Week in the Rearview Mirror: March 18 - 24, 2012

This was a pretty good week all in all. I followed my slow build-back plan, keeping the run distance low early in the week and inserting the rest days as planned. By the weekend I was able to string some 6 mile run days together, and the left calf continues to improve. The right instep issue has resolved as  nearly as I can tell.

As such, I'll be moving forward with my plan to participate in the A2A Marathon this coming Sunday. As I stated in a comment earlier, a wiser person might still choose to sit this marathon out and let the healing process complete, but I'm just not that wise...I really want to do this, so I'll roll the dice. Will I get hurt doing this, at least to some degree...probably so. However, I will definitely modify my post-marathon recovery plan this time to include a lot more rest days, and a much more gentle return.

My running plan between now and the marathon looks like this:

Day	Activity / Distance
Tuesday	6 miles
Wednesday	6 miles
Thursday	Rest
Friday	4 miles (Walking)
Saturday	Rest
Sunday	Marathon

So, unless the mid-week runs produce an issue that seems serious, the game is on.Here is what last week looked like...

Day	Activity	Distance (in miles)
Sunday	Walking	1.02
	Running	4.02
	Walking	1.05
Monday	Rest Day
Tuesday	Walking	1.00
	Running	4.00
Wednesday	Walking	1.10
	Running	4.10
	Walking	1.10
Thursday	Rest Day
Friday	Walking	1.03
	Running	6.14
Saturday	Running	6.19
	Walking	0.50

These are my time and distance totals for the week:

Activity	Time Total	Distance Total (in miles)
Running	3:40:27	24.45
Walking	1:40:29	6.80
Overall Total	5:20:56	31.25

In cross-training, both the pushups and pullups are progressing nicely. I'll stop the upper body work by Wednesday to ensure I'm not sore for the marathon, but the numbers are improving. I'm mixing up the reps and sets each time, but I averaged 111 total pushups (9 sets on average) and 31 pullups (6 sets on average) per session last week (3 sessions each on different days).

As far as the March planks challenge is concerned, I completed that on Thursday of this week, to a total of 101. Doing 15 minutes of those in a day (with a 45 second recovery between 1 minute planks) still really works my lower back. I'm not a big fan of this, but I'll keep it in the rotation just for core strength purposes.

I also did three kettlebell workouts this week...a first for me. It seems that everything I do from the cross training perspective works me in a slightly different way, and the kettlebells were no different. You can read more about my experience with them here.

I only went to Yoga on Thursday this week due to a scheduling conflict. My wife is building up for her first half-marathon (which I plan to run with her) on April 29th, and she needed me to watch the little one so she could do a long run on Saturday morning before it got too warm. She successfully completed 13.21 miles in 2:17:49 unsupported for her first attempt at the full half-marathon distance, and I'm quite proud of her. It was also her first time running with a fuel belt with full water bottles, and her first time eating on the run (GU). She managed to run every step of the way, and although she was tired, she came through it beautifully.

Happy Running Everyone !!!

New2U Cross-Training Challenge for March - Kettlebells

While I've tried quite a few things in the name of fitness in my past (a by-product of being on the planet for more than half a century), I had never tried Kettlebells. I had done some reading in the past on them, but just wasn't "sold" on their unique approach to fitness. I have a full rack of dumbbells at home, and although they mostly just keep the rack from flying up and hitting the ceiling, I had thought that they were pretty much the same.

However, there are just some kettlebell moves that one would be "challenged" to do with a dumbbell, so I went ahead and got one. At first I just got the one to the left, and a video with a kettlebell workout. A day or two later, after trying out some of the workouts, I learned that for me this just wasn't enough weight, so I picked up the one to the right as well.


Let's just say that an extra 10 pounds makes all the difference in the world.We all know that an extra 10 pounds around our middle makes difference, but when you start swinging these things around in a controlled fashion, that extra weight changes the whole nature of the workout.

I've done several workouts with these now, and they can be quite challenging. The two arm swing isn't too tough with the weight I have, but the one arm swing is a bit of work. I also do a type of "round the body" exercise where you pass the kettlebell from the left to the right hand in front waist high, then from the right to the left in the back at the same height. The figure eight between the legs is also an interesting one, but I have found that the Turkish Get Ups are some of the most challenging. The extra weight on this one really brings the core strength, stability, and concentration on form to bear and hits quite a few areas of the body at once.

