Archive for June, 2009
June 30th – A Productive Month
Looking back, the past month has been extremely productive. Three of the major goals I accomplished: I started spending more time with family, I started marathon training, and I moved into a stable place that is closer to work. The trick now is to keep the momentum going. In the next month, I am going to make some progress toward my continuing education goals. I need to take the GRE so I can apply to the SOU master’s degree program in computer science. I would also like to start working toward some professional certifications. The other thing I am going to work on is becoming more socially active. I am going to check out some of the Ashland Parks and Recreation classes/activities as well as spend some time re-connecting with old (non drug using) friends. With those goals and the San Francisco Marathon on July 26th, It should be another exciting month.
This evening’s run wasn’t a whole lot of fun. The training plan called for a, short, three mile run so I set out thinking it would be “no big deal”. My plan for this week is to continue practicing the valuable skill of pacing. It was around 88 degrees out when I started my run. As this was a short run, I set out with a goal of 9:50 per mile. I choose to run an “out and back” on Siskiyou Blvd, which means the first half of the run is gradually uphill. I don’t know if it was the heat, the incline, or the (slightly) faster pace but I was feeling pretty drained by the halfway point. After the turn around I was running downhill and feeling pretty good. By the end of the run, I was feeling so good that I am concerned my new uphill/downhill course is too easy. I think I will finish this week out “as is’ and see how things go on Saturday. Next week is a “stepback” week in the Hal Higdon plan so I may take that opportunity to find a new, more consistent, training course.
June 30, 2009
June 29th – Ashland 4th Of July Run
My next run is the 4th of July Run, this Saturday @ 7:45am, here in Ashland, OR. The run is 6 miles, starting near the library in downtown Ashland (Main & 3rd) and looping around areas of East Ashland. This is one of the local runs in which I participated in 2007, finishing with a time of just over 1hr. I remember this course being the most challenging local run I attempted that year. This year, after the Pompadour Half Marathon and my recent training runs on the Ashland portion of the Bear Creek Greenway, I believe it will be a walk in the park. The only challenging aspect of the run is that I will have already put in six miles by the time I hit the starting line. My marathon training schedule calls for a 12 mile run on Saturday so I am going to start the morning early, with an out and back down Main St. Hopefully I will be able to time things so I reach the starting line on time.
June 29, 2009
June 29th – Riding To Medford
I had a great weekend. Saturday evening, I walked around town, spent some time in Lithia Park and checked out The Music Man in the evening. It was a great show. I haven’t been to the theatre in several years and forgot how much energy comes across with live actors and music.
For my Sunday cross training, I decided to ride my bicycle the thirteen miles, down the Bear Creek Greenway, to Medford. It was a great ride. It took a little less than an hour to get down to Medford. Coming back to Ashland was a bit of another story. I stopped by my storage unit and picked up a few things. Riding back, uphill, with a few extra pounds was challenging. It took an extra twenty minutes and I was really feeling the burn that last three miles. Today is my recovery day. I am interested to see what effect that ride will have on my running this week. Hopefully, I will be able to build a Sunday ride into my weekly routine, as there are a ton of places to explore around Ashland.
June 29, 2009
June 27th – A Long Hot Run
I slept in a bit this morning and had to ride my bicycle from where I live over to the Bear Creek Greenway. It was already starting to warm up by the time my feet hit the greenway pavement. The undulating nature of this end of the greenway, coupled with the heat made for a difficult eleven miles. Around mile nine point five I hit a bit of a wall and really wanted to stop. That section of the path is devoid of shade and with the sun beating down on me, I had to force the last mile and a half. Overall, I am excited about today’s run. An important part of marathon training, and life, is finding that wall and pushing yourself to keep going. Today’s run was the best workout I have experienced so far and I am excited for next weekend’s 4th of July run here in Ashland.
I am going to take it easy and spend the rest of the day exploring my new home. I am going to check out Lithia Park, which happens to be (basically) in my back yard, and I am going to try and catch one of the shows this evening over at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. It should make for a very relaxing day.
June 27, 2009
June 26th – Happy Friday
I am super excited about this weekend. I am going to make another trip to storage tonight and get some things but I believe I will wait until after tomorrow’s run to get the heavy items. I am going to run tomorrow’s eleven miles on the Ashland portion of the greenway. This side of the path includes a few more hills than the Medford side so I am looking forward to a good workout tomorrow morning.
Hopefully, I will be able to complete my move on Saturday so I can spend Sunday exploring my new home town.
