Chaire Herodikos Selymbriaios!

3 miles with Leo in the stroller. Kinvara 3 blue.

3 miles with Leo in the stroller. Kinvara 3 blue.

3 miles with Leo in the stroller. Kinvara 3 blue.

3 miles with Leo in the stroller. Kinvara 3 blue. 9:00 pace. HR in the 150s. Nice workout. Looking forward to stretching him to 5 mi at some point soon.

3 miles with Leo in the stroller. Gal got locked out so we ran back and handed her the key just before Peabody Terrace. Running very easily - this distance is a decent workout with the stroller. Leo seemed fine, though he's teething on top now, looks like. Red Kinvara 3s.

3 miles with Leo in the stroller. 

3.20 with Leo in the stroller

3.20 with Leo in the stroller

3 mi with Leo in the stroller

A nice easy 6 mi run to the community garden on the Allston side. Feeling strong now that there's nothing to push! Weight at about 152 on my return, and now after dinner and dessert I'm at 155 which is lower than I've been for 3 years. That feels great.

To the JFK bridge with Leo in the stroller. He was a bit demanding on the way out, so several starts and stops, then very happy, so we waited a while at the park by the geese, but he fell asleep immediately after the turn and so the last 1.7 mi was pretty much continuous and by the time we arrived at Hastings Park I felt like I'd had a decent run.

Went to a barbecue yesterday and ate a ton so was eager to run it off. Today we set out later in Leo's nap cycle than usual, which proved to be a great thing - he was asleep by the time we'd traveled the three blocks to the river. When I peeked in at JFK he was still out, so we just continued on to the Eliot Bridge/Sir Richards Landing. He didn't wake up once until the moment we got home. Just a sweet run. I feel great. Wore the orange Mizunos, which are nicely balanced but have a bit more shock absorption than the Kinvara and it felt quite luxurious indeed.

Out to the Mt Auburn intersection with Leo in the stroller. He didn't go down until the very end, so it was a bit stop and go but got a few good stretches in. Very nice morning.

Leo was very patient with a couple of long phone calls so I took pity on him this morning and ran by myself. Quick jaunt out to Brattle Square at lunchtime. Hot day!

Nice easy run out to the community garden. Perfect running weather, high sixties, just after a rain so the air was cool but the ground wasn't too soggy. Felt strong - my body is coming back to me, but no straining. Took it slow.

Much precipitation today so no jogging stroller. To Harvard Square and back by the river path. Actually a nice run except for the ninny who went through a puddle and splashed me - even though I waited till the previous car had passed and clearly signaled the puddle! Gal and Eliana had sympathy for the devil, but I was mad.

Out to the JFK bridge with Leo. Lovely day after yesterday's rain. Legs feeling a bit rubbery which sounds right. He fell asleep around Western and we finished up at Hastings Park. This week was moving in the right direction.

With Leo out to the community garden. Our longest run yet! He was a champ, and the morning was stunning.

Out to the Eliot Bridge with Leo. Had a slight household accident at about midnight last night - a big jar fell and cut my second toe on the right foot slightly. So had gauze on it, but it didn't bother me at all. Felt pretty good today.

Out to the community garden with Leo. He was asleep before the turn. All in all a great run. Still pushing through but feel pretty good at this mileage, Think I might maintain at 30/week for a while since 5-6 is such a good distance with the stroller. No rush in adding miles for the moment.

Out to the community garden with Leo. Nice morning. Nothing special to report. Good stretching afterward at the big sycamore in Hastings Park while he slept.

Short little run out to the Harvard Boathouse with Leo. Wore the zero-drop Merrells, which I've found very comfortable for walking, but had thought myself too heavy until now to wear for a run. It was an interesting experience. Obvious that muscles were being deployed differently and nothing wrong with that per se but they struck me more as something I'd enjoy for an exotic occasional workout than a go-to shoe. My ITB was complaining a bit afterwards so stretched it in particular at the park (getting a mosquito bite on the calf for my efforts). I will say that I was thinking more about running mechanics, which is the point I guess and was welcome. Leo was fussy and didn't sleep at all. So not a very fun run.

Raining this morning so left the stroller at home and had a quick run by myself. Out by the river path to Mt Auburn then back via Brattle Square and Putnam. Very pleasant. End of a good week.

First long run in a while - river path to Arsenal Mall, then Fresh Pond to Mt Auburn and home. Took it easy, felt pretty good. Lovely morning. Had a bathroom break at 6 mi or so in the park by the intersection of Huron and Grove. Top notch portapotty.

