Sweet Home Chicago

I am hours away from hopping in Kell's bro Kyle's truck and hitting the road to Chi-town for the holidays. We'll be back home through Christmas and New Years and it's hard to describe how much we're looking forward to the visit. Kell hasn't been home since early July and I haven't been since late July when the Jays were in town (also when I snapped the above photo from the upper level at Sox Park).

But, even though we'll be home for Christmas cookies, Chicago pizza and other highly-anticipated foods from back home, my running program will go on. As I wrote last time, I altered my routine some this week. I'm already at the most miles in one week since I've started this winter and I have two days remaining.

On Monday, I ran 4 miles, added another 5 apiece on Tuesday and Wednesday, and then ran a one-mile cool down after 11 miles (30 minutes) on a stationary bike on Thursday. Today, Friday, I ran at a decent clip for 120 laps around the track, good for eight miles. I even had enough leftover at the end to build up to a full out sprint in the final mile.

So, that gives me 23 miles for the week, besting my previous weekly high of 21 -- set two weeks ago when I completed the 10-mile treadmill adventure. My plan is to up it to 30 miles by week's end, so that can be any combination of, say, 2 miles tomorrow as an easy day and 5 on Sunday. Or 3 and 4, or whatever. I think my goal from now on is to do 25-35 miles a week.

There's no reason I should limit myself to just 3 miles anymore when I can do that in my sleep. I think 4 miles should be my absolute minimum for regular tempo run days. Obviously, on days I need a break, I can do 1 or 2 miles or just stick to the bike or weight room. I mixed in abdominal work and some upper body lifting between my runs this week, too. I've been sore in the morning, but feeling fine in the evenings, which is when I work out.

Anyway, enough with the boring mileage talk. I have to finish getting ready for the trip home. I just feel like hopping on here and logging my every move and progress helps keep me accountable. I've had a few slip-ups here and there this winter, which I can't afford to have as I get closer to my goal. It's real easy to use the long timeframe as an excuse to back off.

Earlier this week, I was even talking to Jays manager John Gibbons (he's real easy to chat with before and after you actually do the whole interviewing/work thing) and he was asking how my workouts had been going. He said he ran a half-marathon a few years back in Austin, Texas. I told him to keep me in check during the baseball season now that he knows what I'm working toward.

I'll close this entry with another quote, this one lifted from a Runner's World magazine I picked up recently. This might be my new favorite quote - in relation to running or anything in life. I'm big on the mental aspects of life, honing in on that side of things to help you get through tough situations.

"If you are going to win any battle, you have to do one thing. You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do." --General George Patton

Merry Christmas everyone.