There is even a version of a situp  (in the first 30 seconds of that video) where the kettlebell is held by the "horns" with straight arms above the chest while laying flat on your back. Then, while keeping your arms straight, sit upright and as you do, keep your arms straight and transition the kettlebell to being directly over your head (elbows by the ears)...then return to the beginning position with control. Three sets of 10 of these will remind you where your abs are. :-)

I tried the Goblet Squat with the 20 lb. kettlebell for 1 set of 10, and it felt good while doing it, however, later in the day I noticed my knees right at the apex of the patella had a burning sensation when I squatted down (even without weight). Also, it really worked my upper hamstrings and made them pretty sore (right under the glutes for about 2 to 3 inches). Since I have a long race coming up (fingers crossed), I won't be doing them again until after the race, but this is obviously a weak area for me as well (and I probably went a bit too low for me at this time, which is why the knees were sore). The knee pain lasted about three days (getting better each day), and is now fine. Could have been too heavy for this exercise as well.

This isn't something that I do every day, but I do plan to put this into the rotation of the other cross training I'm doing. It doesn't take a great deal of time to get quite a workout. The twisting and swinging motions take your body through unfamiliar movement patterns (at least they did mine), and the weight being on the end adds to that effect.

All in all, an interesting cross-training option, and not overly expensive....as long as you aren't buying a complete set for home use (which could REALLY get pricey). I just bought one of each size for now, and we'll see how it goes.

Hopefully in the months ahead, I'll try things that just aren't for me. If not, I'll have to quit work since I simply won't have time to fit everything in otherwise. ;-)

Happy Running Everyone !

Week in the Rearview Mirror: March 11 - March 17, 2012

This was a running recovery week, in an effort to see if my right instep and left calf are up to going long again. I purposefully avoided running at all after Sunday's fail until Saturday, when I did 4 miles. Things were a bit stiff, but it all held together reasonably well. It is still a bit too early to tell for sure if I'll be able to make the A2A Marathon start or not, since the right instep issue will definitely be a show stopper if it is not healed. I'm a lot less worried about any loss in fitness, just the injuries and if there is time for them to heal before the race.


Aside from that, the weather was kind to me and allowed me to still get some aerobic work in on the bicycle most days. Cycling doesn't put the pounding or strain on the instep or calf that running or even walking does, so it was nice to be able to ride and still get a good workout in. Cycling (at least the way I do it) isn't anywhere near as intense of a workout minute-for-minute as compared to running, but as a consequence of that I'm able to string multiple days together much easier, and do it for a bit longer at a time. I still think that buying that bike last May was one of the best investments I've made for my health.


My running plan between now and the marathon looks like this:

Day	Activity / Distance
Monday	Rest
Tuesday	4 miles
Wednesday	4 miles
Thursday	Rest / Cross-Train
Friday	6 miles
Saturday	4 miles
Sunday	6 miles
Monday	Rest / Cross-Train
Tuesday	4 miles
Wednesday	6 miles
Thursday	Rest
Friday	4 miles (Walking)
Saturday	Rest
Sunday	Marathon

If the calf and instep resolve by this time next week, and I'll continue with my plan to do the marathon. However, if they fail to progress and / or running is just not comfortable, I won't push myself into doing a marathon for which I'm not physically ready. I'll just keep my fingers crossed, and see what transpires.

Here is what last week looked like...

Day	Activity	Distance (in miles)
Sunday	Elliptical	0.80
	Running	2.56
	Walking	2.20
	Swimming	1.00
	Cycling	10.65
Monday	Cycling	16.92
Tuesday	Cycling	25.13
Wednesday	Cycling	25.51
Thursday	Walking	6.68
Friday	Cycling	25.28
Saturday	Walking	1.06
	Running	4.06
	Walking	1.10
	Cycling	10.70

These are my time and distance totals for the week:

Activity	Time Total	Distance Total (in miles)
Running	0:57:36	6.62
Walking	2:39:14	11.04
Elliptical	0:10:00	0.80
Swimming	0:45:49	1.00
Cycling	7:19:27	114.19
Overall Total	11:52:06	133.65

In cross-training, I've continued with the pushups and pullups on alternating days, and these are coming along nicely. I try to mix up the number of repetitions per set and the number of sets to keep from getting in a rut on these. The March planks challenge is coming along pretty well, as I'm beginning to find my groove. As long as I stick to sets of 1 min planks with 45 seconds recovery, I can do 10 fairly easily, and managed 15 yesterday (although this is still an "every other day" thing at best).