Out to the Mt Auburn intersection with Leo. Pretty fussy, stop and go, but legs felt fine.

Out to the Northeastern boathouse with Leo. He was happy and talkative, which was fun. Didn't fall asleep until mi 5 or so, then stayed under through a pretty good stretch at Hastings Park. Sweet boy! So the run was stop and go until after Eliot Bridge at which point I get a nice good stretch in. Legs felt a bit dead which seems reasonable as I add miles. No particular inflammation.

Leo was super fussy yesterday morning so we skipped the run. Hoped to get one in after dark but it was still pretty hot. So mileage this week will be little more than last week, which is fine.

Gal's mother arrived yesterday evening so this morning I just went out by myself. Out to the Arsenal St bridge and back, cooldown in Hastings park. Nice run. Legs feeling a bit more normal. Good hydration and breakfast afterwards. 

Out to the Eliot Bridge. Nice cool morning, partly cloudy. End of a pretty decent week.

Out to Fresh Pond and back via the Northeastern Boathouse and Arsenal Mall. Nice run.

AM: Out to Harvard Square and back.

PM: River to the Mt Auburn intersection. Hot.

With Leo out to the community garden. Hot and sweaty for me but he slept the whole way more or less.

With Leo out to the Eliot Bridge. Nothing special, though I felt more labored than usual and sweated a ton. But it is hot today and was probably close to 80 even at 7:30. Leo did not sleep but sang most of the way!

AM: 0.5 mi with Leo out to River St and Memorial Drive before we walked back to Hastings Park.

PM: 7 mi out to the Northeastern Boathouse via Harvard Square.

Out to the Eliot Bridge with Leo. He wasn't too happy, maybe we need to put the fleece liner on the jogging stroller even in summer.

Today's run was not as planned. The idea was to add a circuit of Fresh Pond to the mix, bringing me up to 12 mi or so. Then Leo woke at 5 am - very happy but quite unwilling to go back down - and by the time he was ready to nap I was too. We had a party in Rockport at noon so I figured I'd just do the long run in the evening.

Well, it was a glorious sunset as I set out at 8 or so. The air was like fine wine and my legs were feeling excellent. Intestines however were another story, on account of the clam strips, crab cakes, salt water taffy and espresso we had in Rockport. Much heartburn and a narrowly avoided catastrophe at Belmont Cemetery. The worst thing was, this near-event transpired right by the park where the portapot USED to be - they'd removed it! I dug deep and managed to get up the hill to the bathroom at Fresh Pond - which was closed for construction! Painful.

Anyway, the path by Fresh Pond was closed too and the swarming gnats that come out right at sunset and clog your airways were present in numbers. So I just did the same distance as the last two weeks setting up one more week at 40+ with a modest long run. Legs are feeling good and plenty of time between now and October 26.

Only time to go out to the square and back in the morning on my way to the drug store. Hoping to go again in the PM but no such luck. 

AM: Nada. Will try in the evening if it's not too hot.

PM: Out to the Arsenal St Bridge at 8 PM. Stunning sunset, but still 82 and humid. Lost about 5 pounds in water weight! Moderately difficult but satisfying run.

AM: To JFK bridge at 7am. Hot but a nice breeze from the harbor.

PM: To the square and back at 8 pm. One of the most beautiful sunsets I've seen here but ovenly hot. A struggle keeping my heart rate down in the viable range. Next time an hour later and with a bottle.

Craziest run ever. Started out hot at 10pm, then stumbled into the middle of an intense 5-minute thunderstorm with torrential rain, then was basically run over by celebrants at Boston's 3rd of July celebration (the fireworks are a day early this year on account of the hurricane), most of them seeming drunk or stupid, who were escaping said thunderstorm, which sent them into my path. But I got my miles anyway!

A fitting close to an ill-starred week of training. Gal had a minor surgical procedure yesterday so I was out with Leo rather than running on my own. The idea was to finish up the week with 7 out to Northeastern boathouse, at least to have some modest forward momentum as I build my base. Has to be this morning because the hurricane is forecast to blow into town around 3pm.

Near Mt Auburn Hospital he started to fuss and upon inspection it became clear that he had a diaper. I haven't been taking the change kit, and this has never happened before but ... law of averages. Anyway, we were diaperless so had to turn around at Sir Richard's landing. We sat on the bench there overlooking the river path for a bit then came home. Ran a little extra at the end to make 5 miles and then hustled him upstairs to the changing table.

The upside is that I broke 40 again and felt pretty strong. So all in all it was a good week if slightly challenged.

Happy 4th!

