Drive In Movies

Last Friday,  Luckie and I went to the local drive-in movie.  I thought it would be a nice change of pace date.  I haven't been to a drive-in since I was about 19. That was a long time ago. We enjoyed it.  We went to our favorite taco stand first, Taco's Al Carbon, got a couple of burritos to go and then on to the drive-in. We saw two movies: "Leatherheads" and "21".  Leatherheads was forgettable, and 21 was entertaining.  All in all, we had dinner and a double feature for a grand total of about $24. Not a bad date.

First 4-Miler

Yesterday I did my first 4-miler of the training season.  I looked in Bob Glover's book and found that I need to have a base of 25 miles per week BEFORE I start my marathon training schedule, so I figured a weeks worth of 3-mile runs was not going to cut it. I have to step up my game. Just a mere 2 years ago, I used to knock out this 4-mile run with my eyes closed. Yesterday, I labored to finish. I finally did, but not without stopping at the 2.5-mile mark. I don't know if there is something wrong with my stride but my right quad gets very fatigued.  The left one is OK.  I wonder if I am favoring my right leg too much.

After I got home, I rested for a while and was tired for a little bit. My girlfriend Luckie came over and we went to get groceries and made a pizza. I was back to normal by then. Tomorrow is a rest day. I'll see what I can do on Friday.

Morning Running

Today is the second day that I've tried morning running. It takes a lot to get me going in the morning. I usually set the clock for 5:30 hoping to get up and get out by 5:45. As it has been happening, I've been sleeping through 5:45 and on to about 5:50. I then have to make a decision: Sleep in some more or get up and do a quick 2-miler. I've opted for the 2-miler both times. I feel great after I get back from the run and shower but it is just A BEAR to get up.

I've been reading lately about runners that get up and do 5-6 miles in the morning. By my calculations, I'll have to put my alarm for about 4:15 to try to get out of the house by 4:45 to squeeze in a 6-mile run. At any rate, I'm not even there yet. My legs are still not strong.

I need to put together a schedule. So now that I have a couple weeks of steady running under
my belt, I'll turn to my old trusty friend Bob Glover, author of the book The Competitive Runner's Handbook. I've had this book for about 20 years it seems. I always go back to it for advice, even though it is probably outdated.