Run, Marc, Run!

After sitting unused in the box in our living room for almost five months, my new Saucony shoes got a taste of the road this morning. I got myself up and out and managed to run a moderate/slow 2.29 miles on a fairly mild January morning. Given my long time off from any sort of running, I’m happy with this morning’s performance and plan/hope to make it the start of a regular routine.

At this point, I’m thinking to keep my distances on the shorter side, topping out at maybe 10K when I can get back to that, and strive for frequency over distance or speed for the next few months.

Morning Run – Riverside Dr. by mmelzer at Garmin Connect – Details.

I started this blog just more than three years ago, at the very end of 2009, and only kept up with it in earnest for 7 months (my late stage marathon training was automatically posted from MapMyRun). Well, a lot of running and other stuff has happened in the 2.5 years since I last posted. Most importantly, I got married and we had a baby girl (2.5 years is a long time). Running/exercise-wise, I ran the ING NYC Marathon in November 2010, participated in the Hazon NY Ride in 2010 and 2011, completed the Aquaphor NYC Triathlon in July 2012, and participated in a number of smaller races.

After a post-tri break and mild illness this summer, I bought new running shoes (Saucony Powergrid Triumph 9 in orange) in mid-August and planned to restart my routine before our daughter was born sometime around her Labor Day weekend due date. As luck would have it, she came a little early, just a couple of days after my shoes arrived, and they’ve languished in the box since, despite a fairly runner-friendly fall (hurricane aside). Well, a milder forecast for today sent me out on the streets this morning, assisted by our adorable little alarm clock going off a bit earlier than usual. My plan and hope is that this is the (re)start of something good.

MapMyRun.com – Long Run: Afternoon CP Long Training Run on 11/01/2010.

MapMyRun.com – Long Run: 20 Mile Training Run on 10/25/2010.

MapMyRun.com – Regular Run: Afternoon CP Run on 10/06/2010.

MapMyRun.com – Treadmill: Afternoon Treadmill Run on 10/04/2010.

We finally had a break in the unrelenting humidity today, though the temperature was still in the 80s. I went out to do a 10mi long run, which was on my training schedule for yesterday, but was feeling a lot of fatigue in my legs, so I stopped after 4mi and then used the exercise bike in the gym for 45min when I got home. Somehow I’m going to have to get back to very regular running to rebuild the strength in my legs.

via MapMyRun.com – Regular Run: Midday CP Run on 07/26/2010.

Time: 41:18
Distance: 4.04mi
Pace: 10:13/mi

The fast on Tuesday pushed the start of my training schedule by a day, but I was able to get out last night and do my first 6mi “easy run.” It’s clear to me that my conditioning is down from where I’d like, and the extreme humidity doesn’t help. I’m hoping to really stick with my training program, taken from RunnersWorld.com, to build back up.

via MapMyRun.com – Regular Run: Evening CP Run on 07/21/2010.

Time: 1:02:56
Distance: 6.14mi
Pace: 10:14/mi

108 days to ING NYC Marathon 2010

Stacey and I got out after dark, when the heat and humidity broke some, to take an easy 4mi run in Central Park. I’m hoping to get myself onto a regular schedule beginning next week, when I fall within 16 weeks of the NYC Marathon (Nov. 7).

MapMyRun.com – Regular Run: Evening CP Run on 07/15/2010.

Time: 43:20
Distance: 4.08mi
Pace: 10:37/mi