A lovely Sunday morning run down the Emerald Necklace to Jamaica Pond and back via the Esplanade and MIT Bridge. Got a bit lost coming back into Brookline and ran past the high school rather than continuing up the riverway, which cut off 0.5 mi, but who could complain? Looking forward to doing this one again.

PM: Out to the Eliot Bridge in another thunderstorm. Lightning struck not far from Memorial Drive on the way back! Pretty sure it didn't hit the ground or the river though. I felt very sluggish, which makes sense - interestingly I found I'd retained a lot of water - was heavier on the scale than I have been and not as sweaty, although it was quite hot.

Out to the Arsenal St bridge with Leo. He didn't sleep until the very end but was a good sport. Legs feeling a bit better.

At Gal's parents' in Stamford. Out to Cove Island, where I did two circuits of the park, then to Darien and back. Completely sweated but a nice run. Bummed about missing yesterday. Will run 11 tomorrow am to finish the week.

Out to Darien after a stretch and a circuit of Cove Island. Going to visit Hedy in New Haven tomorrow and we'll run for a few miles together so I cut off at 9. Nice morning.

Drew up a training schedule for now through marathon day (10/26). The plan is to train at 75MPW for 5 weeks before the taper with long runs of 22-25 mi on Sundays and somewhat shorter intensity workouts (~15mi) on Wednesdays. I'll work a few races of 5-21k into my Sunday workouts during that month. In the first weeks of October I'll take a couple of weekends in Falmouth and run the course in two segments. My target MP is 7:20, meaning a 6:50 HMP/ATP, 6:20 5KP, and 5:50 1MP.  

I'm feeling pretty good about where I am. Have been building my mileage base gradually and methodically and feel comfortable physically. I'm struck by the relative absence of inflammation so far. The switch to an almost exclusively vegetarian diet with very occasional poultry has been paying dividends here I suspect.  We'll see how it goes as I increase mileage. I'm determined to run easy until the latter part of August.

Baseline training schedule:

July 

August

September

October

Ran on local trails in Woodbridge with Xoli for 30 min. Nice day, nice run, end of a good week.

Nice run out to Goodwives River in Darien. Planned 13 miles; the route was about 14 but walked the last mile from the cathedral to Gal's parents rather than strain too much unnecessarily.

To Water's Edge in Darien with two circuits of Cove Island Park. Got rained on!

So after being inundated yesterday I forgot to soak/dry my shoes and they smelled as if I'd dipped them in ammonia.  But I'm not confident enough in the Merrells/whole concept of "barefoot shoes" to run 8 miles in them on the pavement. Just want to get to a 75 mi/week base without hurting myself.

Thus, ~4 miles in the AM on the TM.* It is so boring. Couldn't stomach 8 miles of that so I figured I'd split it up and finish the day's miles this evening. 

*Actually ran about 4.5 but figure the machine counts for less.

With Rob in Narberth. Hard to find time to run give Leo and heat.

With Rob in Narberth.

Camping with Avner. Challenging hike at Franconia Notch with a full pack, up the Flume Slide trail to the top of Mt Flume then downandup to summit Mt Liberty. Ups were hands and knees up slickrock for a good portion, then down very steep and rocky trails. Actually ran the last 0.5 down to the campsite - again with full pack - to beat a fellow hiker to the last spot.  I think this counts as a full days run both from the c/v standpoint and the use of similar muscle groups. That's what my quads say anyway!

Appalachian Trail back to the parking lot. Another tough hike, with 5 4k+ peaks, but when we arrived at the top of Mt. Lafayette it was like the bleachers at Fenway Park! Insane amount of people. Quite a few of them had no business on this particular trail, and on the way down one woman had to be med-evaced. Anyway I'll take credit for another 8 mile run.

Disappointing way to close out the month but I haven't lost any ground I don't think, just a week or so of training intensity. As soon as my muscles have recovered I'll start out at 8 mi daily and 1resume the schedule from there in August.

Out to the Arsenal Bridge.

Out to the Arsenal Bridge. Very hot, came back soaked.

Out to the Arsenal Bridge with Leo. First weigh-in under 150!

Back on track. Out to Jamaica Pond but got a bit lost so did the circuit of Brookline Reservoir and Allendale Farm as well. Came back feeling good.

Revised training schedule:

August

September

October

Down to Jamaica Pond with Leo. Nice morning.

Another sweet early morning run to Jamaica Pond with Leo. Glorious weather along the Emerald Necklace. We stopped by the water for a good 10 minutes and watched the geese and joggers. He was happy! Nothing like a baby for happy. My legs feel good and strong after a solid week now of 8 mile days, it was probably just fine to dial back for a bit though better to plan such things in advance of course.