Spring break kind of muddled the schedule this week, so I went to Yoga on Wednesday and Saturday instead of my normal days. On Wednesday I tried a different instructor, and although we did some interesting things (one of which was beginners headstand done by placing the crown of the head and palms (elbows up) on the floor as the base, and balancing the knees on the elbows), but I think I like the other instructor better so I'll be sticking with him. His Saturday class was both challenging and interesting, and I look forward to this week's class.

Happy Running Everyone !!!

Week in the Rearview Mirror: March 4 - March 10, 2012

Wow...what a difference a few days makes. This week certainly started off well, but took a header towards the end that I'm hopeful I can deal with somewhat quickly. Although the left calf was sore and a bit tight early in the week, by Thursday it was much better, and by the weekend was almost completely resolved. However, Thursday was not without its excitement...

Just shy of the 3 mile mark, I had a run-in with a dog...the owner was out with the dog and (unlike the picture above)..... no leash. This dog (on the leash) has lunged snarling at me several times in the past, looking like it was going to pull the rather large man over in the process. As the dog was snarling and snapping at me, I thought I was going to have to pepper spray the dog at one point, and suggested as much to the owner. However, I could sort of tell that she (Carly, the dog) was more scared, protective, and a bit curious (if not a tad aggressive in the way she displayed those feelings) than actually dangerous. The event scared me for a moment, then made me mad for a bit, but eventually (since the owner couldn't catch her and his lumbering attempts at doing so almost looked comical) I just turned off my headlamp and sat down. The dog came to me in short order to be petted (only moving to avoid the approaching owner with the collar), and it all ended well.

At least the owner now knows I carry pepper spray, and I WILL use it if I feel threatened (although I really didn't want to hurt the dog). Stupid pet owners...not the dog's fault at all. The leash laws are in place to protect the dogs as well as others. What if a car had been coming down the road at that point. Either the dog or myself could have been hurt or worse.

Come on people...really..?

You'll take your dog out for a walk in a light drizzle before dawn, but won't protect the dog and others by attaching the leash..?

And is repeating the phrase "he won't bite you" really the extent of your responsibility as your dog snarls, snaps, and lunges at others..?

Oh well, the run was good anyway...little did I know that the week's turning point (and by turning point I mean downturn) was ahead. On Friday morning, I got to experience it, although it may have been setting up for a while. I apparently have a new enemy to battle with in my never ending quest to run healthy.

I noticed at the beginning of that run that my lower left leg was stiff and sore, sensitive both to the ground contact as well as the running motion, and my lower back was sore from some planks. In retrospect, I think this threw off my gait just enough to re-aggravate my right instep / arch. At first I thought that perhaps the shoe was a bit too tight, since it came on very slowly, so I stopped at about the 2.2 mile point and loosened the shoe. It seemed to get a bit better, but I could still feel it and it got worse. At about the 2.9 mile point I stopped and tried to adjust it again. I was able to continue along this line until the 3.5 mile point, where I tried one more time, but within a few steps it just hurt too much to continue. I decided to stop the run and walk back home so I wouldn't further injure anything.

I took Saturday off, and tried again on Sunday morning. I could feel the soreness in the instep / arch from nearly the beginning, but it got better quickly. The left calf didn't present any issues, but at the 2.3 mile point the arch REALLY started to hurt again out of nowhere. I got to the top of the hill (the furthest point from home on this route wouldn't you know), and stopped. I tried to loosen the shoe, but it was a complete "no go". Running on it sent stabbing pains through my foot with nearly every step. Slowly walking the 2.2 miles back home was no fun either, as it would occasionally send a shooting pain through the inside of that foot, and even sent stabbing pains up into the front shin muscle causing it to sort of cramp three or four times. I iced it when I got home, but this is going to take a while I'm afraid.

I know that no one really "likes" to deal with these types of things, and the timing is never really "right". That being said, there isn't really a lot of time before the race I wanted to do (and paid for already), but I don't intend to kill myself in order to make that race happen...there will be other days to run. I suppose this is good in at least one way though. If this does NOT resolve in time for the upcoming marathon, there is absolutely no way I would be able to run the full distance and damage it worse. In the last couple of runs I've learned that once it starts hurting, running is impossible within a mile or less. So here is to hoping that a couple of (several..?) days off in a row, and a much more gentle return will do the trick. How fun :-).

