A little barefootin'

This week was a good running week. I missed my Wednesday run due to a toothache. Well, not just a toothache. I woke up and couldn't open my right eye because that side of my face was so swollen from whatever caused the toothache. I think I see a root canal in my near future. Bring on the sedation dentistry! Toothache aside, I got in 65 miles with a great 20 miler on Saturday. Toward the end, my feet were aching a bit so this morning I drove over to UT IM fields and did 7 miles of barefoot running with strides. It was supposed to by eight but I can't run and count past 5 so I left a mile short. Reviewing my CALI training schedule I have just completed week 12. There are 20 weeks to go. Just 4 weeks until the halfway point. After Saturday's successful run I feel like it is coming together. I am about 3 weeks behind schedule on my build up but I now am certain I made the right decision to take it slower. Getting back into running in the heat was harder than I expected.

Gaining Consistency

7 days, 64 miles this week, 58 miles per week average for the past 3 weeks. I am feeling good about my new level of consistency. No injuries except a blister on my left heel from a litle rock that I should have stopped and removed. The metabolic rate has finally kicked in and I feel like I can eat at the levels I like without putting on added weight. Maybe now I can address the 12 pounds I'm carrying over my St. George level.

A Good Week of Running

Finally. This may have been my best week of running since the Portland Marathon last October. Last week I missed several days on the roads and totaled just 30 miles for the week. This week I managed to get 6 days in and 60 miles! Not only did I get in the miles but I made the mental leap to stay with the sub 3 hour guys for on the runs our mileage coincides. Adding 4 or 5 miles per week I will get to my80+ MPW goal in 4 weeks.

A Possible Breakthrough

Whoo I feel good... da da da da da da... A little James Brown to start off the day!

Yesterday's run with Team Rogue started out pretty much like all of them had for the past 8 months. I didn't really know how far I would go or how fast I would run or who I would run with. I had in mind going 10 and asked around and found folks running 6,8 & 12. I decided to not decide and just see where it all went. I latched on to Larry and Jim who had said they were going 12. I have watched Jim steadily pull away from me over the past year and as Larry loves to point out he is just plain faster than I am or will ever be. :-) We were running my least favorite route of all time (don't want to get in trouble so I won't say any names) but I knew if I got dropped I could find my way back to Rogue. As expected, Jim and Larry began to pull away from me after a couple of miles. To my surprise though, I was able to stay within half a block and never lost contact. Well except that part around the UT Main Building where I ended up in a dead end courtyard for the Student Union. The pace was quicker than anything I have managed for a very long time but it felt GREAT! I wondered if I would suffer later in the day but had no ill effects.

This morning, I got a late start but managed to get in 5 miles in the heat and humidity. Tomorrow I am going to see if I can hang with these guys for the long run.

CALI <3. CALI <3. CALI <3.

< 3 > Nope, not a broken HTML code.

21 miles! For the week! Less than my weekly Saturday runs for the past 2 years. BUT 7 straight days of getting out the door and getting in a 3 mile run. Tomorrow I start building mileage toward my goal of 90-100 miles per week. The best part of it has been the opportunity to think again. For the entire training season leading up to Boston I was so preoccupied with my new venture that it crowded out all other thoughts even on my runs. This week, I have once again discovered how to let my mind wander into other areas and it is amazing how calm my brain feels now compared to just a few weeks ago. So, the brain may be feeling good but that is about it. I weighed myself today and I have put on 15 pounds since Portland. My stride is affected by the extra weight and my hip continues to complain at times. I'm confident that as the mileage builds the weight will drop so I am not going to "diet".

One thing that I realized on today's run is how much starting up my real estate business mirrored my decision to train for the marathon. You sign up for real estate classes like you might sign up for a training group. Then you complete the training/classes. Now you find yourself on the marathon/career starting line for the first time. When the horn sounds you forget everything your coach ever told you about pacing yourself at the beginning and off you go. You soon find out that pacing your self early might have been the better decision!

So I have made the decision to put in place a long range business plan that fits with my marathon training plan and fits with a quality of life plan. Soon after I received my license, the local Board of Realtors announced the Rookie of the Year award for 2009 and bragged how she had closed $990,000 in her first year. That is actually quite above the average for a first year realtor. Thursday I closed 2 transactions that put me at $1,217,000 in 4 months with another $790,000 in working deals. This does NOT include the HUD transactions that I get credit for even though I am an unpaid contractor.

So, in addition to setting a marathon goal of breaking 3 hours I am setting a business goal for 2010: Top $3,000,000 in my first calendar year as an agent. I have chosen to represent my goals graphically as < 3 > . Since success is rarely the result of hard work alone, I have to recognize the role that my coaches and teammates play in my running success and recognize the role that my wife, my broker and my clients will play in any business success I may achieve. I have now fully joined the race and am ready for the long haul! Whoo Hooo!

The Beginnings of a new plan

Today was the day. I woke up, had a cup of coffee and felt like I had to go for a run. First run since Boston. Nothing big but I went for 3 miles just to see if anything hurt. All good. I got back and pulled up the California International Marathon site. December 5. I pulled out the Lydiard Progression that I used for Portland and laid out a plan to go from 0-90 miles per week. It calls for 21 miles this week building to 45 miles in 3 weeks. Then adding 5 miles per week to 90. I have 3 goals at this point. First is to get consistency back by running 6-7 days per week. Second is to log 2,200+/- miles by CALI. Final goal is to make a serious attempt at breaking 3 hours at CALI.

Eileen has asked to be home schooled next year and we are excited at the possibilities that opens up for travel. We are looking at incorporating a visit to Ruth Anne's sister in Yuba City and a trip to Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks after the marathon.

For all of this to work, I am going to have to get the real estate business on a more stable consistent schedule. I am extremely proud of the business that I have built in such a short time with just about $1M closed and another $1M under contract BUT it was built at the expense of my running. To maintain a balance in life, I need to get the running back on track while building on the momentum I have in real estate. I don't know if I will be able to post daily or if a weekly update will have to do. BUT I do plan to keep this blog updated regularly throughout this training session.

I'm glad to be back!