Don Keller 2/29 Training

I sent to Sweetwater with Cary today. Had a pretty good run around the loop and out to the meadow. I feel I'm getting stronger. Today I ran 4 miles in 38:23. That's about a 9:34 pace.

John W finally back on the blog

Hello everyone! Finally was able to get back on the blog -- thanks to Don's help. During my absence, I have been hitting it very hard. This morning, ran 3.6 miles in a little under 31 minutes, so just under the 9 minute mendoza line. Still a lot of work to do -- I plan to run my own 10K this weekend so I can get a guage of where I am. We have under 6 months to get ready now -- that still seems like such a long time away, but seeing just how difficult it is to get to a competitive 10K time, and knowing that we all are ostensibly running 3 10K's at one time - it is very sobering. I will bet one thing, though -- we will be the most fit, healthiest rep agency in our industry. That makes me proud! Let's GO!

David Jones - 02/26

Last minute preparation for the 1/2 marathon on Sunday. Did an easy 3 mile jog last night. Will do another easy run today and then a sprint workout on Thursday. Friday and Saturday will be rest days before Sunday. Supposed to be a nice day Sunday. My goal is to keep up with Robb.

4 days to race day.

Don Keller Training 2/26

Today a short run at Sweetwater Park. 2 miles in 17:37... That's a 8.45 pace. My goal was to take it easy and work on getting a little faster. A couple months ago I ran 2 miles in 23 minutes and could not run any further. Today 2 miles in 17:37. WOW... I shaved off more than 5 minutes.

Cold on Wednesday, so I think I do 4.5 on Thursday.

David Jones - 02/24 Long Run

Looks like it was a very productive weekend for Team Plumb Crazy. Way to go on the 10K races Richad, Don and John. It was a cold rainy day for a race but you all did great. I was very impressed with Don and John's run as I was there to witness the tough conditions and you guys looked strong at the end. Richard is becoming quite the race veteran. Where is this weekends race?

As with Robb I was able to get in one more long run before our race this Sunday. This week I tried a new 10 mile route and I didn't feel great about my run. Overall time was 1:26:45. Only about a minute off last weeks 10 mile time which was run on a very flat course. I was hurting on this weeks run. Legs felt very week and my toenails really hurt. Think I might lose a couple of nails. I will take it easy this week with a couple of 2 - 3 mile easy runs in preparation for Sundays big race. Hopefully it will not be too cold. Race starts at 7:00 in the morning.

As advertised in Don's blog, here are a couple of action shots form the "Run for the Son" race. Don put on a sprint at the end to edge John out by a couple of feet. Way to go Team Plumb Crazy!!!!!!

The one on the right is at the start. Below is at about 2 miles. Still have sve smiles on their faces.

Bottom pic is at the finish. Hurrying to break 60:00 minutes. Great race.

David Jones - 02/24 Long Run

Stone Mountain 10 Miler

This was my last 10 mile run prior to the 13 mile Alpharetta 1/2 Marathon coming up next weekend with David Jones.

My first trek around the mountain this afternoon was difficult- the wind was whipping around the mountain and I was freezing my *ss off! The first 5 miles completed in 40 minutes and change. Pretty good run, but I HATE cold weather!!!

I stopped a minute to change shirts and put on a thermal shirt, sweatshirt and hat and started out on the second half. After hitting the beginning of the seventh mile, my left knee started acting up (it has done this several times lately) so I slowed down my pace for the next mile and that seemed to help. Plodded along the remainder of the course without having to stop once (an accomplishment for me), but I have to tell you it was really tough the last mile. My legs were telling me to stop.

Overall time, 10 miles at 83 minutes, 39 seconds. About 8:39 minute mile.
I can't say I'm really thrilled about the time, but I was very happy that this was the third run over 10 miles without collapsing.

Tomorrow is supposed to be nice weather. I will probably walk more than run to stay limber and not over-do it.

Wish me luck next weekend!

Richard G.-Charles Harris 10K

Approx. 1,000 runners ran from Tucker High School to Shamrock Middle School mostly down Lawrencville Hwy. The Dekalb police was out in force and much to everyone's disappointment the Indigo Girls, graduates of Shamrock when it was a high school, were not waiting at the finish line performing a benefit concert.

I should have bought a lottery ticket for Saturday as my pre-race prediction of a 63 minute finish came in at 63:29, seven minutes faster than my Conyers 10K on trails 3 weeks ago. Certainly running a much easier course on asphalt helped, but I am on the cusp of just trying to survive a race/run to pushing hard on every leg and moving my times steadily downward.

