I am running with my running club, pace to be determined when I get there. I am trying to take it easier this week so I can have a good half-marathon race on Sunday. I try to set a personal best at least once a year with each race distance (below marathon), I already have a PB for the 8.88889K (Baden Mile) and 10K, now it’s time to try my luck at the HM. If it doesn’t work out I have a couple more events this year, I’m not going to get all stressed out about it.

Happy running!

Posted by Jack at 8:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Yesterday was a cold, rainy day so we decided to stay home and get a few things done around the house. At 5 p.m. my wife went upstairs to work on her Technical English homework, so I decided to go to the swimming pool. The pool ended up being really crowded, but I fought my way through 1000 meters of laps. In any case I worked off some of the mega-calories that I consumed this weekend. I’m going to have to cut way back with the eating when I start tapering.

Tapering on the Horizon

Speaking of tapering, I have just one more intensive week of training and then I’ll start tapering for my September 10th marathon. My last long run will be on Saturday morning. I haven’t decided whether to do another back-to-back run, or just one real long run. I guess I will see how the legs feel on Friday. I don’t think there is any real need to do a back-to-back long run this weekend, I’m only training for a marathon and a 50K, not a 50/100-miler.

The Rest of the Year

As I mentioned I have a marathon on September 10th. The week following this we will be on vacation in Toscana, Italy, but then it will be back to work training for my 50K that I will run on October 21st.

I also have several other shorter races on the calendar, I probably can’t do all of them (my wife would flip out), but I will surely try to do as many as possible:

Hambrucken Half-marathon – August 27
Pfalz Marathon (Pirmasens) – September 10
Kraichgau Half-marathon – September 24
Neudorf 10K Autumn Run – October 1
Rhine Half-marathon – October 3
Durlach 10K Town Run – October 7
Hardt Forest Run (10K) – October 15
Schwabischer Alb 50K – October 21
Neckargemund 11.8K Mountain Run – November 4
Karlsbad 10K Volks Run – November 11
Karlsruhe Palace 10K Run – November 19
Marsch 8.4K Cross Country Run – November 25
Bruchhausen Half-marathon – December 2
Rheinzabern 10K Run – December 17
South Pfalz 9.1K Cross Country Run – December 23
Forchheim 10K New Years Run – December 30

Most of these are within 30-40 minutes of my house - so I guess my old bones won’t be collecting any rust for the rest of the year!

Posted by Jack at 8:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Today after work I headed to the pool for some laps. As today was the first day of school vacation (and it was rainy outside) the pool was full of nerve-breaking teenies. There were also more adults than normal, probably trying to get a last workout in before they spend the next 2-3 weeks on vacation with the kids.

In any case I managed to get in 1100 meters of laps. I was in no hurry – my legs were still tired from the speed workouts this week, so I just took my time and tried to enjoy it the best I could (despite the masses).

A Forest Marathon?

A couple people asked me what's a “forest" marathon? The marathon that I am running in September is called the Pfalzwerwald (Pfalz Forest) Marathon. According to the advertising for the race the route “Quickly leaves the city and enters into the soft ground and fresh air of the forest, eventually circling around the forest back to the starting point.”

So basically the first and last kilometer (+/-) are asphalt, the rest should be “soft” forest paths. If the paths are like most forests in Germany they are improved logging or farm trails usually consisting of dirt, gravel or some kind of mixture like this. It is rare to find any single-path or rough trails like you find in many parts of North America. There are several hill climbs during the race, but again I can’t imagine the “trail” will be in too bad of shape.

You should also realize that this is not a small marathon, they are expecting up to 3000 participants for either the marathon or half-marathon. So the trails have to be pretty accessible to handle this crowd.

I anticipate that the “trails” will be very similar to what I run on regularly, developed dirt and gravel paths through the shady forest. Sounds good to me anyway, I’m really looking forward to it! Anything but asphalt!!

