Training Log - September 25, 2007

Another awesome day to be outside! I went to Creekside to do my training walk for the day. There just seems to be something about walking through the woods and seeing the leaves starting to change color that just invigorates me. I love the fall season. I am especially loving the training walks when the temperature is not over 90 degrees! It quickens the pace.

My time today for the 3.05 miles was 49:39. My pace was 16:17 min/mile.

My foot is feeling much better. I went out and got some new socks to replace my old running socks. They were over a year and a half old. The new ones are a little thicker so I think that they work better with the new shoes.

Training Log - September 24, 2007

Well…….. it was another beautiful weekend here in Central Ohio. I decided to celebrate the arrival of Fall by spending some time outside. I was scheduled to do a 9 mile training walk on Sunday and I set out to accomplish that task. I ended up only getting 7 miles in due to what I thought was a large blister forming on the side of my left foot. No blister was found but I do have two small cracks on my left heel. I will definitely start using the Zim’s Crack Cream on the heels. Other than that everything went well. I am still trying to figure out what I should eat before the long walks and when. Hopefully, I will get it right next week. Next Sunday is my final long walk – 10 miles – before the tapering down prior to the Half Marathon.

So here are my split times for the walk: (1) 17:20, (2) 16:35, (3) 17:19, (4) 16:19, (5) 16:59, (6) 17:13 and (7) 20:30. My total time for the 7 miles was 2:02:17.

Update to 10K

Not sure if anyone is reading these entries. For those that are keeping up with my progress, you can check out photos of me at the New Albany 10K Walk. These were taken in about the last tenth of a mile from the finish line. The lady walking next to me is Amber Walls. She is my Team In Training walk coach.

Here is the link.

My pictures are listed as "Baird 0076" and will be available for viewing until 10/18.

Training Log - September 17, 2007

This training report will also be a race report as yesterday’s training walk was the 2007 New Albany 10K Walk.

Got up at around 5:30AM and showered and shaved. Ate a bowl of Kashi Go Lean for breakfast. Got dressed and gathered up my race gear. Checked the thermometer and it said that it was 45°. Stepped outside and decided that it wasn’t that bad. Drove to the race and got there at around 7:30. Parked and walked about a half mile to the check in.

The volunteers were still setting up the check in lines so I was able to walk right up to the table to get my timing chip. Walked around the area for a little while and visited some of the sponsor tables. I availed myself to a bagel and some of the other “goodies” that they were giving away. Since there was still about an hour until the race started, I walked back to the car to drop off my stuff and to warm up a little.

This was the largest race that I have been a part of so far. There were 2046 participants that finished the race. Prior to the start, we were grouped by pace times. I was in the back along with many other people. We all had times of 16:00 and above. The race started and it took us about 2 minutes to reach the starting line. The road was packed with walkers. The only way to move up was to get to the outside edge and work your way up.

The course wound its way through the neighborhoods of New Albany and past the Country Club. Many of the homeowners were out on their porches and were cheering us on. Several little kids were standing by the road and gave us high fives!!!. At one point, there was a group of Girl Scout Brownies that had pom-poms and cheered us along. It was so uplifting. The weather was beautiful, the sun was out and it was a great day to be out walking.

As I headed into the final leg of the race, my walk coach from TNT – Amber – came out and finished the race with me. She walked the Dayton Marathon on Saturday and was there to cheer her walkers on. She said that the Columbus Marathon will be much bigger – it will be about 10,000 participants.

I finished the race with a time of 1:41:14. I had a pace of 16:18 min/mile. Out of the 2046 walkers, I finished #1196. Some other trivial facts: 254/381 Males and 52/78 in my age group. Overall, I believe that this was the most fun I have had in a race.

My split times are as follows: (1) 17:12, (2) 16:23, (3) 16:28, (4) 15:55, (5) 16:06, (6) 15:57 and the final .2 miles in 3:23.

Training Log - September 3, 2007

I hope that everyone enjoyed their Labor Day! The unofficial end of summer and the beginning of fall. We spent the day sealing the driveway and having a cookout at my sister-in-law and brother-in-law's house. This evening we will enjoy a fire in the fire pit in our back yard.

The weekend also brought about my 41st birthday. Received several gift cards that will allow me to pick up a new Ironman watch and also a fanny pack for my walking. Great time with both sides of the family!

I spent most of the morning at Antrim Park getting my 9 mile walk in. The weather was once again beautiful. The sun was out and there was not a cloud in the sky. Walk went very well. Completed it in 2:29:50. Not too far off from my last 9 miler - 2:27:52. My splits went as follows: 17:21, 16:55, 17:17, 16:08, 15:40, 16:57, 16:15, 16:08 and 17:10.