It well could be that I just (once again) tried to do too much after that long of an effort. I just wish it didn't "feel so right" in those first few runs after the 20+ mile efforts. It lulls me into a false sense of well-being that apparently has no basis in reality, at least for me.

Here is what last week looked like...

Day	Activity	Distance (in miles)
Sunday	Walking	1.02
	Running	5.01
Monday	Rest Day
Tuesday	Walking	1.01
	Running	6.12
Wednesday	Cycling	21.68
Thursday	Running	6.66
Friday	Running	3.54
	Walking	1.29
Saturday	Rest Day

These are my time and distance totals for the week:

Activity	Time Total	Distance Total (in miles)
Running	3:18:00	21.33
Walking	0:46:47	3.32
Cycling	1:23:30	21.68
Overall Total	5:28:17	46.33

In cross-training, I've continued with the pushups and pullups on alternating days, and the March planks challenge is coming along. I started doing a set of 10 x 1 min planks with 45 seconds of recovery between sets every other day. It is still hitting my lower back, so there is a lot of work to be done to get that weak area strengthened. I also attended Yoga on Thursday and Saturday again....I really like this surprisingly, and I find new challenges with it all the time.

Happy Running Everyone !!!

Well...apparently I'm insane...

I'm now 10 days out from my first marathon. Although I'm bouncing back at a nice, even rate in my opinion, I'd be lying if I said everything was perfect (of course, it almost never is...at least not for long periods of time). It is relatively minor now, but my lower left calf is still a bit tight, and standing from a squat or lunge position (or moving laterally...especially after sitting for while) is still a bit on the painful side. Once I get going, and especially if I move in more or less a straight line, all is well. But it is healing daily, and I can see light at the end of the tunnel with that. All of this is just to be expected considering the effort of the last marathon, my current overall physical conditioning, age and history. That isn't the insane part.

Nope, this is the insane part.

Yes....I did it. I signed up for the Bar Nothin' Marathon that is a part of the A2A Race for Mercy on April Fools Day,  35 days after my first marathon, and only 25 days from today. I don't know if I "have the marathon bug", I'm just riding high on the last one, or (and this is more likely), I'm just crazy. Hopefully the whole April Fools Day thing is not a bit of foreshadowing.

This one will be MUCH different than Cowtown in many respects:

Cowtown has been run 34 times.

A2A has been run 2 times. 

Cowtown had 1421 total finishers this year.

A2A had 137 total finishers last year.

Cowtown had 922 men finish.

A2A had 93 men finish.

Cowtown had 114 men in my age group.

A2A had 16 men in my age group.

Cowtown is run through the streets of a major US city (16th largest in 2010, pop. 730,000)

A2A is run from Turner Falls to Ardmore, OK (1,391st largest in 2010, pop. ~ 25,000 people)

Cowtown is roughly a loop course.

A2A is roughly a point-to-point course.
 
Cowtown therefore had people, houses, and buildings lining the course throughout.

A2A has a few people, but mostly cows, horses, and fields.
--------------------------------------------

So if I wanted some "perspective" added to my marathon experience, this should just about do it. It will be challenging in new ways to be sure.

The morning of the race, we all meet at Noble stadium, which is the football stadium for the local high school in Ardmore, OK.

There will be a small group of buses that will depart from there between 6:30 and 7:00 a.m. to shuttle the marathon runners the 18 miles up to the starting line at Turner Falls Park in the Arbuckle Mountains (well, they pass for mountains if you are from Oklahoma ;-), which is near Davis, OK.

The race officially starts at 8:00 a.m. and is what they call a rolling hills course on old Highway 77 that goes downhill (for the most part...see the elevation charts below) through the scenic countryside of the foothills of the Arbuckles until about the 7 mile mark.

At that point there is a roughly 3.8 mile out-and-back leg that goes through the Bar Nothin' Horse Ranch near Springer, OK. This will be a very pastural setting, and might even bring along some interesting smells if the wind is just right. :-)

From there, the marathoners return to Highway 77 for a long (about 9 miles), straight stretch into Ardmore.  At roughly the 16.3 mile mark, a "shallow elevation climb" begins, which continues up until the runners turn west at the 20 mile mark.


This part of the course takes the runners on another out-and-back leg to the lake inside the Ardmore Regional Park.

