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Training Update #2

 Going to make this one brief, but I'm starting to follow a more traditional half marathon training plan to lead up to an early November race. Still going to mix in more weight training than it calls for, but I am adding more frequent runs of varying lengths and pace. Yesterday I was kind of dreading the 9 mile run that I was scheduled for, but I actually felt really good and I didn't have to grit through it very much. Was actually less of a struggle than my 5.25 mile run the prior week, and my pace ended up being faster than any run I've done over 3.5. I came in at an 8:24 pace which is inching closer to where I was a few years ago when my comfort pace was around 8 minute miles. Hat tip to Mike who hooked me up with a discount on some new running shoes which I love thus far: Saucony Endorphin Speed 3. I have typically run in more minimalist type shoes. These ones have far more bounce in the heel than I'm used to, but I'm feeling good in them after a couple runs.
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Training Update #1

I should probably change the name of this blog to remind me to write, am I right?  I’m going to try to start posting a training update once a week and then something more Alzheimer’s related (be it personal experience or research related) once every couple weeks. Luckily I have been training a lot more than I’ve been writing. The marathon is forever away, so I don’t need to be on any particular training program or anything, but I want to hit the ground running (had to) after the new year when a more typical training program would kick in. I’ll likely go into more detail about my experiences running Boston in 2011 and 2012 at a later date, but in those races I didn’t really feel like cardio held me back so much as just my body breaking down. And so without any formal training advice, I’ve decided to mostly just blitz my body with weight training, cycling (Peloton), and running. The last few years I’ve been doing a fair amount of weight training for ski season. When I got back from 6...

Remind Me to Run

 I ran the Boston Marathon in 2011 when I was 25 years old. I had gained solid footing in my career by then, but was willfully living at home. I wasn't fully aware (because I wasn't aware of much at 25), but it was a really special time in my life. The race was in April and I would ultimately move out in July, so the months of training leading up to the marathon coincided with the last several months that I would live in my childhood home with my parents. It's hard for me to remember what that was like, in no small part because my Mom's cognitive decline had not yet started. Sometimes you forget exactly how sharp she was because you are so consumed by your current reality. That current reality is still joyous. My Mom is still the same in so many ways: thoughtful, empathetic, loving, and fun to poke fun at. But her memory and some other cognitive functions are greatly diminished, and she received an Alzheimer's diagnosis last year. Thinking about it consumes so much ...