I have been playing with http://www.mapmyrun.com/ that David sent out and developing some different courses around the 'hood.

This is fun! Go TeamPlumbCrazy!

Don Keller & John C 2/23 10K race

John and I ran the Run for the Son 10K this morning. It was a rolling hill course that had challenging up hills and long easy down hills. We finished the race in 59:41, under the 60 minute mark. My goal was to run it under 65 minutes. We blew that away!!!

Hats off to two team mates. John C hung with me the entire race. He could have finished with a better time but his motto was, "we started together, we'll finish together". David Jones came out in the misty cold to cheer us on and snap a couple pictures. He waited at the start finish line the entire race to get a finishing picture. I wish we could have shortened his wait. Thanks David!

My legs are sore, so I'll take it easy.

Don Keller 2/20 Training

Today I ran at Sweetwater with Cary. I ran the loop to the meadow and back, 3.12 miles in 28:41. That's a 9'11" pace and that's my best time for 3 miles. Now that the weather is getting better I'm starting to see some progress. Now if I can figure out how to drop 10 pounds by the end of March.

John C and I run the "Run for the Son" race on Saturday. 6.2 miles is a long way and the route is hilly. I will need a lot of help from the "Son" to finish.

Over and out until I post the results of my first 10K in ?? years.

Charles Harris 10K is this Saturday!

After one week of battling off a cold and a second week of heavy travel, I'm back. Ran yesterday with John Wood, Bruce Kelly of TracPipe and Tim Ramsey at Chateau Elan, site of the TracPipe sales meeting. Ran approx. 2.5 miles of trails, almost "met" a large dog...couldn't outrun the dog, but think I could outrun T-Ram.

Tonight I ran 5 miles in the 'hood.

I have signed up for the Charles Harris 10K that starts at Tucker High School and ends at Shamrock High School. Most of the race goes down picturesque Lawrenceville Highway. The joys of city living! My goal is to break 63 minutes. I am looking forward to running on asphalt.

The attached photo is from last year's race. Go TeamPlumbCrazy!

Richard

Don Keller 2/18 Training

Ran with John C today at Sweetwater. We ran the Red, Blue, White trail and I have some mixed feelings about the run. We started off fast and I felt really good until I reached the stairs leading up to the long hill. I tried to run it but I was all used up. I ran a little, (very little) and walked the rest or at least until I got to the meadow. Rested a couple seconds and then headed down the gravel road. I ran all the way back and finished strong in 45:58. That's two minutes faster than last Monday.

I don't think John broke a sweat during the run.

John and I will run the "2008 Run For the Son" on Saturday. A 10K race in Kennesaw. It will be the longest distance I've ran in a long, long time.

Three in a row

I had some pretty decent runs last week and yesterday.
Last Tuesday and Friday I ran on the Sweetwater trails, and yesterday Austin and I did our usual at Stone Mountain Park.

I added a second lap for good measure (not to mention that David and I have a half marathon in two weeks). 10.8 miles total for Sunday. That gave me a little more confidence that I can do the 13 miler on March 2nd.

I'll hit Sweetawter again today, trying to get three nice runs within a 24-27 hour time period, which is what I figure we'll all have to do to finish HTC.

David Jones - 02/1708 - Long Run

Whew.......what a day. Sunday is my long run day and I was determined to get in a 10 mile run . I have been looking forward to that challenge all week. Sunday in Atlanta called for heavy storms to come through in the afternoon. I was hoping to get my run in before the storms came. I did not get started on my run until about 3:30 or so. After about 5 miles it started to sprinkle a little. By 7 miles it was raining cats and dogs. Thunder and lighting, tornaodo sirens going off. The last 3 miles were tough but I did get the whole 10 miles in. I felt really good at the end. My last mile was right at 8 minutes. I think I could have gone for 3 more miles. And I actually had a very good MPM pace. Finished at 1:24:59. I was shooting for 1:25:00. That would give me an 8-1/2 MPM pace. I have revised my goal for the 1/2 marathon. I am now going for a 2 hour race. I have one more long run scheduled for next Sunday and then it will be race weekend. I believe I am ready.