At about the 21.7 mile mark, there is a final slow elevation climb to the finish line inside of Noble Stadium (about 60 feet...not much). The runners enter Noble Stadium, and make a single loop around the track before crossing the finish line.

Elevations

It looks like we will basically be starting on an uphill section for about the first 3.6 miles which rises about 100 feet, then the course will continue mostly downhill...

 

...to about the 16.3 mile mark.

From there we will have a rise of about 155 feet to the 20.1 mile mark. After a brief downhill for about 2.5 miles, it rises about 60 feet to the finish line.

Final thoughts

So here I go again, on a "somewhat" short buildup to a marathon. One of the benefits is that I can use the last marathon as a recent long run, so most of the training in this month will be in the shorter distance range. Just judging by how I'm feeling, I think my primary goal will be achievable, which is to arrive at the starting line happy, healthy and NOT over-trained.

As I've reflected on my last marathon, I think one of the things that strung me along to a faster time than I had expected was the number of other runners on the course. I was able to not only feed a bit off the energy of other runners, both joining and listening into their conversations, and either always having someone to run with, or having people to slowly pass one by one (especially in the latter third of the race, which is a mental boost for me). Given the small number of people at this race, I'll be a lot less likely to have as much "company", and therefore some of this benefit will be lessened.

That being said, I'm excited about the possibilities for this race. It should be quite different from the last one, that is certain. At this point, I feel like I'll be more focused on just taking in the experience, rather than shooting for a given time. I plan to just run it by feel, and not really try to kill myself to make a time.

Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more....

Happy Running Everyone !!!

Week in the Rearview Mirror: February 26 - March 3, 2012

Overall, this was an interesting week. Of course my first marathon was a blast, and I not only met my original goals but exceeded them by quite a bit. In some ways that is amazing, yet in other ways I have to admit that I've kind of intimidated myself. What I mean is that by being able to post a good time for my first marathon like that, it now feels like that time "sets the bar" (so to speak)...and a bit higher than I'm comfortable with. I know that I don't have anything to prove to anyone (with the possible exception of myself), and that every marathon and day is different, but it just feels like it is out there as sort of a water mark now.

In some ways, I can't wait to do another one just so I can establish some perspective. The conditions at Cowtown were very nearly perfect, starting in the mid 40's, the humidity was fairly low, and there was no rain. There was a bit of a southerly breeze (and some gusts at times) but that didn't affect me the entire race, and the temperature only rose into the high 50s by the time I finished. The crowd support was really good, the volunteers were excellent, traffic control was wonderful, and there were well run aid stations throughout the course and every mile was clearly marked (I missed a couple, but that was just me). It is very likely that the next one will NOT be that perfect (perhaps in several ways), so I'm looking forward to a not-so-perfect race to just add another facet to the marathon experience. Here's to hoping I didn't just put the old Chinese curse on myself ("May you live in interesting times").

Within 3 or 4 hours of the marathon, the soleus / fibularis (Peroneus) longus muscles in my lower left leg sort of froze up and got really, really sore. Walking was pretty much out of the question, although I could limp around when I needed to. I took Monday off from work, and it got a bit better, and Tuesday was also a rest day (although I did go into the office) and it was better still, although I still couldn't go up or down stairs. I did a gentle cycle and short walk on Wednesday. I couldn't stand on the pedals or climb stairs, but it was still getting better. On Thursday I was able to put a bit more power in on the bike ride, and stand on the pedals. On foot, moving laterally was still tender though. As a stress reaction no doubt, I gained about 3 pounds of water weight by Monday morning, and retained it until Friday morning. That was also when I started feeling better in the calf, and was able to run on both Friday and Saturday.

As of this morning my left calf area is still a bit tight, and coming out of a squat or putting that leg forward and holding a lunge position is still a bit painful, but it is slowly healing. Other than that, I don't have any residual affects from last Sunday's marathon, some I'm counting myself lucky.

I suspect this was just an over-use strain on those muscles caused by the hills, and the fact that I really pushed the pace in the final miles after I was already tired. It could also be something that I failed to mention previously. At about the 5 mile mark in the marathon, I felt my left ankle kind of roll just a bit due to uneven pavement (a chunk was missing). I caught it quick and it didn't actually "turn" the ankle, and didn't hurt so I thought it was no big deal. In retrospect, it "might" have been this, coupled with the hills and the final push. Oh well, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger...right..?