I am very pleased with my times. This puts me on track to finish the half marathon in about 3 hours and 45 min.

There are only 47 days til the half marathon!!!!

Training Log - August 31, 2007

I know that this has been a very busy time lately ….. but when I checked my last entry in this blog I was amazed. It was at the beginning of August and was an update of several days. Now I stand at the end of the month wondering how it could go by so fast.

Tomorrow is the first of September (and my 41^st birthday!!) and there will be 49 days until the 2007 Columbus Half Marathon. The training has gone by so fast. It continues to amaze me when I look back at my stats for the training. Including today’s walk, I have put in 44:40:09 in time and 159.18 miles. I can and have done several 8 mile walks and look forward to the 10 mile walk. This is the same “mountain” that looked so impossible back in the middle of May.

I have picked up a little “badge of honor” after my first 9 miler. The toenail on my second toe on my right foot has started to turn black or various shades of several colors. I guess that this is not uncommon in long distance athletes.

I have raised 77% of the amount that I need to raise and the donations continue to come in.

I will list the distance, time, pace and split times for my training walks:

August 7 – 3.05 miles, 52:23, 17:10, (1) 17:46 (2) 17:37 (3) 17:00

August 11 – 3.0 miles, 51:28, 17:09, (1) 16:56 (2) 16:50 (3) 17:42

August 12 – 8.0 miles, 2:23:11, 17:54, (1) 18:44 (2) 17:03 (3) 18:29 (4) 16:02 (5) 17:11 (6) 18:59 (7) 17:50 (8) 18:55

August 14 – 4.08 miles, 1:07:46, 16:37, (1) 18:20 (2) 17:14 (3) 16:01 (4) 16:12

August 18 – 3.0 miles, 50:53, 16:58, (1) 17:29 (2) 16:27 (3) 16:58

August 19 – 9.0 miles, 2:27:52, 16:26, (1) 16:46 (2) 15:57 (3) 16:12 (4) 15:43 (5) 15:29 (6) 17:01 (7) 16:31 (8) 16:45 (9) 17:28

August 24 – 2.0 miles, 35:30, 17:45, (1) 17:48 (2) 17:42

August 25 – 3.0 miles, 49:45, 16:35, (1) 16:52 (2) 16:13 (3) 16:40

August 26 – 8.0 miles, 2:13:35, 16:42, (1) 17:20 (2) 16:30 (3) 16:58 (4) 16:04 (5) 15:51 (6) 17:36 (7) 16:44 (8) 16:31

August 28 – 3.05 miles, 50:59, 16:43, (1) 17:39 (2) 17:06 (3) 16:14

August 31 – 3.05 miles, 49:14, 16:09, (1) 16:44 (2) 16:37 (3) 15:53

Sunday will bring the second of three 9 mile walks. Report back then.

Training Log - August 7, 2007

I went to post my weekend report and noticed that I haven’t posted anything since last weekend. Boy, have I dropped the ball !!!! SO here goes the report…….

Tuesday July 31, 2007

Did my 3.05 miles at Creekside Park again. The temps were in the low 80’s. Time was 50:33 with a pace of 16:34. My split times were: 17:06, 17:00 and 16:27.

Thursday August 2, 2007

Tempo day today at Creekside. Temps around 84 degrees. Quite humid. Tempo was 10-20-10.

Friday August 3, 2007

Creekside Park today. Temp was 84 degrees with 58% humidity. Heat index 87 degrees. Completed the 3.05 miles in 49:43. Pace was 16:18 min/mile. Split times were: 16:42, 16:46 and 16:15.

Saturday August 4, 2007

Decided that due to a family event this evening that I would walk in the morning. Got to Antrim Park around 10:15 and it was already hot and humid. Completed the 3.0 miles in 49:09 with a pace of 16:23. Split times were: 17:12, 16:36 and 15:21.

Sunday August 5, 2007

It rained most of the morning with a few thundershowers in the late morning. Finally got to Antrim at 2:15 PM. Not many folks at the park… there were only 6 other cars in the parking lot. Got started on the 6.0 mile walk and there was only 2 other people on the trail. Humidity was up and only got worse as the sun began to come out. Finished the walk in 1:44:07. Split times were: 17:35, 16:45, 15:59, 16:39, 17:20 and 19:48. Made two mistakes today. One was that I only brought a 20 oz. bottle of water on the walk. Second, I forgot to bring my sports beans. I really began to feel it around the 4 mile mark. The last mile was a battle. Also need to look into another shirt to wear. My shirt was soaked and felt like it weighed around 5 lbs.