Time-wise, I’m halfway through the marathon training, and thought I’d take a moment to review and reflect. I fell short just one of those eight weeks, the first one, where I ran 11 of 14 miles. The other seven weeks, I hit or just passed the mark. In total, I’ve run 155.52 of 156 scheduled miles since training began Dec. 1.

Last Friday’s run topped 12 miles, the longest long run so far in the schedule. This week, the long run is 13 miles, which ties my two longest outings since I took up running — last October’s Brooksie half marathon and a training run I did a few weeks before that race. After this week, I cut back for a week, then tackle a week that’ll have me topping my longest distance yet with a long run of 14 miles. The 14-mile week, though, will be bisected by a Caribbean vacation, so that new personal best distance will wait until the third weekend of February.

My pace so far has hovered between about 7 and 9 minutes a mile. Most often, I run in the the 7-8 minute a mile frame; the 9-minute outlier was on a really slushy day. I’ve tried to keep most of the training under 7:30. To qualify for the 2010 Boston Marathon, I’d need to finish the race I finally choose in 3:15:59, a 7:28 pace. While a Boston time would be nice, I’ll call it a success if I pass the finish line. Plus, I’m not even sure I’d run a Boston even if I did qualify.

Weather and a few minor but persistent blisters have complicated training. I’ve had a couple of runs in conditions I can only describe as wicked: single digits, wind and slush. Slush tops the sh*t list. Cold and wind I can deal with, but treacherous footing makes running unfun. I spend as much energy staying on my feet as I do pushing my body forward. It gets tiring. The blisters … well, are blisters ever any fun? But, if that’s the worst, I can handle this.

Eight weeks down, eight to go. Distance-wise, it’s another story. The next eight weeks will see me covering 264 miles for a total of 420 during the 16-week schedule. Feet, don’t fail me now.

Really, I didn’t mean for this to become only a running blog. But the subject keeps popping to the top of my head, so I’ll run with it. (Okay, you’re right. That was dumb.)

Here I am a month in to training. Weather extremes bookend my progress so far. I started during a week I spent in Florida, sprinting along St. Petersburg’s bay shore in 70-degree weather. I slogged through the fourth run of my fourth week, a 4-miler, Sunday in my hometown of Saginaw, Mich. The wind whipped across open fields on one side of the road in 30-plus mile gusts, making the upper-20s temperature feel a helluva lot colder. I think that last one earned me a deserved spot in a loony bin running merit badge. It at least earned me 20 miles for the week.

Santa brought me a bunch of goodies to fill out the running kit: space-age polymer pants and long-sleeve shirt for harsh weather; a jacket; wicking socks; wicking skull cap; and a mini wallet to strap to my shoe. (Okay, so the last two I bought myself, but Santa can’t always fit everything into his sack.) The pants and shirt got their trial run Sunday and I was amazed at how warm they kept me.

With all this Christmas booty, I’m much more prepared for the next two months of cold-weather training. Next week’s a cutback week of 15 miles with a 6-mile long run, then I step it up for 22 miles in week six with a 9-mile long run.

I’ve been thrilled with training results so far. Over the month, I’ve averaged 7:44 per mile, which translates to a marathon in just under 3 hours, 23 minutes if I can maintain. During my half marathon in October, I ran about 40 or 50 seconds faster than I trained. I kinda hope that’s the case this time out. If so, I could manage a Boston qualifier on my first marathon. While that’d be nice, I’m just going to focus on finishing and try not to worry too much about a target time.

In non-running related gifts, I got a new fly pole, a fly-tying vise and materials, Simpsons X, and an array of other loot. Thanks, guys, you’re the best.

I put together this audio slideshow during a recent seminar at the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla. I recorded all of the audio and captured all of the images on my iPhone.

I whittled down about 180 photographs and 30-plus minutes of audio into the 2:37 presentation using Soundslides. Hope you enjoy it.

This arrived in my email just now.

Not sure why it says 8,989 finishers, when my earlier post and the results I see on the Brooksie site say 2,337 finished the half marathon. I guess the higher number includes the 5K too.

Update: They sent out corrected race certificates today, broken down by race. In the half marathon, 2,337 finishers.

Ahh, time off. Since finishing the Brooksie Way Half Marathon last month, I lightened up on running, laid off blogging and looked forward.

I’ve read three or four books on the marathon distance as research for how to train, and spoken with every runner who’d listen. Training programs seem about as numerous as runners, so I lean toward crafting my own based on my fitness level, available time for training and other factors. Given that I can now run 9 miles without much of a problem, I figure I should be able to build myself up to a 20-mile long run over about 14 weeks, with a two-week taper leading up to the race. That means my training begins somewhere between the first week of December and the second week of January, depending on the race. Brrrr. That means long-sleeve running gear for Christmas, folks.