Stone Mnt.Training Camp 2/17 - Austin & Robb

Well.....I have not been training for the past two weeks, but met up with Rob for the Sunday Stone Mnt. run this morning. All and all it was a pretty good run considering that I hadn't run in two weeks, but ended up adding a few minutes to my last run there and finished the 5.4 mile loop in 49min 23sec. Still keeping about 9-1/2 min mile pace and had a pretty good 100 yard sprint towards the end of the run. Robb not even winded went for round two with mountain in which I'm sure he finished in less time than the first lap. Way too go Robb! Keep up the great work! This week I plan to get in some early morning runs in before work as I've found my self quite busy at the new office and don't have a lot of time for the lunch time runs.

Everyone keep up the great work!! Go TPC!!

David Jones - 2/15 Training

Don took me on a good run today. Ran a little blacktop and out through the gravel road to the meadow. Ran about 3.7 miles in 34:51. Kept about a 9-1/2 MPM pace.

Keep up the efforts!!!!

David Jones - 02/14/08 Training

Today was speed work day at the training facility. Ran an easy warm up mile and half. Then ran 3 - 3/4 mile loops as fast as I could with a 1/4 mile walk between each one. Averaged about 4:45 per loop. Running sprints is tough on this old man. Working on being able to have a little kick left when I need to pick up the pace some. Next run is a 10 miler on Sunday.

David Jones - 02/12/08 Training

Another day at Sweetwater Training Facility. Got in 4 miles today. My times are improving. 4 miles at 33:54. My 3 mile mark was 24:24. About 8:15 MPM. Feeling good.

Finally got some new shoes. They sure do feel good.

Don Keller Training 2/11

I ran the red, blue, white trail today. It's my second time running it and I'm starting to like it. It's a lot different than the blacktop runs and I think it's better training. I've scheduled Monday's as my red, blue white trail day and two more runs during the week I'll run the blacktop loop and add in the white gravel road up to the meadow.

Today's run was 4.309 miles in 47:57 minutes. That's a 11:07 pace. I'll work the balance of the week on speed, trying to post times in the 9 - 9:30 range.

A week worth of running

I forgot to post my runs last week, so here it goes:
I ran Tuesday, Thursday and Friday last week at Sweetwater, each day running a different set of trails.
Tuesday was blue-white. That's not one of my favorite runs, but I wanted to mix it up a little bit.
Thursday was yellow and the blacktop. I went in a different direction than Don did (reverse, technically) so the run is very different. Once you get past Killer Hill, it is a very nice run down. The blacktop was just for added mileage.
Friday was white-blue-red, again going reverse from my normal run.
I didn't really keep track of my times- probably about normal spped.

Sunday was St. Mtn. Park, once around.
VERY windy day- ran 5.4 at 40:43, so that put me under 8 minutes.

Today is a day off.

David Jones - 02/10 Training

Another Sunday, Another long run. Late Sunday afternoon was a great day for a run in Atlanta. Sunny and a little cool. Got my 8 miles in and felt great. Set an all new record for 8 miles. 1:08:20. 2 miles were under 8 minutes and 2 miles were 8:03 and 8:08. I can really feel that I can go longer and faster now. All the training is paying off. Next Sunday calls for a 10 mile run. That will be my longest to date. Just 3 weeks until the 1/2 marathon.

David Jones - 02/07 Training

Nothing special today. Did about 4-1/2 miles around the neighborhood in 37:16. Good news is my first 2 miles were 7:49 and 7:51 and mile # 3 was 8:03. Pretty quick miles for me.
Next scheduled run is 9 miles on Sunday.

We now have our official team roster posted on the H2C website. If you want to see your name listed go to team roster and put in team # 690 and phone # 678-290-0627. They currently have us in the wrong category but I have talked to H2C to get that corrected.

Keep it up!!!!

Don Keller Training 2/6 & 2/7

Ran on Wed at Sweetwater. The rain cut my run short so I got in a little sprinting or speed training as we call it at STC. Here are the stats: Ran 2.212 miles in 20:46 minutes. That is a 9'23 pace. I think I could have done a little better. At one point I was below an 8’00 pace.

Ran on Thursday, the yellow trail at Sweetwater. WOW, I was not prepared for a run like this. It was a very hard trail. Stats as follows: Ran 2.927 miles in 37:27 minutes. A 12:47 pace. Before you think I was slacking off.... This was a very hard run. However, I did run an additional 1/2 mile or so when I was done. I worked very hard with a 12:47 pace. Lots of uphill walking. This will be the last post you see where I’ve ran the Yellow Trail.

