My schedule so far:

 
Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.  (Psalm 55:22)

If I increase my long runs on each Saturday by two miles, I will see 26 miles in 12 week (I have 17 weeks total).   This is good because that allows me to taper down on the
last weeks before the race. 

Note about Tapering: 'Tapering' is a term used in endurance sports and basically means to reduce an athlete's training load before a major race. Personal experience and scientific research have both come to the conclusion that a period of enforced rest before racing significantly increases the athlete's level of fitness and boosts his performance by an average of 3%. For marathon runners three per cent boils down to being about 5-10 minutes faster over their racing distance. (From Running Advice)

Point:  Less running (in this case) can mean - better performance.

I'm still need to publish my entire running schedule - but I don't think I'm going to do so immediately.  The first few weeks I want to listen to
my body so I don't over do it and injure myself. 

But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles;
they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31)

My long runs are going to be on Saturday evening - after I've done all my fixing up around the house.  This Saturday I had to drive my daughter to and from a SAT test center (she thought she did well), go to the hardware store, replace a toilet seat, remove the sand from our sandbox to our local beach, and fix a leaking faucet.   The only thing which did not get done fully was the leaking faucet.  I thought if I replace the washers it would stop leaking - but it did not help.   So next week I'll have to replace the entire faucet.  Bummer!

Anyway the purpose of telling you this is because of the problem fixing the sink - I set out on my run later then I should have.  Basically I was running at night, with dim lighting and wearing black of all things.   Half of the run was on sidewalk - but the other half I had to run on the street.  It's a bit nerve racking waiting for a car to hit you and also irritating having people throw on their high beams and blind you (before hitting you).   Anyway not the smartest thing - and I will seek to be better prepared (reflextive vest, wear bright colors, run in better lite areas, etc...) in the future.   It was a four mile run and I felt very good.   It's amazing how the miles are going to build on Saturdays in the upcoming weeks.  

Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. Psalm 139:12

Yesterday my running schedule calls for an easy 3 miles and since the best time I have to run is during my lunch hour, I changed from shirt and tie to my running attire.  A co-worker was surprised to see me dressed for running and started asking me a dozen questions about where I run and if I have any races in mind.  I'm sure this is going to happen again and again in the upcoming months.

For me, Yesterday was the first day of winter.   It was cold - and the sun was out in defiance of the temperature- but with no avail. (Note to self: Which reminds me I need to pick up some gloves!) Even though it was cold it was quite a beautiful day running along side the Hudson - a little surreal.   Any tension that I was feeling was gone - and I was just living in the moment - feeling very alive.

I took the above picture - while I was running up and down one of the piers.  To the left are some buildings next to the World Financial Center and to the right (almost dots on this photo) is the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.   That dot close to the sun - is not a dot - but is a bird.    While not a great picture - I think you can an idea of how lovely it was running yesterday. 

"Thou hast made summer and winter."—Psalm 74:17.

Any runner knows that a good pair of shoes can make a big difference. 

I learnt the hard way last year when I started running greater then 10 miles - 

my toes were sore and afterward my left toe nail turned black. Yuck! 

After that I bought myself a good pair of running shoes. 

So in preparation of my upcoming run I went to Modells. To my surprise I 

found a pair of New Balance 520 Cushion Running Shoe Mens which were 

11.5 and wide (2E)! Exactly my size - so I bought them. There is nothing like happy feet when you run!

"Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years." (Deut 8:4)

Getting started with a project like this is never easy.  You don't want to start something that you quit on.  So once you announce something like this, and register for the race (something I still need to do) you need to be committed.   Part of being committed is creating a schedule and keeping it up to date.  Also with only 16 weeks to train - I'll need to challenge myself to move from 4 miles to 26.2 miles.

Just to get me going quickly put together my first two weeks of running.  I will put together a longer schedule in the next week.

The point for this schedule is to get me off the starting line - without any injuries.   To this end I'll be doing additional warm-up exercises before running,
knee exercises to strenghen my knees and be wearing a brace on my left knee (which was injuried with my last attempt at doing a marathon). 

Much of my training from Monday to Friday will be done during my lunch breaks at work.   This will be ran in NYC (lower Manhattan) and during the winter months will be very cold (mostly because of the wind).   I would love to join a gym and run on a treadmill - but treadmill running is not equal exercise to running on the pavement and not to forget running outside is lot cheaper.

 Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. (Ecclesiastes 7:8)

It has been a long time since I have blog here.    For my 48th birthday my wife gave me a running diary - so my question to her if this meant she was OK with us (our family) to go down to D.C. in March - to watch me run my first marathon.   Yes!!  What a wife!!

My longest run has been the 1/2 marathon which I did in 2009 down in D.C.  So this will be a big challenge getting ready in the next 5 months to run 26 miles. 

I haven't been running so today I ran a light 2 mile run to get the old legs moving - it was a great feeling to be on the road again. 

I need to get a few things together for my training.   1) A running schedule 2) Register for the Marathon 3)Find inexpensive accommodations in D.C. and 4) Need to order a cradle for my GPS sport watch.

Only 115 Days, 3 Hours, 53 Minutes, and 20 Seconds to the start of the Marathon!

I am fighting heart disease and stroke by participating in the American Heart Association's Start! Wall Street 5K run held June 24, 2010 in lower Manhattan.  Please support this cause by making a donation that will help provide research and education to stop our No. 1 and No. 3 killers.  Thank you in advance for your support!

http://heartwalk.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=322768&lis=0&kntae322768=D778A9D7187849689146CA968EA9871C

 This year, Lord willing, I have the following goals for 2010: 

1. Read the whole Bible in one year, with my wife. 

2. Volunteer at a local charity, nursing home or some other charitable activity.

3. Donate blood throughout 2010.

4. Lose 20 pounds

5. Run my fastest 5K race ever.

6. Finish my pre-masters certificate at Pace University

7. Work harder to keep tabs on birthdays and anniversaries of those in my family.

8. March in the St. Patrick's parade with my daughters (playing the bagpipes). 

9. Wake up early in the morning with my wife (5 am) to work through a devotional and praying together.

10. Make a special dinner with my wife once a week.

11. Spend more alone time with the wife.   Reading together or working on a project together in the evening.

12. Redo the bathroom (paint, flooring, etc..).

13. Phone and visit my Mom more often.

--------------------------------------
Running Schedule 2010:

RUNNING INTERMEDIATE PLAN KEY
Weekly mileage: Except where noted, all weekly mileage should be run at a perceived effort of 6 out of 10, with 10 being your maximum effort.
Strides: After completing the designated mileage for the day, find a flat, preferably grassy area to perform the strides: Run hard for 20 seconds and recover with easy jogging or walking for 45 seconds.
Core workout: Do a series of basic exercises to strengthen core muscles and improve running posture. For a sample core workout routine, go to runnersworld.com/core.
SS intensity: Intervals at Steady State Intensity should be run at a perceived effort of 7 or 8 out of 10. Do 5 minutes of easy running between SS intensity intervals.

*Chart modified from a Running World Magazine online article.

Thou has brought me to the valley of vision,where I live in the depths but see thee in the heights; hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold thy glory.

Let me learn by paradox  
that the way down is the way up,
that to be low is to be high,
that the broken heart is the healed heart,
that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,
that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,
that to have nothing is to possess all,
that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,
that to give is to receive,
that the valley is the place of vision.

Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells,
and the deeper the wells the brighter thy stars shine;
Let me find thy light in my darkness,
Thy life in my death,
that every good work or thought found in me thy joy in my sorrow, 
thy grace in my sin,
thy riches in my poverty thy glory in my valley.

Taken from The Valley of Vision devotional.