June 26, 2009
June 25th – First Night In My New Place
I woke this morning excited to pack the rest of my things and begin the transition to my new place and new routine. My right ankle was a little sore this morning so I opted to run today’s scheduled three miles after work. I took a long walk on my lunch break and that seemed to work the soreness out.
It is really nice to live close to work. I was off work and ten minutes later, had my running shoes on and I was out the door. Running in Ashland is quite a different experience. While the greenway does extend to Ashland, it is a bit too far from my new place to be an option for my weekday runs. This evening, I opted to run down Main street. I am sure as I learn more of the town, I will find other paths. For now, however, Main street makes the most sense as it is fairly flat and extends across town and it’s, coincidentally, the only major street I am familiar with. I spent the beginning of the run dodging pedestrians and timing stop lights but the further I ran from the downtown area, the easier it was to navigate. Overall, it was an enjoyable experience. I am looking forward to learning new routes and working some of the Ashland hills into my training.
After my run, I went and grabbed some blankets and things from storage. It’s going to be really nice sleeping in my own sheets tonight. I can’t wait to get the rest of my things moved in, this weekend.
June 25, 2009
June 24th – Last Night In The Hotel
I had some packing to do this morning so I put off today’s run until after work. With today being my last day in the hotel, and living near the greenway, I am glad I waited until this evening to run. It was a beautiful evening and still well above 80 when I started my run. I had a great time. The schedule called for a 6 mile run at my long run pace. It was hard to start slow on a, relatively, short run. It took some discipline but did a good job of staying on pace. To tell you the truth, it made the run so enjoyable, it didn’t really feel like a good workout. I am going to make up for it by pushing a little harder, on my last Medford training run, tomorrow morning.
2 comments June 24, 2009
June 23rd – Moving To Ashland
Excited about today’s run, I woke a bit early this morning. It was cold when I started out. The cold, plus the fact that the schedule only called for a three mile run, encouraged me to run a little faster than normal. This wasn’t my fastest three mile run but it was close. I usually start out a bit slow, speed up about halfway, slow down a little, and finish as fast as I can. My goal for future runs is to work on consistency. Starting this morning, I am picking a target pace and practicing maintaining that pace throughout the run. This morning went well. Overall I maintained my target 10:00 pace (give or take 10 seconds). Tomorrow will be a test. I am going to shoot for maintaining my “long run” pace of 12:00. I usually find it hard to maintain the slower pace on the “mid length” runs.
Most of you already know that I have been staying in a hotel since I made the decision to get my life together. It made sense, at the time, with my income being a bit unstable and me focusing on personal, and financial stability. Now that I have found those things. I am making the move. In about 20 minutes, I am picking up the keys to my new place. I am really excited. When I think about all that has happened in the past four months, I can’t help but feel fortunate. I have an amazing support structure of family and friends. Thank you all again for your love, help, and support.
3 comments June 23, 2009
June 21st – Happy Father’s Day Dad!
After sleeping in a bit, I started the day with a phone call to Dad. I missed him but left him a Happy Father’s Day voice mail. I know my Dad checks my “Diary” (as he calls it) daily so I want to take pause to thank him again for all he has done. Not just in the past 4 months but throughout my life. Thank you Dad for the valuable life lessons you have helped me learn and for standing by, and not giving up on me, even when I gave up on myself.
I’m not 100% sure it qualifies but Sunday’s cross-training consisted of bicycling around town and doing some shopping. I hit the grocery store in the morning and, after making some lunch, spent the afternoon at the mall buying clothes. As it was the first weekend of summer, I thought it only appropriate to re-stock my supply of shorts and shorter sleeved work shirts. I successfully navigated the crowds at the mall and spent a quiet evening at home preparing for the week. Overall, it was a relaxing Sunday.
2 comments June 21, 2009
June 20th – Grease In The Park
After helping my friend move, I went back to Hawthorne Park to check out the Medford Cruise. I showed up just in time to see that cars (and trucks) leaving for the cruise. It was nice to see them all parade by. After the last car left I went back home, grabbed some dinner, found a blanket, and headed back to the park for the second of the Movies In The Park Series. Tonight’s show was Grease. It’s one of my favorite movies and really reminds me of a friend I use to have. It was cool seeing all of the families and kids hanging out (and singing along) and some of the cruise cars parked in the back in sort of a “mock drive-in”. It was a great movie and a great time.
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- Medford Cruise
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- The Drive In – Medford Style
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- Grease In The Park
June 20, 2009