David Jones - 02/05 Training

Got in 5 miles at Sweetwater Creek in 41:28 Felt good.

David Jones - 02/03 Long Run

Glad to see a lot of entries on the blog page. It is interesting to see who is hitting it hard. I hope the rest of the team is putting in the mles you all are. Great job on the SMP run, the Conyer's 10K and how about them new shoes. Way to go. Sunday was my long run day. I did my normal 8 mile run through the neighborhood in 1:10:43. Felt pretty good but there are some pretty big hills that just take it out of me. Afeter the 8 I walked for a couple of minutes and ran one more mile for good measure. 9 miles total - my longest so far. 4 weeks until 1/2 marathon. I think I will be ready.

SMP Conquered- Ready for HTC!

Austin and I met up around noon on Sunday at Stone Mountain Park.
After a Saturday night of frolicking with untold counts of women into the wee hours of Sunday, Austin ROCKED S.M.P. once again, accomplishing a personal best by kicking *** and running far longer than ever before. We lost a little bit of time at the end, but we finished the 5.4 mile run at 47 minutes and 43 seconds.

I had quite a bit of energy remaining, so after changing out a soaking wet t-shirt for a dry one, I hit it once again. This time I did the second run of 5.4 miles at 41 minutes and 31 seconds. I felt super strong today.

Total run = 10.8 miles in 1 hour, 29 minutes and 14 seconds.


Funny how you always get knocked down a notch.
One guy that passed Austin and me earlier started up a conversation on my last mile.
He was older than I (and not nearly as handsome) but was a marathoner.
I told him I was headed for 11 miles today.
He said "that's great- way to go!"
He also said " I ran 14 yesterday, and I'm only running 10 today."

If I could have kept up with him I probably would have kicked him in his knees.
He didn't have the class that Menefee has.

Anyway, that's the longest I have ever run.
I am proud, if only for a fleeting moment.

Bring on Hood To Coast- I'm ready NOW!!!!!!

Runnin the Rocks 10K -Conyers, GA

I ran in the XTERRA Trail Race yesterday at Olympic Horse Park in Conyers. Temperature at start time was less than 30 degrees. A lot of very serious runners and me. The trails were much tamer than Sweetwater Creek Park. The Sweetwater run on Wednesday was great preparaton for this jaunt. Many times I felt I was in the scene of Revenge of the Titans when Denzell Washington had his team running trails that led to the cementary in Gettysburg. My goal was 70 minues and not taking a spill. I finished in 70:40, dodged more than one pile of horse droppings, tripped a couple of times but never fell. Pictures have not been posted yet and I did finish 13th in my age group. I have tutoring the next two Saturday's, but am planning on running the Charles Harris 10K in Tucker, GA on February 23rd. This race is back on pavement...yeah!!

TeamPlumbCrazy Rocks in Conyers!

Don Keller - New Shoes 2/2

Bought a new pair of shoes this morning and took them out and showed them the neighborhood.

Today's run went like this. I started out slow and felt really good. The middle of my run I relaxed and ran at a little faster pace and then slowed down again during the last part of my run. The final half mile I ran my strongest. The last 2 10th I was running as fast as I could possible run. I was strong and feeling really good. I think the run at Sweetwater on Thursday really helped me.

Today I ran 4.381 in 42.34 minutes. Thats a 9:43 pace. I think I could have run another mile or two no problem.

I have to get up to 6.2 miles by Feb 23rd.

TPC Sweetwater Training Camp - Austin & Robb 02-01-08

Had what was probably my last run for a while at the good old TPC training facility today. Robb & I decided to run the yellow trail which as some of already know can be pretty tuff. All in all it was a pretty good run for us and a personal best on yellow for me as we finished the 3 miles at 36 min. I know that doesn't sound good, but there is a killer hill on this trail that is about 1/4 of mile long that takes about 5-7 min. to get up unless you are a great uphill runner. I usually have to stop alot going up that hill and today only stop near the top and then again to stretch at the top. Then we ran all the from the top back to the start point which I have never been able to do. Robb has been a great coach and a great motivator for me at, but don't worry anyone I plan to keep up my training even after the move to Norcross. I've been informed that there is a near by park for me to run at and I'll still be meeting up with Robb every Sunday for the Stone Mountain run. If anyone wants to meet up on Sun. let one of us know. Next run......This Sunday!

Everyone keep up the great work!! GO TPC!!!!