It's been such a long time since we've blogged that I sort of feel like we're starting over again. I really do hope we can keep up with it this time. We started to train for a full marathon so I feel like blogging will definitely help with the whole process. We just finished our 4th week of a 16 week training program for the Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Marathon on June 3, 2012. More on that soon.
Since out last blog our main accomplishment has been finishing another half marathon (The Carlsbad Half Marathon). That race was particularly tough for me because I was battling some knee issues. I took about 4 weeks off of running before the race to allow my knee to heal but on race day the pain returned at about mile 8. On top of that, I got a horrible blister on my right foot at about mile 7 that rubbed all the way to the finish line. Since I had to stop frequently due to the knee pain and blister, Carly ran ahead of me and we did the last 5 miles of the race apart. That was a different experience for both of us because we usually push each other during a race and for the last part we had to find our own motivation. Carly ended up finishing the race with a time of about 1:57:00 and despite my alements I finished about 10 minutes after her with a time of 2:07:00. It was not a personal best for either of us but we were not disappointed with our performance.
Every time I run a half marathon, I always wonder where I'll find the strength to run a full marathon. I know I need to keep my knees healthy or the full marathon won't happen for me. I am making a commitment to myself to keep up with my knee strengthening exercises and stretches. My goal is to do some every day leading up to the race. If I can keep the muscles strong and the tendons loose then I should be able to steer clear of the pain. Fingers crossed!
Now for some current events. As I mentioned before we are in our 4th week of training and this weekends run was an 8 miler. As I type this blog I am actually on a plane on the way back from a business trip to New York. Since Saturday is our long run day, we ran separately this morning - me in New York and Carly at home in LA. Carly's route this morning took her down near Playa Vista and past the building I work in and lopped back home. After having some difficulty with a 5 mile run on the treadmill earlier this week, Carly really enjoyed this new route outdoors in some beautiful 60+ degree weather. When I'm in NY I love to run in Central Park. This morning it was 28 degrees Fahrenheit when I started my run. With the windchill it was closer to 20 degrees. This was by far the coldest run I've ever done but surprisingly it wasn't that bad. I ran from the Hudson Hotel (where I stayed) near Columbus Circle to the entrance of Central Park at 86th street. I then did a few laps around the Jackie O Reservior and ran back to the southern part of the park and finished up right near the hotel.
I had some minor knee pain about half way through but after some more stretching I was good to finish the run. There were times when a strong gust of wind during the run chilled me to the bone but I was able to keep pretty warm (mostly thanks to my head-to-toe Lululemon gear: beanie, jacket, gloves and pants).
That's about it for now. More frequent updates coming soon. For the marathon we will definitely be doing some fundraising. I will post all that info here and on Facebook and Twitter once we have it.
Adios!
Clayton
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