Here is what last week looked like...

Day	Activity	Distance (in miles)
Sunday	Running	26.47
Monday	Rest Day
Tuesday	Rest Day
Wednesday	Cycling	14.14
	Walking	1.06
Thursday	Cycling	20.20
	Walking	1.75
Friday	Walking	1.13
	Running	5.05
Saturday	Walking	1.03
	Running	5.53
	Walking	0.40

And that added up to the following time and distance totals for the week:

Activity	Time Total	Distance Total (in miles)
Running	5:33:05	37.05
Walking	1:23:24	8.84
Cycling	2:22:40	34.34
Overall Total	9:19:09	76.76

As a consequence of being able to run a couple of times at the end of the week, and having the marathon at the beginning, this ended up being a weekly running distance record for me as well, so that was a plus.

In cross-training, I've continued with the pushups and pullups on alternating days, and the March planks challenge is coming along. It had been a while since I had focused on planks, so it is taking me a day or two (or more) to get back into it. I tend to be the most sore from those in my lower back, so that is where I'm the weakest at this point.

I also attended Yoga on Thursday and Saturday with my favorite instructor. I think I'll stick with two classes a week for now, so I can manage the costs and attend those classes with the instructor I like.

Happy Running Everyone !!!

February 2012 in the Rearview Mirror

February was a REALLY good month, with really nice weather, relatively free from injury (only a minor instep issue), and the marathon at the end of the month. With my first marathon now behind me, I'm looking forward to easing back into my running, and selecting my next race.

Here is what the month looked like...

Activity	Time Total	Distance Total (in miles)
Running	16:58:21	114.08
Walking	3:39:43	15.48
Cycling	2:29:21	37.12
Elliptical	2:00:00	9.57
Overall Total	25:07:25	176.25

For the 100x challenge (400 pushups in February), I completed the month with 650 pushups, and an every other day habit that is forming. In the middle of the month, I put together my power rack and added some pull-ups on the alternate days. I don't know where I'll go with this, but it does provide some good additional upper body work. The monthly challenge for March is supposed to be 100 minutes of planks, so adding this to the pushup / pullup mix should be interesting.

As a part of the New 2 You Cross-Training Challenge, I tried Yoga classes for the first time, and unfortunately I'm sort of hooked (at least for now). What I thought might end up having me attend one or two classes, had me attending six classes. Now that the lower cost trial period is over, I'll have to fork over some bucks to continue. Oh well, I wasn't that addicted to eating anyway (just kidding).

For the second month in a row, I also reached a new high monthly running mileage total since I started running last summer, at 114.08 miles!

Happy Running Everyone !!!

Week in the Rearview Mirror: February 19 - Februrary 25, 2012

I'm a little late posting this one, but with the marathon on Sunday and just wanting to leave that post up for a day or so, I just didn't get to it. The taper week up to the marathon went pretty much as I had planned it, and in the end it worked out wonderfully. I'm now thinking that the right instep issue was more of a strain than a bruise, but it is super hard to tell. It could have been caused by a strenuous bike ride, or even an elliptical session. It could have been from a run. It could have even been from the shoes (New Balance 880s) that have a bit less support...but I'll probably never really know, as there were simply too many variables in the mix. I took an Advil the night before the race and rubbed tiger balm into the instep because it was aching then, but it hasn't hurt me since the marathon (in the last 4 days).

Here is what last week looked like...

Day	Activity	Distance (in miles)
Sunday	Elliptical	1.62
	Running	6.05
Monday	Walking	3.80
Tuesday	Elliptical	0.77
	Running	6.06
Wednesday	Walking	1.03
	Running	6.05
Thursday	Rest Day
Friday	Walking	4.01
Saturday	Rest Day

These are my time and distance totals for the week:

Activity	Time Total	Distance Total (in miles)
Running	2:39:45	18.16
Walking	1:59:25	8.84
Elliptical	0:30:00	2.39
Overall Total	5:09:10	29.39

I was up to 600 pushups for the month on the February pushup challenge (400 in the month of February), and the last day I did those was Wednesday so I wouldn't be sore for the race. I stopped the pullups on Tuesday, and I'm up to 5 sets of 4 pullups with a 45 second recovery on those days.

I really like the Yoga, and went Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday evening. I skipped Saturday morning because of the race the next day.

Happy Running Everyone !!!