For me it is really challenging to keep to a running routine while travelling, and recapturing the discipline always takes me a while. It's such a consistant phenomenon, this "losing the thread" but I don't really understand it. Maybe something psycho-spatial!

Jamaica Pond via the Necklace. Leo was fussy, did not enjoy being strapped into the stroller, and so we had ~15 minute breaks to hang out on a bench and watch the people at Leverett Pond and the JP Boathouse.

To Jamaica Pond - Leo stayed home. As an outing I didn't enjoy it as much as the runs with the baby - as a run however quite a bit better without the stop-and-go. I wore the MOTOActv watch and sure hope the new software is better - the GPS distance tracker lost about 10% in comparison with the Gmap Pedometer hack, reading 7.32mi at the end of an 8 mile run. Lower body feeling just ok - a few new aches and pains, which is to be expected since for the last 3 days I've been at 53 miles/week. I would say that so far I'm handling the additional mileage fine. No dead legs for the moment. 

Out to the Arsenal St Bridge. Lovely morning - sunny and cooler than it has been. End of a really good week, my legs feel very and I'm looking forward to moving forward with the training plan. Looks like I should only be about a week behind what I'd anticipated in early July.

CREDIT CARD DONATIONS

RACE REPORT!!!

On October 26, I will be running the Cape Cod Marathon as a benefit for the Gaza Community Mental Health Program. 

GCMHP was founded by the late Dr. Eyad R. Sarraj, a psychiatrist and human rights campaigner who was an inspiration to advocates of nonviolent activism around the world. The organization provides mental health services to the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip and works to secure a Palestinian society that respects human rights and in which people are able to live in freedom and with dignity.

More information about GCMHP is available here. Dr. Sarraj is beautifully remembered here, here and here (by his son).

This benefit is "pay for performance" - the faster I run, the more money I raise. Every sponsor should choose a mile along the 26.2-mile-long marathon course (Mile One, Mile Five, Mile Sixteen and so on). Notify me of your selection by facebook or email (ashakow[at]hotmail.com). Also tell me how many times my speed in MPH you want to give. For example, if I run Mile 12 at an average speed of nine mph, someone sponsoring Mile 12 at 3x would donate $27. 

As soon as they they have written me, I will record all donors in the table below on this page. Those who wish to remain anonymous should tell me so explicitly and will be listed as "Donor One," "Donor Two," and so on.

After the race I will report in the table below on this page how fast I ran each mile. Sponsors should then submit a donation for the appropriate amount to the Gaza Mental Health Foundation.

I have set up a credit card donation page through CrowdRise, or you can simply send a personal check or money order to the Gaza Mental Health Foundation, PO Box 380273, Cambridge, MA 02238, attention Hilary Rantisi. Check donations should specify GCMHP as the recipient in the "note" line.   The CrowdRise method does involve transaction/credit card fees amounting to $4.25 on a $50 donation, so if you would prefer that all of your donation benefit children and parents in Gaza, the check option may be desirable. All donations are tax-deductible by either method.

My objective is to run the entire marathon in 3 hours 10 minutes, an average speed of about 8.2 mph. My speed for any individual mile, however, will obviously vary according to the terrain and how late it is in the race, so there is some strategy involved in the choice of which mile to sponsor. For folks who like to play the horses, you can read a description of the marathon course here.

To follow the progress of my training between now and October 26, see daily updates to this blog here. Those who would like to request an annual report or other financial information from the Gaza Mental Health Foundation should write directly to Ms. Rantisi (hilary_rantisi[at]hks.harvard.edu).

Out to Walden Pond via Trapelo Rd. Felt really good for the first 9 miles or so, then the hills and sun began to wear on me and by the time I pulled up at the Thoreau B&B sign by the state park I was dusted. Averaged 8:58 for the run.

Gal and Leo came with Einat and the car to pick me up but by the time they arrived at 10:20 the park was closed to additional vehicles until 1:30, which was kind of a bummer. We ended up swimming at Cochituate State Park -- ecologically and sociologically a totally different ballgame.

I think for this to work I would need to leave closer to 6 than 7:30, mitigating the heat, too. 

My route (not complicated) is here. Nice late lunch at an Italian restaurant in Concord, followed by espresso ice cream.

Jamaica Pond and back. Felt strong for 5-6 miles then a bit dehydrated - need to remember to drink at the turn. But the muscular fitness is pretty good at this point I think. Still a bit of nagging soreness in the right ankle/foot. Trying to keep it stretched out, and it hasn't gotten worse since I noticed it last month.

