project262.com | Marathon Training for Patrick O'Brien

July 13, 2005, 9:00pm: A Change in the Schedule

GOAL: 7 miles RESULTS:
7 miles

LOCATION: Francis Park, St. Louis, Missouri

CONDITIONS: 80°, clear skies and humid

SUMMARY: TIME: 1:16:29
PACE: 10:55/mile

HEART: 144 or 77%

TOTAL TRAINING MILES TO DATE (walking & running): 374 miles

GOAL REACHED!
First of all, thank you to everyone who has helped me raise $4,000 for the Arthritis Foundation! My colleague Paddy McPhillips at FOX 2 put me over the top, and I've exceeded my fundraising goals! I'm still taking donations until July 21st, incase you did receive my flyer and were still planning on donating to this great cause.
THANK YOU AND LOVE YOU ALL!

Change in the Schedule:
I've gone through this entire training period without ever changing my daily schedule...until today. So, it better be for a good reason, right? Well, I was planning on running early in the morning yesterday, but I slept in. Then I thought I could run after work, but that didn't turn out because Lindsey and I were going to see one of the best DJs in the world, and I didn't want to be late! Paul Oakenfold was in town! He's originally from the UK and doesn't make too many appearances in the U.S., and this month, he's touring 16 U.S. cities, and St. Louis was 7th on his list. I couldn't miss it! I've been waiting for over a year to see this guy! He's the best of the best, and I pre-ordered tickets and everything. So the sacrifice was giving up Tuesday night and running Wednesday. Easy enough! It was a phenomenal night of hard hitting beats!

Ixnay on the Uffetbay
Lindsey and I almost went to Harrah's Casino and pigged out today. We slept in recovering from the concert, and we hadn't eaten all morning/afternoon. It was going to be our one and only meal. So we headed towards Harrah's and I kept thinking that every piece of food I stuffed in my mouth I'd have to carry with me during the run. So, we backed out and ate at Lewis & Clark's Restaurant in downtown St. Charles. I'm so glad we didn't pig out.

OK, Let's Try this Concrete Running on Last Time
I didn't run until dark, because I took the day off work today, recovering from the Paul Oakenfold concert. So, I slept in and was lazy most the day. It was hard getting the energy to run tonight. I didn't know if Forest Park would be open after dark, so I just drove across the street to Francis Park, my old stomping grounds. It was a nice clear night, and cool enough that I didn't bring my water bottle. I sweat a lot because of the humidity, but I was never thirsty. I ran on the concrete, because I wanted to check the mileage with my new watch to see if Francis Park was truly 1.25 miles around like I've been saying all these years. Well, it's 1.2 miles, so I was off just a little. But over a 7-mile distance, that little bit ended up being almost half a lap extra! The GPS on my watch worked alright, but there were times when my pace would jump from 7:30/mile to 13:50/mile and I was running the same speed. I think the trees made the GPS freak out every now and then. I'll see how it does in Forest Park tomorrow or during the 18-miler this weekend. There's more open air space there.

Your Skylights Don't Entice Me, McDonald's
Those McDonald's skylights that swing around town at night are really annoying. I don't care about McDonald's. I don't want to eat their fries just because their skylight is on. I could see 2 or 3 of these skylights when I was running. McDonald's are everywhere! By the way, it's been 174 days without fast food for me. That's 5 months 23 days of healthier eating. I call it a 2005 resolution that stuck. I did walk into a Hardee's about 2 months ago with a friend from work but didn't order anything. The place had a metallic stench to it, and the people looked unhappy in general. I felt ill just breathing the grease. After being away from fast food for so long, I've realized just how happy I am to have given it up for good. That's willpower!

THOUGHTS: The evening run was nice and sweaty. I like the occasional nighttime park runs. I hope I'm not in pain from running on concrete in the morning. Last time I ran on concrete, I really felt sore and SWORE to never do it again.

WHAT I'LL
REMEMBER MOST: Realizing that I was off on the distance around Francis Park all these years. It's 1.2 miles, not 1.25 miles around. Doesn't sound like a big deal, but after 5 miles, that's a quarter-mile difference.

Back