You make it sound so easy, Mike! Awesome!

Thanks, Bob! LOL - That has more to do with my writing style than any running ability. I am very pleased with my new PR though! How goes the training for Disney? You are down to the last 3-4 weeks, right? MTA: Just checked your log and looks like you are sick! I hope the meds do the trick and get your turned around soon!

Mike, you said your last week wasn't the best way to start off training, but heck, you just set a half marathon PR, so you must be doing something right! Keep doing what you're doing! And I agree, you were smart to stick to the half last weekend. Running a lot of marathons may look good on paper... I'm still running despite being sick. Not what I'd recommend doing, but for Disney I can't afford to miss very much due to the short timeframe I had to work with. It's going ok, but swimming today was a bad choice. Thanks for asking!

Be careful Bob!! Hope to hear your feeling better ASAP!!

Thanks Pam! I promise I'll back off if necessary.

Yeah - wow - nice run, Bob!

Training Week 2 Summary I was scheduled to do the following: TUE: 8mi Easy with 4mi @ Tempo - Check THU: 11mi Medium Long - Check SAT: 5mi Recovery - Check SUN: 15mi Medium Long - Check From a sticking to the schedule point-of-view - almost a perfect week! Every thing feels good. The two big differences are 1) that I am probably a lot more used to the mileage this time around and 2) I've been using the stick every day instead of just occasionally. Last time around - I would be pretty tight with a sore hamstring after a week like this. The hammy is still a touch tight - but nothing like usual. Another change is that before each run - I've started doing some of the Movement Prep exercises from the book Core Performance Endurance that Bob recommended. I'd like to add more of these in - but I'm still too lazy MTA - Forgot to mention - we had our first freeze last night and I saw ice on the sidewalk for the first time this year. Nothing like you northern folks get - but it helps make it feel a little more wintery. I can't wait to see a little snow. Only a couple inches - I'll leave the big snowstorms to you guys! MTA #2 - Was just checking the Pfitz book. I ran the tempo run at HM (8:45) pace and was supposed to have done it at 15K (8:34) pace. No big deal - just want to try to remember it for the next one. In total for the week, I got in 40.3 miles versus the planned 39.

AWESOME week, Mike! Those were some nice runs you had! I often compare your body to a car, when you push it hard, you'd better keep it maintained or else it's gonna break! The stick, the movement prep... it should all be part of the routine, and is often overlooked as being necessary. When you think about it Mike, how long does the movement prep take? 5 minutes? 10 minutes? In the scheme of things, it's not that long. I will admit, I don't do all of them before a run. I'll usually walk first for about 5 minutes, just to get the muscles somewhat warmed up. Then I'll do maybe 3-4 of the stretches and go. Adjust the routine to suit your needs. My stick/ foam roller routine probably takes all of 10 minutes as well, and that usually gets done in the evening, often times in front of the TV. It's amazing how good you feel afterwards. But these little things can make huge differences in keeping that body tuned up! Keep up the great work, Mike!

Your last two runs combined add up to 26 miles!!! Very nice marathon Mike!

Good luck breaking 6 on your mile today!!! Enjoy your weekend and happy holidays Mike!!