I haven’t decided which race yet. I previously mentioned Bayshore (May 23) and Martian (April 4), but Toledo, held on April 26th, is now on the radar too. That one’s less of a drive than Bayshore and bigger than Martian. At this point, I’m conflicted about how important a big crowd might be in helping me cross the finish line. Decisions, decisions.

My two readers know all too well that for several months I’ve been training for the Brooksie Way Half Marathon — my first race. The race was Sunday, Oct. 5, 2008, and after a few days of recovery I can finally get around to blogging about the finish. Here’s how I did.

• Chip time: 1:40:46
• Clock time: 1:41:01
• Overall finish: 233rd out of 2,337
• Finish by gender: 208th out of 1,155
• Finish by division (men, 35-39): 43rd out of 197
• Pace: about 7:41 per mile

My first reaction: I finished much better than I imagined I would. My second reaction: I’ll be running more races.

On the first point, I surprised myself. During all the training I did my pace was about 8:30. That pace significantly improved during the race, I presume due to adrenaline, the pace of the crowd and the fact that people lined the race route cheering on the runners. I had hoped to finish in under two hours, with 1:50 being the “wouldn’t-it-be-cool-if” goal. Finishing in 1:41 was icing.

On the second point, a marathon is the next obvious target. The Martian Marathon, which runs through Dearborn on April 4, 2009, might be it. That may prove too soon, given that it’s just six months away, and most of that time falls into the worst part of the year to train outside. On the other hand, the Detroit Free Press Marathon in October 2009 seems a little far out. Another option is the Bayshore Marathon up in Traverse City, on May 23, but I’d have to travel for that one. I have time to think: I’m taking the next two or three weeks off from running (at least any long distance).

In the meantime, I plan to run vicariously through reading A Race Like No Other, Liz Robbins’ account of the New York City Marathon. She writes about sports for the New York Times.

Many thanks to Mrs. Blocletters for her support, and also to the folks who’ve given me attaboys over the last few days on Facebook and in person.

P.S.: I wish I had found this article before the race. I guess I had to learn to check out the course prior to running a race. I had no idea that the Brooksie was half uphill and half downhill. But, that just means my time will be better when I get to a flatter course.

I spaced on posting last week’s total, and I’m calling this week done, so I thought I’d just combine the weeks.

• Sunday, Sept. 21, 7 miles
• Wednesday, Sept. 24, 9 miles

Weekly total: 16 miles

• Monday, Sept. 29, 9 miles
• Thursday, Oct. 2, 2 miles

Weekly total: 11 miles. I made this week a light week to give myself a chance to recover and build my strength back up for Sunday’s race. On Monday’s 9-miler, I added a pulled something-or-other behind my right knee to the insistent pain on the front and side of that knee. Since then, I’ve been alternating stretches with slathering my knee in Tiger Balm (truly a miracle product).

I added a little weight training to today’s light 2-miler at the YMCA, working through my irrational fear of those imposing-looking machines. Nothing too strenuous, but it’s a start, and something I can continue to work on after the race.

Not a bad week of hoofin’ it. The breakdown:

• Sunday, Sept. 14, 9 miles
• Monday, Sept. 15, 2.25 miles
• Wednesday, Sept. 17, 9 miles
• Friday, Sept. 19, 4 miles

Total: 24.25. I also registered (finally) for that half marathon early this week. It’s two weeks from today; no turning back now.

Oh, and for those keeping score at home, this week’s total brings me to 257 miles since June 16 when I started tracking mileage here. That kinda mileage would take me from my home in Huntington Woods, Mich., to the far side of Toronto.

This week, I managed to finally trudge through a trial half marathon. The week’s breakdown:

• Tuesday, Sept. 9, 9 miles
• Thursday, Sept. 11, 13.5 miles

Total: 22.5 miles. The 13-miler wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it might be. In fact, I had originally set out to do nine, and just kept going. That was a bit of a surprise to me, because the nine-miler just two days earlier had left my knee in a grumpy state.

I regret not setting a timer, as I do now for most runs. I did the whole 13.5 in about two hours. Subtracting time for that extra four-tenths, and I estimate 1:57 (maybe :56). Two hours was my baseline goal; I would have been happier with 1:50, but I can work on time later. I’m just thrilled I pulled through.

Three cheers also for the new Nikes. Served me well, and were still comfortable after all those miles.

Later than usual with the update, but better than never. Had a short running week due to time spent on evil plans for a weekend in Ludington. The breakdown:

• Sunday, Aug. 31, 6.75 miles
• Wednesday, Sept. 3, 9 miles

Total: 15.75 miles. Aside from a recurring shooting pain on the side of my right knee, these nine-mile runs are getting to be a piece of cake.

In other running news, I finally got a pair of dedicated running shoes. They’re lighter and breathe better than the cross-trainers I’ve been using. At $25, they were a great deal, too, at at a Nike outlet store in Howell. Try to catch me now.