Posted by Jack at 6:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Last night I stopped at the swimming pool on the way home from work and swam 1000 meters of laps. Lately I have had the feeling my freestyle stroke has been getting worse, not better (sigh!), but somehow last night I did okay. I ended up alternating freestyle/breaststroke every 100 meters.

Last night we had a huge thunderstorm which cooled off things a little bit through the night. I hope this lasts for a couple days.

Tonight I have been invited to run with a coworker at a 10K benefit race that is helping to raise money for a young girl with leukaemia. I haven’t committed yet, but am going to have to make a decision soon. It will make my 4 a.m. wakeup and 5 a.m. 3.5 hour long run a little more difficult, but Thomas said we should stop whining, so I will.

Posted by Jack at 6:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Whew, it has been hot this week! The past two days have been the hottest days of the year so far, 37C/99F. I know my 19K/12M run on Wednesday night left me worn down pretty good. The worst thing is that I have only been getting 4-5 hours sleep a night because it has been so warm, I’m used to 7 hours. The combination is slowly sapping my energy.

Last night I went swimming, but the pool was crowded (no surprise with 99F) and after 800 meters I was pooped and tired of fighting the crowd.

I had planned on doing a little weight training last night, but my “weight room” in the shed was 40C/104F at 7:30 p.m. (the room is in the attic of an uninsulated shed). This was a little too hot even for me, so I piddled around in my woodworking shop for an hour, then read a book.

My wife came home for the fourth night in a row and crashed on the couch – the heat is just too much for her. She comes back to life around 9 p.m. and stays awake till about midnight doing what she needs to do.

I am thinking about moving to Ireland where it doesn’t get so hot and they run naakeed on the beach.

Posted by Jack at 7:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Last night I stopped at the swimming pool for some laps. It was another hot (31C/88F) and humid day and I was mentally wiped out from working in a hot office by the time I got to the pool. Somehow I couldn’t get my breathing right with my freestyle, I’d swim about 50 meters and felt totally out of breath. I believe this was a result of my clogged sinus from my summer cold. I ended up swimming a thousand meters, mostly breast stroke, before heading home.

I spent part of the rest of the night adding another coat of paint to my wife’s new coffee cupboard for her office. Hopefully I can finish this up on the weekend and drop it off at her office next week. My sweety already has my next project lined up, refinishing a 3-drawer bedroom chest.

Posted by Jack at 6:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

In any case I swam through two goals by Germany - obvious from the roaring of the crowd. I think I was the last remaining male in the pool by the second goal, I obviously would not make a good German, good thing I?m proud to be an American!

The weather prediction for Saturday?s 80K race is looking gloom: 33C/92F, sunny and humid with a chance of rain by Sunday morning. It?s going to be ugly!

I spent the rest of last night working on my webpage which I have neglected for so long. I?m trying to organize some of my favourite race reports, pictures and travel stories for my family and friends. I?ll eventually put a link on my blog when I?m done.

Speaking of the blog, I have decided that I have had enough of Blogger.com, which doesn?t allow me to edit my posts anymore, rarely lets me post a picture and doesn?t always let people comment. I will eventually be moving to a new host, I?ll let you know when it?s time.

Posted by Jack at 7:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Anyway last night I went to the pool and swam 8 laps (800 meters), about half with my perverted freestyle and the rest breast stroke. Somehow my freestyle form was way off, I guess I forgot how to swim in the last three weeks that I stayed away from the pool. Sigh, I am still hoping I can take a freestyle class in the Fall.

After a quite dinner at home, my wife crashed on the couch and I spent some time looking over the race schedule for the summer. Lots of 10K races coming up in June and July. Several of them are within a half-hour drive from us, so I will probably participate in a few of them.

I have a slightly longer race in mind for the end of June, but am patiently waiting to see how my run tonight and this weekend go before I make any final plans. If my fitness level feels close to what it was before my 50K race and my wife is in agreement, then I will probably go for 'it'. My upcoming runs this week are important milestones because there will be very little time to prepare for 'it'.

Happy training!

Posted by Jack at 7:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)