Jamaica Pond with a little extra. Drank and stretched at the turnaround by the JP boathouse, which seemed to make a big difference. Legs a bit dead, but not terrible. All systems go.

Jamaica Pond Plus (tm). Legs feeling really good. Stretched again and hydrated at the boathouse. One warning sign of the miles I'm adding though - the twinge in my right ankle has crept a bit into the plantar fascia.  Not serious for the moment and I am taking good care of it I think (stretching, soaking) but I will finish the week with two light runs Thursday and Friday and try to get good sleep.

Jamaica Pond Plus (tm). Not as springy as yesterday but kept it slow and steady.

To Arsenal St Bridge. First 4-5 miles were like running through oatmeal, then picked up a little bit. Most importantly though, no soreness after a 60 mile week, my first since January 2008. Good stretching and methodical slow training pays off.

AM: Out to Middlesex Fells via Somerville and Medford. Kind of a bust - the trails were more rugged than I'd expected and I was really wearing the wrong shoes. So instead of running I hiked around for an hour then ran home. May try to get 5 this evening to fill out Sunday.

AM: out to JFK bridge

PM: Northeastern boathouse. Felt strong, as expected with a couple days to rest the sore ankle

AM: 2x Amory Park+Halls Pond. Stiff at first but loosened up by the end and felt pretty good.

2x Jamaica Pond. Felt good, great running weather - slightly overcast with periodic sunbreaks. Had a pitstop at Rt 9. Overall nice run.

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RACE PAGE

By race day I was resigned just to have a good time rather than aiming for a good time. Sometime in August Leo's development accelerated to the point that sitting still for 8 miles in the jogging stroller was no longer an option. It is wonderful to see him cruising around! But made training difficult.

My plan was to treat it like an easy run: go out at 8:45 for the first half, then see what happened. It was just a stunning day in Falmouth, crisp and partly cloudy, perfect running weather. We got to the packet pickup from the B&B a bit late, but nothing too serious. I started in the back of the pack and worked my way up to the middle as the runners began to string out.

Everything felt pretty good all the way to the halfway point and I was right on target. The course is flat as it travels east along the beach on Vineyard Sound. Spectacular scenery: this must be one of the five prettiest marathons in the U.S. Gal and Leo were waiting at Mile 13, and I asked a cop if I could cross the highway to give them a hug -- he said 'yes' of course. It was incredibly sweet. That was my first mile under 9 minutes, but it was worth it. Leo was going nuts, mugging for the camera.

Miles 14 and 15 were still good, and I felt strong -- maybe too strong. There is a hill right before 15, and I took the downslope a bit too fast, above a 6:00/mi pace. Shortly afterwards I began having some pain on the big toe ligament of my left foot. I ignored it at first but could feel myself slowing as I changed my gait to accommodate. Then I tried stretching it, which helped momentarily, but the pain recurred and was getting worse -- burning. It was a bit better if I went slowly, but above 12:00/mi or so it was really painful. Miles 20 to the end were kind of a death march: jogging interspersed with stretching. Gal and Leo saw me at around noon just before Mile 22, and they said I looked good, which is consistent with my recollection -- everything was in pretty good shape except the toe, but that was enough. It took an hour and 15 minutes to make those last 4 miles.

I don't feel too broken up about the result -- given everything I was aiming for 3:45-4 hours, and what can you do about an injury? The weather was beautiful and it was just delicious to see Gal and Leo and Cousin Enid at the finish line.

Let me close with a big note of thanks to all of donors to the Gaza Community Mental Health Foundation as part of this marathon benefit. Catherine Womack, Hege Finholt, Joe Logan, Helen Southcott, Heidi Clark, Dana Sajdi, Ian Blaustein, Subrena Smith, Eli Morris, Bryce Butler, Margaret Cohen Miller, Anna Rosenbaum, Ilham Makdisi, Subrena Smith, Daria Roithmayr, David Channer, Carol Shakow, Rachel Nugent, Robin McDuff, Enid Eckstein, and Donors 1, 2, and 3 -- thank you so much for participating.

For those of you who pledged at a particular level (6x, 12x etc) I have left you in the slots that you were assigned to before the race - the times were slower than expected obviously but that is the way it goes! For those who donated online before the race, I have adjusted your giving level according to the actual speed for that particular mile.

If you have not yet fulfilled your pledge, you can either do so online at this link or send a personal check or money order to the Gaza Mental Health Foundation, PO Box 380273, Cambridge, MA 02238, attention Hilary Rantisi.